posted May 07, 2001 01:04 PM            

Sailing on lake Ontario from the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club, I have made two memorable trailer trips to Georgian Bay and the scenic North Channel.

My boat was built in '74 and has sail number 134. I have enjoyed sailing "ShortWave" since June '88

By the way; I have a custom-fitted 565 boom tent made of heavy green duck canvas with two large plastic windows, and two opening windows with weather flaps and screens.
This tent is fully zippered with snaps for easy attachment, covers the cabin top and cockpit from the mast to the aft end of the boom. It is three years old and has been used only four nights since then.

If you are interested, please contact me by email

Have a happy and safe sailing season everyone....Ken

posted May 08, 2001 09:37 AM            

From: Manfred J.J. van der Voort
To: Ken
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 2:01 PM

Hi Ken,

Finally I took the time to write back to you. Thanks a lot for your extensive email. I put some comments on your text below.

Hi Manfred:
Lovely to hear from you. Here are some things that I've written about my
boat over the past few years.
.....My Sandpiper is 5.65 metres long (18-1/2 ft) with a 6 ft beam, so you
will not win any races. It is a British design.

During the last couple of years I did extensive research on our type of
boat. I've found information in an English Sailing Magazine (Sailing Today
April 1999), that the Sandpiper 565 has been designed by Leo da Costa.
That magazine also learned me that the Sandpiper 565 has a predecessor called
Sailfish 18. This boat is still quite populair in the UK and they have an
owner association. I grabbed contact information from that same magazine
and contacted them. To make a long story short, I came in contact with an
owner of the Sailfish 18 form a sailing club in Cambridge, UK, named John Harris.
He organizes a the Cam Sailfish Race every year. For more info
http://www.cam.net.uk/home/sail/SFWEinf.html

John also gave me the name of a guy who had plans to introduce a new model
of the Sailfish 18 on the British market. That was important for me to
know because I was looking for a new keel. Why a new keel you may think? Well
unfortunately the owner before the previous one lost the keel during
sailing!! He has never been able to recover it. So he decided to make a
standard fixed keel on the Sandpiper. When I bought my boat, I thought it
woud be not too difficult to bring it back to its original state. However,
remaking a keel identical to its origin without any design drawings (which
I hoped to find somewhere), proves to be quite complicated and expensive.

So, I had a couple of options:
1) finding an identical boat unusable destined for crap, but with a good
keel
2) find a supplier for spare parts
3) find a identical boat still in production, to order a new keel

I had found the C&L company some years ago. I probably could buy another
keel from them, but the trasport costs would be rather high.

Well after investigating all the options I decided to accept the my
Sandpiper with a fixed keel and to save the money for my next boat. A new one?
Sailing and camping on the Sandpiper with 2 adults during a couple of weeks
is becoming a little uncomfortable. But let's first tell somewhat more
about my current boat.

My boat has been built in Southampton during 1973. At least one another
Sandpiper 565 must be sailing here around, because I saw one for sale in
the national boat sale directory. My boat is named "Nomads of the wind" based
on the title of a British documentary about the Polynesians. I'm living in
the middle The Netherlands in the small city of Wageningen. The river Rhine is
coming along our city. I started sailing on the Rhine for almost twenty
years ago. Nomads of the Wind is my third sailing boat during those years.
It's the first with a cockpit. A friend of mine used to sail in the
Northern part of our country, the province of Friesland. I accompanied him for
years. That province is known as the utmost sailing area from our country. I
agree with that. For 3 years ago I got the possibility for a mooring place in
Friesland for my own boat. It's a 2 hour drive from where I'm living, but
it's worthwhile to drive for a weekend.
My girlfriend is sailing with me on the Frisian lakes during the sailing
season. Sometimes, I'm sailing on myself or with a friend. We spent our
holidays on the boat once every two years. For two years ago, we where
staying for 4 weeks on the boat. We have been sailing on the Waddensea,
which is our last wilderness in The Netherlands. It's a tidal sea area
between our northern islands and the mainland. Sometimes I make a day trip
on the Ijsselmeer, which is a former inner sea, but now cutt off by dykes.
This year we will visit Denmark and take the Nomads with us.

She weighs around 570kg
dry, and I estimate 820kg with motor, two fuel tanks, battery and all the
gear. I have not confirmed this.

Due to the fixed keel Nomads wheight increased significantly. The boat is
now about 800 kg with the sailing stuff, but without motor, lines, anchor
etc. The weight of boat and trailer behind my car is 1180 kg.

It tows on a trailer slowly (80km-hr) with a 15
year-old Pontiac 6000 with a V-6 2.2Lengine. My V-6 2.8L Buick is much
happier to tow it. They were made in Ontario by C&L boatworks from
1974-1988, and while no longer in production, all components are still
available from C&L here in Ontario Canada. C&L still make CL14 and CL16
sailing dinghies....very competitive racing dinghies in this area.

.....She will happily sail with 4 adults and you will not get wet as the
boat is very seaworthy and the cockpit is very dry, but 6 in the cockpit
would be tight.

