DISTELTK

My plans for the BRS 15 show the sail shape has a negative roach. All the photos I see of CSs, Bellhaven and P22 show some positive roach with battens. I am making new sails and I am curious as to why the difference. I plan to insert a hard form at the top to give a little extra sail area, like most commercial sails have. Tom D.

:smile: I have been sailing my BRS 15 for a few summers and I am still learning. I made my own boat and sails. My winter project is to make new sails using some very good information from several folks. I am also making new mast top sections and adding sail track. With these mods I believe my boat will sail better even with me at the helm. I sail solo mostly and enjoy the boat a great deal. tom d

Thanks to all who responded to my request for mast help. A lot of good information that I will use in my winter rerigging project. I had a week of potential sailing last week. 3 couples went to a norther Michigan lake approximately 17k acres. First day no wind at all the lake looked like a mirror. I had to row 2 miles from the ramp to the cottage dock. Ray that is a lot of rowing for a guy whose next bday will be 70. Monday no wind no sailing. I rowed for about 1 hour. Wednesday a lot of wind, moring sail not very succsssful 20+mph and this old guy had problems. My mizzen came loose form the mast step and I had to get back to shore quickly. Fixed it and tried again in the afternoon. Big wind and foam on all the waves. I had a friend for ballast with me. We could not tack, each try the wind and waves would puch the bow back. We sailed for 45 minutes and finally headed back by letting the boat slowly go into a reach and run with a running gybe we made it to the dock. That was short but exciting ride Some day I hope to have a great sailing tale to pass on to you. I learned a lot about my BRS 15 and its stability. I have a lot of trust in the boat and my ability to sail her. Thanx again for all the great information for my new mast and sails. Tom D

I am making new top sections for my masts on a BRS 15. I intend to add sail track to the masts and make new sails. ??? how can I make the bottom 9" rounded to fit into the aluminum middle section. I have a decent workshop with router table, table saw and a lathe, The lathe doesn't give enough length to do a 7' long blank. I have shaped the masts with the table saw to 8 sided. Any good ideas would be appreciated. I am going on vacation with to boat to a large inland lake for a week. I plan to get a lot of sailing in. Tom D. BRS 15 #124

On my BRS 15 I drilled a hole on each side of the transom under the 1/4s, filled them with epoxy and drilled smaller holes and put in eye bolts. I use these to tie a line to each. I tie my boat to two poles in a local lake. The bow eye goes to one pole and the second is attached to the line on the transom. The transom line is attached with snap clip for ease of attaching and releaseing. This gives the boat some abililty to turn with the wind and water action. The bow is facing out. The 15 is a pretty big dinghy to slign from the stern of big boat. Davits on a shore/dock would lift the boat out of the water. Tom D. BRS 15 # 124

My BRS 15 is a few years old. I made the sails from white polytarp. Problems: I put too much luff in the sails, intention was I sail in Mid Michigan and the summer winds are generally very light. More luff in light wind gives more sail power. Too much is no good. This did not work well. I get a big bubble in the luff and the boat does not point well. I have ordered the PolyCarbonate sail track mentioned in a prior posting. I will make new top sections of my masts so I have a smooth surface all the way up. I know this means fixed masts. That is ok.I I want to make reefing points in at least the main, should I also do so in the mizzen? I have stored and towed a longer mast on a prior boat. QUESTIONS: Will I gain much by making a bigger roach and adding battens? ??? a newby CS17 (KAYAKER) beating a CS 20 with stock sails! Will a block attached on the back edge be OK or should I build an internal block in the mast? I would appreciate any suggestions and helpfull hints. Thanx Tom D BRS 15 #127

I have a BRS 15. I have no means to reef except to drop one mast and move the other to the center mount. I am old and not in great physical shape. So this type of activity is out unless I do it on the trailer before sailing. I sail on inland lakes where wind variations during the day are sometimes big. How can I reef without adding sail track? With the sprit I cant roll the sail on the mast. Thanx Tom D.

