JeffM

Oyster and Tim, what's the advantage a boomless sail has over a boom or sprit boom? I thought it was impossible to get a good sail shape on some points of sail without one (Like the French boat in the photo). I'm happy with my CS 20's sprit boom, which allows me to control sail shape, including leach and foot tension independently, and also independent of sheet tension. It also jibes as easily as it tacks.

Tim, I'm curious what sort of rig you're going to put up with only an 8ft mast. Even with my two masts, each is is tall as the boat is long. Jeff

Thanks, Frank. The other guy's insurance is paying. He was cited (and not me), though I don't know the details. I'm not sure if "dwc" (driving while cellular) is specifically outlawed or not. I try to keep mine to a minimum.

Yup, Greg, it does. The Bay is fed by many picturesque streams, big and small. For poking around the smallest of them, I'm beginning to think about a kayak...

I'd given up on the idea of any more sailing this year--this is New England in November, after all! Weather has been uncooperative, and looking for a replacement for the car my boat totalled (Main Forum) has eaten into my free time. I'm mostly an open water sailor, but my daily commute takes me along the Taunton river for nearly a dozen miles. Its been beautiful when the leaves were turning in the fall. I've been itching for months to try sailing it. It's rather confined: maybe half a mile wide on average, but with deep water limited to a narrow channel. But if I could find a ramp at the right point on the river, and the tide were pretty high... When I got out of church today the weather was so nice I just HAD to check the marine forecast. Hmm: tide is perfect. Wind s at 15-20kt with gusts to 25kt is a BIT much, but I'll be semi-protected on the river, and I'll reef at the ramp. Timing will be everything: sun sets before 5pm, and I've got no lights. My three boys and I pushed off from the Somerset ramp before 3pm, and we headed downstream, against both the wind and the tide. The wind had moderated. I figured to spend all but the last few minutes of the trip tacking downstream, then go ripping back upstream wing and wing just before sunset. Its a nice river to sail. We had lots of room to maneuver--not once did the cb touch, and we got pretty close to the banks on each tack. We got only a mile and a quarter in nearly two hours against a respectable tide (channel markers leaned and had quite a wake), but the landscape is nice and the river has its little coves and spits to add variety. Sunset was gorgeous, with layers of many different cloud types. I watched the sun go down as I determined to get just a little farther downstream... Finally we turned for home. After a few minutes run we headed for the bank to skim along and look for our ramp. We went so fast that we'd gone a fair distance and it was full dark before I realized we'd overshot our destination. We didn't even have a flashlight. I hope I succeeded in keeping the desperation out of my voice when I told the boys that it was little things like this that turned an outing into a true adventure. Fortunately the moon was nearly full, and boat traffic non-existent. It would be sheer luck to hit the ramp in the dark while tacking back and forth. More than likely we'd have to deliberately overshoot again, and then run along the bank near enough to make out the unlighted ramp. I had visions of having to call my wife to explain that we were lost in the dark somewhere on the Taunton River. But luck was with us: after only 10-20 minutes of nail-biting, we ran smack into the ramp. We are safe, we are warm, and my days of pushing the envelope are over...for a while, at least.

Well, okay, I left out the intermediate steps. I've gotten to like having my boat out in the driveway, ready (at least apparently) to go. Drawing admiration of passers-by. That sort of thing. This means I can only have one of our cars in the driveway, and have to have the other in the street. This is okay in daylight, but risky at night, since we live on a busy street with fast-moving traffic, and almost no one else parks in the street. Two Friday nights ago: loud noise at 10:30pm. My car is 40' further down the street in the neighbor's yard. (40' is front of car--rear moved maybe 41' since car is now shorter than it used to be.) Some guy yakking away on his cell while doing maybe 40mph in our 30mph zone, wandered out of lane and didn't even notice my car--no skid marks. Damage to my 2000 Civic was sobering: most windows gone, port side back seat was on its way into the front seat. Stephen's booster seat was a little warped. Glad car was empty. The car-hunting has really cut into my sailing and boat-mod time. Not to mention the new boat has suddenly doubled in cost! But I've learned my lesson: boat goes in the garage EVERY NIGHT so cars can go in the driveway.

The seats as designed might want a little reinforcement. I weigh 200lb and didn't want to have to tip-toe too much, so I added transverse 1x2s such that there was no more than 14-16" of seat between frame members. You might test the stiffness ahead of time by standing on a piece of 1/4" ply with strips underneath at different distances to test spacing, realizing that the actual seats, supported on all edges, will be a bit stiffer. Graham has pointed out that, with the grain running across the seats, a longitudinal stiffener would be more effective than my transverse framing. Finally, if I remember right, another member of the forum went with 3/8" ply for his seats. As for boat size, I can't see an issue. More important might be the number of your crew. I had Beatrice Ann (CS20) out last in 10kt+ with a total of 2 large adults and 3 children and we fairly flew! On the other hand, without that weight, I'd have had to reef.

