Steve W

Knight Assembled Labor Of Sweetness! Fantastic!

Awesome. My least favorite part of building, but part of the journey. On a side note, there is no chance that everything you are wearing doesn't get paint on it. My kids (and my) confidence in their abilities to stay clean is way higher than reality. That looks like a nice sweatshirt. Enough dad talk. I'm looking forward to the day you are rewarded for all your effort.

I have a light grey hull and I thought everything would show. I added some eye straps to attach fenders and the halyard/backstay when I fly my mizzen staysail and they don't show hardly at all. especially from more than 10 feet away FWIW. Have you seen any of Roger Barnes videos?

Wow Jay, No Name is a beauty! ? I can't wait to see her in person!

There is a thread here that has a lot of info on trailers. Continental makes a series for skiffs that are perfectly suited for CS and similar boats. Lightweight and low to the ground. Here's a link their their page: https://www.continentaltrailers.com/galvanized-bassboat_jonboat.htm I bought a 1812 for my CS20.3, but it may be too big for your boat. But these trailers are sweet. I used Uship to get one delivered here in NY as they have no dealers, but all the other trailers I could find were way too heavy. It hauls like it isn't there.

I bought a trailer for my Sea Pearl made by continental. I bought a similar one for Skeena. Low to the ground. The right springs reasoably light weight.

Skeena ais hibernating. I'm bored so I'm gluing up a new main sprit. Me plan is to replace the old main sprit and repurpose it to the mizzen, making each a bit longer. I saw somewhere in a post where there is a way to change the snotter so it doesn't need to be eased as the sail gets let out. While I'm back in the shop fooling around I'm interested in this change. Take Care, Steve

I had some from duckworks before I bought some from B & B. I liked B & B's better with almost non-existent blush. The 2:1 ratio seemed pretty much the same and I decided that is the pumps were close enough the chart was too. I've never wound up without a good mix. what I like is that mixing even a tiny amount is possible with this approach.

FTR, Harbor freight sells electronic gram scales that make mixing even the tiniest amounts really easy. I got to the point I'd not ever count squirts. I still pump the right amount of resin, look at a chart and pump the hardener to the correct amount. Perfect every time! I use this chart for all my 2:1 epoxy, which has almost all been B & B: https://s3.amazonaws.com/duckbbs/supplies/epoxy/epoxy_weight_ratio.pdf

Nice. I like boats named after people. After all that work you know the namesake must be pretty special. Steve

How did I miss this. Nice! This should be pinned at the top of the forum.

She looks great and while I liked the building of Skeena, I like your "budge to the front of the get sailing line" approach! A couple of reefing observations on your pictures. The tack of your sail should be in about the same spot no matter what reef you have in. This keeps the windage low. It may be an optical illusion, but the sails look like they are running high in your pics. I could be wrong......... On Skeena, I pulled the sail to the top and made a mark on the sail track where the downhaul hook attaches. I then lowered the sails to each reef point so that the new downhaul tack grommet location matched the un-reefed location. Next I made a permanent mark (I find spray paint used over a masked are works best, sharpie wears off) to set the halyard to when reefing. If done this way, the sail will be lowest and that will make tying in the reef lines manageable from standing in the cabin and reaching up. I think standing up on that cabin top is a really bad idea, especially single handed. I have Skeena snuggled away in the barn right now, but I'm planning on 2022 being a record year for sailing, knock on Okume. Take Care, Steve

I found the instructions just right. The important info is spelled out and pretty clear. I did make a couple calls to B & B when I wasn't sure and got more answer that I asked for every time! I was a cautious first time builder so it took me longer, but it's a great project.

I don't have a build log, because when I built the Suzy J I didn't think of having one and just asked occasional questions. But here are a few videos to keep you focused: Sailing and Motoring. Sailing with my kids Sunfish And my favorite sailing video of all time: Also, there is a link in my signature to a lot of build pics. Hard to believe the kids are all away now.......

So here's the thing. On your new boat, you solve a lot of problems, but being able to find where all your stuff is isn't one of them.......lots of places to lose things on a Mark 3.

That's a heck of a deal.....

Joe mentioned on the messabout thread a tip Graham mentioned about better upwind performance by getting the sail flatter. I mentioned I felt I embarrassed the B & B legacy with my lousy windward performance at the MASCF. I had a great race going until the upwind finish. The problem/solution was twofold: My water ballast tank had leaked overnight and was 3/4 full on a light wind day and I had no idea. While you were all having fun at the mess-about I wired up a three-way valve and a second bilgepum to pump water out so that never happens again. My sprits were a little short, so sail shape was really not very powerful upwind. I made a new Main Sprit and moved the original main, cut down a bit to the Mizzen. FTR, I think the snap hooks add about two inches of needs to the sprit lengths, and if I had to do the race at the MASCF over again I would have tied the snotter lines and the sail direct as a work-around. No need anymore. Finally, a tip for all who wonder what to do with the reef line excess when reefed or when transporting the sprits (I've made it a rule to always rig both reefs!). The little elastic bands girls and some boys used to tie their ponytails up that are sold in the drugstore are perfect for installing on your sprit. Tip:The black ones are the most UV resistant. Coil the excess and stuff under one of these. It also works for transport and I never bothered installing the fairleads on the sprits as afew spaced along the sprit wit hte reef line run under works fine. Get extra as the sun will weaken them over a season, but they sure work good.

