Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, my foreseeable future presents me with a lot of free time. So, I thought, this summer I would like to learn to sail and more specifically camp cruise on the local prairie and mountain lakes that are within a 4 to 5 hour drive from my home.
My ultimate goal for the fall of 2018 would be to sail to the end of beautiful Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park for on overnight stay.
The thought of building a wood boat was intriguing but I still have two feet of snow in my backyard and my garage has no more room than necessary for a car and couple of motorcycles, starting a build would push the timeframe too far into the year.
I can’t exactly remember how I ended up at the byyb.org forum but I did, and discovered “Items for Sale or Trade”.
This is how I found and purchased my first boat, a Weekender build by the late Barry Pyeatt. The Weekender needs a few finishing touches and sails hung. It has been a labour of love for a number of years by Barry, and it has never seen the water. Brian, Barry's son, sold the boat, and from what my brother tells me Brian is a great guy, had lot's of stories about his father's build, but has no time or interest in sailing at this point in his life so reluctantly he sold the boat.
I have read many Forum contributions by Barry, as many have done, and discover he was a valuable resource for the Weekender community and his contributions will be missed.
Barry named his Weekender “Spiritwind” and I will continue to do so. A boat that has build by an experienced sailor and builder being launched this summer by a complete novice.
Current status has the boat in Canada at Chilliwack BC. I will have an opportunity to see the boat at end of March, and trailer it home late April. Once home I’ll assess and complete the boat. Then I will learn to sail. It’s been 40 years since I spent a summer sailing a Sunfish so I have lots to learn.
I will be using this forum for a valuable resource from help assessing the work that has to be done to completing the boat then launching and sailing. I am not totally naive to boats, I have been around water and boats most of my life however the boats had motors and I was usually being pulled while on a ski.
TomJ
PS: If there are any Weekender sailors around Edmonton Alberta please let me know.
Hi neighbour! Just saw your intro and decided to reply and offer encouragement. Good on ya for taking on a partial build, and it sounds like its an excellent starting point. I did a similar thing many long years ago, but didn't have the sense to purchase a "kit" that was done well, so it became a total rebuild. It sounds like the places you want to sail are some distance away - any chance you can do a bit of day sailing/dinghy sailing (on someone else's small craft) nearby, just to refresh the old memories of how it goes? My summer sojourns in an old Flying Junior help to keep me encouraged about eventually getting a larger build project done.
Hope the March viewing was encouraging, cheers from west of the Rockies!
(04-08-2018, 06:43 AM)Dale Gamble Wrote: [ -> ]Hi neighbour! Just saw your intro and decided to reply and offer encouragement. Good on ya for taking on a partial build, and it sounds like its an excellent starting point. I did a similar thing many long years ago, but didn't have the sense to purchase a "kit" that was done well, so it became a total rebuild. It sounds like the places you want to sail are some distance away - any chance you can do a bit of day sailing/dinghy sailing (on someone else's small craft) nearby, just to refresh the old memories of how it goes? My summer sojourns in an old Flying Junior help to keep me encouraged about eventually getting a larger build project done.
Hope the March viewing was encouraging, cheers from west of the Rockies!
Thanks for the encouragement Dale. I saw the boat over Easter weekend in Chilliwack. It was holding water so had to be bailed out. The a tarp covering the cockpit was fairly weather worn and I suspect it was porous. I quickly assessed the boat and it looks fairly complete. Interior paint is peeling where the water has accumulated. Exterior has a number of areas where sanding and refinishing has to be done. It appears Barry was going to replace the steering wheel with a tiller, so that will have to be completed. Other than that I really have not had a chance for a thorough assessment. Most of the work I think will be refinishing interior and exterior since the boat has been sitting some time. I will be practicing fairly close to home before venturing out too far. Your advice about daysailing on someones boat as a refresher is a good one, and I may make some inquiries at the Edmonton Yacht Club. Overall I'm really excited to get the boat home.
I take it as a good sign that you had to bail it out - if it keeps water in, it'll keep water out! After my post above I found the photos and my first thoughts after seeing her was that she's a very nicely done boat, so I think you've got a fine place to start from.
If you haven't already read them, Al Stead's posts here about his experience building the first ever Autumn Leaves, plus his musings about his time sailing other craft could be both helpful and encouraging.
