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Any racing advice for someone who’s about to start a race in light air with My core Sound 17? I’m in the second day of racing. Had some trouble yesterday getting stuck when tacking. Wondering whether my weight should be forward since I’m going solo? I’m welcome to any other Css 17 sailing tips.

Anyway, that's what I did. Just drilled a whole into the bottom plug and all the water drained out. I'm not sure why I thought that was so complicated.

Hi. I just took my CS17 out of the water up here in Minnesota. I noticed that the mizzen mast had a fair amount of water in it. What do you think is the best way to get all the water out? My first thought was to just drill a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom wooden plug, drain out the water, and then plug it back up with something. What do you think?

Also, if I can add to this question, the baggy appearance near the clew looks ugly to me. Should I be doing something to make this "look better"?

The picture below is from a newly re-rigged c17 that I converted from a sock-style sail plan to a sail track plan. I'm very pleased with the way it sails so far. I don't have a lot of experience with sailing a cat ketch like this with the sprit sail design. My question is this. Does this look right for the main sail. It has one reef set in and there appears a prominent vertical crease in the middle of the sail. I tried to increase the snotter tension, but it seemed fairly tight as is. Maybe this is normal for such a rig when the sprit is on the lee side of the sail? The breeze was maybe just above a gentle breeze. What do you think? -Tom

Thrillsbe, yes, I just ordered a couple more of the soft shackles. I'm using one already and I really appreciate its weight and flexibility. Thank you. -Tom

Yeah, that cheek block is on backwards. I think it is an easy fix. Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up about the cheek block. It very well could be on backwards since I didn't know there was a backwards or forwards to the cheek block to begin with. I will check it out. Thanks!

I've just (finally) finished re-rigging an older CS 17 (#218) from a sock-style sail to the new new sail track. I have new sails and am very happy with the performance of the boat thus far. Thanks to everybody who gave advice along the way. I have a more basic sail question that I need help with. In the picture below, you will see two grommets on either side of the clew where I have affixed a snap hook. What is the purpose of those grommets?

Thank you all for your help. I was away from this forum for awhile and am just now getting to your answers. Before seeing all your helpful suggestions, I had already installed the ring setup as shown above. I expect, however, that friction might be a problem, so I will look for something that might employ a check block. Thanks again for your help. -Tom

What do you guys think about this approach to reefing hardware? The plan calls for the use of cheek blocks, but the particular sprit I am using is very rounded and the check block might rock sideways after it is installed. This simple use of eye bolt and ring seems like it would get the job done and the eye bolt would more easily be installed on the round end of my sprit. What do you think? Thanks.

Thank you all for your help. I can see using the through bolts on the snotter end, but I will likely use just screws otherwise. I will drill oversize, fill with epoxy, and then drill again, an d coat the screws when installing. Thanks for your help. -Tom

I'm mounting cheek blocks and eyestraps on the main and mizzen sprits as I adapt my CS 17 to a new sail plan that incorporates a sail track. My question is should all of the cheek blocks and eyestraps be through bolted on the sprits, or is this overkill? Thank you.

Hi, I'm almost done adapting my CS 17 to the updated sail plan using the new sail track. Under the new plan, the mizzen sprit should be 108 inches; the main should be 118 inches. In order to adapt my old spars to the new plan, I built a new main sprit and then planned to cut down the old main sprit (is that the word, or should I just say spar?) to the correct size of 108 for the mizzen spar. The old main spar was 116 inches. My question is: Should I cut it down to 108 inches (from the present 116 inches) or just leave it be? I keep reading that it doesn't hurt to have the spars a little longer. Thank you.

I went with douglas fir too ---taking the idea of using douglas fir flooring from Home Depot and laminating together. Worked well. Your idea of epoxy + varnish makes sense to me too. Like the idea of a color band too. Thanks!

I"ve made the sprit. How do you guys finish them? varnish? epoxy then varnish? Tape ?

Thank you for your help. I think I have a handle on this now.

Again. Thanks for the help and feedback. The emulsion tube information might be especially valuable. Thanks PAR !

I'm switching my masts to accommodate the new b and b sailtrack. I'll also need to install a halyard block at the top of the mast (a harken 243) . The plans call for "10 32 PH MS for bottom holes" and "1" 10 PH screws for top holes" 1) I imagine that the 10 32 pan head machine screws are to be tapped into the aluminum mast with a tap and die set. And if so, should the screws be coated with anything to help prevent corrosion and becoming loose? 2) I guess I don't know what screws they are talking about for the top holes. One inch size 10 pan head machine screws ? What thread count? Or are they wood screws, and is there a wood plug behind the aluminum? 3) I assume the screws are all stainless steel. Right? 4) And while I'm at it, since the attachment is at the top where the inside can be accessed, why not put a nut and washer on the inside of the screws with some thread lock? Note: I didn't build this boat, so I don't know some of the construction details. Thanks for the help.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll look into the fir sold at Home Depot or Lowes. I think before I was looking for stock that was at least 1.5 inches thick and didn't see much. Now, the possibility of laminating opens up more options. I suppose scarfing short pieces into longer pieces is also kosher? As long as the scarf joints don't line up with each other?

I defer to people with more experience than I. Maybe I am going off of my own experience with my Honda 2 hp 4 stroke. Nothing but problems for me. Using clean fuel with no alcohol, serviced twice by certified technicians, but still does not run consistently. So, I may have been selectively reading things through the lens of my singular experience. Thanks for your feedback. And I'll look into other brands. Maybe the Suzuki 2.5 4 stroke?

I've read this thread and many others pertaining to outboard motors. My generalization of the whole topic is twofold: 1) Nobody is happy with their outboard motor --especially if it is four-stroke. 2) There seems to be no consensus on what works.

I have to craft a new sprit for my CS 17. I know fir is recommended. I have sourced some at a local salvage/specialty yard. They have a lot of quarter sawn fir salvaged from some old bleachers. They have 3/4 inch thick and 1 inch thick slabs in multiple lengths --some over 10 ft. I know the plans call for 1 1/2 inch stock, so I thought I might rip two 1 1/2 inch strips of the 3/4 inch thick (or possibly the 1 inch thick stock) and epoxy them together to get something that will be 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch in dimension. From a structural point of view, would this approach work? Would the resulting spar be strong enough?

Hi, I acquired a stock CS17 (hull # 218) in the fall of 2015 and have been working on getting it ready for the summers here in northern Minnesota. With the seats down and the forward and stern hatches, it would seem to have plenty of initial flotation during a rollover or capsize. Is this sufficient, or should I add foam or airbags (?) into these cavities for a more safe flotation system? Thanks for your help in advance.

Here are some pictures.