This blog is devoted to my John Welsford designed 15' Navigator yawl Ellie. I built her in my garage over a period of 18 months and launched her in 2011. She sports a sliding gunter main, roller furled jib and sprit-boomed mizzen. Her construction is glued-lapstrake over permanent bulkheads and stringers. This blog is a record of her construction and her voyages here in the Puget Sound area and (hopefully) a useful resource for fellow Navigator builders.

Friday, February 23, 2024

CNC files for Welsford designs

Work continues on creating CNC files for John Welsford's designs.  So far I have created CNC files for Light Dory, Longsteps, Navigator, Pathfinder, Scallywag, Sei, Tender Behind, Walkabout and Pilgrim.  Sherpa is currently in work.  Others will follow.

If you're unfamiliar with CNC files, they are 2d vector (.dxf) files that you can bring to a CNC operator.  He will then use these files with his CNC machine to cut your parts out of 4x8 sheets of plywood.  Below, you can see which parts will be cut out and produced by your CNC operator for each boat (click to enlarge). This will save you a tremendous amount of time and possibly mistakes vs drawing and cutting the parts out yourself.  Note however that not all parts are included.  Parts such as bulkheads, centerboard cases, transoms, doublers, lower panels, planks (on some boats) and other parts that are defined on John's drawings are included, but parts that are cut-to-fit parts usually are not.  Cut-to-fit parts include parts like seat tops, decking, and usually planks. Those type of parts are made by clamping an oversized piece of plywood to the boat, tracing the outline of the part, then removing and cutting out the part. Also, some parts are intentionally slightly oversized by design so that they may be trimmed to the exact size on installation.  Better too big than too small.

We are still working on how to make these CNC files available.  Stay tuned.

If you have the plans and are in need of a CNC file for a boat you wish to build, you may contact me at j_bergen@yahoo.com and I might be able to help you.









Monday, February 5, 2024

How to get the best results from your jigsaw

What is the best jigsaw and blade to use when cutting your expensive marine plywood?  Galen Piehl has done the research.  See his blog post here:



Friday, December 1, 2023

Sherpa Templates available now

Full-Size Template Kits and Roll-Form patterns for John Welsford's Sherpa dinghy are now available from Duckworks

The kits are PDF files, in various paper sizes, that you can print yourself on an ordinary inkjet or laser printer and then you assemble the pages to make full size patterns.  They are accurate and save the builder considerable time, effort and possibly costly mistakes.  Also included in the downloads are roll-form versions that require no assembly.  They are 3' wide by up to 8' long.  You can have them printed at your local printshop, or you can have Duckworks print them for you.  They look like this:

Next up will be Templates for Welsford's upcoming new design - Scallywag.  I'm very excited about this new design and I can't wait to create templates for it.  Scallywag takes Welsford's blockbuster design SCAMP to a whole new level by enlarging it, adding a cabin, inboard motor well, anchor locker, mizzen, folding main mast, and probably more.

If you're unfamiliar with my Template Kits, more info can be found by clicking here.

Template Kits are available for several other of John Welsford's designs too.

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Super Simple Jam Cleats

Legend has it that Einstein once said “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”

In truth, the quote isn’t actually Einstein’s, but he did agree with it.

And so do I, especially when it comes to jam cleats.

Years ago, I became frustrated with the cam cleats and horn cleats that I used for my halyards, roller furler, and centerboard lift. Cam cleats can all too easily be released accidentally. Horn cleats take longer to tie off and usually require two hands to make fast (unless you’re some sort of one-handed horn-cleating ninja). They require too much attention for too long when things get hectic.

What I really wanted was a cleat that would hold a line fast by simply and quickly wrapping one turn around it, using only one hand.

But I also wanted the ability to secure the line to the cleat with no possibility of it accidentally releasing.

And I needed two sizes, but wanted the option to swap one size for the other without having to drill more mounting holes.

I also wanted something I could make myself because, well, that’s what I do.

