Joe Nelson CS#35

Gary, I doubt that the PPI is quite that high...Maybe Graham knows off the top of his head. Princess 22 is 498# and the Belhaven is 394#. So somewhere inbetween I would assume. 425# seems like a good guess. But your estimate via math is pretty close. Thanks for the ideas. I bet the boat would be rock stable with that much weight in it. I kinda worry about the force on the masts with that much ballist in a hard wind. I guess that you could ease the sails to let out some more wind and be conservative about pushing the boat.

I am going to a group messabout in the San Juan's in just over a month. My wife and I have 3 kids (still at home, 3 others off to college etc.). Based on the Coast Guard formula, you can get 11 people in a Core Sound 20. :roll: Again based on this formula, we 5 equal 5.17 people. With gear for camping is it reasonable to load my boat with the 5 of us and head 18 miles into the San Juan Islands? We will be going over as a group and will have power boats along as well. I am just wondering if I should try to get some people and gear on other boats? If there is no wind, my 4 horse kicker will probably push us pretty slow! By the way, it pushes me alone at a planing speed.

Well, it took a while and some begging to get a picture...but here is a pic of my first sail with "Blue By You". Not much wind this day, but enough at its peak to give me an idea of the boats potential. With this pic, I can see that I had too much down-hual at the time. Something I didn't see when sailing the boat. I knew that I had the mizzen sprit too high on the mast. I have corrected that.

I am ignorant as to the use of streamers as a wind direction indicator. Are they reasonably effective? Do you buy them or make them? Have not seen any on the web for sale. What kind of material is best to use? With the sleeve luff there is not much room to mount a modern wind indicator on the top of the mast.

Speed is relative...In all my comments about wishing to go faster/higher, I was doing laps around the other small boats on the lake. Only the PHRF boats were going faster. With their 150% jibs they were able to ghost along better during periods of very low wind. But when the wind picked up, I could hold my own with them too. Low wind sucks! I rigged for my stays'l yesterday. Will use it next time I encounter similar low winds. I also re-rigged some of my original rigging for quicker and more safe hoisting and doucing of the sails (sleeve luff means more difficult and time consuming issues to de-power the boat). I put snaps for instance on the blocks on the droppers. Now I leave the block on the main sheet and just clip it to the dropper. After verifying that the sprit attachment to the mast locations was good, I put pad eye's on the mast (with screws) and snaps for that connection too.

Sounds like shortening my droppers off of the tips of the sprits won't be necessary. I was thinking that they were keeping me from getting the sails close into the centerline of the boat. Boats always point better as the speed increases. In low wind I was much more than 90 degree tacks...maybe more like 120? Didnt take any readings, just from visual. I think that there was not enough wind to feel like I could ease up to wind and keep a reasonable speed. The boat started feeling right when on a beam reach. I just like to go fast. :shock: Wind was only 3-5 with gusts to 8 MPH.

Doesn't look much different than my canoe project. What is the size of your strips you will be using (on the real boat). Bigger than my 1/4 x 7/8 I bet.

I am wondering what you all have found is the best sail set for pointing? I assume you want to pull the sails tight with the sheets...what about the snotter and downhaul? How should the leech and foot lines be adjusted?

I finally got to sail my CS 20. She is fast on a reach! I clocked 6.9 mph as my fastest speed with GPS. Wind was not very strong...I would love to have had some bigger winds. She is sure footed and feels very stable. Most of my experience with sailboats is with keelboats. They have more mass and they power through tacks with more speed. Not sure if that is the nature of a light boat or if there is a trick to keeping your speed up? The boat is very well balanced. Noted that I could let go of the tiller most of the time...would slowly round up to wind if anything. I have some friends that are getting me some pictures. It is hard to take pictures of your own boat when sailing. Hopefully by tomorrow.

You think you are about done and there are a million little details to do. The home stretch does seem long! The boat is looking great! I cant wait to see it on the water.

I understand about having to move the tack and backstay. Does anyone have a picture of the block attachment via mizzen pennant? The rigging for the stays'l is a bit illusive. This weekend is going to be full of sailing! We have a messabout all weekend on a lake that has an Olympic racing course and has hosted many national sailing events.

What are you guys doing with the business end (sheet) for the staysail? Seems that is should come to the aft end of the boat before turing to your hand. Are you using a block? Seems kinda hard to cumbersome to load a block after tacking or jibing. On simular shaped sails (asymmetrical spinnaker) we use a double sheet...but thats not going to work with having to douse and re-deploy around the mizzen.

I am also working on towing issues with our motorhome. Should prove interesting towing and launching with a 34' motorhome that we have nick-named, "The Incredible Bulk". I think I am going to use a rope to launch...to keep the motorhome off of the steep ramp and so I can see the boat while launching...Tie it to the front bumper. :shock:

Brent, Status has not changed. We have a messabout on the 20th & 21st of this month and will get her well broken in. I will give a report early in the week of the 22nd.

