South, down under
Lovely T says all these words are well and good, but she misses seeing pictures, especially of the boats, which is what all this is about. I don’t usually do requests, but she’s actually right, it has been a long time, and she is the First Mate, after all. So here ya go. Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week.
North from below
South along the bilge
Workbench, under the clutter last time I looked.
Old books make good weights.
Cedar strips left over. Maybe a canoe still in this pile somewhere?
North, looking forward.
North stern
South stern
Brass bits I’ve been working on
North
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
melonseed skiff, mellonseed skiff, melon seed, mellon seed
Primarly sorry for my english (I’m italian) then my best compliments for your beatiful work also under the artistic view. Could you please help me to understand if Melonseed is my boat? I falled in love with melonseed because of her lines that are beatiful so I decided to purchase the Barto plans of MS 16’… Do you think that 13′ or 16′ are seaworty the same in open sea? (I’m an absolute beginner to sail so MS will be my first/last boat to sail in Mediterranean sea) I wrote also to Mr Crawford that was so kind to me to explain me his opinion about seawortiness of MS.
Thank you very much
Guiseppe
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – 12:35 PM
Ciao Italy!
It’s hard not to love such a pretty boat. I had the same experience. There are advantages to each size boat, and I think most people you ask will have different opinions, all of which will be correct. What works best for you may come down to things like how big you are, and what the weather is like where you sail. Are you in Bari by any chance?
My own opinions might take some time to explain, too long to do in a comment here. If you email me directly I’ll be happy to share with you what I know. I can also put you in contact with other people who may have different opinions that might be helpful.
My address is:
eye in hand (at) eye in hand (dot) com
Convert the above to a regular email address format, or post yours in a comment here and I’ll delete it as soon as I have it.
Cheers, and good luck!
Barry
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – 08:55 PM
Anonymous
So how’s that last 10% coming along? Not only does it take forever but it’s also where the real expense hits you all at once. Sail, hardware and trailer. Have you thought about making a stacking trailer like the one we took to St Michaels so you can take both of them at once with one car? It would work very well on these smaller, lighter boats. The top boat just pivots up and you load the bottom boat.
Dave
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – 08:08 AM
Dave –
You know, I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong, cuz it’s taking so long now. Thought maybe it was just me. I WISH I was already down to the last 10%. Feels more like 40%.
I’m doing pretty well on the hardware, though. I’ve been gathering pieces little by little all year, picking up things when I find them on sale, discontinued items, etc., so that hasn’t been too bad. I have almost everything now.
Sails will be a big deal, though. Been asking for contributions to the sail fund instead of birthday presents and Father’s Day ties, but still have a long way to go.
Fortunately, I already have a good trailer. I got it for my first boat, which will promptly get kicked to the curb when these are done. (It’s new home will be a pair of sawhorses. Where’s the love?) And I do plan to haul them in tandem on one trailer. I’ve been thinking I’ll make a rack to load them belly to belly like clam shells. My guess is they’ll have a lower wind profile that way, but we’ll have to see how hard it is to turn the top one over. If that’s too much work I’ll fall back on a setup like yours.
Barry
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – 08:41 PM