Tom Williams

I used one layer of 3" wide 10oz tape on my CS17 bulkheads.

White oak can be tricky to epoxy... it can resist bonding. Where I used it on my boat, I roughened the bonding surface with 60 -80 grit paper on my belt sander. I tried to sand across the grain to roughen the surface and create lots of crevices for mechanical bonds. I've had no debonds so far. You might want to bond some test pieces to satisfy yourself you've got a good technique before diving into the boat. I bonded some scrap to plywood panels and broke them apart. I was happy when I had the plywood failing and not the epoxy joint. Good luck Tom

Beautiful work Scott. Who's motor mount did you buy? I'm going to put one on my CS17 this fall as a replacement for my electric drive for my 3-4 day camping trips. I'm been thinking about building my own but ... I like the looks of yours. My Dad gave a 1960-something 3 HP Johnson outboard that needs some TLC (another winter project). By the way, the 30 Lb thrust Minkota electric is working out great for my daysails. It pushes the boat to about 3-4 knots. It's just the ticket for getting out of the launches and getting in when the wind gives up. I recommend that option for other builders. Thanks for the pics!! Tom

Looks beautiful Mike. It looks like you selected the Sloop rig instead of the Cat. If so, I'd like to know the reasons for the selection. (yea ... I'm giving it some thought (don't tell my wife!!) :shock: ) Tom

Congratulations Marty. Now the fun part starts! Here's the best tip I can give you ... take your time and don't rush it. You'll enjoy the build as much as the sails. From a fellow Williams ... Tom (CS17 #129 TEFIA) PS: Try posting the pics again.

Lookin good Dave. Just a little more epoxy, some sanding ... Keep at it. You'll be done before you know it! Tom BTW, what's your hull number?

Wow John. Unbelievable workmanship. You are a craftsman! Congratulations. Tom

CS17 "TEFIA" to mine. Great idea. I'm hoping to get an idea of how many B&B boats are out ther sailing!

Congratulations Scott. She really looks great in the water. I had my CS17 out again today. Every time seems to be better than the sail before. Enjoy! Tom

Wow Scott... unbelievable. The workmanship is first class! I'm sure she'll sail as good as she looks! Congratulations on getting this far! Tom

WOW Garry --- It's beautiful! Makes me want to build a stripper now that my shop is boatless. Keep the pictures coming. Tom

One last input on folding the boat. I had read cases of the plywood fracturing during the fold. To help prevent this, I sponged water on the forward panels where a lot of bending was going to occur. I sponged the water on only the outside where the panel was going to be in tension. After about 5 hours (water every 1/2 hour or so) the forward panel had warped partially into its bent shape. I don't know if this helped but, the fold went well. Tom

Hi Larry, Here's what I did on my CS17: - I layed the butterflys on top of each other and drilled the 1/8" stitch holes on just the centerline joint. I used 6" spacing and later on wished I had used 4" (You need to climb aboard to epoxy the CL). - I predrilled the sides only at the chine. After folding, it's easy to eyeball the mate and drill a hole. The side and bottom wrap with slightly different curvatures so predilling both will develop an offset as you go back (I think anyway) - Sandwich the butterfly between two pieces of plastic covered plywood (Packing tape works well) with glass on both inside and out. Don't worry about running screws through the hull pieces. Those small screw holes are easy to patch up later. Getting a good fitting, flat butterflys is key to a balanced hull. Make sure you shoot some dimensions at the aft end of the hull & make sure the starbord & port sides are the same. I would plan on leaving the flat Graham designed in with this method. I think it really makes the bow of the boat! Good luck, Tom

Congratulations Kidd. It floats ... You can finally say it's a boat!. I had my CS17 out again today with my Mom and Dad. All went well despite finding my trolling motor battery was dead after launching. I found the oars work well. I've had the boat out four times now and I'll still making tweaks. Your experience is not unique. Keep at it ... getting to know the boat is part of the experience. Best of luck! Tom

Looks good Ken. With regards to the deck clamping. I used #4 X 1/2 inch pan head scews to hold the deck to the framing during build & the epoxy cure. I used #6 washers under the heads to minimize the imprint. I was envisioning a painted deck when I started but ended up finishing bright (& I'm glad I did). The small screws work out well because you can remove the decking and reinstall in exactly the same spot. If I could do it all overagain, I would have made some larger washers out of formica (or something similar) to better distribute the load. I was able to sand out most of the washer imprints but, a few were too deep. Keep plugging away. The season is still young! Tom