Joe Anderson

That is exciting news. Keep us posted. Best to you and Taylor and the new sailor!

Looks like you are off to a good start labeling the parts is a good idea. Building from a kit has a lot of advantages, but it does have one disadvantage. It is possible or rather inevitable that small errors will creep into your build. No matter how careful you are. If you are building from scratch it doesn't matter much. When it comes time to cut out your seat top you measure your boat and cut the seat tops out. If one side is a little wider than the other no one will know. When building from a kit it can be more of a problem because the seat tops are already precisely cut out. You can still deal with this problem but there is a easy way to minimize this issue. Before gluing any assembly dry fit it and then dry fit the next assembly or even two. This allows you to make any adjustments before you lock in any errors. Also you get to see how the boat is going to look. The first steps are critical because all the others are affected by them so take your time. Your boat name sounds great it is a nice way to honor someone. Lighter colors are better. Dark colors can get too hot when left in the sun. This can be uncomfortable and cause problems with the epoxy. Good luck. Have fun. Post pictures. or at least take them so you will have a record.

I don't care for the heat of June, July, August. Plus there are fewer bugs and fewer people in the off season, but those are personal preferences. October and November are good. Water temperature is warm, but the days start to become significantly shorter. Watch out for hurricanes. April and May are good. Water temperature especially early April is a significant safety concern. Lots of daylight hours. I like to have a plan B or a way to adapt my destinations and schedule to the particular weather that is occurring on my trip dates.

I think a trolling motor is a legitimate alternative, to the more sophisticated electric motors. I don't have any experience with trolling motors but I did a little research and it seemed to me you had to pay considerably more than a hundred to get a reliable motor that was designed to operate in a salt water environment. Anyway you can go really cheap or spend a $500 hundred or more for a trolling motor. You still need to source your battery if you go with a AGM battery you are talking about a significant amount of weight and some more cash. I am not saying which way is better, there are advantages and disadvantages. I debated the two approaches lithium battery/brushless DC vs trolling motor/lead acid. This is what caused me to go with the former. I have a software engineer neighbor he told me about a catamaran he built using two paddle boards a couple of lawn chairs with cup holders, a cooler and a trolling motor with AGM battery. He used this craft for relaxing on the lake that adjoins his house on summer evenings. The next year he told me he was unhappy with the performance of the trolling motor and was upgrading to a Torqeedo (note there is no u). He even offered to give me his trolling motor! Some how it no longer seemed right for my SKORPA to be equipped with a trolling motor. I know it is not rational but that is my story and I am sticking with it.

Don, Sounds like a great adventure. I have over the years done a number of trips along the coast north of Cape Lookout, including one multiday kayak trip form Harkers Island to Back Bay, which is near Virginia Beach. Usually I have sought out undeveloped areas. Practicing with your chosen equipment at a drive in campground is a great idea. Invest in a good quality tent, it is essential for it to keep you dry and keep out the bugs. You do not want jamming zippers or leaky seams. Sleeping on the boat has its advantages but if you can not make your sleeping arrangement free of bugs it is a problem. Sleeping ashore with a good quality tent it is easier to manage the bugs, plus you get to stretch your legs and see the sights. There were some places it was difficult to find a piece of dry ground suitable for setting up a tent. I prefer early Spring or late Fall trips. Though I am fond of traditional navigation techniques, dead reckoning, taking bearing etc, they are not terribly practical on a small boat. Add to that there are some stretches of the Pamlico Sound that are relatively featureless, or many of the features look similar, so even if using traditional navigation I like to have my GPS to back me up. Actually I navigate almost exclusively with my GPS and take a bearing, and mark on a paper chart now and then just for fun. In my memory during daylight hours the bulk of the mosquitos stay in the shrubs, so if you keep to open ground you are relatively safe. As dusk approaches it is a different story. Some of my more difficult times were when I was unable to find a tent site until nearly dark. I have been toying with the idea of sailing the North Carolina Challenge route sometime this Spring doing in several days the course that Alan did in 26 hours.

Super! Let us know if you have any questions. Joe

Thanks for the detailed write up. Lots of lessons we can all learn from. I have a list of things that must be done before getting underway though it is tempting when the weather is nice or I am in a hurry to skip or forget some of them. I suspect you know but I have found that if I miss a tack it helps to loosen the mizzen a little. That makes it easier to use the main to push the bow out of the wind. Also if the mizzen is out a little the boat accelerates more quickly. Then if you want to be close hauled you can snug up the mizzen as you pick up speed. I often use the mizzen sheeted in tight to heave to, and when getting underway the first thing I do is loosen the mizzen. That has helped train me to be attuned to how the mizzen is sheeted and its affect on the boat. I am glad to hear you were able to make some adjustments and get back to the joys of sailing.

Randy, I am interested in hearing about your experience with the EP carry. Their web site does not seem to carry a lot of info. From what I can gather the Torqeedo and the Epropulsion both have a similar design and about 3 times the battery capacity. The Torqeedo gives you some data such as estimated range, speed, and power consumption. Some of that is not all that useful and the display can be difficult to read. It does beep at you when you reach 30% battery capacity and I think it may cut out at 20%. The EP Carry's light weight is definitely a plus in some situations. Does it give you any indication of state of charge. Do you know what kind of motor it has brushed or brushless? Is the motor mounted vertically and does it directly drive the shaft?

During my recent test of my Torqeedo 1103 at the lake there was a significant amount of flotsam. One piece struck the motor shaft, tilting the motor up and cavitating the prop and I think striking the prop before floating off. I stopped the motor checked for damage and then continued on. On closer examination at home I saw a line across one blade that I thought was a stress fracture. That made me start to wonder if a side mounted motor was at greater risk of striking floating debris than a transom mounted motor. Upon closer examination I noticed that the mark on the prop blade could be wiped away and that there was no obvious damage to the prop. However I had already begun to revisit the idea of transom mounting the motor. Skorpa is in need of a decent reboarding ladder and I am considering the possibility of a transom mounted combination motor mount/ folding boarding ladder. Theoretically the Torqeedo will spend most of its time in the lazarette making the motor mount available to be used as a boarding ladder. The side mount makes installing the motor while underway easier because I have the lazarette blocking my access to the transom. No I will not permanently mount the motor. I absolutely refuse. Yes it is a little impractical but, I want to have the motor stored away while sailing.

That is a cool trick. I will make a note of it and be on the look out for a place to use it. When I was deciding to build a Spindrift I spent a while debating whether to build the S10 or the S12. I almost went with the 12 because of the extra room making sailing with a passenger more practical. I have found that if you are moving from sailing a larger boat sailing the Spindrift takes some adjusting. Whether you face forward or aft during a tack, how you switch the tiller and sheet in your hand and the placement of the mainsheet all needed to be coordinated. Not so much when the wind is light but more so as it picked up. Best of luck with your adventure and thanks for all the shop tips and tricks.

I think you may be on to something Steve. I have had various sail rigs on my canoe and kayaks. You are right you can get lured into more complexity for less and less gain if you are not careful. Keep the boat light and simple. I know the Watertribers use small sails on their canoes and kayaks if you want to purchase something. I think they have a class for sails 1 square meter or less, but you could also make the rig yourself. I used to know this fellow that swore by an umbrella as a downwind sail on his kayak. I have always thought a small kayak type rudder was a good addition. Alan had a really cool rudder on his sailing canoe. I have sailed using my paddle as a rudder but having a dedicated rudder frees your hands up for important things like enjoying a beverage or taking photos. If you plan on downwind sailing you can keep the rig simple and just use your paddle for returning upwind. The Moccasin 14 looks like a very sweet boat and I am sure it would paddle upwind with ease.

Pete Just curious why you decided to move your mainsheet cleat.

John Looks like your build is coming along well. Have made some modifications to the stock design. Perhaps some with your plan for coastal cruising in mind. I wonder if you could walk us through a few of the highlights. Am I seeing a foiled daggerboard slot? Are you going with the third step method for reefing? Also that looks like a large raised rear deck. Forgive me if I am mistakenly seeing things in the photos. Also I am only casually familiar with the CS17 but I admire the boat and think it fills a wonderful size niche not too small, not too big, just about right.

I was interested to hear your story Ken. How our goals and ideals change. I do not want to push too hard but I am thinking that if you are advising someone who is new to sailing that it would be reasonable to present rowing as an option for an auxiliary in a small boat rigged for sailing such as a Spindrift. I think many people would be happy to row a kilometer or so. Some people like my wife Sally, bless her heart, seem to enjoy rowing. Here is a clip of her dragging us up Rabbit Key Pass against the tide. Rowing Rabbit Key Pass The Spirit Plus and the Torqeedo 1103 are similar. I decided to go with the Torqeedo even though it is more expensive because I could purchase it from someone I know, Alan at BandB Yacht Designs. Arrived four days after I ordered. Torqeedo makes an ultra light series that is designed to attach to the rear of a kayak that I think would be large enough to power a Spindrift. My goal is to carry the motor stored away while sailing and deploy the motor only if wanted. I believe the Torqeedo disassembles to a smaller package and thus is slightly easier to store. I don't think this approach is workable on a boat as small as a Spindrift. The battery weighs about 13 lbs The motor about 25 lbs. I want to mount the motor with minimum modifications to the boat. Plan A was to mount the motor on the transom but when I picked up the motor it seemed much heavier than I anticipated and the thought of leaning over my wide rear deck while underway seemed unworkable. So I decided to go for a side mount. I don't have Pete's engineering and design skills so I have no idea if this is going to work. I just now noticed that the 1103 can produce 70 lbs of thrust on the 2 1/2 foot shaft resulting in 175 foot pounds of thrust on my motor mount. We have to throw in a safety margin so my mount and side deck have to withstand 250 foot pounds. I have no idea if that number is correct or how to design to meet it. I just felt my way along and worked things out as I built it and am hoping for the best. It survived its first test in calm conditions. I do not think I have the motor mounted deep enough as I have some cavitation above 3.5 knots. This disappears if the boat is healed about 10 degrees. The cavitation seems to form on the trailing edge of the shaft and flows back to the prop. Maximum speed was 5.4 knots and our range was about 10 nm. There were three of us onboard for about 500lbs. The motor mount is attached over and bolted through the oarlock.

