Please note the AF3 is now finished and it is a great design, thanks Jim. I will be reworking this page in this fall after I have sailed the AF3 for a season, for now this page was put together as the work progressed. Photos of the finished boat are included and for a large sized scan please visit Jim Michalak's page

March 1998 Jim Michalak's 15' 6" camp cruising sharpie is my current project. So far I have only built the frames and am waiting for it to dry out and warm up so I can complete assembly. It is sharpie but a much more modern design than the Small Ohio Sharpie. I lifted the following scan from the web site of the designer Jim Michalak. I will be using the sails from my Reuel Parker designed Small Ohio Sharpie, as they are almost the same size sail. For more information on this and other of Jim Michalak's designs visit his web site.

April 14, 98 Update: I got busy over the long Easter weekend. I built the sides, attached them to the frames, added the chine logs, planked the bottom and have fiberglass and epoxy coated the bottom. All has gone well and it all fits. This coming weekend I plan to turn it over and start finishing the topside of the AF3. (24 hours to this point.)

April 19, Update: This weekend I flipped AF3 over, doubled up the gunwale, installed the cockpit combing completed decking the cutty and rear compartment, cut out the window openings and started to put together the lee board mount. (Add 10 hours to total 34 hours so far.)

 May 4, Update: The boat is completely built and I am now in the painting stage the first coat of primer is on and sanded. I hope to have the painting completed at the end of this next weekend. All the painting is being done with exterior latex, even the priming. For primer paint I am using a Benjamin Moore product and it is great. Easy to apply dries in three hours and sands very quickly without clogging up the paper. I have slowed up on my building, as I had to build a dog run for my pup this weekend. I own a set of 7' oars but plan to build a set as described by Jim Michalak, they look to be a superior design. It wall also give me a chance to do a comparison between the commercial and the homemade oars. The only part left for me to build is the sprit boom. As I am using the main sail from my Ohio Sharpie for AF3 a boom is already built but I also want to try a laminated version with an elbow that will not cut into the sail shape. (Add about another 20 hours to total 54 hours to date.)

May 10, Update: The painting on the AF3 is done; it looks great! Now for the hard part, waiting for 2 weeks for the paint to harden before launching. I have also laminated up a curved boom but have not built the oars yet (no more "C" clamps). I hope to launch AF3 on the weekend of May 23/24. (Add another 16 hours to total 70)

May 26, Update: We launched The AF3 on Saturday May 23, 1998. The site was Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton Alberta Canada. It was a beautiful day for a first launch, light winds of 10 km/h sunny and warm. My wife Elizabeth and our SPCA mutt pup Maggie joined me. We have named our AF3 Shorebird as her shallow draft allows me to sail along the bulrushes and bird watch. Elk Island National Park is known for it's Wood bison and in addition to American Pelicans, Lessor Scaups, Mallards, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Red-necked Grebes, Common Loons, Spotted Sandpipers, Red-winged Blackbirds we did see five Bison. The day was sunny and a real photo opportunity. Several pictures were taken and I will post them soon. I do not have a scanner and send my photos to my son Robb to have them scanned. AF3 sails well (beautifully) in light winds with a slight weather helm. The boat seemed to be able to do 90-degree tacks but I did not have a compass to check this.

On Sunday we went to South Cooking Lake and enjoyed a day of "brisk sailing" in 22 - 29 km/h winds. We started off with my main reefed and the boat was a little over powered and had a fair amount of weather helm, so after an hour and a half of this we went into the shore and changed to a smaller sail. I am using the sails from my Ohio Sharpie and the main is 104-sq. ft. and the mizzen is 69-sq. ft. Jim Michalak called for 96-sq. ft. in his plan. Anticipating that I would use the smaller sail I built a second mast step aft of what the design calls for. The weather helm was neutralized and I was now able to sail much closer to the wind. This day I had a compass and was able to confirm that I could do 90-degree tacks but I have to admit the boat sails much better another 5 to 10 degrees off close hauled. I am very pleased with the boat and look forward to more "testing". I am also looking forward to my first night out. (Photos should be up in a couple of weeks.)

Saturday June 6, 1998: I have some scans of the AF3 later I will rework this page but for now...

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