Doug Cameron

This was a high water year (because weeks of NE winds had pushed all of the water south), so the clearance for the bridges was minimal. The i550 had to dismount its tabernacle and heel over to make it. I would have to have measurements to be sure. The 17 will have less height and you can also add water ballast and flood the cockpit by stopping up the drain holes. I'll bet Paul and Alan only had to unbolt the mast from the tabernacle because theirs slopes up toward the stern when lowered. On my Mark 3 the mast rests almost straight back from the tabernacle. I hope this helps.

Great idea. Guntersville in North Alabama is a popular sailing lake, and I hear Watauga in NE Tennessee is goof. Remember that the Cedar Key Sma Boat meet is the first weekend in May. Best winds are spring and fall, with light and variable the norm in summer in the SE. Jocassee or Hartwell or Smith Lake in Virginia would work.

The CS 20 Mark 2 launches in the North Carolina Challenge

Alan and Paul finished first in their Core Sound 20. Bill Fite and Gary Hirsch are second in a Sea Pearl 21. So far the attrition rate has been greater than 50%.

Jarhead and Michigama (Sea Pearl) were in at 9:50 and off in less than an hour. JollyRoger is still here recovering after a hard 42 hour straight push.

JollyRoger was in CP2 at 01:08 followed by Alan and Paul at 2:30. Roger got some sleep and Alan and Paul went right back out. It looks like Jarhead and Michigama are about to arrive in third place.

Alan and Paul are now second. Way ahead of the I550 in the canal, but they have been passed by Roger Mann in his homemade tri with Hobie pedal drive.

Great news Graham!

Great adivce Brent. The key in the unballasted Core Sound is not to cleat the mainsheet as the wind pipes up. If you get knocked over in a gust, release or ease the sheet and she comes right up into the wind. I haven't sailed her ballasted yet - summer is a busy time with camp and family - so I can't comment on that. Graham says that the Mark IIs are solid. Brent is right about Reefing around 15 to keep her flat so she comes onto plane. Unlike a keelboat that might have less wetted area heeled, these boats do well flatter in heavy air. (In light air, they can benefit from heeling to reduce wetted area.)

My experience is entirely in the CS 20, but here are my observations: 1) In 15 to 20 knots of wind, how stable and or comfortable does the boat feel? Does it require on the second attention? Granted all boats must be sailed. I have sailed upwind and down in 15-20, often with one reef. She is sweet and planing on most points of sail. The 20 seems a little more stable (less like a dinghy) downwind. She sails faster a little off the wind and there is less worry about gybing. 2) It was mentioned above that going to windward was wet, more important, how balanced and settled does the boat feel in 15 to 20 knots of wind. They can be wet to weather. I built a dodger for the 20 and she was pretty dry after that. I am finishing the 20 Mark III and expect it to be dry in these conditions. 3) Driving into waves, 3-4 feet, does the boat flex or oil can in any way? I could feel my first Wayfarer flex as if being curled up when it drove into waves. It was a fiberglass Mk III. Also it would oil can. Both were irritating and slow. There is plenty of rigidity in ann the CS designs. NO oil canning. Remember, wood is the original carbon fiber, and the marine plywoods are stiffer than plain old wood. There is plenty of interior and exterior reinforcement. These were exactly the conditions for the start of the Everglades Challenge 2012 and she did fine (even dry to weather due to the dodger). 4) Sailing to windward is a matter of trim and balance. Downwind is always more interesting. A dinghy can feel light and unbalanced down wind. It can be unsettling and if the boat begins to death roll it can be a problem. There are ways to prevent this but it is still a somewhat nervous ride. That I want to avoid. How do the core sound boats feel off the wind? Again, I think the 20 is a bit more stable, and you are faster not going straight downwind. In the Everglades Challenge 2013, it was all downwind with 20 +/- till the last 34 miles. Core Sounds were first and second till then, and ten the older guys had to sleep. They blew away previous monohull records.

From my days of building and patching fiberglass whitewater boats - Use a small patch first, just larger than the injury, then put bigger and bigger pieces outside of that. That way, there is not an abrupt change in flex modulus at the edge of the patch.

* I absolutely love the way the boat heaves-to. Just sheet in the mizzen, free the main, release the tiller and she drifts gently downwind with her bow pointed 45 degrees - stable and quiet. * We had a lot of rain on this cruise and it was great having a cabin but I found myself wishing for a cockpit tent. Does anyone have any ideas for how to enclose the cockpit without unstepping the mizzen? Graham says he is thinking of a dodger for his 17 MK 3. I think it may be a great idea. Just have to figure out sheeting and rowing, but it gives a dry entrance to the cabin where the aft wall slopes forward. Once I have sailed some in mine, I'll see. A big umbrella will suffice in the meantime.

