DISTELTK

I winter in Port Charlotte and this year I plan to go to Fort DeSotto to see some of the boats. The web had last years calender with Friday being registration day and racing starting Sat. If I go Friday this week I should be able to see and talk with some of the contestants. Hopefully there will be several B&B boats and builders present. I have built a Birder II and a BRS 15. I enjoy both, however I do not have a boat in Florida. Anyone Between Charlotte Co. and St. Pete and would like to travel with me let me know. Tom D. Birder II, BRS 15

I have finally cut out the surface layer of the plywood that delaminated on the side of my BRS 15. I had a small spot on the foredeck that was patched a while ago. While checking out the entire hull I found another spot on the foredeck, cutting out an area about 5" x 2" and filling with thickened epoxy and sanding. The side problem was over 15" x 5" this was filled the same way. I went around the entire hull and sanded rought spots. I am not a finish carpenter and was anxious to get the boat floating. I sanded and repainted the entire hull sides and deck. WOW does it look good now. Question? I would like to add more sail area. I live in Central Michigan and late July Thru August have many days with minimal breeze. It would be a lot of work to make rigging for a spinnaker. I have seen/heard about using a mizzen staysail. That seems to be the best option. How would the sail be cleated. Could this sail be used with a lot of tacking? I generally sail on a 1600 acre lake whick requires tacking multiple times during an afternoon sail. Thanx Tom D BRS 15

8) I built a Birder II plan number 58. My kayak was painted except for the for and aft decks. My workmanship is not condusive to bright finish. Beautiful work. I had made several small dinghys prior to the Birder. I had many concerns about the bending of expensive plywood. The others were made of home improvement co lauan. I have since buiilt a BRS 15. Again beautiful boat. Tom D.

It was stamped BS1088 Hydroteck. I made the deck from the same sheet the side panel was cut from. I have used Okoume from the same supplier for my Birder II and no probems. Next boat ??? will use Okoume Thanks for the replies Tom D.

I built a BRS 15 and am enjoying the boat. I built it to use and my finishing skills are not of a furniture maker. I built if from Meranti plywood, my local supplier had just started carrying it. I had some delamination problem with the deck sheet. I had fixed this with cutting down to solid wood and patching with thickened epoxy and repainting. I contacted my supplier about the problem not wanting any compensation just to let them know of the problem. The boat has been unused for a few weeks and getting it ready for an extended trip with a group of friends. I noticed a 6" bubble on the port side near where the reefing mast support is. The entire hull inside including inside the seats and out were coated with epoxy before painting. Damn I will now have to grind the area down and patching this also. Has anyone had a similar experience with this plywood, it was stamped with the proper id for marine usage. I have built with Acoume, and BIg Box Luan and never had this problem. O well the spouse is beginning to rebel against building any more boats. Spending that much money and having them fall apart is not in her agenda. Tom D.

I built a BRS 15. I have sailed several small boats. I am 67 and a bit overweight, I have learned to sail it better each time I have sailed. I would have no problem sailing this boat in large waters. I have sailed dinghys in Lake Michigan and Charlotte Harbor in Florida. The boat is very stable and my confidence in both my ability to sail it and its stability increases with each trip out. I sail almost entirely solo. The BRS is easy to rig, the masts are 17', 2/3 aluminum and no rigging. Tom D. Lansing Mi.

On my BRS 15 I used mast hoops. I usually trailer so I usually breakdown my masts and separately pack the sails. The hoops allow me the use a halyard to raise and lower the sails. I will have access to keeping the boat in the water for several day at a time. I plan to mount a block inside the mast head for a halyard instead of an eye. Tom D. BRS 15 Birder II

I built a Birder II a few years ago. I added a keel appox 3/4 lenght of boat. The boat tracks straight as an arrow. However the II is a little difficult to turn with a long keel. I paddle on a lake mostly so it is not bad. I have tried travelling between lakes on channels and the II gets difficult to solo paddle in a crowd or winding channels. I have used a golf umbrella to cross the lake running and needed very little paddle action to keep it straight to the small beach for docking. I like it, I would build the Birder next time I don't need that big of a kayak and I don't have anyone who likes to kayak that doesn't own their own. Tom D Lansing Mi, Port Charlotte Fl.

I put the doubler in after the inwales were installed. I trial fitted it several times and bent it over a sawhorse to get a prebend. I used two 60 lb sand bags and used two crossbeams clamped to the inwales. I used a lot of thickend epoxy and clamped down boards and the sand to keep it in place. The deck had been cut OVER size with centerlines. I made a paper form for the cockpit. Clamped both pieces in place and adjusted for the best fit. I drew lines using the sides and taped the paper form centered for the cockpit. Cut the cockpit openings. Epoxied clamped and screwed panels down. I painted a narrow band around the entire deck and left the major portion bright. My Birder II is not a great beauty but looks fine and tracks great. Tom D.