I'm not entirely sure I shouldn't have gone with a bigger motor than my Suzuki 2.5 and I sized my well for it. Todd, when you read this let me know how the Tohatsu is working for you. I like the FNR.

Todd, congratulations on your launch. Saw a few pics. Love the hull color and 6 ports. More pics please! Steve lov

Even a Spindrift is a big commitment, and I agree that the advice of getting on the water now with a cheap boat ready to go boat is good advice. There's a short window where kids have your attention and you can miss it. As for "bigger is better" I'm not sure I agree. Build an 11 or 12 and it's heavier and harder to handle, and in some cases the beam on the mother ship might not let it be on davits. I think sizing for your average group (you and your grandson) is the way to go and will give you a better boat, easier to handle and rig, that you can use in the future. I built an 11N and wish I just built a 10 for all the reasons others stated. There is a picture of a Spindrift in the back of a van squeezed between the fender wells. I can assure you it wasn't an 11! I had to get a trailer for fine as cartopping isn't practical.

I bought a canoe 30 years ago and when I asked how much it weighs the elderly salesman said 52 pounds but it got 5 pounds heavier every 10 years. It took me a minute to get it. I Sail with a lot of different friends with difference types of boats and I watch the challenges of raising masts. That I can raise both tabernackled masts on my CS20.3 with one hand is a joy.

This guy walks up and tells me him and his wife have the Cat anchored and they have a Youtube channel and would I answer a few questions......they cut out the B & B promotion......

"I have cut enough plywood in my life and don’t feel short changed when the CNC parts fit together so beautifully" I struggled with the concept of having the parts cut out, but it sure sped up the process. I am over my issue and proudly proclaim that I built my boat. I sometimes think the B & B advertising that focuses on the kits should be changed to focus on their wonderful boats, but they aren't wrong that it's pretty nice building from them. Also, you are lucky your wife supports your building. I'm on sabbatical of not my choosing right now!. I look forward to watching your build.

IS that a modified CS20 like Dawn Patrol?

Amos, The bay crossing was exciting, but in a really good way. Doug and I got a late start crossing as I had a Zoom meeting for work that morning. Doug got some ice from a marina while I worked, so by the time we poked out of the Rhodes river it was 11 and the wind was freshening. The first 1/3 of the crossing was just joyful with full sail and not much chop, and then the wind freshened to the point I decided to put the first reef in. Doug already had one in and radioed that he was getting wet with spray and decided to put in a second one in his Marsh Cat. Without a Mizzen, that is an adventure, so I just hung out until he was underway again. I did take an occasional little splash, but remained relatively dry and now Skeena was in her element. There are a few zigs in the map in my previous post where I had to go back to wait for Doug. These were purposely inefficient tacks with luffing. Here's the last pic of the sea conditions I took: That pic is low res, but the boat on the left is the Gaff rigged Marsh Cat. I think that is Poplar Island on the left and probably Kent Point on the right. I'd been flying at 7+ and this is the second blip where I went back to be a better wingman. For the record, my boat has 5 feet more of waterline and is much faster and water ballasted and decked. But those Marsh Cats are very capable and Doug is an excellent and cautious sailor. We tucked into Tilghman Creek and took a lunch break. By now the wind was shifting to south/southwest, so I stayed in the lee of the western shore of the Miles river. I got to St Michaels at around 6:30 and the wind had lightened and I just sailed around the harbor while Doug caught up. I didn't really want the day to end. I put up the tent and that thing is gold. It kept the heavy dew off the seats forward of the mizzen, let me leave the hatch open at night (too cold for bugs) and gave me great shade all week. I never disassembled it as it fits below just rolled up and rigs in two minutes. I keep a list of improvements and I came home with just three. The dreaded too short sprit. I made mine two inches longer than the plans and I had trouble de-powering by flattening. I'm going to move the main sprit to the mizzen and make a new main sprit. I'm going to add a bilge pump to empty the tank. I have one rigged to fill it and it's whisper quiet. Those two-way pumps are noisy and expensive, so I'm just going to add another cheap bilge pump and wire a two-way switch for in and out. There may need to be a second valve. Winter is time for this kind of thing. I feel bad about my poor race performance, but I know the full tank in those light breezes was partially responsible. The second is to figure a way to plug the cockpit drains. I had six people in the boat and the guys in the back got wet feet. Also, when I was in Annapolis I had to back out of a spot for quite a long time in reverse and a bit of water was pushed in. When I was building the boat I had considered just putting a PVC ball valve in tubes. Whatever I do, this is a low priority. I do want to sail with Alan and/or Graham to figure out how to get more out of my sails. But the messabout just isn't in the cards this year due to work. But next year, knock on wood, I'll take a bunch of time off. All in all, it was a great week. Best thing was that there wasn't any other boats I coveted. Skeena is just a fantastic boat.