Designer Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Bob, I would like to add my congratulations also. You are going have a lot of fun with that boat. I hope to get to try her out one day. I am with Ken, do not give up on the bailer. When the spray is flying you will appreciate it, there is nothing like the sound of the bailer sucking air as you are hiking out and going fast on a fresh day telling you that the boat is empty. Beside sailing, I always open the bailer on long road trips. I have driven through torrential rain and it is comforting to know that the boat is not getting damaged by that sudden gain in weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Congratulations. Sailing a boat you built yourself is pretty amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexscott Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 Meester, After a couple months use, do you have any comments on the rig? Any pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester Posted September 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 Hi Alex, I'm happy with the lug rig. It points well and I haven't experienced the death roll downwind that a few posted concerns about. I was out near Kent Island in 15 kt winds a couple of weekends ago with two reefs tucked in. Wife and I were kicking up spray and grinning. I just replaced my yard with something beefier. The old one was 1.5" diameter max at about 1/3 the length, with tapers. I realized that by the time I had enough downhaul to smooth out the creases, the upper triangle of the sail was dead flat. The new one is 2" diameter and it's much stiffer. I just rigged it today, and it looks much better, but I havent tested it yet. I think the main drawback is that when people ask what kind of boat it is, it's a long answer. Hey Graham and Alan - can I just say it's a Core Sound? Here are a couple of pictures from 1st launch day. I thought I had posted them earlier -- sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexscott Posted September 16, 2017 Report Share Posted September 16, 2017 Very good looking, especially the home made sails. GIR, a Goat Island Skiff, has done 2 or 3 Texas 200's which involve a lot of running downwind in heavy air and no one has mentioned death rolls. See: https://www.storerboatplans.com/design/rig/sails/sailing-unstayed-cat-ketches-and-cat-yawls-safely-and-efficiently-downwind-in-strong-winds/ Great job on the boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester Posted October 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I just returned from the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival where I met a lot of great people and saw a lot of interesting boats. Graham and Alan were there and they gave a nice evening talk. I"ll be happy to tell you all about it, but right now, it's time to brag. Please forgive my massively inflated pride. For me, it was an amazingly fun and victorious weekend. I entered the "Mellimac" for judging in the contemporary design division, and picked up a 2nd place ribbon. (That's brag #1) A lot of people stopped to ask about the boat and the rig, and I often got asked about how the lug does against more conventional rigs. I hadn't really sailed with other boats yet, so I had to say that I didn't know, Now I know. My boat is fast! Ok, certainly not embarassingly slow. The MASCF has an informal sailing race with boats of every shape and size. Handicapping would be a hopeless task, so the race directors typically decide on the classes after the race. It's a fun, light-hearted format. This year, the director decided on sail shapes for most of the race classes, and I ended up with a 1st place ribbon in the lug sail class. But that's not the bragging point. Here's brag #2: I came in 6th out of about 45 boats overall. I'm pretty sure that no boats smaller than 15' came in earlier, and a lug rig coming in early surprised a few people, me included. As if my head wasn't getting big enough. Brag #3. Graham and I went out for a sail so that he could check out the lug rig. Overall, he seemed to be pretty happy with the rig's behavior and he gave me some good tips on avoiding the death roll and on smooth jibing. What an honor to get coached. There was one thing that he really didn't like, and that was that I don't have telltales on the sail (yet). After Graham had taken a turn, Alan came out and gave it a test drive. Alan paid me a real complement. Brag #4: Alan said, and I quote, "very cool." I'll stop grinning in a couple days. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Stewart Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 Here are some pictures from the event! https://photos.app.goo.gl/6uPOg91Sg3YFXrpg1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester Posted January 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 Hi All, Here's a little progress on my winter projects. First, I learned to make netting and I have made nets that go under the decking to hold gear. There's bungee cord across the top and the bottom row is made with smaller loops so that it can be pulled tight. I'm also working on a tent, and I put up a rough draft mock-up to check things out before investing in good materials. The basic idea is to suspend the boom and yard in a lazyjack system between the main mast and mizzen and then hang the tent below that. In the mock-up, I just put the quick & dirty "tent" on top of a suspended spar. There are 4 x 6' fiberglass rods (driveway markers) that hold the roof and then I would add side walls. It could be a lot of windage, so I am also thinking that in a storm, I'd lower the stern end and tie the roof right down to the deck. Thanks to Steve W for describing something like this to me when we were at the messabout. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul356 Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Neat nets. I need to try those. I found a couple of youtubes. Did you have a specific place you learned to tie them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester Posted January 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi Paul, There is a lot of information and demonstrations online, and lots of ways to get the job done, especially when it comes to starting and finishing off. Turns out that it's almost the same as making lace, except for size and machismo. I think I got started learning from this fellow at the MASCF a couple years ago. I didn't use the jig though, I just used a gauge card -- a thin slat about as wide as net square. https://youtu.be/HfB1XjhYPP0 You can buy netting needles, but making the needle out of a coat hanger is crafty. This video also has recommendations on the twine. Later videos in this series teach the flying dutchman method, which is supposed to be really fast. https://youtu.be/CZfWCyv1eFo My first attempts used twisted nylon twine, and it was too slippery. The knots just came loose and the net turned into spaghetti. "Bonded" netting twine has a polyurethane coating that helps hold the knot. I used a tar-coated nylon braid. http://a.co/9UIHH2c. This was too sticky to use the flying dutchman method. Much easier to explain in person, but PM me if you have questions. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul356 Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks, I'll check out those sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester Posted May 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Hi All, This past weekend, I accomplished a long-term goal to go on overnight adventures in my boat. I took the Mellimac for a two-night cruise with the Shallow Water Sailors, (www.shalowwatersailor.us). This was their annual Spring Cruise, and nine boats sailed on the Little Choptank River near Cambridge MD. I wisecrack that I'm still looking forward to sleeping on the boat, but it was really not that bad. I may never trust an air mattress again. Here are some pictures of the boom tent that I came up. But wait, there's more! It's also a boat cover! I needed a tent, and It'd be nice to keep my gear dry when trailering in wet weather. Do I really need two big canvas things? Here it is in boat cover mode at a hamburger stop on the road. ... and in tent mode. I messed up on the bow section and had to improvise with different material, and then messed that up too. The main roof and walls are flame-retardant polytarp. The roof is suspended from the boom and mizzen using 4 battens -- six-foot driveway markers from the hardware box store. The tips of the battens are held in pockets made from tubular nylon webbing and pulled downward by cords that anchor under the rub rail. I need more tension along the eaves to prevent sags, but good enough for a first shot. It makes a nice bachelor pad and the neighbor kids enjoy it too. The walls flip up to make more of a shade shelter Overnight on the water, I kept the mizzen sheeted in with the snotter tight, and the whole rig stayed steady pointed into the wind. There were light breezes and a few little showers, so the tent didn't get a real stress test. There are bugs to work out and some thinking to do, but overall, I'm happy with the design. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Potts Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 It's a veritable palace on the water! Looks like fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul356 Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Very nice. Looks like the real deal. Many good ideas I plan to steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chespearl Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 Here are a couple photos of Bob underway in MELLIMAC on the Shallow Water Sailors Spring Cruise. I was hoping to be sailing CS17 #191 ARJAY but I'm still working on the rigging so I was in my old no name Wayfarer again. Bob's boat sure looks sharp! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 Sweet design . Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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