PJPiercey

No kidding! Check out some of the weather these guys sailed through. http://r2ak.com/video-photos/

I rigged up a poor mans lathe. I used a stop block at the end of the mast to create a true ridge. I followed this up with fairing compound to make a nice smooth transition. Paul

It takes a lot of pigment to get solid coverage with epoxy. It is easier to just use a good two part high build primer. Also some paints do not react well with epoxy and it is necessary to have the primer anyway. Paul

When I use the 12 oz biax I just fair it out with Quick Fair from Systems Three. I have never felt the need for glass over the top. 12 oz biax, Quick Fair, and then System Three's high build primer. I found this to be quick and easy. Also, I didn't find it hard to wet out. I used a mix of medium and slow hardener to give more working time and the glass would continue to wet out as I worked ahead on the next pieces. I just layed the cloth down on the precoated joint and then wet it out. Paul

I was told by the sellers of the biax to expect about a 30% increase in strength when going to biax from the same weight woven. I chose to go with 12 oz biax vs. 9 oz woven. Based on the following: "Directional fabrics ( biaxials, triaxials) are much stronger while lighter than the common woven fabrics. They cost more by the area but almost the same by weight. As they use less resin (less weight), the resulting composite does not cost more than the low tech one." I also found the biax much easier to work with. It conforms to shapes and corners much, much, easier. The end result was a stiffer, stronger boat at about the same price. Paul

A woven fiber has less strength than non woven fibers. Biax is non woven. So the result would be better than 70%.

Ditto what Oyster said. I used the Coresound 20 mast scantlings for my CK17 and added aluminum North Sails windsurf mast tips for the upper portion of the masts. Extremely light and they work great. Paul

I used an acid wash/etch, followed by System Three epoxy primer, followed by Stystem Three linear poyurathane. Nice hard, durable finish. Paul

Where are you going to sail? If you get this message in time, maybe I can take some pictures for you. I would also like to see the boat Paul Piercey Edmonds, WA

When I did mine I wrapped on a little extra tape. Then I rigged up my router as kind of a poor mans lathe. This got it perfectly round. I left a little room for the epoxy primer and the final paint. Paul

Different design, but the same principle. I have rowed many miles and it tracks perfectly. Paul

Tim, You might want to take a look at this thread about using plywood for daggerboards. It explains how one failed and how I constructed mine to be successful. http://forums.bateau2.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3978&highlight=centerboard The things I like about using the plywood are: Easy to laminate up a nice dimensional core. About 20 oz of fiberglass laminated between the first two layers of plywood gives you a nice solid trailing edge (after shaping) that is less prone to chipping. The leading edge becomes very durable with the solid fiberglass at the apex. Plywood gives you automatic contour lines to guide your shaping making it much easier to get a very fair shape. I agree with all the comments about the plywood strength verses the solid wood so glassing the exterior is a must. When you read my account of how I layed mine up keep in mind I used the wood I had available and I wanted the overall thickness to be one inch so I could create a NACA 0010 foil shape. Good luck with the building and I look forward to seeing some pictures. Paul Piercey

How about that stuff they coat the beds of pickups with. I have heard very good reports about its durability. Paul

http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2183&highlight=source+oars Paul

When I was deciding on oars for the boat I measured and fussed for quite a few days. I wanted to keep the oars as small as possible but still have a lot of power. I was surprised how well they work, I was thinking they were going to feel a little short. I have rowed the boat several miles in dead calm and never felt like I wanted more oar. I also found that when maneuvering out of a crowded anchorage with a bunch of wind and choppy water the blades are easy to clear the tops of the waves. Actually the ergonomics feel the same as a Mckenzie drift boat I had. The picture is taken from a beach in the village of Komiza. http://home.comcast.net/~pjpiercey/komiza/index.html I built the boat here in Edmonds, Washington, shipped it to Komiza to have a vessel to mess about in and explore the surrounding islands. The Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic is a spectacular place. Paul

Tim, Here's a look at my CK17 with 9'6" oars. The beam is 72". Paul

I made my clamps by cutting up some old 2x4's. These clamps I made long for the seat cleats but I made some short ones for the rails. The only cost was the bolts, nuts, and washers. Maybe 50 cents per clamp. Paul Piercey

I built my masts from Online Metals aluminum. I used 3" dia .125" wall for the bottom section, 2.5" dia .065 wall for the mid section, and North Sail aluminum windsurf mast tips for the top section. I went with a three piece mast but could have easily made the joins permanent for a one piece. After a month of sailing on the Adriatic Sea the mast seem "bullet proof" Going with a three piece mast allowed me to use heavy material at the base and very light at the top, the way a mast should be A sail track would be nice, the snotter pully can be a little aggrevating with the lacings. The lacings work just fine though. Paul Piercey

Mustangermatt, I tried to send you a personal message but it just sits in the outbox. Not sure how to get it to send I'm in your area (Edmonds) and have built a couple of S&G boats. I would sure like to see your CS. I'm leaning twards the CS 17 as my next build. Paul pjpiercey@hotmail.com

From the information I can find, T6 6061 has almost twice the tensile and compression strength of T5 6060. It may be the alloy is the problem. T6 6061 is referred to as "structural" and T5 6060 as "window frame material". With all of the boatbuilding in Australia I would think there must be T6 6061 available somewhere. Paul

When I layed up my rudder and daggerboard I did it in layers so I was able to install about 30 oz of cloth along the edges as a middle core. This made for a very durable edge. Paul Piercey

I used the System Three primer and paint for the CK17 I built. The pimer is just epoxy resin with a special hardener, high build. The paint is a linear polyurethane. Much tougher than Brightsides, which I used on another boat. The beauty of this stuff is WATER CLEAN UP, NO FUMES, and designed to go over epoxy. The primer reduces with a 50/50 mix of water and rubbing alchohol. The paint reduces with water. Don't confuse it with latex, it's not the same, its linear polyurethane. I used a cheap sprayer to apply primer and paint. I wet sanded and buffed the final coat of paint and it looks like new gelcoat. Read about it on the System Three web site. Paul Piercey

I've used it and I like it. No toxic fumes. Water clean up. It is a true linear polyurethane. There is a clear coat you can apply if you want the wet look, otherwise it is a satin finish. Durability is relative to the application. A minimum thickness of paint application is necessary for years of durability. Before I bought and used it after I visited a boat that has seen years of service and hundreds of "guests" shoes at boat shows. http://amateurboatbuilding.com/ProjectJustRight/index.htm#TOC Paul Piercey

Thanks for the reply Gordy. Do you protect the mast with anything where it goes through the thwart? Paul Piercey

I think I will go with aluminum for the masts on the boat I'm now building. The boat I'm building is about 17ft and has a hull weight of about 275lbs. (You can click on my www at the bottom of this message and see my project.) Since I'm in the Seattle area, have access to material, and have a good friend that does aluminum fabrication, the aluminum masts sound like the way to go. The main mast is 21ft with a sail area of 72sqft, the mizzen is 19ft with a sail area of 45sqft. Pretty close I think to the Core Sound 17. I was thinking of using 8ft of 3" dia, 8ft of 2.5" dia, and the remainder 2" dia. For the wall thickness I was thinking .065". Does this sound ok? Does the aluminum need to be reinforced where the mast goes through the thwart? Thanks for you input! Paul Piercey