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"Liv'n Large!", Graham's Sailing Adventure

Jun 10th 2021

Title inspiration came from something an onlooker yelled to Graham as he sailed past as a joke. Graham thought it summed up his trip very well. Living large in a tiny boat! Graham continues on his adventure aboard his Core Sound 17 Mark 3 named 'Carlita' up the Eastern Shore. Check these links for the latest up to the hour reports. Read his ongoing trip report here. Follow him

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Core Sound: "Camp Cruiser with Attitude"

May 28th 2021

Borrowed this title from Small boats monthly and couldn't have said it better ourselves!  Read all about it here. 

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See what our builder are saying: Marissa 18

Posted by Alan Stewart on Apr 6th 2021

Check out the latest review in Small Boats Monthly of the one and only Marissa 18. Trey Williams, builder of hull #55 give his take on one of Graham's most efficient creations. With over 80 plans and kits sold she continues to be a great choice for builders looking for a center console design that can be built at home and out performs heavier glass hulls. To see other Marissa builds check out our

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And now for something the same but different

Posted by Alan Stewart on May 12th 2020

So I saw this new design on Sailing Anarchy and I said to Graham we should market our wind-vane design (the one that should be ready very soon, thanks for your patience!) to the guys building these. Graham saw me and raised me. Said he, we should design a kit for them! and so we did. Don McIntyre is spearheading this new class and it's been fun to 3D model the boat and hopefully we can help s

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Setting up a PFD for Small Boat Sailing

Posted by Alan Stewart on Apr 19th 2020

Everything below means nothing unless you wear your PFD AT ALL TIMES! If you’re in a Watertribe event such as the Everglades Challenge then it is required but everyone should be wearing a well equipped PFD anytime they are on the water. Being an expert in your craft means having the right equipment in the right places. Take pride in setting up your PFD with good equipment and know how to use it. P

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Everglades Challenge 2020: Tragedy and Pause

Posted by Alan Stewart on Apr 8th 2020

The EC this year brought four "B&B boats" out of the woodwork but tragically not all made it back to safe harbor. It was truly a worst case scenario for our community. We can hopefully all learn something from the events of this year. The thought of not making it back home is something that we all know can happen, but you don't think too much about it because that is life. For the B&B crew it is e

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Launching the Rough Point 37

Posted by Alan Stewart on Feb 22nd 2020

Graham and Alan were fortunate and honored to be able to attend the first sea trials of the Rough Point 37 project. We lost a dear friend during this project and for a time she languished but thanks to her owner she is finally completed. There is an extensive build log and discussion from the builder and owner on the hull truth. If you have a few hours to kill and want to dive into the mind of

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Remembering Everglades Challenge 2006

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Jan 17th 2020

With the upcoming Everglades Challenge fast approaching here is a throwback to the 2006 event. A write up (below) by Graham Byrnes.  And for a look at B&B's past race history, checkout this spreadsheet of times from B&B boats that have participated in the Event. AND here are a couple of videos from the archive in 2015 of Paul and Alan launching their CS-20 of the starting beach and cr

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Coming Soon Outer Banks 26

Posted by Alan Stewart on Nov 1st 2019

Hull number 1 is complete thanks to an amazing builder and we hope to have the plans and jig kit complete for this great looking boat available soon. Read all about it here in the forum. See hull #1 pictures here

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2019 B&B Messabout

Oct 30th 2019

Big Ole' thanks to Keith over at TownDock.net for this picture of Graham. Lots more pictures are here for all Jump in the Messing-About Thread here! A few pictures from the 2019 event. "I went over to the B&B Messabout from Oriental today for a beautiful and mild day and many fine boats. Maybe the nicest was the new 28 foot sportfisherman that Graham designed

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2019 OBX 130 writeup

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Aug 11th 2019

I just want to say that I had a great week of sailing and would like to do it again. Like Pete found in the Chesapeake, summer sailing means dodging thunder storms. As it is shallow most everywhere around here, putting the anchor out and getting out of it is a good tactic. You may get bounced around for a while but if you are boating, that goes with the territory. It beats not being able to go for