I built the BRS 15. I sail on inland lakes mostly. If you plan to sail on big water I would suggest you go with the CS17. My boat takes a lot of splash when beating to windward with 2 ft waves. The CS has a side deck. That makes it easier to sit on the rail for balance. Tom D. Michigan/Florida

I live in Michigan and have sailed a 16 ft glass boat in Lake Michigan out of Pentwater. I know how it is to try to use the channel to the big lake. I had a small motor. I built a BRS 15. It was not difficult and the help from the forum and Graham was exceptional. The boat is easy to rig and sails easily solo. I have sailed in Lake Lansing, Higgins Lake and Coldwater Lake in southern Mi. My only problem with the boat is that it can take spray from charging into waves. If you plan on bigger water with 1 - 2 ft waves the CS should be dryer. I am thinking about increasing ways to add some type of splash deflection system up front. I have oars mounted forward and it is difficult under waves or wind. I was rowing solo with 10+ mph wind to test the rowing capabilities. Tom D Lansing Mi, Port Charlotte Fl.

??? I've made polytarp sails for my BRS 15. They appear to work well. I live in Michigan and the summers have very light wind a lot of the time. Question ??? Why couldn't I make light weight sails from the nylon fabric that wind breaker jackets are made of. The main is approx 50 sqft. These sails would be much lighter than the tarp sails or dacron sail fabric. This should give me better performance than the heavier ones. I had a boat with a spinnaker over 100 sq ft made of this type of nylon. Tom D BRS 15

Now that makes more sense. I will have my wife read your explaination of the loss of valuable equipment. I have used some good reasons for foolish and stupid (oops silly) mistakes and losses. Now she can believe me when she understands others have similar problems. Tom D BRS15, Birder II

OPPS They came out bigger than I planned.

I hope this works. Iam using/testing some free software These are all taken at Higgins Lake in Northern Michigan. #1 is the boat on her trailer. behind the cottage at Higgins Lake #2 Side view on the lift, the water is about 6" deep here. #3 & 4 are shots from the dock looking int the cockpit. The seats are finished bright. The centerboard and rudder are also finished bright. No real reason, most folks will never see either foil. #5 Shows the sunset fromthe shoreline. Pretty photo, had to add this one. I finally got her down to my home lake. Got her out several times. I like the boat and she sails great. Nothing to speak of beating windward but reaching and running she is a fine performer. My only two concerns now are. The steep sides cause a lot of splash into the cockpit charging into waves or chop. We get a lot of chop with overpowered pontoons and ski boats. The other concern is I have no bungee on the center board. We have several shallow areas and the board will kick up. I must set the tiller and step forward to lower it. I will devise a bungee/line to solve this. I have moved the main sheet to be forward so I can sit on the hatch and tiller in one hand and main sheet in the other. This is much more comfortable for me. Tom D. BRS 15 & Birder II.

I took the boat to Higgins Lake in Northern Michigan. This is one of the largest in the state. 15k acres. The first few days we couldn't get the boat in the water. The boat sailed very well and was fast on a run or reach. Tacking to windward was not special. The wind was near 15mph + a lot of caps on the waves. The boat takes a lot of splash into the cockpit. The waves on the lake were well over 1 ft. My crewmate was taking big splashes on each wave. I am not totally confident of my ability with this boat. With more time on the water I believe Iwill be satisfied with it. Problems; I built the boat with Meranti plywood instead of Okoume. I used Okoume on my Birder II. The Meranti was a few dollars less but heavier. The piece that I used for the foredeck has started to delaminate. I will contact the lumber co Monday. I don't expect anything other than telling them. It is a new item they started to carry this year. We also broke the center board handle. I am not sure what or when it happened. We had few problems with it sticking and maybe some gravel got caught in the trunk in shallow water. This I wll fix this week. I am considering adding some gunnel material near the bow to slow the splash into the cockpit. Any ideas that may help. Cool weather is comming and crew may be hard to find. Also I don't want to get wet with cold water. The boat overall has been fine. Tom D.