I hope you can make enough progress to get her afloat and flying this summer.
Cheers,
Dale
If you have Spirit Wind, you are way ahead of the game. She is a very fine boat, built by someone who knew what he was doing. I tried to acquire her myself, but I just couldn't make it come to pass. If I remember right, she was epoxy encapsulated, so she should be in reasonable condition vis a vis rot. You should learn a lot just by looking at how she was put together. Don't short changer her. It is easy to both sail and work on a weekender at the same time. I have been doing that for almost 8 years.
Weekenders are great little boats. Once they get in your bones, they will surprise you with the things they can do. Please do overnight on her. Nothing quiets the soul like water lapping at the hull while you drop off to sleep.
Al Stead
(04-13-2018, 12:29 AM)Dale Gamble Wrote: [ -> ]I take it as a good sign that you had to bail it out - if it keeps water in, it'll keep water out! After my post above I found the photos and my first thoughts after seeing her was that she's a very nicely done boat, so I think you've got a fine place to start from.
If you haven't already read them, Al Stead's posts here about his experience building the first ever Autumn Leaves, plus his musings about his time sailing other craft could be both helpful and encouraging.
I hope you can make enough progress to get her afloat and flying this summer.
Cheers,
Dale
Yes, I suppose if it holds water that's a good thing!
So Dale you have previously seen the boat? Did you meet Barry at that time? Before I decided to purchase Spirit Wind I read a number of posts by Barry which convinced me that buying his boat sight unseen was a good bet. Once I get the boat home I'll start a new thread with pictures of the work that needs to be done and probably asking for advice along the way.
(04-13-2018, 03:24 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]If you have Spirit Wind, you are way ahead of the game. She is a very fine boat, built by someone who knew what he was doing. I tried to acquire her myself, but I just couldn't make it come to pass. If I remember right, she was epoxy encapsulated, so she should be in reasonable condition vis a vis rot. You should learn a lot just by looking at how she was put together. Don't short changer her. It is easy to both sail and work on a weekender at the same time. I have been doing that for almost 8 years.
Weekenders are great little boats. Once they get in your bones, they will surprise you with the things they can do. Please do overnight on her. Nothing quiets the soul like water lapping at the hull while you drop off to sleep.
Al Stead
Thank you Al for the encouragement. While reading through the posts by Barry I often came across your posts. Your overnight experience in the Weekender were very encouraging to me and I hope to be able to do the same this summer. Once I get the boat home, I'll take pictures and post them because I'll be needing advice as to what to do next.
Also, I have been watching your build progress on CLC Autumn Leaves. I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks forward to your first sail reports. Thank you for sharing and documenting your build.
I hadn't actually seen Spirit Wind until you shared the photos, nor had I met Barry. I'm a newcomer to this forum, though have spent most of my life building, repairing, photographing and mucking about in boats and on the ocean. There's a certain "look" to a home-build that is telling of the care and skill of the builder, and to me it was evident that Barry had done a fine job.
I look forward to following your progress with her, and will chime in where and when it might seem helpful if that's useful.
(04-17-2018, 06:06 AM)Dale Gamble Wrote: [ -> ]I hadn't actually seen Spirit Wind until you shared the photos, nor had I met Barry. I'm a newcomer to this forum, though have spent most of my life building, repairing, photographing and mucking about in boats and on the ocean. There's a certain "look" to a home-build that is telling of the care and skill of the builder, and to me it was evident that Barry had done a fine job.
I look forward to following your progress with her, and will chime in where and when it might seem helpful if that's useful.
Thanks Dale. I've finally got the boat home and will have posted some pics on the builders forum. This is my first wooden boat, and it needs a little work to get it ship shape so I'll be asking lots of questions once I get a feel for what needs to be done.
Hey man. I just noticed your post here. I don't live in Edmonton, but I am often there on Thursdays. I live in Yellowknife but I work for an airline that has an overnight there wednesday night.
Once upon a time there were FIVE weekenders in Yellowknife! There are still two, including mine. I've had mine for quite some time now, 16 years.
I'd love to see Spirit Wind some time and maybe help get her ready (but only on Thursdays)
Let me know if this is something you'd like to do. I've sailed my boat every year and have gradually modified her, but she remains largely stock. I can certainly tell you what works for me.