Gordy Hill

Careful Bruce! Careful, careful, careful! My friend and fishing buddy had a Carolina Skiff and kept it at his condo on Pine Island. It corners perfectly ALMOST all the time. That flat bottom is the culprit. One time, just out of the blue, you'll turn the wheel, the bow will come around, but the boat will just keep going straight! ....right into the mangroves!.......hurts. On the plus side, that rascal will run in water others only dream of!

I'm very sorry to hear about your shoulder. I hope your sailing again soon. With my CS 17 I stand the mast up next to the trailer, with the sail wrapped around it, and just lift the whole thing into place. Then I remove it, lay it down and attach the wind indicator that I always forget. Then I put it up again. It helps that I'm 6-2, and although I,m not terribly strong, I am quite handsome.

My first clue that my vote for Reagan was a mistake came in the first month of his presidency when he eliminated the commission for the transition to the metric system. Since then Canada has changed and left us as the last major holdout. If we were merely an average sized country, we'd be the laughing stock of the planet.

Heck, it's so easy I think a MARRIED person could handle it!

Pete, My CS 17 is so easy to trial that I can hardly notice it behind my Subaru Outback. The CS 20 might be a little wider and require add-on mirrors, but I don't think there would be much difference. I often launch off a causeway where the boat doesn't touch the water, even when the trailer is tipped. When the bunks were covered with carpet it took two of us to get the boat off or on the trailer. I installed 5/8 inch plastic, similar to whats used for cutting boards, on the bunks and now it's very easy to launch or retrieve the boat myself. I found that if I put the keel roller just under the water and hook up the winch the boat centers itself and comes right on the trailer.

I think Ray is right. Meranti is supposed to be excellent. Check with Graham. I believe meranti is heavier. I would imagine Spindrifts have been built with both.

How 'bout a nice shot of that bow?

George, Use okume. When you finish, and look back on all the work you have invested, don't be sitting there wishing you had gone with the good stuff. It's worth every penny of the difference..

Wow! Looking great Rob! So Eric is going with that wimpy old 'gall bladder' excuse?! Hope he's feeling better.

Ok guys, Let me explain how I handle reefing. First, the sleeve luff gives a very very nice clean airfoil. I don't sail with racing boats, but of the boats I do sail with, none has outpointed me. The sail is an exceptional clean airfoil. Keep in mind, I have no shrouds or halyards. If I'm caught out far from land when the wind picks up I just spill the sail during gusts and sail to a place where I can reef. I prefer to roll up the main and place the mizzen in the center mast step. I'm aware this looks like a rodeo event, but the sail windvanes and doesn't flog itself to death. I have a reinforced patch sewn in my sail about 1/3 of the way up and about 18 inches back from the luff. There is a hole burned through the sail where I can pass a strap. The sail is rolled around the mast, the strap put through and around the mast and tied. The snotter is attached to this strap. The one time I tried it in heavy conditions I didn't ease the downhaul and the mast kept it's slight bend, leaving a large wrinkle along the luff. It worked, and I'm sure it could have worked much better. However, to reef, I had to loosen the snotter, which allowed the sail to flap severely. Remember, we're doing this BECAUSE the wind is too strong. Wrapping the sail tightly would be easier if there were someone to hold the clew. Of course the end of the sprit came out and has to be reset. Personally, I'll continue to just move the mizzen. On a CS 20 it might be different. On a Belhaven or a CS 20 I think I'd have a sail track and a (shudder) halyard. I WOULDN'T have the sail lashed to the mast. Just me, but I think that's for dingys and leaves a very clumsy airfoil. If you lash tightly enough to keep the luff tightly against the mast I think you'd have trouble lowering the sail for reefing anyhow, so why not just go with the sleeve? For years I had a two-part mast and took everything apart every time I was done sailing. Now my masts are one-piece and the sails are rolled up on them and they stay much cleaner and it's much easier. I'm a "Quicker and Easier" kinda guy.

Rob, I wouldn't THINK of replacing my sprits. I'd suggest you go with them first. They're the least costly anyway. After you've sailed it a bit my guess is you won't want to change.

You can't fool me! That's not a Vacationer pulpit!

Pete, You didn't say where on Vancover Island. However, Streets And Trips says it's only 3401.9 miles from Orlando. THEY say it'll take 7days, 1hr. and 22 min., but I think it can be done in seven days. I want to build a Belhaven. That means the CS 17 has to go. Make me an offer....

I used 10 ft sections of 2 1/2 inch aluminum tubing with 1/8 inch walls for the bottom sections. The top sections are tapered fiberglass sections of cell tower antennas that I found at a surplus outlet.

