Peter HK

Joe Here are some photos of the fibreglass track spacers I made- moulded them over the mast sections Peter HK

Frank said No need to worry Frank- it doesn't hurt a bit. At least none of my patients who the physio has subjected to electrical stimulation have ever complained too much... and I certainly have never felt a thing Peter HK

Some info here http://www.ace.net.au/schooner/wisp.htm Peter HK

Tom/Graham Reminds me of sailing a 14 ft skiff here in Oz, 30 years ago. It had 200sq ft of working sail and a 250 sq ft spinnaker (now unlimited- I believe they get to over 500 sq ft) with 2 crew, both on trapeze. Although the centre of effort is lower with a cat ketch you'll still need a fair bit of crew/movable ballast or reef early. My 30 ft Bolger folding schooner has just over 200 sq ft in a gaff rigged boat (low C of E) and we have to reef at about 18-20 knots and need 4-5 crew. Are you going to put a trapeze on it? :wink: We've tried it on the schooner and it makes a big difference. Peter HK

I don't know if you could call NZ warm. One of my Kiwi mates who lived here in Brisbane, Australia for a couple of years says we have spoilt him for sailing and flies over every so often for a fix Peter HK

Niels I will be using standard slides and track on the Coresound as the sprit boom makes reefing more difficult with a luff pocket. I'll use slab reefing as it works somewhat better than trying to reef around the mast. As I intend to single hand quite often I want the very reefed sail shape as good as possible. By the way- with reference to the original post- I did manage to get aluminium for the masts but had to order it from online metals in the US. Came in under a week but the postage wasn't cheap :shock: Peter HK

On a previous boat I had the experience of ply (the foredeck) cracking as I was fitting it, after it had been epoxied (3 coats), yet when I had dry fitted the same piece before epoxy coating it had flexed easily into position. The crack was over 12 inches long. I'm going to leave the areas that need to flex unepoxied and do it afterwards. Peter HK

As I understand it though, as every fibre is at 45 degrees, the strength is about 70% of a fibre at 90 degree orientation. Peter HK

Joe said I think you can overkill the problem. I've made a large number of scarfs, 8 to 1, with standard epoxy and filler (not lightweight sanding filler), using the west scarffer. I've always tested the offcuts and did so a couple of days ago, one more time. When the scarf is subjected to maximum stress, the ply just next to it fails. I've never found it to be different. It only has to be a strong as the ply 8) Peter HK

G'day Here is a photo of the west scarffer which I bought 4 boats ago and has done a great job (about $50). It does have a shield but I don't usually fit it. I've seen and made jigs to fit a router but they don't seem to work as well. Stepped scarfs, where a ridge is left for positioning, are significantly weaker when I have tested them. The ridge left on thicker ply is rapidly removed with a belt sander. Peter HK

Thanks for the replies on this and another thread. I think Ill position it as far out athwartships as possible within the side deck of the aft cockpit version. Do many people having lifting outboard brackets- unnecessary? Peter HK

Sorry Guys As a footnote I should have said thay I have a Yamaha 2Hp, and am only thinking of the smallest outboard. Peter HK

Hi I'm just starting a CS17 and am nearly finished the side and bottom panels, so next week I'll be working on bulkheads/ transom. I'll be building an aft cockpit version and wondering if anyone can advise on the best position for an outboard, so that I can fit extra reinforcement to the transom in the right postion. Clearly closer to the centreline is better for motoring/cavitation but gets in the way of the rudder especially on full lock when, on other boats, I've found that the prop can take chunks out of the rudder. I'm aware of brackets on the rudder box for the motor but don't particularly want to go that route. Anyone suggest an optimum position? Peter HK

Hello Jan, I have to say I feel better now that I've seen the previous boatbuilding construction. I'm about 2 weeks behind you having started on Monday and put in 3.5 hours so far- I only have photos of scarf joints. My garage is 19.6 ft (I'm getting used to the atavistic imperial system as Australia went metric about 30 years ago) with a width of 8 feet plus a little for a bench outside that, so it is a tight fit. I can roll it out the door if necessary. My garage isn't nearly as neat and tidy :oops: Peter HK

Yes Jeff, They are based on the Wharram Tiki style luff pockets- they unzip to take off and are large for 2 reasons. Firstly it means they can crush down easily for dropping/reefing and secondly they may have an aerodynamic benefit a little like a wing mast- this seems to make a difference on a broad reach where flow stays attached to the sail very well. As to fun, there's plenty of that. The fastest GPS documented speed has been 13.9 knots, but when it's really moving there seems too much spray/action/fear to look at the GPS. The only problem is finding crew- she goes best with 5 but you should have seen the time we had 3 onboard in a gale with one on trapeze My ply etc arrived this afternoon so I can start on my CS17 this weekend. Peter HK

Yes Jeff, They are based on the Wharram Tiki style luff pockets- they unzip to take off and are large for 2 reasons. Firstly it means they can crush down easily for dropping/reefing and secondly they may have an aerodynamic benefit a little like a wing mast- this seems to make a difference on a broad reach where flow stays attached to the sail very well. As to fun, there's plenty of that. The fastest GPS documented speed has been 13.9 knots, but when it's really moving there seems too much spray/action/fear to look at the GPS. The only problem is finding crew- she goes best with 5 but you should have seen the time we had 3 onboard in a gale with one on trapeze My ply etc arrived this afternoon so I can start on my CS17 this weekend. Peter HK

Hi Louis Don't apologise for any time zone issue- it is the internet and therefore global. Remember that everyone else is in the wrong time zone and therefore their replies are tardy I also am having trouble with availability of the appropriate aluminium tubes (here in Australia) so I may have to go to birdsmouth masts. I think I will make them a little undersized (the CS17 plans call for 5/8 inch thick staves but here with metric I can get 12 mm or 19 mm, so 12 mm seems the go) and put a layer of carbon on the outside. Maybe you can get carbon fibre also- it would make them a little lighter. I covered the mainmast of my Bolger 30 ft folding schooner with carbon and it certainly made a big difference. Here is a link to the folding schooner for anyone's interest.http://sports.webshots.com/album/548246269VtgyuF I ordered the ply/timber /epoxy yesterday so hope to start next week. Peter HK

Graham I'm in Brisbane (southside- Holland Park), so give me a call when you're here. My CS17 plans (165) arrived 2 weeks ago, so I'm not quite finished :wink: Mobile is 0418190640. Peter HK

Styge I'm not sure I quite understand what you are asking but here goes. Weather helm is really determined by the rig and centreboard i.e. where the centre of effort of the rig is compared to the centre of lateral resistance of the centreboard. Essentially it represents how much the rudder needs to be held one way or the other from dead central to hold a straight course. Google these terms if you are not sure. The rudder balance is a different thing- if all of the rudder is behind the line of the pintles in a lateral view then helm is heavy as is the case if a lot of the rudder is in front of that line. Think of the rudder kicked up coming into shore - the helm is heavy. If the rudder were all angled forward then the opposite heavy helm would be felt. Just go with the plans- pintle distance the same top and bottom and the rudder to have a slight lead in front of the line of the pintles. If you're worried, then allow a little more lead forward and adjust it by putting a block in later. Peter HK