Checking in

[Steve in Idaho]

I didn't run off.....not intentionally anyway. Had log in issues that took me a while to figure out. Problem was on my end.
CCould have solved it sooner, but new grandson, canoes, sailboat, new toilet and water heater, and bees kind of took up all my time.

So, hey all!

 

[Robin]

Hi, Hope all is well and congrats on the new Grandson...

 

[Philtrum]

Yeah ... what he (Robin) said. My new grandson is 90 miles away. I hope yours is closer to you.

 

[stripperguy]

Hey, I got one of those last week too, grandson, that is...well, water heater, toilet and actually a whole kitchen including the kitchen sink. Just finishing unit #26 out of 27 rentals, phew!

So, let's hear about those bees.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Bees. Well, my wife likes honey on just about anything that looks like bread. I suggested that she needs another hobby and that she might like beekeeping. I've been hearing a lot about beekeeping over the last year or so from a coworker who's been at it for several years. So we did some more research and I built our first hive body and frames. Last weekend, we introduced the bees. Fascinating little critters, BTW. This weekend, we'll check inside to see if the queen is getting along. If all goes well, I'll be building a second hive ASAP. They tell us it's best to have at least a couple, so if one hive has trouble the other can be used to rescue it.

If the weather holds out, we'll also be sailing this weekend......

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Oh, and thanks. We are fortunate that our grandson is only 15 minutes away. His momma knows I have plans to turn him into a boatman.

 

[stripperguy]

So what sailboat?
I have a 19 ft monster that I built about 10 years ago...like a Laser on steroids, 350 sq ft of sail, hang on!! It's a very active, physical, dynamic and wet ride. Also have a 19 ft Hunter water ballast, but it's not the same sort of ride.
Daughter, SIL, and 2 grandkids just moved out of our house after living with us for 2 years while they sold their old home and built a new one. As if the house weren't quiet enough, the latest grandchild arrived last week...but at least they're only 10 minutes down the road, and next year we'll build a new house on the adjacent property.

One of my employees has spent countless dollars on his hives, he gave up after 3 years in a row of migrant queens, apparently his queens didn't like the houses he provided! Hope you have better luck!

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Thanks, SG. I'm pretty optimistic about our chances with the bees. We have a lot of technical support from my coworker and the local beekeepers club.

350 sq ft of sail on a 19' boat! Yahoo! We played with a Sunfish and then a C-lark (that was exciting ) but decided a trailer/sailer pocket cruiser is more our style. Let's see if I can post a photo....



Ranger 20.
It's not a particularly fast boat. 20' loa (16' wl) and just under 195 sq ft of sail using the working jib (Haven't done the math on what it is with the genny). But it's versatile, and within our capabilities. A very mild-mannered and forgiving boat. We're on our second season with it, and still fine-tuning for our use. It's 37 years old and of course "old school slow" for it's size, but very sound - and it's paid for.

 

[stripperguy]

Here's my K19, cost me under $5k to build, it most closely compares with a 49er for performance...180 main and jib, another 170 for the asymmetric spinnaker



Son and DIL doing their best to stay flat...I told him to tighten that jib halyard



And here's My Darling Bride in a whisper of a wind



There's room for six, but it sails best with 3 or 4...in a good blow, it take 4 strong athletic sailors to keep it flat!! Lots of performance, sometimes too much so.

 

[Philtrum]

Did you borrow from the Buccaneer for your design? It looks a bit like what I used to sail. Based on the Flying Dutchman - 18 feet with about the same sail area as yours - 100 main, 75 jib, 150+ symmetrical chute.
(I'd share some pics but for some reason it won't take anything over 20KB.)

 

[Steve in Idaho]

...I told him to tighten that jib halyard

Shameful.

That is one sweet looking ride! More modern design with planing hull, yes? I can tell it's fast. Our 14' C-lark with it's planing hull was faster than the Ranger too. 133 sq ft of sail over 300 lbs of dinghy moves pretty fast in a light wind. My wife wasn't crazy about the idea of maybe having to swim with all that rigging and sail when things got frisky. Never bothered her in the Sunfish.