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Sidney Island, B.C., July 2015

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Model: Chebacco

Name: Three Rivers

Designer: Phil Bolger

Builder: Ben Ho

Launched: May 2007

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Three Rivers is a cat-yawl based on Phil Bolger’s Chebacco design, lapstrake version. At the time I was looking for an easily trailerable boat that has a large cockpit, sleeping accommodation for two, and aesthetically pleasing. Three Rivers fulfills all these criteria. A cat-yawl with a small fore-sail breaks down the total sail area into smaller individual sails, making it easier for single-handing. The large cockpit can easily sit four adults plus two small children – or for two adults to lounge around in comfort. The large V-berth is bright and airy with sitting head-room. With the center board up, she can sail right up a beach. 

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DESIGN: THE PERFECT TRAILERABLE SAILBOAT BOAT

 

Previously I had an 17 ft day-sailer that we had been sailing for many years, and I was looking to upgrade to a slightly larger sailboat with a small cabin so we can do sailing-camping in moderate comfort. A larger keelboat is nice, but a trailerable boat truly opens up the options for sailing grounds. It also saves mooring fee. However, I found that most production sailboats in the 20 ft range have the wrong design concept: they try to have a large cabin so they can stuff enough berths for a family, with galley and head. That results in a small cockpit. But for most people, 90% of their sailing is day-sail. Some of my best time is sailing with a couple of friends for a few hours. Compromising cockpit space for the 10% (or less) time you sleep on the boat just doesn’t make sense. I wanted a boat with a large cockpit so I can sail with 4 adults in it without bumping knees and touching shoulders.   

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Measuring 19 feet 8 inches with a beam of 7 ft 9 inches, Three Rivers has that perfect balance of a spacious cockpit and a functional cabin for two. For the rainy nights, there is a cockpit enclosure that completely covers the cockpit and it is rain and wind-proof. She weighs 1500 lb, of which 250 lb is from four marine deep cycle batteries which also act as the ballast. The design is revised partly based on the Raised Deck (RD) version of Chebacco, with a raised floor providing a self-draining cockpit, strengthened backbone/keel in the after-end of the cockpit, and a larger rudder. The cockpit has a proper coaming with a nice height for back support. The cabin has been raised slightly and widened, to provide a more accommodating interior with a large V-berth, a small galley, and a ‘chart table’ hiding a porti and the electrical system. A sky-light hatch adds ventilation and light.

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She is easy to trailer, and is designed to be rigged and sailed single-handed. A backbone (keel) runs through the entire length of the bottom providing directional stability and enhancing structural integrity while maintaining shallow draft capability. With the center board down, she can turn in a fairly tight circle. She can sail with just the lightest of winds, and can handle white-cap sailing with grace. She is not a fast performer, but she can sail respectably upwind, and can just about go wherever you want. 

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Construction Details

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The absolute best material was used for Three River’s construction. The hull is built of Meranti BS1088 Marine plywood, ½” for the bottom and 3/8” for the strakes. Cabin roof is built of 3/8” and ¼” plywood laminated together. Deck floor and seats are built of ¾” Crezon board, which are water-proof and rot-free. Bulkheads are ½” plywood. Keel is built from Douglas Fir. Frames and structural members are Douglas Fir or White Oak, with the exception of overhead beams in the cabin which are made of furniture grade Maple. The bow sprit, rub-rail, and all external trims are solid mahogany. The tiller is solid holly and cherry laminated together. The hull, deck, and cabin roof are glassed over, primed coated, and then painted with several coats of Interlux boat paint, making the boat largely maintenance free, while the trims and rub-rail are finished bright and retains the character of a wooden boat. All spars (main mast, mizzen mast, boom, gaff) are made of top-grade straight-grain Douglas Fir. The two masts are hollow-built with the bird-mouth method, which results in spars that are relatively light but very strong. The high buoyancy of the hallow masts also helps to keep the boat from going turtle in the unlikely event of a knock-down. All spars are finished bright with three coats of ultra durable 2-part urethane varnish.

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The center board is build of marine plywood, sandwiched by four bars of soft iron, which provides the design-weigh to bring the CB down in water, and also immensely strengthens the CB. The entire CB is covered by fiber glass and several layers of epoxy, and then painted with marine paint. To withstand grounding, the edge of the CB is protected by a thick layer of epoxy and further guarded by a bronze strip.

 

The rudder has a stainless steel frame welded to a S.S. rod; a marine plywood structure is then built around the frame. The baseplate (known as the pressure plate) at the bottom of the rudder is what enables the relatively small rudder to have efficient steering ability.

