The toilet idea sounds good, I'm looking for somewhere for ours. I will have to check if there is room. I have had a couple of nice trips on Sydney harbour,sailing into a sea breeze starting about 3 ks inland on both days. The water is 14 degrees according to a fisherman at the boat ramp.

Got outside the heads into the Tasman Sea- Pacific Ocean one day and sailed around under the harbour bridge the other. going to Lake Macquarie north of Sydney in a couple of weeks for a few days. The work I have done on the trailer has paid off - very easy getting it out of the water. The decking I put on top of the trailer frame to prevent stones hitting the boat while on the road is very good to walk on while getting the boat out of the water.

Still working on getting rid of the weather helm. Good to hear the boats are all moving along.
cheers
Ron

Richard:

I filled the epoxy seams with graphite. It worked well. I may go into more detail when I get home and it is easier to write.

One of the pictures of Mary Way show where I located my head. A small person can use it there but it is also easy to lift it to another spot for use; like outside.

As far as toilets for a boat the size of ours goes, I think the smaller ones are probably better. We have two of the beasts, one in our camper (tent trailer/folding trailer/popup/etc.) and the other in our boat's cabin.

Size depends on a few things such as how long you're going for and how many persons need access to it. The larger one in the camper has sufficient capacity to allow four to use it for about two days, provided there is occasional access to another washroom, too. The one in the boat is about the smallest I've seen at about 16-18 inches tall and maybe 14 inches square. It lives quite happily on a flat shelf insert behind the bilge board case on the starboard side. It's on the floor for use in the forward cabin when we need it. As it's usually just the two of us, and just for the day, it is more than enough. Last time it wasn't used at all.

So you'll buy the one that has the capacity you need and the size you can live with which will probably mean a compromise somewhere in between. What you do NEED to do is buy a very good quality one! Trust me, there is nothing like the "wuff" of odor escaping from the holding tank of a too flimsy toilet that can't support a person's weight without flexing. Don't be shy- try sitting on a few in the store to see how much they bend. You might be surprised! The hissing sound of escaping air is a dead giveaway.

Just a comment; make sure you buy one that can be moved into the cabin in a pinch and actually use in the headroom available there. I wouldn't like to out to the cockpit on a cold rainy night! Oh, and check the width of your companionway to be sure it can go into the cabin if it needs to.

Have fun planning.

Dale

Ron, have you tried fiddling around with the mizzen to reduce weather helm. I've had some success with that in the past. Let it out quite a ways and slowly sheet it in noting the effect on the tiller. You don't want all the weather helm trimmed out for safety, anyway. "Firm palm pressure" described how the prototype, Minna, was on the tiller in stronger winds.

Dale

Hi guys,
Here's my contribution on the latest subject. We carry a Thetford Porta-Potti, in the cabin, against the main bulkhead, held in place by a piece of shock-cord looped onto those bits sticking up at the sides of the lower slot., which you can see in one of my Interior photos on Richard's site. (There is a screw in the back of each one to stop the shock-cord sliding off.) It is the smallest of the Thetford range, and is the right height for a step into the cabin from the bridge-deck, and for general sitting on when using the galley or chart table. It has a plywood lid and a cloth cover to make it less obvious and protect the top. We only use it when there is no alternative, such as the long-drop toilets at some of the more popular mooring beaches, or digging a cat-hole in the bush. We also carry a bottle of antiseptic hand-cleaner. As somebody said, Eun Mara is a boat suitable for two affectionate people........
Cheers,
Ian

It's a Thetford Porta-Potti 335.

Bob, The outboard handle lives permanently folded back under the hatch and I use it like that quite comfortably. I guess if I was doing serious motoring I would bring it out into the normal position. Two bronze knurled knobs hold the hatch in place.

Whilst on the matter of toilets, we have a porta-potti that lives in the fore-peak ( no samson post), unfortunately we can't use it in there so it has to be brought out into the cabin or cockpit for use.
As we havn't undertaken any major over-nighters at this stage we have'nt actually used it in earnest.
Alec.

