Tom Williams

Looks great Mike. I'm a first time builder and by no means an expert, but I'm about 4 months ahead of you. I had a heck of a time with paints nor curing on my epoxy. By all means try a sample spot before committing to the painting the boat. I used Systems Three epoxy and ended up buying their two part polyurethane paint. I am sold on the stuff ... It's water based so clean up is easy and it's tough as nails. You mentioned polyurethane for your bright finish. Make sure it's a spar varnish with UV inhibitors. The epoxy work your doing needs to be protected. Good luck on your journy! Tom

I know what your going through Scott. I've been telling my friends I'm 75% done with 75% to go. There's a lot of details that take time when your approaching the finish line. I caught a cold from my son and stayed home from work yesterday and today. I was feeling a little bit better this AM so I decided to tackle the cockpit coaming. After about an hour in my shop I decided I'm not yet heathy enough :cry: . It will have to wait until this weekend. My friend lent me a setup for steam bending. I'm planning to steam the coaming sections (white oak @ ~ 0.300" thick) up near the forward bulkhead that have to do significant bending (~15" radius). I'll post some pictures of the process. Please continue to post pictures of your Belheaven. I've learned a lot from what others are doing. Tom

Hi everyone. I haven't posted any pictures for a while so I here goes. I've made good progress over the last couple of weeks but my free time is getting scarce. Here's a short description of what you'll see in the pictures: Thwart: As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got a little carried away with this one. I started with the idea of a short bulkhead under the thwart to mount a compass. I ended up with a mini-locker that currently has a switch panel installed. I'm going to build a panel with two fold down doors (kind of like a glove box) Forwad mast step: I got the mast step epoxied in and the mast tube fitted. The housing shown has pocket to collect water and route it through the hose and SS tubing back to the cockpit. Deck Framing: The deck is framed in. I've got a plan to build a curved (to match the deck) deck hatch. I'll post pics of that in the coming weeks. Oars: I ended up buying 7' oars. I know they're shorter than what Graham recommends but, that's all I could fit in the space I had allocated. I'll have an electric trolling motor as the fall back to the wind so the oars should be emergency only propulsion. I ended up with a bracket system to hold the oars that seems to work pretty well (at least in the basement where I've been sailing). Hardware: Graham sent me a bunch of hardware - Thanks! Tom

Wow ... a tribute to a well built boat! Glad it had a happy ending. I will hopefully be on a trailer later this summer and had been wondering if trailer straps might be a good idea. I was worried that the boat, being so light for it's size, might float off the trailer at freeway speeds. Anyone have any thoughts here? Tom

I might as well join the crowd. You never know when I'll be challenged to a race by another CS17! Thanks Grahm. Tom tpwilliams6@aol.com

Looks great Scott. I'll be framing the forward deck structure in the next week or so. I've thought through the deck hatch but haven't yet started to sketch it. If you have any details on how you're going to attack yours, I'd love to hear about it. I got the thwart and mizzen mast step built last weekend. I got a little carried away. I wanted a small bulkhead aft of the mizzen to mount a compass. It ended up being mini locker (glove box?) that will house a radio and also a small switch panel (deck lights, aux power, etc.). The nice thing about calling this a hobby is it doesn't have to make sense :wink: . I'll get some picture this weekend. Tom

Welcome to the forum. Look forward to seeing pics of your project. As you probably figured out, it's a great way to learn and to find help. Enjoy the ride! Tom

Looks great Graham. I was envisioning something similar for mine someday. Did you have to heat the PVC to make the bends? I was planning on snaps that attach to my cockpit coming --- any problems with that idea? Thank for the pics. I can't wait for my firsy night in CS17! Tom

Howards got you going to the right place. Sign in as a member and you can get all kinds of good info. I had a heck of a time with paints. I tried Interlux's single part polyurethane and then Rustoleum's marine grade enamal. Neither would cure on the Systems Three epoxy. The Systems Three LPU seems to work well. I put two coats in the lockers and I can still see through it in a couple of spots. I wanted to save my paint for the cockpit so I stopped at two coats (they are only lockers).

The flash on the camera makes the paint look a lot lighter than it really is. I used about 1.5 quarts of "Mercer Green". I rolled and brushed on the first coat and then sprayed on the second and third coats. I painted on a Sat and Sun. and then sanded and buffed it out on the following Tuesday evening. Dale --- Thanks for the photo. Good luck with your CS17... It's a great project! Tom

I haven't had a chance to post status or pictures in the last couple of weeks so here I go! I got the hull painted. I ended up using Systems 3 water based two part polyurethane paint. It went on well and dried very quickly. I very much appretiated the fact it was water based - It made painting in the basement tolerable and clean up was easy. I recommend the paint! The boat is now right side up and I made the mast tube and started the deck framing around the cockpit. The seat tops are trimed to fit the hull but have not yet been glued in or trimed flush with the seat sides. I'm putting that off until I get a few more thing done. Tom

I agree with Charlie. I glassed my CS17 several weeks ago prior to installing the keel. It would have been a real hassle trying to fit the glass around the keel. I ran some 2 inch 6 oz. tape over the keel after it was installed to provide a little more abrasion resistance on the keel bottom. You might want to give that a try. Tom

