Tom the rower

Well, now I am a little mixed up. Should I remove my supports from under the boat? I guess I have to admit that they are somewhat randomly placed, kind of . I don't think I am aware of exactly how far back from the nose of the boat goes bulkhead number 1 and so on. and since the 3 supports mimic the bulkheads, and I just kind of stuck them up under the boat and screwed them into the frame before unfolding the boat, maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe they are off by a foot or more.

Thanks... that is good advice. I used as cradle supports pretty much exact copies of 3 different bulkheads (I took a bulkhead and traced it onto plywood and cut it out and used the opposite piece as the support). One thing I haven't done yet is level it out. It appears that the front of the boat is way too high as compared to the back of the boat, so that front support will probably need to be lowered. I can take some more detailed pictures. Tom

You can see here that I don't quite have the sides attached just right to the bottoms. Kind of gappy. Maybe moving the bulkhead around a little. Ideas??? Sorry to be so slow about this build.

I finally have the boat refolded out and kind of have the temporary bulkhead wedged in.

I wonder how you would fill and empty a port or stbd water ballast tank? Use a bilge pump to fill and empty the tank? Thanks

Otto, yes I live I Jacksonville,Fl and yes I could use some help. Having just pulled apart a Core sound 20 that looked like a boat to repair a tear (completely my fault), I could use someone who is excited. I live on the water and usually just go out sailing instead of working. I made a special boat building shed with all kinds of lights just for this boat. I am ready to re-wire the boat and re-unfold it. I would guess that you live nearby. Let me know. Right next to the boat build is my last project, a wood fired pizza oven. Come over and let us eat pizza and drink beer and talk of boat building.

Just pulled the folded hull apart to fix the torn wood. That was tough. Naturally, the tear tore even more. I now have the stbd bottom and side layed out flat on the back deck. Ended up coming apart, so I guess I will go get some really thick woven fiberglass, say a good 8 inches overlap on either side of what will now be a butt joint, as the cool finger joint is now gone. Spent some time with the newly acquired mirka arbonet sand paper stuff to clean up the joint in preparation for the butt joint. It won't be 70 degrees here till 2-3 pm today. Dangit. The boat looked so cool after the folding/unfolding process. Everything lined up perfect, except that tear. I was tempted to try a fix while it was still stitched together, but I thought I better take it apart and do it right.

The joint was not starved. This was a tear in the wood at the finger joints. I am gut sure that the number of times I moved the 20ft bottom piece before unfolding was probably the culpret. No worries... I will take it apart, fix the joint and do the unfold process again. This will afford me the opportunity to get some video and photos of the unfold process, since it happens so quickly. I wasn't sure if I could avoid the taking it apart and re-unfolding, but I guess it is the right thing to do.

No....I pretty much did the standard thing. Got the port side bottoms all joined together at the finger joints, till the port bottom was 20 ft long, same for starboard bottom, then same for port and starboard sides, making each 20 ft long and did them at the same time so that the bottom 20 footers were identical and the sides 20 footers were identical. Then, I cut four 14 inch strips of fiberglass tape and joined on each side the bottom to a side and let that cure. When that was done, I added square blocks to each side of the bottom/side fiberglass join to make sure that when I unfolded the boat that it wouldn't stress that 14 inch fiberglass join of bottom and side. Then , I turned over each bottom side join and added the seat stringer to the inside side of 20 side piece. Only then did I put everything back on top of each other, making sure that the 2 bottoms, port and starboard exactly lined up (same for the now partially joined sides---(20 ft sides joined to each half of bottom by a 14 inch strip of fiberglass at the nose of the boat). Then I wired to bottom together from stem to stern and unfolded. Upon unfolding, I saw that part of the finger joint located at starboard bottom between the front section of bottom and middle section of bottom had torn halfway. I would actually drill holes in this tear,and try to wire, or I could unwire the bottom join and lay the stbd bottom 20 ft section that still has the stbd 20 ft side piece still attached at the nose by a 14 inch strip of fiberglass tape flat on the ground and try to go over the torn area with a larger piece of fiberglass , both sides. Seems like alot to do, especially now that the bottom and side are joined at the nose by that 14 inch strip of tape, now well cured. It is a big floppy messy thing to move about.

Actually, this is not a case of torn holes. As a CNC cut kit, the bottom pieces have cool puzzle joints to join the front bottom to the middle bottom to the aft bottom, done with thickened epoxy and no fiberglass tape (actually, those same pieces on the sides were joined using thickened epoxy and fiberglass tape, the way you would do if you did not have a cnc kit boat, and had actually scarfed your plywood, but I didn't read the directions enough and did the tape in addition to the thickened epoxy) Again, those bottom pieces were done without the benefit of tape. So, it appears that the finger joint actually tore. Center line of the two bottoms is fine where the wire ties are. It is the starboard bottom between the front stbd bottom and middle stbd bottom. It only tore halfway, from center keel line (where the two bottoms are wired together) halfway up that bottom join. So that means where the stbd bottom and stbd side meet is fine, because that part of the bottom join is still together.

