CS-20 MK1 # 36: "Gavia" Restoration

[Andy B]

Watching paint dry is boring. I learned today that watching epoxy dry can be satisfying, if slightly nerve-racking.

 

The mizzen mast step was held in by six crews, and only some light epoxy on the bottom (I think). On our first sail I noticed it wiggling back-and-forth as the mast was  under pressure.

 

this week I watched epoxy videos from West systems, off-center harbor, and Allan‘s excellent video about the mast setup when he built his CS 15.

 

here is my handiwork, perhaps not the prettiest ever, but I think it will hold and be functional.

[Don Silsbe]

Nice job!  Once the epoxy cures, you may remove the screws and fill the holes with epoxy.  Their job is done.  From now on, they only serve as a way for water to seep in and cause rot.

[Andy B]

Thanks, Don.  That's the plan--assuming the epoxy doesn't adhere to the (stainless steel) screws?  I wasn't clear on that.

[Paul356]

That's what you need.

[Andy B]

Yesterday I made the name official:  Gavia.

The prior owner never named the boat--he joked that "Oops" might be appropriate as he worked his way through the building process.   So it was a blank slate for naming this boat.

 

I've thought of many boat names over the year.  A longstanding name is "Welkin", an obscure word meaning "vault of heaven" or sky.  But that's a fancy name, suitable for a fancy boat, which she isn't.  Another option was Bandit, after the dad in a very popular cartoon right now, Bluey (ask your young kids or grandkids, and watch a few episodes yourself!).  This would have fit a theme, as our prior boat was named after a boat in a children's book series (Swallows & Amazons).  However, I feared it might not age well, and the regular meaning of bandit (thief) is not something I would have chosen.

 

Many of you have chosen bird names for your boats, particularly shore or water birds.  One of my favorite birds is a Common Loon.  We have them here in northern Michigan, and a summer doesn't seem complete to me unless I hear a loon shrill at least once.  The latin species name for the common loon is Gavia immer.  I had been pondering that name and I learned that a spanish translation for Gavia is "topsail."  Not only does that fit a boat, my son at the time was in Argentina for the year, so it felt appropriate.

 

Gavia it is.

[Andy B]

I put a name sticker on the starboard side.  The transom is just too crowded, with ladder on one side and outboard on the other.

I think I like this font, but I'm not completely sold.  I like the sizing, it seems to fit.

I may add a loon sticker, something simple, somewhere else.

[Hirilonde]

I like unique and meaningful names. I went through a soul searching to come up with mine, it was fun.  I chose Uinen. She is the protector of inland waterways in Middle Earth. Tolkien mythology.

You're having fun getting the boat in shape. I say building or refitting a boat has to be fun or you need another hobby. Bet you can't wait to sail. Keep having fun, that is what it is all about.

[Andy B]

Last night's project was installing a new pulling winch and coupler on the trailer.  I purchased both from https://www.dutton-lainson.com/,.  Still made in America!

Removing rusty steel is no fun!  I've got some scraped and bruised fingers to show for it.  But the function of the replaced winch is so much smoother and I don't have to worry about it failing on me at a bad time.  The coupler probably wasn't as necessary, but again the piece of mind when trailering will be good.

 

Coming up next week is modifying the rig to allow reefing.  The current default set up is to use the same attachment for the clew and the sprit when reefing.  This needs a very long snotter line, as when reefed the sprits will be far forward.  I am going to try something different.  I plan to keep the sprit in its "normal" position and approximate where the attachments from each reef position will meet the sprit.  I'll drill holes in the sprits at these spots and tie a loop there. 

 

If this works, the procedure to reef will be:  Unfasten the clew from the sprit.  Lower the halyard so the reef point meets the sprit.  Fasten the "new clew" to the sprit loop.  Tighten halyard and tie up sail.

 

We'll see how it goes.

[Captain Tim]

If you need to reef it is because it is windy. If you undo the clew and let go of the sail it is going to flog like crazy. Is there going to be a line from the new clew to the new hole in the spirt that can be drawn tight to reef so the sail won't be free to flog?

[Andy B]

Tim, that's something to think about.  I'm in the test phase right now so not yet.  Also, unlike a lot on here, I very rarely sail alone.  I am picturing that reefing will be a two person job; preferably two other people while I sit at the tiller   Between the two of them they can control the sprit and flogging sail.  We shall see.

[Captain Tim]

This video shows a reefing system similar to the single line reefing I have on my Spindrift that works really well. Just food for thought.

 

[Andy B]

Thanks, Tim.  I've been a bit mystified by the single line reefing.  I have the diagrams but it's good to see it in a video.  My plan is to get the sails up, move them down to the position where they would be reefed, and then set something up accordingly. 

[Jknight611]

I would be very cautious about drilling holes through the sprits,  those suckers have a pretty good load on them when sailing sportily.  

[Andy B]

Reefing question!  I am practicing reefing. I have not set up the single line reefing. 
 

When I tie up the unused sail portion, how do I tie the ends, for and aft?  I have reefing lines in my sails, but only for the middle of the sail. I end up with this sad looking drowsy face of unused sail. 

[Graham]

That is an easy fix.

 

At the forward end of  the sail I see that the sail slides below the reef have come out of the sail track. I cannot see a sail stop / gate in the picture. You need one on each mast to keep the slides contained on the track so that the sails are neat and tidy.

 

At the aft end; before you roll up the foot of the sail, grab the clew and pull it forward so that the leech is paralell to the reef. The fold should be at about 45 degrees from vertical. You can now roll the up the foot of the sail and and tie off the reef points. It should look neat and tidy and be able take normal sailing stresses in strong winds.  

 

If you do not have sail stops, there is a drawing with dimensions. on the mast plans. You can make them out of a plastic cutting board. I know of a few kitchens that have a small corner missing and no one knows the difference, after the edges have been smoothed over and corners rounded to match the board.  Or you can buy them from B&B.

 

We should have a picture of the reefing procedure somewhere. If this is not clear I will try to get one.

[Andy B]

Perfect, thanks!  I do have the stopper; I was being lazy and didn’t put in all the slides and didn’t put in the stopper. How you described it should work!  

[Andy B]

Finally some actual sailing to report instead of a to-do list!  We had a great day sailing Saturday in Muskegon Lake, Michigan, with other sailors (2 Sea Pearls, 2 Wayfarer, 1 O'Day Mariner).  A few decided to stay on the trailer, but the Core Sound 20 really shined in the 18-20 knots. 

We got to learn reefing and unreefing.  I understand now the single-line reefing desire, the sail and the sprit can be a handful!  And by that I mean I had to practice patience for the amount of time it took my adult son to wrangle the clew while I sat at the tiller   He is now keenly interested in the reefing diagrams I got from Alan, by which he means if he sets that up, Dad will have to do the reefing from the back

 

One thing while tacking into the fresh breeze.  We had both sails double reefed, and I was missing several tacks.  Some I completed by backing out the mizzen, others we swung back around and tried to tack again.  We experimented with taking one reef out of the main, so at that point we had a single reef in the main and two in the mizzen.  It really swung through the wind much better then, and we didn't miss another tack.  I don't know if that's a tactic, or if the larger main sail just meant more velocity to swing us through the tack.

[Andy B]

Here are some photos from the weekend.

[Don Silsbe]

I removed the loops on the leech of my sails (at the reef points).  I plan to change to the modern slab reefing setup, once I get the centerboard taken care of.  I’ll probably go to the messabout with single reefs and peeling paint.  Time will tell.  I’ll keep you posted on my refurb. thread.

[Paul356]

Messabout fotos look great.