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Ken_Potts

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Everything posted by Ken_Potts

  1. The prize is a great idea, Rob. If I was a CS20 owner I would be heading out to the lake with a buddy (right now!) to capsize the boat and make the solo righting attempt. I guess it just sounds like fun to me. One of you CS20 guys get out there and DO it so we can all hear the report! Oh yeah - Try to take a buddy who has a waterproof camera...
  2. Great work, Scott! Your boat looks better than mine did at that stage. I'm determined to make as many mistakes as possible along the way. Using the temporary blocks over the tape at the bow was a reasonable precaution. I managed to break the joint on the port side while tightening the stitches but it turns out that it's not really a catastrophic event (apart from the feeling I got when I heard the CRACK!). It was easy enough to fix and I can't tell the difference between the two sides now. Also the sheer of your boat looks better than mine did at that stage. I had sort of a hard bend forward of the bulkhead. I was terrified that it was going to stay that way but installing the inwhales smoothed it all out. It's pretty now. (how is inwhale pronounced, anyway? Innel?) After the dramatic event of going 3d it seemed like my project slowed to a crawl but don't worry, you'll be flipping the boat over before long.
  3. I think footrests are essential for comfortable paddling. You might not have your feet on them all the time but it's nice to have them available. I've spent hundreds (maybe thousands?) of hours in my kayak (a fabric boat of my design) and I built it so the frame at the front of the cockpit is the right distance to brace my feet. The boat doesn't fit anyone else A quick search on google for "kayak footrest kit" (no quotes) yielded many choices. There was even at least one tailored to homebuilt wood boats. http://www.newfound.com/kayakacc.htm I don't know anything about the company other than they sell kits... In the past I've also seen some clever designs for homebuilt boats - Maybe in Nick Schade's book about stripbuilt boats? The good news is you can always add footrests later if you want to.
  4. Sounds like consensus so far. Any dissenting opinions out there? While we're at it - Any tips on installing the inwhales? I'm planning to use full length pieces, start at the bow and clamp my way back. Has anybody had problems getting it all done before the epoxy kicks or gets scraped off? I might make a practice run without epoxy to make sure I know what to expect.
  5. I bet once you get it sailing you will find that it moves along nicely. There hasn't been a lifting surface designed that I can't stall but most of you guys are probably better sailors than I am. The good news is when I stall a sail or a centerboard I'm blissfully ignorant of the fact so I still think I'm going like a bat out of... well, you know. The trick is to only race swimmers Also, I stand corrected on the shot size thing. I was just thinking about the difference between 00 buck shot and #9 and going with my gut feeling that I'd buy the smaller shot. I guess the correct thing to do is buy the cheapest shot.
  6. On the CS17 Hull construction plan there is a note about the keel batten. The batten is shown in the uppermost view going from the forward bulkhead, through the aft bulkhead and to the transom. I managed to miss this detail when cutting the aft bulkhead and stitching/taping the hull together so there's no hole for the batten to go through. I think that the aft bulkhead adds enough rigidity to the structure that installing two pieces (one forward of the bulkhead, one aft) will be alright. on the other hand I'm not afraid of hacking a hole through the bulkhead to accommodate a single piece keel batten. My question is twofold: Have any of you guys goofed in this way and if so, how did you deal with it?
  7. You should be able to get 20 lb bags of shot at any store that sells reloading supplies. Around here that includes most gun shops and the occasional Wal-Mart (yes, their stock DOES vary a bit from store to store). Don't worry too much about the shot size, most of it is pretty small. I guess the smalles shot would make the most dense epoxy/lead mix, though.
  8. I can't believe you made it through all that without once mentioning a martini.
  9. I like the fold away motor idea. Maybe the trapdoor could be built into one side of the transom instead of the aft deck. Pop the door open, flip the motor down and off you go. If you were careful you could build the trapdoor to be watertight whether the motor was deployed or not. Kind of 007ish.
  10. Jeff, I can't believe you haven't had any response. Diva's a pretty boat and there have probably been plenty put together. If you don't hear from anybody here maybe an email to Graham and Carla would get you a name and number of a builder or two.
  11. Hi Scott, I'm also building a CS17 and thinking about the power thing. The flip-it-over arrangement sounds pretty slick. I saw one trolling motor in a well on a sailboat called a Martin 16 (look for it on the web) where the motor slides down within the motor well when you want to use it. When the motor is in the down position and being used it is contained in a sort of open-ended box. when the motor is slid up out of the way the bottom of the box is flush with the bottom of the hull. If you arrange something like that and put the motor somewhere that the bottom is near the waterline (just ahead of the transom?) you might not have to worry about pumping water out of the well because there really won't be much. Be careful about changing the center of bouyancy, etc. though. I plan to use either a small (2hp) outboard, a homebuilt electric outboard (built on a scavenged lower unit), or a trolling motor. For any of those 3 things I think I'll just hang the motor on the transom when I need it and store it somewhere (aft of the forward bulkhead) when I don't need it. My reasons for going with such a low power motor are that I want the motor to be light enough to mount/dismount fairly conveniently and I really don't feel the need to plane (when not sailing ). It's also possible to put an unobtrusive trolling motor mount on the rudder. I might do something like that. Keep us updated as to what you decide to do. I might have to steal your design
  12. LED lights are the lowest power solution I can think of. I just did a quick search and found that there are LED navigation lights for sale. Take a look at http://www.hella.com/produktion/HellaPortal/WebSite/Internet_usa/ProductsServices/On_Line_Catalogs/Marine_Products/Marine_Products.jsp and also search a bit on your own. The downside to LED lighting is the cost. The expense is offset a little bit by the fact that you won't need much of a battery but it's still expensive. If you're a tinkerer there are schematics available on the web for making your own lights. That brings the cost down to something most of us can afford.
