PaulSmith

An option you might think about is Tap Plastic's flex hinge: a continuous hinge made of acrylic & a urethane flexing piece. I bought some for a project & it was too stiff for what I was doing but a hatch gives you a lot more leverage. With the acrylic leaves you'd have to carefully drill clearance holes for the fasteners - don't leave any stresses on the acrylic except the clamping force. They claim it's UV stable but... https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/handles_hinges_latches/flex_fold_2_hinge/124

Looks great! I'm amazed at how nice the bow strip came out! Well worth your efforts! I'd love to get together some time as I'd love to see what the CS17 is like compared to the CS15 my father started & I finished. I bet the CS 17 will sail circles around my 18' gaff rigged camp cruiser! I sold the CS15 as three sailboats was enough for me. Paul

There does look like there are a lot of the smaller galvanized trailers in our area right now. All with two pivoting rear bunks and one center roller forward. And everyone wants between $800 and $1000 for them. That's not too far off of new prices. I had noticed in previous searches that the supply of trailers is good in the spring but the prices tend to be high. Later in the year the prices go down but so does the supply. Not a supply demand kind of thing but a desperation to get rid of it in a falling demand market I think.

I like the method! It depends on getting a good line down the pipe - assumedly a snapped chalk line. You're still going to have the C section spread out more where it is bent in a tighter radius - so it won't look like it has the same width everywhere. If you've bought the tube try it & let us know how it works! Paul

And I've done it with a couple of dowels clamped in my vise to make a bending jig. I've done this with stainless, aluminum & my favorite, brass 1/2 oval. If you have predrilled stuff you just have to be very careful bending near the holes. And I agree with PAR - bending the tube is going to be a real tricky job - as will cutting it before or after. If you allow it to twist at all while cutting it in half you might as well give up then. Paul

I think that as long as you don't let the boat fill with water while its sitting on the trailer you're not likely to have any issues with the boat warping or distorting from being supported by bunks or rollers with just a single keel roller at about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way back from the bow. My 18' boat & my Snipe are both supported that way - and they've never had an issue. I've seen flooded boats have real issues - big dents in the hull at the support points - because of all the weight of getting full of rain water. Of course it never rains on Camano Island.... Good luck hunting for a trailer! It took me nearly 4 months to find what I was looking for the CS-15 I sold - and I found that one on Camano! Paul

Greendane - Thanks for the information on the overhang - I will go actually measure mine rather than guesstimate! My 18' boat (picture below) has been on this same trailer (https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tro/6135876390.html ) since shortly after I built it - and I love it. It's loads easy & quick, always tracks right down the center regardless of how crooked the boat is before I start cranking and I can load & unload the boat with the axle hubs level with the water. I do store it inside and I have had to do some weld repair on it at one point & painted it twice - but pretty good for 30 years of on & off saltwater service. This guy is asking a bit much for a painted trailer 1970's trailer but he's had it listed before so he may be willing to come down a lot. The CS 15' I built (since sold) I put on a much smaller galv trailer like what you were looking at - and then we put rollers on the back. Paul

Greendane - I'm not sure what WA state rule you're finding that says the overhang needs to be less than 4'. The RCW I find says: RCW 46.44.034 Maximum lengths—Front and rear protrusions. *** CHANGE IN 2017 *** (SEE 1149-S.SL) *** (1) The load, or any portion of any vehicle, operated alone upon the public highway of this state, or the load, or any portion of the front vehicle of a combination of vehicles, shall not extend more than three feet beyond the front wheels of such vehicle, or the front bumper, if equipped with front bumper. This subsection does not apply to a front-loading garbage truck or recycling truck while on route and actually engaged in the collection of solid waste or recyclables at speeds of twenty miles per hour or less. (2) No vehicle shall be operated upon the public highways with any part of the permanent structure or load extending in excess of fifteen feet beyond the center of the last axle of such vehicle. This subsection does not apply to "specialized equipment" designated under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 2311 that is operated on the interstate highway system, those designated portions of the federal-aid primary system, and routes constituting reasonable access from such highways to terminals and facilities for food, fuel, repairs, and rest. That says the overhang can't be more than 15'. Is there something else I'm missing? I've trailered an 18' boat all over WA with an overhang on the 5 1/2' range for the last 30 years with no issues or complaints. It's all about getting the tongue weight at 10% of the trailer & boat weight so it doesn't fish tail. If there is a real rule limiting it to 4' I'd really like to know - all three of my boats exceed that. Paul

