JeffM

That's quite an adventure! Can't wait to see the pictures. I am currently shortening my mainmast by 8" and my mizzen by 6", bringing them pretty close to design. I am still hoping to be able to test the boat with main in the reefing step.

Ken, I'd guess a triangular db would have to be so wide that it might as well be a cb, with its big footprint. Also, it would be so low-aspect it would need a larger area to be effective.

Congratulations, Scott! It's pretty cool when you can launch your handiwork with the help of her designer! You'll have to explain the origin of her (real) name to us. I hope to hear details of many adventures this season.

Nice! Any similar provision for the mizzen? Stepping that is just as much a pain in the neck. I have to admit, though, I like my mast steppers, which still enable me to move masts for reefing.

Thanks, Garry. Neat design you have there. I need to stare at pictures more so I don't get too far ahead of myself.

Thanks, Graham.

I want to experiment with shorter masts without burning any bridges, so I figured to buzz down my stopper bushings on the middle mast sections, make new bushings maybe 8" further up the tube, allowing me to slide the sections together a bit further. Trouble is I'm out of fiberglass of any kind. I priced glass tape on Duckworks, but don't need an entire role at about $30. Since the main purpose of the glass tape is (I think) to make the bushings even in thickness, could I use some other material instead? Any idea what? Do I really need anything but epoxy in the bushings at all, or could I simply find a cord to act as a spacer, and slather thickened epoxy between wrappings of it?

About 1'8" on the cs20 (from profile drawing). But haven't you got your own half-built?

Excellent points! I had assumed relocating the trunk to maintain balance, but had forgotten it is right up against the bulkhead. (Could it, I wonder, go in the aft section?) I had not thought about the difficulty getting over anchored floats.

Nice work, Greg. Good luck today!

I'm not nearly ready even to buy plans yet, but I've been meditating on a spindrift 10 or 11, probably nesting. Which brings me to the following question: every db I've ever seen is either vertical or raked aft. This means that if you hit bottom, you stand a fair chance of damage and getting temporarily stuck. Why can't the db be raked forward, so that it will pop up more readily if it hits? It might also be easier to handle, since it would be readier to hand when not fully down. I know forward rake in airplane wings brings big stability problems, but I can't believe that's a critical in a small boat daggerboard. Anybody else ever thought about this?

Howard, here's one NOT to buy: Strait Line laser level 30 (my impulse purchase). After taking the time and trouble to get the thing's spirit levels level, and getting the height right, I twisted it 90 degrees on its bearing and watched the levels go off again. (After this happened a few times, I went back to a pvc tubing water level and my eyeball. Looks pretty good.) It figures the level'd be a dud--guys can't even spell. Or maybe they're being diabolically clever: its sure I was in tough straits trying to use it!

Thanks, Joe. My masts are longer than design, so I'm thinking of doing it right--not shortening them too much. Also, since I don't like burning bridges, I'll buzz the stoppers on the mast top bushings and simply slide the mast tops about a foot farther in, and make new stopper bushings. My masts bend so much now I don't want to shorten the bigger tubing at all. By the way, how many crew did you have aboard that day? If you were single-handing unreefed in 20kt my jaw's going to hit the floor.

Yup, that's the sheet I lost. Thanks for hunting that down for me, Ray!