  13. Step 1: Build epoxy factory. Step 2: Loft lines for the frames full-size on your garage floor. Step 3: Convince the doctors you aren't a danger to anyone so they will let you go home...
  14. Good news. I had no problem pulling the joint flat again. So far I haven't re-taped the joint at the front but it looks like I'll have no problem with it. Mustangermatt: Before I saw your post I cut a few pieces of wood to brace the joint. The pieces are leftover ash from making the seat stringers so they are approx 3/4"X1". I put the longer piece on the inside of the boat oriented across the failed joint and ran one screw through a hole drilled in the smaller piece. I put the smaller piece on the outside of the boat with the screw going right through the joint between the side and the bottom into the longer piece on the inside of the boat and tightened it until the piece was pulled as flat as I needed. I'm not sure how well all that description conveys the fix so I'll post a photo after the weekend if I can. Garry: That was a great anecdote about the article on your boat. I like the look of the ash on the ladder too - It really appears to be the kind of visual touch that makes a custom boat custom It's really the little things that make the boat yours... Scott: Interesting - I was very afraid of moving my panels once they were taped because of all the possible leverage acting on them so I ended up nailing a brace onto the side/bottom pairs in order to allow me to move them about prior to unfolding. That joint really made me nervous but like I said before I think I would have been okay if I had gotten the butt joint (between the tape joints) properly set up. Thanks for the pics of the proven method. Brent: Thanks for the encouragement. I am making sure to only be working on the boat while I am enjoying it. The moment I get uneasy about something or other I retire to the living room to play my banjo or I go fishing. I'm all about having FUN building this boat. Kudzu: I've seen your posts as you've been trying to decide between the 17 and the 20 etc. You're going to have fun building that boat. The one good thing about having lots of other things to get done before you start the boat is you'll have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the plans. By the time you get started you'll have already built the boat severeal times mentally so you'll have a few less hiccups along the way. Enjoy! Oh yeah, watch those side-to-bottom tape joints too
  15. Last night my friend Mike and I unfolded my CS-17. We got the stitches and the temporary frame in place and now I get to take my time snugging things up. There was only one hitch - The tape joint between the port bottom and side blew out - Completely. I think there were two contributing factors: 1. Although the tape was nicely saturated, I think the butt joint with the thickened epoxy was too dry and 2. I didn't get the temporary frame in place early enough and ended up pulling the sides into too vertical a position while installing the stitches. I think I would have been alright if either of those two mistakes hadn't been made. The good thing is that the joint failed entirely in the tape. No wood was damaged. It should be easy enough to repair. I'll try to pull the joint back to its original flat shape by installing some boards across it on the inside and the outside and pulling them together with screws. If that doesn't make things symmetrical enough I will take one of two actions. I'll either remove the stitches, retape the flat panels and reassemble OR - and don't yell at me for this - I'll break the other joint to make the bow symmetrical. The port (broken) side is actually almost as attractive as the starboard side, it just doesn't have that neat little area where the chine fades to flat just shy of the bow. If I break the other joint (I probably won't) I'll have to fair the bow again as there will be a dimple in the stem profile where the chines end. So here's my warning: Be sure you have a good butt joint when you put the panels together - The tape alone may not be strong enough to hold. Also follow Graham's advice and work the temporary frame in early. And here's the anti-warning: If (when) you hear a heart-rending "pop" and one more unplanned for challenge arises in your boat project relax, you just added a custom feature to your boat Remember, boatbuilding is all about enjoying yourself...
  16. Congratulations! You'll like looking over those plans - The clarity and detail are as good as I've seen. I recently started building my CS-17. I'm working on making the bottom and side panels right now. I'm scarfing the wood instead of the fiberglass butt joint mostly because I wanted to try a new glue-up jig. I'm getting mixed results (good joint but it could be flatter) but I'll post the photos when I'm finished. I was intrigued by the curved transom idea and I almost decided to do it but I've already got the transom cut out and I like the looks of the transom either way.
  17. Thanks Gordy, That looks like a nice weekend you had. It's the type of camping I'm thinking of. You've got a pretty boat there. I like sewing stuff so I'll probably make my own tent for the boat. You mentioned raising the floorboards to make a sleeping platform - How is that arranged mechanically? A ledge on the seats to hold the boards?
  18. Hello, Last Sunday I drove down to Vandemere and picked up plans & plywood for a Core Sound 17 (Yay!) I'm interested in setting it up so that I can camp on board occasionally. Any advice on how to set things up? Photos? The B and B website has photos of a tent on the Bay River Skiff and there is a mention of "lifting floorboards".
  19. I just talked to Carla on the phone and she said that their ISP has been down for a few days. She said the problems were recurrent ones and that B and B was in the process of switching to a new provider. They should be back up in the next few days. I should probably introduce myself - I've been lurking on this forum for probably over a year (and I've learned a bit from you guys) but this is my first post. I'm going to be heading down to Vandemere on Sunday afternoon to pick up plans and some plywood for a CS-17. I've built a few small boats but this will be my first stitch-and-glue. I'm really looking forward to the project.
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