Piver Lodestar 35

Clausont, The Browns are a good boat from what I know. There are a couuple people here on the forum who have them, and I have a close friend with one. As for the idea of a stable boat for a reluctant mate, I agree whole heartedly. The main inspiration for purchasing our boat was my wife's back problems. She could not live life at 15 degrees.
As for performance, I wnat it, but it comes second to comfort. I will say the large deck space has a down side. Pinting that deck is a major project. It never seems to end. Still, it makes a great work platform.

Mike, we decided to go with flex tanks in the main bilge for now, and build in tanks later into the bilge. I am concerned that the ammas will become a headache trying to keep the weight even, as well as the effect in performance. As for diesel, we have 2-18ga alum tanks, one in the aft section of each amma, and a 13 gallon in the aft section of the main hull aft of the rudder post. This should provide enough capacity for us, along with the 2-6ga jerry cans we have created room for next to the 13ga tank. We will see how the weight works out, but it should be fine.
We are getting closer every week. Of course, the closer you get, the more small projects become noticable, and the deadline becomes harder to pin down. So, officially my launch date has become "Any day now"

Curtis, Realy cool picture! Are you the serious looking young sailor in the companionway?

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

Curtis, Realy cool picture! Are you the serious looking young sailor in the companionway?

Thanks...was fun coming across it. Nope, that is my niece in the pic.

It would be interesting to find out what happened to the old girl...(the boat, I know where my neice is!)

c

Oops. Well, So much for guess work It is interesting how many of the old Pivers are sitting around marinas. Even more surprising how many are seaworthy still.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Kai Nui

I am getting close, but still have a few things to do, including plumbing the engine, wiring and interior. Since my slip is about 200 mile south of where I am launching, I need the boat to be completely seaworthy when she splashes.
...
I am putting together product reviews on all of the vendors that I used for this project, and should be able to post them to the forum in the next few months. There are a few that needed some hand holding, but overall, the vendors I have used to build this boat have been great.

So, um ... how is all this going?

Good question. We are ready to splash, but a bit to do once in the water. Unfortunately, I need a truck to launch. Budget is drained, so rental is out of the question, and the past two weeks, I have had volunteers not show up as promised. We are in "Any day now" mode. Unfortunately, this also means things are in that final steps phase where the boat is a mess, so I am reluctant to post pics. The updates will come very soon, and in large quantities. Stay tuned

Just a quick update. Engine runs, lights work, trailer tires hold air, and the truck is located. We have arranged the crane to unstep the mast for some rigging and other mast stuff (Anyone have a radar mount for a JRC they want to part with?). I am not setting any deadlines, as that seems to get me in trouble, but the boat is ready to splash. We are determined to BBQ on deck for the Labor Day weekend. We are just hoping that dropping the meat overboard is a worry we have at that time (Another long story).

[Hud3]

How about some PHOTOS, Kai????




We want to see how cute your baby is!

[knottybuoyz]

Just remember to put all "3" plugs in!

Hud, the pics in the gallery are fairly up to date. Most of the recent things have been the small stuff that doesn't really show progress in the photos. But, there will be pics when she launches.
Knotty, the only holes in the bottom of this boat, stay there when she goes in the water

She is in the water.

[Hud3]

Not only is she in the water, she's actually FLOATING!!!

Congratulations, Kai! Did you taker her out for a spin?

Not there yet. It was a real adventure getting her launched. We still need to unstep the mast, and do some rigging before she can sail. The engine runs, but I missed an air bubble in the fuel line, so I need to bleed that before I go any further.
We got her in with no serious injury to the crew or the boat, but there were a few close calls.
The worst part is that we had to be at our house a couple hours away, as I had to be at work today, so we could not stay on the boat after launch. Very nerve racking.
Coincidentally, with the exception of the guy who owns the truck, all of the poeple helping are volunteers that just happened to be around, and jumped in to help.

[knottybuoyz]

Just be thankful your launch didn't go like this one!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ftuftasnfE

It was kinda like that, but that is a story for another day. At least we were able to get her where she needed to go in the end

[sctpc]

Did you do the add on the back or was it there as per a plan? its a good way to stay dry and worm but it would get hot in summer.