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Monday, April 27, 2026

Other Workshops: Homebrew Sailboats


In the Dominican Republic I sometimes find myself wanting to take sailing lessons on Juanillo Beach.  Maybe next winter. I've also been following the far more sophisticated wooden boat-building effort of Leo Sampson and the Tally Ho.  All of this helps explain why I watched this video.  And a big part of this is simply an interest in "other kinds of homebrew workshops."  

There is some practical advice for us:  The importance of pilot holes.  The fact that Philip head screws sometimes break (who knew?). 

Check it out.  Thanks to Hack-A-Day for alerting us to this.  And thanks to the Cumberland Rover guy. 

5 comments:

  1. Highly Recommend!! Do the lessons, and if you look for your own sailboat, get (or build!) one with more freeboard than his skif, especially if you are in the waters of the DR or Chesapeake.

    Back in 1965-68, my Dad and I built a 20 ft wooden sailboat based on William F. Crosby's "Trivia" design. It was all marine ply, oak keel, 25 ft aluminum mast, and "Marconi" rig for guying/staying. We went through buckets of brass Phillips head screws, did the pilot holes and drove the screws with Yankee screwdrivers. Yes, all by hand-hundreds! Dad had a PhD in Re-purposing! Any knack for homebrewing (everything) was from him.

    We named it the "Mary Joan" after my Mom, and sailed it for years in the Barnegat Bay. Crosby's design was brilliant. She was a better boat than her crew, no doubt. The 4.5 ft steel retractable centerboard allowed us to go anywhere in the shallows. The Barnegat had those!
    You won't find much on Crosby's "Trivia" design, but he had another design that was (and still is) wildly popular--The Snipe!
    73- WN2A

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    1. FB Mike: Ah yes, I see the Knack roots run deep at WN2A! 73 Bill N2CQR

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    2. Thanks, Bill, but you are the one who managed to do Homebrew DSB/SSB! Pretty major stuff!

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  2. I’ve been filling the Tally Ho build from the beginning! Leo is amazing! Now I’m also following “A boat in the woods.”

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    1. Good to hear from you Charles. Glad you too are following the Tally Ho. For a time I was hoping he would come past our place in the DR, but it looks like he will go further east before heading north east to the UK. I have been missing Winterfests because we head to the DR for the winter and don't return until mid April. 73 Bill N2CQR

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