First Launch 
After a year and a half of serious building my boat is finally ready to try out in the water. That doesn't include the time looking at plans and trying to decide on what boat to build, let alone all the years I've spent dreaming about a boat. I could have had the boat ready for last weekend, however the weatherman indicated it wouldn't be too good. In fact we even got some snowfall in the valley. That's ok though, there are lots of things to get ready for an initial launch, and I really needed more time. When I thought I would be launching in the spring of this year and now it's September 30, I am amazed how much time it takes to complete those finishing items.

We decided to go try the launch at Willard Bay, a nice fresh water lake with a fairly large protected marina. I was prepared for some admiration by onlookers from experiences of other Weekender builders, but I was still a bit shocked when the attendant at the gate house to the stake park told the exiting car he would have to wait there while he came out and inspected my boat. He wanted me to drive by real slow so he could get a good look.
Last night my son Sam and I finished a boom crutch, stepped the mast and bent the sails for the first time. To save time today we decided to leave the spars and main sail on the boat while traveling. This launching has kind of turned into a family party. My wife, 5 children, most of their spouses and 2 grand children are here for the festivities. I just hope I'm not embarrassed by having the boat sink or something.  I turned over the picture taking and lunch to others. In fact the setup was mostly done by my kids, with a little direction from me. When all looked ready we posed for a family photo in front of the boat. My hope for weather was that there would be very light winds during the morning to make it easy to setup and after some experimentation with the boat we might get enough wind to be able to sail without really strong winds. So far we haven't had even a light wind, so it looks like we will be able to launch with the sails set.
The actual launch went well since Ben volunteered to push the boat off the trailer. (By the way it's best to take your cell phone out of your pocket when you get in a lake; Isn't that right Ben?) One advantage of being this late in the season around here is there isn't much traffic to compete for the dock. One disadvantage is the water is getting pretty cool. Thanks, Ben, it's nice to have lots of help. Incidentally there was a sailing class from Utah State University here in the marina with 3 boats waiting for some wind.
Until now my weekender didn't have a name. It's been called lots of things, but by me only known as "The Boat". Well the time has arrived for an official name. Since we're having a party, we needed a christening as well. I would have no part of hitting my boat with anything hard, even a scored bottle, so we settled for the alternate of sprinkling. Besides who wants to clean up a bunch of broken glass, and it's easier to save a little bubbly too.  The honor of performing the ceremony went to the one who suffered the most through the building process, my wife Jean. Now it's no longer "The Boat" but ALOHA. I wanted something with a polynesian air. That's why I'm wearing my only "Aloha" shirt. My kids insisted on giving me the hat for my birthday last week, so I must dress the part. Besides it's kinda cute. Notice my wife's BYYB T-shirt as well.
Without any wind at all there wasn't much to do but break out the oars and try rowing a bit. Having no other propulsion for the boat yet, I was interested to find out how my homemade oars work on a Weekender. I made the oar locks permanent and could only guess at their proper placement. The oars work well enough, but I made them about a foot too long. Their flexing seemed strange, but didn't appear to be a problem. Reducing their length should reduce this effect as well.
Everyone wanted a "ride" around the marina in Aloha, and I was glad to oblige. It's true what the Stevensons say about the boat growing on the water. At home I couldn't see taking too many people out on a Weekender, especially adults, but 3-4 did work better than expected. Probably in a good blow it might not be quite as much fun, but you can always shove bodies below or hang them off the side.
My wish for no wind was nice for a while, but I wanted to try this boat out as a sailing machine, not just a rowboat.  After a couple of hours of rowing the wind did pick up. Most of my non sailing family had departed including my photographers, so I don't have any pictures of the real fun we had. I took this one while my son took us out of the marina onto the lake proper. I wish I had taken more, but my mind was on other things. It really is a blast to realize that you are actually sailing in something that you made with your own hands, and that it really works!

The only mishap we had was what a lot of others have reported. I had just headed into the dock to offer the sailing instructors a ride on Aloha when my steering went out. I crashed into the dock unable to turn into the wind, making a fool out of myself. They had admired my boat all day and I guess my head was swelled just big enough for it to pop here at the dock.  The problem was not serious, a cable clamp came off one side of my steering; giving me steering part of the time and only in one direction. I was lucky it happened so close to shore, but a little better timing would have been nice. I found out after attaching my steering that the shielding on the cable needs to be removed prior to putting on the cable clamps. I think this had been loosening and getting worse all day, until it finally released. I attributed some of the quirks to my never having sailed a gaffer or used a wheel before. Even though I brought a lot of tools, this looked like a job that would be better done off the water.  Since all those left here were leaving in my car and no one wanted to wait for a lengthy fix anyway, it looked like it was time to leave. The day had turned out almost as perfect as it seemed and even if this is the only sail I get this year it was good fun and I learned a lot about this great Weekender design. 

Well Aloha, you've done fine and with a little help from a novice skipper you are going to be just great. You're all the boat I need.

Home