All you need before you put on the tape is enough epoxy resin on the wood to ensure that the wood isn't going to suck up the epoxy out of the glass & dry the glass out. It is easier to put cloth on over a cured layer of resin - then you can slide it around to line it up. Be sure to squeegee the cloth down tight to the wood when you do it - you don't want it floating around in a sea of epoxy - just enough to absolutely wet out the cloth. Then add enough coats of resin to fill in the weave of the cloth & you're ready to put on the keel (on a bed of filled epoxy) Nice old growth hard Doug Fir? Not that wimpy white wood stuff that they claim is Doug Fir?. The CS-15 had a 4" skeg at the stern - I don't know what a CS-17 should have. Paul

On what metal to use for the keel strip I bought 1/8" x 3/4" 316 S/S flat bar 12' long from OnlineMetals.com and then picked it up at their Fisherman's Terminal location in Seattle so no freight. Cost me $24 for the 12' piece. I had to buy some more to make the whole keel - but it wasn't as expensive as the shiny boating stuff. I didn't care about the shine....

As long as you do the scarf joint at least 8 times as long as the height & make sure you don't starve the joint of epoxy it should be fine. Don't starve the joint means get the wood wet with straight epoxy first, let it soak in a few minutes, then add epoxy thickened with fibrous thickener ( I use some West System stuff but I can't remember the name right now or even very fine sawdust but not micro balloons ), clamp firmly but not as hard as you can and let cure. You need to keep it straight while it cures as the viscosity of the epoxy will drop as it self heats during the curing process - which can make stuff slide around. If you don't wet the wood first the wood can pull the epoxy out of the filler making the whole joint dry & weak. Clamp it between blocks with saran Wrap in between so you don't glue the blocks on. Then sand smooth & use. Paul

Bryan - I'd epoxy the keel/skeg even if you expect the trailer to grind the epoxy off in spots. I wouldn't glass around the tip of the keel or skeg - you would have to put a nearly full round radius on the skeg to be able to wrap standard fiberglass around it - and then you couldn't put a metal strip on it. I wouldn't have any great heartache about using douglas fir for the keel & the skeg though white oak would wear better. I think the oak holds fasteners better even when wet. You would want to put several coats of epoxy on it - one to soak in & then two to add thickness to the layer. I would epoxy the skeg & keel directly onto the hull. That way the fasteners used to attached it don't get wiggled around creating a leak path into the hull. I you ever need to take it off you can sand it down flush with a electric disk sander pretty darn quick. Just my opinions. Paul

I just looked up Xynole & it sounds good! I've tried Kevlar fabric (I had a bunch of surplus stuff at one point) but once you wear down to the Kevlar is last really well but it gets fuzzy and it is hell trying to cover the fuzz up to get back to a smooth surface. Can you effectively sand the Xynole? The Kevlar just got fuzzier yet when you tried to sand it. Paul

I would totally agree with your distinction. To date every boat I've built has been plywood. They are also all boats that get pulled out of the water when not in use making the swell to seal method annoying to manage. That doesn't mean the traditional method is bad - just not my preference.

Bryan - Glad to help! After watching wooden boats at Tulare for all my life years my vote for the last 20 years is to encapsulate all wood in epoxy & make sure it stays sealed away from water. That means surfaces, screw holes, everything. Otherwise it swells & shrinks & checks. Wood is a great bendy structural material that doesn't wear out but letting it get wet is bad. Traditional wood boat builders would totally disagree with that. Roving & mat are two different types of fiberglass cloth - roving being very heavy & thick but woven & matt is random strands in a sheet. You need the wear pad full of glass fully wetted with resin but not floating in it. Read the Guogen Brothers book or similar. Never put resin over paint - when the paint fails (and it will) the resin just peels off. You want to sand down to good fiberglass/resin or clean wood before applying more resin & glass. Re the Keel - I just meant you could cut off the keel & sand it down flush to the hull without affecting the integrity of the hull. I would epoxy the keel to the hull screwing it down unless you have a way to clamp it without screws (the screws are just there to hold the parts together while the epoxy cures) and then put a full length metal strip covering the entire length of the keel full width of the keel. Epoxy the keel before putting the metal on & put epoxy in the screw holes to seal the wood before screwing the screw in. If the metal you found wasn't brass, bronze, stainless steel or aluminum replace it. try to match the fasteners to the metal you use. Hard to do with Aluminum - easier with stainless or bronze. Fisheries Supply has silicon bronze and inexpensive good stainless screws. If the boats spends most of it's time on the trailer and less int eh water this isn't a huge issue. Look up Galvanic Corroision. Enjoy! If you're not in a rush I am at Tulare about every other weekend and could come by to look at what you have. Paul

