Thread: BETH - new build with pics by Norm Lehman

She looks fantastic Norm! You have built a real work of art.

Thanks Mik and Jboats. It's been a blast building her - and I can't wait to feel her go.

Here's a few more pics from today.

Painting all done - white hull, pale grey deck, deep burgundy trim. Spars will be painted buff with burgundy tips.


Rudder is hung. Temporary lash-up of tiller lines to get the length. Still have to cut the hinge rod to length.


Tiller in place with cam cleat on top for mizzen sheet. I still have to make a hiking stick.


Cleats for halyard and downhaul. I have to install a rub strip at the edge of the deck.


Also made a replacement main yard that I'll rig up tonight.

Launch will be either tomorrow or Sunday!

- Norm

Looks great, Norm. very tidy lines. I bet it would glide along with the faintest whiff of breeze, yet give you a white-knuckle ride in stiff conditions- (if you are as mad as Mik, that is)

Here she is folks - ready in (almost) all respects for a launch tomorrow - just 8 weeks from the day I started. I had some help from a good friend today and we wrapped up all the little jobs - cleats for the main halyard and downhaul, main sheet gear on the deck, a rubbing strip on the aft deck for the mizzen halyards, sorted out the main, glued in the lower bearing for the tiller post, touched up some paint, drilled a hole for a painter etc. etc. etc.

Here's a few pics from today. Launch tomorrow!!!!!!

Set is not bad - mizzen still needs some fussing and they're both hoisted a bit high - but I'm happy.



That's me, looking pretty calm. Can you hear my knees shaking?


- Norm

Norm,

Looks good. Yes, I thought I heard your knees shaking, but mine are shaking for you, so I'm not sure whose I heard That seems like quite a fast build - and she looks great.

Ladies and gentlemen, since she is now safely launched, will you please say hello to the Kamikaze Canoe Yawl henceforth to be known as "Canook".



We launched her today - what a blast! Sailed for several hours - stayed upright - went like a witch - fast, quick in stays, nimble, very, very responsive and pretty as a picture.

I think I'm going to like this kind of sailing - I haven't been on the water for almost 4 years, and haven't sailed small boats much at all for the last 35 years. But my hands and feet seemed to know what to do. I even managed to keep the 2 sheets sorted out, even though the cam cleats I chose are a disaster - they'll get changed right away.

Also saw pretty quickly that my main yard is not stiff enough - there was a droop that was letting the leech flutter - the leech line could stop it, but it hooked over severely. Another easy thing to fix.

Mik - I congratulate you - she's a fine fast little sailing boat - yahoooo!

These pictures are bad, but there will be more tomorrow.

Transporting her to the new club - beautiful, bright, sunny, Fall day.


It was blowing around 10 kts when we were rigging, so I tucked in a reef. Everybody was encouraging me to go deep and take the second reef - but where's the fun it that? Here's the new skipper (me) looking pretty pleased with it all. Notice that the sun is still shining.


After pouring the necessary tot of Single-pot Irish over the bow - with another wee one for all hands, she was in - Sorry but that picture didn't come out - hard to say why - nerves perhaps.

Three minutes later - what happened to the Sun? A fog bank came in and changed the face of the world.


The fog got real thick, real fast, but the wind was holding, so away I went!





The wind came back up and I soon shook out the reef and got her going.
Sweeeeeet!

One person took some video that he's going to send me, and there were several cameras going, so more pics tomorrow.

- Norm

Norm,

I know what an deliriously delicious feeling it is to launch a new boat. Worlds cannot express. You deserve it after such a lovely, fast build. Yes, please... more fotos!


"Let's have some new cliches" -- Samual Goldwyn

I am so pleased!!!

Great build and looks great on the water!

MIK

Congrats Norm - what a sweet ride you have built!

I think I've just had the sort of long weekend that we all think about - but happens only rarely.

Yesterday was a complete change from the day before. As the pics show, it was pretty flat - but Canook doesn't seem to care that there's no wind. She keeps moving anyway, even when there is hardly enough breeze to blow smoke away. My sails and spars still need work, and I've got a lot to learn - buy by golly, does she ever go sweetly. Mik's design is fantastic.

She is a lot more stable than we all expected - in fact I was settled into the lee bilge for most of yesterday to keep her heeled enough to create sail shape. You need to have good "boat sense" in her, because a mistake will get you wet, but she's not nearly as tender as a typical canoe or kayak.

If anyone following this thread is thinking of it - go and build one. It's a fast, cheap, fun build and the boat is worth the effort. I'd say she's so easy to put together, you'd be hard pressed to get it too far wrong.

Here's a few pics from Thanksgiving Monday.

Compare these pics to yesterday's and it shows how thick the fog was.




I played with filters to get a sepia effect on that shot. State of the art 1890?


That's my good friend Mike's St Lawrence skiff, the Anna J, in the foreground.

The forecast is good for the week, so I'll probably get a few more sails in before Winter shows up.

- Norm

I hope you have a chase boat lined up for some action fotos - once the wind picks up. Keep 'em coming, please!

Fine pictures of fine boat! Your version if Beth is fine indeed - CONGRATS!

Robert, Thanks a lot, now you've done it! I had enough "builds" on my to-do-list, then you came along with this fine job of this fabulous design. Not that I didn't have enough to do! Jeesh.

Hey, I'd love to here some performance specs on the boat, speed in varying winds, how she points, at what points she reefs, etc -- if you have the data.

Also, I am sure she paddles with ease, have you tried?

Cheers,
Clint

Thanks for the kind words Clint - sorry to add to your burden

I only got the chance to sail her 3 times before Winter shut the sailing season down, so I don't have any real data other than to say, yeeeee-haw, is she ever fast. Even with the rig not sorted out and a ham-fisted helmsman (me) in charge, she outsailed a laser off the wind and went like a bat on every other point.

Not to worry. Spring is only 6 months away!

- Norm