what they are doing with wood, and pay attention when they have some suggestions for alternate materials. I improvised some production
techniques a little to suit the half of the garage my wife let me use (I’m smart enough to know that I may be the Skipper, but she runs the house). Instead of cutting the frames down on the stongback after fi tting the chine and sheer, as was originally done, I pre-fabricated them on a table and made the basic cuts with my bandsaw. It saved a lot of time and frustration during the construction as I was able to glue and clamp the frame members and install the gussets with ease. I built the centerboard trunk next, then after fi tting the frames, I inset the keel into the bottom of the frame members and attached the centerboard trunk to the top of the keel (or bottom as it sits in the stongback). After laying the keel, I fi t the chines and sheers and secured them with glue and stainless screws. The stem was templated from the plans and installed, along with the transom. I sheathed the hull with ¼ inch marine grade Doug Fir plywood (two 4x8 pieces work out exactly) using
a good waterproof glue and screws (2 part epoxy works great, but you need marine grade to get the working time), countersunk about every three to four inches along the seams and fastening points. Some fi berglass work came next to seal the seams along the sides and bottom, plus the joint along the chines. Now I was cooking, and the wife began to believe that I just might pull it off. Fall saw the boat pulled out of the garage, (discretion being the better part of valor) for the car to stay warm, and over winter I built the mast and boom, plus had Don Yager build the sails. The mast is a hollowed out box construction which is very strong, and also supple enough to have that little “whip” to it in heavier winds. Fast forward again, to 2010 and
Lake Pend O’rielle in northern Idaho. With an unceremonious splash, the Lillian B. Atkinson, Too hit the water and I was in Dad’s role of “Cap’n Bligh” with my crew, Chris. We raced a bit, but I ended up spending most of the season day sailing, teaching Chris how to sail and how to keep the skipper dry, which every sailor knows is the most important job for the crew. The “Lilly
B.” performed admirably, and we had many days not only re-learning the boat, but learning the lake, the latter being the more diffi cult. The wife decided that she could not sail in such a small boat, so she “persuaded” me to get into a larger one, (which is another story), but suffi ce to say, I still sail the Bantam, and am garnering praises from wooden boat admirers at the marina. There are still some old Bantams around, you see them occasionally in the classifi eds or on Craigslist, but for the most part, the “little boat that could” has passed on to the ledgers of Neptune and Aeolis. Every now and then, the Bantam Association has an “Old Timers” classic boat regatta in upstate NY. Lost in an old version of the Rhodes
Bantam Class Handbook is a poem, paraphrasing Poe’s “The Raven” which sums up the Bantam experience…
“I’ve had wishes, but who’d grant ‘em? Art thou, vision, but a phantom? No, you’re the great Phil Rhodes Bantam Calling “Sail Forevermore!”
48° N
Ocean Passage Making with Instruction
Indian Summer Sale
Our annual spring delivery sale is back! 30% off sails ordered before September 15th
2011 and 20% if
ordered before October 15th 2011. Take delivery and pay balance March of 2012*
*One Design sails excluded
For a unique and dynamic learning experience, join instructors John and Amanda Neal in the South Pacifi c aboard
Mahina Tiare III, their Hallberg-Rassy 46
www.mahina.com • 360.378.6131
Call or visit our website for details & conditions
Ullman Sails Seattle 2370 Fairview Ave. East (206) 234-3737
sailsinfo@UllmanSailsSeattle.com
www.ullmansailsseattle.com www.facebook.com/UllmanSailsSeattle
48° NORTH, SEPTEMBER 2011 PAGE 55
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