Jknight611

Very nice, I have thought that may be my next project. Never occurred to me to install the trailer while still inverted! Very clever! We went “speck fishing “ recently with some friends and really enjoyed it and that is the perfect boat for that.

Graham in Oriental

I have tried with limited success on insurance on my 2 “homemade “ boats. I finally ask can you just insure it while on the trailer, in transit. I ask the agent to not think of it as a boat, just as cargo on a trailer or a rv. I am much more concerned with Buffy in her SUV torpedoing the boat while she is engaged on her cell phone than I am while sailing. They weren’t particularly interested, but did write a binder which was rejected by their mothership. I do have marginal insurance to satisfy the marina, kinda like feel good insurance, and almost only on certain phases of the moon. (Named storm, space junk not included ) Very frustrating…..

Naw, no AC on Southern Express, did add a spiffy Victron solar controller and a li-on battery. Boat gained capabilities and lost 25 lbs! But sometimes….. I wish!

Errrr, I just completed a 6 year refurbish on Southern Express, new electric system, paint, air conditioning , and some other items, . Don’t think I could attack it with my multisaw just now! If I did the “big cut” I would consider lengthening the centerboard. But not now!!!

My CS20.3 is getting a mini refit and paint…..would be a perfect time to do this mod. But…….I really haven’t had a circumstance that I felt lea helm that I couldn’t balance out. A longer board might help the windward abilities…. I am quite sure it would be worth it, that may be my next winter project. As you sea……Indecision may or may not my problem.

What is that thing following you? Our Core Sound can snuggle right up to the beach, hardly get our feet wet! As in our avatar. Are you delivering it to Kalos? We are using an inflatable kayak, ok but can’t see hauling water containers in it.

I agree that our CS20.3 sails hands off, if you move your board forward, I’ll take a wait and sea technique.

Started sanding the boat today, never was happy with the finish on the cabin sides, I am priming it with a nice coat of Awlgrip 545 primer, then practice building my chest muscles with everybody’s favorite longboard. Fresh plexiglass ports just to refresh the look. The bonding the plexiglass with VHB tape has been a success (except where I didn’t get the tape ends touching and we had minor port leaks till I figured it out. I am possibly not astute enough sailor to tell if the centerboard needs to move forward a bit, we have lots of time that the boat was balanced and we were hands off… can’t see it being any better. Don, initially when the boat was inverted we clamped tape coved 1X4s on both sides of the keel then added epoxy with graphite thicken epoxy to about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. I had problems with our 2 paws with the screws working on the keel strip and allowing water into the wood. Well as some can attest, we have beached the boat both intentionally (and unintentionally ) the keel is in almost perfect condition despite my abuse. I am going to open the centerboard slot slightly and reglass the slot, it always had a tendency to stick in the up position when I add mud to the board. When I added the solar panels the MPPT controller wasn’t readily available, and quite expensive. The plan is to replace the solar controller with a more efficient controller and a 50 amp hour lithium battery. We are totally impressed with the solar system on Kalos and going to build a miniature system on Southern Express. Carol has made it perfectly clear to me that Southern Express is our family boat….long term!

Well Southern Express, our beloved Core Sound 20.3 is almost 7 years old, and we calculated about 2000 nm in the water and a heck of a lot more on the trailer, Southern Express is getting some love. A repaint, and some electrical upgrades. Darn lifepo4 batteries are so light and relatively inexpensive, we will be upgrading to a 50 amp hr lithium battery. Might upgrade the cushions. Moving the centerboard and adding length to the board? Still thinking bout dat!

Since ya moved the board forward, and now the trunk is forward, going to lengthen the board?

Let’s all commit to spending more time afloat in our beautiful boats! We will!

Great Messabout, we sure had a good time, good to sea everyone! Thanks to everyone that shared photos with Carol an myself. Kalos had a meeting with Alan an Graham, few rather minor mods to be done, adding a bit to the leading edge of the rudder, increasing the pivot angle of the windvane, and added 15 lbs of lead to the tip of the centerboard. The centerboard didn’t want to extend when sailing, hopefully this bit of weight will encourage it to drop more positively.

Here and waiting! Perfect weather!

Hi Don, sorry for the late reply, we have been enjoying Kalos! Back home now and I would be glad to post a picture tomorrow of our Core Sound mast assembly. We can rig in less than 20 minutes with no rush. The cover just keeps the macramé to a minimum. Pics tomorrow! We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Messabout!