CS17 mk3 hull #3 "Carlita"

[Designer]

I Have started my CS17mk3. She was the third one cut. We went 3d at Washington and I decided to keep her so that I could properly prototype her. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

 

It actually helped a lot. I made some adjustments to the forward bulkhead and I was able to prove the rest of the parts. Another that thing became clear after I wired the sheer strake, was that the traditionally framed deck with inwale would be hard for the home builder to get right. I changed the structure to two plywood hanging knees and stitch and glue deck to hull joint.

 

I was able to update the two other kits before they went out. One went to Seattle and the Water tribe Chief has the other one.

 

The other thing that I learned from Doug's 20 mk3 was to assemble the entire cockpit module with trunk, water ballast tank, bulkheads and transom before folding up the boat.

 

 

[tom151]

The other thing that I learned from Doug's 20 mk3 was to assemble the entire cockpit module with trunk, water ballast tank, bulkheads and transom before folding up the boat.

Did you install that module to the bottom panels before folding up the sides?

[mattp]

I have a good feeling that this boat will be a classic.  

[Designer]

Thanks Matt, I have a good feeling about her also.

 

Tom, the module goes in after the chines are totally wired. The sides naturally lay out which allows the module to fit between the side stringers before bringing in the sides at the stern.

 

The module in the picture is not mine, it was hull #1 that I was test fitting. I want to complete every part of mine before I drop it in place. What might be confusing is that my transom is in place but I will undo the wires and take it out. The transom was just tied in place to bring it back home.

 

Another interesting thing was that the bottom fitted the stern cradle exactly but was sitting high at the chine on the mid and forward cradle. After a week the tension in the bottom relaxed enough to come down to a perfect fit as designed on all three cradles. This was good because it made all of the internal structure aft of the forward bulkhead fit really well.

[LennieG]

Graham-

Looking good! Just curious. Your cradle is like most you see here, with a "box" type thing at its base. Dont the sides of the box get in your way when you are working underneath the boat to do things like tighten or remove wires along the center line, put in screws from bottom to hold keel batten etc?

Len

[mattp]

I can't help but wonder, as we finish a standard CS17, what would be involved in making an MK3 conversion. I know the hulls are a dimensionally a little different but what I would be after is the slot topped cabin.

No, I am not ready to cut the deck off my nearly complete boat...but 5 years down the road...hmm...

[Designer]

Lennie,

 

The legs are 16" long. If we deduct 3 1/2" for the 2x4 cradle rails there is 14 1/2" of clear height for sliding under to work on the keel wires. If anyone feels that they need more height they can easily use longer legs.

 

I am toying with making some rollover wheels for her. We made them for the 45' cat so a 17' boat should be easy. I want to roll the boat 90 degrees by myself so that I can work down hand while filleting and taping on one side of the boat then flipping back to cure then roll it to the other side. We do it all of the time in our boat building class to work on both sides of the trunk at the same time, final fitting of the centerboard etc. We do not have rollover wheels as we always have plenty of people to turn a boat on it's side and prop it there.

[Designer]

Matt,

 

Converting a mk1 to mk3.

I suppose that anything is possible but it would not be easy. The stringers, bulkheads, masts, centerboard, plus a lots of other stuff is in a different place to the mk1.

[jmnorman]

Graham:

I have been lurking on this forum for some time.  I currently have your B19 plans and was planning to start in the next year or so as a retirement gift to myself.  I am saving and gathering materials.  I really like the mk3's, especially the portability.  In the other thread, you implied size differences.  I am 6'3" and about 280lbs. To sit up straight I would need about 40" from bottom of my bottom to the top of my head.  Is the 17 big enough or should I be looking at the 20 or stay with the 19?  My wife will be my primary crew and she is a touch claustraphobic.  ( She can sleep in a tent.)  The longest cruise I can envision will be a week.  The boat will mostly daysail with occasional weekend trips.  My primary cruising grounds are the lakes of Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.  I love taking the boat to different lakes, which is why smaller and lighter is key.  I currently have a open cockpit Michalak Family Skiff I built a few years ago.  I am getting older and want a boat I can more easily get out of the rain and bugs.  I have done a lot of online research on cabin boats 17-20 ft and your designs fit my needs well.  With this information, what would you recommend?

