NOW AVAILABLE AS DIGITAL PLANS and VIDEO!!
The Vacationer plans are now available in digital, downloadable format! These are our largest set of plans (whcih makes sense, as it's our largest boat!), and they're our largest digital plans as well. 100 pages in total, 52 drawings, the complete building guide to how we built our Vacationer, plus all sorts of added updates, tips, and techniques we've learned over the decades since the printed Vacationer plans were first published in 1985!
And now the Weekender Boatbuilding Video, which is a great companion to the Vacationer plans, is also availble in digital format. We shifted forward from VHS tapes to DVDs, and now on to online video files which you can stream or download to a tablet or laptop for use in the workshop!
Order the Vacationer Plans, the Video Series, or BOTH below!
The Vacationer grew out of the Weekender; people had been asking for a larger model, so we forged ahead. The Vacationer turned out 21' on deck (24' overall), with the same type of shoal draft, full-length keel and clipper bow that worked so well on the Weekender. She has built in camping fixtures and a more rakish cabin than the Weekender. The Vacationer is a pretty good-sized boat, with a nice smooth sailing feel to match.
A Weekender for the whole week.
A lot of little improvements were developed in the earlier Weekender (after the first magazine release), and then incorporated into the later Vacationer. Now that we've re-done the Weekender plans with all these improvements worked back in, the Vacationer is a little redundant for most people. The Weekender does almost everything that the Vacationer can, is far less trouble and expense to build and fit out, and takes up less room. A lot of people are ordering the Vacationer lately, and more power to them, but we prefer the Weekender personally. These caveats aside, the Vacationer is a great boat. The Vacationer is a much larger project than the Weekender, but it also offers more space. The choice is yours, and you may well need (or just want) the extra volume.
The Vacationer has the same type of folding Gaff Rig we use on the Weekender (a larger version, of course!) which really makes launching an easy job.
The Vacationer is an easy boat to motor due to its light weight; a small outboard is all that is needed to get around very dependably.
For being a larger boat, the Vacationer is surprisingly easy to handle. The usual light weight of the monocoque design really helps at this size!
The Vacationer's interior space is spacious, as one would expect from our largest boat. The plans show how we laid out the various amenities, including a stove, sink, cooler, and even a head! (A porta-potty-type head, but it's nice to have!) Some builders choose to change the interior arrangement or even leave the space open for more sleeping area. As you can see from the photo on the right, even with a galley area, there's plenty of room for two people to sleep comfortably.
In these photos, we show a Vacationer with home-made sails, but we do also sell very nice Dacron Sail Sets to really finish off your Vacationer in shipshape style!
Click Here for more information on the Sail Sets!
The Vacationer is a lot of project, but it's also a lot of fun!
If you'd like to look at more Vacationer photographs, we have MANY pages of great shots. Here are a couple:
A very nice Vacationer built by Mr. Donald Lassiter of North Carolina (including good interior shots!) Click here to see this page.
A page of pictures of the wonderful Sultana, a Vacationer built by Mr. Taylor.
Click Here to go to the
Pocket Yacht Model Page. There are now three Paper Pocket Yachts you can download free and build tonight: A Vacationer, A Pocket Cruiser, and a Weekender! The paper models are a great way to get a feel for the different sizes of the three Pocket Yachts and compare interior volumes. You can also order a great program to allow you to print out all three Pocket Yacht models in any color you like! (It's only $5 from Mr. Kevin Green, one of our builders who also creates great paper models of things. Thanks Kevin!)
Click on these photos for larger versions...
We offer the Vacationer plans with the Weekender Video Series, as the boats are VERY similar in construction and the Weekender videos cover all of the same building steps and tricks needed to complete the Vacationer eaasily.
The videos really are a great way to
get a fast course in home boat-building!