8) I am retired so I have more time to work on the boat. I have a large workshop attached to the rear of my garage, this allows me to leave tools and parts out. One section of the garage is for boat storage, with a 6 foot door to the workshop. I had a CL16, copy of the Wayfarer. This was a little more than an this old man can rig and sail solo. I sold it to a club member in Ontario that has a fleet that races. The BRS was chosen because I sail mostly on inland lakes. I also sail solo most of the time. I needed a boat that would fit in my garage on a trailer. It must also be easy to rig and sail solo. The choice was CS 15 or BRS. I read the article about sailing a BRS along the Baja in the Gulf of California. This convinced me that I could sail in Lake Michigan and inland lakes. I did not take any pictures during construction, but will take some next week sailing and will try to post them. I have a lot to learm sailing this rig. My prior experience was in sloop rigged dinghys and Sunfish. I don't know if I like the double ended sheets. This boat is narrow enough that a enter mounted main sheet may work better for me. I will get a lot of practice next week. Tom D

The 2nd test sail with my just completed BRS was much better than the 1st. My first tryout was at the local lake. I do not like this lake, the wind is always variable and changes direction with gusts. The 2nd was at the same lake. !st: My adult son and I spent a windless day on teh lake. The boat set up easily enough. The wind died shortly after we set out. She performed well for the first hour. The wind died and much of the lake was like glass. We were both amazed that the little craft moved even without a noticable breeze. Only one small problem, The wood plate over the centerboard pivot bolt had a small leak. I used rubber gaskets. These were fixed. Test two Yesterday a friend went with me. We had 15 MPH winds with higher gusts. Some caps on the waves. The boat performed very well and we both were surprised at the speed she carried. I was able to tack in just over 90. Usually it was over 100 degrees. I found another problem. The top of the centerboard trunk aft end had a water problem. A small gap that was epoxy filled after I got home. I am pleased with the boat. Next week I will take to northern Michigan to Higgins Lake. I hope to get some pictures to post. Tom D.

8) Thanx I was sure that would be the best way. Space is my problem, I wasn't sure if piecing them on the boat would work out. Buildling a good boat is not a one day project. Thanx Tom D.

:?: I am building a BRS and have a question? Should the forward and rear hull bottom panels be installed as individual pieces or should I join the two pieces first? I am sure I will have more questions as I progress. Thanx Tom D. BRS # 127 and a completed Birder II.

I have a Birder II and would like to add a sailing rig. I can find all sorts of ideas/plans for making the sail. I only found 1 site (CLC) that has plans for the outriggers. Does anyone kow of a site(s) that I can look for information. Thankx Tom D> Birder II

8) The colors are to be able to be seen on larger bodies of water. I also will use it to mark my shore line while out in my sailboat. I sail a 16' sometimes on large lakes from different rental units and this allows me to find my way home without a GPS. My wife sometimes will look for me and it makes it easy to spot. I know several people in Florida that fish in the shallows and inlets in Kayaks. The Birder is wider and more stable than some of the plastic ones. You have built a Mini Cup? I have the plans and maybe will build one. I have friends in Florida that have Sunfish and is the Cup competitive with them? The sail area is the same only a shorter hull. Tom D.

8) The colors are to be able to be seen on larger bodies of water. I also will use it to mark my shore line while out in my sailboat. I sail a 16' sometimes on large lakes from different rental units and this allows me to find my way home without a GPS. My wife sometimes will look for me and it makes it easy to spot. I know several people in Florida that fish in the shallows and inlets in Kayaks. The Birder is wider and more stable than some of the plastic ones. You have built a Mini Cup? I have the plans and maybe will build one. I have friends in Florida that have Sunfish and is the Cup competitive with them? The sail area is the same only a shorter hull. Tom D.

I took my Birder 2 out of the shop today and put her in the back of the truck. She is long and stuck out a ways but I only had a short distance to the little park pond. She tracked great and was very easy to paddle. I set a temp seat in the middle and used the paddle per plans. The pond is long and narrow with appros 2 acre island in the middle. I was out for approx 2 hours. The boat was easy to turn and I had a great time. I was able to sneak up on turtles, muskrats and a Great Blue Heron that I never could with the old row boat. I could see a lot of fish mostly small pan fish. Now I need to do some final sanding and painting. I plan to leave the fore and aft decks bright and the interior a light yellow and the bottom and sides a bright red. I can be seen where ever I go. My wife does not feel safe on small boats and always wants to know where I am. I sometime get a chance to get out on large bodies of water with my little boats. Tom D Lansing Mi.

That is a nice looking craft. I am building a Birder 2 also. I have the deck on and getting ready for finishing up. I like the idea of a sail also because my main water hobby is dinghy sailing. I hope that B & B will come out with a sail plan for the birders. CLC has plans and kits for a sailing kit with amas and sails. It is designed to fit most medium or large kayaks. It gives a 10 foot beam. I winter in Charlotte Co in Florida. Tom D.