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rmays

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Posts posted by rmays

  1. Go back to the basics- what do you plan to do on your boat, and with how many people, and in what kind of weather and seas.

    Then pick the hull that gives you this performance. The designers will help you.

    I favor finer entry and flatter stern sections, a boat that parts the chop and still has good fuel efficiency. That shape does not

    have to sacrifice seaworthiness when done properly.

    You'll not find a boat that does everything, so focus on your primary use.

    And have fun thinking about it.

    • Like 1
  2. 2005 CS 17 w/ 2012 sails (changed from sleeve to track and halyards) w/ aqua colored reaching sail. Deck and hull blu-glo white (Interlux), black bottom and boot stripe. Aluminum masts. Only sprits and tiller are varnished for low maintenance. Fitted w/ 3rd mast step and lazarette aft. Tons of storage space and all watertight hatches. Don't build a boat, this boat is ready for fun and adventure right now and I am ready to build he next "perfect" boat.

    This boat was class winner at Oriental NC boat show in April 2016 and has completed 4 watertribe.com NC Challenge races with a first in class when the wind blew! She handled will in 0 to 35 knots of wind and 70 miles of rowing.

     

    I am happy to take pictures and send them but don't know what you want to see, so ask.

     

    post-624-0-51311800-1472414070_thumb.jpgpost-624-0-70758500-1472414088_thumb.jpgpost-624-0-99410900-1472414119_thumb.jpg

  3. Rmays, please contact me in regards to mermaid

    Paul,

    I backed off on selling her and made some rig improvements this past year since the market was slow, but if you are looking for a boat we should talk.

    The Mermaid is finished work boat style- painted w/ very little brightwork. She's blue-glow white w/ a black bottom and a blue stripe w/ schools of minnows that's very hard to discern in pictures. I can send you a picture or two, or if you are planning to come to Beaufort to the Wooden boat show the first weekend in May, you can see her in person. My email is rmays52@yahoo.com if you wish to discuss further.

    I'm quite certain my wife would still press me for an EC22 or something that she could have a dry space for our overnights rather than the boom tent.

  4. "I love the ketch rig, though. What's amazing is how easily you can maneuver in close quarters under sail power along just by adjusting the trim of the main and mizzen. It's great on a starting line with sloops becuase you can just spin and spin and then take off."- From Mistermoon.

    I guess I just need to get you out there and watch or something- I'm so much more comfortable doing close quarter maneuvers in a small sloop rigged boat!

  5. 100 degrees sounds right for the CS17- that's about what I do, and she's competetive w/ other boats her size. A small jib might give her 2-3 degrees if the sailplan were adjusted to keep the balance, but where I've noticed the CS 17 needs help is off the wind in light conditions, against local boats in Beaufort that have large mains and small jibs and reach a bit faster in less than 8 knots. Above that, the CS has enough sail to leap ahead and not need reefing until 15 18 upwind and higher off the wind.

    If Mistermoon is like me and sailed sloops all his life, that's the big adjustment- to the ketch rig- and that's just practice, practice, practice. Overall, it's a much easier rig to sail but not without it's quirks. The main thing I've had trouble doing is getting away from a dock when the current is pushing towards the dock and the wind pushing towards the dock as well. In a 15' sloop, I have no trouble but can't get cat-ketch to get away in the same manner. I know it's a balance issue and the light bulb might click any day, but for now .....

  6. One set of reef points only, the condition is very good (about 150 hours on them). the sails are 2008 and are the original design ( straight leech, longer foot, short battens). i'm getting a higher roach, higher aspect set (more difficulty and techical to sail) cause I can't let go of my racing messing w/ trim roots. the original set are just to easy and relaxed to suit me, I guess. Actually, I was racing and Graham (the designer) sailed by us in his 22' boat and told me later if I was going to continue racing I needed the racing sails- so darn!

    Anyway, send me your email and I'll get you a set of pictures of these sails. rmays52@yahoo.com. Where do you sail in Seattle? I work for NOAA and go to Sand Pt. often.

    Sorry to not to respond more quickly, I had a virus last week and I'm now almost normal.....

  7. Their standard Spruce oars.

    8 ' 6 ", pictures available by email, $300.

    W/ leathers.

    Clear varnish.

    Selling to purchase longer set from Shaw and Tenney- these are ok for short (an hour or two or three) tours.

    Two of us rowed a CS17 for 7 hours at 3 mph once last year but to row these long distances easily requires longer oars for that boat, so time to upgrade.

    Shaw and Tenney make nice oars and paddles! We have 2 canoe paddles and are getting ready for another, and 2 oars.

  8. For sale - $ 400

    Main and mizzen for CS17 built by Omar sailmakers, Beaufort NC.

    Rigged for track w/ slugs.

    Top full batten, short second batten.

    Slightly hollow leech as per original sail plan.

    Reef points.

    Pictures available via email

    Selling to rig w/ high aspect racing sails.

    S

  9. To quote a young Laser sailor after we surfed into a finish in 2009 on CS17 #132 at the end of a race in NC, "I've never gone that fast and felt so in control- on a Laser you might have gone as fast but felt like you were on the verge of dumping every second". That young sailor is 3rd mate on a Maersk Freighter who stopped in for a few weeks at our port for some maintenance on their ship, a few weeks later they and their sister ship made international news off the coast of Somalia. Luckily, it was the sistership who made the headlines, not my young sailing friend.

    Congratulations on the beautiful build, and may you continue to make 12 knots and keep the crew smiling!

  10. Hi Neil,

    Sounds like great progress- I'm following along, not going to add much to the build stage as I'm a good rigger/repairer but not really a carpenter/builder. I'm now since the new year started (Happy New Year) going to get serious about the new mast and sail plan for #132, Mermaid, while at the same time take some Westlawn Classes and try to keep my wife happy by paddling more in little plastic kayaks (a good winter endeavor in eastern NC).

    Hope you're progressing at your anticipated pace and pleased with the result. So far, no one has tried to talk me out of super charging the Mermaid- one boat builder friend is still trying to have me cut her in half and pushing her out to 19'- I must say it's an intriguing thought but not something I'll tackle this winter. One project at a time!

    Cheers.

    R

  11. If green heron is no longer available, there is another CS17 available- owner's (me) wife wants me to build an EC22 (so who am I to complain).

    Mermaid is professionally built and locally rigged. Sailed since 2005; rig converted in 2010 from sleeved sails to tracks and halyards w/ new sails. Masts aluminum. Finished as a working boat all while with varnished tiller and sprits. I'd take $6500 on the trailer. Pictures available.

    • Like 1
  12. Trailer- My CS17 rides just fine (and has since 2005) on a trailer made for a 14' jonboat. There is almost 3' of boat hanging past the bunks, it would be easy to fix but there's no issues with the boat or the way it tows, and I've towed for 10 hours at a time.

    Motor- Get one and use it if you want- your tides are strong "way up North" so the comfort might get you on the water more often BUT don't forget to practice sailing or rowing to the dock and into the harbor JUST IN CASE the motor lets you down.

    Have you bought masts and sails yet? If not, would you be interested in purchasing my aluminum masts and sails? This sounds forward but let me explain. I was always a racer, and got the CS17 to cruise, thus outfitted it as a cruiser w/ the regular sails. But, I now race the boat and am putting together a plan for a taller, high aspect rig for better light air performance. Since you're a novice sailor the standard rig will perform just fine for you and we both benefit- Let me know if you might be interested- talk to Graham if you're concerned about buying "used" gear- and I can send pics if you're thinking about this. I might also be willing to just sell the masts w/out the sails or the sails w/out the masts.

    Anyhow, good luck w/ the build- it's a neat boat and you'll have lots of fun sailing.

    R.Mays

  13. Paul is right, we did have a fast sloop that didn't make the grade; neither did we.

    The boat, an 18 year old Vanguard 15, had a builder issues that never surfaced on this boat- the port side chainplate was not installed with a backing plate! In hundreds of hours of racing this never failed, but cracks in the deck around the aft screw head were new after the 35+ mph squall experienced in the Newport River so we thought discretion is the better part of valor and tossed in the towel.

    The other boat issue was our fault- the thimble at the jib tack bent because the halyard tension for the big beat up the Neuse in 20 knots was high and the wire luff lost about 1/2 the strands. We had no spare, a mistake, but we also didn't have the spool of high tech line we meant to carry to replace such a loss.

    The lack of enough sense to either train for hiking for 30 hours or slow down and not treat the race like a sprint is our own fault- both the skipper and I are used to multi-day regattas but the NCC is a different race. After 2 successful years of the NCUM 50 miler, we wanted to do the 100 but we didn't pace ourselves correctly and so had the boat been able, we definitely lost our enthusiasm and most likely would have holed up long enough for the other Class 4 to sneak by while we recovered from the beating up the Neuse. SO it goes.

    Next year, the CS17 again, but I've all winter for someone to talk me out of cutting her in half, adding 2-3 feet to the loa and a higher aspect rig- to make her into a svelt version of a CS20. She'll have less beam so more tender but faster? Stand by.

  14. Messing about was fun- too many things going on to stay long enough. Good to see Tom Lathrop there!

    I saw 7 CS17's and 1 20 and 8 different ways to rig a boat- kind of cool! So now off to the sailmaker for a tete et tete'.

    Messing about reinforced my wife's desire to move up to the EC22- she want's the cabin and thinks I need the speed- what a good wife!

  15. Thanks for the thoughts so far. I have a sailmaker standing by to make the changes I want- but wanted to see what's been done already and how it worked. I thought about hoops or cutting slots in the sleeve to allow the sail to be lowered, and also talked about gathering the reef forward against the mast but can't think how do that w/out having a really sloppy luff.

    Whoever's at messing about 2 in Maribel this weekend can give me more free advice :)

  16. OK guys,

    When I built Mermaid, we were just going to arm chair sail. But I've been a dingy racer (no puns please) for a while now and couldn't resist. Did a water tribe sprint race (NC Ultra Marathon) and now I'm thinking about more.

    Problem is, sleeved luffs! no battens! nothing led to the cockpit for sprit tension or luff tension or to reef! And, now that I think about the aluminum spars- they are great for low maintenance but terrible for letting the gusts spill off!

    So, what's a sailor to do. I'd appreciate all your suggestions on the simplest ways to change this to an adjustable rig that can reef easier w/out breaking the bank! I don't think I'm going to buy new sails. We thought to sell the boat, but we like her and this isn't the best selling time. My wife would still like to move up to a boat the size of the EC20 but I only want one boat at a time- so time to upgrade the Mermaid (although she's old enough now to be MerWoman).

    Cheers

  17. This boat is still available- not advertised anywhere else at this point. The workboat finish is low maintenance and doesn't require much tlc. simply rigged w/ not much to do except steer and enjoy the water. Wife still wants larger version to take more friends out.

    Come to NC and try her out!

  18. Professionally built by graduate of Maine Maritime Academy graduate. Workboat finish to reduce maintenance, aluminum masts, sprits and tiller are only varnished parts. Includes trailer. Completed in 2006. Off white decks and topsides, light grey cockpit, black waterline and bottom, blue accent stripe. Will email pictures but I couldn't get them to load on this site.

    Selling to build larger boat (or buy Sam Rogers' 20'er).

    Morehead City, NC 252 222 0434 rmays52@yahoo.com

  19. The 17 and 20 both sail really well. The 17 is more lively and quicker, the 20 more roomy and relaxed. The reasons to go to the 20 would mainly be you want to spend longer days in the boat and/or take more people w/ you. Otherwise, they're both very nice. We sail our boat in coastal NC waters, all kinds of wind, and never reef or worry about the boat getting us home. Both wet you a bit (the 17 worse) but both stay upright. Both my 17 and the borrowed 20 are aluminum masts w/ sleeved luffs- very quick to rig and easy to handle.

    Anyway, you'll be happy w/ either boat, and the cat ketch is a really nice rig- maybe not as fast upwind but probably faster at every other point of sail compared to sloop and cutter rigs- with much more civilized manners off the wind and less work on tacks.

    good luck w/ your search!

  20. I spent a few days the last month sailing a borrowed cs20- there is a lot of difference between that and my cs17. My wife now wants to "trade up". The 17 is livelier, a bit more tender, more responsive boat. The 20 is significantly  roomier, esp. for persons forward of the mizzen. We normally sail w/ 3-5 people on the boat and the cs20 is drier and more comfortable. I prefer sailing the 17 but w/ 5 people it's a bit cramped and wetter. If you want to camp or spend a few hours on the boat, you might prefer the 20. Also, even though the 17 has never come close to capsizing, it's much easier to put the rail down in a gust.

    Anyway, the reason we sailed the 20 is the owners are trying to sell. They spent a couple years building a great boat and now find themselves needing to sell her. So, in Morehead city NC there are two very nice core sounders for sale- our 17 so we can trade up, and a nice 20!

    Hope this helps, New Guy !

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