Cat Ketch rig

[jackO]

Hi everyone, I really need some help here. I found a little boat in the mangroves I knew nothing about, but if you look at page 36 of Small Craft advisory you will see my little C-Lark 14'. The original rig is kind of banged up and missing hardware and the boom. I would like to change this (135 sq. ft. sail area main and jib) from the more aggressive current sloop rig to the Cat/Ketch. I spoke with Graham through e-mails and he agrees that the CS15 rig will probably work with some modifications. I just looked back at the CS15 and the sail area is 100 sq. ft. but the CS17 is 119 sq. ft. would it be better to get the CS17 sails? or stick with the CS15.

Now the last e-mail that I got from Graham and I know he is very busy was the price of the sails, but his answer about the masts was a little vague. Can anyone out there help me with this? I have seen in the B&B web site pictures of boats with the sails attached with a sleeve to an aluminum mast. Can anyone link me to where I can purchase sails and masts? I would like to enter this little boat in the Everglades Challenge in 2009, but I need sails to do it.....Thank you everyone for your help with this, all comments are welcome......Jacko...sorry wifey calling, gotta go....J

[Ken_Potts]

  Hi Jacko,

  Welcome to the forum!

  I've got a CS17 so I don't know the particulars of the CS15 masts but the aluminum masts for the 17 are each made from two sections of 6061-T6 Aluminum tubing and a top section of wood.  The wood piece fits into the smaller diameter aluminum tube and the smaller diameter aluminum tube fits into the larger diameter aluminum tube.

  Sorry, I don't know the lengths, diameters, or thicknesses for the CS15 mast pieces.

  The aluminum tube can be gotten from various sources.  I found an aluminum supplier about 40 minutes from my house in central NC.  Are you in Fla?  6061-T6 Aluminum shouldn't be too hard to find.  Some overseas builders have had to go with a different alloy but GREAT care should be taken with choosing a substitute (if it is at all possible for you to get 6061-T6 get it).

  There are some threads on the forum for hollow bird's-mouth construction if you want to go with all-wood masts.

  I'm not aware of any commercially available CS15 masts (or any secondhand ones).

  I'll have to look for the C-Lark 14 picture.  Sounds like a good project - Keep us updated.

[jackO]

Thanks Ken for your quick reply you have gotten me one step closer. Let me give you the whole story about this little boat. I went to look at a power boat with my son in law, the guy he was going to see has about an acre of land in the mangroves that he uses for storage etc. While we were looking around I went behind a pile of construction trash and there she sat on a trailer with two flats. Overall she is in better shape than the trailer was and I have put in more effort on that than on the actual little boat itself. I asked the guy what he was going to do with the boat, and he said it would probably be broken up with the other construction trash and hauled away. I asked him then how much? He answered a six pack would cover it. Maybe that is what I should name her (Six Pack). Anyway, he did not know much about her, but he did have the main sail and the jib. The mast was on the boat, but the shrouds and the mast itself were in kind of bad shape and we could not find the boom. If this little boat did not look so sweet, I would have let him break her up, but that vertical bow and those sleek lines enchanted me. Much of the work to do is cosmetic as of now, but I made the decision right or wrong that I would change the rig to one a little more docile so I could teach my granddaughters the love of sailing. I took several pictures of the little boat and sent some to a couple of magazines, asking what kind of boat this is. One of the magazines was Small Craft Advisor. As it happens, they were willing to do a story, a before and after, then they informed me they were starting a new column titled the "mystery boat" and I found out that my little boat was a C-Lark. I have not had much time to work on the boat yet, but as I said I did get the trailer ship shape. I will be making some modifications for the new rig which will include a bridge just aft of the center board trunk from gunwale to gunwale to support the mast. The other mast will set through the front deck, I will have to tinker with this location maybe making more than one hole for different sailing conditions. The seats are raised from the bilge of the boat about 3 or 4 inches and are hollow, I will consider using them for water ballast if needed like the sea pearls. I also want to install oar locks and create a rowing position over the end of the center board trunk. Speaking of the center board trunk, I have not looked real close, but I'm puzzled by the way the board (metal) is just sitting in the trunk at this time. It does not seem to have a fulcrum pin or any way that I can see to be lowered or raised or fixed into place. I guess I will have to ask someone with a C-Lark to send me a picture of this. Anyway I do have some other improvements for comfort to consider, as I really would like to enter her in the Everglades Challenge next year. I' also working on parts for the kick up rudder and a tiller that were missing. Thanks for listening, its as much fun telling the story as it is living the story.....Jacko