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Core Sound 20 Mark III #3 "Skeena"


Steve W

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4 hours ago, AmosSwogger said:

I'm impressed with how quickly you repaired the boat and got back out sailing. 

 

What are your thoughts on making the hatch on the storage area just fwd of the berths watertight?

I didn't have any trouble with the boat wanting to sink. It may have been interesting to see  what would have happened if the hatch board was in. I think the only benefit having that forward hatch watertight was just less wet stuff.

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On 12/12/2020 at 7:24 AM, Chick Ludwig said:

WAY back when I first married my wife, she bought me a little used day sailor for a wedding gift, and I bought her a washing machine.


To be fair, Chick, since in December I picked up my materials from B&B to build Joe (15 foot ski-boat) at about the same time as I bought a new Kitchen Aid double-oven stove for our kitchen, my wife and I decided those two things would be our only Christmas presents to each other this year ?.   (Course, I don’t think our exchange sounds nearly as funny as your story.)

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On 12/23/2020 at 7:49 AM, AmosSwogger said:

Well deserved press.  Congratulations.  I'm not subscribed to WB; please post a picture when you get a chance Steve.


My daughter gifted me with a new one-year Wooden Boat subscription a few days ago... a new reading venture for me. It hasn’t come yet but I’m looking forward to seeing Skeena. 

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  • 1 month later...
Quote

The sweet foam bumper Pete M gave me was cleaved right in two

Steve, I just re-read [more carefully] your historical note on the June capsize of “Skeena.”  And I recall being amazed that the CB cut right thru the hard foam bumper and continued right on to split the top of the CB housing.

 

However, after more consideration, it shouldn’t be quite so surprising.  Eighteen pounds of lead at the end of a 4’ leaver-arm, falling in an arc of 90 degrees, will concentrate a tremendous force (at the end of the arc) as it hits the foam bumper.  And, you probably tapered the trailing edge (of the CB and lead tip) to a fairly sharp edge.  That edge would hit the top of the CB housing like a falling guillotine.  No wonder it split.

 

I’D SUGGEST TO CORE SOUND BUILDERS an easy preventative measure: epoxy a 1/4” marine ply to the bottom of the foam bumper.  That would spread and absorb the impact, and in my opinion, prevent any damage by a falling CB.  The underside of the 1/4” ply should be fiberglassed to insure against it’s shattering.  Big impacts can also happen on highways caused by bridge grades not matching approaching road grades — a common highway problem.

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Pete, I totally agree and I like your suggestion. I am still disappointed in myself for capsizing, but I've done dumber things before and I'm filing that in the "live and learn" category. Since that incident back in June I added a better way to reef and worked to get more weight low.

 

I am currently toying with rebuilding the hatch. I really can't tie reefs in the mainsail without climbing on the cabin top and I don't think that is a good place to be. When I added my hatch I bedded it in a latex house caulk so I could remove it if I didn't like it.

 

I'm thinking of a sliding hatch like the one Graham had posted, but instead of making it three slides, I'd make it two, with the garage in the spot my forward hatch is now. Slid forward, I could easily reach the reef ties and leaning forward I could reach the mast. About the only thing that I would give up is the superior ventilation provided by the hatch tipped up. I'm only at the thinking stage. I just got back from Nordic skiing a few miles. Spring seems a long way off.

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About the forward hatch position — I’d keep in mind that the reefing pendants (I recall only 3 {or 4?} for the shallow reef) need not be tied immediately in order for the reefed sail to have the desired effect.  They function mainly (on a loose footed sail) to tidy up the sail’s foot and reduce windage.  They can be left loose until all other lines are tended and the helm adjusted for a steady course. The two aft ones can be tied while standing in the companionway — and maybe even a 3rd one (can’t remember for sure ?).

 

I rigged Chessie’s mains’l (as per one of B&B’s drawings) with two reefing downhalls, each with a x2 pulley (on its downhall hook) and both lines reeved thru the a single pulley (on the cabin deck) and the same closed cleat at the cabin bulkhead.  They never fouled one another — the one under stress easily shoving the slack one aside.  Of course, in order to have the benefit of reefing from the cockpit, one had to remember to hook the right (color coded) line into the right cringle when bending the mains’l at the ramp.

