Wayne builds Featherwind (pics)

[Wayne Jeffers]

Just to prove I haven't been entirely idle on the boatbuilding front, I just today moved the hull of my newest creation out of my shop:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid31/p1aeac24e53bf28f3016243b963139a54/fd4c673a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid31/p95526f689ebbf647417822a5242e9a31/fd4c6738.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid31/p6bf34037fc662aea17e57398c4a4cd70/fd4c6732.jpg

It's a Phil Bolger Featherwind, as modified by Dave Carnell, with further modifications by yours truly.

I added bulkheads and decks with kayak-type hatches for flotation/self-rescue, an option Dave suggested. I substituted a Windsprint daggerboard and case in lieu of the leeboard. I wasn't too fussy on the finish: raw linseed oil, followed by oil-based primer, followed by latex, satin white for the hull, "captivating cream" in satin for the interior and deck, "claret wine" in satin for the rubrails and hatch coamings.

Still to finish: a birdsmouth mast, mast step and partner, and a Windsprint lug sail made of white polytarp. I expect to try different sail plans, and I figured this would be a good platform for experimenting.

Wayne

[Scott Rosen]

Sweet. She looks very, very good. I'd be interested to know how the latex paint holds up after a season's use.

[Wiley Baggins]

Very nice. In looking at the photos, it appears that you painted the boat to match the cat...at least I hope that's the case! ;)

[Ed Harrow]

Nice looker Wayne (the boat). As for the cat, Finbar could teach it how to pose for its picture, LOL.

[jeff pierce]

Very nicely done. She's got nice lines and a clean look.

-Jeff

[Lowell Bernhardt]

:D

[Mr. Know It All]

Great job Wayne. When you gonna bring her north to Lake Erie for a real try out? :D
Peace---> Kevin in Ohio

[paladin]

well...maybe half done.....there's just as much work above decks as in the hull.......nice job..
downright purty....

[Wayne Jeffers]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

Scott -- I'll be interested, too, in seeing how the paint holds up. I have a rowing skiff that I painted with hardware store (ServiStar) brand paint in '93 and it's holding up well. 'Course, it spends most of its time under cover.

Wiley -- I lifted the paint scheme from a beautiful tender I saw in St. Michaels, MD, a couple of years ago. It's just a coincidence that the cat sports the same colors. (He's actually part Siamese, except the parts that should be dark are yellow and white tabby. And he has a twin brother.)

Ed -- No hope of the cat posing. Heck, he'll only let me pet him occasionally. He likes my dog much better than he likes me. I'm mainly a source of food.

Mr. K.I.A. -- No way I'm gonna bring this to the big lake. I've got a Comet and when I finish getting it restored, I'll bring it up. And of course that trailerable cruiser, when I get it built.

Chuck -- A little better than half, I figure. I've got the blades done except for final painting. The mast is unstayed, so rigging is simpler than might otherwise be the case.

Wayne

[John of Phoenix]

Very nicely done, Wayne. A great paint scheme, indeed. Your "Captivating Cream" is "Charleston Belle" on my boat. I'd love to meet some of the people who think up names for paint colors. Must be creative folks.

[Bruce Taylor]

Nice work, Wayne! I really like the hatches. The side-mounted daggerboard is interesting, too (I assume the board won't lift clear on a port tack?). Did you do it this way just to keep the sole clear, or was there some other reason?

What kind of rig do you have in mind? And where does Wayne sit when he sails this cutey?

***
Oops...I see you've already described the rig. The trouble with white polytarp sails is...they work so well that you get used to them. I meant to have some proper sails made this year, but I've been having too much fun with with the polytarp. Fortunately, the carpet tape is starting to come undone in a few places; so I finally have an incentive to upgrade. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be sailing under groundsheets for years to come.

[ 09-08-2002, 09:20 PM: Message edited by: Bruce Taylor ]

[Wayne Jeffers]

JohnT – Regarding the paint – I was looking for a "cream" color and made the mistake of stopping by the Sherwin Williams store. Way too many choices on the color chips in their racks. I found this one with "cream" in the name, and thought, "Yeah, that'll do." :rolleyes: The "Claret Wine" was a half-pint can from a discount store. I suppose calling them "cream" and "burgundy" would have been too bland. smile.gif

Bruce – The daggerboard is in lieu of a single pivoting board drawn on one side of the hull in Dave's plans, rather than true leeboards both sides, so I trust the single four-foot long dagger near the same spot will work okay. I built the case this way to keep the sole clear and to avoid the need for a thwart for bracing a trunk on the centerline. This approach seems to work well with Windsprint, so I hope it will work for me, too.

Where Michelle and I will sit is a problem I haven't entirely worked out yet. I expect that in any appreciable breeze, we'll have to be on the rail to keep her upright. I thought about building side benches, but with the narrow hull, I feared they would not place our weight outboard enough. Maybe I'll end up adding wide side decks for comfort.

Wayne

[Alan D. Hyde]

Looks great, Wayne.

The wide side decks would add to comfort, and could add appreciable strength to the hull.

Boy, do I hate hitting stuff with a daggerboard, though. Probably you and Michelle will be more cautious and alert about hitting things than I was at age 18 or so, however. And, it does make things simpler...

Alan

[Ed Harrow]

Originally posted by Alan D. Hyde:
...Boy, do I hate hitting stuff with a daggerboard, ...AlanROTFLMO (DAMHIKT)

[Wayne Jeffers]

Alan,

I thought about the risks of a daggerboard before deciding to make the alteration. All the places I am likely to be sailing are artificial reservoirs with mostly steep banks, deep water, and a clean bottom, except at the head of the lake. Minimal risk of surprises, I hope. I only plan to use it seriously for a year or two, anyway, until I can do a first-class job restoring the Comet.

