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OK… the two mast floats are done!! I will name the red one Bruce (for my late brother.) It will ride on the mizzen mast of Norma T. The yellow one, yet unnamed, will ride on my newly purchased boat, Avocet. I’m asking my three grandkids to name the yellow one. I planned to let them name both of the floats, but as I got the color on the red one I began wanting to use my brother’s name, Bruce. If you know the movie Finding Nemo you might remember the friendly shark, Bruce, who led the “Fish are Friends, Not Food” support group. Yup, my family thought about my brother, Bruce, when they saw that part of the movie. (Film Clip:) And the funniest experience we had of watching Finding Nemo was on a Disney Cruise, watching the movie in the large theater with hundreds of kids… what a gas. My kids had chipped in together and surprised my wife and me with airfare and the cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary… (AND their being grown up and able to gift us in this way… I’m starting to think about another Disney adventure when my wife and I treat everyone for our 50th.) And the best part of the cruise is that they ALL came WITH US on the cruise!! It was the best gift we’ve ever received. The funniest part of watching the movie happened at the end, when the great pathos moment occurs, making the theater all somber and quiet and sad… and a four year old cries out, “DON’T WORRY, HE’LL BE OK!!!” The mom replied, “Spoiler alert, sorry.” Nemo is dying… and the audience is splitting-gut laughing. A great moment I’m enjoying skiing right now… but I find myself thinking about using my three new boats (Norma T, Joe, and Avocet) as I head up the chairlift. Usually I’m alone, but a friend joined me a couple days ago. Cheers!

I have a Suzuki long shaft 2.5 on Skeena for all the economic reasons presented. I also run a 50w solar panel that runs the ballast water pump, charges my phone and for nav and anchor lights. But I run my house (heat and ac plus everything else), one of my cars on 13kw Solar. I am on track for an $80,000 dollar ROI over it's lifespan. The times they are a changing. I am hopeful to someday run my boat on solar charged by the sun. The quiet instant power of electric is hard to beat. My ICE car feels like the flintstone mobile (google it kids) when I drive it.

I used to use a Merc Thruster electric on a Skipper 20. It had enough power unless it was too windy or rough. I mainly had it to get in and out of where the boat was in a slip down a long narrow channel.

Just bumping this up for rhbush, his Craigslist ad is still up so I assume it is still for sale. https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/boa/d/port-charlotte-core-sound-17-mk-iii/7432496280.html

Hirilonde, I get all that and you don't need to apologize for presenting economic and energy facts. What excites me most about an electric motor is the quiet! Torqueedo is still expensive for something that is less power and runs the risk of leaving you stalled. I wish there were more competitors, but the ones I've looked at seem to have zero to little distribution networks set up, and it's frankly confusing on how I would purchase one if I wanted to. Hopefully some of these competitors can get better organized so there is price competition. Of course, I could always row, but that's not quiet due to the muttering, panting, and complaining coming from the rower!

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/how-electricity-is-generated.php

I’ve tried my Minnkota 35, with the battery mounted in the center of the boat in the bilge. I wasn’t impressed with the performance. I do know that the Torqueedo’s prop and thrust provide much more power and speed. For me, it’s a matter of economics. My Suzuki 2.5 cost less than $1,000, and $5 worth of gasoline goes a very long way. No chance of running out of fuel on a becalmed day (famous last words). If I’m cruising with a Torqueedo, and need it recharged, I’d be forced to plug in somewhere. If I add solar panels to the boat to eliminate that, how much gasoline could that have boughten with my solar panel money? I know everybody’s going green, but I need to be practical. And electricity is made from coal in the USA— not exactly green. If this sounds like a rant, I apologize. I’m mainly trying to provide another perspective to the Torqueedo trend. I guess I need another cup of coffee.

Alan, Steve W has a great suggestion. I’ve done mockups before using corrugated cardboard. A mockup can tell you a lot. I am sure that B&B would provide you with a drawing section for that purpose. And if you do decide to travel cross country to pick up the kit, you are welcome to stay here on your way through. We’re about 6 or 7 hours from B&B, just south of Asheville, NC.