Ron, Just a late thought, have you checked the rake of the mainmast, From memory Iain specified an amount on the plans. There has to be a reason as HM carries only a little weather helm and I can adjust for differing wind strengths with the mizzen. I think the mast raked too far forward gives weather helm but you would have to check further as its been a while and I could be wrong.
Good luck, Alec.

Edited by author 08-12-2009 11:34 AM
Hi guys:

Due to a change in my personal circumstances, I will be unable to proceed with the construction of an Eun Mara. I am therefore offering my complete set of plans for sale ($300 USD).
 I have not built to these plans and so the license to build one boat is unencumbered.

I can be contacted at bblais56@yahoo.ca

Tel. 613-759-1267

Burton

        Hi Everyone,
                     Just letting you know there are lots of sailing photos of Howard's "Meander " on the Wooden Boat Forum under the heading " Misc Boat Related ". www.woodenboat.com/forum/ -

Thanks, Bob. Good photos.
Ian

Hi Burton,
Sorry you can't build a Eun Mara now. I hope you find a use for that nice timber (lumber?) you have. All the best.
Ian

Hi Bob thanks - I recently purchased a Contessa 26 for which I will use some of the lumber to build toe rails, etc.

Will probably still build a smaller trailer sailer in the future, but cannot undertake a major project like the EM right now. I thought it would be better to pass on the plans to another builder, if there is interest.

Burton

Hi all,

We went sailing with Alistego yesterday and I thought I might share a few things with our regulars here. The day was in many ways typical for us here in Western Canada. The wind was averaging around 10 kts, which was fine but was gusting (I mean sudden, hairy, immediate, gusts) to 20-25 kts or so. Add to that our usual confused seas of short steep waves coming from all directions (seemingly) and you can get a rough, uncomfortable day of sailing in anything smaller than a keel boat. Other than the wind and waves, it was a warm sunny day.

After motoring out of the marina a reasonable distance we raised the mizzen and killed the outboard. After going forward I had the full jib flying just in time to feel the first of the big gusts of the afternoon. Wanting to see what the wind was going to do before deciding on how much mainsail we wanted to put up we set out on just mizzen and jib.

Off we went, bouncing across the waves having a fine time with lots of splashing and spray flying through the air. Some times the waves met us on the beam and sometimes on the bow, giving us some very interesting sea states to adapt to. Barb is very experienced sailing on the Great Lakes, but there was no rhyme or reason to these wave patterns. According to the GPS we were going between 3 to 4 kts, so we decided to have a relaxing sail under m and j rather than take a chance on the fluky winds and unpredictable gusts (meaning that we could find no agreement on how many reefs to run with) ;0)

Once again, we proved the boat's inability to tack (in most conditions) without a mainsail, but we did discover that she gybes beautifully and in a very controlled manner if the crew doesn't mind going the long way around for a "tack". Secondly we confirmed again that she will not sail very close to the wind under m and j, especially so if the waves are pushing the bow away from the wind. We proved this all afternoon and had several "discussions" on which line to take to our destination. The final revelation of the afternoon was that an Eun Mara under just mizzen and jib WILL tack reliably provided she has around 3 knots of headway before coming about and there are very small or no waves present at all. I believe this proves that the seas are the real culprit here.

The boat still gets tons of attention every time we take her out. A few times now, youngsters have called her a "Pirate Ship". A bystander walked up to us and asked: "Is that made of real wood?" While sailing, a small biplane kept flying by until finally, it came by us very low (est 300 feet) at which time we waved and were rewarded with much wing wagging. Finally as we were bouncing along at 4.6 knots (I love my GPS) I looked over to see a local sailor (in a 30-ish foot C&C cruiser) passing upwind of us allowing me to get some very nice photos of his sails backlit by the sun.

I hope to update my wildly out of date website soon, especially since I have quite a bit of interesting new material to add. Just as a teaser, how about a brand new Eun Mara recently launched in Venice, as in Italy! All with pictures and more.

Keep well, all!

Dale