Manie's Microcruiser

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by Manie B, Jun 14, 2009.

  1. Doug Lord
    Joined: May 2009
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    Congratulations, Manie!!
     
  2. Fanie
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Location: Colonial "Sick Africa"

    Fanie Fanie

    Great to hear Manie, despite everything going on here you preserved and kept focus. May I say, that deserves some rep points :cool:



    I would also like to use the opportunity and refer to Manie's previous post as a WARNING to wannabe boat builders. There you see how addictive this boat build fiasco is... the man hasn't been on the water with the latest and he's already going for the next one :eek:
    Scary sht ! to say the least.
     
  3. troy2000
    Joined: Nov 2009
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    Location: California

    troy2000 Senior Member

    Doing a little long-overdue catching up on your thread, Manie. I was looking at your box of re-bar cut-offs, and I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that when I was contracting, we just threw stuff like that in the dumpster. It wasn't worth messing with...

    Of course that was here, not there. And it was also twenty years ago; maybe nowadays it would get recycled.
     
  4. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Dumpster!? That stuff is worth $10 a hundredweight here.
     
  5. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Cape Town South Africa

    Manie B Senior Member

    Colin, I have been boating from Bayshore for the best part of the last 10 years. That is where my mate Ken has that motor cat "Crazy Seal"
    Ken has been a mate since school days and he has been a major part of inspiration for me, because I would always come back home after a nice weekend on his boat and feel inspired to carry on building.
    My boat will just be kept on the trailer in the yard. A walk on mooring is waaay too expensive and totally unnecessary. They have a new tractor that makes launching easy.

    To all the guys, thanks for the well wishes, I appreciate the support. BIG THANKS !!!

    Anyway it's like Fanie said, when this "disease" crawls into your blood you've had it ;)

    Today especially was the weirdest Sunday I have had in 5 years.
    It is totally strange to walk into the garage and have nothing to do.
    Quite frankly it's horrible. When you have a "to do" list constantly in the back of your head, it is crazy to all of a sudden look at the boat and say to yourself all the "boxes are ticked".
    Even in those (many) months when there was no money for the boat I could still just go and sit there, have a beer and "work" at the list of "to do" things.
    So yeah today was now really that "chicken without a head" lost f@rt feeling!

    I am not one for the "club" scene - I enjoy going out for a couple of days at a time into nature where there is peace and I do my own thing and Bayshore Marina is ideally positioned for that.
     
  6. MoeJoe
    Joined: Apr 2012
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    MoeJoe Junior Member

    Congratulations.
    But don't worry. Most likely the first couple of sailing trips that you make will produce a new to-do list to keep you busy for a while.
    :)
     
  7. RHP
    Joined: Nov 2005
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    RHP Senior Member

    Well done Manie, it's a great achievement to have completed a home build. I am neither skilled enough nor have the patience, congratulations.

    'It is totally strange to walk into the garage and have nothing to do.' It's called sailing time Manie, its what you do with boats, you sail them!
     
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  8. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Cape Town South Africa

    Manie B Senior Member

    Well folks FARGO is at her new home!
    This was a long weekend and the ideal time for my to get her launched.
    Everything went well AND YES there is still work to do and a good couple of things to alter and change.
    But for most of it, all went well.

    The weather is terrible as we are now officially in mid winter and bitterly cold. I took it VERY easy as I have no desire to swim in freezing water ;)
    I launched on Saturday, spent Saturday evening in the harbour and left 6am Sunday morning and sailed to Hippo Bay (map). I anchored and spent the night in Hippo Bay and then back home today (Monday)

    I will make sure that I take much more photos next time but it's difficult to work in a freezing wind that cuts like a knife :mad:

    Most important IT WAS FUN !!!! :D:D:D
     

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  9. Fanie
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Location: Colonial "Sick Africa"

    Fanie Fanie

    Well I'm finally convinced sailors are as mad as fishermen. It's cold enough away from the water never mind being on it.

    Soooo... Manie, how does the sail work, or are you still getting used to it ?


    RHP ! Where the heck have you been ?

    Tomorrow morning first thing I want to see you in my office :(
     
  10. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Cape Town South Africa

    Manie B Senior Member

    Fanie the sail works well, and there is a lot to get used to.
    But I was hiding inside and let the Raymarine ST1000 do all the work!
    It was so cold my nose and eyes were constantly running :eek:

    But so far 100% happy!
    I had her up to 3 knots with that little bit of sail up and that was enough for me in that cold. I have to make some little changes because I found that dressed with a lot of clothes that makes you feel like the "Michelin Man" some controls could be positioned a bit better.

    I could even lock the tiller and steer by the sail alone, which was great.
     
  11. RHP
    Joined: Nov 2005
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    Location: Singapore

    RHP Senior Member

    Congratulations on the launch Manie. Much space below? How did you sleep?
     
  12. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Cape Town South Africa

    Manie B Senior Member

    RHP thanks :) Plenty space below and slept 100% ok!
    I sized the bunks around my "own" dimensions, but they could have been made bigger very easily. As they are the bunks are 1.95m x 0.8m (6'5"x2'8") and a standard Li-Lo air mattress fits easily.
    Headroom is completely adequate and it is very comfortable to sit inside with the hatches closed.

    I must admit that I was very weary (scared:p) of launching in the freezing conditions, because we live in a arid dry and dusty country and don't be fooled by the "green" tourist brochures. But the experiment to endure the cold was a complete and total success!! What really surprised me is how warm and cosy the boat is inside. This was the first test of real cold for me, -4 DegC outside before sunrise, and it passed with flying colours.

    The sailing went fine (if you could ever call that sailing) trotting along at 2.5 to 3 knots fully reefed sail :eek: but I did not set out to see what she can or cant do, that I'll do when it warms up a bit.

    So the conclusion is - all good and great fun!
    I will be going down regularly now for the next 2 months to do the odd little jobs on the boat, and she will be ready for some heavier sailing after that. Then I will take lots of photos, readings and measurements, and give good "scientific" feedback.

    Cheers and thanks to all :cool::D
     

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  13. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Manie B Senior Member

    :p and just to show that I have not gone completely soft in my old age :p I did go on deck for a short while once the sun was up ;)
     

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  14. cookiesa
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: Launceston, Tasmania

    cookiesa Senior Member

    Lol, great to see some updates again.

    i have just started my build again after a rebuild so keep the posts coming! Your posts are an inspiration to see it through!
     

  15. Manie B
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Cape Town South Africa

    Manie B Senior Member

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