 

I found that the forward hatch (hinge on aft edge) was in the right position for mainly tending anchoring — and the fwd reefing pendants while on the water.  Of course it was also essential for raising/lowering the mast.  I found it awkward (even difficult) to open the hatch from the inside — so I rigged a strap  (attached to the inside of the hatch’s fwd lip, then outside and back to the companionway).  But to sail safely with that arrangement you had to contrive a means of latching/unlatching the hatch from the companionway.  I simply decided to sail with the hatch held closed only by its own weight.

 

I made it a rule (rarely broken) NEVER to climb onto the cabin roof.  For a solo sailor, falling off into the water could easily be a life-ending event.  And even with a crew, it would be a major challenge to successfully achieve a rescue.  And whether solo or with crew aboard or nearby, a fall of 5’ to the ramp or tarmac would probably result in an injury — even a serious one and perhaps crippling or life-ending.

 

In my 87 years I’ve fallen a few times (from near-zero height) and have suffered injury 3 times — age 12 fell from 3’ fence, broken forearm (both bones) requiring open reduction; age 67 tripped on curb, compound fracture of right pinky; and age 75 slipped on ice, 180 degree extension of left index finger with torn ligaments.


The roof on a raised deck cabin (without stanchions) should always be OFF LIMITS !!  I’m my humble opinion.

 

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Pete, I agree with everything you posted here. I have had a few reasons to go up on the cabin roof and I aim to make them go away.

 

On launch, the two lower cringles are used. If I put a reef in, it would be desirable to put the first unused hook into the third cringle t to be ready to reef a third time and hook back up easily if un-reefing. I can't quite reach this without going out on the cabin roof.

 

Another reason is anchoring. I put an anchor roller forward which I like. But I have sailed up to anchor and not been able to drop anchor without lowering sail first. In theory this is fine, but in an emergency it isn't.  I'd like to be able to reach the anchor cleat without going forward. I have thought of alternate ways to do this, but I haven't thought of anything that wouldn't contribute to more rigging time, which to me is another enemy.

 

For the record, I have fallen overboard on other boats, but luckily it's always been from goofing around. Now that I'm a bit older I'm getting more concerned. I plan on doing quite a bit of single handing.

 

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Some of you mentioned you saw Skeena in WoodenBoat magazine. I have been a subscriber for many years and always go to the Launchings section first. I think all us builders have a certain kinship.

 

To get in the launchings section, you have to submit a picture and fill out a form. Link is here: WoodenBoat Launchings

 

So I think my mailman reads my magazine before he delivers it as I got mine long after I bought a copy at the grocery store. Here's the content:

 

175412697_2021-01-0216_16.32-1.thumb.jpg.45add2d220b7666d0dcd91fa51b7d894.jpg

20210102_161624.thumb.jpg.102d922e87e8d568ebc6aac751c5aef9.jpg

 

They linked it on their website:

https://www.woodenboat.com/boat-launchings/skeena

 

 

 

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Ironically I just got the mail. I was surprised to find this letter, hat, sticker and copy of the magazine from WB

large.1813898419_2021-02-0113_09_48B.jpg.8ba10f39e4f747fe416d01d8aa2a683b.jpg

 

What is really neat is that the had has embroidered the issue Skeena was in. Well done WB! I hope some builders see this and decide to build a CS20.3 or any other B & B boats.

 

Take Care,

Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/10/2020 at 5:42 PM, Steve W said:

The only damage to the boat was the Douglas fir top to the centerboard case split where the centerboard crashed into it. It split it’s entire length.

I installed a Mark 3 type of centerboard on my Bay River Skiff.  I did this to free up the area ahead of the mizzen, knowing that my First Mate likes to lounge and snooze when we sail.  I realized that the c/b could go crashing through the top of the trunk, if we turned turtle, so I made a modification.  I screwed a big oak stop block at the aft end of the slot, up at the top.  Sure, it prevents full retraction of the c/b— it sticks down about an inch or so.  But this gives me something to grab onto, if the c/b goes into the trunk.  Plus, I am confident that I won’t have the sort of damage you experienced with Skeena.  

