Mast, motor and suprised

[Joel B]

When I bought my motorcycle I planned about three weeks sleeping on the couch as part of the cost. That was 4 years ago and she still hasn't got on the bike. But as I told her about my plans for the boat she offered to let me build a shop this summer and offered to help make the sails.  I know there is a catch here somewhere but I can't see it yet.

Talking to other friends about the boat they are also excited.  but it brings up a couple of questions.  one is about the masts.  one of my buddies works at an aluminum extrusion plant and can get me mast material for bulk aluminum prices.  I am thinking of buying the material now because the prices are low even though I won't need them until next summer.  The question is wooden masts look so darn good.  How much performance do you lose with the  wooden bird nest mast setup Vs the aluminum?

another friend has a motor he bought to use as a trolling motor but he doesn't use it and offered it to me.  If its the motor I think he is talking about its an 8 hp 4 stroke.  I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth but I think that might be too big for a CS 20.  any advise?

thanks

Joel

[PeterP]

Don't let that woman out of your sight is all I can tell you. Regarding the mast -as Par pointed out elsewhere on this forum -there are cruisers and then there are racers. The cruisers tend towards wooden masts because they have the time to admire the beauty of wood plus they don't usually worry about squeezing every last bit of performance out of the rig. The racers will tend towards the stiffer aluminium because it is more efficient and that's the way life is for them. The sails -as designed- are meant to go on aluminium. The difference in performance is negligible IMHO. As for the motor if the price is right you can make it work but it is way too much horsepower and way too much weight. See if you can trade it for something half the size. Check the leg - make sure it will reach the water for you. PeterP

[Joel B]

Peter

Thanks for the comments.  As far as the motor goes the price is right because he wants to give it to me but I still think its too big so I will probably tactfully turn him down or gracefully accept and then trade it for something smaller.  This is the same buddy that talked me into the afore mentioned bike.

As far as the masts go the boat is a winter project for me (the catch is I have to roof the house, before I can build the shop, before I build the boat...) so I have a while before i have to decide.  When I got my bike I was asking all kinds of technical questions about performance but my buddy said it all comes down to which bike you want to look at while you polish it.

Thanks

Joel

[mustangermatt]

I've had solid spruce masts on my CS 17 for about 5 years. They are plenty stiff, 3 1/2" at the base to about 40% up the mast then tapering to 2" at the top. I think they are a little heavier than aluminium, and certainly more expensive.

But they look REALLY good and the boat gets comments wherever I take it.

[Terry Dunn]

I have a long shaft 5 hp 4 stroke for my cs20. It has more power than necessary. It weighs close to 60 pounds and hangs in my garage most of the time. I went for 5 hp because I live in Colorado and have had my boat on lakes at 9,000 ft. I was concerned about less power at altitude. I may try to trade it for a Honda 2 hp.

If you want to curb your wife's enthusiasm about the boat I could send you pictures of my boat upside down in Cherry Creek with the masts stuck in the mud.

[Guest LeeH]

I'd like to see that, myself. Is there an interesting story that goes along with it?

[PeterP]

I'll second that motion! PeterP

[Terry Dunn]

Here you go:

http://www.messing-about.com/forums/index.php?topic=5532.0

[Guest LeeH]

Yikes! Glad it all worked out. Is that the CS 20 that has the blue/white sails? It's a pretty boat.

Several decades ago, the racing members of our club decided to go one design and we all started to hunt for Flying Scots. I bought old #1213 (a 1967), and it came with a bunch of "Scots N Water" magazines (the class mag) that dated back to the 50s. Much of the earlier issues had been written by Gordon Douglass, who designed the FS. Anyway, to make a long story short, Douglass adamantly claimed he had NO sheet cleats on his boat. Hand held all the way. Hardly practical if you're eating a sandwich or flying a chute, but there is a good message in there somewhere. I must have raced 1000 FS races and never flipped it. (Came very, very close once. Yep, mainsheet had twisted into a "knot" and jammed in the cleat.)

[Joel B]

Terry

We'll just keep that photo our little secret.  "of course sailing is perfectly safe honey. Trust me."

I'm going to be sailing on high altitude lake here in Utah, around 7,000 ft. What are some of the considerations for high altitude?

Joel

[Terry Dunn]

High altitude mountain lakes. Cold water. Sudden changes in wind direction and velocity. Afternoon thundershowers.

Wait a minute. That sounds like the reservoir just down the road. About 5700 feet. Although the water isn't as cold as the 9,000 ft lakes.

Yep. That is the boat with the blue and white sails. The core sound boats do have nice lines. It is difficult to see the sails in that picture. If you look close at the bottom of the boat you can see the 3/8" doug fir ply I used for the bottom four panels. I used okoume for the rest. I am from the NW and had to have some doug fir. I was not smart enough to fiberglass the doug fir inside under the seats so there is some checking inside the hatches. I should have used okoume or meranti rather then the doug fir. There really wasn't much difference in the price as I did use marine doug fir from Edensaw.

I ripped regular lumber yard 2X stock for the dimensional lumber. Used a 2X4 for the keel batten and keel. It was all marked doug fir. Nowadays all I see here is hemlock fir. Butt joints on the panels. Twice as much epoxy as it should take. I couldn't decide what color to pait her so she is finished with Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane to protect from UV. Hope it works.

The amazing part is my wife has gone out in the boat again after I dumped her in the water. I suspect she goes along to save me if I need it. She may be right.