Andy B

I have been amazed how little Alan and his Dad have touched the tiller. That wind vane sure works!

The live stream is awesome, Alan! We still have snow here so I can live vicariously through your stream! I'm not sure if it will inspire me or distract me from working on my mast float!

@JeffM, I like it! I have CS-20 number 36 (bought a few years ago). I will probably go the route of a fabric tent, but a place that's always dry is tempting.

Jeff, are you able to share any pictures of your "high trunk cabin"? I'd love to see them.

I have a CS-20 and the Honda 2.3; not because I chose it, but because it came with my other boat. I believe it is the long shaft model; that is important because even then it doesn't stick far into the water (I don't have a transom cut-out). The 2.3 is enough to push the boat. I don't have currents or tides in my area, but I have had it push the boat with a number of passengers. A neutral would be nice, but I have the "aft cockpit" version of the boat, so the tiller is right there, and most times it's easy to swing the motor around. The light weight of the 2.3 is nice. It also runs forever on a liter of gas (that's about what the tank holds). It is noisy for its size. I think others like the Suzuki for the neutral and it is quieter. PS--you might want to post this in the B&B section of the forum, more traffic there.

Thanks, guys. Like Reacher I'm mainly thinking about this because it's cold here and my mind turns to summer boating when I'm not downhill skiing! My set up is more what Reacher described--there's about 3 inches of wood coming out each end of the mast, and that wood extends into the mast at least six inches, I believe. I did not know what a slide hammer is--thanks! Regarding the swelling--I was initially concerned about it being treated wood and thus leading to a mast failure (I know there's at least one story of that on this forum). But I don't believe it's treated wood. The swelling is on the part of the wood that protrudes out from the mast. I see it mainly on the bottom of the aft/mizzen mast, as it's a tight squeeze into the hole/step in the thwart and then into the holder. The other issue, much more minor, is that it is cracking just a bit and I worry about the strength of the hardware screwed into it (halyard block). As I type this, I realize that the wood on my boat underwent a significant change in humidity, moving from dry Denver to the the variable moisture of the upper midwest. That doesn't matter much for the epoxied plywood, but exposed timber like the mast plug would change. That would explain why in the first year I had to file the plug down a bit to get it to fit, but it wasn't an issue this year. Sorry for the rambling, but talking out loud is valuable, even on a forum. I think my plan will be to watch it more this coming season, and if cracks continue, I can gouge out as much as possible and insert the plastic plug like Reacher mentioned.

My older boat has wooden mast plugs. The plugs swell from time to time, making them a tight fit to step. Conversely, they are showing some checking/splitting on the exposed wood. Ideally I'd like to replace them with the starboard plastic plugs that B&B sells. My problem is how to remove the wooden plugs. It's obviously an all-or-nothing job--I can't get tart hacking away at the wooden plugs and then quit if I can't get them out. Based on some holes I drilled I would estimate the plug goes at least six inches into the mast (I didn't build the boat so I don't know for sure). That's a lot of tight wood to remove! Any suggestions?

For those in the Midwest and Great Lakes area. We've had two successful Messabouts in Muskegon in fall 2024 and fall 2025. This past fall we had four Core Sound boats (mine, Paul, Red, Don). It was great! I'd like to see small boat sailing grow in Michigan. I've put together a website, a facebook page and we have an instagram account. Check them out if you'd like to join us! We are planning summer events soon. www.michiganmessabouts.com Facebook Group Instagram Here's a picture from our last event to get you excited.

@Reacher Good question, I'd love to hear more from others about that, too. The only thing I've tried is to raise a partial mizzen. Either reef the mizzen (normally or loosely). Or just don't raise the mizzen all the way, then go raise the main, then come back and raise the mizzen. It's not a great solution but it has worked for me.

Thanks, Alan, for the super detailed explanation. I've only done the process under your "Raising the rudder?" section, because I'm usually not going anywhere so I don't care about losing ground. Now I have something to practice next year! And it reminds me I need a tiller tamer [edit Tiller Clutch} --do you guys have any available right now?

Here's a lot of discussion on the topic.

Here's the general idea: Uncleat the main (forward) sail so that it is completely free. Cleat the mizzen (aft) sail so that it is fixed in the center of the boat. Let the rudder free (not cleated or pulled up). The aft sail is then like a windvane that will keep the boat pointed into the wind. You can reef the aft sail if winds are high. Note you will start going backwards, so make sure you have some room. Others will chime in with their personal tweaks, I'm sure.

What a great photo, Paul! Not only do the sails draw the eye, it's rare to get a shot that shows the boat and the sailor well like this one does.

Here are two videos from a gorgeous and fun family sail in late September, our last of the season. We had six onboard our CS-20 with room to spare. IMG_9033.MOV IMG_9028.MOV

It's been quiet on here lately, and many of us haven't seen our Core Sound boat since we tucked it away for the winter months ago. Let's share some photos of 2025 with your boat to warm our hearts (and maybe to spur some work on those winter projects). Here are a few from me. These two are from a sail in Muskegon, Michigan, with my father in law and his brother. It wasn't the best sail ever but one I will remember and treasure because of the company. The giant freighter going by was a bonus!