I used a long shaft Honda air cooled 2HP motor on my CS17, and never had any issues with cavitation. Previously I had used a Minn Kota RT55 long shaft, which was great, but the 100AH battery that I used weighed over 30KG, and that was mounted in the aft locker, making the stern pretty much always sit in the water. I changed over to the Honda because of the weight, and the ability to top up the motor while out on the water... Peter

Alan, I didn't see where in Canada you were, but here are my free thoughts having built a CS20.3. When I built Skeena, the only thing you could get was the kit, which bummed me out. But once I started building and saw how many pieces there were and how well things fit together, I quickly got over it. I also realized the extra time would have really added up. Ordering stock these days isn't easy and then having it sitting around at the ready takes up space. For me, who fortunately has more money than time (not retired yet!), jumping in the car and driving from NY to NC to pick up the kit was a good financial decision. It would be the same even if I lived in Vancouver. As for the headroom, nobody has mentioned a person's height isn't a good measurement to use for this. I am 6 feet tall and I can sit on the back of the bunks and I fit just fine. A friend who is three inches shorter can't sit as his legs are short and he has a long torso. I'd go with the 20, but I'd either simulate a cross section just forward of the cabin bulkhead for consideration before I spent all that time building a boat. I can't wait to watch your progress.

Cool, I'll have to check that out.

But it works! Engineers are practical folk. If it works and is faster/easier/cheaper, then it is the better way.

Just for fun I measured the headroom in Clementine, my modified Belhaven 19. Bench is 14.5 inches from the floor. Sitting headroom is 41 inches (bench to lid) and headroom at the sides is 39 inches. Without cushions, it is probably about an inch higher than necessary. I don't regret the modification but it hasn't helped the looks of the boat. In hindsight I should have consulted B&B before making the change.

You are NOT wasting your time. You are an engineer and do the BEST way. I'm an ADD kid and do the EASIEST way.

You don't have to explain to me. I won't complain.

have 40+/- years of woodenboat mag 1988 to present in good to excellent condition I do Not want to take to the land fill want to keep the 4 milk crates they are in,in Lakeville Ma. call or txt Doug 508-238-957eight

Actually, I’m planning to plane tomorrow. And that’s the plain truth!

I guess you need more planning.

If Chick Ludwig always does butt joints, why am I wasting all that time planing?

To each their own, and I can't find fault with Silsbe's work, but to me the test is whether the boat is to be varnished. Then you need perfection without fairing. When painting you can fill and fair, high build prime and fair, and sand it to your heart's content. To the original poster of this thread I would say that if scarfing the plywood is a roadblock, you won't regret going with a butt splice joint. I thought I had a good eye and touch for sanding. Then a car restorer showed me the trick of putting a thin cotton cloth over my fingertips when checking for imperfections. It will send you back for another round of perfection.

When finishing with high gloss paints, any surface anomalies become exaggerated. Using a finger joint is the best deterrent. A 7:1 scarf is second best, although I can see a lump in one of my boats where I have one. A reinforced butt joint has to come in last in this regard. On the other hand, Chick is a master builder. I am surprised at his statement. I will need to revise my thinking; not about Chick, but about butts. (Joints)

I've scarfed many panels together. Getting the proper bevel isn't difficult especially if you are doing multiple stacked sheets at the same time. Properly aligning and gluing the feather edges without getting a slight thin or thick joint is finicky. They can require just as much fairing as a butt joint. Last year I made a sailing canoe and the plans called for butt splices with fiberglass reinforcement. That is the only method I would use going forward.

I'm sure I'm gonna get fussed at about this, but... I've built many boats over the years including a princess 22 Sharpy, Core Sound 20, and Outer Banks 20 and butt joined all of them with no problems. I guess I'm just lazy, but (sorry about the pun), I'm perfectly happy doing it. I've tried scarfing and it is just to much work for a lazy person. (And I do have ADD.)

Just to remind myself… this is last April. Hopefully in this coming April both will be ready for usage. Joe needs to have controls installed (the marina will do this in the next month or so) and then I need to finish the boat with the floor/seats installation and top decks And to add to the boating fun this year, I also bought Avocet in November, putting it right into storage. Avocet meets Norma T in storage.

Ouch! My neck hurts! Unrotated photos hurt my neck. So does eating tacos..