We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer
day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent
one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal
the bow seam together. The stern we just cut the tin like a comb and
bent the teeth ends up to form a stern sealed it with highway tar as
well. Made a mast from a closet rod. It was a square rigged with bed
sheet sails. Had a great time sailing the lake. Bad part was we had no
keel and could only go down wind. 1 mile sail= 3 mile walk pulling the
boat back around the lake. Between that and soapbox derby on the
spillway we stayed busy that summer!

Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat.

And You?

Joe
MSV RedCloud

Joe wrote:

We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer
day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent
one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal
the bow seam together.

I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame
amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a
semicircle?

I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by
about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering
those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with
materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed
together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered
with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but
not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a
derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail.

It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

"DSK" wrote in message
...
It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?

My first vessel was a raft. It consisted of an 8 foot square wooden palette
which a butcher's fridge had been delivered in. I assumed that it would
float just fine, so I didn't bother to attach any flotation.
I set off on my big adventure with another 7 y/o who lived across the road.
I had a 6-8 foot pole to propel the raft with. We went out onto the lake in
a fairly strong offshore breeze. We very quickly found that the pole wasn't
long enough, and that the "raft" didn't float very well.

I can remember kneeling on one corner of my "raft" (which would sink under
my weight) with the water up to my shoulder as I tried to reach the bottom
with the pole - so that I could try to get us back to the shore.

I don't remember how we got back in.
The other 7 y/o has never gone on a boat since, and to this day she still
blames me.


Regards


Donal
--

It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today. Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?

Agree. Trains at Christmas provided me fond memories.




S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport

Agree. Trains at Christmas provided me fond memories.

The Express to the sanitarium no doubt.

RB

DSK wrote in message ...
Joe wrote:

We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer
day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent
one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal
the bow seam together.

I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame
amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a
semicircle?

I think we had a couple of boards/ seats that helped.


I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by
about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering
those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with
materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed
together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered
with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but
not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a
derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail.

It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today.

Yeah, Today they would have rescue helos hovering over them damanding
they be rescued. Just as much fun or more is we would use the lakes
100 foot + spillway
as a soapbox track, It was a blast unless you rolled and wrecked ,
many time me and my brothers came home covered with asphalt rash.
Today they would go ballistic if you tried something like that at a
govt controlled dam.



Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?


No its going to make a bunch of overweight fat ass liars like the
blobster.


Fresh Breezes- Doug King

DSK wrote in message ...
Joe wrote:

We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer
day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent
one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal
the bow seam together.

I've seen a couple of corrugated tin roof boats. Did you put in a frame
amidships to give the "hull" a shape with more stability than a
semicircle?

I think we had a couple of boards/ seats that helped.


I sailed with my family from a very early age, then crewed on OPB's and by
about ten, through great virtue & charm, found my self often skippering
those OPBs. But I also experimented with building my own boats with
materials at hand, IIRC the first one was a couple of pallets nailed
together into roughly the shape of a milk carton on it's side, and covered
with tarpaper. Actually it sailed pretty well, it would beat a Sunfish but
not a 505. My cousin and I also adventured all over Barnegat Bay in a
derelict rowboat that we found and 'repaired' and added a bedsheet sail.

It's a shame the world has changed so much that kids can't do the same
kind of thing today.

Yeah, Today they would have rescue helos hovering over them damanding
they be rescued. Just as much fun or more is we would use the lakes
100 foot + spillway
as a soapbox track, It was a blast unless you rolled and wrecked ,
many time me and my brothers came home covered with asphalt rash.
Today they would go ballistic if you tried something like that at a
govt controlled dam.



Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?


No its going to make a bunch of overweight fat ass liars like the
blobster.


Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Will videogames and websurfing provide the same kind
of character building, not to mention fond memories in later life?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King


Not a chance! Sad truth is, they won't even know it!

The first one I owned was a Sunfish in San Diego while I
was in college. We used to sail down the cost from Del Mar
to La Jolla, pull it out and have lunch, then hitchhike back
with the boat. The first boating experience was with a toy
sailboat on a pond in the Chicago area. After that, I started
actually sailing on a lake in the Sierra Nevadas. I can't recall
what kind of dink it was.

"Joe" wrote in message
om...
We made it in Ft. Worth. Lived near Benbrook lake. On a Hot Hot summer
day 1967 we found a sheet of corrigated tin. Me and my friends bent
one end in to a bow shape and we scraped tar off the highway to seal
the bow seam together. The stern we just cut the tin like a comb and
bent the teeth ends up to form a stern sealed it with highway tar as
well. Made a mast from a closet rod. It was a square rigged with bed
sheet sails. Had a great time sailing the lake. Bad part was we had no
keel and could only go down wind. 1 mile sail= 3 mile walk pulling the
boat back around the lake. Between that and soapbox derby on the
spillway we stayed busy that summer!

Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat.

And You?

Joe
MSV RedCloud

Took 30 years for me to get my next sailboat.


Holy cripes.


RB