Taihoa launch woodenboat net nz

Mark Siddle, in Australia's Northern NSW , and living near some wonderful cruising grounds in a near tropical climate wanted a trailable but capable cruiser and has just sent me a stack of photos and a letter telling me of his progress in building his Penguin 6.4m Trailer yacht, one of my designs and intended very much for the sort of cruising and exploring that I intended her for.
Extracts from Marks letter and my comments follow.
“Dear John, Its taken me some time to write this letter, I’d hoped send some photos earlier but it was almost impossible to gert a reasonable photo until I pulled the boat partway out of the shed.”
I’ve never seen a home boatbuilders shed that had any room to spare, I have a 12 metre x 7 metre shed and am currently building an addition to house the engine and wood stocks for the next project.
“I’ve had 5 or 6 boats ranging from a 22 ft Van Der Stadt Juno and a 22ft Southerner to a 38ft carvel built boat and an Adams 35. We are building this boat mostly for economic reasons and the ability to bring her home easily instead of spending money on moorings and marinas as well as the problem of security.
Roominess inside is incredible, I’ve been on 26 footers recently with no more room. With the hatch shut I can JUST stand up under the after end of the hatch, I’m about 5 ft 9in or 5ft 10 in tall .”
I had tried for just that, there is a temptation to make the boat just a little taller so that she will have headroom everywhere but if there is comfortable moving about space plus a place to stand up and pull your trousers on then that, in a 22 ft boat, is pretty good going.
“It’s been a enjoyable project – we should be sailing by Christmas. All I have to do is glass the deck and topsides, pull her out of the shed , roll her over and glass again. Then fit the keel and deadwood -----“
A bigger job than it first looks Mark, get the Barbie going and ask a few friends around one fine weekend.
“This is the first timber boat I’ve built but as the building progressed I was amazed at the strength and rigidity of the plywood when tied to the bulkheads and internal fittings.”
If anything Mark, she is rather stronger than is needed , but I made allowances for banging into an unseen something in the middle of the night.
“The fitting out was so easy as all the major work was done whilst building the bulkheads is was just a matter of “ filling in . If I were to do it again the only thing I would do differently is not to slot the stringers into the transom or into the stem but wait until the stringers are presented to them to work the angles better.”
There is now a note to that effect in the building guide, thanks for the tip.
“I’ve already “sailed” a few hundred miles in the shed at the end of the day with a beer and a friend and lots of imagination. The reality should come this Christmas.”
To answer your questions, it is 2 &Mac184; years since I started and it will be three years when it’s in the water. For one of those years I was working full time . But I always try and do something every day just to keep it moving. The biggest time waster is waiting for the glue to dry.”
The building time varies wildly from one builder to another, a professional will fly through the project under the pressure of earning a living and with the skills of long experience. The most important thing is to enjoy the process.
“Making the lead ballast ( a casting that from memory weighs in at about 1000 lbs, she should be as stable as a brick church, JW) was a saga in itself. I got hold of a small diesel burner from a commercial boiler and we melted maybe half a ton of lead in about 15 minutes – but couldn’t properly control it. In the end had to let the lot go which floated the center of the mould.
Second time around much more sedate and very successful. Did you know you can use silicone sealant to seal the edges of the mould? Molten lead doesn’t hurt it! Something new to learn every day.
(We live in) Couraki by the way is on the Richmond River in Northern New South Wales, an hour down to the Clarence River and one and a half hours to the Gold Coast and Stradbrooke Islands. About 4 &Mac184; hours to Hervey Bay and ( The largest sand dune island in the world and a wonderful place to cruise ) Frazer Island.
Lots of opportunity for short coastal trips and reasonably sheltered inshore sailing.
( Stradbrooke Islands lead into Moreton Bay and eventually into the Brisbane River )
(I have flown over that area a number of times and really envy you the wonderful scenic cruising in what must be one of the best climates ever for cruising small boats. Will you get up the coast as far as the Whitsunday Islands? JW)
I enjoy hearing about how a project has gone, it gives me an opportunity to see how the often very complex structures that I have envisaged then translated onto paper have converted into reality, and the enthusiasm of the builders is a real inspiration.
I’m driving through Couraki in ealy November and will be twisting my families arm to call on Mark for a “quick” cup. I am really looking forward to what will be a nearly complete and very nicely done little cruiser.
Thanks Mark, Until November.
John

PENGUINS CAN BE TROPICAL BIRDS TOO