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What a terrible tragedy. So sorry, I can't even imagine. Thankful for your 22 good years together.
-Chris

A small step, cutting the frames, but it feels significant to take the first step! I remember doing the same for my 19' Chebacco back in 2018 and, a little over 3 years later, it was a real boat! ...

Alright, well, I'm convinced. It'll fix the design problem of the central mast step. It'll give more overall sail area. It might give more forward visibility. I'll have to step the masts through the...

It does?........ I'm stunned, Dave. I saw you post last night, but the jarring effect of seeing those two sails side by side reverberated through my entire body, rendering me unable to respond. It...

This makes sense. Rather than just planks for the crossmembers, I was going to use some kind of I beam or box beam. Here is one from a Wharram 26 blog. Some scaled-down version of this.
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If...

I’d like to get by with only 2 crossmembers to save weight, if I can make it work. That means the mast step will have to be rigid enough on a single crossmember to hold the unstayed mast.- Dave has...

The sail for Splinter looks the same as the sail for the river pram. I have one! It’s an unstayed balanced lug, about 40 square feet. I looked for similarly-sized catamarans and saw a 14’ Wharram has...

I thought about buying a Hobie cat if it would fit on top of my minivan, which would be a blast. But even funner would be making my own catamaran. Could I make one out of two Splinters? Two...

My building plans for Splinter, the Dave Gentry skin-on-frame outrigger canoe, have sat in my drawer for a few years. I always thought it would be a fun boat for 1 person to sail, but I wanted a...

Thanks! Just PMd you.

This is very interesting! Do you have any more info on how you built your bailer package? What was your capsize experience like with it?

I've been thinking about this. The bow is a tough spot for a buoyancy tank because of the mast and the space needed for raising. It could be divided in half fore-and-aft and sealed, I suppose, but...

Dave, this is a beautiful solution. Is that an off-the-shelf tent shell or is that your own creation?

The vision for this boat was to be able to explore anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay or the sounds of North Carolina, so I have some projects to work on this winter. I'll list them so far:
1) Flotation...

There was one day that was just about perfect. October, maybe? My buddy Andy came and we went out for a warm afternoon. This was the only time sailing with no kids and it made such a difference in my...

Alright, I'll add some ties to the mast and see if I can sort out the sail shape as you guys suggest. I appreciate your wisdom!

I don't think my rudder would stand up to that (being stood upon). Maybe if I had a beefier rudder design?

Another day we brought everyone! Well, our oldest couldn't come, I forget why, but the rest of us went out on a day windy enough to reef. That was a good test and it went well. The boat stayed dry...

I still haven't attached any mast hoops along the sails luff. Are they really necessary?
Anyway, we've had it out on the ICW a handful of times since that launch in August. Once I just took my 2...

I had to make lots of changes after the lessons learned from that first sail. I had to sort out the sail shape. I rigged it again in the driveway and you can see that diagonal crease. I tensioned...

Josh rowed us out of the channel. Look at us, what a mess! My son Isaac came (under the sail), and also Josh's son Jacob (standing). We had rain showers that day and by the time we got out there and...

This is the August launch day, testing for leaks and getting the whole family on board. A buddy of mine came with his family too. I needed them, thanks Josh! The sails clearly need sorting out but I...

Thanks Steve, it's a lot better now. I noticed a big difference in September, when sitting in a chair became possible. Sleeping got back to normal too, praise the Lord.

We towed it out of the neighborhood in August, south toward the North Landing River. It's part of the ICW and has a nice ramp.

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The lights on my trailer didn't work. I saw a video starring Geoff Kerr demonstrating trailer lights that come off at the ramp so you don't dunk them in the water. I made a version. They attach with...

In February, I hurt my back somehow. Maybe it was at the gym. Maybe it was in my garage carrying the mast around? Anyway, I herniated a disk and was really suffering for a few months. It was a common...

I cut out the transom to see if I could turn that part into a swim ladder.
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Here it is with the ladder up and down. It's now held up with 2 lines, so it doesn't lower all the way and run into...

Jamie, thanks for sharing this experience. In light of this, do you guys think it would be worth raising a mast-float device like Hobie Cats sometimes have? It seems like, for this boat, keeping the...

I'm with Tom regarding the motor. That said, when rowing my chebacco (using 2 oars), it takes me a LONG time to get there, so I have to plan for that.

Bruce, here's a question on another topic, I...

My 19' boat has a flat bottom so we fitted a pressure-treated plank to this old galvanized trailer. Later, I fitted wooden framing on the trailer cross pieces to keep the boat upright, like a...

This is just brilliant and I'm going to use it next time.

Well I just finished the dishes and I was thinking this over... The triangular rudder box is hollow, as I mentioned, so it has drain holes in the two compartments formed by the square hole. You can...

As for reefing, I've only been out daysailing a few times now and only one time with a single reef. I don't have good pictures of my boom fittings but they're just wooden cleats, one for the tack and...

It's hard to see but the rudder shaft is just an aluminum pipe to the plan's dimensions. I just bolted it to some straps on the tiller. So far, so good.
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If your rudder was built to the...

I made mine hollow out of plywood, like in the plans.
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Yours looks different. Is it metal?

Very nice! What kind of canvas did you select? Is it coated?

I made mine from Harry Bryan's article in WB, NovDec 2012 issue, called "When the Wind Fails." He uses a 10' 5" 2-piece ash version on his sloop, Katie, similar in proportions to Chebacco. He bends...

Finally! I've been waiting for this thread. Boat looks great, Bruce! I'll be fitting out my Chebacco this winter too - when I finish building it...

Mike, I definitely get it. And, I personally think the Seagull was the right choice!

Dude, that looks amazing! Maybe if I re-design the whole rig with stays and a less-peaked mainsail it would make sense. I'm more likely to add a spinnaker to my boat's rig. You definitely inspired...

Thanks Kevin! From what I've been told, the Jonesport cleat works just like a regular anchor cleat. The pin is just to hold the rode in the fore-aft channel. I'm not sure if I have to even use the...

I was looking through my pictures from the past year to see if I should post any others and came across this gem. Am I the only one who had a preposterous daydream about a topsail on a way too small...

Dave - thanks for sharing your experience. I might be in a similar situation. I'll have to see how things work in practice.

I have to spend some time sanding and finishing some other details before finally painting. I also have to figure out where the cleats and other rigging bits should go. Then I really need to get to...

Thanks! It amazes me that you can do that with a 7000# boat. There was a recent discussion of Chebacco's weight on this forum. I'm guessing mine to be 1200# empty? Jamie Orr reports rowing 1 or 2...

I think this is what the Jonesport cleat should look like. I installed this galvanized carriage bolt to keep the anchor line from jumping out of the channel. ...

I decided to attach the rubbing strip and toe rail in the more traditional position, not raised like the Long Steps pictured in a previous post. I don’t know why - just liked it better. The ash trim...

I finally got her out of the garage on the trailer. You can see I painted the cockpit white. This is the first full view of the transom since I flipped the hull. How long ago was that? Good grief....

I recently re-read Penelope Down East and got re-inspired for engineless sailing. I couldn’t think of how to stow the long oars required for a boat with a 7 ½ ‘ beam, but I saw Harry Bryan’s plans in...

I made and installed the mizzen mast step based on the plans. I learned that cutting circular holes with a jigsaw is not easy when the holes are small. ...