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Don Silsbe

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Posts posted by Don Silsbe

  1. Jim,

    Everyone fancies themselves a little bit of a naval architect.  That is plain to see by the wide variety of postings on this forum.  We all want to put our own little tweak into the boats we build.  It's human nature.  But I'll tell you something-- in the two years that I've been acquainted with these boats, I have been very impressed with the simplicity, efficiency and speed that Graham designs into them.  They are darned near perfect.  It will be very rare for someone to actually improve on his work.  So, as we say here in the States,  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

    • Like 1
  2. OK, I understand.  I remember this photo of your gorgeous work. I was going to keep it smooth and clear.  I don't see myself actually standing up there, as it is small enough to reach around.  Other BRS15's also keep the foredeck clean, as shown in these photos.  I will go with the large cleat and chocks as shown on the red one, but that's it.

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  3. Pete-- I don't see how you're going to get that block and tackle to pass through the rafter pulley, once you've got it lifted off the cradle.  I'm talking about the loop drawn in red.  For me, the hardest part is getting the boat up to the vertical balance point.  The second part, setting her down from this point, is the easy part.  If I were doing this, I'd take the strap extending from the block and tackle, go under the hull, and connect it to the far gunwale.  This would take care of the difficult lift.  The rest I would leave up to friends, recruited with pizza & beer, of course.

  4. Paul-- I have inwales that extend to the stem, plus a 3/4" doubler at the bulkhead.  These, and the king plank are my glue base.  My intent was to rely on the epoxy bond (filleted on the underside) to hold everything together. I figured that if it ever came apart, I would either re-glue and screw it together, or replace it with a piece of painted okoume.  Thoughts?

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  5. Maybe you could find a local builder, professional or amateur, who would agree to coach you through the process.  Much of the build is repetitive process.  Taping and filleting goes on and on.  Same with epoxy coating & sanding.  If you contracted someone to drop in once or twice a week for an hour or two, plus be on call for the inevitable panic situations,  I think you would be just fine.  Granted, the CS20 is a huge undertaking for a first-time builder.  But with someone peering over your shoulder, it might not be so bad.  What does everyone else think?

  6. Tonight, I finally completed a major task.  The deck is finally completed.  All that remains is for it to get one more coat of epoxy, and then several coats of varnish.  I am so pleased with the outcome.  In addition, mast steps and tubes are completed.  I'm hoping to be done with interior paint before I leave for the Frozen North next week.  (A deadline???)

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    • Like 1
  7. Richard,

    Most boats experience difficulty adjusting the c/b while going to windward, due to the lateral pressure exerted on it at the time.  It might not be as noticeable in your FS, because I think that has a metal blade, right?  But all boats have some amount of friction going on, regardless.  It is easily overcome by heading up for a moment.

     

    Personally, I have always liked the raised deck concept for cruising boats.  My philosophy is that I'll need the interior space much more than I'll ever walk around up forward.  (Provided there is little need to walk forward in the first place.)  I must confess, the only sailboat I've owned with a cabin was not raised-deck.  But if I had my way, I would be my on next boat.

  8. Drew,

    I will be using 4mm Amsteel for the first stage of my c/b pennant.  At the board it will be secured by a knot/hole as is specified for the rudder.  Amsteel is the easiest thing to put an eyesplice in (a Brummel hitch).  There are plenty of videos on the process on YouTube.  I will be using a cascade system for the mechanical purchase needed.  Not sure right now, but it'll probably be 8:1.  The beauty with a cascade system is that this will only require three single blocks.  (Those darned double and triple blocks go up in cost astronomically!)  For the last stage, I'll switch to FSE Robline's "Dinghy Control Line", 4mm.  This does not splice worth a darn, but it is near zero stretch, is easy on the hands, and comes in pretty colors.  The downside to a cascade system is that it requires a lot of "throw".  I'm just going to let the system run alongside my c/b trunk, and damn the aesthetics.  I hope to have photos of this in a month or two (or three).

  9. Of the three, I'd prefer to be in a CS15, if I were cruising the North Channel.  (I'm originally a Lake Erie "mushrat", so I know about cruising the North Channel.)  A CS17.3 would be best of all, but that's something else again.  I urge you to get to next year's Mess-about, to learn the value of these boats.  Alternately, some of us will be having a mini-Messabout April 30, 2015.  Looks like we'll have a fair representation from the B&B Yacht Design line-up.  You can break up the drive by overnighting at my place before & after.  I'm an hour south of Asheville, 9 hours from Vandermere, and 1-1/2 hours from the "mini-mess" this spring.

