Fatty Lumpkin Rides

[Guest Dennis M]

The subject line does not refer to the author of this post  but rather to CS 15 #14 which was successfully launched today. The aggravation I experienced while building almost lead me to name the boat that, but all of that was washed away this a.m. and p.m. as my friend, David C (who took the pics you will see) and I spent several hours sailing in conditions that ranged from zephyrs to 10-15mph winds. A very good day all in all to get a feel for how the boat behaves and what I can expect in the future. Were there any negatives regarding the maiden voyage, of course. There are 3 that I can think of:

1. The c/b trunk spits water from the top and I wonder if others have experienced similar things and what they did about them.

2. The bailer does not work under 5 knots -- is this common?

3. The aft thwart was not bedded in enough 3M 101 and so leaked which was the main source of water finding its way into the boat. This will be easily fixed.

Everything else worked like a charm: fore/aft and side tanks stayed dry, nothing broke, and the two modifications  that would have affected sailing performance most worked perfectly. What were they?

The sail plan, not a cat-ketch, but a spritsail sloop of 108sqft total area (21 in the jib and 87 in the main). My concern here was the balance. While my drawings indicated that the fore and main would balance perfectly over Graham's cat-ketch COE, we all know that in reality things don't always go so well. But the sail plan worked beautifully. The boat was so light on the helm that two fingers were enough to keep her on course and she often steered herself both off the wind and while beating.

The second modification was to the rudder. While building the boat I became frustrated with bending the pintles to fit the rudder head as Graham designed it. When I had bent one pintle into some modern artistic shape which looked more like a nightmare from Salvadore Dali than a pintle, I decided to copy Hereshoff's rudder design from his Meadowlark. It is similar to the rudder I have on my Dobler. This is what it looks like:

[Oyster]

Well Congratulations are in order! You waited a long time and nice work! You will get the kinks worked out. And no I do not get water up my trunk.

[dave chase]

This post is mostly to echo what Dennis has already said.  In short, the boat is a little jewel.  After about 40 years of racing and cruising larger keel boats, I'm really enjoying small boat sailing.  Dennis did some serious studying to make his sail rig work on the CS15.  The balance was really very good in the light to moderate winds that we had yesterday.  We did discuss some refinement in the jib lead position, but that is certainly to be expected.  All in all it is a very successful project.

[JeffM]

Beautiful boat, Dennis!  I find the spritsail to be an intriguing rig: supposed to point as well as a bermudan, and can handle a jib even when unstayed.  As far as your experiences, yes the cb trunk spits (I stuff a sponge in the aftermost part of the slot), and yes my bailer begins drawing just past 5kt (it'll gradually flood the cockpit if left open at lower speeds).  Your rudder is interesting: do the cheeks drag much?  I have been building a new rudder after losing mine, and I don't have patience with the original design.  Mine will be similar to Michalak's simple rudders: blade simply bolts to side of stock.  I only need to make sure there is enough radius of wood around the pivot on both stock and blade so that it will be strong in sideways stresses.

[Guest Dennis M]

Oyster: Thanks for the kindness. I fixed the leak this a.m. and as far as I am concerned, all the kinks have been worked out. Now it is just fiddlin' time, which never ends, I am told, until the boat sinks.

Jeff, thanks, too, for your kind words. I read about your "adventure" on the main forum and am sorry to hear about the damage your boat received.

I had a rudder like you are contemplating on a Bolger skiff. It worked very well. I don't think you will find it performing much differently than the one drawn for your boat. It is not a good looking beast, but it is functional.

As for my rudder, I cannot tell you how much drag is caused by the two plywood "Cheeks" holding the blade to the head. The "cheeks" are 3/8 marine grade ply. I probably could have gotten away with 1/4". To make one of these, you draw a large diameter circle and the centerpoint of the circle is the pivot point. Try to draw the circle such that the rudder blade kicks-up above the bottom of the boat for effective beaching. This is best done with cardboard patterns. I generally draw the circle such that the inboard arc misses the lower aft part of the pintle making it possible for the "cheeks" to swing freely without being obstructed by the pintle (not the pin, but the tangs). Also, and while I did not do it on this rudder, I make the "stop" correspond to the bottom of the pintle (again, not the pin, but the tangs). The "cheeks" are 11-12" long and shaped as you see in the pic. Drill a hole for the pivot, lay the rudder blade in the head in its down position and once you are satisfied with the placement of the cheek, mark 3 holes through the cheek and into the rudder blade with a finishing nail. You can bolt or screw the cheeks to the blade as you see fit. I used #8 ss screws. The cheeks should be roughly half on the head and blade. The blade is all 3/4 stuff and is plenty strong for the boats I have sailed and owned in the past. You might have to increase the scantlings for your boat to suit. Note, the circle will be large making the aft part of the rudder head a couple of inches wider than the ones drawn for your boat. However, once you get things set where the blade kicks up high enough for beaching, you can trim down the board so that it looks more in proportion.

Spritsails: I have been sailing with one for the past 8 years and I love 'em. I like their aesthetics and I like the way they perform and I like their simplicity. I am not sure a spritsail points as high as a jib headed sail. A laser would have me for lunch, for example, on a windward course. I read somewhere that a spritsail is only about 80% as efficient as a jib headed sail to windward. It was not clear to me if he was quoting a fact or giving an opinion based on his experience with spritsails. But my own experience says if you put 2 equally proficient sailors in similar hulls, the jib header is going to get to windward more efficiently than the low aspect spritsail.  My mast is 13'4" and my sprit is 14' and, as you note, I can fly a jib very effectively without standing rigging. The biggest draw back, in my esitmation, is that you cannot reef a spritsail except on the beach. Dave Chase noted yesterday how much easier lowering and reefing the balanced lug he uses on his yawl is. So true, but a brail or tryce would be a helpful thing on my sail if I did anything more than daysail my boat. I did have such things in my previous boat and used them for awhile. The inconvenience of the clutter of extra line this requires is not worth the trouble for the type of sailing I do.

Anyway, I think this winter I will sit by the fire and draw up a "spritsail cat-ketch" to fit the existing mast positions of the CS 15. I think it would look very good and be a very powerful rig for this boat.

[Guest Dennis M]

Had the boat out again today. What a revelation! Wind was not quite 15mph as their were no whitecaps on the lake. Let's say 12. My fastest speed off the wind was 6.7 mph according to Mr. Garmin. This was nothing considering my amazement at recording 6.4 mph beating to windward . This is simply uncanny! But I'm lovin' every minute. I'm taking my wife out on Sunday. The last few times we have been sailing in my Dobler, she has taken the tiller exclusively. When I have asked her to change course to arrive at a particular destination, she simply looks at me and says, "Nope, I want speed!" When I told her how fast the CS 15 was, her eyes lit up with a maniacal fire. I'm beginning to worry about her. Wait until she gets a hold of the tiller on Lumpkin! I may have to build her a boat of her own.  ;D

[Oyster]

Pretty neat, try to get as much time on the water as you can. You only have about two weeks left of summer before the snow begins to fall. Then you may have to travel south and leave the boat in a warmer area so that it does not suffer the ill effects from filling up with snow after the Messabout at Graham's.  If you can't find a place over that way and need a place I have an empty parking space now.