A
Long
Time
Comin
(or building a Caravelle)
Building a Wooden Epoxy
Plywood Sailboat With Pictures
I
have always wanted a sailboat, well, at least since I was about 12
years old. You see, I was in the Sea Scouts in Ireland when I was growing up
and fell in love with sailing. We
sailed Mirror Dinghies and paddled canoes and since canoes seemed like too much
work well you get my point.
Until recently I
was not in an area that lent itself to sail boats very well. Arizona, even
though it has a few lakes, has way to many power boats and jet skis for a small
sail boat to feel comfortable on the water. Nebraska, to me, had even less
water available. After a year out of the country ( I did a remote tour
in Korea) I had the opportunity to live on (or really near)
the ocean. Well, the Gulf Coast at least. So 22
years later I get the hankering for a boat. We looked for a suitable boat for
the family and had trouble finding one in our price range that was seaworthy.
There were some really shabby boats for sale in the $1000 price range, but I
wouldnt trust a 30 year old
fiberglass boat that was in the condition these were in.
I happened to be
browsing the web one day and came across a site that promoted building a boat
yourself. What a great concept, build a boat, a new one at that, and know how
and what the boat was built of. So we started looking at different boats that
fit our budget and were suitable for the whole family of 5,
our dog, and our gear. After scouring the web looking at different site and
designs, I found a boat that was so similar to the little Mirror Dinghy I
sailed years ago. It is a 14 boat,
but it holds a boat-load of weight. It is the CV16 Caravelle from bateau.com.
Its big, roomy,
and has beautiful lines. So after a few questions on the boat builders forum.
I decided to purchase the plans and build the boat.
The following is
an account of
the building process and the triumphs and pitfalls that I endured. These stitch
and glue boats are quite easy to make and can be made from standard plywood and
other materials found at you local or favorite hardware store. There are a few
items such as the pintels and gudgeons and maybe some running rigging that you
may want to use a sailing specialty store for, but it is not required. You can
use brass or stainless hinges for the rudder, and regular pulleys for the
tackle. Youll save only a few bucks and get no where near the performance of
proper sailing tackle though. To each his own. I had planned on trying to save
a few bucks, but since my project went over my budget anyway, Im going to
prolong the launch and buy the proper gear.
Here are the assembly
instructions as I built the boat. They may or may not be as per plans. :)
I also have
assembled a page on things I
have learned during this process.
Its a good read.
Amature Boat Building
Pictures
Some of you were
interested in my deck framing.
I'll give you fair warning, it looks like a 4 year old did it! Where the bow
frame came through the deck, I had to chisel out a chunk of the deck frame. If
you decide to add deck framing, you might consider offseting the mid deck
stringer to one side. I'm not finished with the deck varnish finish yet, it
still needs a major power wet sand and a few finish coats of varnish. Then it
will be dimple free.
I spliced my rubrail.
You will notice there is about a 1/8" gap filled with thickened epoxy in
the joints.
We took the boat
out for a few test runs with an electric motor. She handled well without the
skeg installed but was a little wide in her turns. I have since installed a
skeg, but have sold the trolling motor along with the old plastic bass boat to
further finance the project. Here are a few pictures of
the unfinished boat on the water.
I recently
finished most of the painting. Here are
a few pictures of the nearly finished
boat.
We took the boat
out this weekend (Mothers Day 2002) and she looks great sitting on the water .
Another outing, this
time at a BBQ we had for a going away. I took a few people out for a spin. That
Caravelle holds a boat load and then
some!
I am still not
finished with the boat yet. I need to get my pintels and gudgeons for the rudder
assembley, and the through bolt for the rudder and centerboard. Then I need to
finish my mast, it's about half way built. I'll
get pictures of it soon. I am building, for now, polytarp sails, until I can
afford some dacron. Then it will be a true sailing vessel.
Planning a camping/cruise trip
up either the Yellow River or Blackwater River this June/July.
Here is a log of our cruises
(actual expedition type outings, not going to the beach kind of thing).