The specs for Autumn Leaves create a very stout hull. The auxiliary power is provided by a pair of oars rowed while standing and facing forward. The quality of the lumber was far beyond anything I could have sourced locally, and because the stock was milled to the finish width and thickness, I saved many hours of work sawing, resawing, and planing. I also purchased the Autumn Leaves timber- and spar-stock packages. I found just one very minor measurement error in the entire kit. The precision of the CNC okoume parts was a marvel. I received countless tips from John as I worked my way through the build. The plans were detailed, but a step-by-step construction manual had not yet been created. Chesapeake Light Craft cut the kit for me without having put a prototype together-the first time they’d done this-but I was game to be the guinea pig. Putting the hull together was straightforward. John agreed and drew the new sail plan and at the same time extended the cabin trunk to create a more agreeable interior. I wrote to John and asked if an Autumn Leaves could be built with a balanced lug main in a tabernacle. I was downsizing from that larger and fairly complicated trimaran and wanted to simplify everything as much as possible. A few years ago, I turned a 16’ skiff into a balanced lug yawl and found it most agreeable, and knew this rig was the right direction to take. While he noted the rig-a classic yawl with a jib- “will prove a joy to handle,” it seemed the three sails might be a bit fussy for me in an 18′6″ boat. The Volvo here has a towing capacity of 3,300 lbs.Īt the time I had read Mike O’Brien’s comments about the design in WoodenBoat, no one had built an Autumn Leaves, but I was quite intrigued by Mike’s assessment of the drawings. and doesn’t require a large truck to pull it. The Autumn Leaves has a towing weight of about 1500 lbs. Add to that the availability of a CNC-cut plywood kit and a timber package milled of quality stock, and my decision was all but made. It was not just a boat that I could make work for what I had planned, but one that John Harris had drawn from scratch for exactly this purpose. But no, my search was a frustrating one until I recalled seeing Chesapeake Light Craft’s Autumn Leaves in WoodenBoat No. I had expected there would be a good list of production boats to fit the bill, and an even greater selection of plans and kits for the home builder. I wanted to revisit the low-key end of the boating spectrum, gunkholing the shallow and protected places that few cruisers visit. I’d had enough of fooling with the noise and maintenance of engines and the careful timing and physical effort that sail rigs demand simply to change direction. Perhaps I’m getting old and lazy and even a bit cranky, but no more jibs, no more winches, no more twangy-tight shrouds for me. That boat was all about speed and distance. My sailing in recent years involved cruising and racing my trimaran, sometimes in very lively conditions. Two years ago, when I was considering building my next sailboat, I daydreamed about a compact, shoal-draft solo cruiser with a comfortable cabin that has no need of an engine.
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