Hello....it has been a while since I last worked on my boat. The "unfolding" process has been more than a one person job, and life got in the way. I just unfolded the boat, and during that process, part of the stbd side bottom came unseemed. That is to say, all the bottom panels were put together per the plans, starboard bottom forward, attached to starboard bottom middle to starboard bottom aft, then same for port side bottom, then side panels, same. Then, the side panels were partially attached to the bottom panes, at the nose of the boat, then the bottoms wired together, tighter at the front, but a little looser at the stern. Well during the unfolding, the bottom stbd, at the first seem between front and middle section seem of bottom panel, came apart, halfway. I now have the plywood supports under the boat, on top of the build cart I made. The sides and bottoms are lined up and ready to be wired and the boat is now stable, kind of .... Now, I need to figure out how to fix the starboard bottom panel were in tore. Any thoughts before I screw this thing up even more? Thanks Tom

Let's say you had a "friend" who forgot to put the stringers on the insides of the sides of the Core Sound before gluing the sides to the bottoms, just prior to unfolding. Now that "friend" fears that to try and lift the sides up to apply the stringer would break the now glued and dried 12-14 inch puzzle joint with fiberglass tape on both sides. Could the boat now just be stitched and unfolded and then the stringer glued in?

Let's say you had a "friend" who forgot to put the stringers on the insides of the sides of the Core Sound before gluing the sides to the bottoms, just prior to unfolding. Now that "friend" fears that to try and lift the sides up to apply the stringer would break the now glued and dried 12-14 inch puzzle joint with fiberglass tape on both sides. Could the boat now just be stitched and unfolded and then the stringer glued in?

Well, I guess I can let that zipper joint cure a little while longer. In my hurry to maximize my time while my super carpenter buddy was here helping me, I forgot to rip down my stringers and epoxy them to the sides. So, after he gets here today, we will rip the stringers and the inwales, and then try to lift up side bottoms and glue in the stringers. Lesson learned....plan 3 times, execute once.

Sunday morning I plan to unfold my Core Sound 20. I have the two sides and bottoms glueing up now, so it should be good for the morning. I still have to wire my bottoms together, apparently loosely, then unfold. Any suggestions on the type of wire to purchase from Home Depot or Lowes? Thanks

I am assured from all the big boys on Duckworks that once you try Mirka arbonet instead of sandpaper, you will never go back to sandpaper. As I am still working on my Core Sound 20, I will be ordering some.

Things I have learned.....on a kit cut boat, when you join the sides scarfs , you pre wet the finger joints and add thickened epoxy, but you don't fiberglass tape those same seams. That is for the folks who are just doing butt joints. Darn, darn, darn..... Read everything twice, and then twice again.... I hope that thru the fairing process I will be able to make those taped seams less noticable. Glad I don't know how to post pictures yet. Functional not pretty.

He just had surgery and may not be near a computer right now. It might be easier to call the phone number listed on the website and either ask for Carla, or leave a message about the email. Obviously, being in Germany, you won't be able to pick up a cnc cut kit boat like I did, so you will have to get the plans only and cut yourself, or maybe, you can get the cnc cut file and have someone over there cut it for you. I can't believe how nicely these pieces fit together. Someone on this very site suggested that I go ahead and get a kit for this build and all I can say is "what a great suggestion"

I would guess that one could contact the designer for plans. Seems like a normal core sound hull with some changes. I will try to figure out the adding photos thing.

Started on Sunday 3/17. Got the sides glued, part of the bottom, and the transom done. Rain here Monday and Tuesday. Fun build so far. Will cut the side stringers and inwales out of a 24 ft 2x6 yellow pine soon. Nice to not have to scarf the stringers and inwales. A CNC kit is really the way to go.

As far as racing, probably not, as I am just learning to sail... But, those wishbone booms sure look cool.... I have an older but big windsurfing training board and the matching wishbone boom. Could I use that , and get another for the mizzen....or would that look "tacky" , unless you go purchase brand new pretty ones. Seems like the wishbone takes away the only downside to the sprit rig.

I really wanted to make that cart that I saw that Bill Moffett had made for his Michelak boat he is making, but Graham tells me that those big harbor frieght pnuematic blow up wheels are going to cause me problems over time as far leveling the boat. I have not poured to concrete in my new boat building shed yet. My buddy came over and said "Tom.... why spend the money on concrete... your just going to spill epoxy drips all over it...just keep it dirt" The only problem is that it is really soft sand and I was counting on those pnuematic tires to pull thru the sand and I knew those casters would just dig in. Looks like I am going to have to call my concrete buddy. Guess I won't have problems with castors after that. I have another buddy who loves boats who told me that even as a young married guy, he always seemed to find money for his sail boat habit. Guess I will have to also.

Saturday mid day , I will start epoxying my sides and bottoms of my core sound 20 mk2, with an eye of wiring and folding the sides and bottoms a week later. So, after reading Alan's account of the CS17, which apparently uses not only carbon masts and wishbone booms, but also uses carbon fiber tape. That makes me want to stop and maybe get carbon fiber tape. I just am having a hard time thinking that carbon tape would save all that much weight or be that much stronger. Anyone have any thoughts on that before I make an irrevocable election? Thanks for your insight.

I found this nifty pull cart/working cradle by a builder named Bill Moffitt, who is making a Jim Michalek design. Here is the link. I have to hook up my trailer today or Friday and get the 1x8's needed for the side and bottom scarf joins and get a 20 ft 2x4 to make the stringers so I might as well make something like this, or otherwise I will just add a crade to my sawhorses. I would imagine that for the cradle portion itself, any cheap plywood will do, like cdx? I am concerned that adding shaped cradles to my sawhorses will result in the boat being too tall to reach over the side of the boat to make fillets, etc. Bill Moffitt's pull cart might be too short though. Plus I would think I would need to stretch it out some. Any thoughts? Thanks https://moffitt1.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/rollin-right-along/

No, I do not think there is anything less than 1/4 inch. In any previous post, if I wrote 1/8, I meant to write 1x8. I only know one guy who builds boats completely out of 1/8 inch, but then he has to cover the whole outside of the boat with 6 oz fiberglass cloth.