Another Well Done Teal

Teal

Posted my Teal on the Wooden Boat Forums and got this one in response! It's by Greg H. and just look at all that detail. That is one of the great things about these Payson/Bolger "Instant Boats". They are literally a blank canvas upon which a builder can project whatever design or idea they may have. From built to plan to overbuilt the Instant Boat is a wonderful first, third or twentieth build. From the original book the next size up is the Surf, basically a stretched Teal at 15'6". Imagine what you could do with that much to work with! There are not a lot of Surf's to be found on the interwebs. I did find a great yellow one and lo and behold look what popped up:

 Blue Flower sure has been around! Here is a shot of her at the Eugene Yacht Club Boat Show 2008. Picture is from Flickr user jhkohnen. Andy's write up can be found here.
  I'm off to Idaho for a week of Belegarth. When I get back I hope to ramp up my boat stuff a bit. Have a PD Goose to get get done and the Teal to rework. Until then have a great week!

Little Details

Need some more line to finish this right but that looks pretty good.

Rigging S/ Blue Flower

  Awhile ago there was a rash of rigging posts on the wooden boat sailing blogsphere. Not to be left out  I posted one for the tiny sprit rig of S/V Trudy C. It was not impressive. But with a new boat and many stings to pull I figured I'd update my rigging post for those of you who may be interested.
  Blue Flower flies a gaff mainsail and a jib. The rig is fairly conventional but there are a few tweaks that the vessel has undergone that I'd like to point out.

  Here she sits on the trailer. You'll notice the mast is of a tabernacle design. This idea an design comes directly from the Stevenson Project's Weekender.

  How did a Bolger Teal end up with this mast you ask? The previous owner of the boat owns a Weekender with a gaff and many of the ideas were directly imported into this boat. The idea, and it's a sound one, is she is stored on the trailer ready to go.This makes rigging and de-rigging much less of a hassle! On with the trailer sailing!
  There is only one piece of standing rigging, a forestay. This balances the load with the dolphin knocker below. Simply pull the pin, put the mast up, make sure to put the pin back in and that bit is done.

   Then apply slight upward pressure on the bowsprit and hook the forestay into place.

 Now because the rigging of this boat is fairly self contained the rest is straight forward and simple. Simple if you follow the maxim "A place for every item and every item in it's place". With the mast up and forestay in place I check my halyards and sheets for twists or obvious binds. Below the mast partner is a belaying pin block. I'm sure there is a technical name for that but I've not learned it yet. If we look at it left to right the six pins are: Jib Halyard, Bungee Spot, Empty, Empty, Peak Halyard, Main Halyard. Jib comes up first with the sheet left loose but in place. The pins are under over, under, twist. And then coiled properly on the pin!

  And if people are in ear shot it's a rousing chanty to get the main and peak up together.

  Those are given good tension and a final check to make sure dagger board is down, rudder in place, cockpit clear and in good order. Then it's cast off and sheet home. But for this post my boat simply has her wings out on the trailer.

Total time to rig is about five to seven minutes. The fact it's all self contained is great for a single handed sailor. They say a boat the size of a Teal has limited utility. But I think the utility is what you make of it. Right now this boat for me is a sail trainer in the classical sense of the word. Training muscle memory, observation, and general seamanship in a handy easy to manage package. Now to get it on the water and work the rest!

A lot of people ask me if I were shipwrecked, and could only have one book, what would it be? I always say 'How to Build a Boat    Stephen Wright

Can it Daysail?

Heading out on Frenchtown Pond. Stolen shamelessly from www.andrewlinn.com

  The Blue Flower has been bugging me, sitting on her trailer. As boats do she's caused no small amount of day dreaming, planning and scheming. All the basics, like repainting, brightwork, and varnishing will need to be done. But beyond that the plan is to turn Seze into the best daysailer I know how to make.
Right now she's a great pond boat. But I'd like something that can take me a bit farther off shore. As I've mentioned previously the biggest water I can readily access is Flathead Lake, an hour and a half north of me. I've taken a Teal out on Polson Bay, the lower quarter of the lake and will use that as a base line for daysailing. I don't see me getting out on the big part of the lake until my Goose is done.
 So these plans of big water are going to mean some changes to the basic structure of the boat. The first sticking point is axillary propulsion. When there is wind in Polson Bay there is no better place for a pure sailboat. When there is no wind, there is no worse place. It's only about 14sq nautical miles but during the summer it's over run with power boats and jet skis. The ability to maneuver, even under oars will be essential. But we run into a few ergonomic problems. Rudder and boom interference are at the forefront.Coming a close second is where to store them. Oars are an emergency solution. Which means a pair of eight foot wood ones are not really what I'm looking for. I was looking online and found collapsible oars. Not ideal but they would store easily enough inside the vessel. Oar locks and the like can be worked out and I'm considering making the tiller a bit more removable. Again this for the when not if of dying wind. If I play in the bay best be prepared.
 Also in the works is the boom crutch and the boom tent. The crutch is pretty straight forward but there is a twist, It'll be expandable. This is to raise the boom for rowing. The tent is an idea I got from this entry at Log of the Spartina. This will allow for those naps when the wind does die for a bit and I have a good book to finish.
 And why not do duck boards? Allow for a flat place to lay down. Under the boom tent of course. Well the weather is a bit gloomy here but I have plans for brighter days. And that is one of the joys of owning your own boat.

"Cruising has two pleasures. One is to go out in wider waters from a sheltered place. The other is to go into a sheltered place from wider waters."
- Howard Bloomfield

Favorite Sailing Picture So Far

Sailing with Andy Linn

You can read Andy's trip write up here: http://www.andrewlinn.com/2011/110716_missoula/index.htm
Andy did a pretty good job of covering his time here with us but I thought I should throw up some more photo's. Right now I'm busy getting my vehicle and it's new trailer ready to be legal on Montana's roads and am looking forward to some late season sailing. Also have the Goose to finish before the snow comes.

Andy at the helm. What a beautiful boat!

South side of the pond

Running North before the wind

Lots of fishing, very little catching

Two Teals under sail. Not a bad sight at all!

Racing! Pica had me in a straight line but I had superior tactics on the tack! Much fun. And I want a rematch!

Unofficial Tall Ship of the Circle J Trailer Court

1st Anually Finley Point Messabout

The First Annual Finely Point Messabout, held at Finely Point State Park on the shores of the mighty Flathead Lake has come and gone. It was a great weekend of comradeship and sailing, pretty much what you would expect from something called a messabout.
I was the first to arrive, leading advance camp for the rest of the mob. Okay it was just The Typesetter and his son but I'd ensure camp was set up. But there were a few snags. First of all tent camping is not really encouraged at Finely Point. They have six or so tent pads and they don't want you camping on the grass. So after a bit a bureaucratic snafu I managed to secure a spot. This is where the fun begins! I have a huge three room tent as I like to camp in style. But it turns out the pads are designed for those who wish to live in squalor and cramped space  so only two thirds of my tent would fit. But camp was made up and waiting when the rest of the crew arrived.

The hour was late so not much sailing was done. There was however a fair bit of rowing. Ready for a full Saturday we bedded down and much sleep was had. I wish the same went for the drunken college kids just down the site.
The next morning dawned quickly and brightly. The Typesetter put out a wonderful breakfast and we hit the docks. I in my 8' One Sheet Skiff Trudey C and he in the mighty Teal, the Pica.The weather was fine as we set out for a brief sail. The Pica developed some rudder issues but a quick return to the dock fixed those. I also got to work on my man overboard drill retrieving an errant oar.

Dock at Finely Point

For the record I'm told the water was cold.

We returned to the hard for a few minutes to collect our wits and decided a sail out to Little Bull island was in order. This had been the goal of the first expedition to Flathead and it did not end well.
We literally flew out of Finely point on a reach. It was some of the best sailing I've had yet. Even with two people the Teal was a well behaved lady and it seemed in no time at all we had neared our destination. It was here we noticed the chop. Two feet swells and a moderate wind. I was alarmed at first but the boat rode up and over well enough and save for the occasional bit of spray we took no water.

Captain at the helm

Is this protected water?

 Know what it's like to pound through waves in a flat bottom boat? Get a box about a foot square and jump off it. Run around and do it again. And again. Make sure you have your teeth just a bit apart so they clash when you land. Doing it in poor shoes would help to.
Even with all of this there was never a sense that the boat would founder. The lug sail pulled well and with a few minor under way tweaks did a fine job. Sure there was the point were it was out to the big lake or run up an dashed on some rocks with no apparent way to sail out. Or the garage that would not move. But it was an adventure and I'm glad I took it!

Our goal, Little Bull. Camera angle is not exaggerated

Great day on the water

Then it was on to a surprise for me! I had been admiring a little O'Day 22 moored at the dock and ended up with a ride! Not enough wind for sailing but we did do some motoring. Find time had by all

Future boat someday perhaps?

Wonderful evening out.

The evening was adjourned to a small fire and sleep. The next morning we loaded up and left. All and all a fine weekend indeed. We'll be holding this event next year with the theme of "Teal Daze". So build a Teal and come on out. You'll enjoy it. I know I did.

Messabout Boats