Hirilonde

I made 3" or 76mm birdsmouth wooden masts for my lapwing. I just made the step a little bigger with a bigger hole. Just make sure you located it according to center as everything else is now different.

Look into dock fendering. There are lots of different shapes. You may need to find a dock hardware specialty supplier. I have had fabric over foam continuous fendering on my 9N for 19 years, still no mildew.

I don't know if anyone here can help you. But as this is a boating question, you are welcome to post.

I don't remember how I located the partner when I built mine, it was 10 years ago. But when I hook my tape over the stem, and measure aft to the center of the partner, I get 20 1/2". The step is then located using the mast tube through the partner and the 1 in 20 ratio forward of plumb to height above step.

2 and 3 color combinations can look great. Or maybe white with 2 accent colors. I would not use brown. As a purist I would use varnish or just not have a wood look. My Spindrift is white with seafoam green interior, dark green boot top and grey sole and bottom. I did varnish the seats and boom, but they never stay outside even when I kept it at the dinghy dock.

I cut my stringers out of 8/4. By doing so I made flat sawn into quarter sawn. This also meant no waste 'cept for the sawdust.

Yup, just make sure to remove the leads to avoid any discharge.

That is what a professional would have to get to justify a business and it's expenses. People pay more than that for a Fatty Knees. I wish we could get what are boats are worth. Few of us ever will.

A friend even uses a belt sander? I do it with a hand plane and a belt sander!

As to whether the sailing characteristics are much different, I wouldn't think so, but I don't really know. As for building, they require the same attention. Maybe the 15 requires a little less sanding, but not significantly less. My decision about size was based on storage space and launching as even a 15 would be big enough for my use. I knew I was moving to Florida for retirement, and garages in Florida are often 20' deep. My Lapwing on a trailer is 19' 8" long. The CS 15 on a trailer would be a tad shorter, and a 17 on a trailer is probably over 20'. Based on all of the build threads I have read over the years I think I can say that anyone with some patience, a little skill and willing to ask questions who find the idea of building a boat fun can succeed. I like to stress the fun part. If you are building just to try and save money you will find building a boat tedious and used sailboats in good condition are often cheap. I think the 2 best reasons to build a boat are: it is fun, and you can customize the details to your specs. I never recommend changing design details as you will likely sacrifice sailing characteristics as Graham and Alan have done a great job already. Even with the Mach 3s, which were designed to add siginificant comfort to a pocket cruiser, the boat had to sail well first, or they wouldn't desing it.

The kit and directions, as well as the support from B&B and here in the forum can't be beat. But I say you have to really want to build a boat. If you do, and you aren't afraid to ask questions, you can succeed.

The 50% thing is very important. By the way, your batteries should be fused within 12" of the battery itself on the positive side. The size fuse is based on the gauge of wire you run from the battery to the panel. On my Renegade I used a 30 amp fuse and 8 gauge wire. Fuses protect the wiring, not the stuff you are powering. Any electronics that requires fusing usually has it in the unit itself.

92 amp hour battery, aka group 27.

When the mechanics at the full service marina I worked at winterized boats they charged the batteries and diisconnected them from everything. These were mostly sailboats and up to 70', with multiple batteries of all types.

Rowing is a lot like sailing in light winds, it is better to go bow down and reduce wetted surface. I find that my transom is still above water if I am solo and rowing aft of the mizzen.