I just made my mast tube this weekend. I used the 4 wraps of 6 mil plastic but did it in two pieces. I taped the pieces using plastic packing tape. I wrapped the mast section/ plastic using 10 oz tape with about 1/2" of overlap. When this hardened I wraped it second time with some of the 6 oz. continuous cloth I had left over from the hull glassing. When I dissassembled the mess, the two plastics slid away from each other (one stayed on the mast, the other tube). I had to wrestle the plastic out of the tube. I did this by grabbing the ends and twisting. The plastic rolled up on itself and broke free from the epoxy. It was no big deal but I should have used some virgin plastic. The piece I used had been around the shop for a while and wasn't as smooth and slippery as it should have been. The tube looks great. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. Tom

Thanks for the reply Oyster. Wow two weeks ... I don't know if I can wait that long. With the boat upside down there's not a lot to do. I'll do some more research. As for the filling, I tried to do most of that prior to the glassing. I sanded the other night and it wasn't to bad. I put on the forth coat last night and it really looks good. I don't think any additional filling is required. The sanding prior to paint will be my final check. As for the priming, I'm using marine grade Rustoleum. They advertize application right over washed and sanded epoxy. I did this in my lockers and everything worked out great. Thanks for the picture Ricardo. My wife has here eye on my favorite shirt and pants. I've only been able to save them by telling her I have more epoxy to put on ... why trash another set of cloths? Unfortunately, I'm afraid their days are numbered . Tom

I wanted to correct an earlier mistake I made at the start of this post. I stated I had use 1.5 quarts of epoxy after two coats over the glass. That was actually just the resin. With the hardner included, It was just over 1/2 gallon. Since then, I have: put on a third coat of epoxy, epoxied on the keel, sanded the hull and just applied the forth (and final) coat of epoxy. I'm ready for a break! In all, I used just over a gallon of epoxy. I figure the glass (6 lbs) and the extra epoxy it consumed (~1/2 gallon) added about 10 - 12 lbs to the boat. I think the extra protection is worth the weight. I'm going to paint with marine grade enamal. I was thinking Sunday afternoon (~ 4 days from now) would be adequate time for the epoxy to fully cure. Anybody have any thoughts on that? Tom

Answering Howard's question. When glassing the bottom, do you tape the keel and chine seams first? Either way, it looks like you did a short overlap of the cloth edges at the keel and let the cloth drape to the gunnels and then cut it to fit. Yes, I did tape the chines with 10 oz tape. It probably wasn't necessary but I figured it would add some extra protection in an area that prone to bumps and bangs. I didn't tape the keel. It has two layers of 6 oz. cloth overlaping and, it will have the keel protecting it as well. The bow forward of the keel got the 10 oz. tape plus the 6 oz. of cloth overlapped (22 oz. altogether!). I did allow the cloth to overhang the sheer. After wetting out, I cut it about 1/8" short of the sheer. It will eventually be covered with the rub rail so I wasn't too worried about trying to get it flush. Tom

Thanks for the tip Gordy -- Did you paint over the graphite/ epoxy mix? I just finished my third coat of epoxy, It's neat to see reflections on the hull! I'm really amazed at the fairness of the hull. I was expecting more bumps and waves. I guess its a tribute to the quality of the Okume plywood (and the great design of course). As you can see in the pictures, I really didn't have to do much filling. Yea Oyster. The sun was out and the temperature was over 30F yesterday ... time for short sleeves. Another 10 degrees and the shorts come out! Tom

I spent today glassing the hull of my CS17. I use 6 oz. flat weave cloth and everything went well! I've got two coats of epoxy on the cloth and I believe one more will "fill it up". It was easier than I expected. I've used about 1.5 quarts of epoxy including a coat before the glass went on. Note: My friend Rick helped out and confirmed his plans to order some B&B plans soon. I'm glad he volunteered ... it would have been tough doing this job single handed. Attached are a couple of shots. Tom [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Great question Dale. I'm approaching that point as well. I addition, what's the recommended oar length? I think I remember 7' as a recommendation for a CS17. Tom

Wow ... what a big cockpit. It's amazing how much bigger the 19' Belhavan looks compared to my CS17. Keep the pictures coming ... I learn something everyday from them!! Tom

Hi MikeY, I'm guessing no more than 10 - 15 lbs. The glass is 6 oz/ sq. yard and I'm guessing about 2/3 of a gallon of epoxy. I'd probably be using at least 1/3 gallon of epoxy w/o the glass. I'll keep track of what I use this weekend and post the numbers! Tom

You've got the right idea. Take your time and do it right! I've got my hull faired and am planning to glass this weekend. A friend who has been there, done that, has offered to give me a hand. I plan to use my boat in nothern Lake Huron and wanted the extra protection the glass offers. After that, I'm planning to paint the hull and get it rightside up for finishing the cockpit and deck. I figure I'm about 1/2 done (I hope). There's a lot to do but I think (maybe hope is a better word) I'll be in the water this summer! I'll post some pictures from this weekend. Tom

Beautiful work Scott. When did you start her? I'd love to build a Belhaven someday. My problem is my shop is in my basement and is limited to a 6' doorway and fairly low ceilings. I'd have to tackle a boat this size in my unheated garage.

Hi Greg. I'm located about 30 miles N of Ann Arbor. It looks like we're across the state from each other. Let me know when you're over this way, I'd love to show her to to you. I'll drop you a line if I'm heading your direction as well. I'm sure there's a couple of things you could teach me. Thanks for the complement. I'm really having a ball with the project. Tom

Hi everyone. We flipped my boat Friday night. Attached is a shot of some friends I had over for some help (and beer). I'm the one in the grey T shirt. Everything went well. Also attached are a couple of shots of my approach to cutting the CB slot in the hull. It was a little nerve racking sticking the router into the hull but it all went to plan. I've got the haull faired and the chines taped. I'll keep you posted. Tom [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]