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Don, the weight of the lead tip and my sharp trailing edge make for a hell of a guillotine. I like your idea, but worry that something like that would just create a different problem in an inaccessible area. on my boat, I think the best solution is to just use the water ballast.  I had a perfect storm that day. pop-up storms, a stalled boat in the middle of a insane "puff" a hard sheet-ed jib, and no easy way to release. Dumb stuff happens, but I have no good reason not to have had the water in. I was super lucky to not have greater damage. This boat is a great design. I have some footage where I'm double reefed on both sails and she's well behaved, with the water.

 

 

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Steve, right after you managed to bring Skeena upright, what was the level of water in the cabin?  Also, in the cockpit?  I’m wondering if you had to bucket-bail real fast to keep ahead of water coming in thru to top of the busted cb housing top and/oh the cockpit scuppers?

 

Years ago my Crocker carvel planked keeled sailboat was bottomed by a spring low tide (at her slip) and as the tide returned, water solely came in the low scupper into the cockpit and over the companionway sill (the keel keeping the boat tilted and the scupper low) — resulting in the boat fully swamped but floating upright but with the waterline above the self-bailing cockpit.  I could plug the scuppers, but water still came in between the topside carvel planks which hadn’t swollen up [yet] to be watertight.  Two of us really had to bail FAST to get the waterline low enough to where the planks were swollen tight.  Had to rebuild the beautiful 30 yr old Wisconsin air cooled inboard engine.  Had a hard time replacing the magneto which the salt water had ruined.  It had a feature where (with a pull-cord start) the spark was retarded, but with some rpm the spark automatically advanced — by centrifugal force.

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Pete, there was just a crack in the top, and it remained above the water line, so the cockpit drained itself. Unfortunately she was upside down long enough for a lot of water to get in the cabin. My hatch drop boards are tight, but the gaps between the hatch boards let quite a bit of water in. Basically it was about even with the seat tops. The bummer was that I only had hinges on the bunk hatches so all my stuff fell out and was everywhere and soaked. I was able to bail into the cockpit and it ran out the drains. Nothing in the cockpit lockers got wet. The Aft locker of course was full and had to be pumped dry. Did I mention how dumb this whole event was?

 

I can't wait for spring!

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That's amazing!  Good thing that the hatch boards were in place and [I assume] the hatch cover pulled aft and closed.  If either the boards not in place or the hatch not pulled closed, then would not the cabin have ingested much more water -- even to the point of you (and crew) not being able to "right"-side-up the boat?  Have I got that right?

 

If so, wouldn't it be VERY IMPORTANT to always sail with boards in place and hatch pulled closed -- especially in gusty or strong winds?

 

If you (and crew) couldn't get her upright, wouldn't you need professional salvage help at great expense?

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Pete, I've played this over in my mind  bunch of times. I tell my kids all the time "Stupid Hurts" and this was one of those time my own stupidity hurt. I failed at so many things that day. Flipping a switch to fill the ballast tank as the first "reef" is so obvious and yet it never crossed my mind.  I think the tenderness of my Sea Pearl had tricked me. The CS is so stable I just wasn't feeling the obvious and also, the mizzen carries far more sail area/leverage than the SP.  I am sure if I had the water in things would have been far different.

 

As for righting, Teddy and I weigh about #325 together. We had a another small kid at one point that probably weighted 50# tops as we had her righting. The water ballast in the boat is more than this and though we had more leverage out on the C-board, at the time the boat is on her feet, you don't have the drag of the rigging in the water. 

 

Water ballast is just a convenient substitute for ballast that makes towing easy and offers the possibility of better light air performance. I hate that anyone would think the design is suspect. I see the B & B folks moved the C-board forward , which is a good idea. I don't have any weather helm with both sails up fully.  I plan to make the mizzen sheet release a bit easier by changing to a pivoting block.  I couldn't release the mizzen when we were going over because of the side pull.

 

But again, I shouldn't have had to. If there is a lesson here for all......put the water in first.

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Steve, don’t beat yourself up over the capsize. You aren’t the only one who regrets some maneuver or misstep. I’ve mixed up red and green bouys and barely caught the mistake in time. I headed out into a busy shipping channel without remembering to turn on the fuel valve and had to scramble a few minutes later when the engine quit. I took a gamble on a weak anchor set when a storm came through at night and I had to let the anchor go. (I was able to retrieve it the next day.) I could go on. 

 
Good job recovering from the capsize and thanks for writing it up so we all can learn something.

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