19-foot Bartender launched!

[va7fro]

Just launched my 19-foot Bartender. Many more photos can be seen here if you are interested:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2107275593


-Don

[Bill7254]

Looks like lots of fun. Congratulations on your launch and on a good looking boat.

[bholderman]

What a great job especially on the build photos as a whole.

[Stari27]

Beautiful and well done. Enjoy! Thank you for sharing with us.

[SawmillBrook]

Great work, quality job.

The little helpers are obviously proud of their dad.

Thanks for posting pics.

Andrew

[Eric D]

Very nice.

does she handle like you dreamed?

Your kids sure look like good helpers.

ENJOY THEM and the boat!!

[JimD]

Nice job!

[Kim Whitmyre]

I covet your boat!

[va7fro]

Thanks for the complements guys! Here are a few specs for those who like numbers:

Building time: 850 hours over 2 years
Engine: 40 HP Merc 4-stroke EFI.
Top speed: 30 MPH.
Fuel consumption: Roughly 1 gal/hour (averaged over various speeds).

BTW, how do I insert photos like that?

Cheers,

Don

[Nanoose]

Very nice! Looks like you're in Beautiful BC too!

[Hal Forsen]

Sweet!

[Concordia...41]

Now that



is a right smart looking boat.

Great Job!

[MKane]

Awesome job on the boat, and very well documented in the photo album. You could almost tell it was two years based on the pictures of the kids. Nice job there too BTW.

MK

[Tar Devil]

Drooling!

[FSS172]

The smiles on the faces of your wife and kids say it all.... Congratulations, way to go, and many, many, happy days on the water to come.
Jim

[Hwyl]

Great looking boat. To post pictures click on the thing that looks like an envelope with a mountain on it. then insert the url from your pictures.

[bruceS]

Hi Don:

Great looking boat! Deep Cove and Cates Park? When did Vanouver switch from 13K to a BC number?

Bruce

[htom]

Sugar dancing on the water, almost as good looking as your family. Congratulations on both!

[Rob Stokes, N. Vancouver]

Gorgeous!

I recognized the Cove as well. Don - next time you go play around here let us know and we'll come watch (or play if we have another boat by then!)

Rob

[pipefitter]

Very Nice.

[rufustr]

Congratulations. Bewdyful job on a Luverly boat.
Fantastic album.
Good photos of the construction crew.

[Ocean Spray]

Great Job!!!

[va7fro]

Well spotted folks. That is indeed Cates park and Deep Cove. The other photos were taken in the gulf Islands. Sure is great living in BC!

Building this boat sure was a fun project, and the boat looks great and performs superbly.

Hal, from what I understand you are the former owner of Osprey. She's a sweet looking boat as well. I designed my raised deck and windshield arrangement based on pictures I saw of her.

Cheers,

Don

[Robmill0605]

Nice job, and a cool design.

[Wild Dingo]

Don

Shes a bloody ripper!! Well done to all involved



talk about shades of TS Simmons and his sea skiff... man that is sooooo friggin cool!! beautiful

[katiedobe]

Great Job on the build!!

I just re-read the article in woodenboat on the designer and the history. Great article if you get the chance. He was a prolific boatbuilder.

Catch lots of salmon!

[Steve Miller]

Don, love the boat and pictures! Saved a few since I like the color combination too. Did you use stock colors or have them mixed for you. Would love to get specifics on the colors for my next project. Steve (KG7PV)

[Bill Perkins]

Thanks for posting , I really enjoyed the photos . Great boat .

[ishmael]

Handsome boat. It just looks right. Good on you! I'm only mildly familiar with the design. Does it have v-berths under the deck?

Nah, second look. Not enough room, eh? IIRC it's got sorta fins off the ass end that allow it to plane while retaining the seakeeping of a dory? Tell us some more.

[Dave Fleming]

Jack, it's a Caulkins BARTENDER, 19 footer I believe.

Do a Google on Bartender and, you will find out all there is to know about'em.

One of our members is successor to George Caulkins. He bought the rights to build and sell plans for the several iterations of that design.
19 to 28 feet IRRC.

Bill Childs perhaps?????

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Beautiful job, great boat. Congratulations, and may you enjoy many happy times with your family aboard her.

[ishmael]

I'm aware of the form, peripherally. I was hoping to elicite the builder's response, how it fits, how it plays on the water.

Very handsome boat. Googling it, seeing the form, is limited. How does it work on the water? Why is it wrong to ask that?

[Dave Fleming]

Jack, WB Magazine ran a very informative article on the Bartender not too long ago.

Check the on-line index for particulars.

[ishmael]

Yes, I know that, sort of. What is the builder's experience of the boat driving it around?

No need to fight about it. It looks a sweet boat, how's it work? Like that. I know the form has been covered. I just wanted his experience.

I think we can agree that there is idea, and there is experience, eh?

[Ian McColgin]

Finastkind.

[va7fro]

Allright, since you asked, here are my first impressions of the boat on the water.

For starters, I have to re-learn how to drive a power boat. The BT is super responsive to driver input and handles like no other power-boat I have ever been in. The turning radius is very short. At slower speeds, it feels like the boat will turn 180 degrees in about a boat-length. The placement of the engine close to the pivot-point of the boat swings the stern around in a hurry and you can feel the back half of the boat sliding across the water when you really crank a turn. I am an avid white-water kayaker so the initial tenderness of the hull and its ability to slide the stern around a tight arc really felt familiar to me. This turning ability came in very handy when trying to get the knack of docking. This is also a skill I need to re-learn! The BT slides through the water so easily, and if an off-shore breeze catches the bow it makes docking quite interesting. I found I had to power the boat around until it was almost parallel to the dock, then swing the wheel over hard, shift it into reverse, and pull the stern in.

The BT 19 is very sensitive to load placement. I came to really appreciate Bill's sage advice to make sure your passengers don't move around in the boat too much. Moving from one side of the boat to the other can dramatially change your heading if you are not prepared for it.

The boat was initially not trimmed properly and most of the photos show the bow too high in the air. I have since moved some weight forward and trimmed the engine down a bit more. These changes brought the bow down and improved the high-speed stability considerably.

Now for some numbers. These are very rough measurements and I plan to take some more accurate data once I get the trim/balance sorted out.
Engine is 40 HP 4-stroke Merc EFI.
Prop was 10 inch dia x 13 inch pitch.
RPM at WOT was just under 6000 RPM.
Speed at 5500 RPM was approx. 50 Km/hour.
Fuel consumption (very rough measurement) was approx. 5 liters/hour.
Thats it for now...
Cheers,
Don

P.S. The deck paint was a stock marine enamel color from my local paint store. Topsides are white Petit 'EZpoxy' and the inside of the cockpit is a 2-part "industrial grey" epoxy-paint.

[videoguy]

That's one fine looking boat nice job!!!!