[Designer]

Jmnorman,

 

You correctly identify the conundrum of compromise. The reason that I like the 17 mk3 is her light weight, extra shoal draft and good sailing performance. She does not have the room of the Belhaven but as I have said, I am a minimalist. I can get sitting headroom sitting on the berth, I am only 5'7.  At 6'3" you would be happier with the 20 mk3 than the 17 mk3.

 

It seems like your wife would be happier with the Belhaven, it is definitely roomier than the mk3's.

[Travis Votaw]

Hey, Graham, have you had opportunity to do anything more on Carlita? Any more pictures? 

[High Altitude]

For the CS17 MK3 how much sitting headroom above the berth is there? and how high is top of berth to the cabin sole?

 

No doubt this is going to be a very popular plan.

[Designer]

Travis, I am back from the Mystic wooden boat show and I hope that I can get back to Carlita pretty soon but I suspect that the tropical storm will take away some build time.

[TN Kelly]

How is the build going?

 

How bad did the Tropical Storm hit?

 

 

Thank you

Peace and Respect

Kelly F

[Designer]

Kelly,

 

The only casualty from hurricane Arthur was time. It took us a couple of days to prepare and about twice that time to get everything back straight. I am still trying to get back to Carlita.

[Designer]

It rained the whole weekend but it was cool and I got a lot done on Carlita.

 

The centerboard trunk had to be glassed and later glued together. The centerboard was test fitted and the pennant checked for a fair lead.

 

While I had previously assembled the cockpit module for a test fit I could not put it together until the trunk was finished. The module is now all glued and filleted, I hope to put it in the boat tomorrow. This will allow me to start gluing the whole boat together.

[tom151]

The module is now all glued and filleted, I hope to put it in the boat tomorrow. This will allow me to start gluing the whole boat together

 

Amazing. Seeing the complete cockpit module being glued up as "bench work" is a revelation! How much easier, better, faster could it be?

 

Interested in your assessment of the time savings (never mind the quality and fit benefits) of being able to do so much on the bench?

 

God bless the "Kit Meister"

[Designer]

Tom,

 

It is hard to say how much time is saved but it went very smoothly. It feels like most of the internal structure is done.The module weighed 55 pounds so it was easy for the two of us install.

 

Alan set up the camera and sent me the video today. http://youtu.be/g-VfJe5Z1LI

 

It seemed like it took about 5 minutes but it probably took twice that long. I did a final check of the hull for fairness today and got some tack welding done on both chines. There is no keel batten on this boat but I have a bigger than normal keel fillet and heavier glass down the keel line. This leaves a nice clean ballast tank and saves the installation time.

[tom151]

Brilliant!

Having the videos is such a treat - and I would imagine they'll eventually become the instructions and assembly manual all rolled up into one.

Hardly a doubt about it -- your kits are the cat's meow (apologies to Mandy)

You're doing your part to revolutionize small boat building -- amazing stuff.

Thanks,

[Designer]

Went to the boat this afternoon and got a lot done. Removed the chine wire ties and filleted the starboard chine and stbd. cockpit locker. Glass taped the fillets. Made and glued the cleats on the bunk module and set it in boat to dry in shape.

 

The bunk module is a structural grid that supports the bunk top and reinforces the bottom as well as making small lockers.

 

One picture shows the bunk sides tenoning through the centerline web, it is wedged tight. Once the epoxy dries, the tenons are sawn off. The aft end fits into a rabbet at the forward end of the cockpit module. There are two more webs per side to complete the structure.