Wayne

[TgSoe]

Hi Wayne I am currently building that same boat. My thoughts were to put a daggerboard in the center of the boat and bring it up through an added seat in the middle of the boat for strenth. Did you construct that sleeve out of plywood? I thought about having one made out of stainless steel that would mount on the bottom of the boat with about a 6x14 base with a 12 x 5/8 sleeve for the daggerboard to slide into. Then have another collar the same size as the base to slip over the sleeve from the top and sandwich the hull of the boat between it.I like the daggerboard idea. Do you are anyone else see why my idea is not a good one? Thats a beautiful boat by the way. What kind of rig are you planing on using?

[ 09-09-2002, 08:39 PM: Message edited by: TGsoe ]

[Wayne Jeffers]

Randall,

The dagerboard case is made from plywood, with solid wood nailing/gluing strips. Three-quarter-inch fore & aft, quarter-inch on the inside wall, the hull side forms the outer wall of the case. I copied it from the Bolger Windsptint in Payson's "Build the New Instant Boats."

By all accounts this works well in the Windsprint, so I thought I would try it in my boat. I chose not to put the trunk on the centerline because I wanted to keep the sole clear and I wanted to keep the hull light. I'm hoping that hauling it in the back of my pickup will be possible, so I can avoid needing another trailer.

You may note that I also eliminated the middle frame. I laminated the gunwales and that seems to make it stiff enough without the frame.

The initial rig will be the lugsail from Windsprint, made of polytarp. I expect to try other rigs, as well. I'll probably go for a spritsail next.

Wayne

[John Bell]

I had a Windsprint with the same daggerboard arrangement. The assymetry was was not apparent when sailing. The root could be lifted out of the water when sailing, but if the boat was heeling that far it is time to ease off on the sheet beacuse it was very close to capsizing at that sharp an angle of heel. The advantage of such a layout is is the way it frees up space in the best part of the boat. If I were to build another WS, I'd go with the same setup it worked so well.

I'll bet that boat will be a blast with the WS rig, probably a better boat than a WS. Are you planning to use the "dart" method for your polytarp sail?

JB

[Wayne Jeffers]

JB,

A favorable comment you posted a long time ago about the Windsprint daggerboard gave me the confidence to try it on this boat. :cool:

I sometimes wonder whether the Windsprint lug will be too much sail for it, but the winds around here are usually pretty light, so . . .

Dart method, yes. Jim Michilak had an article on his site a couple of years ago on building just this sail in polytarp, and I printed it out for future reference. One innovation I'm going to try myself: I finally found some white poly webbing intended for re-doing the old fashioned lawn chairs. I intend to use it to reinforce the luff of the sail. We'll see how that works.

Wayne

[Dave Carnell]

Nice to see it. A plywood box is the best seat for rowing. Sitting on boat cushions on the bottom is most comfortable sailing. She sails flat on her bottom, so you won't be hiking out much.

Robb White has written about pivoting daggerboards in Nessing About in Boats, though I haven't figured out his scheme.

The KISS system of a former boss works great (Keep it simple, stupid).

[TgSoe]

Hi Wayne this is Randall. I was just wondering,I am building that same exact sailboat and currently have completed putting the bottom in it. I noticed that you boxed in the ends of yours and I was just wondering if you used 1/4 " plywood for the top and what did you use for framing?

[Wayne Jeffers]

Dave,

I'm glad you approve!

I haven't decided yet whether I will use oars or paddles. I have a couple of canoe paddles that will stow out of the way under the forward deck, so that will probably be what I try first. I'm glad to hear that she usually sails flat enough to sit on boat cushions on the sole.

There was an article in WB a while back with the Robb White pivoting daggerboard and I seriously considered trying it. However, my own propensity for the KISS method won out and I decided to avoid the added complexity.

Randall,

Yes, I used 1/4" plywood for bulkheads and decks. Bulkheads were fastened to the frames at (I think) stations 6 and 14. I built the decks with a little crown in the middle, about 2" IIRC. I cut deck beams from nominal 1" pine boards and spaced them about every 16". I tested the decks by getting on them with my 200+ pounds while the boat was on the shop floor, and they seem to be plenty strong.

I hope you'll post pictures of your project. When we both finish, maybe we can get together for a regatta. ;)

Wayne

[Dennis Marshall]

Wayne, I built to the same design last year and can attest to the fact that you will not have to hike out on the gunn'l while sailing. I have had my FW in breezes of 25mph with little trouble and she is both fast and responsive! :cool:

I will, however, mention that in that same breeze on a run, the mast decided to give way, where what I thought was a superficial knot, proved otherwise. Prior to that point, I bet I could have hauled a skier I was flying so fast! tongue.gif

Enjoy the boat!

Dennis

[Roger Stouff]

Very cool, Wayne...looking great.

[TgSoe]

Hey wayne, did you put some type of foam under the cowling on your boat?

[Wayne Jeffers]

Randall,

I used no foam. You'll get debates on this forum on the merits of foam, but I don't trust it not to soak up water (even closed-cell foam) and I don't think it's necessary in a boat like this.

The bulkheads and deck are watertight, so they make generous air pockets. Generous enough, I think, to float her high enough that I should be able to right her with but little water aboard. I will use foam weatherstrip around the lip of the hatches, although I think the hatches will float clear of the water anyway in a knockdown.

Without foam, the entire space under the decks is available for dry storage while sailing.

Wayne

[TgSoe]

Thanks Wayne, I cut out spars for the front last night with a 2" crown in it. Its a little more time consuming with no plan to work with on that part of it but I got through it.