Bob Reynierson

Interesting thread. I sail a WWP 15 and am thinking seriously about building a CS 17. With the sloop rig on my boat I don't try getting the sails wing to wing unless I'm on a run, and then I am more worried about an unplanned Jibe than keeping the sails wing/wing. As I understand it the purpose of boom preventer is to prevent an unplanned jibe on a long downwind run. I noticed you said you were on a downwind reach (broad reach?). I have only sailed a cat-ketch (a CS 17) once. I thought wing to wing would be something that would only be practical on a run, or maybe a training run, and that on a downwind reach the sails would want to be on the same side just like a sloop rig. I have also read (on the B&B site I think) that with a cat-ketch unplanned jibes are not a big deal, nor does the foresail tend to luff in the annoying manner a jib often does on a run. What is the experience of those of you who are sailing cat-ketch rigs? BTW I often sit on the leeward side along with my crew in light winds and find I get better performance, I just try to stay sharp so that we can quickly switch sides and/or depower the sails in a gust. I think I tend to use that technique more on upwind courses as my boat seem to do better sailing upright when running downwind. I sail the inshore waters around Cedar Key, FL and share the waters with numerous power boaters. If a boat wake seems particularly problematic I am usually able to briefly alter my course to cross the wake at an angle, which cuts down on the rock & roll effect substantially. Bob Reynierson

Got it, thanks! I replied to you and sent him an e-mail. If things don't work out in Tampa a trip to Beaufort would be fun. It's been awhile since I was up your way. BR

Hello All, I am hoping to start a build on a CS 17 or BRS 17 within the next year or so. Dale kindly took me out on his CS 17, Lively, at the CK small boat festival last weekend and I am hoping to hitch a ride on a BRS 17 as another step in the decision making process. I live in Gainesville FL (N. central area). Are there any BRS 17 owners within a reasonable distance that would be willing to take me out on their boat? If so and you want to take a trip over to the Cedar Key area I can provide you room and board for a day or so in return. Naturally I would be glad to drive to your area as well. Thanks, Bob Reynierson

I got a chance to check out Dale's CS 17 in person this past Sunday at Cedar Key. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful boat. Thanks Dale! The CS 17 is a great boat and pretty much as I expected from reading about the design. It would certainly be easy enough to fish out of. I am still considering the BRS 17 so the next step is to see if I can hitch a ride on one before I make a final decision. Either way there is definitely a B & B boat in my future. Bob R

Hello Barry, I'm planning to be there next Saturday to check out Dale's boat, Lively. I'll take the P15 or my sea kayak, a VCP Anas Acuta (white Greenland Style FG boat). Maybe I'll see you there. Send me an e-mail when you start your build. I'm not sure how much time I'll have plus it will take all the self-discipline I can muster (which is not very much) to get it together to build my own boat when/if the time comes. On the other hand it would be great to see how a BRS goes together, and naturally if I come down I'll be glad to lend a hand. Bob

Hello Ken, Great to hear from you and glad to hear your boat found a home! I tried to send you an e-mail through the forum but for some reason couldn't. I thought your original asking price was really a good deal and if I had the $ at the time I definitely would have offered more. I am planning to take Dale up on his offer and will send him an e-mail. I will probably stick with the BRS due to it's better performance under power. I have been wondering how people get the speed out of the BRS series that they are reporting. I guesstimated the hull speed to be about 4-5 knots. I suppose they must be getting their boats up on a partial plane. Cheers, Bob

Hello Barry, Where are you located? I am over at CK frequently in my kayaks, maybe I'll see you there. I'm very excited about your BRS 15 build. Please keep me posted about it. How did you decide on it vs. the BRS 17 and CS series? Bob

Hello All, Thanks again for all of the input. I am pretty sure at this point that I will build or buy a BRS. It's just a matter of putting aside funds and working out a place to buid and store the boat. I will try and hook up with Dale at the CK small boat festival to check out his CS 17 before completely ruling it out. The only other decision to make for now is whether to go for BRS 15 or a BRS 17. I read on the thread that someone got 17 MPH or so with a BRS 17 with a 15 HP motor. It sounded like that may have been a bit too much speed for the boat. I will continue to monitor the forum and ultimately will contact the designer to get information about practical speed under power for the BRS 17. It seems pretty clear 10 MPH is realistic for the BRS 15 under power in good conditions. Other than speed under power it's a matter of weight vs. freeboard and room. I believe I read that the BRS 17 has more freeboard than the BRS 15. Once again, many thanks, Bob

Hi Dale, I've seen pics of your boat from the other small boat meets and have admired it. It looks like you did a beautiful job. I've looked at the Marissa as well as the runner up in the design competition Marissa won, but have ruled out a power boat for a variety of reasons. I have stumbled upon the small boat meet at CK several times but have never been there as a result of planning. The date always seems to slip by me. Maybe I'll make it over this year and take you up on your offer of a ride.

