Steve W

It doesn't look as scary seeing it this way. Thanks for sharing your pics. Please keep them coming!

Having someone who is a "pro" is a nice asset. My son is a much better seamster than me, but design is on me. Experience is valuable and saves paralysis by analysis. I think I'd take inspiration from the excellent tents available to figure a more boxy or hooped encloser. You have some advantages as the anchor points can be fixed and tension can be higher. I love this awning. We made it with collapsible shock poles, but I found out it would slip into the cabin rolled up and lay along the hull on the bunks and I never take the poles out. On my sun shade I use this to tension the ridgeline. It is easy to both setup and tension (like a piano wire!). Facing aft with my back to the cabin with a cold beer under that thing after a long hot sail, waking to no dew on the forward part of the cockpit or or standing up or sleeping in the cabin hatch while the rain sheds over the side is fantastic. I like the Dodger idea, but for now this works and is simple. I might also add it's good so far in 30 knot winds. I haven't had it deployed beyond that.

Nice work, but here's an opinion.........the high sprits help, but not making these tents more boxy really makes them tight inside. It's a bit more work to run a spreader or a hoop, but they are a game changer for comfort. If you are going to go through that much work, I'd drape a blanket over the sprits and imagine if I could live with that first. When I watch Roger Barnes videos, I get claustrophobic......

Don, those look sweet!

I may be biased, but I spent a lot of time getting the holes just right in the comings on Skeena. They look fantastic. As for upwind performance, I have the early design with the c-board back. I felt I couldn't reef the mizzen to the second reef point or the boat would have way too much lee helm. Late this summer I realized I could never get the mizzen on the center, which is where it wants to be. To do so with the stock rig requires so much downforce it goofs up the sail shape. On a few occasions I rigged a line from the aft upwind corner to the sprit to haul the sail up to center and it changed the whole dynamic of the boat in the limited testing I did with it. My next plan is to make a triangular bridal that puts the center point up near the sprit centerline and then up through a block and then down. My challenge is where to go from there as the tiller is on centerline. I'm trying to avoid moving the centerboard. That looks like a crazy big messy job. Steve

I am finally starting to feel better. While you were all having fun at the Messabout I was down in my basement with what I'm guessing was the flu. Here is a pic of all my stuff packed up and the boat waiting to be hitched. All is still sitting in the exact same spots. It was a tough sailing season as I didn't get sailing as often as I wanted and what would be my final sail adventure of the season I got robbed of. I logged onto FB and saw some footage and it made it even worse. Next year I will be retired, making this much easier, but I've learned every day is a blessing and nothing is guaranteed. But damn, I'm especially sad not to have seen Jay's new boat and talk to Graham about his Delmarva adventure. I love the pics and vids and I'm sorry I wasn't there. Tomorrow I'll be packing Skeena into the barn for hibernation.

If you are just wanting to add a place to clamp a motor, I shared my process for I used to design this on my "Skeena" thread. Graham did something similar on Carlita. The main reason I did this was so I wouldn't need to ever remove my motor for traveling. I have a lock on it and just leave it. I never felt comfortable with any extended mounts, but this thing is rock solid. I will mention that I thought I had it perfectly figured out until the launch and when I went forward the short shaft motor pulled out of the water. I now have a long shaft and it works perfectly. Info here:

Well, it's official. A nasty cold is keeping me home. I've been all packed up since Sunday with plans to leave Wednesday evening, but got sick Tuesday. I decided I could even leave this morning at 4am and make diner, but I'm still feeling lousy. Super sad to not be coming. MASCF was lousy weather and it looks like you guys are in good shape. Here I'll be lucky to get out sailing again. Please take lots of pictures and video. Steve

So I got a chance to use my float. It was blowing hard Sunday when I tried sailing to windward on Sodus Bay (Lake Ontario) to get to a bar and watch my Buffalo Bills annihilate the Steelers. I put the float on the mizzen for the first time, and frankly forgot it was up there. It didn't seem to have much affect on sailing but as windy as it was it was the right thing to do. I only have it painted white right now while I think of a better scheme. The new mount worked great.

I built the bigger mast head float for Skeena. In the process I realized my trailer prevented me from attaching the spindle on top of the mizzen permanently as it would hit my car or at least come very close. Alan was machining up some alternative mounts which he sent me. These saddle mount as shown: you can see the pic is rotated. The shaft fits in tightly and I'm sure wouldn't budge in any capsize, but I intend to make it fast someway to be sure. The mount works great and is unobtrusive. This mount would work great on many other boats. I did have to adjust my mizzen staysail halyard mount t a slightly lower location as shown. Take Care, Steve

I've pulled Skeena (CS20.3) off her trailer twice now. I used a hill on my yard and dragged the boat backwards on the trailer until there was no tongue weight. I then undid the hitch after blocking the wheels. I lowered the stern to the ground onto a moving blanket laid under the trailer. Using only gravity I dragged the boat into the soft grass. I then put up the mizzen up and with moving blankets protecting the hull pulled her over on her side with the mizzen halyard and a bit of lifting by my two adult boys. I think you could do this about anywhere. These boats aren't that heavy. If I had to do it in my garage I'd put the stern on a furniture dolly and roll it off.

I saw some pics on FB of some forward shelves on the CS 17.3 that I'd like to put on Skeena. The challenge I have is that Okume around me is impossible to get locally. I'm thinking since it's interior use I could use 1/4 inch plywood and epoxy coat it. Here is a screenshot from the page.

Jay, my software company has a "Nerd King" award we give out with pride. Just shared this with the team and you are this weeks honorary winner. I can't wait to see you at the Messabout!

I'm with Captain Tim. The 24" is good. If you are keeping your boat on a dock or mooring, invest in a good cover.

