CS17 launching and beaching

[Pippo]

How practical/feasible would it be to keep a CS17 on a sandy beach, push it into the shallow water (on inflatable rollers, maybe) when needed, and haul it back on the beach at the end of the day? How many people would be needed to do this? (No ramps nor moorings around here, sorry )

[Ken_Potts]

Hi Pippo,

My CS17 isn't finished yet so I can't speak from personal experience but I know Graham has run the Everglades Challenge a couple of times and one of the requirements of the race is that the crew (of two, in Graham's case) be able to move the fully loaded boat from above the high water mark to the water without assistance. I believe Graham and Fred used inflateable rollers.

[Kidd]

I have run my CS 17 on the beach on numerous occasions. I have never pulled it all the way up on the beach.By using some kind of cart I think that 2 people could launch from a beach or bank easily. Given a friendly slope.

[Kidd]

I can't think of any reason that wouldn't work. I have some friends that live a block off the bay. I really have been wanting to sail there. A CS 20 would be just the ticket. It would be a big boat to pull out by yourself though.

[JeffM]

I don't know about a 17, but I find it tough to pull my cs20 up my sloping driveway even though it's on a good trailer with good tires and the driveway is paved! I think it probably weighs 600lb, the trailer maybe 400 more. Graham and Fred, remember, are mainly going downhill into the water at the Watertribe Challenge.

[Ken_Potts]

Jeff has a good point about the uphill drag.

However - Pippo, If you have a permanent spot to leave the boat on the beach maybe you could drive a post into the sand and use a winch to retrieve the boat and dolly.

I'm a big beleiver in using mechanical advantage wherever possible...

[Charlie Jones]

I was thinking the same thing Ken. After all BIG boats have been launched and retrieved off of beaches for centuries, by hand.

The Core Sound boats are particcularly good for this since the centerboard is offset which keeps it up off the beach so sand and or gravel doesn't get the chance to jam the board- that's why the very early boats such as the "No Man Island" centerboarders had offset boards.

[Pippo]

That might be the only viable solution. Would you still use inflatable rollers to make things easier? And, would you expect the CS15 to be significantly easier to haul than the 17?