20" Sail boat build.

Not sure if this will happen but started thinking ablut building a sailboat my grandfather designed and built during the depression. I have a at one time actual sailing model of the boat and think most of the plans for the 20' version

 

Here are some pics my grandfathers model built before the full sized ones. My son busted it up a bit when he was 4 or 5 years old. Every bit of hardware on this model were hand made all the cleats, pullys. All the riging worked.

 

It looks like a design pretty typical of the era. Nice looking

 

You can build it for the sake of nostalgia and the family tie, but likely you can find something that performs much better using more modern design methods. for the amount of effort I would rather have a more contemporary design, it would have better resale value as well.

OTOH, you would have a family connection with this particular design and you building it would be for the sake of commemorating your grandfathers ingenuity and in his memory. I would consider doing it just for the sake of a family tie, building it would give you a bond to your grandfather across time that could not be made in any other way.

The best of both worlds would occur if you are lucky enough that your grandfather happens to be a well known yacht designer or Navel Architect, than the finished boat will have some resale value based on the reputation of the designer.

 

I would recommend restoring the model to a state where it is worth displaying, not hidden in the attic. It is the object that your grandfather painstakingly created (and your son enjoyed playing with). You could do some analysis on the design to estimate performance, and it would be a good conversation starter with friends and relatives. From there it will take a life of it's own -either you and some family will want to follow the design or you will not.

My input is that if you build a wooden sailboat, it WILL BE YOURS -there are just so many decisions...

Your grandfather had a dream. It inspired a design and a model. If you are going to make it to the water and beyond you better be pursuing YOUR dream.

 

Havent found were all the plans are yet. There were 3 full sized ones built. My grandfather, his brother and an uncle each built and raced them against each other. Grandfathers had a 5' taller mast than the rest. His was the fastest also required using some sand bags for ballist with the taller mast. Jist of some info my gramps had written.