Peter HK

Jeff Sounds like a real adventure- genuine dinghy cruising. As for safety in a (real) storm in a small boat the tried and tested method is drop the sails and set a sea anchor (drogue/parachute/ whatever the local terminology)from the bow until it passes. In extreme situations it may also be advisable to drop the masts though getting them back up may be a problem. You may have to cut the tender with bicycles loose. In less extreme conditions, heaving to under mizzen would probably be the go. Finally - never curse the calms: it's bad luck. Have fun Peter HK

Re the stringer, I think you nailed it in the question. You can always make it stronger and heavier, but if it is already strong enough why would you. I doubt it would get in the way but it's not necessary. In boatbuilding of this type it's important to add LOTS of lightness, so that the performance of the finished product is all that you hoped it might be. Go on - cut it off. Peter HK

Gosh everyone is quick today. By the time I had composed a reply and made a couple of thumbnails there were 2 other replies already there- a real time boat building resource Peter HK

I just fitted the centrecase on my Cs17- here's a pic. Peter HK

Ray said Apart from tying the reef lines it's possible to reef from the cockpit- just takes lots of extra lines. On both my Farrier F31 and Crowther cruising cat I had 2 reefs that were permanently run and could be set from the cockpit. A second downhaul, a reefing line at the boom/sprit end (the clew stays attached) and the halyard all run aft to cleats would do it. As the original tack and clew stay attached, the bundle of the sail usually stays pretty well controlled. It adds a lot of complexity to rigging however which is why I don't intend to rig it this way. Peter HK

Forgot to add from the coresound 20 webpage This boat has the standard rig. Peter HK

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I said it is possible to make it reefable from the (Aft) cockpit, not that I intend too as it means too many lines run aft. It requires a topping lift, maybe a lazy jack (which on a sprit hangs under the sail and back up to the mast), permanent tack line to the reef point, possibly an old fashioned reefing line to the head, and permanent reefing lines at the clew led around turning blocks on the sprit and mast and run aft. A few too many lines to run and deal with. My sails have been ordered and will have a full length batten at the head and leech battens below. I do intend to make it quickly reefable from the forward cockpit. The halyard will lead to a deck cleat. I will have a line to the reef point at the tack. As I have done on my standing lug/sprit rig I have a reefing line run along the sprit up to a snap shackle attached at the leech reef point. The drill is ease the halyard/pull the tack down then pull and cleat the clew on the sprit. The snotter needs to be eased a little before all this and then retightened. Hope that was clear. Peter HK

Rob I see the Romilly has a balanced lug which requires a boom rather than a sprit at the foot. While this is semi self vanging I prefer a sprit overall. You could easily rig it as a standing lug which is quite a nice rig- I have one on my Welsford Golden Bay dinghy. The yard is sometimes a problem when dropping or reefing as it falls aft end first and can be a bit of a handful. The sail tends to billow away from the mast and flog when the halyard is released which is also a little irritating. You need a parrel. As you would have to get the sails recut either way and build a yard (or 2) why not go for the tracks- unlikely to be any cheaper to change the rig to such an extent. I'm certainly going with tracks on my Cs17. It could be set up to reef from the cockpit. Peter HK

Dale said I was just going to use a rectangular plastic storage box from the hardware store in the same place. Looks like I'll have to do better now! Peter HK

The handicapper did not have an inkling of how to handicap the EC22 Same thing happened to me the first time I raced my 30 ft Folding Schooner. The handicapper didn't think a gaff rigged boat could be fast, we had a favourable, mostly reaching course after a short windward leg and won by over 30 minutes. The handicapper looks with great disfavor on the race winners and always adds time to their starts in future races Haven't won since Peter HK

Hello Brent I use a standard 6*4 box trailer for an 11ft 4 inch dinghy (Welsford Golden Bay dinghy - shortened). These trailers can be had second hand pretty cheaply- at least here in Australia. I use the trailer for general purpose as well so just sit the dinghy on top which makes it a little high, so lifting it on is a little more difficult, but quite manageable. Here is a pic. Peter HK

