Boat plans

 The research

This all started from researching plans on the internet. I originally wanted to build a Catamaran of fiberglass. I quickly came to the realization that transporting such a thing would be insanely priced. So I went on researching monohull sailboat plans. While I found many that seemed to be suited for what I wanted to build, they were a bit costly in my opinion.

The source

I happened across George Buehler Designs. Here is his plans page: http://georgebuehler.com/photothumbs.html While still a bit pricey for me, there was a lot of good information there.

George takes a no nonsense approach to boat building. His boats are designed to take almost anything that can be thrown at them. Designed with simple systems that a sailor should be able to repair at sea. I bought two of his books. The Troller yacht book, and Buehlers backyard boat building. Both have great information in them, and they can be found on Georges website.

 In Georges boat building book, he also includes several free plans of successful and tried boat designs. The plans have been scanned but some of the details are very small. George states in his book that he will send more legible copies of the plans if you just ask. To be fair, you should really buy the book first.

The plans

The plans to be used for SV Sojourn will be based on the 35 foot "Juno" plans designed by George Buehler. These plans are in his book and is a trusty design. Here is the page for Juno http://georgebuehler.com/juno.html

These are the particulars:    

LOD: 35'6" Beam: 10'7" Draft: 5'6" Displ.: 22,000 lbs

 I am still trying to decide whether to go with store bought dimensional lumber or buy a chainsaw mill and cut my own trees here on my property and mill to the sizes I need. The problem with milling them myself will be the drying process of almost a year. I am also still deciding whether to go with a conventional sailing rig or junk rig. I plan to be single handing the boat so ease of operation is the primary concern.

In any event it should be an exciting project. I know it will take lots of time as not only does the materials need to be obtained and assembled but also I need to acquire the tools to do the task at hand. I don't have much of a budget but I will do what I can with what I have.

About me

My name is Scott and as of this writing I am almost 48.
I am not a Writer, an English major, a Mechanical engineer, nor a Boat wright.

I am however a Volunteer Firefighter that has a passion for building a boat. Not just any boat, MY BOAT!

I thought it would be fun to share that with you here. 

I have long wanted to sail the seas but a lifetime of working,family and such has always kept me busy doing other things. Being not very financially robust, I decided to look into building my own sailboat. Being single now with no real commitments except for my dog Iris, it is an excellent time to begin this project.
I live in the mountains of Colorado and will build it here on my property. I felt I needed to limit the size of SV Sojourn as to keep down the expense of eventual transportation to sea. SV Sojourn is a George Buehler design called Juno.


The plans are for a sailboat of 35' 6" LOD. She will have a beam of 10' 7". She should have a displacement of 22,500 lbs. and a draft of 5' 6".

The plans call for wood construction with Plywood and a fiberglass and epoxy skin covering the hull. I am still deciding on whether to use a Junk rig or another type of sail plan. I do plan on sailing this single handed so simple and ease of handling is a priority.

 In building and posting progress here, it will sometimes be delayed as I am not only a Volunteer firefighter but I also am a Firefighter on our Wildland team. This means sometimes I can be dispatched to Wildland fires spending 2 weeks or more away at a time.

 When things are more normal, I plan to do at least one update per week. I also plan to do video along with pictures. I will probably post the video on youtube with links from here. I hope all of you enjoy reading the progress here.

I hope not only to share my progress, but also look forward to your comments,questions, and suggestions. For me this will be a monumental project and on a shoestring budget.

Stay safe and may you have fair winds and following seas!