Mike Vacanti

I used Brightsides on my Bolger Junebug. The primer was Interlux 404/414, an epoxy. I had the same experience as Tom, the Brightsides has very little abrasion resistance. On the other hand the 404/414 is very tough. I have made extensive modifications to the boat and have had to remove paint in several areas so I could glue in pieces of wood or fiberglass cloth. The Brightsides was easy to remove with just a few passes with a carbide scraper. The 404/414 took serious effort with a RO sander loaded with a 40 grit disk.

Just go to watertribe.com and you'll find all the information you asked for.

I thought that Xynole was a polyester fabric but I'm not sure. I took a look here http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|16458|309346&id=16176 and they show Xynole as a polyester fabric although Defender could be mistaken.

I'm going to guess that Dale is referring to polyester cloth, not polyester resin. Certainly there is likely to be delamination problems with polyester resin but I've not heard of problems with polyester cloth if it is laminated with epoxy resin.

This sounds like the kind of paint used on offshore oil rigs and other marine metal structures. It sure doesn't sound like something you want to paint your topsides with. I've used Interlux 404/414 epoxy primer and the 2 components are very thick when mixed together. But then a special thinner is added which makes it flow much more easily. Maybe you could inquire at the place you bought it to see if there is an appropriate thinner.

I use the auto-release cleats on my Junebug's rudder and leeboard. I find that they work just fine. I got them from Duckworks, http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/cleats/sd002570/index.htm

Why would you have to prevent the mast from rotating a bit? I don't see what harm it will cause.

I did exactly this on my Bolger Junebug. It makes washing the boat a little more difficult. I usually lay the boat on its side and hose it out, the inner gunwale traps the water and dirt. Its not a big deal.

Paul, Thanks for your reply, if you don't mind I have another question. It looks like the machine screws holding the keel band in place are screwed into an oversized hole in the keel that was then filled with epoxy. Is there a nut buried in the bottom of the hole and is the green goo on the screw threads some sort of release agent? That looks like a very long lasting approach to the problem of rot around fastener holes. Regards

Paul, I've been following your progress on the CS 20, the workmanship looks very nice. I was wondering why you decided to make the keel band from 2 different type of stock? If the half-oval was from Jamestown I know that it is very expensive, was the flat stock used because it was hidden from view and cheaper? Thanks

I saw this article on Duckworks a while ago, http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/columns/rob/index5.htm. Another builders interpretation, http://xoomer.alice.it/renlione/Slipper2/scaletta.htm. This design looks easy to build and strong, I don't know how easy it would be to actually use to board the boat.

I wonder if this is the same boat pictured at the top of the CS20 information page on the B&B web site.

I've cleared my cache, cookies and history, restarted firefox and still see the same B & B home page that I've always seen. I also tried Internet Explorer and it didn't work either. Mike

Do you mean the B&B home page? I don't see the article there. Mike

Ray, Will the CS 20 be for sale anytime soon? I spend way too much time lurking on several different message boards and I noticed an exchange between yourself and the owner of the CS 20 in question. He was asking about building a much smaller boat. Did he decide the CS 20 was too much boat for him?

I've done this in the past using a cobalt drill bit. It's been a while but I think the bit should be the same diameter as the hole that was drilled for the rivet originally. I do remember pressing on the drill as hard as I could and keeping the drill speed low. I also used a lubricant, I don't know what the ideal lubricant is, I just used WD-40.

What type of GPS do you have? Four hours seems like very poor performance to me. I have a Magellen 330M and it gets about 8 hours out of 2 AA Duracells. I don't know how accurate the spec from Garmin is but they claim 20 hours for their 76CS which has a color display, a fluxgate compass and a barometer. The 76C without the compass and barometer is supposed to last 30 hours.

I had the same problem with paint not drying over West System epoxy. After I scraped off the soft primer (a West Marine store brand) I bit the bullet and bought Interlux 404/414 epoxy primer. This stuff dried very hard within a day. I then topcoated with Interlux Brightsides. I wouldn't use the Brightsides again, it scratches very easily, but I would use the 404/414 again. It wasn't terribly expensive, about 25.00 a quart. Its' worst feature was the god awful smell, definitely use a good respirator and lots of ventilation.

It looks to me to be only a cosmetic problem. I agree with Graham, there is always going to be a small amount of movement on the interface between the endgrain of the thwart and the side of the seat. I suspect that if the end of the thwart had never been painted with the same color paint as the seat that you never even would have noticed the slight movement.

I've been doing some research on this subject. All of the occume marine plywood that I have been able to find are labeled as "non-durable". The only exception is Shelman "Shelmarine occume". This plywood is made with a fungicidal glue and Lloyds of London gives it a rating of moderately durable. From my web research it seems to me that Shelmarine is probably the best occume plywood available. Not surprisingly it also costs a fortune. Harbor sales has it for $82.00 for 1/4" and $118.00 for 3/8". The few first hand accounts I've been able to find on the web from people who have actually used it say it is flawless.

I built my first boat, a Bolger Junebug, about 4 years ago and I swore I'd never build another boat, mostly due to the time required. But I want a larger boat to hold my wife and 3 kids along with our camping gear and provisions. I haven't found any stock boats I like. I like the light weight of the CS 20 and the very shallow draft. I also like the forward sections of the boat, I don't want my next boat to have the completely flat bottom of my Junebug. I'm mildly concerned about the possibility of capsizing and then not being able to get the boat sailing again. I'm accustomed to sailing unballasted boats and don't think a capsize is likely but I would like to take the boat into San Francisco Bay with my family. If I knew I would require outside assistance in case of a capsize I would be nervous about taking the boat into anything other than small lakes. I did a search of this forum to see if anyone has ever capsized a CS 20 and got back underway unassisted. I found that Graham did this intentionally with the CS 17 but couldn't find anything regarding the CS 20. I only weigh 150 pounds, is it feasible for me to get the boat back on its' feet?

Ray, You mentioned that you feel ill after applying 2 part LPU paint. How are you applying it, spray or brush? Thanks, Mike

Is anyone else having trouble playing the videos? I've downloaded both versions but all I get is a playback of a blank screen. :cry: Mike

Charlie, Regarding the CLC Jon's Sharpie I have a question about using sail track with sprit booms. When the mainsail is let out all the way to port does the sprit rub against the sail track? Thanks, Mike

I remember reading on the net about a guy who built a birdsmouth mast for his Bolger Chebacco. His mast also collapsed, at the partners if I recall correctly. He felt that the problem could have been averted if he had installed an internal plug in the area that bore against the mast support. I think he said this plug should be tapered so there wouldn't be a hard spot on the inside of the mast. But I don't have first hand knowledge of any of this. There is a website, www.chebacco.com, that may have his post archived or I might have read it on the Yahoo! Bolger egroup. Mike