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Working with Epoxy: The Basics

Posted by B&B Yacht Designs on Jan 1st 2018

Note: Applies to all brands of epoxy including B&B Brand 2:1 Epoxy.SafetyAlways wear gloves and old clothing when working with epoxy it is very difficult to remove from fabric. Denatured alcohol is the preferred solvent for cleaning skin of epoxy. Some people notice a smell from epoxy and we always recommend wearing a respirator when using epoxy in an enclosed space. MixingOur epoxy is a 2:1 mix r

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The 2017 Texas 200

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Jun 30th 2017

This is a boring story. Nothing important broke or screwed up. It was a long tiring 3000 mile drive but the sailing was worth it. Jay and Carol live about 950 miles down the track and very kindly offered to host me for the night to break up the drive and go the rest of the way in convoy. It was a real treat.The skippers meeting was quite casual. After handing over our signed disclaimer we were tol

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Everglades Challenge 2016 in Core Sound 17 Mark 3 'Carlita'

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Mar 20th 2016

Full discussion available here: forum threadHere is my recollection of my Everglades Challenge in Carlita.My impressions of The CS17 mk3 Carlita on her shake down cruise in the 2016 Everglades Challenge:In her short life I have sailed Carlita more and harder than most owners will do in several seasons or ever. She was pushed in conditions that most sensible sailors would avoid. Without the cl

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Design Evolution of the Core Sound 17/20 Mark 3

Posted by Alan Stewart on Feb 8th 2015

To understand the history and development of the Mark 3 , you need to know some history about the Everglades Challenge. The Core Sound series of boats have been competing successfully for almost 10 years in the annual Watertribe Everglades Challenge. This 300 mile distance race from Tampa Bay to Key Largo, Florida is open to all boat types and typically has over 100 entrants. Kayaks and small s

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Why a Cat Ketch?

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Jan 1st 2015

You may have noticed that B&B Yacht Designs has several models that are cat-ketch rigged. For example the Core Sound 15 pictured below sailing at our annual messabout.Perhaps you are not familiar with this rig, and think that it looks “old-timey.”And, perhaps you think that this rig is not as “efficient” as a “modern” sloop rig.First let us dispel some common myths about the cat ketch rig.The rig

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Building a Weighted Centerboard

Posted by Alan Stewart on Apr 9th 2014

The blank is glued up from laminated quarter-sawn pine about 1" larger than the board on all sides. A large flat table really helps for this part. Double and triple check that the strips end up as flat as possible with no twist. The finished blank was too large to run through the planer at the shop. Step one was to use a large surfacing bit in the CNC Machine to take the blank down to its final th

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Bay River Skiff V.S. Core Sound 17

Posted by Graham Byrnes on Jan 1st 2011

BRS-17 vs CS-17: A Side by Side Comparison Bay River SkiffCore Sound 17The statistics of these two boats are given in tabular form below: The following parameters apply:Beam is to the outside of the planking and does not include gunwales.Draft is given at full load condition.Hull weight is the weight of the hull plus spars, hardware and sails but not stores. This is sometimes called trailer weigh

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​Moccasin 14 Canoe: History

Posted by Bill Burk on Sep 1st 2010

The story begins with a search on the internet to find a light weight boat I could build in my garage and use for fishing or just poking around in the many waterways in the Puget Sound area. When I found B&B Yacht Designs Moccasin 12 Canoe I knew that was the boat for me. I built the Moccasin 12 and enjoyed using it for 5 years before deciding I needed a larger boat if I was going to get serio

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​THE GREAT RACE: July 1999

Posted by Tom Lathrop on Jul 7th 1999

In 1776, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia and having reached their historic decision to dissolve the union between the thirteen colonies in America and Mother England, proclaimed the “Declaration of Independence” as the instrument to announce their intention. Lacking access to e-mail, the task of spreading this news among the colonies fell to horse and rider in the inland areas an

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