And of course they had to be “as simple as possible, but no simpler”.

This is what I came up with.



These jam cleats are made from a scrap of 3/4” hardwood (1/2” for the smaller cleat). I used white oak and painted them black. Pretty much any type of hardwood and finish will do. For best results, use a strong wood, with the grain running lengthwise, and a finish that’s not too slippery. I suggest bare or oiled wood, painted rather than varnished for example. Simply cut them out, round over all but the bottom edges, drill two countersunk mounting holes and that’s it.

Here are the cleats with a single turn around them. One wrap plus a tug to jam the line under the horn is all it takes to make them hold securely. I haven’t had an unintentional release yet.

 


For ultimate security, add a hitch around the horn like this.


I do both. When things are hectic, I do the one-handed wrap-and-tug. After things settle down, I go back and add the hitch. Then I can relax.

I made two variations of this jam cleat which I'll dub the Single Jammer and the Double Jammer.

With the Single Jammer cleat, you route the line around the aft end of the cleat, pull the line forward to tighten, then wrap around the forward end of the cleat to secure.

I prefer the Double Jammer cleat if the line already has a lot of tension on it.  Wrapping the line around the aft end of the cleat secures the line instantly.  Then, wrapping the line around the forward end of the cleat secures the line even more.

I’ve been using these cleats for several years now, and I absolutely love them. Here are the plans if you would like to make some for yourself.  Download .zip



Tuesday, August 1, 2023

My new set of sails from Really Simple Sails

After just a couple of daysails, I finally got a chance to give my new RSS sails a real test. A 100 mile, week-long cruise with the Salish 100. The boat is my Welsford Navigator 'Ellie', built by me and launched 12 years ago. This is my second set of sails for my gaff rigged yawl, with some slight modifications from the original plans. I increased the area of the jib slightly. The mainsail uses 4 equal length battens angled towards the throat so they never need to be removed or re-installed when raising or lowering the mainsail. I raised the clew a bit to clear my head. I rounded the foot a bit on all 3 sails. I went with lighter weight cloth vs my original set. I am extremely impressed with the quality and workmanship of these sails! Amazed, actually. I absolutely love them. Ellie performs noticeably better, and not having to deal with battens in the main is a godsend. The level of detail was impressive. Tapered spring loaded battens, leech lines, lacing rope, tell-tales and more were all included and unexpected details. The black stitching on white sails, IMO, is something only a quality sailmaker who's proud of their workmanship would dare do. And they earned it. Hats off to RSS, well done!

For more details, and to download my modified sail plans, click here




Thursday, July 6, 2023

How to make a wood and leather scoop bailer

Are you still using an ugly old cut up bleach bottle as a bailer?
 

Maybe it's time to replace it with this beautiful, functional, effective, and traditional handcrafted scoop bailer.


Made of wood and leather, it looks about as salty as it gets.  The leather won't scratch or ding your paint and varnish.  The leather forms to the contour of your bilge making it more effective than that old bleach bottle. It will hold about 3 cups of water, but will "throw" almost twice that.  A frightened sailor can move about 25 gallons per minute with it - that's faster than the roughly 20 gpm of a typical kayak style manual bilge pump. 

You can build one yourself as I did.  The plans and instructions are available by clicking here.  Don't let the handle dissuade you.  If you don't have a lathe you can simply use a dowel.  It's an enjoyable little project that only takes a couple hours to complete.  Or you can purchase one from Duckworks.





Monday, May 15, 2023

A sturdy step ladder for small boaters

Need a sturdy little folding step ladder to get into your small boat?  I built this one  to replace my previous one that was cobbled together from 2x4 scraps. I used leftover oak hardwood flooring pieces that I got for free. I modified the plans slightly. I used pocket screws rather than dowels for the joinery and took advantage of the tongue and groove flooring to make the top step flat instead of using slats. This thing is solid as a tank and should last a long time. An excellent set of free plans is available from this link