BYYB Forums

Hello, I havent been on in a while, or worked on the boat for that matter.
However, I now have a deadline to finish the boat. I work well with deadlines. :-)
My wife is graduating nursing school on May 4th and there is a big party at a friends lake house that weekend. I want to have the bat done by then. Here are some progress shots.


Here is the Angel Of Abundance figure head.



Here is my youngest deckhand testing out the helm...


...and the hatches.


This is the first mast stepping... I have gone back and tapered it some more after this. You can also see the motor and rudder mounted.

I'm working on the trail boards now, then the boom, then the rigging, then the sails. I'm pretty sure I can meet the deadline.

Beautiful!!!

Peace,
Roland

Way to go Kevin! She is looking grand indeed.

welcome back. She's looking graet! Love the figurehead!!

oh, duh, most importantly... I got the inspection and registration done also, so she's a real boat now. I didn't want to get the boat finished and then have paperwork standing in my way.

Awsome Job Kevin, She's looking great, it Must be nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Brian.

WOW outstanding work Kevin, the figurehead is real classy. Now hurry and get her in the water. I'm interested to hear how your steering systems works, compared to Ginny Rae.

Greg
The other binnacle equipped Vacationer

Jeez Kevin, are you still at it!:wink: I think I started my Vac. a little before you. Keep going, it's worth it. I've had mine moored for the last three seasons. She's a good sturdy boat, and a better sailor than me. (that's not saying much, tho) She's toughed it out thru some hellacious storms, some pounding her non-stop for three days straight. Didn't faze her a bit. I'm confident you'll make your deadline. BTW, for those who haven't seen it yet, you gotta post a pic of that awesome celtic design on your wheel.

Yep, I'm quite the procrastinator. :-)
I had to make some mods to my wheel. When I initially made it I hade the shaft channel and key slot just cut out of the wood and it got eaten away fairly quickly. I found a GREAT solution though and will put that option in the plans as well. I was strolling through thte local obscure hardware store that seems to have everything youd never think of and found a 4" pulley for saws and such that had a 3/4" shaft with a key slot.
I took my agle grider to it and cut off the side of the pulley I did not need which left a 4" flat round piece with the shaft tunnel in tact. I screwed the round plate to the back of the wheel with some epoxy for some extra help and now it slides on great, fits the key slot and has an extra set screw for added UMMPH.

In this original pic you can see that the shaft bolt is visible, with the addition of the pulley mod the screw is far enough inthe wheel that I had room to hide it with some sort of cover. I put a piece of treasure in as a cover plate. I will post a picture of it later today when I can get out there with the camera. The wheel is great now, strong and no slack in the response.
I'm also working on a retractable boom crutch that will mount to the binnacle and extend upward and lock when the crutch is needed and down and out of the way when it is not. Here is the mock-up, down position and up position.

Ahoy Kevin,

What a surprise came my way as I looked over the BYYB site! Here was Kevin's boat, and what a fine boat she is! That figurehead is in a class all of its own, and your binnacle is enough to make any barnacle wish he had done the same! Now, you are even considering a retractable boom crutch! What a great idea!

It may have taken a few years to build, but the children are still small. What an adventure lies over the horizon for you, for them, for anyone and everyone who sees her sails unfurl.

Let us know how she sails! What do the kids think?