Thread: Building a Waller TS540

I think he's hiding....




All dressed up in her evening stole, with nowhere to go, maybe until Friday or Saturday, weather permitting.

Oh no, he's fitted rocket launchers to the roof

Richard
(they couldn't be masts, this is a rowboat )

Richard, I'm not that sort of man. You know that. These are blow pipes: wind-powered dart guns with fibreglass-seeking heads. I just hope I have enough puff....

Now THAT's a lovely shot

Richard

agreed Richard that is a great shot of her beautiful lines. i'm looking forward to the photos of her getting wet

i'm feeling better now after my first hit of chemo but it's snowing over here now with day time temperatures of only +1 deg and wind chill of -6 deg so your pictures have helped warm me up a bit Rob

Beautiful job Rob. I havent checked it out for some time, as I have been busy glassing and sanding, she looks fantastic.

Thanks very much Madaz (who let you out of the shed?), Richard and Richard. Here's a rough video of the launch. Despite Bureau predictions the day was perfect, although some gusts out in the bay were challenging....
She went magnificently, and with three men over 6ft, was a buzz in the bigger winds away from the shore...would have needed the reefs without my sons there to keep me in order. Even then we forgot to get the motor completely out of the water!
Minor issues visible in the video involved the very expensive Ronstan lever cleats failing to hold the halyards adequately- particularly the jib, so early sailing suffered from poor jib shape. A spare cam cleat on the cockpit roof solved the problem. We had 6 people on board for a lovely motor trip, without feeling too crowed. Four on deck when sailing was easy, and plenty of room indoors for others- in fact extras forward provided useful weight distribution.
Buried the gunwales in a few thrilling sessions, and had an absolute blast working with our two boys (men) who are absolute champions for supporting their old man's silly obsession.

Honkers, great to hear you are dealing well with the chemo, I'm not surprised that you are staying positive. You've too much good stuff to get on with.
Rob
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8a_t7L7k2Y"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

Oh gawd, I'm too teary to comment

She looks great mate. Funny, none of them blokes in the video look ugly enough to be the builder. Did you hire a fantasy crew for the launch? And who was that gorgeous blonde who did the annointing?

Well done mate. If you're not proud of yourself, you should be ashamed

Richard

Very proud wife of boat builder speaking here. The launch and sail went seamlessly and our two boys (28,24) loved being in the action with their dad.
Champagne throwing was a very modest affair, the rest was drunk by crew!

Originally Posted by rob540

Very proud wife of boat builder speaking here. The launch and sail went seamlessly and our two boys (28,24) loved being in the action with their dad.
Champagne throwing was a very modest affair, the rest was drunk by crew!

Onya girl, you're allowed to be proud too

Richard

A very big contratulations to all the 540 family and what a great video.

The skipper looks quietly satisfied and the crew are smiling and happy.......hmmmm something tells me detailed preparation meant a trouble free launch. Fantastic!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the journey Rob well done.

Mike

Well done Rob.
A great job and a beautiful boat.
cheers
AJ

Looks awesome rob, makes it all worth while. A note on the cleats, lever cleats for halyards. I have been sailing on a few bigger cats lately, all there rope clutches have an additional horn cleat afterwards so we tension the halyards lock of the rope clutch, release it from the winch then lock the halyard off on a horn cleat also. seems to be an issue with all of them they eventually creep through a little

Hard to realize that it's done, but I keep getting flashes of those moments of 'flow' yesterday. Very satisfying, and I have to say, exciting too. I look at the wake and the speed that the boat produced even before being tuned or set up with any finesse, and it's hard to believe there is no infernal combustion machine helping it. Then the fact that this is a wind-powered (mostly) machine that was built using only solar and human power (via our photo-voltaics) and that gives me an enormous buzz (well, it would if I wasn't careful).

I couldn't have my second daughter with us as she is interstate with her family, but I did have three others, my wife and my youngest son's partner. We decided not to try for friends as well because being dependent on the weather, it was hard enough to organise already.

Mike Waller has done a wonderful job I think, of designing a sporty, spacious and well-mannered boat that can be sensibly built by an amateur. I like the look of her from many angles- there are very few boats that I like from all angles- she has enormous initial stability and loads of space for her length. I worried about it being a cockpit to sit on rather than in, but it was incredibly dry in a small chop, none of us even got damp I suspect because of the flare on the upper chine. And that arrangement had the effect of making me feel younger!! It just begs to be driven. The bridge deck is something to step over, but produces some great space in the cabin, and a wonderful safety barrier against a following sea, or nasty breaking waves. It's also a lovely place to sit, facing any way you wish. My boys tell me the rig is easier to erect than the old 125's they sailed.

Being quite beamy, when putting on a turn of speed and you find your backside where your head used to be it places you 6 feet above the water and it is a huge blast..but I will fit some toe straps, or a centre rail for toes to push on, because the cockpit is so big.


Passengers reported that the cabin was very cosy, and several people made theselves quite at home sprawling this way and that. The self-draining cockpit is a delectable distance from the water, and I love that it puts you in visual and auditory contact with the bubbles at the rudder; those things tell you so much about how the hull is performing. The traveller beam was useful too in making people feel contained and safe. The outboard performed really well off-centre, steering with the rudder. The CB case is a great step when raising and lowering the mast, when you effectively walk from cockpit to bridge-deck to mast tabernacle.

I'm not sure I'll stick with the mainsheet from the traveller position. I found it a bit unnatural dealing with a cleat behind and below me when I'm facing forard. So I'll probably place the block centrally in the middle of the cockpit- there is so much room it won't be a clutter. I'll run up to a block on the boom, along and down. The traveller cleat arrangement allows fine tuning for sail shape and is a winner. The cleats on the tiller were well-placed for easy lifting and lowering, although I could have weighted the board better for easy sinking. CB worked a treat. It's downhaul runs to a cleat on the companionway side, so almost everything is doable from the cockpit, and that is great for an old or a lazy sailor.

The length of the cockpit is wonderful for three crew- one on tiller, one on mainsheet and on on jib sheet. Tacking is easy and comfortable.

Thanks so much Richard, Mike, AJ and Madaz. I really appreciate your support, and for continuing to read my ramblings.