Not sure if this'll work.
Here's some progress pics on my Autumn Leaves build.
https://unsplash.com/@nisvan
1 Like
Very nice. From the photos, it seems you are building from plans? I am really intrigued by the Autumn Leaves. Itās more boat that my tiny garage can handle; the Southwester Dory I am building has similar LOA and beam, but much finer ends and isnāt 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 theyāre big and ungainly to work with. Imagine a 19ā long, 3 to 4 feet high, 3/8" thick plank,
to move around and work with, only thereās two of them, one port, one SB. It was no picnic making them, and then getting them
attached to the 7 bulkheads. So itās not the kind of boat you can build indoors (unless you have french doors), tho itās 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 itā¦ āoh, by the way, do you guys mindā¦ā Cheers
Keep us posted, Iāll be curious to know how you handle manipulating and moving the boat around during the build.
Iām thinking about putting swinging doors on my garage. I donāt park a car in there, and Iād 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 wouldnāt seem to be difficult to remember, but I have nearly forgotten at least once.
For moving the boat around Iāve 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.
2 Likes
Thatās funny, I recently put my Southwester on the same furniture dollies. Iām 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 wasnāt sure I could get it out once assembled.
I hope things are going well with your build.
Brad,
The āracquetball buddiesā technique worked for me when my Peeler Skiff needed turning, only it was golf. 
Autumn Leaves is a beautiful thing!
Have fun,
Dick
1 Like
@Brad_Kurlancheek I see what you mean about unwieldy panelsā¦ the Southwester Doryās deck is over 16ā long, and nearly 5ā 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 thereās 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 Iād only need to flip it once before wrestling it onto the boat. Now Iām 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 Iāll keep in mind for the next boat.
Aaron, post pictures if you can. Curious to see how your progress so far.
Will doā¦ and I forgot to mention I saw your build in Small Craft Advisor. Iāve only ever seen two completed Autumn Leaves plus your in-progress build on the internet so far. There may be others lurking, but youāll 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 ALās, and the advice & encouragement from John Harris at CLC, Iād surely not be a member of that club you mention 
.
@Brad_Kurlancheek I donāt mean to hound (but I will anyway 
) did you get your Autumn Leaves turned? Iām a fan of the project and still wanting to build one myself. I hope things are going well.
Hi Aaron,
No, not yet.
Have spent most of the winter working on a CLC Night Heron, indoors.
Also Iāve noticed my #6 bulkhead on the Autumn Leaves is a bit cockeyed; mainly because
one side is 31 inches from #5, and the other is 30". Lord knows what
I was thinking when I did that, but it really ought to be fixed before further progress
is made.
As to flipping it over, have actually contemplated somehow installing the bottom floor,
without turning it over. There must be a wayā¦
Best,
- Brad
Better to find the discrepancy now than much later I suppose.
If and when I build an Autumn Leaves I will have to construct a rolling strong back that I can push in and out of the garage, and a gantry outside of the garage for turning the boat. I donāt think it is possible to lift and turn in the amount of vertical space I have inside. I need to get the study plans and take some measurements.
Keep going and good luck!
More here later Aaron.
Thanks Brad, your firsthand experience is very helpful. Iāll refer to this post again I am sure.
Since CLC lists the AL in the āPro Kitsā section of the website I assumed there would be a lot more work. The plans are relatively inexpensive and donāt appear to be full sized, so Iād probably order them instead of the study plans and try to build a scale model first.
Youāve come a long way at this point.
Aaron,
Pro kits arenāt necessarily more work. They just require more experience from the builders, closer to a professional level of boatbuilding than a first time boatbuilder. The documentation is not hundreds of pages of step-by-step, color-illustrated explanations. Builders are expected to be able to read plans, know what tools they need and how to use them, etc. In short, they need to know everything it takes to build a complex boat. The pro-kit package focuses on the information and parts that determine which boat is built.
Once you achieve a certain level of experience and comfort with the building process, the pro-kit package is actually nicer than the newb-kit (absolutely no insult intended, we were all newbies on our first boat) one. Itās more concise and lets you focus on the specifics for each boat. When youāre looking for say, transom details, itās nice not to have to wade through 400 pages of boatbuilding 101 textbook to find a specific dimension. And transferring dimensions from sub-scale plans is so much easier than using full-scale templates.
Building a scale model is an excellent way of achieving experience without breaking the bank and making a multi-year commitment, especially if along the way you spot something that makes you decide that that boat is not the one for you.
Laszlo
Years ago I built most of a Stevenson Weekender from plans. I had to give the project away when I moved across country, but I really enjoyed the build up to that point. I still have the plans, but it isnāt the boat I want anymore. A bit too small, and not nearly as capable as I want. More of a fun little toy. So I do have the tiniest bit of experience building from plans. For the AL I would still do the kit, at the very least for the plywood parts. But familiarity with the plans seems like a very good idea, and the scale model makes a lot of sense.
First order of business is to finish the Southwester Dory. I had been loosely planning on a fairly ambitious trip in early August, but at this point I donāt think I will have enough time to finish and get ample time at the helm to confidently take her onto Lake Erie. Iāll settle for launching at the sailing club and spending whatever is left of the season there getting to know the boat. An AL build, starting with the model, would begin sometime in the Winter and I expect would take a few years with work slowing to a crawl in the summer months.
Iāve learned a lot building the Southwester thus far. Mostly about my own lack of patience, and tendency to get frustrated and stuck. There is a fine line between the perils of forging ahead recklessly and being paralyzed with indecision fear.