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Don Silsbe

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Everything posted by Don Silsbe

  1. Alex-- It's a light air technique. Rolling the hull up onto the leeward chine reduces wetted surface. It also helps the sails maintain shape; this is particularly important when there's a lot of wave action. With all the bass and pontoon boats on Lake Hartwell, we had a lot of prop wash.
  2. Don R did indeed find some dry, warm clothing. He also got an adult-sized sleeping bag, so he had a good night's sleep last night. Today, Don and I were gunkholing around in my truck, and discovered another campground. The campsites are awesome, but there's no beach for us to assault with our boats. I'm thinking that we should stay with Sadler's Creek next year. What do y'all think about meeting at the beach over by the launch, instead of the long sail to the beach we used this weekend?
  3. Finally, I got some action photos of my Garelick EZ-in boarding ladder. It works great. You just need to be careful where you place it, so it clears both the seat top and seat side. (I continue to have problems posting iPhone photos taken in the Portrait orientation. Sorry!)
  4. I used PAR's mod's on my BRS15 build. I love it! It clears the area nicely. Sure, the original set-up is simple, but it clutters up the crew's area.
  5. Sorry to hear about your rudder, Action Tiger. We'll post photos, and hope you can come next year.
  6. I'm a sucker for a blue boat. She is gorgeous! Take lots of photos at the messabout next weekend. You should have at least three Mk III's to look over.
  7. My wife and I will be there starting Wednesday and leaving on Monday. I have multiple trips to make-- one for the boat and one for the trailer. But we should be settled in nicely by Friday. I suggest that we all bring our VHF marine radios. That might be the easiest way to keep in contact with one another. I'll turn mine on Friday afternoon, ch 16.
  8. I think Steve W wants to use it as a diving board! LOL.
  9. How 'bout a fly-in messabout, Robert? I'll pick you up at the airport. (GSP) We'll be messin' about from 10:00-5:00, EDT on Saturday, and who knows what on Sunday. (Don't forget the time difference!)
  10. I just got off the phone with Austin, at Sadler's Creek State Park. He know's we're coming, and has answered my questions. The answers are all pretty much the same-- yes, come on down! Yes, you can anchor out overnight in a bay. It'll only cost you $2 daily for your vehicle. You may park your empty trailer and tow vehicle at the boat launch. If that isn't your desired location, you can park it over by us campers, as long as you don't block the road. If you are coming in for the day (only), drive directly to the Day Use Area. You'll find a large parking lot at the south end of this area, which is adjacent to a fine "beach" (of Carolina red clay/sand). Starting around 10:00 or so, we'll be beaching our boats there. Unfortunately, the boat launch is way over on the other side of the park. But that only means that you start off your day with a small boat ride. DON'T TRY TO CROSS BETWEEN THE ISLAND AND THE PARK! It gets mighty shallow in there-- knee-deep, depending on lake levels. I will be camped at site #55, Loop #3. This loop has the best boat-friendly shoreline of all the Loops. The shoreline of the camping loops on the eastern side of the park are full of nasty rocks! Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing y'all at our First Annual Messabout. The first photo shows my first mate inspecting the "beach" I've called Messabout Beach. The second is a typical waterfront campsite in Loop #3. (This is not my camping rig.) When approaching from the water, our campsite will display a large green and white flag. When approaching from land, look for the medium brown Ram pick-up truck (and yellow BRS15, unless she's in the water). Late Saturday afternoon, we'll go over to a local BBQ. Since they close at 8:30, and often sell out, I suggest starting in that direction around 5:00. Please stop by and say "hey!" N.B. This messabout is not affiliated with B and B Yacht Designs. We're simply a bunch of guys down here in the Appalachian Foothills who build boats and like to get together on occasion. Thrillsbe (AKA Don Silsbe, Local Honey BRS15)
  11. Here's the Facebook website for the BBQ-- www.facebook.com/Sadlers-Creek-BBQ-548567975230371/ Looks like they're only open on Saturdays, and may sell out before closing (8:30 p.m.). Four out of five stars on Trip Advisor. Cash & check only, no plastic-- except for knives and forks!
