Ray Frechette Jr

I have my coaming one inch above deck. That is high enough to sluice away any water that gets on deck and low enough that 3/4 inch hiking blocks are comfortable. I make blocks that are 18 inches long and are placed so that I use a deck mount oar lock socket in the middle of the block. IE the hiking block doubles as an oarlock block as well. I scribe both the deck gunnel and the coaming onto the block so that there is about 3/8 of an inche clearance between block and coaming and 3/8 of an inch of deck exposed beyond the block. I also have a block forward of the thwartseat about same distance for crew to hike out and scribe it the same manner. This makes for an odd shaped rectangle up front withthe curvature of the coaming noticeable in the inboard edge. Also I usually allow a wider gap between hiking block and coaming here to allow snotter, halyard and downhaul lines to run along deck between block and coaming. Finally I scribe the outside edge of the block to 1/4 inch above deck and plane down to that line and keep 3/4 height inboard. This makes a slanted hiking block and conveniently cants oarlock sockets slightly. I also round over the 4 corners of the block and round over the top edges.

Very nice pics. Wish I could build one myself. Can't afford the tow vehicle though. That toilet though looks like it is mounted kinda high though...

I can't imagine needing more than 3-4 gallons of epoxy. Fiberglass tape would be roughly $40-50.00 worth. Glass cloth if you wan tto glass exterior would be 8 yards

Hi Jeff, I can't locate my CS 20 plans sail plan page, but I do have the sail plan for the Bellhaven. I mention this as I will be using my sails from my CS 20 on the Bellhaven I plan on building. The dimensions are just a bit off, but close enough thatthe CS 20 race sails will work just as well as the Bellhaven stock sails will. Main has a luff of 17' 8 " and a leach of 17' 11 38" and a foot of 8' 6" Mizzen has a luff of 15' 3" a leach of 15' 8 3/8" and a foot of 7' 1" I can't see where you would save all that much using stock sails as opposed to having Graham order you sails specifically to your needs though. I bet Graham and Carla would be happy to help you with either sails or a sail plan and sails.

Heading out to Ocean for day. If no response when I get back tonight I will look them up for you Jeff. IIRC a set of sails cost between $1500-2000.00

crushed ice melts pretty quick compared to block. What we do is cook all of our food ahead of time and freeze it in portion control sizes. Very little cooking done underway, Mostly reheating rather than cooking. We pack the 5 day cooler full of our packed portion controlled frozen food. Fill in leftover space with frozen drinking water and frozen gatorade and frozen juices and milk etc. Every day we access that once per day to take out next days food. That food keeps what few perishables we have in daily use cooler cold Gets stored on port side Vberth of boat and packed in with stuff to keep form moving. Wife seeps in starboard v berth, I sleep in Port Pilot berth. Vberth on boat is a bit of a joke as both people need share toe space.. Daily use cooler goes under cockpit floor in companionway behind ladder. Works well for us and I suspect will work nicely with Bellhaven as well. I can't personally see wanting a built in ice box for the way we go, but have no issue with other people having other needs. Nice thing about portable cooler is they are a whole lot easier to clean and access.

Lots of other very good information about this and just about every other aspect of extended time spent on a boat. I find the contrast between Calder and the Pardey's to be remarkable. I know Calder has a well deserved reputation as an expert on all things mechanical on a boat. But mechanical also means something that can break down or fail. I clearly favor the simple, robust systems the Pardey's advocate. Larry Pardey also has a reputation too. He says not to use epoxy as heat will cause it to soften and the boat may fall apart. Despite loads of survey proof and plenty of evidence that epoxy joined boats hold up fine. Foil barriers (radiant Barriers) have a place, but for them to work you need air space between each foil If the foil barriers are in contact with the insulation on both sides, the benefit is largely lost. Heat conduction is heat conduction. Doesn't really matter if the cooling method is mechanical or ice. Good insulation and design will minimize heat gain and reduce the work that either method needs to take care of. The very same things that will keep the amp hr demands down with mechanical refrigeration will also work to keep your ice lasting longer. Heat goes from an area of greater concentration to one of lower. It moves by conduction, convection and radiation. Keep your icebox interior as small as you can get by with. Two different flanges on box access with gaskets on both and 6 inches of insulation all around. There are high tech insulation chocie out there that involve foam packets in foil packets with a vacuum pulled on it that allows you the same insulation value with less thickness albeit at considerable cost. For an icebox, the bigger the block of ice the less surface are to mass rtatio so longer use. Drain off melt water to keep ice lasting longer. In my mind having one drain trap to splash a cup of non tox in at end of season is no great problem. Loads of boats out there serviced every year that use a few gallons of non tox every year. 1 cup down the drain is tiny... I never bother with a built in icebox myself. I have a carry on 5 day cooler I fill with frozen food. I have another carry on cooler I transfer the next days food into each night. As that defrosts it keeps the food in there cold. These two in combo will last me better part of a week with no need for ice. I could easily extend with no ice simply by having non refrigerated food options for a bit. Or stop at a store and buy more food and a block of ice. Ice is pretty cheap. About a buck a day by and large in a descent carry on icebox. In fact it is so cheap I can't imagine spending all that much money for the top of the line icebox myself. But then again I sail in Maine. I guess if I was sailing where ambient temps are higher I might think differently.

