Unexpected Development: Charlie Girl II

[kydocfrog]

Well. After too many years of not owning a boat, I started out over the last year to assemble tools, plans, and even some clear space in the garage to build a boat. I had decided to join the dark side and switch to power, because central Kentuck is more about steep, small lakes and rivers than sailing water, and it seemed a simpler place to start anyway. That made sense at the time. No complex rigging, sitting headroom in a small cuddy, a place for a little camp stove to brew up a cup, big cockpit, and nice simple flat shapes even I could master...done deal.

Now, months and months and a lot of sketch models and plans from Jim Michalak, I have been overtaken by a completely unexpected development. I bought a partially finished Weekender. It came home Friday. She was called to my attention on the classified forum by a friend. I went, I saw, she conquered. I have to credit the original builder's superb workmanship with convincing me that she needed to be finished.

She carries the working name Charlie Girl II. Charlie Girl I was a Cape Dory HandyCat that I have aluded to in an earlier post about lazy jacks. I suspect that I will have some questions. I'm curious about the original knifeblade keel design and ballast. I have some thoughts to kick around on alternate rigs. I've brained my wife with a gaff before, and still shiver at the memory of large pieces of "flying fir trees" during accidental jibes all standing on the Chesapeake Bay. And I need multiple use out of her. She is going to need to be both a beach cruiser under sail and a picnic launch on the river; kind of like Pocket Cruiser is positioned on steveproj. But, here she is.

BTW, I still don't have enough clear space in the garage.

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[Guest]

Well. After too many years of not owning a boat

Heck the looks on those guys faces says you are................ 8)

Welcome to our world. You may want to remember a line that some of us use when talking about boats, owning boats, and being around boats.

You can always check out, be you will never leave or give up this addiction. :wink:

Keep us abreast of the future progress.

[Frank Hagan]

You are right, this boat must be finished. The builder used some fine materials, and it looks like the steering system is already set up, so much of the hard part is done.

Imagine if she never touched water? Or lived out her life rotting in a side yard? You had no choice! You had to save her!

(And welcome to the "magnificent obsession")

[Johannah]

We do things like this out of pure generosity so that our children will have a fresh supply of stories to tell about us. Who would want to have parents who never did anything colourful? Well, probably a lot of teenagers. That boat looks just great and will be on the water next year by the looks of it. For picnic boat purposes, try leaving the whole mast off sometimes and just motor around.

[RussMartin]

Do I see a conventional pintle-and-gudgeon arrangement on that rudder box? Can you post a close-up at some future point?

[Tim Diebert]

Russ, I second that...I had noticed the same thing.

If you are thinking of a beach cruiser....you will find cutting down the 'forefoot' to be a vast improvement for beach access.

[kydocfrog]

It is a pintle and gudgeon arrangement, stainless, which I didn't realize was different till I started reading the plan book. I'll send a shot. Also, there is what appears to a quite different tensioning arrangement involving a turnbuckle accessible through the lazarette access under the wheel.I'll try to get a shot of that for comment also after I get the cradle braced so I can climb into the cockpit. There really is some nice detailing on the boat which I have to live up to.

Tim D. I'm actually quite interested in the forefoot mod you made. I suspect, as you said in a post, it is a bit of a bear. (I've been lurking ever since the possibility of this boat surfaced...) At least I don't have finish and glass to worry about yet. How much did you actually take off; do you think removing it necessitated the centerboard, and have you done a skeg extension on the aft end of the keel yet?

DavidA

KyDocFrog

[Tim Diebert]

David.

If you do plan on removing the forefoot, let me know and I will do a scale drawing from the plan book that came with my boat.

I have not done the skeg mod yet. After sailing this boat many miles this year I now know it will need to be done to get the level of balance I want.

If you do the skeg I gaurentee the boat will sail as well as it does stock...and better. Even without doing the dagger board. If you just cut down the forefoot (as mine is now), you will still have improved beaching and better tacking through the wind...though I am quite sure it will not track all that well. I have rounded up to windward and forgotten to put the board down (several times) and found the boat to sail to windward as well as it did with the stock 'keel' configuration.

If you add the skeg and cut down the forefoot, you will reduce the weather helm by buckets and the boat will tack through the wind like a proper sailboat. If you add a keel (board), you will have great tracking improvement and better windward performance....but best of all, a balanced helm with a slight weather edge to it. The happy byproduct of all this is being able to run up on a beach, walk out to the foredeck and easily step off onto shore without the boat doing 15 degree rolls.

