After patiently waiting for 2 months (well maybe not completely patiently) the Pocketship plans surprised me and arrived on an evening postal delivery. Delivery took 11 days. I have had parcels sent to my son in Australia take about the same amount of time, but of course it is the holiday season.
It appears that good things come to those who wait as I cannot imagine there being a more comprehensive set of boat building plans being available in the marketplace. Eleven pages of 2' by 3' scaled drawings, seven sheets of 3' by 16' full sized patterns, and a 288 page instruction manual with more than 800 photos and diagrams.
I have skimmed the manual and every step appears to have been carefully photographed and explained in language easily understood by a first time boat builder. Every detail from pouring the lead ballast to building spars to attaching all the rigging and hardware is outlined concisely, knowledgeably, and with lots of expert boat building hints.
The whole package is most impressive and plans such as for the Bolger Micro are pathetically inferior in comparison (not even a list of materials and only 7 or 8 pages of building instructions).
The photos show the manual and scaled drawings, the full size patterns beside an 8 foot pool table for scale, and a sample page from the manual.
A quick read through the manual has given me a better idea of how big of a project this is actually going to be. Thankfully, not too overwhelming but I am still glad to have such excellent instructions. It looks like there is lots of stuff I can do in my basement workshop starting in February while the garage is too cold. I wish I could start sooner but will be away in January for my son's wedding in Australia.
8 comments:
That is indeed a very professional and comprehensive set of plans. I almost feel a bit sorry for you--if it were me, I would certainly want to get started right away!
Happy Holidays,
Mark
I think I will have enough distractions in Australia visiting my son to keep my mind mostly off boat building for a while (although he is pretty keen to see me get started also).
I guess I will have to be satisfied right now with going out on Boxing day to look for a table saw and router.
Seasons Greetings,
Dave
Dave:
My plans for the PocketShip arrived on the 20th Dec.in Sydney Australia. So you might be right about the postage service being slow in the States.
I Hope to start the boat ASAP but may be delay with family issues.
My boat is going to be called "PocketShip Enterprise" If you wish you can use "PocketShip Enterprise A"
Regards,
Hendrik
My wife is not quite the Star Trek fan I am so I don't think Enterprise A would go over very well. We should keep in touch as construction proceeds on our Pocketships.
I will be in Sydney January 10th connecting to the Gold Coast to visit my son for a month. Construction on my Pocketship will start in mid-February when I return home.
Is this your first boatbuilding project?
Happy New Year,
Dave
Construction would be a lot easier/quicker if you didn't live in the Arctic :) Hope it warms up soon!
Dave:
No, the PocketShip is not the first boat that I have built but it will be the largest. I have built a Firebug sail boat(www.firebug.co.nz) for my son and three Chesapeake Sea Kayaks (14',16' &17'). Everyone of our boats was going to be called "Enterprise" but we decided that none of our boats was grandiose or dignified enough to carry the name. For the Firebug We settled on "Sardine Can" instead.
If you would like a coffee with us while in Sydney let me know and I will make some time.
Hendrik:
Thanks for the generous offer for coffee but we actually only have enough time to gather our luggage, clear customs and then get from the international terminal to to the domestic terminal to catch our flight to the Gold Coast.
TrevC:
I'm bringing some parts of the boat in my luggage to epoxy them at your apartment :-)
Dad
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