Interesting cruiser

[Bergeson]

I`ve been thinking and wrestling over a small cruiser for years. Would love to build one but haven`t quite decided. I have narrowed down my choices and the "pocketship" by CLC is one of them.
I understand that the CLC pocketship is new. I guess there hasn`t been many design mods or re-fits, since it is ,.....well pretty darn good as is or time will tell in terms of any evolution that would (If it should) occur down the way. The reason I mention this is in no way to question it`s designer but to reflect on the "pilot cutter" look which attracted me in the first place. I was curious why there is no "real" stem keel in the bow which I would assume is made up of the forward panels pinching off at the bow? Also why couldn`t the keel be made of solid DF with a mortice for drop board? The reason I ask is because eg: weekender applies this in a more "clunky" fashion except the keel is Laminated DF.etc. A true solid keel (cutter style) would have pushed me over. It would`nt add much weight if done properly and would avoid the need to melt toxic lead, and warped keels. (Damb this boat thing it`s been driving me nuts for years).
I love the lines and design of this boat and wouldn`t want to offend anyone,...please. I`m just one of those types that love to build and apply (what seems logical) in terms of personalizing the boat with function and "bling factor" at the same time.

Just some thoughts.

Bergeson

[Donm1753]

I suppose you could make those modifications, but you would end up with a different boat. The beauty of the Pocketship is that all of the engineering, panel development and instructions are completely done. You literally just pop the pieces out of the plywood sheets and glue them together. That approach does limit the modifications you can make without having to design a lot of parts on your own. That's not to say it can't be done if you have the skills, but I have found after thinking through the modifications I would make, most of them turn out not to be an improvement after all. Pocketship is very well thought out. The reason it doesn't have a traditional keel and stem is because it was designed as a kit to be built by someone who may not have the carpentry skills and/or the tools to build it that way. As far as melting lead goes, it sounds worse than it is as long as the work area is well ventilated. If you are really opposed to it there are ways around melting and pouring the lead such as mixing lead shot with epoxy. You lose some density but it can be made up for in interior ballast. Every design has its compromises. In my opinion Pocketship has fewer than most.

[Bergeson]

Yep,...well said and I agree with you. It`s just that I have some real nice clean 3x8 @ length DF which would be nice to use. I could run the keel box through it. I don`t know if the solid stock keel would compensate for the lead or affect the CG adversely.

Cheers

[Keith]

I don`t know if the solid stock keel would compensate for the lead or affect the CG adversely.

I'm still nowhere near ready to start making any sawdust, at least for the PocketShip, but I had wondered about extending the keel a bit further forward so that more ballast could be placed low down in the keel instead of under floor boards. It may or may not get done. I do like the idea of sailing right up to a sandy beach, so have no intention of making the keel any deeper. I have also thought of adding an additional layer of plywood below the waterline in the bow. The weight would certainly be low down, and any weight gained from the extra layer could be subtracted from the under-floor ballast. It wouldn' be much compared to lead, but...

If you do decide to build wih a solid Douglas Fir keel, you could always drill a series of holes and coat them with epoxy and then drop lead "rods" into them and epoxy them in place. I would think that with the extra weight of the DF keel low down, the amount of ballast could be reduced a bit, and it would place it lower down, and it could be done after you were in the water and only if needed.

I can't afford osmium, iridium, gold or spent uranium for ballast. Guess I'll have to stick with lead!