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Lazy Weekend (Stem and Stern Pieces)
This last Saturday I was finally hoping to put in another big day on the Lazy Weekend build. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead the family went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Not that I am complaining. That’s a pretty fun place, and it was a good day. I did however manage to…
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Lazy Weekend (Day 1)
Last summer the older Scouts went on a 142 mile bicycle ride (and we floated the Colorado, but we did that as a ward, so it doesn’t count). This year they want to go down to Lake Powell and go boat camping. Of course, I am thrilled. Adventures on the water are my favorite types…
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And it Came to Pass…
It has been pretty quiet on the boat front around here. It has been too cold to actually go boating, and I have been too busy to build a boat for some time. I have an article, mostly done, about some leeboard repairs that I have been working on. I also have a second mouse boat,…
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Puddle Duck Racer Build — Spars
First of all, let me apologize in advance for this post. This should be a trip report, but between the weather and the fact that my wife is nearly 9 months pregnant I have not been able to go sailing. So instead I am going to write about building spars the Earl way.
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Nephi’s Courage — Design Notes
Like most small boat builders I spent a fair amount of time agonizing over which boat I would build. In fact, I came very close to building a Rebel Cat, and I still think that a multihull would be pretty fun to build. In the end I decided on a Puddle Duck Racer, mostly because…
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Puddle Duck Racer Refit — Gunter Rig
Nephi’s Courage sports a nifty gunter rig, and I really like it. The rig allows me to sport a ridiculous amount of sail area on spars made from 12 foot 2×6 boards. Yes, 12 foot spars don’t fit in the boat, but they do fit well on top of my minivan. Of all of the…
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Mouse Boat One — Details
This last summer, while picnicking (and sailing) at Lake Cleveland we met a really nice family that let my children paddle some of their Lifetime “Wave Junior” kayaks. The kids had so much fun with these boats that I realized that I had to get one. Not only would this give the opportunity for the…
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Serial Boat Builder
This Saturday the girls and I finished our second boat. The tentative name is “Lizer Pizer,” but Eliza doesn’t get to officially name her boat until I have built one for Abigail as well (I am going to vote for Fabbylosa for that one).
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Michalak Oars
I had always planned on a set of oars for Nephi’s Courage. I drew oar locks into the plans, and I purchased an inexpensive set of nylon oarlocks from Duckworks when I made my big order from them, and I even installed the oar locks when I built the boat. It turned out to be…
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Puddle Duck Refit — Rudder
I built my puddle duck racer with a Michalak-style kick up rudder, and I still think that was a pretty good choice. However, the place where I typically launch is shallow for a good distance, and I did not take the time to install a lanyard that would allow me to pull the rudder blade…