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FROM HOLLAND, Peter de Boer writes about his experiences building his ‘musical instrument’ MICRO and the differences between building and sailing, a transition some never make.  Peter says, "I think many of us eschew the quick and easy for the type of workmanship we can take pride in."   Bernie Wolfard, on the other hand, will debate whether or not that is appropriate for the project, but the real truth is, Bernie says, "I just want to get it done!   Thankfully, within our fellowship there is room for both ways of thinking and working.

Here are some pictures of Peter's boat, and below his letter to Bernie.  (Click on the images which will take you to larger, clearer images.)

Peter's letter to Bernie Wolfard:

Quite some time after buying the plans and actually starting to build Micro, March 14^th 1992, the boat was launched, and equipped with sails etc such that we could go on holidays with it this summer. There seem to be two distinct phases up to now, building and sailing; those are quite different. To begin with the last bit: I have not yet enough experience up to now (wind and water) but what has been done was good to really good. The boat points amazingly high and tacks within 90 degrees.

Is also amazingly quick to accelerate. I have not yet found out the angle at which the boat settles in a breeze. Maybe that is not the constant heeling observed in other craft because of the tendency to stay upright. Given the stability when walking, the quick heeling, as response to a gust is surprising.

I have taken my time to build, also because of the many additions in the interior. The cockpit deck runs to the stern (sides only). There is a cockpit floor and two big storage spaces accessible through lockers in the sides of the cockpit well. A draft can go under the cockpit sole into those lockers (through holes in the closed bulkhead C), equipped with floorboards. The beds in the cuddy have locker space too. Besides that, there are lockers in the sides of the forward open well that has no holes in the bottom (as the aft open well, rain water from the masts is something to get rid of now). Picked that up from one of the earlier Common Sense news editions as the little shelve on both sides of the vent opening. The hours mentioned in the brochure were nothing in my hands. We build boats with precision here and meant to last. A 5 hp motor meant a slightly raised and curved after deck that in my view improves the looks of the boat, but was a lot of work. This boat has very little in the way of bending decks, yet is light. Only with all our holidays' gear did I reach the intended waterline. The front mast is much more hollow than on the plans, yet I do find stepping and un-stepping it the least satisfactorily aspect of the craft. The boat has a Dioleen coat, which is some sort of nylon fabric, much stronger than glass. The whole keel is encapsulated with plywood and covered with fabric so no water in the hollow spaces. From the inside, the screw holes from the keel batten are covered with another strip of ply. The decks are not springy because of the many battens, grithwise and the fact that I changed the construction of the sliding hatch (slides copper on copper and is as watertight as possible). Over the front open well is a little V shaped deck that can be closed with a piece of canvas. There is a canvas tent over the whole of the boat, so one can sleep in the cockpit, A lot more work also has been made of the coamings and the rudder construction that runs through a PVC shaft. Over the whole there are few exposed cutting sides of plywood. You would call this a musical instrument type of building. But when it is not thorough, I do not like it, so in a way, the building philosophy, often expressed in your newsletter only is appropriate for a certain psychological personality and cultural background, both not mine. If I have any criticism on your often-inspiring writings, it is this element.