On my BRS 15 I made the bushing on both the middle aluminum and top wooden sections. I have blocks and small eyelets screwed to the mast to connect the sail head and the sprit downhaul. To keep the mast sections in proper alignment I drilled small holes through the joints and inserted small sheet metal screws. I have solid mast and can also take apart if I ever need to. Tom D.

I had a CL16 a Canadian version of the Wayfarer. A great boat designed for rought water and very capable of long rough water sailing. It is a powerful boat and singlehanded it can get away for you. Trailer sailing will take a lot more effort than the freestanding catketch rig. I have a BRS 15 and trailer sailing singlehanded is a breeze compared to the Waryfare/CL16. Tom D. BRS 15.

Due to financial restraints I made my sails for the BRS 15 from poly tarp material. They did not turn out as well as I would have liked. My biggest problem is that I increased the roach without using batens. They work reasonable well with a good breeze but in light air the roach rolls up and this is not good. I plan to make new sails and my question is ! The small size of each on this boat could I use the ripstop nylon cloth that they use for windbreaker jackets. This would be light and strong. Spinnakers are made from this. Thanx tom d

Sail cost can be reduced by making your own. I used a white polytarp kit from the internet. To save a little more funds. The plan sheet show enough info to make your own. Since it is your first boat performance may not be the most important. I made mine using fiberglass carpet tape. Total cost for both BRS 15 sails could be well under 100 bucks if you buy the tape and tarp yourself. Search polytarp sails and you will find a lot of info. Polysail International kit (1997) for a BRS 15 with shipping & taxes less than $100.00. Tom D. BRS 15/Birder II

I built a BRS 15 a few years ago. The BRS 15 has straight sides and does not use the butterfly method. This is easier to build. The15 is a lot larger than the S12. BRS 15 is a Cat Ketch unstayed masts. The S12 can be a sloop or cat rig. I sail mine solo mostly. It is very stable and rather quick. I can rig it easily, I store the boat with the masts full length and the sails rolled up on them. I have home built racks on the bow, stern seat and midship to carry the masts. In a chop the BRS 15 takes some splash into the cockpit. I think the more rounded butterfly style bow section may be dryer. I am 68 and a little overweight. The 15 has more cockpit room if having passengers and or crew will be on board. The B&B plans are very easy to follow and this forum it fantastic for newbees is questions come up. No one will think any question is silly. We all started with our first boat. Good luck and let us know how the build proceeds. Tom D BRS 15/Birder II

I intentionally dumped my Birder II. It was to test if I could get back in. I was in water that I could touch bottom, but not while trying to get back in. I tried to slide in over the stern. I got started up over the stern and started to shinny myself forward. Only problem was I build my splash rail all the way to aft end of the cockkpit. That was tough on the thighs. Other than that It was not too difficult for an old overweight guy to get in. I bailed most of the water out before trying to get in. Tom D.

I made pollytarp sails for my BRS 15. They turned out pretty good. Search for poyytarp sails and you will find a lot of info. Duckworks and Polysail are two good sources with some detail info on making proper shape to the sails. I used a curved mast edge and foot. Some suggest building a dart from the tack toward the center of effort. Tom D.

Not to worry about days or time.I've been retired for 13 years. Morning is when the sun comes up. Evening is when the sun goes down. Sunday the comic are ussually a separate section and in color. My pension and Soc Sec are deposited. I don't use a watch or calender. Occasionally a watch when SWHMBO says to be home at a specified time. Tom D.

Yes I did and I tried to respond thanking you. I did roughly as you suggested. I used epoxy and syringed it into the bubbles cut lengthwise. I used a clamped 2x4 across the gunnels. Clamped some 1x4 to hold down a board over plastic to press the bubbles down. I sanded the finished job and added a couple coats of spar varnish. The results are barely visible. Thanx for you assistance. Tom D.

