frowley

Looking really, really nice Chick! Love the ideas, design and the craftsmanship!

Graham, I'd be interested ( at least in the bows and hardware) as well. With the dodger wrapping down (aft) along the coaming, I wonder about going forward on deck. It looks like it would be tricky to get around it -- will you just drop it if you need to go forward?

Very cool Graham - after your recent comments about the hatch and dodger design, your drawing is pretty much what I'd come up with in my head - at least as far as the dodger goes. I'm excited about it. I'm thinking separate fwd hatch from companion way hatch, are you? The fill tube is an interesting idea -- what is the objective? Is it so that it'll fill underway?

Way to go Graham! Behind you all the way!!

Positively gorgeous - nice work!

Thanks Graham. I can't wait to see pictures whenever you get around to it - I continue to closely study the ones you have posted. But I'm still glassing and sealing the hull compartments, so deck framing is a long ways off and I'm ahead of myself by a lot yet. I'm really sorry not to make it to the mess about - I'd learn a lot! Fred

Thank you Alan and Graham for the pictures - it's great to see Carlita coming together. I'm trying to figure out how to manage the hatch and trench and framing details for Rain Shadow. Might there be any concept sketches? If I follow Chick's lead, I'll be needing another hunk of plywood, but generally I kind of like the forward hatch idea. I have no idea what a garage, or for that matter a sea hood, is, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it works. Also - I notice the small, 5/8" maybe holes in the knees - are those for running wire? I'm also trying to figure out wiring runs for nav and a few cabin lites.

I like the sound of your cleat layout - I think I was worried the coaming, for the aft cleats, might not be sturdy enough. Also good to hear the motor will work on the CS17. Thanks!

Chick, I sure hope your hand is healing well. LIke many other folks who have posted - I've come close enough myself that I could readily be in your shoes, As for the foredeck cleat, I'd been thinking one cleat immediately aft of the main mast, but frankly hadn't yet pondered the conflict with the other lines leading aft. Offsetting the cleat to stbd, as Jay does, makes sense since with the lines running aft to port, you'd never cleat on that side. Are you still thinking that's where yours will go? Were the other cleats you mentioned early on for the aft deck? If so, any concern about conflicts with mizzen sheets or the outboard? I saw that Alan put 'bow' eyes on each transom corner on Dawn Patrol, that seems like an alternative to cleats. I'm kind of wanting to plan this stuff so I can make sure blocking gets glued in. I'm also, (if it's not too much of a drag to type one-handed(?) ) curious about your outboard. I have no experience with them, but figured I'd just get the 2.5 HP suzuki since it's popular, cheap, somewhat quieter, and apparently reliable. But based on what the internet tells me, the outboard mounted to the CS17 MK3 transom should have a 20" shaft, and the suzuki only comes as 15". Is yours a larger outboard? Or is it that, at our speeds, cavitation is not an issue? Thanks again for doing such great work ahead of me! There are lots of us out here who look to you for continued great advice and ideas! All the best from Seattle. fred

Awesome Chick - keep up the great work. Fred

Chick, I noticed in an earlier post of yours that the ballast tank baffles all had large (6-8") holes in them. Is that something you added, or did they come like that (mine don't have those)? How do you expect to fill/drain the ballast tanks (I worry about getting it dry after once on land)? And do you expect to put hatches in the cockpit sole to get to the (non-ballast tank) bilge area? Also, the latest version of the manual alludes to tapering the cb trunk slot for wrapping glass into the slot. Will you be wrapping glass into the slot when you glass the hull? Thank you so much for all your posts - I am Really glad you're well ahead of me on your build. I love the ice chest idea and expect to follow suit (with that and some of your other ideas). No interior outboard well for you? Anyhow - thanks, Fred Rowley - Seattle

Hi Steve and Jay, Not a Lot of progress. I've glassed the ballast tank panels and assembled and taped most of the cockpit module. But then I ran into cold weather that caused some of my taping to delaminate. Since then Seattle has had record rainfall, which drove the humidity in my structure to 100% - prompting mold to grow on all all of the larger panels. I've since retreated to my 1-car garage, but it's kinda tight in there so progress is pretty Slow. With the NE now blanketed in several feet of snow, I'm not complaining. I don't have plans or a complete set of instructions yet, so it may be just as well. . All the best to everyone back East! Fred

Great to know you're getting better day by day Carla. All the very best with the physical therapy and a quicker than expected recovery. Fred

Graham, that makes much more sense to me, and I'm liking that idea a lot. Thanks! Just read Chick's post - I'm really glad to hear Carla is feeling better. All the best to her for a quick and full recovery.

thanks Steve - really glad to hear your thoughts. No idea how much stuff flexes under sail, but I'm tending toward your idea the more I thought about it today, except that rather than fill the space between the joints with thickened epoxy, I'm thinking I'd cut the cleats back enough so they can't rub, and then make sure the end grain is well coated before assembly. It'll all get coated once it's bonded to the boat, so this would just be insurance. Ponderings like this probably make real boat builders Crazy - just build the freakin' boat!

Hello everyone – My family and I are building a CS17 MK3 in Seattle and I started what I thought was to be the final assembly of the cockpit structure. I’m having second thoughts about gluing it together – concerns about encapsulation put the brakes on it. I’m especially anxious about the end grain of the cleats in the ballast tanks, but also wonder about the edges of the plywood. I’ve coated both with clear epoxy but cleat ends will likely move around as the boat flexes and over years’ time, the coating could wear through and fail. I’m wondering if encapsulation is perhaps more of an ideal than a reality? I’m using Home Depot ‘yellow pine’ for cleat stock, but it seems quite different than the yellow pine of the south east. Ours is blond, much less resinous, with a fair grain, and weighs much less than the pitchy, coarse-grained wood available in the southeast. Frankly, it’s probably closer to white pine than the stuff you have. Ballast tanks being ballast tanks, should I lie awake nights lathering over cleats rotting? Should I swap out the cleats with cedar or something better suited to water? I’m sobered by the prospect but better now than 3 years from now. Attached are a few photos – with a close up of the sort of joint I’m bothered by. Also – I’ve been checking in on this forum just about daily and I really, Really appreciate the thoughts and support everyone offers. It’s incredible. Thank you – I’ve learned tons from everyone’s give and take. Fred Rowley

I'm new to boat building, but spent years building aircraft and boat interior cabinetry (we were heavily into CNC fabrication wayyy back then). I pondered the kit vs from-scratch option, but especially after discussing the kits with Graham when he was here on the west coast, I'm solidly for building from the cnc cut parts. It saves me lofting time, I suppose, but the parts will be very precisely cut, so the hull is more likely to be true and fair. And I think Graham is very clever in his approach to cutting the parts, especially those that interlock together. I'm in line for the CS17 kit, and I expect I'll get a tighter, better boat out of it.