September 8, 1999
Dream of building boats still on course for long-time friends
Pair patiently construct Trimaran sailboats
Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Seven years into the project, the end is in sight. Building not one, but two Trimaran sailboats, Tom Comstock and Mike Winkler have worked together on them in their spare time, each week completing another small piece of a very large puzzle.
By next summer, their patience and incremental gains will pay off and they will finish one of the boats. They plan to launch it with fanfare commensurate to their eight years of work and then take a year off from working on the other one to sail around and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
"We're going to actually act like we have a boat when this is done," said Winkler, a Blair Township resident. "We're going to have a launching party and invite anyone who helped us, anyone who is interested. Maybe take over the Yacht Club for it."
The boats got their start when the two avid sailors purchased plans for the F-31 Farrier Trimaran from renowned boat designer Ian Farrier. Winkler had built boats before and they had wanted to build a boat together for some time. They researched different models, performance, cost and materials before settling on the Trimaran.
The Trimaran they chose has a «-inch thick hull and is made of structural foam, carbon fiber and fiberglass cloth. Gallons of epoxy hold it all together.
"We actually get to where our clothes break, they are so full of epoxy," Winkler said.
The main hull will be 31-feet long and it will have two 28-foot long floats. Top speed is 28 knots or 34 miles per hour, making it both a fast and light sailboat that is highly maneuverable.
"We liked this because it is fast, you can fold it and trailer it and it is not tippy on the water," Winkler said. "It sleeps five and you can load a lot of people on the deck. This type of boat goes anywhere and people are crossing oceans or racing in them."
They decided that building two boats might not be much more work than building one, so they launched both projects simultaneously, one boat in Winkler's barn and the other in a shed at behind the Comstock Construction office. Farrier estimated that it would take 2,000 work hours to complete this model. The four hours a week they average on building puts them at a pace to finish one boat in 10 years, so they figure they are ahead of the game by finishing one and most of another in eight years.
Of course, the production line building methods they use save time in the long run. A project like building one of the four beams that hold the hulls together took ten hours to complete the first time. By the final one, they had it down to 1-« hours. The two also occasionally recruit other helpers for some tasks. They made sure the volunteers' work stayed fun, never asking them to help with tedious things like sanding.
"I think a lot of people would have gotten discouraged it is such a big project," said Comstock, noting that they spent years completing the first few pages of the plans.
"Probably the hardest thing we did was putting pieces of tape on the inside of the floats, it was like using foot-long Chinese chopsticks in a small space without seeing. We found the location of where the next piece went by the echo of the swearing we did on deck."
Comstock and Winkler have been friends since high school and sailing buddies for three decades. Even when they lived in different towns while away at college they got together to sail in the summer. Both Traverse City natives and graduates of the same class at St. Francis High School, they are now busy professionals, Comstock a builder and Winkler a chiropractor. They still find time to sail at least weekly and usually take one extended trip around the Great Lakes during the summer.
"We have never had less than one boat between us," Winkler said. "Most of my discretionary time goes to building the boats, but I still get out at least once a week. Sailing is relaxing."
Trust is the epoxy that holds their friendship together, both say, and is necessary to undertake a project of this magnitude and expense.
"You have to have someone you trust," Comstock said. "With something this long term, you can't just go into it with anyone."