One of the best tools one can have to build any project is experience; unfortunately, when one is starting out and a beginner-builder, that's not a tool in one's box yet. We realised that we could help provide this experience by creating a video of our techniques and that we could share some of our experience with other builders. We put totgether a 3-and-a-half-hour video of the entire process of building our Weekender sailboat. From choosing lumber to sailing, and all the points between, this video covers a lot and we think it really can help builders complete their projects more easily. While the video covers our Weekender, it's also applicable to the other sailboats as well, since the construction techniques are the same in all.

We think the Weekender Video is fun as well as useful — It covers a lot of information and still remains easy-to-watch, at least that's our story!

The Weekender Video is 3 1/2 hours long so it comes on two DVDs. There are a total of thirty-three chapters split over the two DVDs! You can view the chapters in two ways:

Click Here or on the image above and you can view a video of the DVD Chapter Menus!

Click Here or on the image above and you can download the PDF file of the Chapter Menus for both DVDs!

We really tried to cover all the important parts of the Weekender project: from picking the lumber to sailing tips. Everything along the way, including tool-use secrets, assembly tricks, bondo-techniques, fibreglassing, painting caveats, sailmaking, varnishing, and rigging short-cuts.

The video also tackles the dynamics of project building: how to overcome "First-Cut Fever" (the anxiousness preceeding your first steps into a project), how to keep momentum rolling through the stretch. and how to combat "Finishing Touch-Fever" (that hesitance to get the project out on the water and try it!) We've had a lot of builders send us notes over the years mentioning how they appreciated the video as a confidence-building tool to help them push through when they were unsure about their projects. We're really glad to hear it, as that was one of the big reasons we did the video!

The Weekender Home Boatbuilding Video

Weekender Videos

This is a link to a clip from the Weekender Home Boatbuilding DVD Set which shows the Weekender really sailing well! We're pretty proud of this little bit of video: It was shot hand-held in pretty breezy conditions and we think the boat really tears up the bay in this sequence! It's a good look at a fun day in a Weekender...Click Here to watch it!

A few notes about the DVD Sets:

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Sprague Family for their contributions to the Weekender Home Boatbuilding Video Sets. Hall Sprague was the third member of our boatbuilding team for the video and was an invaluable help in the production — Hall had never built much before this, but he's an insightful sociologist and a sharp fellow. His intelligent questions added tremendously to the on-camera discussions and his wonderful attitude made working with him a real joy. We think this comes across in the video and we want to thank him for that once again.

In addition to the building help, Hall is one of the musicians responsible for the great sounds in our videos! Hall, his sons Peter and Tripp, and a few of their friends recorded the album Blurring The Edges and you can hear tracks on the Weekender DVD. Hall Sprague's own great album Hurry Home provides sounds as well. The links above will take you to Peter Sprague's website where you can learn more about their music and purchase CD's and MP3's as well.

The Spragues are a truly accomplished and charming family and we're glad we could combine both our family's productions in our videos!

This link takes you to a sample video for the Home Boatbuilding DVD Set. This video is seven minutes long and shows several clips from the building sequences of the video, and a bit of sailing also! We took only a few clips from the whole video, but it gives one a good idea of the relaxed, conversational style of the DVD set. Click Hereto watch the sample video!