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OK… the two mast floats are done!! I will name the red one Bruce (for my late brother.) It will ride on the mizzen mast of Norma T. The yellow one, yet unnamed, will ride on my newly purchased boat, Avocet. I’m asking my three grandkids to name the yellow one. I planned to let them name both of the floats, but as I got the color on the red one I began wanting to use my brother’s name, Bruce. If you know the movie Finding Nemo you might remember the friendly shark, Bruce, who led the “Fish are Friends, Not Food” support group. Yup, my family thought about my brother, Bruce, when they saw that part of the movie. (Film Clip:) And the funniest experience we had of watching Finding Nemo was on a Disney Cruise, watching the movie in the large theater with hundreds of kids… what a gas. My kids had chipped in together and surprised my wife and me with airfare and the cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary… (AND their being grown up and able to gift us in this way… I’m starting to think about another Disney adventure when my wife and I treat everyone for our 50th.) And the best part of the cruise is that they ALL came WITH US on the cruise!! It was the best gift we’ve ever received. The funniest part of watching the movie happened at the end, when the great pathos moment occurs, making the theater all somber and quiet and sad… and a four year old cries out, “DON’T WORRY, HE’LL BE OK!!!” The mom replied, “Spoiler alert, sorry.” Nemo is dying… and the audience is splitting-gut laughing. A great moment I’m enjoying skiing right now… but I find myself thinking about using my three new boats (Norma T, Joe, and Avocet) as I head up the chairlift. Usually I’m alone, but a friend joined me a couple days ago. Cheers!

I guess you need more planning.

Just to remind myself… this is last April. Hopefully in this coming April both will be ready for usage. Joe needs to have controls installed (the marina will do this in the next month or so) and then I need to finish the boat with the floor/seats installation and top decks And to add to the boating fun this year, I also bought Avocet in November, putting it right into storage. Avocet meets Norma T in storage.

So, I’m in Chicago’s IKEA a few weeks ago with my wife and daughter when I walk by a bin with those big 99 cent shopping bags… in PINK. Yep, I think The Weezer needs to have a pink bag to hold her life jackets (for herself and friends ) along with some snacks and such when she heads out for an afternoon of sailing next summer. How could I resist? So, some time today I will head over with it and check out her painting. It’s been a few days and I’m guessing she’s getting close to having the pink paint where she wants it (3 coats on top of 3 coats of primer.) The next step will be adding a few white stripes and the brightwork for some contrast. Oh, and the magazine in the background… this morning I’m reading my first copy of Small Craft Advisory, featuring Steve’s Core Sound in the cover.

For what it’s worth (I more or less said this above)… I really enjoyed the quick and efficient building of my CS15 from the kit. More, however, I enjoyed having time for sailing it even in my first year of retirement. And, since my new acquisition Avocet has only been in storage since my purchase, I’m anticipating a LOT of sailing this coming year, and especially to broaden my sailing experiences to a bunch of other Wisconsin lakes… and perhaps a couple of the Great Lakes. I’m glad you were able to connect directly with Alan. Whatever you decide to do… Enjoy!

About all I’m doing these days is to walk across the street to look at what The Weezer’s been doing, and to take a picture of her progress. It’s 8:30 am, I finally dressed and ate some breakfast. She already sanded the hull and nearly finished applying a second coat of primer. Clearly the morning schedules of an active high school kid are different from a retired guy. This is where things are as I “interrupted” her morning work. Edit: 15 minutes later, The Weezer sent me this : Now, having done all my morning “work”, I am going skiing. ⛷

