Autumn Leaves progress

Not sure if this'll work.

Here's some progress pics on my Autumn Leaves build.

https://unsplash.com/@nisvan

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Very nice. From the photos, it seems you are building from plans? I am really intrigued by the Autumn Leaves. It’s more boat that my tiny garage can handle; the Southwester Dory I am building has similar LOA and beam, but much finer ends and isn’t nearly has heavy to move around or hoist off the trailer even once it is complete. I hope I can scheme up a way to build a slightly more substantial boat like the Autumn Leaves, assuming I still want to build boats after finishing the current project.

Aaron, thanks for commenting. Building from kit. Autumn Leaves (AL), although less than a foot longer than
the Southwester Dory (SD), as you noted, comes in much heavier, at about ten times the weight of the SD, not including the lead ballast.
Also, whereas the SD has lapstrake planks, the AL has only one full plank, on each side. More specifically referred
to as side hull panels. And they’re big and ungainly to work with. Imagine a 19’ long, 3 to 4 feet high, 3/8" thick plank,
to move around and work with, only there’s two of them, one port, one SB. It was no picnic making them, and then getting them
attached to the 7 bulkheads. So it’s not the kind of boat you can build indoors (unless you have french doors), tho it’s doable
I suppose in an empty one car garage, more preferably two car. Am still not sure how the boat is going to get turned over, so as to install the bottom planks, except to throw a big party for my racquetball buddies, and sometime during it… “oh, by the way, do you guys mind…” Cheers

Keep us posted, I’ll be curious to know how you handle manipulating and moving the boat around during the build.

I’m thinking about putting swinging doors on my garage. I don’t park a car in there, and I’d like to use the space occupied by the open door to hoist a boat as needed. I do that currently with the SD when I need to flip it, but have to remember to not open the door when the boat is hoisted. It wouldn’t seem to be difficult to remember, but I have nearly forgotten at least once.

For moving the boat around I’ve got a small 4 wheel dolly under each side of the boat, placed right under the heaviest and most solid part of the frame, which is where the bilgeboard compartments lie, near the center of the boat just inside the hull panels. You can see the starboard side dolly in this pic - black/carpeted with a label on top.

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That’s funny, I recently put my Southwester on the same furniture dollies. I’m working on the deck now, which is assembled off of the boat and requires additional floor space that I barely have. Being able to roll the boat around gets me just enough space. I almost built the deck in my office/den but wasn’t sure I could get it out once assembled.

I hope things are going well with your build.

Brad,

The “racquetball buddies” technique worked for me when my Peeler Skiff needed turning, only it was golf. :grinning:

Autumn Leaves is a beautiful thing!

Have fun,
Dick

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@Brad_Kurlancheek I see what you mean about unwieldy panels… the Southwester Dory’s deck is over 16’ long, and nearly 5’ abeam, just a bit less than the overall dimensions of the whole boat. With the cockpit cut out out of the center It is a big, floppy, uncooperative monster. Because of the nature of my shop, I had to build it at about a 45 degree angle to the boat, and there’s a support post in between the two (I made sure I could swing the deck around the post before assembly). It worked out that the best looking panel sides all face the same direction when joined. I built it bottom side up so I’d only need to flip it once before wrestling it onto the boat. Now I’m wondering if I should have built it top side up so it would be 'glassed already when it is flipped the first time. These are things I’ll keep in mind for the next boat.

Aaron, post pictures if you can. Curious to see how your progress so far.

Will do… and I forgot to mention I saw your build in Small Craft Advisor. I’ve only ever seen two completed Autumn Leaves plus your in-progress build on the internet so far. There may be others lurking, but you’ll be in a small club at any rate.

Aaron, were it not for the guidance and inspiration given graciously to me by Dave Dawson, and Eric Vance, the builders of those two completed AL’s, and the advice & encouragement from John Harris at CLC, I’d surely not be a member of that club you mention :slight_smile: .