Okay, a couple of things.
Maybe I just didn't see it, but where are the oar locks? For sure you are going to want some. If you are like me, you will want some suspenders to go with that belt in the form of a motor and attendant mount.
I doubt that there is a more skilled weekender sailor on the water than Kieth. Get him to sail with you when you can. I let Bill Paxton sail my boat, which let me sit back and watch and feel the boat without being in charge of it. You can see a lot that you might not see while in the thick of things. Boy, I'd sure do it if I could.
Al
Hi Al. I have no oar locks. Would you be able to recommend a particular type or brand? Spirit Wind came with two motor mounts and a 4 hp 2 cycle motor. I will upload a photo of each mount. I am not sure which one would work best. Perhaps you would be able to recommend one or the other. It will take me a couple of days to post the images because of my work schedule. I will also post an image of the rudder and rudder box. I am looking forward to having Keith have a close up look at Spirit Wind and provide some guidance for rigging the sails and any other things I'll need to do before she launches.
I'm finding this thread so helpful. Thanks for the back and forth - hoping to learn from answers to these questions.
Rowing can be a very personal issue, depending on the shape of the boat as well as the shape of the rower. For example, I built my coamings higher and longer than the plans call for, so my placement of the oar locks are way different than what a normal weekender would call for. I also made my own oars out of a 2 X 4 and some scrap plywood. When I did that, I cut the shafts a full 8 ft. so that I could cut them down if need be. I sit in the companion way on the box with lots of padding packed in there. Keep your elbows up. If you do the same, you can sit there and while on the trailer pretend to row to get the placement right.
As far as brands of equipment goes, I can't help you other than to say this is a highly stressed part of the boat. Make it as sturdy as you can. Also remember that oars are also brakes as well as engines. For that reason I made my blades wider than normal on the second set I made. This is not rocket surgery. Try different things until you are satisfied.
Al
(07-19-2018, 03:01 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]Rowing can be a very personal issue, depending on the shape of the boat as well as the shape of the rower. For example, I built my coamings higher and longer than the plans call for, so my placement of the oar locks are way different than what a normal weekender would call for. I also made my own oars out of a 2 X 4 and some scrap plywood. When I did that, I cut the shafts a full 8 ft. so that I could cut them down if need be. I sit in the companion way on the box with lots of padding packed in there. Keep your elbows up. If you do the same, you can sit there and while on the trailer pretend to row to get the placement right.
As far as brands of equipment goes, I can't help you other than to say this is a highly stressed part of the boat. Make it as sturdy as you can. Also remember that oars are also brakes as well as engines. For that reason I made my blades wider than normal on the second set I made. This is not rocket surgery. Try different things until you are satisfied.
Al
Thanks Al. I guess it will be trial and error on oar locks, oar length and placement. Everyone is a different size and shape.
Tom
I am back from my vacation and will start finishing Spiritwind. My next job is to attach the rudder to the transom. Barry had gotten as far as installing eye bolts in the transom and the rudder box. I do not have the original plans for the Weekender, but I the box of extras that cam with the boat there are plans for the Vacationer.
Is it a simple matter of running bolts and washers through the eye bolts? Would I use one long threaded bolt to go through both the top and bottom eyebolt connections?
Hi Tom,
I would seriously consider replacing that setup with actual gudgeons and pintles. There is a store in Edmonton called "boatworks" and I've seen a nice set there. I've never seen the eyebolt arrangement first-hand but it seems a bit crude to me.
Duckworks sells a set of gudgeons that is specifically made for the Weekender. I use them on both Duckie and the yawl. Well worth the bucks. You can stuff the holes that are in the transom with dowels and goo plugs easy enough and start over.
Al
So, Tom and I met up in Edmonton and I saw "Spirit wind" for the first time. What a nice boat! The carpentry is superb, and Tom showed me the areas that he fixed due to water damage from her period in storage, but you can't tell by looking at her that she isn't brand-new.
It's funny seeing another "Weekender" because they're relatively rare, so when I see another one, it gives me this slightly trippy feeling like elves came and painted my boat a different colour while I was asleep. Barry had some really great ideas when it came to the design of the cockpit area- where mine is narrow and I have to watch where I put my feet so they don't get jammed in the back of the foot-well, the helm position in Spirit Wind is nice and open with lots of room for spare ropes, maybe a cooler, and size-twelve feet. Really cool. I do like the tiller too, it looks cool and is a more conventional way to go, plus you can sit wherever you want and still reach it. I like my wheel, but I would have done a tiller if I were to start from scratch.
She looks like a brand-new boat, and is days away, at most, from being ready to sail.
Having seen how close she is to being ready to sail, I now recommend keeping the eye-bolt rudder arrangement for now. Especially with a tiller, it ought to work just fine and can be changed later, like in the winter or something.
Anyway it's the nicest Weekender I've ever seen, crisp and new and unblemished, practically brand-new. She should inspire some nice dreams of sailing in her owner's mind during winters to come.
[
attachment=1765]
[attachment=1764 Wrote:Keith Shergold pid='27996' dateline='1532487180'][attachment=1764][attachment=1764][attachment=1764]So, Tom and I met up in Edmonton and I saw "Spirit wind" for the first time. What a nice boat! The carpentry is superb, and Tom showed me the areas that he fixed due to water damage from her period in storage, but you can't tell by looking at her that she isn't brand-new.
It's funny seeing another "Weekender" because they're relatively rare, so when I see another one, it gives me this slightly trippy feeling like elves came and painted my boat a different colour while I was asleep. Barry had some really great ideas when it came to the design of the cockpit area- where mine is narrow and I have to watch where I put my feet so they don't get jammed in the back of the foot-well, the helm position in Spirit Wind is nice and open with lots of room for spare ropes, maybe a cooler, and size-twelve feet. Really cool. I do like the tiller too, it looks cool and is a more conventional way to go, plus you can sit wherever you want and still reach it. I like my wheel, but I would have done a tiller if I were to start from scratch.
She looks like a brand-new boat, and is days away, at most, from being ready to sail.
Having seen how close she is to being ready to sail, I now recommend keeping the eye-bolt rudder arrangement for now. Especially with a tiller, it ought to work just fine and can be changed later, like in the winter or something.
Anyway it's the nicest Weekender I've ever seen, crisp and new and unblemished, practically brand-new. She should inspire some nice dreams of sailing in her owner's mind during winters to come.
It's been a while since I've been able to work on Spirit Wind but Keith who has been to Edmonton a couple of times has been a real help. Here's a couple of pictures of the hardware I'll use to attach the rudder. This test fit worked perfect and Sunday I'll have the rudder box installed with the rudder. Just as you thought Keith the tiller handle just clears the back rail and works nicely. Once the the steering system is installed it's a matter of rigging the sails and then getting Spirit Wind into the water.
Next time your in Edmonton Keith, if you have time we can get her rigged!
Here's a picture of the test fit of the rudder box...
Oh, and I was able to get the 4HP Sailmaster 2 stroke running. Puts out a lot of white smoke, but the longer I run her the less smoke there is. Great for keeping the mosquitoes at bay.