Thanks for all of the input and advice, especailly about woods and weight. Towing: Just got the Fit and got a letter from my dealer giving me the OK to tow my < 300# trailex trailer + two yaks. Won't be towing anything else until the car is out of warranty and definitely won't be buying a truck. By the time I actually get around to the build if ever the Fit will be out of warranty and paid for so who cares what Honda says. If I can get boat,trailer, passengers, and cargo within the total GVWR I'll tow with it. If not I'll have to beg to borrow my wife's Outback. CS 17 vs BRS 17 vs BRS 15: The CS is beautiful and tempting. Maybe I'll come around, but it won't motor as well as the BRS. What I have discovered using the P 15 and various yaks is that I can get out on the water faster and to my fishing spots more quickly in the yaks, plus they're easier to fish from. The CS would probably only get me one or two more knots of speed than the P 15 with its two HP Honda, so I would do just as well to stick with the yaks. I'm guessing the BRS 17 will not yeild much more speed than the BRS 15 under power. Does anyone know? If not then lighter is better. Seaworthiness: Although it would be tempting to take the BRS out to the reef I hope that I have had enough dicey experiences to have more sense. If I go with the BRS I'll take the P 15 if I decide to go out that far. In any case it would have to be under very favorable conditions with a minimal chance of T-storms. None of these boats is going to outrun a storm and I don't want to be the highest profile object for miles around in a T-storm. Thanks again, BR Bob

Thanks Ray. I expect if I do build the boat I will be wanting to adjust the snotter. I would probably set it up with the least amount of rigging possible to keep the decks clear for fishing and make it easy to rig the sails on the water. Later I could add cockpit controls for the snotters. (Gotta love that term). It sounds like it would be pretty easy to set them for the wind speed an leave them. Fishing season winds are usually 10 knots or less and I would be sailing mostly downwind on the return trip. I'm guessing slack in the snotter would be the way to go in those conditions. Have you ever built a BRS for sale? What do you think of the BRS 15 vs the BRS 17 for my uses? I'm leaning towards the 15 to keep the weight down so that I could tow the boat with my itty-bitty Honda Fit (after it's out of warranty of course). Bob

Thanks for the input Gordy. I read on the B&B site that you modified your boat for fishing.

That's good because I really like the boats. Thanks, BR

Hello all, It's spring and I've got new boat fever. I've been thinking of building or buying a boat and like the B&B BRS and CS models a lot. Not that I'm PLANNING on it, mind you. Actually I tried to buy Ken Potts' boat a while back. Did you take her with you Ken? I have been fishing the Cedar Key FL area out of kayaks for years. I also have a WWP 15. She's a great boat but a bit of a challenge for fishing due to the rigging. The winds where I fish are often light and out of the South or West which is exactly the direction I usually need to go to get to my fishing spots. On the other hand the weather can snot up in a hurry, especially in the summer months. For those of you not familiar with the area it is very shallow with a few cuts and channels up to about 20' feet. I would use the boat mainly as a fishing boat. I don't want to get into a full-on power boat, though. I'm thinking motor out, fish, and sail back, with some recreational sailing during slack tide or when the fish aren't biting and there is enough wind. Most of my fishing is within three miles of shore and there are nicely sized barrier islands near all of the fishing holes, so getting to land in a blow with a modest motor should be fairly easy. On the other hand I don't really trust motors and wouldn't be considering one at all if didn't take so long to get to my spots under sail or oar/paddle. I talked to Graham Byrnes about this recently and he recommended the CS 17, but the CS 17 looks like a more complicated build than I would want to take on. At that time I was also considering something that would safely get me to Seahorse Reef which is about 7 miles offshore. Now I'm thinking those trips will be infrequent and I've got the P 15 to use for more adventuresome trips. I think the BRS looks to be about the best option for my purposes. One of the few things that puts me off about the B&B boats is the snotter. I've never used one and it looks like a bit of a chore to adjust. I'm of the set and forget persuasion whenever possible, and I don't want to add additional lines for the snotter as some have done. What do you think, BRS 15, BRS17, or one of the CS series? Any thoughts about the cat-ketch rig and snotter for such an application? Once again, this is all just idle fancy at this point, so don't get in too much of a lather. Thanks in advance for any input you may have, Bob Reynierson