I'm Designing a Little Catboat ... and a Travel Trailer

When I finish the design, I want to build it. Husband says I can't. We'll see about that.

Coquina -- a little clam of a boat for an old geezer and gezette -- 

not a Cape Codder catboat with its deep keel but flat bottomed, like the

catboats that oystered on the upper Gulf Coast in the 19th century

Alas, I have no design software, so this was done in a drawing program. Forget precision. But it gets the idea across. LOD, 17 feet; beam, 8 feet; draft, approximately 10-11 inches; board down, about 30 inches. Hull weight, ballast weight, sail area, etc., still to be determined. I'm getting lots of encouragement and advice from my boat groups....

Maybe someday, we can do the Florida 120, the Mississippi 110 and the Texas 200...

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Years ago I bought a little vintage travel trailer to refurbish (an activity that has become even more popular today). The onset of arthritis in my knees stopped my project after I got it down to the bare chassis, got it sandblasted, primed and painted. Lo, these many years later, with new knees, I have revisited the trailer and finished the design.

 

 Valerie -- The Happy Wanderer (more correctly, Valderi, but I prefer the other spelling).
Basically a tent with hard sides and air conditioning. And wifi. And video streaming.
Because most, but not all, camping is done outside.

Twelve foot by eight foot cabin built on the chassis of a 1972 Aristocrat Lo-Liner. I'm using as much as possible from the Lo-Liner in the design -- the aluminum-framed awning windows, the door and screen, possibly some of the "blond oak" finished plywood -- but not likely. Two full length sofa-bunks inside (so nobody will have to crawl over somebody to get in or out of bed), a dedicated computer work station, tiny porta potty room, tiny corner kitchen with dorm fridge and two-burner induction cooktop. No propane. If I have to cook with gas, we'll have a chuck box with Coleman camp stove for cooking outside.

Husband says I can't build this, either. We'll see....

Can't wait to take her to Confederate events!

There are some previous projects and commitments to do first. A plywood Stevenson Project's sewing center ... some bath and kitchen repairs and updates ... and a screened porch for the cat babies.

All my life I've wanted to build things, and I had to get by with sewing clothes and curtains and stuff. Now -- it's power tools, here I come. (I have a whole workshop of power and hand tools -- still need to get a power planer and one or two other things... Oh goody.)