Opps! I also meant to say I think maple would make a fine gunwale. It's strong and hard and finishes beautifully. Finished bright, it would look teriffic. I would, however, take note of Franks concern. Even minor scrapes should be addressed quickly. .............or you could add stainless steel bash rails........

When the local West Marine was still E&B Marine someone mispriced the 3/4 inch stainless rub rail. It's not half-round, but rather flat stock that has been bent to a similar shape. A friend welded it into 16 foot lengths and welded nice-looking ends on them. I also have the same stuff along my keel. It looks great and bridges and piers fear me.

My CS17 is laid out a little differently than most because I wanted a casting platform at seat height at the front of the boat. Therefore, the seat deck starts about the middle of the centerboard trunk. I set my oar locks accordingly and, like you mentioned, I can leave the mizzen alone and still row. I special-ordered 9 1/2 foot oars from West Marine and they fit nicely into 2 1/2 inch aluminum tubes set along side the centerboard trunk when stowed. The boat rows beautifully! According to my GPS I can keep 2 1/2 knots quite easily. And, when I flail the lagoon to a froth looking like a fool, the GPS will register over four knots! I don't imagine it would be too difficult to fashion a seat, maybe even a temporary one, about the middle of the centerboard trunk. Bear in mind, one sits with a leg on either side of the centerboard trunk. If the board is down, the horn of the board will be below, and in front of your navel. If the board should encounter the bottom, the horn will move forward very very quickly. It is best to avoid this situation. Once encountered, a reminder is unnecessary.

I used Interlux Polymeric Noskid Compound and it works wonderfully. The directions say to mix it well in the paint and let it sit 10 - 15 minutes to absorb the paint. Mix four to six ounces, by volume, per quart. Two coats give a great finish. I used a three inch roller and it dries leaving no roller marks. I did the whole deck. Taping off areas looks really nice, but I want all the traction I can get. I believe Tom Lathrup sent in an idea for non-skid on varnished companionway steps. He taped off the area he wanted non-skid and varnished it. Then he poured a generous amount of course salt over it and let it dry completely, washed the salt off and wound up with a non-skid varnished surface. The pictures were impressive.

Rob, On both my centerboard and rudder I used a hole saw and drilled a 2 1/2 inch hole. I taped heavily on one side and set them tape-side down. Then I filled the holes with lead shot and epoxy. I overfilled a bit to compensate for shrinking. I used a good mask when sanding it fair. I really like the difference it made. Both boards float a bit lower in the water than they did before, but still rise up easily when finding the bottom. Actually, a little more weight wouldn't hurt. I finished the boards with epoxy with graphite added. I sanded them down and they looked really good, so I sanded down to 600 grit and they look like carbon fiber parts from an America's Cup contender! My sanding started to show through where the original epoxy finish was, so I stopped because I wanted to go sailing, and not add another coat or two to make it perfect. However, another step with polishing compound would really have a fantastic effect.

This year the guys gathered at Cedar Key in April as well as the usual get-to-gether in May. The May pictures aren't in yet, but there are a few shots of Pat's boat from April's event. http://members.ij.net/wctss/wctss/photo.htm

Rob, I agree with the wider seat! with my more than ample self, I find the seat in my CS 17 just a little snug. It's fine when really sailing, but when just loafing along I'd like more sitting options. If I were building a 20 I think I'd still have the lazarrett, but I'd arrange the seat so I could sit facing forward with a short backrest. (Maybe folding?) It's nice to have two really comfortable sitting positions.

Nice Joe! Your boat looks great! Don't EVER more your boat right next to mine, OK?

Three inch might be a little more than you need. I use 2 1/2 inch for the bottom half of my mast and 9 feet of a fiberglass antenna that I found in a surplus store. The lower half of my mast is very stiff and the top half a bit more bendy. It seems to work very well. Maybe a top half of bird's mouth would work as well.

I've been in some rather heavy conditions with my CS 17 and the only ballast was my more than ample self on the rail. The Princess is a compromise. It's not a deep keel heavily ballasted blue water boat. If you want a boat that has the capabilities of a deep keel heavily ballasted boat, it would probably be best to get a deep keel heavily ballasted boat. If you want to sail in shallow water, launch and rig easily, and tow easily, I don't think you can do much better than a Princess. In heavy conditions it would require much less attention than my CS 17, but you'll still have to sail it.

Wait a minute! I thought the three-color masthead light was all that was nessary to identify a sailboat! I was lead to understand that it is an acceptable option to the standard running lights for a sailboat........no?