I just bought a Core Sound 17 Mark 3, hull number 6, an early build named Avocet. Because I got it in November and brought it to Wisconsin it went right into storage and I only explored it for a couple hours at my son’s house. This is Avocet’s story with me so far: I am 6’5” as well. (Again, I was only in the cabin for a few minutes so my experience is very limited.) The headroom was… OK… and I can tell that I will need to get used to moving around in ways that avoid my head meeting the bulkheads. But, I did lay down on a bunk to see how I fit. I believe that I will be quite comfortable sleeping and stretching out… there is a LOT of space aft of the “end” of the bunk (under the seats) for storage… and legs. It seems to me that some modifications were made to provide more head room in subsequent Mark 3 plans. Check with B&B about headroom numbers. Alan did a great overview of Graham’s CS17 Mark 3 at A number of builders in this forum have done a great job of documenting their Mark 3 builds and questions which arose. I built a Core Sound 15 from B&B’s FULL kit that included all parts accurately cut that fit together perfectly. Epoxy, glass cloth, rigging and sails were part of the kit. The price, I thought, was very reasonable and seems to be considerably less than other kits I’ve seen. I’m not sure how much more the kit cost than the actual cost of the high quality materials B&B uses for their kits. With the kit approach, I had the boat in the water in 3 months (without sails… the shutdown slowed the sail order). I have the satisfaction of assembling a well built boat by using the kit and studying Alan’s video series. If you’ve not seen the 20 videos check them out. It is WHY I decided to go with B&B Yachts and a Core Sound 15. (First video link on this page.) https://bandbyachtdesigns.com/core-sound-15-plans/ This is my build blog for Norma T: Alan has assembled a list of builds with links to builders’ blogs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT1R3As1Yb5QnI4u8--O5NTlJ-4BA37E68n0ofQhhsxFVAAHtuAiY7FDI0dJvZTNtGr_5PhK3u3cPmF/pubhtml?gid=1922175428&single=true Finger joints were the first thing I needed to do in my build and, while doing any task for the first time feels intimidating, I followed the process in the videos and plans and the finger joints made very effective and solid joints. I don’t see finger joints as a feasible thing to cut accurately with a hand saw. I built a ski boat in 2021 from plans only and used butt joints for the side and deck pieces. I bought my plywood and solid wood from B&B and had a scarfs cut onto the ends of a few 9mm plywood pieces to make the joints for the bottom planking. Finger joints would have been more effective, I think. I encourage you to give strong consideration to a kit for a Mark 3 build. Time savings is significant and parts are perfectly accurate to allow for your own quality build. Shipping might not be as high as you think. I decided to pick up the kit myself rather than arranging for shipping I enjoyed making the trip to North Carolina to meet the B&B people and ask a ton of questions. Graham and Alan spent a few hours with me providing information and verbal assistance.

The Weezer has painted the inside to her satisfaction but the paint needs more time to harden. As I write it’s -1 degrees and heading down for the night. There is some heat in the garage so we’ll see how things are in the morning. We cut some boards for the building form that can be used to support the boat when we flip it, hopefully tomorrow morning. Just for fun, she placed the missing seat, trunk, and deck pieces to see what it will look like. I think it is looking great. (Gunwales will be white, not taped blue .)

A Way to Anchor : a “Clothesline” I spotted this on an article (Click Here) by a lady in New Zealand about the Nesting Spindrift 10 she built. I am posting her approach to anchoring away from shore (or dock) so I don’t forget about it. It looks clever and I might find it useful. I’ve come up with a similar idea but not with a loop. This approach could be more effective, and it could bring in a boat bow first.

The Kid is Charging Ahead I didn’t even check in with The Weezer yesterday. When I did so last night she was at Lowes getting some supplies. I stopped in this morning with my small can of anti-slip compound for the sole and she had already finished the third coat on the seats and sides. She added a bit more red to make the paint a tad darker. (Mixing the compound into some pink paint to add coats to the sole.) Notice how I’m not doing anything? With on-line school this week (and possibly next) we’ll likely flip the hull soon so she can complete the painting. Maybe she’ll install the middle pieces (she left them bright finished) before flipping.

There must be some creative approaches to a quick and easy lowering of masts. The mizzen is easier and a snap, I’d think, with a tabernacle. I’d think the main would be a little more challenging to bring down in control. Graham and Alan must have some safe strategies of lowering the masts for bridges. One brain thought I’ve had on this… connecting together the ends of extra halyards from each mast, using the line off the raised mizzen to help lower the main mast (catch if it gets away?) and then the mizzen should be an easier process. Another brain thought… some sort of counterbalancing spring or bungee in the bottom of the tabernacled main mast connecting to the inside of the anchor well to take some of the “weight” of the mast as it’s lowered. Hmmmmm. And, a mast float might give another edge of security against turtling. I’m just finishing two of them, one for each of my Core Sounds. Another thought for a retired guy from a newly retired guy… I’ve already built two boats since 2020, but now I’m much more interested in playing with them during my summer time than dealing with a lot of epoxy and dust. The CS15 build was quick, doing it from a kit… about three months. The ski-boat is a longer process (almost done), doing it from plans only. I enjoyed both, but I think I’m done… mostly. Buying Avocet rounds things out for me. Besides, my wife was gracious about leaving her car outside for my two builds… AND cleaning up from the dust. I think she’s done with that. SO, I offer encouragement to you to build from a kit if possible.

Dnjost, Here’s the thread created last September by Andy B in which both Graham and Alan offer the intriguing information about the SR20: By the way, the photo is my daughter, her husband, my two sons and a grandkid trying out Norma T for the first time. I think it came in here because it’s the first photo on the thread. Be sure to click on the link on Graham’s post to see a really great set of construction photos on the prototype build of the SR20. The photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/74WXsZVnrM9mAXkv9 And, of course, if intrigued, contact B@B.

Dnjost, I’ve read some of your stuff in the forum and have enjoyed your contributions. If a cabin isn’t as important as people space, I understand that B&B is about ready to offer a new variation on the Core Sound 20 using Mark3 features (water ballast, centerboard to the side of the cockpit, motor well, self-draining cockpit (I think), two tabernacles, etc.). It’s being called SR20, I think. (SR is for self-righting… isn’t THAT a cool feature?) An aspect that really intrigued me about SR20 is the open cockpit. My CS15 (Norma T) has carried 4-6 adults in the open cockpit (lake sailing) and I like all the room available in a 20 foot version of Core Sound. (I note that some have added a dodger to open boats for a bit of spray protection.) I was ready to buy plans for SR20 when available and build it from a kit that I believe is either available or just around the corner. Then, I encountered Avocet being for sale and I bought it (CS17 Mark3 number 6 hull). It when right into storage and I haven’t experienced it yet. I will find the forum posts about the SR20 from Alan and add it to another post. You might really like what it offers. I bring this up here because of your concern about raising and lowering masts. An open cockpit CS20, in the new Self-Righting version, might make the process easier than with a Mark3 with a cabin. In the SR20 there is no centerboard trunk in the middle of the forward cockpit area (ease of movement) and there is a tabernacle for each mast.

(Be sure to check The Weezer’s most recent post at the bottom of the previous page — she added it this morning and THIS post forced a new page.) —————————————————— She’s Working Well — Starting the Inside Topcoats The high School shut down for 10 days. I heard there are over 400 infections and many staff are sick (unsure if the number is correct but the problem is significant.) On-line classes for the next week but this might give The Weezer time to move her boat toward completion. Three coats of primer, sanding and surface-wiping make things ready for topcoat paint. She intends that the eventual white on the gunwales will come down an inch inside, so things are taped off. She decided that what I’ve used, Interlux Brightsides, will be what she’ll use to finish her Spindrift. Pink isn’t available, but using my Goldenbook training as a kid (The Color Kittens) we’re gonna make our own. Hee hee hee… eye of newt… ear of bat… blood of Brightsides… Starting coat one. For the second coat she might darken it a tad, plus add some thinner to the mixture. Oh, and all I’m doing these days is talking. SHE is doing the doing.

Aptly named. kalos: