Steve W
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Posts posted by Steve W
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I second what Paul said. I made mine longer on my 20.3 and I still couldn't get enough tension. I ended up repurposing the main sprit for the mizzen and making a longer one for the main. It's like haircut.....you can always take a little more off, but.......
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You all might notice I changed the title from Sailing to Traveling & Sailing. Here's the deal:
This past summer my wife and I moved about 14 miles from a place out in the country with a fabulous basement shop I built two B & B boats in, to an older house on the Erie Canal in Pittsford, NY, that has no shop. It's a great location and the good news is that over the next couple of years we will be building a new house and a shop next door to headquarter the next build. (Graham/Alan: ever get requests for a canal boat design?)
I made the centerboard mod to Skeena before I knew I was moving and pressed to get it done before I moved, knowing I wouldn't have a shop. Unfortunately, moving from a house we lived 25 years in and raised three kids in, all while running my own business was way harder than I thought. This week I will finally finish the last of the finish work and if the weather cooperated I'll do a first test sail and then I'll continue to test it by sailing as much as I can.
I love sailing with a destination and the idea of sailing from St. Michaels south to B & B is very intriguing, but October and the MASCF is approaching fast and the days are getting much shorter. When I made this original thread I assumed I'd be further along with testing.
I talked to a family member this weekend who is a meteorologist and he expects unsettled weather right into late November, due to the unusually warm water temperatures in the Caribbean. So I'm modified my itinerary. I've decided to stay totally flexible and work my way down from St Michaels, with a few destination sails that start and end at a launch ramp on my way down.
This will allow me to be a bit more cautious and react to the weather. It will also end up in me having a car on the last day of the Messabout at B&B. This will allow me to hustle home as that following week I have to travel to Houston and there is a wedding that next weekend in Buffalo.
I'm open to suggestions for good two or three day trips and parking ramps on the way down. And I'm happy to have anyone join me for any of these. I'll post my Garmin link here so folks will know where I am. I'm taking a 2.5 week vacation with nothing to worry about but Skeena and myself. Pinch me.
The goal is to be in Messabout waters early. When I finished Skeena in 2019 I had no idea all of the things that would get in the way of making it to a messabout. I'm looking forward to having Alan/Graham out for sail and seeing al those others who make it.
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Looks great!
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Thank you. Lot's of great advice.
- No autopilot and probably not going to have one in time.
- I haven't tested Skeena's new c-board configuration, but I should have many sails in by then.
- Amos, where are you and joining me for any part of the trip would be encouraged. That goes for anyone else.
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I gave little weight to Alan's "Shoot I'd do it." advise. He circumnavigated Florida on a sailing tricycle. I'm not that
crazyhardy.
I'll watch the weather and make decisions based on that. Unless things look amazing, I will probably re-launch at Janes Island State Park as I've already sailed much of the waters from St Michaels to there.
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FWIW.....
As one of the few, if only people who turtled a Mark III, I know the feeling of not wanting to share. I considered myself a pretty accomplished sailor, with a lot of experience in much worse condition than "that day". I owned a Sea Pearl for 13 years and sailed it in much crazier conditions and took pride in never capsizing it. I've raced Thistles and had many speedy boats over the years.
So it took me awhile to fess up that I'd turtled Skeena. Lost some gear. Had to be towed by some clueless law enforcement jamokes. It took me awhile to realize in telling the story it helped me think through the event to make better choices going forward. And sharing with others hopefully helps them.
I'm 100% sure if that day happened again it would be a different outcome. And time fixed my ego.
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I got this idea to sail from the Mid-Atlantic small Craft Festival to the B & B Messabout this October. The MASCF ends on the 8th so I'd likely leave that afternoon. The Messabout starts on the 20th, giving me only 12 days to make this trip. It's about 365 NM so I'd have to average 30 miles per day and that is if every day is good, which I'm sure it won't be. I see Graham averaged 19 on his Delmarva peninsula trip and he's surely a better sailor than me, but he had some weather days. I don't want to make this trip grueling, but I love sailing with a destination.
I do have some options. I could have a friend haul me down after the festival south to Crisfield or even Cape Charles to shorten the trip. And I also have the luxury of having a few retired friends who would find me with my car/tow rig if I come up short and bring me to the festival.
I did get a new Suzuki 6 hp motor as I've been feeling the 2.5 was a bit underpowered at times and holding for bridges with no reverse and lots of other boats has been an adventure. I haven't had a chance to test it, but that might come next weekend.
I'd like everyone's thoughts on this idea.
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Dave,
Just a though bubble from my canoeing days. The difference between 12 and 14 is mostly where the boat is biggest. A 14 foot canoe gets two more feet in the middle when you make it 16 feet. The difference is significant. Be sure to choose wisely. Also, keep in mind the old adage, "The space you have is the space you will fill".
Take Care,
Steve
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Skeena is still at the old house laying on her side. Tonight I'm heading back to epoxy coat the final time before I add bottom paint. I still have a bit of fairing to do for the centerboard and I'm going to make a plug to shorten the trunk. I also have to coat and paint the interior. I need this boat water ready by the 7th as that is the closing date on the house and I need to be out. I still haven't figure out how to rotate these files.
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....actually still quite a list....
I have a friend who jokingly says "80 percent done with 80 percent to go". I use it myself now. Even when you are done the tweaking never ends. Looks great though!
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Monday never happenned and a week passed by. Yesterday morning I finally got up early before work and closed up the trunk. To keep pressure on the tape I took a piece of foam mat and spray glued it to some plywood. I wrapped the foam with a piece of duck tape. I then made a stick I jammed up the trunk behind it that forced the foam against the joint.
I don't have very good pics, but I glued it in and I think Skeena could float right now. Tonight I'll tape the seams. I did decide that I'd open up the uphaul pully inspection port to make it easier to replace the pendant in the future before I glue in the cover.
Things looking up.
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Congrats Andy. The CS20 is a big boat. For some reason I can't see your pictures which is a bummer.
The first time I saw a CS20 was on the Chesapeake bay and the owner Brett was throwing crab traps while sailing comfortably while I was tucked in WidCat's little aft cockpit in amazement. I haven't sailed in one though. My CS20.3 is a descendant of that design and has water ballast. Even without it it's very stable, so I think you'll enjoy. I do miss the light air ability of Wildcat and the quick rigging, but I don't miss the tenderness.
If you buy a new trailer, look at my thread and get the Continental I bought for Skeena. It's perfect. I had mine shipped from Florida using U-Ship and it was really easy to get it adjusted for the boat.
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Things are going slow, but last night I fit the board in and this weekend I will be gluing things together. The end is in sight. I am in a middle of a move to a temporary place with a lousy shop, so I am motivated to get this done.
Rotate your head to the right. This is the housing for the uphaul.
Here is the acrylic cover.
And here is a test fit of the big board. When I built Skeena originally, I made the housing a bit wider as I hate stuck boards. I think I have a nice amount of clearance for things. Tomorow I'll start taping and I think with the heat I'll be able to close it up Sunday night. Monday at the latest.
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On 7/4/2023 at 2:53 PM, Don Silsbe said:
Being over 70, I don’t like looking up that high, so I added a clip-on windex to my mizzen mast. It is just above the sprit in this photo. They are intended for a Laser, but work well for this.
Does the wind off the main effect it? Seems like it would. I have an indicator on topthe main mast so I don't have to look up quite so high, but it would be better lower.
On 7/4/2023 at 2:53 PM, Don Silsbe said: -
Things aren't going as fast as I want as I am moving to a new house on the banks of the Erie Canal in Pittsford NY. No inside shops, so I'm hyper focused to finish this before the move. Our plan is to have a new house built and of course it will have a big shop, but until then, Skeena will live in the garage in the summer and in storage over the winter.
