Doug Cameron

I had the first sail today. As Tom had warned, I had not trued up one of the mast track connections to perfection, so the mizzen had to be double reefed. Still, it is a responsive and quickly accelerating boat. I have one question about reefing. If the wind is up, threading the line to the block on the sheet might be a problem with a flogging sail. What about putting little loops of line on each clew grommet and using a light snap ring or such device to attack the block> What do you do?

The Cedar Key Small Boat Meet is always the first weekend in May. It is very disorganized (on purpose). Everyone gathers on the beach at Island Place Saturday morning. We admire each other's boats and meet one another. Then we sail around and admire one another's boats. Then we gather on the beach at Atsina Otie (an island about a mile off shore) and admire one another's boats. Then we sail around all afternoon, admiring the other boats. The only organized activity is dinner (supper here in the south), We gather back at the pavilion at Island place for thAt, put on by the West Coast Trailer Sailors. It's the best gathering of all!

I just wanted to point everybody to http://www.sailnaway.blogspot.com/ to see your progress. This is going to be a great hybrid boat, and you do pretty work.

Almost there. All rigging done. The centerboard problem fixed. Masts built. All I have to do is to make the front hatch top and add forward oar locks. More pix.

I wrote my note at lunch. Took the boat rowing yesterday, but I still have lots of small things to do. I've been in the shop all day except for lunch and a fire call (student reheated a pizza without taking it out of the box!).

In the 70s and early 80s we built a lot of whitewater kayaks and C-1s using female molds and polyester (and later vinylester). We used a waxy mold release. With more tenacious epoxy, is there a way of preventing leaks through the joints from adhering to the mold? I am in favor of any boat that gets kids involved in outdoor sports like sailing. Just as long as parents don't make it too unpleasant with their rules and quibbling. There are no umpires or scrutineers out there on the open water, and I hope it stays that way. Little League had great potential, but it ruined baseball for many kids.

Hi Alan I'm just amazed at your progress. I have been working, albeit alone, since August of 2006 with a short break for shoulder repair. I farmed out the oars to Shaw and Tenney. The rowing oars are in, but I'm still waiting on the yuloh. It's difficult to find anything but pine 2 X 4s and 2 X 6s around here. I will use those oar locks on the stern for sculling and the yuloh. I'll put her in the water tomorrow and try that out. I haven't thought of weighing her, but that would be interesting. I used about two gallons more epoxy than I expected (I only figured out that I could use rollers for epoxy late in the game, so it is laid on thick and rough -- not nearly as smooth as yours). I was thinking of Dillen Leigh as a name (after the second granddaughter). The first boat I built in 1996 is named after the first granddaughter, but that would tie me into building at least two more to be fair to the remaining ones (and my daughter is talking about one more). We'll see. The Kruger was named Light Chaser, but my poetic license seems to have expired. This naming business is worse than choosing an appellation for a kid or a dog! Good luck with the progress this weekend. Graham says that there are two races: the first is just to complete the boat and get to the beach.

Yep, I'm going to the Everglades Challenge again after a year off to have a shoulder operated on and to let it heal. The last time I went, we raced a schooner-rigged Kruger canoe. We cut five hours off our record-breaking time, and Graham beat us by four hours in the Green Heron. It was clear that I had to build a Core Sound, though Graham has come up with the EC 22 in the meantime. The odds are that nobody will break the EC 22's record. They had excellent winds and tides until they got to Florida Bay. The wind can blow the water out of the Bay as it did last year, and several of us have crossed from Flamingo to Key Largo faster than Graham did last year. Conditions have varied from frightening winds (35 kts on the nose for the start in 2001, gusts over 40 in 2002) to a 30 hour calm with dense sea fog in 2004. There are many fast boats and fast sailors in the race this year, including two Core Sound 20s and the EC 22. There are also many proven fast paddlers who could surprise us if the wind lies down (Carter Johnson, second to Graham last year in about 3 days in a solo kayak will not be there). Graham is the most experienced sailor of the B&B sailors, and he is beginning to know that coast as well as I do, so my money is on him. All the B&B boats are tandem, solo boats will have to stop and rest, while we can keep moving. It should be great fun in any case, and a great adventure. If you are in the St. Pete area, it's worth a visit to the Fort DeSoto beach Friday afternoon, Feb. 29 or very early Saturday morning, March 1, to see the boats and the start. Keep up with the race at watertribe.com.

More Pix

It's nearing completion. Sails arrived today (Thanks Graham and Carla). Spars finished (in background). Rigging underway.

The plans are not clear on a downhaul (Cunningham) on a sail mounted on a sail track. What is the collective experience? Do you lead it aft (along with the halyard and snotter) or do you cleat it on the mast? Thanks

Yes, but trees explode from the heat vaporizing the liquid in the trunk. I'll bet it'll melt epoxy like it does plain old fiberglass.

Just like an engineer! Always thinking!

What are those pvc pipes coming out of the cabin?

Pretty Boat Charlie. I hope #85 looks half that good when she hits the water next month. I, too, would be interested in whether 85 is "old". I have the last section to add to the mast. Doug

I used to sail a Sea Pearl, a heavy double-ended 22 foot cat ketch. To heave to, you sheeted in the mizzen hard, loosed the main sheet, and loosed the tiller. I usually dropped both leeboards, but I'm not sure that mattered.The rudder compensated when the mizzen tried to sail off, keeping you in irons. Useful when you need to pee or get food or reapply sunscreen. I've done it in 20 kt. winds and three foot seas and felt comfortable.

You sure do pretty work. It will save you a lot of sanding later!. I noticed the different configuration in the bow and heard the word "cabin" mentioned. Is this to be a hybrid CS 20 and EC 22? Doug AKA Ridgerunner

Graham and Freddie did break a sprit with an accidental jibe in the 2006 EC. They did a duct tape splint and finished first. You can't build something strong enough to protect you from yourself, especially when you are tired after the third night at sea. As to the weight of the sprit, it is much lighter than the boom on most sloops and lighter than the boom on my lug rigged Shellback.

Boy, is she handsome Dale. I just hope that Dillen Leigh looks half as good. I also notice that you have a mast tube for the middle mast step. And I like the bronze on the rubrail. I hope you will be beside us on the beach at Mullet Key in March. Doug

Thanks Graham and PAR I was thinking more about the trim and thwart/seat. See photo below;

I like the way the bright-finished wood on Graham's former Green Heron (CS 17) was dark. Does anyone have any experience and opinion about staining wood before applying epoxy? The Gugeon Brothers book is silent on the subject. Thanks

Mast raising system

Dale I plan to put a 3/8" plywood "donut" around the mast tube on top of the deck to give some height above the deck and to give more strength to the mast step setup. Then I plan to saw off the mast tube flush. I have experience setting up sea pearl masts (much heavier) At the bass boat launches around here, I would do it on the trailer and at Placida I will have Michael's help. I looked at the helper in the CD that comes with the plans, and I can still add it afterwards. I hope to see you at Fort DeSoto with Lively in March. There are some heavy hitters coming to sail in Clas IV, so the rest of us can have a one design class (the EC 22 doesn't count) if we get enough. Doug

I tabbed it every 3 feet or so to hold the shape, attached the transom and glassed it in, then flipped it, tabbed the bottom, removed the wires and did the seam and keel

Pretty work, Tom.