JeffM

Paul, I usually stay out overnight, so I go forward at least for anchor handling. Let me try out a plan on you all. All three downhauls tie to an eye strap on deck just abaft and to starboard of the mainmast. Each runs up through its cringle and down to a deck block (neighbors to a block for the halyard), then around the cabin top to port along with the halyard (keeping the side deck as free as possible), to cleats on the cabin side. Photos: 1. Main hung from new mast to work out height that would clear top of cabin. Just for overview. 2-4. Where I figure to run all lines for the main: from adjacent to mast stepper, along foredeck to fairleads low on cabin side, to the port aft edge of the cabin. (The fairlead on the deck was originally for snotter, but now I run it through fairlead on cabin side.)

Just to check my understanding before I begin riveting sail track: the bottom end of each track should not extend so far that the furled sail makes a mess on the deck or cockpit. Right?

WOW. I'll have to get used to all of these strings! More critically, I'll need to figure out how to route them along my narrow side decks without having them roll under my feet when I go forward! Thanks all!

Thanks, Reacher and Graham! My cabin extends further aft than that of a mk3, but it's a trunk cabin so not hard to get to the foredeck. Which leads to another question: how do you raise and reef the main? I could never get my sleeved sails to reef well, so tried to anticipate stronger winds so I could move the mizzen to the reefing step while still at anchor. But I have high hopes for using the reef points on the new sails. Can the main really be raised smoothly from the cockpit? Does it come down readily when the halyard is uncleated?

I built my CS20 back in 2004-5 with much help from this forum, but it's been years... Meanwhile I've made many modifications--a few of which were even good ideas--including adding a trunk cabin. I've mainly done 2-3 day trips in MA and RI waters. Now, with Alan's help, I'm switching from my original sleeve luff sails to track sails. This brings up a question: what do I do with my furled sails at night to keep them out of the way but ready for action? (The sleeve luff are easy: wrap them around the masts, then stand the sprits along side and tie them in a neat bundle.) The mizzen in particular has to be out of the way of entering and exiting the cabin--which the mizzenmast partially blocks as it is. (Since the cabin extends to the thwart.) Ideas?

A pretty boat, Perttu! I had to stare at your close-up photo awhile to figure out it was a backrest doubling as a hatch in your rear bulkhead. If I am interpreting the geometry correctly, the backrest/hatch is supported only at the side tabs where the turn-buttons are. I would think this arrangement would not bear leaning your weight against. What am I missing?

I've had the end cap fail, and once bent the mast against overhead powerlines, but not yet the step. Mine isn't thru-bolted either, but secured with honkin' big screws. Best check the condition of the thwart while you're doing the repairs: I'd worry about the twisting stesses on it from the accident.

Gosh, i wish I could measure my asymmetries in millimeters!

Gordy, I like your idea. I'm trying to remember the name of the Aussie CS20 sailor who adventured all over the place and eventually put a zipper in the lower part of his luff for just this purpose.

Thanks, Dave. We built two boats last year, and I figure to build two this year also. I picture teams of two each cutting a frame. I picture teams of two each tying a lashing. Granted, some fiddly bits will need smaller teams. I plan to run this camp with dual tracks: boat-building and studying traditional culture of those who invented sof. That's one way to occupy half the group to cut down on jobs being done at one time. Jeff, I'm happy to hear you have a tandem design underway. I specified adult and child (or two kids) for both participation and safety reasons. (If I drown my kids, I suspect I'll be out of a job!) I looked last year for a way to send boats home with kids (such as selling then to families for the cost of materials), but in the end chickened-out: they remain the property of the program, and are stored in the basement of the church that sponsors the camp.

It is certainly possible to reef a sleeve luff sail by wrapping it around the mast--I do so on my CS20. You have to slack and detach the snotter from the mast to do it, of course, and figuring out what to do with it in the meantime when you only have two hands is a problem. (I finally figured out to clip it to the reef loop and just let it flop around as I rotated the mast.) The big problem I've found with reefing around the masts is that sail shape suffers (bagging as the camber accumulates in the rolling), so that I can't sail higher than a close reach. I prefer to anticipate windy conditions on the trailer or at anchor, and move masts ahead of time to sail on mizzen alone. Moving masts is very hairyin the wind and waves unless you have a pivoting mast stepper that acts as a sort of tabernacle. When I move masts, I also prefer to reduce windage by taking the main down entirely and carrying it on the side deck. After reading the experiences of the majority who use sail tracks, I probably would go that route if I had it to do over.