Hi everyone I went to a classic/wooden boat regatta on the weekend. I hope to take my under construction CS17 next year. I thought people might appreciate a few photos- some of these boats were works of art. Peter HK

Niels It was a J6 Peter HK

Molly Brown is good, but given the error in building and the excellent recovery how about: "Whoops" "Second Coming" "Revividus" "Indefatigable" or my favourite given the Swallows and Amazons association- "Death and Glory" Peter HK

I thought I would post a few progress photos since it has been 3 months since the photos of going 3D. I must say at the time I was really impressed with the transformation from flat sheets to a beautiful boat shape in a couple of hours. At the moment I

Hi Tom Now it makes sense I wasn't aware that Nanaimo is the world's hub for bathtub racing. Peter HK

Tom said Not sure what you mean by this- the English is a little confused- but, while I was not in BC for any sailing reason, the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland and the inside passage north seemed like very agreeable cruising grounds. I'm sure an F22 would be great. If you are suggesting that those of us that live close to the tropics have thin blood and don't tolerate icy conditions too well- you are probably right :wink: Peter HK

Niels said I recently heard that one of the local Jarcat owners (another Brisbane designer, so lots of them here) had capsized his boat for the THIRD time. I agree they are a bit narrow. Peter HK

One more thing, I live in Brisbane, Australia. Graham comes from here also. Ian Farrier, while actually a Kiwi moved to Brisbane, and designed and built his first folding tris here- I saw the prototype on one of its first sails sometime in the early 70s. He later moved to the US. Small world Peter HK

Hello Tom, Quite a provocative post, but one I understand completely. Over the years I have owned monos and multis from dinghy size to ocean going cruising boats. I had a Farrier F31 folding trimaran for 4 years and raced and cruised it extensively. It was quite simply a fantastic boat- averaged 19 knots on an 8 mile reach once! However, now, I am building a CS17. I think this, also, will be a fantastic boat... but in a different way. Gunkholing/quiet waters/ the bay on a good day/ incredibly easy trailing and set up/ fun with only a few hours- these are all great features as well. The smaller the boat the closer you are to the experience. It is a lot cheaper too. While Ian Farrier's boats are very well set up for trailering, they do take a lot more effort to go sailing than a smaller, non folding, unstayed boat. This suits me now...hopefully the F22 will suit you. Horses for courses. Nanaimo would be a great base for sailing- especially an F22. I was there in 2004, but in summer. For those of us in warmer climes the winter would be a challenge. All year round sailing here Peter HK

I see a couple of people have made comments about the Honda 2 hp. Has anyone had experience with them compared to other small 2 or 4 stroke motors particularly with respect to noise? I have a 2hp, 2 stroke yamaha at the moment which is very light (9.8 kg) but like all 2 strokes is a bit smelly and noisy- and no gearbox . I have thought about smaller 4 strokes but most are a lot heavier (about 17kg- nearly 40 pound). The Honda is only 12 or so kg but air cooled so I wonder about noise. The centrifugal clutch seems to overcome the gearbox issue. Any comments from experience? Peter HK

Thanks Ray I hadn't thought about rowing- not that I expect to do much rowing...it's sails or motor for me. Peter HK

Hello I'm wondering about the value of the optional mast step/position. I will have tracks and halyards and slab reefing so I can't see any point from the sailing point of view. Is there any thing I'm missing here? I see some shift the mizzen mast at anchor when setting a large tent- does this make much difference when camp cruising? I plan a dodger of some sort for the central sleeping area and a boomtent aft and thus leaving the mizzen where it is would be fine. Not fitting the mast position means a little less work and no hole to let water into the bunk area. Any opinons from those with experience on a CS17? Peter HK

Scott I have precoated all but the forward sections of the bottom panels. I had the experience on a previous boat of ply cracking after it was epoxied when there had been no problem fitting it prior to epoxy coating. I didn't want to risk that in the bow area on the Cs17 where the ply is most stressed during unfolding. I agree it is a lot easier to epoxy coat flat panels on a bench. Peter HK

Hello Everyone, Tradition dictates a few photos after taking my boat 3D during the week. Peter HK