Weezer, I am very impressed and proud of your build. I built an 11n years ago and appreciate how big a project this is. For someone as youthful as you that's even more remarkable. I hope you have as much fun on your boat as I have on mine. I will warn you that this boatbuilding thing is a disease which I have a medium case of but folks like Chick and Pete McCrary are fully gone. Be careful. And keep posting pictures! Take Care, Steve

I think you are asking about this: https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/9419-core-sound-20-mark-iii-3-skeena/?do=findComment&comment=105308 After living with that bungy closure for a few seasons I wouldn't change a thing. I keep fenders in their mostly.

Personally, I think they are both a bit aggressive. If you have a dock they live against, maybe. But if you bump up against another boat and there is no fender, your going to leave a mark. I wish I had used the firehose like rub rail but I used wood that has held up well and is a bit kinder than metal. If you do use metal, aluminum is softer and easier to "dent" or distort on impact. Link to taylormade rubrail: https://www.westmarine.com/taylor-made-1-1-2inch-premium-gunnel-guard-3-4-round-173460.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITVf0FZHA5FU-VbSsbTg1jNKZzJLmn6NdYvSsGG1k5abP7NDMTEBqYgaAoVREALw_wcB

Here's my solution I stole from Graham. I put my sails in the cabin, and put these two spacers on the masts with the sprits on top. The bungy loops around the whole mess and holds the masts down and keeps the sprits secure.

Andy, Those pictures makes me happy. WildCat was my favorite boat until Skeena and there are still a few things I miss about her, notably her light air manners and fast setup. Helen's confidence started a long time ago, but grew a lot on WildCat. I'm planning a trip next summer with her probably in Maine. I may open it up to a group if that is of any interest. Here's a pic from the way back machine in Muscongus Bay.

Meanwhile, back in May:

Jay, she looks amazing. More pics and reports please!

I haven't posted in awhile, but I just watched Alan's video on Youtube. That was really neat. Maybe I should do one like that for Skeena. Here are my comments. · The Continental is a good choice for these boats. I have my bunks narrowed to support the longitudinal stringers. Replaced the bunk boards with 6” wide ones and the centerboard rests on the left one. That works good and keeps things simple. · Those starboard rub rails are sweet, but I just used teak and it’s held up well. I did not use SS hollow back. They do need to be touched up once in awhile. · What is the manufacturer and PN of the plug used for the mast lights through the bulkhead? · The anchor roller mount is clever. · Only having two downhauls is why I changed my hatch to sliding. Going on the deck solo is a bad idea. · I’m a knucklehead. When I added the mizzen tabernacle, I never adopted the bridle line setup of the main. I followed the plans for the rotating masts. I need to fix! · I like the shackles instead of lashing. It may be I’m just a bad lasher. · The 20 seems so huge compared to the 17. · I ordered “anti-re-cleat-ers” and have them on every cleat. Buy spares as they are hard to come by and they can catch on stuff and get ruined. · I like those forward shelves. · Not having opening ports has not been an issue. · The sweat on the back of Alan’s hands reminds me of how much I dislike hot and muggy. Bless you southerners. · Moving the CB trunk forward is something I want to avoid for now. I have completely neutral to lee helm though, so I need to tackle this at some point. The only time it Is bad is when I have both sails reefed twice. · I like the idea of the electric outboard and two batteries. I use a wheelchair battery I have in the front locker and a 50-watt solar panel for everything else. It hasn’t let me down and is usually fully charged mid-morning. · I go back and forth on whether I should have installed a cooler. The space below is nice. · I like the downhaul on the centerboard. I just finished the masthead float but the extra length of the post hits my vehicle, so I’m weighing my options. I’d hate to have to unscrew the mast at the tabernacle. I got an idea I’m working on. · As soon as I get it on I’ll test it on Skeena. · A four-part mainsheet seems excessive even on a 20. I do agree the mizzen could use a bit of extra purchase. · I like the S hook on the aft end of the main sprit. · I think I’m going to adopt Richard’s reefing setup. · I put my mizzen snotter cleat on the front of the mizzen tabernacle. It’s easy to adjust from both sides, but I might not need as much adjustment if I had the bridle rigged right (duh!) · The bands used for ponytails around the sprits work good instead of fairleads and give you a place to bundle the reefing line during transit. · On the 20 there is enough room between the hatches to put a stationary solar panel. · I never put on the dodger coaming. It was designed after I started Skeena. · I used a Yeti style cockpit rubber latch as I was afraid I’d catch my heals on those metal ones in the video. I’d like a report as mine aren’t lockable. · Yes, a pivoting tiller allows me to put the tiller on the bunk when I’m traveling on long trips. · I like that bungy rudder downhaul setup, but it looks pretty Rube Goldberg-ish. My uptight German genes are slightly offended. · I went a different direction on the ladder as I felt like that type of ladder would catch the sheets. Am I wrong? · The idea of putting a cleat on the cabin top for a spring-line is appealing. · Mizzen sheet holding the masts down…..genius. · Those light masts are really a joy. · The mizzen cleat should rotate. When I capsized, I just couldn’t release the mizzen without leaning forward to try and release. That put my weight in and contributed. · My mizzen sheet loads are high for all the reasons in your race follow up. · Rowing isn’t something I plan to do much, but a standup paddleboard paddle is amazing. You can bump the tiller over a bit and paddle from one side facing forward and get a lot of power for short bursts.

I flew twice to Raleigh and drove down. The first time I stayed in New Bern. It was a pain. Second time I rented a minivan and used it as a tent. Much more fun! This year Skeena will make an appearance behind my car.

Ha, glad priorities are restored!

So true. My wife is so patient with all the noise and dust and letting me go sailing. Not to mention she's a great mom!