Lots of screws and clamps should pull in the gap.

Any pics of your nifty new steppers? Check the height of the downhaul cleat on your mast...When I stepped into the 3rd hole I found that mine was too low and the mast would not go all the way down into its hole on the keel batten.

I fiberglassed the floor of my boat, so I also ran a piece along the top of the keel plank. It is not structural...simply to keep it from checking and add a bit of non skid to the bottom surface. I didn't fill the weave any more than necessary to wet out the glass. Has a nice textured feel to it. I kinda like it as a non skid surface. I would consider it on the decks of a larger boat. It is painted.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR...that doesn't help :evil: Well OK, it looks like you had a great day Maybe I can do the same next weekend. Looks like you were really screaming!!! :shock:

You think the suspense is killing you...what about me? I had butterflies in my stomach all day friday in antisipation. Its going to be at least another week now before I can try it again. But thanks for the concern and interest. At least I got through some rigging details and learned that I needed to raise the height of the jam cleat for the mizzen downhaul in order to step the mast in the reef hole. I really think I need the sail tracks and ability to reef!

Went out yesterday with a group of 5 other messabouters with the intent of sailing my Core Sound 20. It was a nice sunny morning...wind at 4knots gusting to 6. After we all got in the water the wind started picking up and the rains came. It started blowing 16 with gusts to 28. We waited under a shelter hoping that the squal would blow through. After 3 hours it stopped raining but the wind did not slow...so we packed up and went home. Still have not sailed my new boat :cry:

I agree, you need some wire. Also, the wood will take shape to the bending and you should be able to tighten it up more after a day or two. Have you ever put a piece of plywood up against the wall to have it warp? Then you lay it down and it still stays warped. Your hull is doing the same thing now. But it probably will take some wire...rebar type wire available at most hardware stores will work fine. Just dont fillet it in...tab around it with thickended epoxy. Pull out the wires and finish your fillet. Otherwise you might not get the wires out. You dont want to leave them in because they can wiggle out and compromise the hull. Ties can just be cut off without problems. Just twist the wires with pliers. Tighten each one a little at a time until you pull in the gaps.

Thanks for the kind words. It is exciting and I can't wait for the first day of sailing! One thought...with sleeve luffs, do I need to worry about the sprits falling out of the pockets at the aft end of the sails? Do you tie the sprit ends in, in combination with the block attachment (with the droppers) or is there enough rearward force to keep them in place (even when the sail is set with a lot of draft)? Also...When doucing the main, is it best to lower the sprit with the snotter and then pull the sprit from the rear pocket? I've never dealt with a sail that doesn't have a halyard and tracks to lower the main. Obviously the sails cannot come down without removing the masts. This will help with final cut length for the snotter line. Do you guys put stopper knots in the sheets and snotter?

My boat hit the water for the first time on Saturday. This was really the first time she got wet. No chance for a pre-christening sea trial. She rides high (barely wetting the chines at all) cuts through waves with amazing stability and ease. Very smooth ride! My only regret is that I was not able to get the sails up. We had 30 knot winds and it is a very small harbor. Besides, I was not comfortable with my first try in front of hundreds of people at a boat show. The weather was GREAT, other than windy. First dry weekend of the year. We had 70 boats at this years event...most ever for us. We christened 10 boats this year with Champagne and a bagpipe player in full garb dress. Very nice ceremony with lots of people in attendance. The Christening Princess was on the end of a dock with the bagpipe player on a boat. We passed between and the Princess threw champagne from a glass over the bow. A couple of the smaller boats crew were spashed as well. Fortunately, the CS 20 proved long enough to outwhit even the 30 knot winds.

Thanks Jeff. I am looking for a solution that requires less rigging. I may have to result to your solution though. I am thinking of a sewn nylon strap of sorts, that would slip over the top of the mast with the block attached???

Can someone give me a visual on the attachment of the halyard block on the top of the mizzen WITH SLEEVE LUFF sails? With the nylon strap going over the mast top, I am having a diffucult time deciding how to attach it. Should it be located fore/aft? I am wondering if some kind of nylon strap would be a good idea (like for attaching the snotter)...since screws going into the plywood plug might not hold real well under high stress. My CS20 is loaded on the trailer and heading for the Depot Bay Wooden Boat Show this weekend. Working on last minute details. There is nothing like a deadline to get your boat done! I will get some good pics and post after the show. She is being blessed in a ceremony along with other new boats. Jamie Orr is coming from Victoria BC and will play his bagpipes during the ceremony. I'll bet with Graham's recent victory at Watertribe that the boat will get a lot of attention.