CS20 camping?

[JeffM]

I want to answer this question in advance of beginning to install the bulkheads and seats in my CS20: What's the best way to make the seats into four bunks for camping? I've seen references to "raising the floorboards," but with no details. I picture a floor grate (teak?) raised level with the seattops in one of two ways: (1) resting them on a ledge of maybe 3/4X1-1/2 running along the fronts of the seats aft of the thwart, and on the seat-fronts and cb trunk forward of the thwart. (2) bolting the floorboards to the fronts of the seats with ss machine screws going into nuts epoxied to the insides of the seat frames (and cb trunk).

Anybody out there ever done this? Other ideas?

By the way, has anyone ever slept aboard their CS? How'd you do it?How'd it go? How stable and smooth was the "ride"?

Jeff Michals-Brown, CS20#65

[Tom Lathrop]

Jeff,

I made the first raising floorboards for Graham's boats and they were installed on the BRS 15 "Loon" as on the website.

There are two plywood floorboards aft of the center thwart split on the centerline. When raised, they rest on 3/4" sq. ledgers all around the aft cockpit. There is a folding leg hinged to the underside near the center to add support. Only one folding leg was needed as there was a lip on that side to support the other floorboard. With some ribs on the underside to stiffen them, the floorboards were made of 1/4" ply but anything larger should be 3/8".

On Loon, these made a berth about 7' by 5' and left room for both side lockers to be opened with the berths made up.

When lowered, the boards were locked in place by a simple rotating wooden latch.

Worked great. Something similar can be done forward on each side of the CB trunk if desired.

[Designer]

Like Tom, I also used 1/4" ply for the floorboards/ bunk tops. I am building floorboards for my CS 17 right now. I had a nice piece of Juniper which when ripped up gave me slats 1/2" thick and a little over 2" wide. They will be held together by 4 cleats of the same dimension and mounted underneath, the top edge of the slats were rounded over with a 1/4" radius router bit.

Because I only intend to sleep 2 on board I am making them to fit either side of the centerboard trunk. They will be mounted on the bottom of the boat aft and will be held down with wood turnbuttons. I will fit wood ledges either side of the trunk for the 4 cleats to rest on so that the slats will be level with the seat tops.

I am making these in spare time in my boatbuilding class so it may be a couple of weeks before they are finished but I will post some pictures when they are finished.

My next project will be the dodger.

[Guest]

If I end up with idle time this week, I will be doing exactly what it appears that Grahamn will be doing to the sides of the centerboard trunk, and will have shots of it in the framing stage to provide here.

[Brent]

I used strips of sassafras 2" wide mounted on an oak frame with the strips about 1/4" apart for my bunk decking. The decking sits on a lip running the perimeter of the seats and centerboard trunk, allowing the area forward of the thwart to be used as a bunk. When not in place the boards fit on the floor.

On the CS20 this results in two bunks forward of the thwart that have been tested to conform to NAP standard ZZZZ3.

[Richard Whitney CS#70]

I have been working on my rubrails and carlins over the weekend, and started to turn my mind to sleeping arrangements as the weather here is just coming right for such things. Graham, I would be interested in your photos once you are finished.

[JeffM]

Thanks, all!

A picture is beginning to form in my mind: 3/4 ledges on the seat side and part of the aft bulkhead. (A hatch prevents ledge from going all the way across.) Some sort of removeable fastener on the cb trunk. A floor of Graham's slatted design. (Any reason it can't be one piece? It can be lifted up at an angle to clear the ledges, but I suppose it would be heavy.) A cutout in the aft end center to allow access to the lazerette. Forward of the thwart same basic idea but in two pieces. The one for the cb side might even be left in place semi-permanently, since there isn't as much floor to loose there anyway.

[Designer]

The first picture shows the floorboards in their bunktop position, giving me two bunks 6'9" long.

The second picture has one floor board flipped over showing the cleats that hold the slats together and the ledge that supports the floorboards.

The ledges are 3/4" wide and 1/2" thick. I made them out of some scraps of walnut that I was given and they are screwed in place with 1" #8 ss flathead screws. When screwing the outboard ledges into the seat sides I had to angle the screws up slightly to catch the seat stringer, it would have been nicer if the seat stringers were deeper in that position.

The floorboards were given 1/8" clearance all around so that they would be easy to drop in place. I have decided to varnish them after I seal them with epoxy.

The cleats are made out of the same piece of juniper (atlantic white cedar) as the slats. Juniper is not a very strong wood and when I bounce in the middle of the large floorboard it bends a fair bit so I will swap them out for some southern yellow pine.

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[JeffM]

Very pretty, Graham! I suppose putting ledges all the way around, while offering better support, would make it difficult or impossible to lift them up in the first place.

[Designer]

Jeff,

The floorboards don't lift straight up. They fit into the aft cockpit area. When I set them up in their sailing position I will post some more pictures.

[Charles Neuman]

Graham, do you have any updated floorboard pics yet? I'm curious how you connect the two sides together to make a floor for the cockpit, if that's what happens.

Charles

CS #135