Manie's Microcruiser

I own a Taiwanese knockoff of an old 14" Delta thickness planer, with the main difference being that the table moves up and down instead of the cutter head moving.

I took a lot of flak when I bought it, for being dumb enough to trust Asian trash. But I've had it for 25 years now, and it's still going strong. It'll take a solid 1/8" off a 12" red oak plank in a single pass, and leave the wood as smooth as a baby's butt -- as long as I do my part and keep it sharp, of course....

 

Then they would have still called it a Yamaha and have a bigger audience to sell to.
Don't despair, my top of the range Dutch brand esoteric Marantz HiFi amplifier is also made in China, albeit still known by the name....Not impressed by it though - should have gone for the top end Yamaha instead which I actually went to buy but let a salesman talk me into the Marantz crap. Only myself to blame.

 

Couple of updates
gives an idea of space and size
centerboard casing works well

I also updated http://compaxboats.wordpress.com/ for those that are interested

good luck to all the Jester challengers which start this Sunday 23 May 2010 wish I could be there - maybe next time
http://www.jesterinfo.org/jc2010entrylist.html

 

Hi Manie, it looks great so far !!

 

It sure does look great. I pray for you guys!

 

Manie, you looks great, congratulation, great job.
Daniel

 

Manie...nice job so far..real nice...sorry I havent reported in ...I have put my Hunter 20 project on hold...I may have even sold out I'm afraid...I got a hold of a Seafarer 24 in decent shape and from the moment I steped aboard it I'vefinally had serious concerns that the H-20 will never be a true coastal cruiser without major hull strengthening...no suprise to many i'm sure..just had to see the light...I am trying to find a buyer for the project...I am so in love with the S-24 by McCurdy/Rhodes..it is sad to give up on her but maybe someday I can make do a build from the ground up like you are doing with your micro-crusier..I'm posting pics of my Hunter 20 re-model anyways and in case anyone wants to carry on with the dream for about$ 400.00 US....right now I have a couple pics below of the new (old)boat...1971 Seafarer 24...she's a bit rough but it's mostly cosmetic..good standing rigging..good sails....solid layup helps I guess...only one soft area in cockpit...I'm thrilled to have been able to get a coastal cruiser finally though I learned alot trying to make my H-20 into one...especially got a good educational foray into epoxy 101....Anyways..back to your boat for a minute..Manie..she really does look great so far...keep up the good work!

Morgan

 

Good on yer Manie, Hope to see you over this way soon...

 

Hi all of ya
just a bit of an update to what I have been up to lately.
I am 90% finished with the glassing of the inside of the hull - farkit but I will be happy when this is done - big job, heavy on the back and knees and shoulders - not to be underestimated
I have also done the final lamination of the center board casing - it came out at a very heavy 8.5 kg but once again a massive learning curve

All of the "interior" panels / bulkheads are lofted on the ply full size ready for cutting and I have cut 50% of them already

The build is finally reaching the stage where there will be lots of interesting pictures SOON and it helps to fuel my own enthusiasm to keep it going. Very hard to work at the moment in the evenings as winter has set in - the evenings are very cold and of course here by us it is bone dry and very dusty.

I hide all my boat stuff in the garage under black plastic to that the missus and the kids dont see it as I have bought a lots of stuff - my pride and joy is the car stereo and CD player with 4 big speakers.
So guys when you see a tiny little yellow boat coming at ya over the horison you will HEAR that its me - all old school rock and roll - LOUD like the kids have in their cars nowadays. This is one part of modern tech that works for me

 

Well guys here is a little bit more proof that I dont just sit in front of the computer searching for bikini babes all day long

I started to jack up the blog as well and i will regularly post details of each item as it goes in with pics and description on the blog

To the starboard side is the galley, to port will be the navigation station with a fold-up table so that I can to go thru to the forward "cargo-hold"

The flat roof of the cabin is specially designed to mount 4x 20w solar panels on the sides next to the hatch. The little raised cabin also gives the same volume as the displacement of the boat, which means that the boat will be totally unstable when upside down. Added to a composite mast with a polystyrene core and a 150 kg bulb at the end of a centre board 1.7 m below WL, I am pretty sure that this boat will be self righting

Gotta think about being upside down suits my personality which is mostly upsided down anyway. The wife has now sweetly said that the cabin is kind small and cramped - geez I am ganna miss her the kids have realised that my "escape pod" is coming along just fine - geeeeeeeez I am gonna miss then toooooooooo

Oh well plenty of storage space forward and under the bunks

enjoy

 

oh the solar panels

 

Looking good, Manie. Glad to see it coming along. Any guesstimate on a launch date yet?

 

Looking great Manie...you are living the dream....keep up the good work..!

 

Launch date is a very easy and comfortable late September which is the start of our spring. The master plan is purely to get the outside glassed finished and painted and build the trailer and get the bunks comfortable. All I want to do for now is get to the water at least once a month, sleep warm and dry, and be able to make a nice cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Finishing the boat inside will still be a lot of work because I have a long list of shelves and brackets and other nonsence. Initially I will also just do some of the interior items because my main focus will be to rig the boat and get her set up and balanced for sailing.
Motoring around in the beginning will be fun but obviously the real fun will be sailing.

 

The anticipation must be overpowering. Good luck on the home stretch and happy sailing, hopefully to a less hostile clime.