During the last few days of RAIN I had my boat (BRS 15) on trailer without the cover. No standing water on the bright finished seats. After baililng the cockpit and drying off the baot I noticed the foreward seats had some delamination. I have several long bubbles. I have purchased some 1 to 1 epoxy and syringes from West Marine. What is the best way to go about trying to fix my problem. I had a similar problem on the painted hull, ground it out and thickened epoxy sanded and repainted. This is bright work on the seats. PLEASE any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanx Tom D. Lansing Mi

In cental Michigan during August we often have very light winds. I would like to make a larger mainsail. To increas the roach I do not want the battens to run horizontal. I have seen pictures of veritcal battens in sails. Has anyone done this with a B & B cat ketch boat? What length and spacing should I use? Thanx Tom D BRS15 #127

OOOPS I had the window in the genoa, It would be in the main for a cat ketch. Sorry Tom D.

With my previous Glass boat that I sailed solo. I had a similar problem, I could not see what was oposite the main. I had a canvas shop sew in a 20 guage plactic window. No physical changes to the boat. Tom D.

I built a BRS 15 a few years ago. I had a 16 glass sloop that was getting a little difficult for me to trailer sail and rig myself. The boat was a little bit more than I could handle in more than 15mph wind. The BRS 15 is much easier to rig even with two masts. The boat sails well and performance is fine. I made my own sails from polytarp so my performance may not be the best. I made a few changes to the rigging from the plans, but use double ended sheets. I use a bungee centerboard downhaul. The boat gets a little wet with a chop . I sail in a 1600 acre lake, a lot of power boats create a lot of chop. I am very happy with my BRS 15 I can rig it easily and trailer sailing is not a problem. The boat was easy to build. I had built a kayak and several small dingys prior to the BRS 15. You will like the boat it is easy and foun to sail. I am in my late 60s and a little overweight. Tom D.

My first boat was a D4 dingy. It had the bottom stitched and unfolded. The BRS 15 is not that way. The side panels are attached to the bulkheads, transom and bow piece and a center keel plank is attached. The bottom is not stitched at the center line. The instructions are very good and easy to follow. Tom D.

I built a BRS 15 a couple years ago. I built it with Meranti plywood a little less costly than Okoume. I think I used 4 1/2 gal of epoxy from B & B. I don't have my costs with me. I winter in Florida and live in Michigan. My boat and some records are there. Time to build is a difficult question to answer. We all work at different speeds and skill levels. I have built several small plywood prams and a Birder II. The basic construction time was not very long. The finishing is the time consumer. I make my boats usable and they are not show boats. They float and I enjoy them. From a distance all homemade boats are beautiful. You can email me at the end of April and I will be in Michigan and I may have some material cost figures. The boat is fun and rather quick. I made my own sails from polytarp. They look ok and seem to perform nicely. Tom D

I built a Birder II with Okoume and a BRS 15 with Meranti Hydracor. This is a little lower in cost and a bit heavier. I had some delamination with some of mine after the boat had been sailed a while. I had coated the plywood with epoxy and several coats of paint. I think it was a bad sheet. I talked with the supplier and got no help since the boat had been already used. I have fixed the problem by cutting out a section of the outer layer and filling with thickened epoxy. I have not any problem since. The BRS doesn't have the butterfly bow and the bending in my boat was not a problem. Tom D BRS 15 Birder II

I went to Ft. Desotto Park yesterday to see and talk with other B&B sailors and builders. I have a BRS 15 and a Birder II. I was a little disappointed in that Graham was the only one present with his EC22 Souther Skimmer. I talked with him and Randy about the boat and the race. I was also supprised to see so many kayaks. I talked with a lot of the contestants about their boats and experience in this race. I got to talk with both SandyBottom and Kiwibird. I talked with the owner/sailor of Mullet the smallest boat in the contest. He has a modified BlueJay and is sailing solo. I saw a lot of Sea Pearls and talked with the crews. The giant sailing canoe with a 6 man crew was only a shorts distance from Mullet. What a diversity of craft in this excursion. I have never done any long distance sailing but have sailed small boats in Lake Michigan and Sunfish in Charlotte Harbor. The fellowship at the beach was more impressive than the boats that I saw. Tom D.