  12. It's a shame you can't make it, Jay. Chick's right, though. Let's plan something!
  13. Finally, my centerboard system works like a champ. There are a pair of cheek blocks mounted on the underside of the forward thwart. That positions the pennant to run close and parallel to the trunk. There's also a fairlead stop that the blue ball contacts, to prevent the centerboard from rotating forward (I hope) in grounding situations discussed on this forum. Then, it's a simple two-stage cascade system terminating in a V-cleat on the underside of the center thwart. I see that I have a run of varnish to clean up on the c/b trunk!
  14. The mainsheet system is much simpler. It uses the same snotter arrangement, which I did not give you a photo of before. Three blocks are attached to eyestraps using soft shackles. With the eyestraps mounted underneath the seat, it keeps the seat clear for rowing or fishing. These lead to Graham's standard fairlead-clamcleat system. All of this comes off the boat for fishing or boatride mode. The only obtrusive piece of hardware is the Ronstan RF58, which is removable, too, since it is attached with machine screws and T-nuts. The sheets are all New England Ropes' Buzz Line. The snotters are Sta-Set, in traditional snotter green.
  15. A few months back, I promised you photos of my sheeting systems. Here they are, starting with the mizzen. First of all, you should know that my design priorities are: Simplicity Ease of rigging up Cleanliness-- in fishing mode, I don't want dangling blocks & loose lines flopping around. Economy I also reserve the right to opt out on any one of these, if I want; which I have. The mizzen is attached to the transom with a removable bridle. That's a Lanyard Knot (diamond) in the center of the Dinghy Control Line. I didn't need to use DCL, but I had a short piece of yellow, so rule #1 kicked in. All the blocks are attached using soft shackles-- they stay attached to the sheet. I wanted all my sheet cleats to be forward of me, so I broke rule #1 & 4, and went with the system shown. What got clipped from the photo is a Ronstan RF58. The forward (detachable) block on the sprit is held on with another soft shackle, fed through a low-profile eye strap. Since this block has to be fed through the mid-sprit fairlead, I went with a large white nylon ring. I can easily pass the block and shackle through this ring when rigging. The snotter is knotted to the mast, & held in position with another low-profile eyestrap. It leads through a smooth, varnished hole in the end of the sprit, and leads aft to a V-cleat in the middle of the sprit. NB: I rotated these photos in my file folder, and they still show un-rotated! Grrr.
  16. Yeah, Blkskmr, bring the kayak or the Wayfarer. It don't matter none! Just come!
  17. Now it's time to thank you all for all your technical support. She is a much finer Honey than she would have been without all your assistance. Soon, I'll post a photo of my mizzen sheeting system, so stay tuned. But thanks, everyone, for the help.
  18. A couple of days later, a friend of mine and I went out on the same lake. The winds were fresher, and we had a good sail.
  19. This is one of my wife and me sailing her for the first time. She ghosted along beautifully in the light air.
  20. Steve W: I'm not a beekeeper, but I do like to play with words. The (non-plywood) materials are all locally grown, and the boat's a honey, so... Alex: The water is too chilly to try the boarding ladder, at least to intentionally try the boarding ladder. I'm waiting a few months before I do that, hopefully. I think the oars are 8' long. I'll measure them later on, and get back to you.
  21. Having a problem uploading videos. I'll attack that later. In the meantime, here are a few more photos. My photos won't rotate. They are upright in my file management system, but not here.
  22. She finally got launched last Saturday. It was a light air day, which is perfect for learning my new boat. She ghosted along like a dream in practically no air. Launch photos and a few videos follow. The older gent in the launch photo is Don Rausch. He's my boatbuilding mentor, and the guy responsible for introducing me to B&B Yacht Designs.
  23. Graham, I love the lines of this boat! She turns my head every time I go outside. They are vaguely reminiscent of the rowboats I played in as a child. (My hand is on the oar.) But this one you've designed is far lighter, faster, and prettier. And she will sail, too! I can't wait to get her in the water!
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