  10. I'm with you on the laced sail concept, Robert.  It is still my solid Plan B.  I use it on my dinghy.  I don't like the way it holds the luff in relation to the mast, though.  Maybe I'm being a little too picky but still too lazy to adjust it.  I don't know.  But the sleeve seemed like a good, value-added feature worth spending a few bucks on.  At least I now know where to place my snotter.  With the lace-on schema, it can be relocated anywhere, anytime.  The sleeve required knowing for sure.

     

    And that darned sword sure did make the rounds.  I remember spotting it a few times-- hanging over my desk, as I recall.

  11. The link is to demonstrate that I have done expensive, complicated systems in the past.  But that's not what this boat is all about.

     

    I halted work on the mast to make my life easier positioning my mast steps.  (I don't have extra pieces of 2.5" tubing laying around.)

     

    In my working years, at one point in time, I was assigned to an assembly plant in Austria which built our Jeep Grand Cherokee.  (I was a vital communication link back to the engineering office in the USA.)  The Austrian company also started building Mercedes M-class SUV's on the same line with ours, so it was a great time to compare products.  (I have stories.)  The Brake Pedal Support Bracket on cars serves many purposes.  It needs to support the brake pedal, of course, and must NEVER fail.  It also may support the steering column, and serve many other functions.  When I saw the M-class bracket, I stopped dead in my tracks.  It was a beautiful machined aluminum casting.  It looked like it came straight out of an engineering drawing text book, with proper fillets, bosses, machined attachments and openings, etc.  It was GORGEOUS.  Those engineers would have done their college professors proud.  Ours, on the other hand, was stamped out of heavy-gauge steel, had precision and strength where they were necessary.  Both were thoroughly tested before going into production, so they were functionally the same.  The M-class bracket would have won the beauty contest, but ours was half the cost.  Early on, I was taught to design for first for functionality, and spend your money where it is most needed.  To me, that's the bigger design challenge.  

     

    This philosophy has found its way to this BRS15 as well.  With my Wayfarer refit, you'll notice a lot of high-tech lines, cascade systems, whistles & bells.  The challenge with the BRS15 is to have her fulfill her mission statement (simplicity+ high fun factor) while spending my limited budget where it matters most.  Adding sail tracks & halyard systems would cost in the neighborhood of $400.  In engineering-speak, that is a lot of added cost for very little added value (in my case).  Lacing or a sleeve does the same thing-- hangs the sail on the mast.  The added benefit to the sleeve system is that I never have my underwear down around my ankles (sails drooping all over the floor of the boat when lowered).  Been there, done that.  A couple of wraps and a gasket (sail-tie), and everything is uptight and out of sight!  On the down side, I won't be able to reef.  But honestly, the only sailboat I had which had reef system on it was that Wayfarer.

  12. Good question, Dave.  Here are my answers:

    1. The masts are partially completed.  They are ready for gluing together, but I'm holding off right now.  I need to fix my remaining two mast steps, and would prefer to do this with only the bottom section.  Very soon, I'll be asking y'all about this mysterious etching primer that I'm to use on the mast. (Can't I just hit it with some muratic acid, before I rinse and use "normal" primer?)
    2. As purchased from B&B, my BRS15 sails have no roach or battens.  This is per the plans, and is in keeping with the spirit of the boat.  (Pleasure and simplicity over speed.)  But they also came with the old-style sail slides attached to them.  To me, this is a step away from the spirit of simplicity.  But I suppose if customers are yearning for shouts of "raise the mains'l, me lad!", you have some of your sail inventory done up with slides.  No matter, they may be removed for those of us who have not read so many pirate adventures.

    So, at the present time I have options.  As you know, my preference is to simplicity, laziness, and lower cost*.  My previous refit was anything but.  (see link below)  But this boat is beckoning to my lazy side.

     

    * Truth be known, my preference is actually "finding the most efficient, low-cost, lowest-weight, and simplest solution to a problem/task/need".  And I don't mind thinking outside the box, and trying stuff.  Yes, I'm a retired engineer.

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