I took Little Gem to Lake Guntersville for my first overnight on the boat with the new bimini and sleeping platform. I also went on this weekend to attend the Glen-L Gathering for another chance to see many beautiful homebuilt boats. Unfortunately, there were not Glen-L sailboats but I did get an eyefull of beautiful powerboats and did get the chance to sail with a Stevenson Vacationer and Pocket Cruiser. The wind was perfect and I was hitting sustained speeds of 4 knots with one burst of speed to 6 knots though it was a bit hard to keep an eye on the GPS while holding the mainsheet and tiller. The new birdsmouth mast without any stays or shrouds was wonderful! It was barely bending even when I had my weight out on the side deck in a good gust. Still need to add a shoulder to the throat halyard to prevent the new gaff jaws from going at an odd angle.
The pictures that follow show Little Gem loaded with enough gear for camping onboard including 2 days worth of supplies.
Note the new lettering on the transom. You can see the new dodger folded on the sleeping platform. It is very quick and easy to raise and low enough to sail with it up.
Little Gem, a C12
Couple of new pictures. First, my tow setup. Nothing better than a convertible after a day on the lake. Nice and agile in traffic as well. Much more fun to drive than the minivan with my 26' sailboat on the back!
Love the new lettering!!!
Few moments gets the mast in place. Lack of the tabernacle makes this a heavier proposition but really gives some comfort on the water in the gusts.
Here are some pictures of the dodger-cabin I made for my 12' boat. In one or two pictures you will note the 6' oars showing the length of the sleeping platform. The dodger is rough but I think will work. Of particular difficulty was sewing the no-seeum mesh along with the plastic window flaps. Also worthwhile is the sleeping platform with maximum 9" storage under. All of my gear fit under so no shifting gear to give me space to sleep.
http://gallery.bateau2.com/albums/userp ... AG0019.jpg
Here is a couple of shots showing my motor clamp well in use. The cruise n carry motor is very light and stores in the cockpit. The evinrude is a 4hp external tank that swings up or could be stored on the sleeping platform when sailing.
Love the new lettering!!!
Few moments gets the mast in place. Lack of the tabernacle makes this a heavier proposition but really gives some comfort on the water in the gusts.
Here are some pictures of the dodger-cabin I made for my 12' boat. In one or two pictures you will note the 6' oars showing the length of the sleeping platform. The dodger is rough but I think will work. Of particular difficulty was sewing the no-seeum mesh along with the plastic window flaps. Also worthwhile is the sleeping platform with maximum 9" storage under. All of my gear fit under so no shifting gear to give me space to sleep.
http://gallery.bateau2.com/albums/userp ... AG0019.jpg
Here is a couple of shots showing my motor clamp well in use. The cruise n carry motor is very light and stores in the cockpit. The evinrude is a 4hp external tank that swings up or could be stored on the sleeping platform when sailing.
- Cracker Larry
- * Bateau Builder - Expert *
- Posts: 22491
- Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:39 pm
- Location: Savannah, GA
Yes, I will admit the letters look a lot better! Now I am thinking about the boat numbers....
The tubing is aluminum purchase from West Marine specifically for bimini frames. I tried to find another source but failed. Was a person on ebay who advertised stainless tubing at a great price but he was so incredibly swamped from day 1 that he could hardly respond to everyone much less get me tubing in a reasonable time. Shows a need there!
As for bending, I made a bending frame from scrap wood following some illustrations from a canvas working book for boats. I still have the frame so will try and get a picture posed soon. Hardest thing was figuring out the geometry of the frame to get it balanced correctly. I wanted larger bends to give the dodger softer corners but that also made calculations more difficult.
Towing with the minivan works just fine down the road and I haven't had too many problems until recently. There was a ramp with a gravel parking lot and a steep gravel road leading from it. Some of the gravel got on the ramp and my front wheel drive spun quite a bit. I had a couple of friends there and they sat on the hood for me which helped. Getting up the gravel road took a fairly fast running start though some of the rear wheel drive trucks had to do the same. There was a whole discussion of towing with minivans on Trailersailor's main board not long ago. One probelm everyone identified was the rear springs which sagged really low tihe the boat in tow. This had the effect of lifting the front wheels a bit as well. One really neat solution, which I plan on doing, is installing airlift bags in the rear coils of my van. These inflate when you need them with one of those airpumps that plugs into the cigarette lighter. They make the back springs a lot stiffer which helps lift the back end of the van and gives more pressure on the front tire. They are a lot less expensive than new springs and only need to be engaged when towing so you still have normal around town driving.