Yesterday was the only nice day in a long string of forecasts. I took my two younger boys and the Beatrice Ann to Fall River and launched at the mouth of the Taunton River, and headed out into Mount Hope Bay. Winds were forecast at s 10-15 with gusts up to 20. Inspired by Joe Nelson's high-speed ride, I opted not to reef right away, figuring that between our combined 300lb crew weight, we could keep her on her feet. But the forecast was accurate, and the wave heights were underestimated, in my opinion. In short order my crew was wet and scared. My little protractor and plumb insisted that we weren't ever heeling much over 20 degrees, but even I had a hard time believing it. It didn't help that my crew stuffed themselves under the foredeck (I am still amazed at how they can do this) to keep dry, making them useless as dynamic ballast. The only way to keep the angle of heel to much less than 20 was to luff up. I dared not trim the sails in at any time during the long beat downriver and into the bay. I finally decided to have a go at moving the mast, which I've never done before. We anchored -- okay, first the boat anchored herself by tipping the anchor off the foredeck and tangling the rode around her cb -- just off the shore. I did the carefully choreographed dance of mast steppers and mast. And then we sailed neatly off under mizzen alone and as upright and easy as a duck. Sailing was good after that and we managed to make fairly reasonable speed. We finished up our ride in middle of the night, after some good practice in identifying lighted buoys. I also got to try out a homemade patent log I'm trying to perfect. I need to think about lowering my rig, I think. I made my masts about a foot taller than spec with the idea of leaving room to rig a cloth cabin/dodger that could be used under sail. I figured my 200lb could compensate for a little extra heeling force, but maybe not. In any event the cabin I had planned would create too much windage, so I'm scaling it back. Besides losing headroom, shorter masts will probably make it impossible to use the main in the reefing step--something I want to try first. The trouble is there wouldn't be enough clearance to use my mast stepper in the reefing step. Moving masts afloat would be nearly impossible without the stepper. A related question: I found it difficult to trim the (reefing stepped) mizzen in very far-- because the sprit comes past the thwart where the main sheet is rigged, there is a lot of downward and forward strain in sheeting it in. How do others deal with this? Using the original mizzen sheet would be very awkward. I thought of putting an eyebolt through the sprit a little ahead of the aft end, and tying the mainsheet to that. If I try to use the main in the reefing step the problem would be similar, but much worse. Experiences? Ideas?

Okay, now I know all I need to to do the waterline, except...where it's supposed to be! I know I saw it in the plans long ago, but now I can't find it. (I'm also missing one page--of course it's probably the one I need.) Can anyone help out?

10-20 with no reef? Good for you! How did you keep the hull down? Your hull is a beautiful shade of blue, by the way. I don't have a clue on keeping sand out of the cb trunk. It's never happened to me, but my trunk probably has more slop in it than yours. As far as keeping the luff straight, the heads of my sails are very tight around the masts, so if anything gets out of alignment, I just reach up and twist the middle mast section a bit.

I read somewhere that hard chines create drag and that they should be kept out of the water for the forward third of the waterline length. Did I get this about right? I guess that means a cs should be sailed about as flat as possible. Anyone know at what angle of heel chine turbulence and drag really gets serious?

Graham, any (publishable) thoughts about this guy Harley Harlson's circumnavigation attempt? (Interview on Duckworks.) Although I have serious questions about his sanity, I'd also be interested in a naval architect's view of his design and its execution.

Thanks! Paul's method of scribing it in is also worth its weight. I do in fact have a cheap rotating laser thingy that I bought (impulse purchase) early in the building process, but then never had urgent need of. I guess I wasn't sure I trusted the thing's bullseye bubble level to get it truly level over a variable projection distance. But I can check it at a few reference points. Now I'll finally justify its purchase. Any thoughts on my other issues? I'd like the line to look fairly uniform at different viewing angles. Should I keep it above the amidship chine?

Finally painted the hull, and ready to tape off the waterline for a nice deep red stripe. How do I do this? Waterline is measured on the plans, but not sure: (1) how to get it straight and level along the entire lenth, (2) exactly where to locate it, and (3) how to make it look nice, given the cs20's hard chine with the actual waterline almost entirely below the chine. My best guess at getting it straight and level involves a water level made of a long piece of transparent tubing. How did you all deal with these issues?

I went with tanbark--partly to avoid the glare, partly to be different from all the tupperware out there. Love them. By the way, Tilley makes good hats. I have their LT6 and like it alot, although it has too wide a brim for sailing in any but light winds. Whatever you get, make sure it has a chinstrap. Tilley hats do, and also float.

Bought me one over the winter--a Sevylor K79--once I'd figured out that there are a few places that a cs20 just can't go, and there just isn't any place on a 20ft boat for even a folding dingy. I figure to anchor the boat when the river is just too narrow/shallow and take to the kayak to get the rest of the way up interesting rivers and streams. Haven't tried it yet.

You're going to have to find ocassion to pull that rudder and daggerboard up so that spectators can admire it. Let's see: the db can come up going downwind, but I don't think anyone will be able to admire the rudder underway!

When I was building my Core Sound 20, I was sure that, with her 11' cockpit, I'd be able to invite my entire church choir sailing. But you need to be able to tack and have people move about without tripping over each other too much. Me and my three young boys and maybe a guest pretty well fill the boat on windy days. On the other hand, with enough adults in a stiff wind, the boat might be stable enough with people just staying put. Maybe I'll invite the choir out after all...