Carinita was designed for the amateur builder who desires something more than a typical day sailer, not a full cruising boat but a fast sailboat that has limited accommodations sufficient for an occasional overnight cruise yet without the higher building costs associated with keel boats of this size. While two fixed berths with lockers and shelves for food, dishes and stove are provided, there is also ample stowage space for a portable icebox, a watercloset of the bucket type for economy's sake, sails, water bottles and all the other equipment one usually requires for an overnight cruise.
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Carinita will be exceptionally seaworthy and her full beam at the waterline will provide sufficient stability to withstand any normal sudden summer blow. With certain modifications to the cockpit and cabin entrance Carinita would be eligible to meet the requirements of the English Royal Ocean Racing Club Junior Offshore Group, more commonly known as the J.O.G. class, as well as the American Midget Ocean Racing class. This class is a logical development in these days of high costs for those who wish to participate in the shorter ocean races. Except for the required modifications noted above Carinita is very similar in appearance and size to the Sopranino, the initial boat of this class, that has crossed the Atlantic from London to New York by way of the West Indies. Carinita has much greater sail area and a more comfortable cockpit to suit normal American sailing conditions.

When fastening transom framework to transom planking, space the screws four inches apart.

Frames are assembled on the full-size plans. Coat of bonding agent adds to frame strength. |
Incidentally, while some will be in a position to make up the keel pattern and have it cast, the keel is very similar to that of the International Star class as to outline and weight, only slightly heavier. Considering the large number of approved Star keel patterns around the country in various foundries, it might be possible to obtain a surplus Star keel at a considerable saving in cost, particularly if it is overweight or did not meet class inspection. Even a lightweight Star keel would be satisfactory.
Carinita's modern Marconi rig has been kept simple, but assures proper balance for light and heavy winds by the alternate headsails shown, besides having excellent handling qualities under sail. The sail and rigging plan is simple and similar to that of the Lightning class, with the working sails (jib and mainsail) and spinnaker the same size. With the exception of the mainmast and the length of the standing rigging the spars and deck fittings are the same. However, the mainmast had to be slightly longer due to the greater bury in the hull and in order that the boom would clear the deckhouse and still have the luff of mainsail the same length. Consequently the lengths of all the standing and running rigging are slightly longer.
Actually the principal advantage of this arrangement is purely to the benefit of the average amateur's pocketbook since it should be possible to obtain a used set of sails that has seen its best racing days but is perfectly satisfactory for day sailing. Or standard sails may be obtained from a sail-maker. In either case one should be able to obtain a suit at a considerable saving over the cost of a custom made suit of sails. The Genoa jib and storm jib are not a part of the Lightning suit of sails. As these are luxury items they must be custom made and can always be added at a later date when serious racing is contemplated. The Lightning class symbol cannot be used on the sails as it is a registered trade-mark and must be removed.
For those who have never built a boat before, Howard I. Chappelle's Boat Building or Robert M. Steward's Small Boat Construction will be handy reference volumes to have around. Both are obtainable from The Rudder Book Department. They may save many hours of misdirected effort and wasted materials. If the material and equipment weights are kept to the absolute minimum it may be necessary to stow a small amount of inside ballast to put the boat in proper racing trim when the crew is aboard. Since the weights always seem to build up rather fast it cannot be overemphasized that all the materials, especially those above the waterline, should never exceed in weight those indicated on the plans if top performance is expected.
Apply bedding compound (left) along all seams and at butt joints which are fastened with double rows of bronze bolts. After the side plank has been carefully fitted at the stem (right), back the screws out. apply glue to the framework, cover with cloth strips, then replace plywood and redrive all screws.

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Before starting to build study the bill of materials and check it against the plans in order to become thoroughly familiar with the required quantities. Mahogany plywood should be solid mahogany and not merely mahogany faced. There have been too many cases of the center cores of mahogany faced plywood dry-rotting completely away to leave only a thin shell that eventually collapsed. If only mahogany faced plywood is available it is much better to use Douglas fir plywood that is edge-branded EXT-DFPA. All screws and bolts should be silicon bronze (Everdur) or equal, except that galvanized steel bolts (or hot dipped galvanized iron) should be used for attaching the keel.
Lay down the full size lines of the hull, taking the required data from the lines drawing and the table of offsets and proceed in accordance with the instructions given in a boat building manual. For drawing each frame pattern use a large sheet of wrapping paper folded in the middle so the fold line will represent the centerline. Lay out the side and bottom frames with the double chine knees on one side according to the general requirements shown on the drawing. Punch through at the important points, unfold, arid draw the other half. As there are only a few very slightly curved frames in the bottom forward, all that is necessary is to lay the 2-inch frame material over the patterns and mark the correct lengths and bevels. All measurements for the chine knees are taken from the frame patterns and when all the parts have been made and checked they are assembled and fastened together with 1½-inch No. 10 flathead wood screws or 2-inch No. 10 machine screws or carriage bolts as preferred, checking the outline of the assembled frame against the paper patterns. The fastenings should all be set in sufficient distance to allow for the chine logs and beveling the frames. After thoroughly checking the frames by adding temporary cross and diagonal braces to maintain accuracy and hold the frames in shape, the notches for the keel, limber holes and gunwales can be cut.


Use a solvent (above) to secure a smooth sealer base on bottom edge of chine and keel-rabbet. When keel-rabbet, chine and butt-plate (right) have been coated with sealer, final bottom planking (lower right) is installed, lapping over side planking, after which screws are driven home. |
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The transom framework is fastened to the transom planking with l¼-inch No. 8 screws spaced about four inches apart, with all contacting surfaces coated with marine glue or thick lead paint before fastening together. Only the transom framework should be notched for the keelson, chine logs and gunwales.
The stem is in two parts to avoid rabbeting. When checking the inner stem over the full sheer line for fastening the stem to the floor when the boat is set up, it is only necessary to partially bevel the stem since the final bevel will be cut after the boat has been set up and faired so that the outer stem will completely cover the end of the planking.
The boat is intended to be built upside down on a firm level wooden floor that measures not less than 11 by 22 feet. Prepare the floor by applying a cheap grade of water paint. On this lay out the boat's centerline and the other lines at right angles to it that represent the molded frame lines.
The transom and frames are now set up. |

A coating of rubber sealer is carefully brushed onto the inner side of the chine batten to completely cover the edges of the plywood at the chine.
The chine batten is now screw-fastened into place. Countersink the screws and cover them with wood dough. Note the scribed lines for the boot-top.

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