day sailer boat suggestions???

[Frank Hagan]

I have a cruise n carry and that could be real interesting! Understand about the registering thing. That is why I designed a boat for oar and sail with no accomodation for a motor.

You bought one of those' date=' huh? How's it working?

Oh, sorry ...

HOW'S IT WORKING, SCOTT?

Forgot about the hearing thing!

[ScottWidmier]

You aren't far from the truth in your joke Frank.

Actually, the one I have was given to me by my uncle. Basically it is a weed wacker motor married to a propeller but I like it a lot better than I thought I would. It is loud but pushes along boats surprisingly well for its diminutive size and weight. Worked fine on my pocket cruiser though I prefered using the 4hp evinrude since I had the storage space for the larger motor.

Where the cruise n carry shines is on smaller boats that don't have the space for a backup motor like my Bateau.com C12. The cruise n carry just tucks under a seat and then I know I have the legs to get back no matter how far I sail. Used it to motor the C12 about 2 miles while towing Jim Stumpf and Joe Horvath in Jim's Oxford dingy. Didn't use up a noticable level of gas. Besides the noise, the other disadvantage of the motor is leaking gas from the seals around the gas cap and airvent. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

[pcuenin]

so any one have experience with the spindrift 12 as a small day sailor. Can it hold two??

[Greg Luckett]

so any one have experience with the spindrift 12 as a small day sailor. Can it hold two??

I have been sort of building one for several years now and hope to finish it this coming spring for splashing. I do have an Oday 10, which is similar in size and characteristics. It easily holds my fat carcus :roll: and two boys too, plus gear.

[charlesrider]

1) You will LOVE almost any decently designed boat you build. THUS, build one that is easy to build, doesn't cost a lot, and goes together fast. This way you can love it sooner.

2) If you build one, you will build another. Unless you discover you hate the whole process, you WILL build another (and another). Thus, don't aim too high!

3) You WILL make mistakes. You will screw up the centerboard trunk, have a lopsided transom, sew baggy sails, put the rig in the wrong place, ... . Thus, pick something easy and something that is easy to "modify" (read fix).

Now for some questions: What did you most like about the 420's you sailed? My opinion is that the 420 is a "somewhat" boat: somewhat fast, somewhat responsive, somewhat tippy, somewhat comfortable, ... (you get the idea). If you liked pulling strings, few of the boats I've seen mentioned are for you. If you liked the flying sensation you can get from a fast dinghy (the 420 qualifies) when it is blowing 15, you and the crew are hiked waaaay out and the spray keeps you cool, then the CS's seem like the most fun (I've never sailed one but I take other's word for it). If you like the voyaging part, one of the beamier, more stable, boats is for you.

However, unless you are a nut for detail or are a speed freak, I recommend you start very simple. I like Jim Michalak's boats and you can have one up and sailing soonest. There are a wide variety to choose from: The Mayflies for basic good sailing skiffs, Woobo for a surprisingly fast flatty, Piccup for excellent "messing about", and Skat for something a little more traditional (though small). Graham's Spindrifts look wonderful for those who like something smallish but with a bit more polish than Michalak's designs.

Build one of these and then plan your next project (and plan to buy a house with a bigger garage).

[JeffM]

Ray, I think you forgot the pictures! I want to see 'em, since I've thought of adding something of the sort myself.

[charlesrider]

Ray,

Beautiful!

I actually was not meaning to imply that the CS boats required athletics to make the most of their speed. Actually, I was intending to suggest that those who enjoy fast would enjoy a CS. All the more so because one doesn't have to push hard to go fast.

It does bring up an interesting paradox, one that is noted in the B & B website's comparison of the CS17 and the Bay River Skiff, that the perception of speed is often out of step with actual speed. Thus, a Bay River seems fast, but the Core Sound is faster while seeming more composed.

Same could be said for the Cal40 I used to sail. Other boats FELT faster perched on the edge of disaster with their spinnakers threatening to lever the masthead to the waves and their wakes burying their transoms, but we were GOING faster with our chute in complete control and our wake flat out behind us.

BTW. I'm gonna have a CS sometime. I just have to find the $$$ and time to build it. The time will come, and when it does the money will be available.

Chad