XXI. Tweaks, Modifications, and Upgrades
Building the Core Sound 20
NOTE: This article is divided into chapters. Click here for the Table of Contents.
This chapter will describe some of the upgrades and modifications we've made to enhance the convenience or enjoyment of sailing our Core Sound 20 "Second Wind."
Registration Number Trailboards
One minor downside of using VC Performance paint on the entire hull exterior is that nothing adheres to the teflon-impregnated surface it yields, including vinyl stickers. To display our registration numbers, therefore, we made a set of varnished plywood "trailboards," which not only look good, but give the boat a little extra of that classic nautical charm.
GPS/Sonar and 12VDC Battery Box
For navigation purposes, we installed a Lowrance LMS-520C GPS/Sonar combo unit. The 520C offers a very crisp, colorful screen, reliable GPS navigation, and superb sonar performance. Thanks to its external GPS antenna (which we mounted atop the centerboard case), we were able to install the unit under the thwart (where it won't get bumped, sun-baked, or water-logged). We epoxied a small, tapered block under the thwart so the unit could be mounted underneath with the screen angled slightly upward.
Next, we installed the skimmer-style sonar transducer in a shoot-through-hull configuration. We located it just behind the aft bulkhead, offset slightly to starboard (opposite the port-offset centerboard case). We used a router to carefully cut a hole in the wood hull without removing the thin layer of fiberglass and paint on the bottom. We installed 7 layers of 6 oz. fiberglass to reinforce the hole, then we set the transducer in place, placed a brick on top to hold it down, and poured raw epoxy around it. Then we routed the transducer cable through the aft bulkhead into the port-side seat locker and out through the face of the seat (under the thwart) to the back of the unit.
To power the GPS/Sonar unit, we chose a small 12V flooded battery (golf cart / jet ski). For the sake of convenience, durability, and aesthetics, we placed the battery in a heavy-duty plastic container and installed a terminal block so that all of the wiring connections could be made neatly inside the box.
Since we're using a flooded cell battery, we drilled a series of holes around the top perimeter of the box to ensure adequate ventilation. Then we used marine-grade wiring (16-gauge Ancor wire), a soldering gun, and heat-shrink tubing to make neat, water-tight, high-quality connections. Wrap-around conduit gives a tidy appearance to the wires that exit the box.
We installed a heavy-duty battery switch to isolate the battery when re-charging. We also installed a 12V cigarette-lighter style outlet for powering other 12V accessories, such as a flood light, bilge pump, or cellphone charger. The result is a very handy little power station that can be moved around the boat and used to power the GPS/Sonar unit or any device with a 12VDC accessory plug.
Perhaps most importantly, the box we chose is exactly the right height to fit under the forward deck, so the weight of the battery can ride forward to help trim the boat by counterbalancing some of the weight of aft-seated occupants.
Homemade Tiller Tamer
A tiller tamer holds the tiller in place so that the captain can let go of the helm without the boat wandering off course. Although there is some risk to using a tiller tamer because it will cause your boat to sail away from you if you fall overboard, there are many scenarios—especially when sailing solo—in which a tiller tamer can free up the captain to take care of other matters, such as tweaking sail controls, preparing docking fenders, or untangling knots in the main or mizzen sheet.
Tiller tamers are commercially available, but the affordable plastic kind are prone to breaking and the heavy duty stainless steel or bronze kind are fairly expensive. Since it is simple to construct an effective, homemade tiller tamer with only a few dollars worth of marine hardware, we decided to make our own.
We started with a basic concept that we found in an article on "Small Improvements" on the Duckworks Magazine website; then we made a few small but appreciable improvements to the design by incorporating a stainless steel hook and a short loop of 5/16" diameter bungee cord. We also eliminated the cam cleats and eyestrap used in the Duckworks design, which reduced the cost of the required hardware to about $10 - $15.
To make the tiller tamer, we used the following pieces:
- two 1/4-20 x 2" stainless steel eyebolts, with matching washers and nuts
- one heavy duty 5/16" stainless steel eyescrew
- one stainless steel S-hook
- approximately 5 feet of 5/16" diameter low-stretch marine-grade line
- approximately 18" of 1/4" diameter low-stretch marine-grade line
- approximately 8" of 5/16" diameter bungee cord
- one small clamcleat
As you can see in the pictures, the eyescrew is mounted under the tiller. We positioned ours exactly 3" forward of the cockpit coaming, which turned out to be the ideal location. The clamcleat is also mounted under the tiller, approximately 14" forward of the eyebolt, but not so far forward that it would interfere with our normal grip on the tiller while steering. The stainless S-hook is attached to a small loop of bungee cord which, in turn, is tied to the 1/4" diameter line. The line is then cleated off at the clam cleat where it will later serve to adjust the tension in the tiller tamer. We call this the "adjustment line" for obvious reasons.
The eyebolts are mounted on either side of the cockpit, under the coaming and out of plain view. To drill the holes, we took measurements to find the right location, then climbed inside the aft compartment and drilled through the aft bulkhead stringer to seat the eyebolts securely. After sealing the wood with epoxy and dabbing the hole with a good sealant, we fastened the eyebolts in place. Then we tied the 5/16" diameter line between the two eyebolts, leaving just enough slack to push a small loop of the line through the eyescrew mounted under the tiller. (We call this line the "stabilizing line" because it provides the sideways pull in either direction that stabilizes the tiller underway.)
When you're ready to use the tiller tamer, loop the stabilizing line through the eyescrew and clip it to the S-hook on the end of the adjustment line. The S-hook exerts friction on the line to "tame" the tiller from drifting off course. The tighter you cleat in the adjustment line, the more the bungee stretches and the more friction the S-hook exerts on the stabilizing line. Thanks to the stretchable bungee and the cleated end of the adjustment line, the amount of friction on the tiller can be easily and quickly fine-tuned to suit your desires.