Coming out party Floating her to check out waterline, centerboard, and oars (I borrowed some 8 1/2 foot competition oars, but they were too short): Then raising the #1 sail for the first time and figuring out sheeting (does the main sheet to the cabin top, the bridge deck, the mizzen mast or the thwart?). I am a firm believer in Graham's double-ended sheets. And the mizzen must be set on the transom. I will try using the thwart first.Finishing interrupted by a big thunderstorm. Now I have to pack to go to camp and teach whitewater for five weeks, followed by a family reunion. Getting out and sailing is still a while off.

It has been slow - life gets in the way - working on Details Snotter block attachment using dynema loop

A sailor from Maine. She will be on the water up there in a week or so.

SOLD!

I just made a counter offer to a fellow in Maine of $8,000. I thought it appropriate to share that with the forum in case any of you might be interested.

Gregg, if you consider the cost of the trailer, sails, oars, etc., the boat is really cheap. And she has that dodger, making her dry to weather in chop. Robert, I use a Toyota Highlander to pull her. The galvanized trailer weighs more than the boat. The trailer was built to fit the boat, but the builder was a bass boat trailer builder (Tennessee doesn't have many sail boats), so the wheels are a bit far back (tracks well, but has a lot of tongue weight). I use a tongue jack with a roller to move her around. I haven't put her on a scale, but she's almost too heavy to lift.

Painting finished. Trailer bunks lowered and an extra one added under the centerboard trunk. Attaching parts (rudder , centerboard, oar locks, quarter oval on keel, etc .). Still needs rub strake and toe rails.

Video tour now on YouTube. She is still for sale. Now $9,000. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H_x77Cz0P1E

I had the eye on my snorter attachment pull out during an accidental gybe during an Everglades Challenge (we were pushing the boat hard and we were tired and it was after midnight). the jerking pressure just pulled the screws (secured with LocTite) right out of the mast. I replaced thee eye with a boom bail with a ss threaded shaft that went right through the mast. For the new MK III I plan to put eyes on both sides and attach a dynema loop. The pull will be sheer on the screws, which should be stronger than the tension pull with the eye on the forward side of the mast. I am interested ion any input on oars. I hope to get Look Far on the water next week and try out several different oars before I sell the old 20 with its 10 foot oars.

Jay, I am at the camp in the North Carolina mountains where I teach whitewater paddling in the summer. Staff training will be over this weekend and I will be home for three weeks. I have finished painting the outside and the masts (the cabin interior will have to wait - it is encapsulated and I want to get her on the water and rigged). I plan to finish the masts next week and maybe take her for a sail if I can get the centerboard rigged. I have oarlocks in and want to see what length oars I will need. Pictures next week.

If I was going to have something as heavy as a battery, I would put it low and in the center (front to back). Either the step option or modify the air tank aft of the water ballast. Oar storage is part of the plan. The cockpit seat backs are open on the aft end so you can put oars (and maybe a boat pole) in there and not be tripping over them. I haven't yet sold the 20 MK I, so I have a set of 10' Shaw and Tenney oars, and I have a borrowed pair of 8 1/2' oars. I'll try them all and let you know when she is on the water. I am not initially planning on a motor. My MK I has never had a motor on her transom, though I reinforced it for one. I like the challenge to my sailing skills. If I was to add a motor, I would add an external mount to the transom like Alan's 17 - get him to post a photo. That is dry storage aft of the bunks, and a large space it is, I have made a fiberglass/epoxy tube for the mizzen to guide it into the step. It is a little shorter than the MK I, and that was easy to step standing in the cockpit. The only other slot cover I considered seriously was a double sliding hatch that would slide forward to let you in the cabin and aft to give you access to the mast and anchor. I guess you could have a barn door hinging to one side. I will be installing hardware soon and will post pictures. I think Ron Hoddenot posted a side picture of her on the trailer in the West Coast Trailer Sailors' Facebook page. I hope that gets all the questions.

It was never in the water, Joel. No means of propulsion. Lots of folks looked her over and asked questions in the parking lot. I cruised with a friend in his Skiff America (beautiful and neat design, but pounds a lot with that flat bottom).

The Cabin Cover by Island Nautical (the old JSI) Details of the undercarriage. There are two jib tracks and the batten cars run in those. Up front is an awning track: The completed cover: