Gordy Hill

These were taken in 2000 at the Great Race. SawDust had a short fore deck so I could have a large casting deck at seat height. The tent is a custom-made Bimini top with sides. The windows open to no-see-um mesh and the screen in the front window also had zippers so I could tend the anchor rode from inside. The rear wall was all mesh. The whole thing folded forward, and after disconnecting the frame, tucked under the side decks. The interior was 8 1/2 feet by 5 feet and high enough to sit comfortably when the floorboards were out. It left two wells for feet when sitting and a large area for cooking etc. With the floorboards fitted it was one big sleeping area with the centerboard horn there to separate the sleepers. It worked so well I sold the boat with the idea of later building a boat with a cabin. As it turned out, when we used the boat for fishing we just got out and waded. We could wake up in the middle of the flats. One night in the Banana River in the 'no motor zone' near Canaveral there was a launch at about 03:00. .....They really aught to tell a guy....

Ok, you FORCED me to try to learn how to use the "scan" on my printer. If a picture happens I'll explane it in the next post....

Two pictures???? That's it? Whatzza matter with your camera? That won't do. That just won't do....... That's a beautiful boat and we want LOTS of pictures! lots!

You might wait until you've tried the boat. Just throw in a boat cushion, move it around a bit and see what works best for yuou. On one moccasin I used a plastic boat seat with a folding back and never got around to really attching it. My friend still loves it just the way it is. In the other on I built a seat out of okoume and bits of walnut. It's very important to keep the weight low...honest.

Sit on the floor, kayak style. The boat will be much more stable. That's not to say it'l be stable. It's a small boat and your 191 pounds will pretty much use it up. There are kayak seat pads with an attached back that can be attached to the inwales. If you use the canoe seat, don't launch where people can watch you....

Gregg, My two cents worth: Just go ahead and build the 17. It's pretty much all the same parts just a little bigger. You can do it..............really!

Thanks guys! I can't begin to tell you how helpful y'all have been! I was beginning to think I was the only one with this problem.

I sharpen half a dozen pencils and put them in a plastic cup tacked to the wall in my garage. Whenever I find a pencil I put it in the cup. A few weeks later it's empty again. I start over. I'm not complaining really. Pencils are cheap enough. Just wondering.....

Bill, Moving the cabin back is just personal choice. Moving the mizzen gets into magic stuff that we mortals know little about.

I never raced around the bouys, but I sailed my CS17 twice in the Great Race. It's very competive with a Sea Pearl........unless Graham's sailing the CS 17. Then there's no contest.

Neil, You don't want to take apart your masts. Mine was one of the first CS 17's (No 11) and I had two-part masts. Among other things, the sails got very soiled when I put them on or off the masts. The masts moved about in the boat during transport. Once I decided to leave the masts assembled I found it was much easier to wrap the sails around the masts and the masts make a wonderful ridge pole for a tarp for storing the boat. Another advantage is that a window can be sewn into the main and it doesn't get creased when the sail is folded. It just wraps smoothly around the mast. Gordy

Hi Harry! I added small spray rails on my CS17 and they made a real difference up to a point. After the conditions got to a certain point I still got wet. Maybe not quite as wet, but wet is wet. My spray rails ended up looking like 3/4 inch quarter-rounds. If I were to build another boat I'd strongly consider more aggressive spray rails, say 1 1/4" or even 1 1/2" and something that would look a bit nicer than quarter-rounds. This would not sit well with many purests, but if I build another it'll have them. I had 1 1/4" rails welded onto my aluminum power boat and the change was dramatic. Of course this is apples and oranges, but I have to belive they would really make a difference on a CS17. You could be our Guiana Pig! Build oversized spray rails, sail the boat, trim as necessary and try it again. When you're finished you can paint it! We'll be waiting for a report.........

Keep us posted Jim. Where are you located?

There's a wonderful blog on building the Marissa. I'm sure Graham has mentioned it, but I thought I'd start a thread about it. http://www.ncmartec-buildingthemarissa.blogspot.com/

Pictures Phil! We need pictures! Nice story and all, but we need pictures...........

Thanks Diddle!

Here in Orlando I learned early on that "slow" means fast, and "fast" means now. I noticed the batch getting warm even before it was fully mixed. I put it in the freezer for just a few minutes till the warm feeling was gone. I try to keep all my epoxy and hardener as well as mixing tools in air conditioning at least a day before mixing it. Then I mix it and still pop it in the freezer for a few minutes. The batch stays cool much longer, but as soon as it's spread it changes to ambient temp. I haven't noticed any problems other than some epoxy on the handle of the freezer door. Did I mention I'm single and live alone?.....

During a lunch break, try wrapping your brush or roller in Saran Wrap and putting it in the freezer. When it warms it'll be ready to continue. I've left some overnight and most came out just fine......some didn't...no loss.

I see lots of sanding in your future......lots....really really lots and lots.............

Looks like Graham and Randy have a problem. They've been on the beach for over an hour. Paul and Allen (aka Dances With Sandy Bottom and SOS) are closing in on the lead and doing great.

Nice job on the rudder blade John. If it's not going to be left out in the sun for weeks at a time you might want to finish it with epoxy with graphite added to it. I used it on my centerboard and rudder blade and sanded it down to 600 grit, then buffed it. It came out looking like carbon fiber! I thought it really looked nice and purposeful on the boat.

My guess is that the rake makes the sail want to hang over the boat rather than where ever it feels like in very light or no wind.

Great report Paul! Thanks! It looks like your garage interior is drywall. If it is, is it possible to remove a small section to give you a few more inches for the boat?

I don't think I'd spray epoxy without a SERIOUS respirator, especially inside a cabin! I cut the yellow WEST foam rollers in half on the band saw and got 3-3 1/2 inch rollers that would put on a coat of epoxy before you could get set up to spray.

Allan, Great job! In the one photo it looks like you might have the mizzen snotter attached to the mast a bit high. The sprit might be a little short to give the tension you want. Gordy