High Altitude

Thinking about building a Belhaven 19 and was wondering......... Any ideas on how to use and access all the space under the galley top closed off by the center board? Any specific use other than general storage?

For the CS17 MK3 how much sitting headroom above the berth is there? and how high is top of berth to the cabin sole? No doubt this is going to be a very popular plan.

Thanks for the update.

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your project. Here is an article for further research on building an icebox. http://209.20.76.247...ldingicebox.pdf

I am not so sure about this guys. The sheer lines look a lot different. Maybe a Princess 19 with a Belhaven accommodation layout would work. New design maybe?

I just saw Gman's Belhaven thread. His cabin looks fantanstic. I really like the look of the Princess. Do you guys think it would be possible (and look good of course) to put a princess style cabin on a Belhaven? I wish I was able to do a quick sketch of some kind on the computer to see how it would look. I tried to print out the boat from the website and draw it in but I gave up, I have no drawing talent. :-(

1. I am planning on taking an OB. 4. I have looked into this and I think the best way to go is with Wag Bags. Costs could add up but I believe easier to deal with compared to a porta potti. 5. The more people I talk to the more I am hearing that I really need a boat with a cabin. It is starting to make me second guess my choice and I am looking at other designs including Belhaven and others like it. No final decisions made yet. Thank you for your comments.

I know a bigger boat would be better but I have to be able to build it in my garage (standard 2 car and I don't think the wife is going to give up her side :-) ) and I am trying to keep things simple and quicker to build.

I am not too (of course some) worried about not having a permanent cabin. My adventure for next summer is to backpack the Colorado Trail (500 miles from outside of Denver to Durango). I have a ton of experience backpacking. When I backpack I only take a tarp, no tent, it actually works better overall. When raining there is no waiting it out (unless no other choice), you wear the proper clothes and march on. I know it is going to be different traveling by boat but I don't think a permanent cabin is needed, but I don't have the experience yet to back it up. I am thinking that with the bench storage, dry bags and a dodger I should be OK. Even if everything is wet and raining when stopping for the night it shouldn't be much different than when I backpack. You setup the tarp (dodger/boom tent) first to prevent further rain from coming down on you. Then you have an environment underneath with no more rain to get out of your wet clothes and get dry stuff out of your pack (bench storage). You use a dry ground sheet over the ground (sleeping platform) so that you can lay down on something dry. I could also bring a bivy sack to further protect my sleeping bag.

There are definitely some passages that have fast moving water depending on the time of the day. No matter how big your sailboat is, if it can't go faster than the current (even under power), you have picked the wrong time of the day to go through. You must have up to date info on tides/currents and know how to use it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B3sd0XRFBE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

Hi guys, I am thinking about building a CS17, going up to Seattle, dropping her in the water and heading NW until it is time to turn around and travel back. I figure about 2 months time for the trip. I have no idea how far I would get but that doesn't really matter much. I would add a fabric dodger/boom tent setup, but other than that I want to keep the boat mostly to plan, simple etc.... Do you think the CS17 would be a good design and capable for the waters/trip? Sean

If you wait weeks for the perfect weather window lots of boats would make it. I am looking for something that can take some weather and has the performance/design/scantlings etc.... to be on the safer side of the equation when the seas kick up a little. I do realize that the skipper plays the biggest part but the boat does to. Hopefully Graham sees the post and gives an opinion.

I have the plans for paradox but it is basically for one person only. Once you start looking at the plans you notice there are lots of small details in the design that are geared towards cruising. The boat that David & Mindy Bolduc have (little cruiser) is slightly larger but plans aren't available. They sure have some great pics.

Would Belhaven be suitable for crossings of the gulf stream to the Bahamas? After I build my spindrift I am planning on building a small, 16'-19' coastal cruiser for two people with min. accomodations. Enough to sleep, sit and storage for a porta potti is all I really need. The boat must be trailerable with shallow draft capabilities. Belhaven seems to fit but I noticed in the webpage that Belhaven only has a positive righting moment to 80deg. I am planning on trailering it and cruising to the San Juans, Catalina Island, Bahamas etc.... Would Belhaven be suitable for this?

I checked and straight lumber does have marine ply but only Fir. 1/4" 46.90 a sheet 3/8" 59.26 a sheet From what I have read, fir marine ply is not that great. I couldn't get a hold of intermountain and the others don't have marine ply but plenty of spruce, teak and other lumber etc.... I wouldn't mind having it shipped in if I was building a larger boat but when you only need 4-5 sheets it gets really expensive.