Thomas's Story from Bonn, Germany (C154)
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HI Mike
This is Thomas-S in Bonn, Germany. Here is my personal story:
I have always wanted to build a boat. Not a big one, just small and light to sail occasionally. I knew I would enjoy the building process at least as much as the sailing. First I thought about an oldtimer, a traditional boat of solid wood, especially as the Herreshoff designs intrigued me. But I really wanted something faster, not a monohull. And not a sports catamaran either. Crawling around in wet suits on a trampoline was just not my choice.
But then, after sailing on a Farrier F31 for about a week, I just knew I had to look for a trimaran.
Trimaran plans were hard to find for me. I almost bought plans for a proa from Chesapeake Light Craft, but then I saw they also offered plywood kits for the W17. They referenced Mike’s website so I was soon digging in. I must say, I was soon overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, it's quality and the openness to share it freely to everybody. Although my wife asked me, “where do you want to sail ?” I didn't really have a good answer, but I was now hooked to start building.
After a whole winter building accessories like the FG hinges, the daggerboard and the boom etc, the building of the hulls seemed superfast by comparison as there is more to see for the hours put in. Everybody following me thought the build would be finished after little more than a year, and at first, I started to believe it myself.
But then came the paint job. I wanted to have a really decent high gloss coating. I had seen too many DIY boats that just looked rough, devalued just due to their finish. So I studied how to get set up to spray paint and then made a paint booth out of my garage. That meant creating a ventilation system and then I practiced spraying without having either runs or dry spots … aiming for a smooth professional glossy surface with just the right paint film. It might sound easy, but it took me months to achieve the result I wanted.
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The next winter I got into another DIY challenge that fascinated me… sewing my own sails! I actually like sewing and was able to get hold of a decent Pfaff 138 machine and then jumped into it. First, I discovered I had to order the Dacron cloth from Sailrite in the US because sailcloth is apparently not sold to end users here in Germany. Using guidelines from Mike’s website re sail camber vs windspeed, I "constructed" the sails with panels dictated by a computer program called ‘Sailcut’. The difficult thing was done and now I ‘only’ had to accurately cut out the panels and then carefully sew them together. It’s a painstaking process that takes time and patience, but was also rewarding to do.
I then built the mast, the 8-meter CF rotating wing mast that was designed and recommended for this boat. Mike’s system to build a mast from self-made carbon fiber strips is super clever, and its great fun to see something as strong as a carbon fiber wing mast slowly ‘growing’ out of the simple pieces and process. In retrospect, I unwisely chose to omit the short test length that Mike says is needed to gauge shell thickness. I paid a price for that, as this first effort turned out to be thicker and heavier than the design needed. If I ever do this again, I swear I will also use vacuum bagging where possible, for less epoxy and less weight, while maintaining adequate carbon fibers for strength. And another time, I would build the mast first, and THEN sew the sails, as they are easier to match up like that.
Now with the boat finished, I come to the end result, so here are comments from my first season outings.
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After the initial Launch.
This is C154 in Europe, reporting in on my now completed W17 (“Tommy Tri”) that I finally launched this summer. (2024). Although I did not get in as much sailing as I had hoped, what I can say sounds much like the other reviews I’ve read.
What a Boat! and What a Beauty! I am so tremendously proud of her and she sails just like the designer promised! Remarkably dry, effortless gliding with every small breeze, yet eagerly accelerating with every gust.
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After some practice, I am now able to tack almost every time with success, and gybing is a breeze. I didn't yet test the asymmetrical but I am sure that the extra area heading downwind in low winds will be well appreciated. Even my self-made sails work as they should, which is quite a success for me, though the twist of the main is bit greater than planned. Currently, I blame the stretch of the dacron for this, but this needs further research and I hope to improve the issue. Most of the time I can sail without the daggerboard as there appears so little leeway. Only when the winds are changing directions or when tacking do I feel I really need the daggerboard, because then, you can almost turn on the spot yet still keep moving.
So let me publically thank Mike for this amazing boat, and for the wonderful experience I had in building her from scratch, including the mast which gave me a special pleasure of its own. I enjoy this work so much that my fingers still itch to keep building – so maybe a second (lighter) mast, and/or new composite amas of foam and carbon to lower weight are in my future. The main reason to lower their weight would be to ease the handling ashore, as sadly, I cannot keep her in the water the whole season but have to haul her in and out every time I go sailing. And then, of course, I might one day build and test some foils on her, especially if I make new amas ;-). Already looking forward to the next season.
Again, a sincere thank you, from a now ‘totally hooked’ W17 builder and sailor,
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Liebe Grüße Tommy-S, Bonn, Germany, Summer 2024