Just to be clear I am talking about the situation where you have a small boat rigged and intended primarily for sailing and you want to choose an auxiliary. My opinion is that oars do not necessarily take a back seat to a motor either electric or IC. And that the smaller the sailboat the more the advantage goes to the oars. By the way I am glad that Mr Finnegan is holding the line because I have begun to do some serious research.

There has been and there will always be a debate among sailors about whether a motor is a necessary piece of equipment or an abomination, but on a Spindrift 10 set up for sailing, Really? When I was building my EC22 I was gifted a small two stroke by my neighbor who was upgrading to a 4 stroke Honda after the banger had balked at starting a couple of times. Part way through the build for a variety of reasons but in part Graham's example I abandoned the idea of hanging a motor on the transom. Ironically by the time I launched SKORPA Graham and a good bit of the BandB community (not without justification) were enthralled with the mk3s and there was a small Suzuki hanging on Carlita's transom. Nevertheless my course had been set and for eight years and thousands of miles I have sailed my EC22 in all manor of conditions. I have never been in what I would call real trouble because of my reliance on wind and oars and wit. I have been inconvenienced on occasion. There was the time off the coast of Florida I had to rise before dawn and weigh anchor off Pavillion Key surrounded by thousands of stars in order to reach the mouth of Lostman's River in time to ride the Flood tide up to the bays of the Wilderness Waterway. Another time I was forced to sail under the predawn stars out of Cape Poge Bay as I made my crossing from Chappaquiddick Island to Nantucket. There have been times when I have had to take a nap while I waited for the tide to turn or the wind to shift. One time I even had to jump out of the boat and push off a lee shore and claw away under oars until I could get under sail. Perhaps a motor with its prop buried in the mud could have gotten me off that shore but I don't think so. A Spindrift rows so well. Learning to sail is a gift and an art. I think learning to row is just as much of an art and gift. I would say sail if you can, row if you cannot and motor if you must, but on a Spindrift, Really?

The photo does not have a lot of contrast, but it is amazing how much the rub rail and toe rail have narrowed down the hull. That sheer strake looks about right. By the time you put your color scheme on Flinders I think we will have a real beauty on our hands both inside and out.

I just got home from a visit to Mississippi to see Mathew Flinders 246. Thank you Jay and Carol for giving me an opportunity to see your boat. I was glad I could help with the turn. Lifting from the U bolts set at the balance points of the boat worked like a charm. Amazing how we could turn the boat and keep it under control. So inspiring to see your progress. Thank you for your gracious accommodations, sweet potato tort, homemade pizza, risotto, blueberry cobbler made with homegrown blueberries. Thanks as well for the chance to demo your sailrite sewing machine and the tour around town in your Ural sidecar. I sure wish I had gotten a photo!

Chick, That is not a mask! That blue face covering is called a buff. Outdoor adventure types have been wearing them for years. A buff or some kind of full face covering is especially useful if you go from mostly indoor work to suddenly spending 24 hours out in the elements. Saves chapped lips and fried nose.

That is a super video. Thanks for taking it and putting the video together. I don't think it is easy to make a craft that paddles well and sails well. You seem to have designed a nice balance that paid off. Not to mention the operator can also paddle as well as he sails. You spoke of modifying the amas to create less rooster tail and drag at low speed. I was wondering if it would work to make a temporary addition that would round off the stern of one ama. Then you could change tacks and see if you could detect a difference.

Oops, Well it was still a heck of a run. The license plates should have clued me in, that must be Mrs Mac's Kitchen in Key Largo.

Captured this photo from facebook. It looks like he is having breakfast with Dawn and Paul at a restaurant in Oriental. Alan looks perhaps a tiny bit tired. I don't know how that is possible. Alan just paddled sailed his ESC around 100 miles in 24 hours or so?

Congratulations on the build. Thanks for letting us know, it is inspiring because not everyone can finish their boat quickly. It almost looks like your trailer could use a bow roller.

It looks like I can see Alan on the tracking map. He is just coming out of the Harlowe Canal heading toward Beaufort.

I don't think I got to meet you at the Messabout. Some of the socializing was limited due to Covid restrictions. Still it is possible to miss people because so much is going on. There are always plenty of experienced hands willing to help with launching and retrieving boats. Helping each other is what the Messabout is about. I hope to see you next time.