Neither of us liked the idea of diamonds--and anyway I was an unemployed returned Peace Corps volunteer--so I gave Beatrice a small emerald ring. She loved it and still does, 22 years later.

Jeff, you may know me from the old days (pre-Kudzu forum), when you used to post at the Main and B&B areas. After building a Core Sound 20 and a few other boats, I began to get interested in kayaks a few years ago, and am just now looking into SOF. One thing I'm considering is building SOF boats with my boat-building day camp this summer. I'm looking for an easy-to-build two-seat kayak or similar that will take one adult and one child. I'm thinking of building your FreeB 14 soon just to get my feet wet, while I consider how I can adapt kayak-building to the capabilities of maybe 10 6th-graders over a period of 4 weeks. (I did a similar program last summer, building simple straight-cuts boats. From my experience, one difficulty is having enough jobs that can be done simultaneously by a group of kids overseen by only two adults.)

Welcome, NW. Pretty boat!

Bob, I constantly fiddle with my cs20, also, so that it's hardly recognizable. I love asking, "what if," and then testing ideas. Just listing changes large and small would fill a post. One thing i have slowly learned is the cost of complexity: before I do something new, I ask: how much and how often will it help, how much will it be in the way when I don't want it, and how long will it take to rig and unrig?

Do you know the R value of the poured foam in the first place? It's not obvious to me how the degree of foam expansion affects insulating ability when thickness is constant: more expansion means larger air bubbles, which speeds convection, but less solid foam to conduct--hmmm... I would keep moisture out of the foam simply by sealing the foam up tight. Since the speed at which heat enters your cooler is directly proportional to the temperature difference, you can use the results of your indoor test to extrapolate to any other temp difference. If the ice melts in 6 days with a 30 degree difference, then with a 60 degree difference (God forbid!) it will melt in half that time. (Of course, that's when you most desparately want the cold drinks!)

A very nice job, Jim.

Not meaning to hijack the thread, but--do you still have your no-frills 15, Jim? I looked at it for a long time, bought the plans, but decided I wouldn't "fit."

Yup. The size issue is a surface area:volume:problem. Neglecting the lid, heat enters through the surface so that, all other things being equal, the bigger the suface area, the faster heat enters. Of course, we're assuming the same shape box (A cube like yours is better than any other straight-sided, right-angle shape). HOWEVER, as the length of a cube increases, its surface area goes up as the square but the volume goes up with the cube. For example, doubling the length increases the surface area four times and the volume 8 times. Compare the volume:area ratios of the two and you'll see this double-dimensioned cooler will keep its stuff cold twice as long--if it does indeed start with eight times as much ice, though!

Thanks, Scott! I enjoyed them.

Ditto!

Granted, but as a practical issue, you don't want the foil in contact with anything, so in my built-in I faced it out but tried to leave an air gap, but on the top I faced it in. One thing to watch out for: the foil is a good reflector but also an excellent heat conductor: don't let it form a path for heat to be conducted right through the rest of the insulation by (for example) leaving inside-facing foil on at the edges where a piece of foam will butt its edges against the outside wall. Paul, what would be the point of a coil? Anything that allows that water to absorb heat exposed to the outside would defeat the purpose. Leaving the water in place inside the insulation can't be beat. [Whups! Just realized I was looking at bottom of page 1, not seeing the next page!]

The math for this project is kA(To-Ti)/D where k is the thermal conductivity of the material (inverse of R value, I think), A is the surface area, To is outside temp, Ti is inside, and D is the thickness of insulation. I wonder what the R value or conductivity of your expanding foam is? I'll bet purpose-made insulation would be way better. Because you want minimal area, the closer to a cube you are the better. (Spherical is better still, of course...) Melt water should be retained if practical: it has the power to absorb a calorie of heat per cubic centimeter with a change of only 1 degree C. (That's the definition of calorie.) That's a lot of thermal inertia, and there is no commonly available material that even comes close to that. (We use melting ice in coolers because it absorbs 40 calories per cubic centimeter in the act of changing phase.) I can see how immersing the ice in water would be a problem, though, since water carries heat much more effectively than air, so means that the air in your cooler isn't able to provide its own contribution to insulating the ice. I would avoid any plumbing that compromises your insulation, so I'm with Wes on a hand bilge pump and a sponge.

I'm cheered by the news, also! Let's get 'er done!!!

Never mind--just saw your other thread! Looks like a GREAT day!