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The main mast is hinged. The pivot pin at the mast-end is held between a pair of bronze plates, which are bolted onto a support stump which is in turn bolted to the forward bulkhead. From my experience with other boats, I find a hingeable mast to be the easiest to rig and de-rig. The relatively light mast can be easily lifted up and locked in place by one person. The mast is stayed by stainless steel riggings which are held by over-sized bronze chain-plates. The jib is held by a roller-furling, making it easy to control from the cockpit. The lines for the gaff, jib forestay, and topping lift are held by Harken rope clutches at the cabin roof and easily reached from the cockpit. The main sheet runs 2:1 to a Harken traveler residing at the cradle at the aft-cockpit, to a bronze swivel cam-cleat block at the console. The Harken traveler-car enables adjustment of boom control and sail trimming. The tiller has a tiller extension attached with an articulated hinged, allowing the tiller to be handled with ease from nearly anywhere in the cockpit. A tiller-lock can be turned tight to hold the tiller in any position.

 

The jib, main sail, and mizzen sail are professional made by a sail loft near Toronto. The jib and mizzen both have Sunbrella UV-protective strips at the edges. The sail maker was kind enough to also throw in a nice Sunbrella cover for the main sail.

 

For comfort, there are six custom-made foam cushions for the cockpit, plus two furniture-grade wooden seats with high backs. The V-berth is covered with a 3-inch memory foam. For the rainy days or cold nights, there is a cockpit enclosure that covers the entire cockpit. Made of rain-proof Duck-cotton fabric with transparent windows, the cockpit enclosure is supported by two collapsible stainless tubing and is very easy to setup.

 

 

Safety & Conveniences

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Besides sail handling and comfort, Three Rivers is also built for safety. The forward compartment at the bow is separated by a water-tight bulkhead. The bow has two sections: an upper section is the chain locker; the lower section is filled with floatation foam (removable). Both compartments can be reached through a water-tight hatch from the cabin. Under the V-berth, the storage space is also filled with floatation foam (removable). At the cockpit, three storage lockers on each side are closed with a cover lined with water-tight rubber gaskets; ditto for the two lockers at the stern.

 

For auxiliary propulsion, Three Rivers is designed to be environmentally friendly and uses a 65 lb-thrust electric outboard. The Minnkotta Maxuum is a high efficiency 24V outboard and is just about indestructible. It provides quiet, dependable power for getting in and out of marinas and to get back when the wind dies. Four deep-cycle marine batteries provides up to 15 hours of motor power. The batteries are charged by a built-in Pro-Mariner 3-stage marine charger. For tidal waters and for longer journeys, an 8HP Mercury 2-stroke outboard is included.

 

An AC socket connects a shore cable (included) directly to shore power at the dock or to your garage. Inside the cabin, an electrical panel provides control for cabin reading lights, bow and stern navigation lights, and a cigarette-lighter socket for cell phone or chart plotter. The NorthStar Explorer 538i charter plotter (with chip for Great Lakes area) can be mounted on a pedestal in the cockpit.

 

A custom-made trailer is included. The trailer has guard rails on the sides and a center rail on the bottom to guide the keel. It also has a hitch extension, for those shallow ramps that might require getting your car wet; although I've never had to use that feature.

 

 

History

 

During the first three years I sailed Three Rivers extensively in lakes of all sizes in Ontario and had a wonderful time with her. After that my wife and I bought a larger boat and sailed and lived in the Mediterranean for several years while Three Rivers waited patiently in an indoor storage. Three years ago we returned to Canada and moved west to Victoria BC. 3R survived the 4,000km bumpy trailer trip with not a scratch. We have a wonderful time sailing her around the Gulf Islands, but now our life style and priorities have changed.

 

In 2017, her ten-year anniversary, I spent a month to bring her back to nearly-new condition. Work included: New paint for the entire hull; sand and new varnish for all spars; washed all sails and most lines; new gaskets for lockers; new bearings and lube-buddy for the trailer; new AGM batteries; reconditioned the outboard by the local Mercury dealer (cleaned carburetor, lub, new impeller). Overall she is in excellent shape. Now willing to part for $27,000 Cdn ($21,000 USD) - a fraction of replacement cost - for a new owner who’s willing to care for this boat which still turns eyes everywhere she goes.

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For those who are not familiar with Phil Bolger’s Chebacco design, see this web site which has extensive write-ups on the design and people who built and sail this boat:

Chebacco

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Lots of pictures of 3R can be seen at this album:

3R photos

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For detailed write-up on the building of Three Rivers, see:

3R Boat Building

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Some of my sailing trips can be seen at (please excuse the formatting. The web provided altered the web format and I no longer have access to edit the site):

 

North Channel Cruising

Midland sailing

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Videos of 3R sailing:

https://youtu.be/oMepitIQgWo

https://youtu.be/5R5DSdZ4CqM

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You may also be interested in reading the book I wrote about our cruising life in the Mediterranean: ‘A Warm Sea”, living aboard a 43 ft sailboat:

A Warm Sea” by Ben Ho

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