Chapter 1 - My goals and Requirements
Chapter 2 - Choosing the Boat to Build (New 3/02)
Chapter 3 - Preliminaries, What I Did Before Starting
Chapter 4 - Setting up Frames and Building the Hull
Chapter 5 - Interior
Chapter 6 - Deck and Exterior
Chapter 7 - Topside Details
Chapter 8 - Keel, Centerboard, and Rudder (New 3/03)
Chapter 9 - Mast, Rigging, Sails, Outboard & Anchors (New 1/04)
Chapter 10 - The Electrical System
Chapter 11 - The Trailer and Trailering
Chapter 12 - Sea Trials and Cruising Pictures
Chapter 13 - Future Projects ... When is a Boat Finished?
Chapter 14 - Useful Information... Sources and Links
Chapter 15 - Questions and Answers
Chapter 16 - Other Vagabond Builders and Aficionados (New 1/04)
Chapter 17 - A Few Good Ideas(New 7/03)
The purpose of this site is to share my experiences and research involved in building the Vagabond Plus trailerable sailboat. I hope that what I learned will help other builders. Now that the boat is finished, I have added some pictures from several of our cruises. Like the boat, this site is "under construction". Nothing fancy planned, just the facts. The site has lots of pictures which is what I hope you came to see. It takes time to download but that's the price of passing on what I hope is useful information.
This is an illustrated account of the building of the Vagabond. I have included lots of pictures as well as many of my personal opinions. Now that we have some experience with the boat, I have gone back and added some ideas for future builders. The story isn't finished; I plan to keep adding other things that might interest you. We have some pictures of our adventures which may find their way into the story. I hope you'll find this section useful.
Vagabond Plus
LOA: 19'8"
Beam: 7'7"
Draft:1'6" to 3'3"
Displacement: 2350 lbs.
Sail area: 170 sq. ft. (Main and fore triangle)
News January 2006
We've now spend over 220 days cruising in Just Right since the 1999 launch. In 2005, we went back to the Florida Keys to join another trailer sailor for a cruise out to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson. The cruise out from Key West was easy but the slog back against the wind tested the mettle of the crews. The Vagabond was once again up to the job. Next, we joined the BEER cruise and sailed around Pensacola with about 50 other Southeastern trailer sailors. Sailing with other similar sized boats gives an opportunity to check performance of the Vagabond. In July, we returned to sail again with a large group of West Coast sailors in the Cruiser Challenge. Just Right is in dry dock right now for some repairs and refurbishment in preparation for adventures in 2006.
In 2004, we hoped to repeat the previous years Bahamas trip but the winds in the gulf stream changed our minds and our itinerary changed to the Florida Keys. We spent a week enjoying a cruise to one of the nations newest, our Channel Islands National Park. In September, we made our usual pilgrimage to the Wooden Boat Festival followed by several weeks in the San Juan Islands and the CanadianGulf Islands.
The Vagabond has exceeded our expectations in the variety of venues. We have lake sailed at three Mead Madness trips. Our local salt water sailing has included trips to Catalina Island and Santa Cruz Island. We enjoyed participating in several Small Craft Advisor sponsored Cruiser Challenges. In 2000, we came in first among the other boats under 20 feet like Potter 19s and Montgomerys. In 2002, we had to race with the boats over 20 feet but still managed to bring home a first place trophy. Each Fall, we have attended the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and then launched in Anacortes for about a month of sailing in the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands.
In April 2003, we joined the East coast trailer sailors for a two week trip to the Bahama Islands. We traveled 340 miles which included our first night time, almost "blue water" crossing. The shallow draft of the Vagabond was ideal for the shallow water in the Bahamas and Biscayne Bay and was no handicap in the deep water either. We rounded out our tour with some day sails around Jacksonville Florida.
Our Vagabond Plus, Just Right, has performed very well as our fast, comfortable mini-cruiser. After another year of sailing experience, she is still our GLB (Great Little Boat). Best of all, when not in use, she lives happily and very economically in my garage.
Our Vagabond Now Has a Tough Little Brother and a Speedy Big Sister
To find out about the Adelie 14 plans, go to: Adelie 14 Plans-Online
To find out about the
Vagabond 23 plans, go to: Vagabond 23 Plans-Online
For more about the Vagabond, follow this link to the designers web site: BoatPlans-Online. Or to find out about the Vagabond 20+ plans, go to: Vagabond 20+ Plans-Online
Thanks for visiting my web site!