I usually sand the aluminum and then epoxy coat it right after and then wet sand the epoxy into the aluminum and let it set. Aluminum forms and oxide layer pretty quick. wetsanding into the aluminum with epoxy abrades that oxide layer off and the epoxy prevents a new one form forming and cures. At least that is the theory I have been otold. Sanding also provides tooth for the epoxy to key into. LPU on top of the cured epoxy. Regardless of all fo the above, aluminum is soft and any wear point s and abrasion on the mast will cause the paint to wear off pretty quick. IE mast crutches for trailering down the road and where the sprit rubs across mast.

If you think about it. If you have a box relatively full of cold food, you simply do not have much air in the box left. Therefor opening the box allows little air to spill since there is little air in the box relatively speaking. Also air does not hold a whole lot of BTU's per cubic foot. Hence the benefit of a front access for ease of entry and access to what you want offsets the small loss of cooling efficiency form having a front access. The biggest issue is to have good seals on the door surfaces. All the issues Calder talks about insofar as insulation thickness, and gasketing and reduced conduction bode well for either ice boxes or mechanical refrigeration. Refrigeration is incredibly expensive compared to ice and I would never consider mechanical refrigeration on a boat unless it was a liveaboard myself.

I would go with different round ports. You might have an issue with fastener heads showing but geesh those twist lock ports get to be a real bear to remove with time. I always opt for the cam action hatches instead of twist offs. I will put up with the aesthetics of fastener heads any time over cussing at twist off ports...

Graham used to speccify having them fixed in place. Royal pain in the but that was with heels snapping free and sprit issues. Graham now on new plans has removed that language and just lets them rotate at will. Much Bettah!

Let the rivers run free!

Morning phone calls are typically better than afternoon phone calls in my experience.

I have no trepidation about single handing the CS 20 alone. I will even fly mizzen staysail solo in lighter airs... When wind pipes up though I will not fly staysail solo.

When I apply biax to plywood I put it mat side down to the plywood under the assumption that the mat is providing a better interface between roving and ply in order to get better more intimate adhesion of fibers. Maybe I am all wet on that, but that is my rational.

Biax cloth is generally chosen for the mass and orie3ntation of the fibers for strength. A thin 4 oz xynole might soak up a lot of epoxy and build film thickness but likely will not have the strength of 12 0z of fiberglass roving. The mat is added to biax to provide better adherence between the roving and the next layer of cloth or substrate, or in the case of applying to say gelcoat in a full glass layup works to prevent post cure shrinkage print through..

Ed Sherman has a very good book on outboard motor repair and maintenance.

Read Nigel Calders Book, Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical manual Extensive chapter and pics on icebox construction, To include info on drains and hatches and gaskets.

I might suggest it best to always ask the designer who specced out a particular fabric when possible rather than choosing a different fabric yourself. Graham is very approachable.

Sheet metal screws have been documented to come out in snotter arrangement. To date I have not heard of drilled and tapped machine screws coming out.

I would not depend on sheet metal screws or rivets. I drill and tap the holes with the largest screws that can fit in the eyestrap (saddle). I use 1/8 inch thickness tube in this area. I also will apply tefgell in the threads to stop galvanic cells from occurring in the stainless screw to aluminum mast connection and also use lock washers between the head of the screw and the eyestrap base to prevent them from backing out. If you can devise a method to get nylocks on the backs of the screws inside the mast, that would be better still, but gaining access there and tightening the screws se3em incredibly awkward to me...

I usually soak the balanks for the curved parts overnight and then wrap them in bath towels and pour boiling water on them and let them sit in that for 20 minutes before beinding them and clamping them in place. I then allow them to dry overnight before removing them and trimming the blanks to the right width and then I glue and install them in place.

Lead shot and epoxy will be much more expensive and far less dense than molten lead pour.

Theirin lies the reason to backwet the cloth prior to laying it down. Back wetting involves spreading otu epoxy on the substrate and the back of the 1208 cloth and then laying it out and then applying more epoxy to the outside of the cloth. 1208 cloth does not wet out well without backwetting it. Rather than trying to smooth out the weave by sanding it down. Add more thickened epoxy with microballoons to it to fair it out. Why go to expense and bother of adding glass fiber cloth if you are going to remove the glass fibers by sanding them out? Sanding through 40% thickness on the glass weave leaves you witha roughly 90% reduction in strength . Add thickened epoxy with microballoons and sand away the microballoons and epoxy down to the glass fiber but not into the glass fiber. It is the glass fiber that is itchy. If you are itchy after sanding it is because you sanded into the glass fiber.

On the 1208 cloth, you save a lot of agravation by back wetting the cloth and then coating the other side after laying it out. Yep, it uses a LOT of epoxy to wet out. As to itchiness, if you don't grind into the glass, shouldn't be a problem.