Don Silsbe

If I were you, I’d consider taking only oars on my first EC. Get the “lay of the land” (water) before doing anything extreme. If you swing by here on your way down, I’ll loan you some 9-1/2’ Concept II bantams. They have big blades and carbon fiber shafts. Also, I might find myself in FL about that time. I could take them with me. IMG_8217.mov

List on the Town Dock. It might seem like a local paper( Oriental, NC), but it has a wide readership. I had some serious nibbles when selling my Bay River Skiff. https://towndock.net

Here are a couple of examples of mark3’s with no britework taken at past B&B messabouts. IMG_0692.mov

What I did on my boat was insert a hefty block of wood at the top-aft end of the c/b trunk. It is secured in place with four beefy screws. If she were to turn turtle, the c/b slams into this stop. Plus, I have a masthead float. My current boat has the old uphaul/downhaul system. If I ever change that, I’ll add the block.

@Steve W— I had a weighted c/b on my Bay River Skiff 15, just like the mark 3’s. Never had a problem. Sure did clean up the top of the trunk!

I just watched Alan’s video of Carlita’s start on the EC. Sandy Bottom says “What’s the rush? Some don’t pull off the beach until 5 minutes after the start.” SOS ignores this, and continues to urgently get launched and under way. I guess 5 minutes is 5 minutes. I love that competitive zeal.

Yay!

I’ve been around gasoline-powered engines for 70 of my 76 years. We played with them on a daily basis, when I was a boy. I’ve never experienced one fire. If money were no object, and I could afford the extra batteries to extend my range, I’d probably join the crowd. But for me, my little Suzuki is a thrifty, trouble-free auxiliary.

It’s exciting to watch her take shape. How is the county involved in this build?

@Captain Tim— I only use ethanol-free gasoline in all my small motors. My Suzuki 2.5 has nearly an unlimited range, if I pack only 2 gallons of fuel on board. Considering my initial outlay for the motor was under $900, I think I did the right thing, too.

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos on the subject of cheap lithium batteries. A man with experience in that technology tears apart five cheap ones. What he finds is very interesting.

I suggest you head to Florida, and cruise with the WCTSS. Right now the temperature here in North Carolina is 26, and it’s warming up to a balmy 48. High temps in the Tampa area are around 74. They have an event going on this weekend, and several next month. They are nice people, who are eager to help, advise, assist, and share knowledge. These photographs were taken at an event I participated in two weeks ago. Windependent performed like a dream. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19rtCzkx6U/?mibextid=wwXIfr 1F54848E-CBDF-4606-855A-9CCCD51DA4C5.mov

Let me share a tip with you. When I nest the dinghy halves, i always put old towels in the corners, between the halves. There is a lot of scuffing and abrasion between the two. Granted, mine travels in the back of a pickup truck, so there’s a lot of vibration*. But if you start to see paint wear on the corners, break out the towels! * I use my nesting pram when we go on trips in our travel trailer. It gets me on the water while camping.

Here’s a video of me sailing (on my backside) in a stiff wind with the spritsail rig. Woo-hoo! IMG_4435.mov IMG_4435.mov

I hear you. I had a perfectly good spritsail rig for my Two Paw. It came off another 8’ dinghy. Feeling the need for speed, I had to upgrade to the Tall Rig. Yeah, it’s a little faster, but I think I still like the spritsail rig best. Here’s the spritsail rig. Here’s the Tall Rig.

Still trying to shake the concept. I usually hang it over the side…

I thought it came out pretty nice.

You’re gonna laugh at me, but I don’t care. I’m thrifty and practical. On my Two Paw 8 nesting pram I use a Minnkota C2 34# thrust trolling motor and an Optima Blue Top AGM battery. The motor currently costs $150, and the battery $330. I’ve had my Minnkota for 10 years, and the battery for four. My wife and I have “motored” through a chain of lakes with this setup. We were gone about an hour, with no appreciable loss of power. You can spend nearly ten times that on a slick lithium-powered setup. If you’re OK with a separate battery, you can check this box for under $500. If you lived closer, I’d loan you my setup. See if you can’t borrow one to try out. Since my pram has a square bow, I hung it off the bow. I swung the control head around 180 degrees, due to the bow mount orientation. (This is looking forward.) My bride, my hound, and the battery were in the stern. (Looking aft.) I was at the helm in the bow.

I still have a lot to do on the interior, but I did make it to Florida. I really love sailing this boat. IMG_6994.mov

@Captain Tim— For me, the difficult part is insertion. PadrePoint is correct about withdrawal.

@Reacher— I didn’t do it for several reasons. 1. I didn’t have time. I am frantically trying to get ready for a month-long trip to Florida. I’m going to hang out with my friends of the WCTSS. 2. One of their members built a mast stepping aid that I liked. I’ve built my own version. It is finally ready to test. If successful, I’ll share it with all of you here. 3. My boat has a built in rope locker in the bow. I am trying this out this year. If this doesn’t work out, I’ll add a tabernacle next year. c4ab4165-ecd6-4eeb-bbaa-3a4c9900d8cc.mp4 f87718e4-e7b3-4100-87ef-c36b9cf1e4b4.mp4

@R Johnson— It certainly doesn’t help that I’m fussy.

My newsails came yesterday!

@Designer— Yes, Graham, I do believe it was my BRS15.

@Reacher— I agree with you regarding size. I loved my 15, but there is so much more space on this 17 I’m working on. I’m happy I made the move. @Hirilonde— I used a belt sander for the first time on my last build. I was amazed. It is on my scarfing tool list forever. @jshaley— When my bride sailed on my BRS 15 for the first time, she told me that it was the best boat we ever had. This is because there was no boom to duck under. Another factor was that there was no jib requiring her attention. This is her preferred sailing posture. (I made a platform for her to lounge on.) Scamps are cute little boats, and very capable for their size. What I don’t like is that the cabin is basically useless— you can’t sleep in it, so what’s it for? Wellsford says that it’s “for having tea”. (!!!) Plus, they are slow. I was cruising with a friend who has one. We were motoring down a long channel. I was on a (heavily loaded) Core Sound 17 mk3, and he was in his Scamp. I was using a Honda 5, and he a Suzuki 2.5. I literally sailed a circle around him! He was at full throttle, and I was at half throttle. Core Sounds are slippery devils. (Sorry for the unrotated photo.)