Anyway, here is the latest. I know Graham said I could extend the old board, I got a few 4 x 4 Doug fir posts from Lowes and ripped and glued up the new board. Drawing the profile on the end of the board and using a dado blade to rough shape and then follow with a hand plane makes a great board in pretty short order. I made epoxied in bushings for the pivot and the rope pull last night and I'll glass it tonight. I haven't glued the case together in the boat as I want a test fit first.
The size of the new vs. old (better get going Amos):
It's big! (This rotation thing is new for me, just pretend the board is up!)
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Wow, she looks great. What an accomplishment!
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My fitness is definitely improved getting in and out of Skeena. We are making progress.
Taping starts tonight.
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Andy, I just realized it was you! Congrats. A CS is so much different than a Sea Pearl. You'll miss the really light air sailing abilities of the Sea Pearl, the adjustability of the roller furling and the quick rigging. But a CS is so much bigger, stable and faster in stronger winds you are going to love it. Are you keeping WildCat?
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I'll second what Oyster has said. I've shipped a number of things with U-Ship. It's like the Uber of hauling. You can check with their rating (reputation), watch progress during the haul, and they know they need to be good or you'll give them a bad rating. I've shipped a big boat (10,000 lbs.), three different Continental trailers (one for Skeena) from Florida to NY and had 0 problems.
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I'm in the middle of this modification. I'm making the stiffeners and I have the option of using 12mm meranti plywood or 3/4 SYP that I have on hand. They will be bonded to the 6mm trunk and take a lot of strain as the centerboard has a lot of pressure due to its now longer length. My gut says plywood, but I am not making a decision until tomorrow, so I thought I'd ask here.
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Progress this weekend. I had to get a new plan of attack. Skeena proved to be built tougher than I thought and it was a combination of drill/fostner bit, multi-tool, chisel and hammer, knife, and trim router that let me progress this far. I'm obviously committed now.
Not shown is that I'm almost past the demo phase and building the trunk extension. I'd kind of gotten out of the building phase for awhile, so my epoxy crystalized, my sandpaper selection was low, etc. The CB pin is more forward than the 17's, so I had to figure out a stiffening technique. I plan to stand on the centerboard when I'm done with Skeena laying on her side. If something breaks we'll start over. That's a lot of leverage on the trunk, but I think I have a plan that should make things solid. Stay tuned.
I also decided to just make a new centerboard. I think it will be faster for me than to piece the old one. I make the original out of some nice Douglas fir posts I got at Lowes and yesterday I found an 8' tight grained beauty for 15 bucks that is more than enough to make the entire board.
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Graham, this is awesome for anyone close to 80, let alone fighting Parkinson's. You are an inspiration. I'll be following along just like when you circled the DelMarVa.
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Jay,
Yesterday I took the multitool to Skeena. It's a lot of cutting. I built Skeena so good my multi-tool was struggling to plunge into everything. I made quite a mess and she's not a sailboat for now. It will feel better when it's past the negative and to the positive. I am building a new centerboard.
Air conditioning?
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Last night I finally printed out the excellent drawings Alan and Graham provided for the centerboard trunk modification. l cleared most of the stuff I had in the cabin (yikes) and mentally went through the task of moving the centerboard forward. In software development we size projects by t-shirts, with small easy and XXL long term. This feels like a large at best. I am going to make it a bit larger by making a new centerboard. Tonight it's multi-tool time. You can see I faced the front edge of the longitudinal bulkheads, so that has to go. I'll post pics of progress tomorrow.
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I'm not sure this is relevant to a Spindrift, but......here's what I did on Skeena:
Spindrift 10N #1621 Build Log
in B & B Yachts Forum
Posted
Looking good and bringing back memories. I did my tape like yours. I did slide my tape just a bit to reinforce the bolt holes, FWIW. I think that first pic is at the stern. I knife can clean that joint up quickly. You aren't getting any strength out of that gap. After you add your fill coats you can fair it if you are going to paint it. "Don't let perfection be the enemy of good". In the end, after you've used her, none of this will matter as long as she's solid.
Take Care,
Steve