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Core Sound 17 or 20


Keiffer

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  • 2 months later...

Hi all.  I'm a first time poster (long time reader/day dreamer) and I am in the same boat that Keiffer was in (ugh puns), trying to evaluate which of the Core Sound hulls is right for me.  I feel like the size, handling, and stability of each have boat been covered well but I am wondering if there are any other observations that you old salts might have regarding some of the practical stuff (the stuff I ALWAYS overlook or fail to think of in time, lol).

  • Is there a huge difference in trailer cost between the two?
  • I've never pulled a boat on a trailer, is the 20 footer worlds more difficult to manage?
  • Do the same regulations apply to both crafts (lights for running at night, PFDs, licences, etc) or is there some legal mire hiding between 17' and 20'?
  • Are they both as easy to register and insure?  (I assume this is something you have to do)
  • Is it fair to say that the difference in construction cost would be less than say $200 dollars?  How about the cost of sails for each?

For anyone following in my footsteps (tread lightly ;-)) you may find Palolo Hawaii's comparison of the Core Sound series helpful as well.

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  Hi Richard - Welcome aboard!

  I'm a CS17 driver with a small amount of experience on CS20 #103 Dawn Patrol (Absolutely great boat).

  I really, really wanted to build the CS20 but I didn't think I could manage it in the space available so I built the 17.  In retrospect I think I had enough room to build the 20 but it would have been a real pain in the...

  I got lucky because the 17 is the right boat for me (everyone has different needs for a boat, the 17 just ended up being a good match for me).

  I bought a lot of plans before settling on the CS17 (25' Seabird Yawl, Roberts 28, Princess 22).  The thing that finally grabbed me was thinking about the use I would realistically put a boat to.

  I've got a short attention span so any boat that I would have to keep in a slip down at the coast (the seabird or the Roberts 28) would end up just being a drain on my wallet.  Oyster Mike can attest to the fact that I almost never put my boat in salt water but it is nice to be able to either sail my boat on Jordan Lake (the halfway point between work and home) or drag it over the road to Charleston for a Thanksgiving get-together with friends.

  The Princess 22 was my first choice of the B and B fleet but I've got a little bitty two wheel drive truck and I was worried about whether I would be able to pull the weight on road trips (and I didn't have the workspace) so I picked the CS17 design and it has been a really great boat (for me).  Most of my sailing has been single-handed and almost 100% of my sailing has been alone or just me and a friend on board.  I've been out reefed in pretty stiff winds alone and I've had four aboard in whispers and I've still had fun.  I imagine I'd still be able to say that if I'd built the 20, but here are my answers to your specific questions:

  Don't know about the trailer comparison - I paid $800 for a brand new trailer that was built for a 14' outboard skiff.  After moving the axle, etc. to redristribute the weight (not difficult) the trailer works wonderfully.  I don't think there would be a great increase in cost to find a suitable trailer for a CS20 and since I bought mine brand new you'd probably be able to buy a used trailer for a CS20 for less money than I spent.  I've seen trailers on craigslist for $100 or less that would work for either boat.

  I don't think the 20 would be substantially more difficult than the 17 to manage on a trailer.  It just might take a tiny (very tiny) bit more horsepower.

  Regulations differ from state to state but I would not have spent any more to register a CS17 than a CS20.  The required lighting, PFDs, licenses etc are pretty much identical.  Taxes are another story - My boat was originally assessed at $10K by the county but I made a phone call and explained that my boat was nothin' but a little homebuilt plywood thing that I slapped together on my porch and the woman on the other end of the line said that they intentionally assess high in the hopes that the boat owner will just pay up instead of calling to challenge the tax value.  The tax value of my boat is so low now that I don't remember what it is, and I don't think it would be any different if it were a CS20.

  My boat is not insured so the CS20 would be equally cheap to not insure ;)

  The difference in construction will be more than $200, but I don't know by how much - I don't even know what my boat cost because I made a point of NOT keeping track of how much money I was spending on it.  I just trusted my frugal instincts and bought good materials  to complement my hours of work and as long as I still had money in the bank I was happy.  I spent a (really) long time building the boat so I didn't worry about the $800 for the sails or the $800 for the outboard motor that real sailors don't even need :) (I think every major expenditure equalled close to $800 - Very strange).

  If you buy the epoxy from Graham instead of West Systems you can apply the savings to the plywood (BS1088 okume).  Actually, take a look at the cost of the plywood as compared to the kit and you might end up deciding that you can't afford to NOT buy the kit...

  Price out the materials for the CS20 and think hard about how you're going to use the boat on a day-to-day basis.  Once a year or so I wish I could fit more people on my boat but I have never, ever wished for a bigger boat when I've been sailing alone - The CS17 isn't too big, it's just right (for me).

  I hope you'll hear from happy CS20 owners too because they are both really great boats and if I had built the 20 instead of the 17 I'm sure I'd be just as happy with it as I am with my 17.

  Sorry about the rambling reply - Hopefully you can glean some useful information from it.

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I would say your $200 estimate between a CS-20 and CS-17 is low.  $200 might cover the extra plywood, but then you have more lumber for framing and a lot more square footage of surface to soak up epoxy and paint.

Extra trailer cost would be minimal. The CS-20 is well under 1,000lbs, so you need a light duty trailer with a longer tongue. And at that light weight you could tow a 20 or 17 with a weenie 4-cylinder car. The 20 has more wind drag so an econo-mobile may struggle to tow at highway speed (55-70mph) and a crosswind will give you a bit of a fit. Your biggest problem will be forgetting you have a tow when hauling a tow that light. 

Easy way to spec out your tow is find out what hitch is available for your vehicle.  A light duty car may have a 1500 lb limit, Class I is 2,000 lb, Class II receiver would go up to 3,500 lb, and a Class III (2" hole) up to 5,000 lb or more. All of them are adequate for the light CS series. Word of caution: some turbo charged passenger cars will not tow diddly-squat.  The manufacturers claim the turbo will overheat or some such.

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