Here is the link to one place that sells them: http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... 81730.aspx
The tubing is aluminum purchase from West Marine specifically for bimini frames. I tried to find another source but failed. Was a person on ebay who advertised stainless tubing at a great price but he was so incredibly swamped from day 1 that he could hardly respond to everyone much less get me tubing in a reasonable time. Shows a need there!
As for bending, I made a bending frame from scrap wood following some illustrations from a canvas working book for boats. I still have the frame so will try and get a picture posed soon. Hardest thing was figuring out the geometry of the frame to get it balanced correctly. I wanted larger bends to give the dodger softer corners but that also made calculations more difficult.
Towing with the minivan works just fine down the road and I haven't had too many problems until recently. There was a ramp with a gravel parking lot and a steep gravel road leading from it. Some of the gravel got on the ramp and my front wheel drive spun quite a bit. I had a couple of friends there and they sat on the hood for me which helped. Getting up the gravel road took a fairly fast running start though some of the rear wheel drive trucks had to do the same. There was a whole discussion of towing with minivans on Trailersailor's main board not long ago. One probelm everyone identified was the rear springs which sagged really low tihe the boat in tow. This had the effect of lifting the front wheels a bit as well. One really neat solution, which I plan on doing, is installing airlift bags in the rear coils of my van. These inflate when you need them with one of those airpumps that plugs into the cigarette lighter. They make the back springs a lot stiffer which helps lift the back end of the van and gives more pressure on the front tire. They are a lot less expensive than new springs and only need to be engaged when towing so you still have normal around town driving.
Here is the link to one place that sells them: http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... 81730.aspx
- gk108
- * Bateau Builder - Expert *
- Posts: 3356
- Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 6:53 pm
- Location: The Peach State
Thanks for that info. I'm still far from bending any tubing, but I did buy a $30 sewing machine from the Goodwill. I think an outboard motor cover will be my first practice project.
Maybe over Thanksgiving weekend I'll try my minivan and sailboat on a ramp somewhere. Just not a gravel ramp.
Thanks again.
Maybe over Thanksgiving weekend I'll try my minivan and sailboat on a ramp somewhere. Just not a gravel ramp.
Thanks again.
CC, D15, V10
Had an absolutely wonderful time at Cedar Keys mess-about. There were 50+ boats there with a mixture of homebuilt and the more interesting production boats. Best yet, everyone sailed most of the day with a nice strong ocean breeze driving the fleet all over the beautiful keys. Unfortunately, there were so many people that I didn't get the opportunity to talk to everyone... they need to add name-tags or something just to help. You have to consider attending this event next year!
Little Gem attracted a lot of attention and, once again, lived up to her name. Everyone noted how fast a boat she is with the Sea Pearls (21' boat) only able to pass slowly. On Friday I averaged 5.20 knots with a few bursts up to 5.8 knots (GPS said even higher but I figure those were false readings). Amazing speed for a 12' boat! Matt Layden was highly encouraging me to use her for the Everglades Challenge!
I slept on the boat off a somewhat exposed beach for two nights...well tried to sleep. The wind kicked up to 30mph + both nights and the tide pulled me broadside to the waves which really tossed me about. Lack of sleep didn't help meeting everyone btw. However, it did give me confidence in anchoring in rougher conditions.
My camera died at the beginning of the trip but here is a link to pictures: http://www.flwwp.com/gallery2/v/Small+Boat+Messabout/
Little Gem attracted a lot of attention and, once again, lived up to her name. Everyone noted how fast a boat she is with the Sea Pearls (21' boat) only able to pass slowly. On Friday I averaged 5.20 knots with a few bursts up to 5.8 knots (GPS said even higher but I figure those were false readings). Amazing speed for a 12' boat! Matt Layden was highly encouraging me to use her for the Everglades Challenge!
I slept on the boat off a somewhat exposed beach for two nights...well tried to sleep. The wind kicked up to 30mph + both nights and the tide pulled me broadside to the waves which really tossed me about. Lack of sleep didn't help meeting everyone btw. However, it did give me confidence in anchoring in rougher conditions.
My camera died at the beginning of the trip but here is a link to pictures: http://www.flwwp.com/gallery2/v/Small+Boat+Messabout/
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