What we love about this homemade tiller tamer is that it never truly "locks" the tiller (i.e., you always have the ability to steer at a moment's notice, without releasing or adjusting anything), yet it can generate plenty of friction to prevent sail pressure or rough waves from forcing the tiller off course. If conditions are lighter, you can slack off the adjustment line to ease tiller steering as well. Best of all, the parts are so simple that nothing is likely to break, but if it does, you can repair or replace the entire system for only a few dollars. Perfect!
Folding Tiller Hinge
Since our tiller protrudes so far into the cockpit, we also added a homemade hinge to allow the front portion of the tiller to fold up out of the way when moving about, or to make it easier to steer while standing up and approaching a dock. The results are superb, and the only necessary materials were three 5/16" stainless bolts and some stainless flat bar. The two pieces of flat bar are each 5" long, 3/4" wide, and 1/8" thick, and comprise the "cheeks" of the hinge to give strength to the folding joint. The results are excellent, and thanks to the snugness of the bolts, the hinge is stiff enough that the tiller stays in whatever position you leave it.
As an added benefit, raising the tiller handle also tightens our tiller tamer (see above), causing the steering to lock more securely in position. Pretty neat.
Sleeping Berth / "Sun Deck" Panels
Since Wes plans to camp-cruise and Anna loves to lay in the sun, we built three drop-in berth panels to fill in the forward-starboard leg space, converting it to a generous sized sleeping area or sun deck. Combined with the space that already exists on the seat top and beneath the foredeck, the panels produce a lounging area that is 3'1" wide x 6'6" long. We built three panels instead of one large panel because smaller panels stack and stow easier than one large panel and give us more layout options. For example, we can drop in only one panel to accommodate a napping child or to serve as a handy lunch table, while leaving the rest of the leg space open for normal sitting. One panel also happens to be the ideal size for a bilge seat.
To permit use as a bilge seat, we added a tapered foot to one side of one of the panels. The tapered foot matches the deadrise of the hull floor just aft of the forward thwart, thus allowing the panel to sit perfectly level when placed in that position. This serves as a very convenient seat: high enough to keep one's backside out of any residual bilge water, but low enough below the foredeck to offer reasonable shelter from wind and spray. It is also low enough that one can totally ignore the main sail swinging back and forth overhead during tacks. Combined with a GoAnywhere2 seat from West Marine, this may well be the coziest space to recline on the entire boat.
Some builders make floorboards that raise to become berth panels like ours. Lifting-floorboards are neat because they stow right on the floor and can be designed so that all of the cockpit leg spaces become sleeping berths, including the spacious area aft of the mizzen thwart. But we chose to forego floorboards for several reasons. For one, we wanted to avoid adding unnecessary weight, especially since it is unlikely that we will ever want or need to sleep several people onboard. The berth is really only desirable for pragmatic purposes: when someone wants to sunbathe or nap during a day outing, or when Wes goes solo camping. In a pinch, the berth might accommodate two adults cozily or someone could sleep on the floor, but in reality, we are much more likely to pitch a tent on the beach when camping as a family. The other main reason we rejected the floorboard solution is because we love the convenience with which we can sweep the (unobstructed) bilge clear of dirt, debris, and water. We keep a small shower squeegee/scraper onboard, which we use to sweep bilge water back toward and out the Anderson Bailer while underway. This keeps the hull interior clean and dry. Floorboards would be in the way, so instead, ourberth panels will stow neatly under the foredeck.
Details for interested builders: Each panel is 14-5/8" long x 18-3/4" wide (width is the span from centerboard case to seat top, plus some room for clearance). Each panel is framed with 1 x 2 pine boards, topped with 1/4" thick Okoume plywood. A piece of 1" x 1" aluminum angle stock (1/8" thick) is attached to each end to make a lip that rests atop the centerboard case and seat top. This eliminates the need to attach a wooden stringer (support ledge) to the face of the seats and centerboard case as other builders have done. The panel frames are screwed and epoxy-glued together, and coated in three coats of epoxy, then primered and painted (The pictures show them at the primer stage). Each aluminum lip is attached by three #8 screws (2" long) which run through the framing members, plus two #8 bolts (thru-bolted), making a total of five fasteners per lip, spaced approximately every 3-1/2" on center. This produced panels which are light, easily stowable, and very stiff. A load of 200 lbs. causes almost no flex to the panel frame and no distortion to the aluminum lips.
Simplified Centerboard Downhaul
If rigged to plan, a complicated shock-cord and multiple block arrangement on the side of the centerboard case allows the centerboard to "kick up" when it hits an underwater obstruction. Although effective, we never cared for that setup. Besides needing to clear it out of the way of our sleeping berth panels (see above), we found it annoying that the shock cord would stretch (counter-productively) whenever we tried to lower the board by pulling on the downhaul. More often than not, we had to grab the head of the centerboard and manually pull it into position, then cleat off the elastic downhaul to keep it in place.
To improve the downhaul without sacrificing the centerboard's kick-up function, we replaced the shock-cord arrangement with a non-elastic downhaul line that runs from the centerboard head, down to a stand-up block, then straight aft to an Autorelease Clamcleat (model CL257 - the same cleat used for our rudder blade downhaul) mounted on the thwart. If the board strikes an object, the cleat automatically releases (at approximately 30 lbs. of force) to allow the board to kick-up. The cleat can be reset easily by simply snapping the break-away portion back into place. This new setup makes it much easier to lower the centerboard from the helm, with no need to go forward to manually pull on the head of the centerboard. It also makes the interior look a little cleaner without the extra rigging along the side of the case, and frees up room for our drop-in berth panels.
This article courtesy of:
