Drew

Life doesn't always go to Plan A Ken. I lived in Perth for 7 years - know it well. Enjoy Cockburn Sound and Swan Reach.

We are an international lot these days Jeff. Our twin sons and their wives and children live in LA (Silverlake) so seeing the grand kids is a major expedition. What we all have in common is a maritime history and a love of sailing. Everyone who has seen Dragonfly 2 since we launched her a couple of weeks ago is very impressed with Graham's design and the speed she achieves off the wind. With more experimentation and ideas from others I'm sure we can get the best out of this design.

Sandy, thanks for your thoughts and observations. As I noted in my most recent post, it could be very helpful to those of us who have recently launched if we have a place to share experiences of how to get the best out of our cat ketch rig. Here in Australia, that is a very rare rig, most preferring classic sloops, so there are few people to talk to about handling tips.

Thanks Alan, that is helpful. I have been considering whether we could start a thread (unless it exists somewhere) on sailing tips for the Coresound ketches. I wonder if others would find this helpful?

Would you like to enlarge on that thought PAR? Do you mean adjust the angle fore and aft or athwartships?

Wow, your work looks great. I recognise that hull color - good choice.

The spray job is looking great.I wish I had the confidence to spray the finish, it comes out so much nicer.

Thanks guys, a picture is emerging and I will try the suggestions. More suggestions are welcome as I would like to work out how to get the best out of the boat and still enjoy her good qualities. Having built the first of this marque in Oz there isn't anyone close by to talk it over with.

As various people have said in the past, the Coresound flies when reaching and running, but I would love to hear any advice from experienced people (are you there Alan?) about getting the best performance upwind, especially close hauled. On my first attempts I have not been able to get her to point particularly high and still keep way on. If I close haul the sails too tight she just wallows without going anywhere fast. Suggestions guys?

Thanks guys. Steve, I think the 4:1 is needed. The spare line in the cockpit was so I could work out the main sheet length before cutting it. I am thinking of upping the MA on the mizzen sheet to 3:1. Yes, the hatch cover was off at the time, I will post more specific pics when we get home. Finger pickin on an iPhone is fraught with danger. The trailer has worked out surprisingly well. Pete, you'all is welcome to visit any time. More later.

My wife Tiia enjoying our maiden voyage!

The Dragonly is finally in the water and we couldn't be happier with her. Well, maybe I will be a bit happier once I install the correct masts. You will see from the pics that I have installled a pair of temporary masts with stays until the correct tubing arrives from the States via a company in Sydney. Even with the stayed masts she handles very well and we have sailed her for two days on Lake Macquarie near Newcastle in New South Wales (Google it) in calm airs and in some quite strong blows. Full marks to Graham for such a lovely design that handles the lake conditions so well. We are thrilled with the boat.

I did the same as Chick regarding the double over at the keel and then attach the false keel over that. I routed a groove in the inside of the false keel and filled it with epoxy and flox then put the false keel in place and drove home the wooden dowels that I had pre-drilled. The rest was held in place by a lot of lead and many bricks until it cured. I'm calling it a false keel because it isn't really a structural member, just additional protection for the real keel. Regarding the gap in your cabin. I had a couple of small ones where I hadn't planed down the timber correctly, so I just used a piping bag of goo (white filler to make it easy to hide) and filled the gap. That should be plenty strong enough.

... and don't get caught using the microwave to warm your epoxy bottle!!

Food for thought PAR, especially since I am using LEDs nav lights. Actually, I am using LEDs throughout the boat, they are an amazing little device with lots of light and low current drain. My plan is battery and 80 watt solar panel.

Steve, I will let you know how it all goes in a couple of weeks after I launch her. The old trailer that I reconditioned is a tip trailer, ie., it breaks just aft of the winch mount allowing the stern to drop for easier launching and recovery, so that makes height less of a problem. Regarding the lights, I prefer loose mounted light because I don't like putting lights into the water, even the supposedly sealed LED lights. Lights at eye level are definitely safer than tucked away under the stern of a boat.

The oak beam is a nice solution. Now comes the fun part - sanding, glassing, sanding, sanding again, and painting.

Solution for car park thieves - what you can't chain and lock goes below or in lockers in transit and is mounted before launch. At least that is my approach.

Best wishes. She is looking beautiful and definitely something to be proud of. Love the pic of your little ni Vanuatu skipper!

Very nice Amos. Now I have paint envy.

Not allowed to throw possums in Oz, they are protected - darn! If you want to throw possums in the southern hemisphere you have to go to New Zealand - they hate them! Throwing possums in NZ is second only to winning sailing races .

Well, here she is guys. Still some work to do but off on her first trip outside of the garage to get a hull identification number. The re-built trailer looks ugly but seems to work fine, so will do for now.

Thanks once again Pete. I was just yesterday thinking through the same question. I will see if this will work on Dragonfly 2.

No, that's just shade that looks like a stepped transom. My lovely wife doesn't claim to be a great photographer and got the tree et al in the shot. I will, however, take a pic of the transom area and post it. I have built the transom strong, from 3/8 ply, and have enclosed the ends of the seat back "tunnel" by continuing the transom up to that height. At the bottom panels I planed a chamfer and filled it with an epoxy and flox mix as I glassed the bottom. That way I could have a strong but sharp trailing edge on the bottom. Then, when I glassed the transom, I just carried it over the filler so that glass from the bottom and transom meet at the sharp edge. This should make for minimum trailing edge drag at the stern as well as resist damage to the ply structure.

Wow, you ARE a fast worker. Good luck with the project, your work looks neat and accurate.