Bryan - I'd give different advice. I'm a fellow Puget Sound sailor who has maintained a fleet of small wooden boats based at Tulare Beach (which faces Camano from the mainland) for the past 30 years & who has sailed a wooden 18' centerboard trailer boat (the picture on my signature) for the same period. We drag the fleet of dinghies up & down the beach on a daily basis in the summer - though our beach is medium gravel, not cobble, and has few barnacles to really chew on the hull. The best option we've found is to put a 1/8" to 1/4" thick pad of fiberglass (roving and mat) and epoxy on the wear points and then rebuild it as it wears off. On the dinghies, which get picked up at the bow and drug, that wear point is the middle keel and the back corners. The fiberglass pad is the only thing we've found that works. Lightweight metal on the outside means fasteners through or into the hull - and those always seem to get worked loose and then cause leaks and let water into the wood. For my 18' boat, which gets beached but not drug up the beach, I have a 1 1/2" wide half oval brass strip on the bow that runs back to the centerboard. It has a full glass skin on the wood that is tripled 6 oz glass cloth in the area around the bow and forefoot. Between the brass (sitting on an oak keel) and the glass I've never gone through to the wood though I have twice repaired the glass & repainted in the past 30 years. The brass is heavy enough it doesn't flex with impacts much - which would work the fasteners loose. Along the keel where my roller trailer can shred the sides of the keel when loading in bad weather I've got a fillet of glass & epoxy protecting the wood. 1/2" wide at the bottom tapering to nothing at the outer edge of the keel. And a metal strip full width on top. That forces the roller away from the outer corner of the keel. I'd suggest you add a pad of glass 4" wide on your bow, then a good stiff metal bow guard all the way to the centerboard. You should be able to remove the frayed wood along your keel and repair it with glass & epoxy - and add a sacrificial wear guard in the spot for next time. Your middle picture looks scary - I don't see any grain in that "wood". If the builder put something weird in there you might have to take it all off. The keel strip is just sitting on the plywood hull - the integrity of the hull isn't compromised if you have to take the keel off. It's just work. For your trailering situation - particularly those exposed ramps on the outside of Camano - you really want to get a roller trailer. My latest boat requires a bunk trailer & I HATE loading it with any kind of a cross wind. The roller trailer for my 18' boat is a dream by comparison. My dad & I built & sold a CS15 last year. Paul Smith

Hi all, particularly Randy & Lynn - Thanks for the help & suggestions. In order to transport the boat safely to Port Townsend my father & I sealed and seam taped the outer hull over the past week. He had so much fun helping me do that that he & I have decided to finish the boat together. He may still not have the balance to sail it as he dreamed but we will get the boat done! Then it may be for sale again but we'll have to see what happens next.

Randy & Lynne - I've sent Marty an e-mail & will plan on being there early Saturday morning. I'm still working on getting my Dad to join me.... Thanks!!

Great idea - thanks a million. I'm going to push him to help me finish up the seam tape & maybe at least one coat of epoxy on the outside hull before hauling it over there. I have a trailer for another boat (the Snipe) I can use to haul it. I found the website so I think I know what I need to know. I'll e-mail the organizer once I confirm with him. It looks like from the pictures that they put like boats together - do you know how that is arranged? Would it be possible to put my Dad's CS15 near to your CS17?

Too far away is right! You couldn't be much further & still be in the same country. Hopefully there's someone out there who would like to cut down a lot of their effort to get a Core Sound 15.

Hi All My father (now 85) has been building small boats all his life. He's decided he's done with that hobby about 7/8 of the way through building a Core Sound 15. He has the hull complete except for the exterior seam taping, sealing the exterior hull and painting. The centerboard, rudder, tiller, masts and sprits are also done or very close to done. Nothing is painted but the interior, rudder and centerboard are all epoxy sealed. This is his fourth stitch and glue boat - so he's well experienced with this method. He's been building small wooden boats most of his life. He wants to find someone who will finish this boat and use it - he biggest fear is having to haul it to the dump and throw all those hours of work away. He's not after money (though he certainly would take an offer that cover some of his $1500+ of materials) - he's after someone who wants to have a Core Sound 15 and is capable of finishing it well. I'd offer to finish it for him but I just spent most of a year refinishing an Aquarius 23 and I want to sail - not build boats for a while. I also have a Snipe & an 18' sailboat I built previously so I really don't need another one. If I can't find someone to take it I will finish it - but only as a last resort. The boat is in the Everett, WA area. It does not have sails yet, nor a trailer or motor. Thanks! Paul