Story made my blood run cold! Richard, do I understand that your snotters were tied to a rivetted fitting, and not around the masts? I've taken to keeping my anchor and rode right on the foredeck under bungees, practically ready to drop. Got no motor, and sleeve luff sails, and never know when I might need to "pull over and park" unexpectedly.

I, also, appreciate Graham's tips. Thanks, Graham!

Why pvc? I gave up trying to shape a piece of rectangular stock to fit the 3/8" tiller extension swivel I had, and simply picked up a piece of oak dowel, finished it, stuck it in there and voila! a tiller extension.

Beautiful pictures, Richard. Is that open ocean you're sailing in? Though I spent a few weeks in NZ 18 years ago, I didn't spend much time on the coast, and don't have any clear picture of the coastal waters. Only a milk run tour of the Bay of Islands, and a ferry ride from Wellington to South Island (Picton, maybe? don't remember) which was absolutely breathtaking. For my part, I'm unwilling to compromise between cockpit space and cabin space, so I'm making a tent for my CS20. I've stolen ideas freely, and expect to have a spray dodger I can extend aft to roof either the forward cockpit, or the entire thing. Sections can be un-velcro-ed independently and/or replaced with bug screen for view/ventilation. The whole thing will go over a tubular bows and snap to the outside of the coaming.

That's what my boat is built of--with those same markings. I know little about wood, but when I was looking for a supplier of marine ply, I found a source of Okoume that was a little cheaper than that quoted by some of Graham's listed sources. Joubert was what they sent me. Without much standard for comparison, I can only say it seems to be good stuff. I understand that European marine grade is made to stricter standards than ours in the US.

Make sure the picture file is 300 kb or fewer (I experimented with lower picture resolution settings on my camera), then crop it down to 600pixels tall X 800 wide or smaller. Remember where the file is (My Pictures, usually). In the thread, after you push the

Is your picture working? All I get is a little image box.

Thanks, Joe. I like the color scheme. I got the tanbark sails -- very striking, and easy to distinquish from all the plain vanilla sloops out there. For the hull, I'm still trying to find a sand or tan that I continue to like from one week to the next! I kept the underdeck for foot room when camping, but also worried about my 200lb jumping around on the foredeck, so I used a somewhat deeper deckbeam with greater curvature, and put in a good deal of additional framing. Glad I did: feels pretty solid.

What a deal! Gotta feel sorry for the guy who started it, though.

Thanks again, Frank! I only hope you have enough time to yourself to do a little sailing and boat-building of your own.

Very pretty Joe. I like the name and story also. I was wondering about your turning the space under the foredeck into cubby holes--do you think that'll be more useful than one big space? Also, do you plan to put deckplates over the openings in the sides of your forward tanks? Graham warned me about leaving side openings when water is sloshing around the bilge.

Actually, my side decks are narrower than plan. After sitting on my nice, deep seats for a couple of months of building, I became dismayed at the depth I lost when I began to dry-fit my carlins. After a little thought and consultation over the structural importance of the side decks, I narrowed them throughout. At the narrowest point, my side decks are about 2 3/4 inches. (Plans call for 3 7/8.) After a half-dozen good rides, the sides still seem quite stiff.

Thanks very much, by the way, for your thoughts regarding your Pocket Cruiser. She sounds like a nifty little package. I like a big cockpit, too, on the theory that you should have the most room where you spend the most time. I'm about to commence making my Core Sound the best of both worlds: I'll have a cloth roof with sitting headroom at need over as much of the cockpit as I like, and mosquito screening that will make it possible to sleep under the stars sans bugs on clear nights. It's be hard to beat a 13' cockpit AND an 13' cabin in a 20' boat! Jeff

...and after Graham went to so much trouble to get the cb trunk out of the way!

Hearing you have a Pocket Cruiser (Stevenson, I presume) makes me wonder how you would compare your p22 to it. I have a cs20, but am intrigued by the idea of very small boat capable of a little cruising.

I wonder if my boat is out of shape: water in the bilge tends to slosh around near the fore end of the cb trunk, and if I want the last bit of water to drain, I have to call all hands aft, and maybe even sit on the aft deck. On the other hand, a level on the seat top shows the boat to float level when rigged but empty. One major annoyance with my bailer is the sand that inevitably grates in it as we raise and lower it. (We sail to and from beaches more often than docks; I've gotten VERY fastidious about sand coming aboard, but have never been totally sand-free).

Dunno, Brad. I'm an old Sunfish sailor myself. Even if I could get a 20' boat around into the wind and still have time to get to the cb before she went belly-up, I'm not sure I'd be able to keep it into the wind. Also, I've got to get to the transom to climb aboard--the bow is too high. (I've toyed with the idea of a sea anchor that could be ready at hand...) I'd definitely need to free the sheets, and then make d_ sure I don't let the boat get away from me--even in irons, my boat can drift a whole lot faster than I can swim!

Thanks, Rob! Makes me heart race, and me to wish it weren't fall, 11 degrees and raining here. I've seen humpbacks from big commercial whale-watch boats, but it would be so cool (if scary!) to see them up close from my own little boat. Stellwagen Bank, off Cape Cod, where the humpbacks feed here would be a serious voyage, though.