[Tim Diebert]

...oh and if you do just use the boat for a motor cruiser, you will find that if you can add a bit of ballast (150lbs or so) in the forepeak area it will not pound as much in a chop. I have 230# of lead in a more central area and it stabilizes the boat quite a bit. Even for motoring.

As you mentioned in your initial post, of sitting headroom. Obviously you won't get this with your new WE...but if it reamains a motor cruiser, a soft top or bimini of some kind would be nifty.

These boats motor nicely but fore-aft trim needs to be considered....as with any small boat I guess. The thing is with a WE is that it is tough to keep folks forward for trim...so some sand bags work well for human replacements.....

[kydocfrog]

Tim

Thanks much for info. I have followed some of the earlier ballast discussions. I'm planning on battery in the forepeak. Small sand or shot bags sound like a very good solution also given the shape. Placement of water storage also under consideration. Ballast forward for trim could be even more important with a kicker on the stern. I want to get some more foam up there too, maybe on underside of foredeck or in a pair of fitted wedge shaped filets between the foredeck and the upper run of the hull. Will be looking for several places to slip in some extra flotation.

I'm thinking that since I have to turn her over and glass pretty early in this project, I may trim the forefoot some. Turning her should be a hoot. But if I don't do it soon, I'll run out of weather. I found your earlier photo showing the forefoot area on your boat. Neat, especially the copper (?) strip. Nicely detailed. BTW, Charlie Girl II came with a really sharp kranse iron.

The bimin/picnic awning for the power configuration is definitely in the thinking.

[Tim Diebert]

Turning over a WE is easy. Nothing to it. I use a bunch of old tires to protect stuff and just use three guys (or gals) and about two six packs.

Doing the forefoot now, before paint etc., would be good. If you are considering it, then now is the time for sure. Hopefully you have glassing experience, if not...dive in anyway. Lots of help around here. (don't ask me though...I absolutely hate the stuff.)

As for the skeg...if you are thinking of going that way....it could be through bolted deadwood, well bedded and wicked....leaving the existing keel shape alone. I am thinking of doing it that way. Using a nice stout chunk of Oak...or some Gumwood I have hanging about. I am just deciding on removing the vertical keel piece that goes up the transom and going to the gudgeon and pintle hardware with an entirely new rudder. Never sailed a boat with that kind of arrangement...wondering how to keep it 'down'.

The rubbing strip is copper....I get it from an industrial electrical outfit that does massive transformers and such. They use this 1 1/2" X 1/4" stuff for bus bars...kind of like a fuse I guess. Sometimes they let it go cheap. I have used it for a few things on the boat.

[kydocfrog]

Purchased a sharp pop-up kicker mount yesterday from Ebay. Now I have to figure out how to get into the lazarette space to reinforce the transom. Previous builder used the mod to steering using turnbuckle tensioning rather than through bolts that has been described on the MSN "Modifications" site. I've to to get in with some mirrors or whatever and figure out where I can put inspection ports and how to get backing plates in. Got another minor problem with the bits. They weren't installed prior to putting the hull sides on and there is absolutely no room available to go in and drive the tansverse mounting screws. This will be interesting... I really have to figure this all out, particularly transom, before I roll her. The rolling cradle has been designed.

This is FUN!

[Tim Diebert]

Here is what my boat looks like when beached. I took this yesterday. As you can see, wandering down the side deck to jump off the foredeck on the beach is easily done. Or at least easier than it was before.

[kydocfrog]

Tim; Looks so nice.

Thanks for the earlier drawing and notes.

Re your comment on gud. and pintle rudders and keeping them down; not sure. Charlie Girl I had the huge barn door rudder typical of New England Cats. Only signifiicant problem was picking the thing up.

I'm waiting arrival of various resins and bits and pieces.

I notice you skipped the splash coamings completely. Any comments on that in retrospect? I've been making pencil marks and thinking about simpler ways to do that than the bread and butter system proposed in the plans.

Thanks for your interest.

DavidA

[Tim Diebert]

I did not build my boat David. I traded a motorcycyle for it...so none of the building decisions were mine. I just hacked the thing apart and changed a few things is all. I have lots of things to change yet.

But, having said that, I am glad the PO did not add the coamings even though I do suffer from wet ass syndrome. Reason being that with coamings it no longer becomes easy or comfortable to get your butt out as far as you can when needed. In fact. it is quite comfortable on the side deck when sailing in a stiffy. I would much rather be able to hang it out than keep water out.

[Mark Gudschinsky]

I did not build my boat David. I traded a motorcycyle for it

Good trade!