Building RYD-16.9 Rocky - Hull 21

[brendan gardam]

Hi john. I honestly could not tell you anything about registering a new boat, I only buy used boats . I know in w.a you had to get a builders plate for a new build but I don't know what happens here.

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,
I’ve enjoyed this phase of the build - the companionway hatch and drop boards. It might look simple but there’s some complexity in it, introduced by angles and having to take care in the sequencing of activities. Once again, I think I have built a little heavy. Designer Paul would not be pleased

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,
I’m hoping to make some progress over the end-of-year break. One of the goals is to finish the trim within the cockpit area - beading, wooden slats for the seating etc. Here are a couple of pictures showing the trim for the seat tops, not yet secured, but I wanted to see what it looks like.
I’ve also decided to use a 24V electric outboard so have also been making the battery mounting structure that will be located under the bridge deck area, which is a handy position as it’s directly above the CLP of the hull. The motor I’ve chosen is a Haswing Ventura F, 160lb thrust, 2,5kW which will be powered by two 12V 140Ah AGM deep cycle batteries. They weigh 30kg each. The plan is to have a separate “house” battery, so all up 90kg of ballast. I’m guessing that with all this extra mass, the boat is not exactly going to excel in the performance stakes.

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,
Well, our Summer break has come and gone and not a lot of progress on the boat, but we had a wonderful time with my son and his wife in Perth.
I’ve permanently attached and varnished the trim on the cockpit seats and installed the batteries. The boxes for the landing of the jib sheets were a little more challenging than I expected. The rudder blade has been constructed and shaped and I’ve clad the sides with fibreglass matting , leaving a little extra matting so that I can add thickened epoxy to the trailing edge. I plan to reinforce the the leading edge also with glass and thickened epoxy. More pictures to come later but here are a few that show the batteries in position and the port and starboard side boxes.
Regards, John T.

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,
Time to post some more pics of recent progress. Batteries and chargers are properly installed, rudder and rudder housing construction is approaching completion, and the centreboard “blank” is ready to be shaped - it’s really heavy timber (spotted gum), I’m guessing it weighs as much as the lead insert which is about 17kg.

The most satisfying recent activity has been the construction of the wooden mast with my son Ross. Having had no experience with the “birds mouth” technique I was unsure of how it would turn out, but it was easier than expected - we used a router bit and that worked well. The wood is Australian Hoop Pine, great quality, straight grain, light weight and reasonably strong - as spruce is not readily available, this seems to be a worthy substitute.

Regards, John T.

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,
Well several months have passed since my last post. Work has been busy, but there has still been room for some boat building activities.
All of the spars are now pretty much completed minus the protective coats of varnish. I’ve made the tabernacle a composite structure with a hardwood surrounding frame supported by 6mm aluminium angles with 7mm Merbau cladding. Lots of through bolts and metal fasteners so it should be strong enough.
I enjoyed making the gaff jaws which are laminated 4mm Merbau. For the bowsprit I’ve used spotted gum with Hoop Pine and Merbau layers in the centre. Once again on the heavy side but it won’t break. Similar laminated structure with Hoop Pine and Merbau for the tiller.
The sails are being made by Peter Green who is local and has been in the trade for over 50 years. Peter made the sails for our previous build and they have performed well.
Here are some pics of the progress. Enjoy. Regards, John T.

 

[Boat Design Net Moderator]

Thanks very much for posting updates!
Really enjoy seeing your boat coming along.

 

[4ACDuke]

Hi John
North Carolina USA here..Craig..

I enjoyed reading your posts and pictures of the boat-building progress.
I am interested in the RYD design you are building,,,I have been trying to purchase the Plans from Paul R.Yacht Design. I spoke to his dear wife by phone just a few days ago and sadly found out that he had passed away a few years ago. She does not know where any of his designs/plans are.

So if possible could we arrange something to get a copy of your set.

Kind Regards,
Old Salt
Craig

 

[4ACDuke]

OOPs
John here is my email
cmulch.cm@gmail.com

Craig

 

[John Theunissen]

OOPs
John here is my email
cmulch.cm@gmail.com

Craig

Hi Craig,
Great to see your interest and apologies for the delay in responding. Given the circumstances with Paul’s passing and no one to continue with supporting his designs, I’m happy to send you a pdf copy of the plans which I created from the paper version. There are a couple of pages that were too big for my printer to convert so there is some content duplication in those sheets but you should be able to figure it out.
Just to mention that I had originally purchased the Bermudan ketch version of the plans and then later decided I would build the gaff sloop version which I then subsequently purchased from Paul (supplementary drawings - most remain the same from the original set). You are welcome to both.
Also, if you decide to build, I’m happy to share my experiences along the way although I’m a real novice builder.
I’ll send the files to your email address.
Happy boatbuilding!
Regards, John T.

 

[John Theunissen]

Greetings,

Apologies for the very long time since my last post. Much has happened since then and I’m pleased to confirm that the boat has finally been launched earlier this month, however not without teething problems - there were two leaks around the base of the centreboard trunk, one on the cabin side (significant enough for us to motor back to the boat ramp after about 30 minutes in the water), and one on the cockpit side which wasn’t quite as disturbing.

I’m pleased to confirm that both leaks have since been fixed and we’ve had one subsequent outing on Port Phillip Bay with the sails up. The breeze was too light on the day to discern the balance of the rig but I’m really pleased with the experience so far. Lots of learning experiences along the way and minor challenges to overcome, but that is the richness of the journey.

Moving the boat from my boatbuilding shed onto the trailer required quite a bit of preparatory work (building a ramp etc.) and it took the better part of the day with the help of extended family (I thought we’d have it done and dusted within a couple of hours - wishful thinking!).

I’m attaching several pics of the remainder of the build and from the few occasions on the water, hopefully they give a sense of the completed boatbuilding project. There were 20 sets of plans before mine so I’m not sure whether anyone else has completed their build of Rocky RYD-16.9 but would be keen to find out if anyone else has completed their build of this boat design.

Regards, John T.

 

[John Theunissen]

Here are a few more pics - reached the limit on the last post.

 

[LP]

Congratulations on the launch of your vessel. It looks like you did a wonderful job with her. I expect you will have many fine expeditions with her. God bless.

 

[RodJM]

Followed your build John.
Great tribute to the detailed plans Paul supplied and your skill turning a load of timber and ply into this beautiful boat.
Well done.
Fair winds, lots of adventures ahead.

 

[John Theunissen]

Thanks for your positive comments LP and Rod, I really appreciate the encouragement via these forums.
Regards, John T.