We have been getting a lot of questions about the details of the boat, so I figured I would make a separate page all about her!

She is a new George Buehler design called Button 2. I had been looking at Buehler boats for quite some time. I really came to like, and appreciate his take on boat design/construction. I knew I wanted to build one of his boats. The only problem was that none of the stock plans were exactly what I wanted. Although Buehler’s site is packed full of awesome designs I always came up with some reason why a boat wasn’t “the one”. Which in reality means I am to damn picky…(Ruth can attest to this…) After months of fliping back and forth through the few boats we had narrowed it down to I happened to click on a boat that I had written off the first time I saw it. The reason I never really payed this boat any attention was the cabin/deck layout. It’s what you call a raised sheer. Which I personally find very unattractive.

Because of this I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the boat. This time however I went in with an open mind knowing that I would likely have to modify any design I pick In order to suit my needs. I realized right away that I absolutely loved the style of the hull! Blunt bow, sexy sheer sweeping up toward the sky. I figured it would be no problem to built this hull to the plans, but design and build the deck/cabin myself. The only issue remaining was the rig… Ruth and I had talked a lot about building our boat, and one thing we decided on is that it would be pointless to build a boat that wasn’t exactly what we wanted. Therefore she needed to be a ketch. Gaff rigged for and aft. Logical… No… Practical…. No… Salty, sexy, and exactly what the boat of my dreams looks like in my head? Yes! Unfortunately changing the rig is not something that I am confident doing myself, so I sent George an email explaining all this and asking if he could modify the plans for us.

George Buehler turned out to be very easy to work with, and didn’t try to talk me out of building the boat the way I had fantasized about her for years. He agreed to do the modifications, but little did I know he would go on to design a whole new boat! Button 2 retained the salty characteristics that pulled me in when I decided she was the one, but she was reborn into something new. Longer water line, 4 more inches of freeboard, reduced beam, fuller belly, simplified construction,  new cabin/deck/rig, and the list goes on.

Of coarse I plan to add some personal touch…This is a sketch I made before we got the new plans.  This is whats been lingering in my head for a long time… Fortunately the two look quite similar, and after a few additions ratlines, baggy-wrinkles, giant bulwarks,channels, deadeyes, etc. she will be just right!

Now for some more technical info on our yacht! She is mostly douglas fir. Her keelson is 9”x12”. Laminated together with epoxy from fir 2×10’s. Her ballast is cement reinforced with rebar, and packed full of 1” steel plate/ railroad track for added weight. She has 3/4” galvanized bolts every two feet running clear through the keel cast into the ballast to hold it all together, As well as 5/8” bolts every two feet to tie the floor timbers to the keel. Her frames are built from fir 2×6’s with 3/4” plywood gussets fastened together with 3/8” galvanized bolts. Her planking will be 1-1/2” cvg old growth fir above the chine, and 1-1/2” clear port orford cedar below. The planking will be fastened with #14×3” hot dipped galvanized screws, and all butt blocks bolted with HD galvanized bolts.

The rest of the construction details are in theory only because we haven’t bought the materials yet, and are far to spontaneous to make a plan on how everything will go together…

Anyway thats our salty lady so far. I will keep the construction details up to date as we continue the build!