Hi All,
Yesterday was a day we have all been waiting for! We knew we were close to being “finished,” but as is typical, there’s always some little detail that needs to be cleared up before the big splash. But finally the sun came out and a nice breeze popped up. Although the boatshop phone was ringing and there was lots of stuff to do, Falk and I just looked at each other and said, “Ah, lets go for it.”
We hooked up the trailer and headed for the boat launch. Falk has been the key man designing and rigging the sail plan so while he rigged the spars (took about 5 minutes) I installed the rudder and strutted around as if I knew what I was doing.
The Scamp slid off the trailer and floated like a cork. Water ballast added, it still seemed gossamer on the surface of the water. After coercing a passerby to take a picture of us, I gently pushed the #1 ‘glass Scamp with Falk at the tiller away from the dock. The wind was so light in this protected part of Gig Harbor bay that the water was totally still, yet Falk easily gained way and sailed to windward. Away from the dock the wind built to maybe 6 knots and Scamp really took off. Boat speed is excellent, nay surprising… tacking is effortless and jibing holds no drama. She’s quick, quiet, stable, forgiving, agile. What more can I say?
Here’s a short playlist of three videos showing the sea trial in progress:
Next week we will start on a very pretty #2 which will have a bright red top strake, white underbody with bisque deck and bronze deadlights and cleats. #2 will take about 6 weeks to build because we will need to partially disassemble #1 to take patterns and then ensure they fit subsequent boats. After that our goal is to have Scamps coming along at the rate of one every 3 to 4 weeks until we catch up with the backlog. You all have been very patient and can use this rough schedule to anticipate when your boat will begin construction.
CHEERS!
Dave, Falk and the crew at GHBW
PS. I have been working on writing a detailed option list with pro / cons for the various options to help each of you decide the final details for your boat. It will be posted for your review in a few days.
Looks Great!
Which of the user-selected options are showcased on Scamp #1 ?
. Bronze Deadlights
. Mahogany Gunwale trim ?
. Other wood trim such as coaming or cabin side overlay ?
. Swiveling mainsheet cleat with removable base ?
. Compass, bulkhead mounted Richie ?
Hi Jay,
Our ”glass Scamp #1 has some options specified by the owner. It has varnished mahogany gunwale trim – the mahogany ‘eyebrows’ on the cabin sides are inclused as part of the gunwale trim. We have the ability to add other wood overlays to suit the owners desires, such as coaming sides, seat tops, etc. ;prices for that type of custom work is based on materials and labor.
The polished bronze dead lights are optional. The standard deadlight is a white synthetic style. Th e owner of this boat also specified polished bronze 5″ cleats but those had not yet been installed when this series of photos was taken.
If you watch carefully during the video pan of the boats interior you can see the mainsheet cleat and bulkhead mounted compass.
Dave