.....two (friendly) adults with all their gear would be OK for weekends,
(the head is situated forward under the V-berth) and I know someone who
used to take 2 (small) kids along on overnights but they reported that it was
too crowded. There are 2 V-berths and 2 quarter berths but in my opinion you
and the children would be too cramped along with your clothes, food and
other gear, especially in inclement weather. Having said that, I do have a
screened and zippered boom tent which extends the protected living space
into the cockpit.

Wow, that's what I have thought of to extend the living space. Have you
combined this with the spray hood?

I spend weekends aboard on Lake Ontario in Toronto
with my wife, and I often trail it a few hundred km to vacation on Georgian Bay
for 2 weeks by myself, with friends visiting overnight occasionally.

I looked for it at our map. It's a big lake to sail on, I noticed.

The middle of the Sandpiper cabin has a large centreboard trunk which
you would find a real pain for so many passengers. The keel retracts fully
so the boat can be easily trailered or even beached but it does intrude
into your living space. Also there is no provision for cooking and as I
mentioned, the head is in a crappy (pardon the pun) and non-private
location. I also looked at the "Sirius" and "Edel 540", perhaps something with a
pop-top on the cabin roof (I like that feature) and longer...say 21-23 ft.

Here in North America there are many of the McGregor line of
trailerable sailboats. One model has water tank ballast and a retractable wooden
dagger board keel, and so is quite light for it's size when the tanks are
drained for trailering. It is VERY spacious inside. I cannot vouch for it's
sailing features. They were being produced in great quantities back in 1988.

I've been looking at it for my next boat. They are being imported here.
But you have to have a big car to tow it. It's above our standard!

I really liked the Edel 540 (a French design made in Canada), last seen
listed around $6500, ) as the head was private and there was an alcohol
stove. The keels of these types of craft pivot backwards into a trunk
under the hull so the floor of the cabin is flat and unemcumbered. The
Sandpiper keel cranks straight up into the hull and the housing takes up space in
the cabin.

A motor of from 4-8 HP is perfect for this size of boat. I have a
Johnson "Sailmaster" 8HP long-shaft with an alternator to charge the battery.
Almost all these boats require a long-shaft outboard motor. I tilt the
motor up when sailing.

I paid $5,300 in 1988 with no trailer.

They currently list complete with motor and trailer for the same price,
from $5,000 - $ $6,000 (lucky me!)

However, I have been making major improvements and changes every spring
for the past ten years.......so I suppose that I'm now sailing a $10,000
Sandpiper........(still worth $5,300) ......Hmmmmmmm.......

Although the Sandpiper 565 was built by C&L from around ' 74 to ' 89,
the parts are available from C&L who make other smaller boats like the
famous CL16...very popular here in Ontario Canada.

My sail number is #134 (Canadian) , and it was built in 1974.

If the boat has a wooden gunwale trim it is not very new.
Actually that's good.

roof. I like that. It gives a GRP boat a little classical look.

need refurbishing of the hull. I believe that most Sandpipers predate
the osmosis problem so you will probably be OK.

of fun on a small budget. It is very safe and virtually untipable, the
manual says it will float when full of water and seaworthy...but not a racer!
Actually I race once a year (Saturday) and am usually nearly last to
finish.


Here are some other bits of letters I've written over the years about my
Sandpiper.

Sandpiper 565 (5.65 Metres long...about 18.5 Ft)

Not exactly a speed demon, she is tender at the dock (walking around on
her makes it feel tippy) but very stable under way...especially on a beat.
She has high cockpit coamings and so your crew stays dry in all but the most
extreme conditions. Even when the bow takes on green water, it all runs
off amidships and you stay dry, assuming the fore-hatch is well gasketed
and battened down properly.
She reaches well but runs slowly unless I hoist the asymmetrical DRS
spinnaker.
Jib sheets are easily handled without a winch...a cam-cleat does the
trick OK.
The max hull speed is probably 4 or 4-1/2 knots. I don't think it will
plane on a broad reach, not for me anyway!!!

The sailplan is old fashioned...with a large main, smaller jib. I have a
tilting tabernacle for the mast which allows me to crank the mast up and down by
myself. This swivelling tabernacle was an option.

Hmm, lovely to read. I need the same because I'm sometimes sailing alone
and made it myself. When you're sailing the small lakes here, you sometimes
need to crank the mast down, to pass a low flex bridge.

sag in the forestay and the luff of the jib, making for poor pointing
ability upwind.
Not like a racer with backstays and luff extrusions.
I have installed roller-furling on the forestay....it works well.

This is a 3/4 rig so the stays don't go all the way up to the masthead.
As there are no inner shrouds, when on an ambitious beat, in medium to high
winds, and close hauled, the lee shroud does go a little
slack...frightening at first but quite normal due to the bending of the mast. The deck fittings
and rig are over-designed and high quality. There is a bow roller, navigation
lights, and the battery and gas tanks go in the aft lazarette cabinet. The adjustable
motor bracket is standard. It should not require more than about a 6hp
long shaft motor to drive it. I got a new Johnson "Sailmaster" long shaft
8hp with alternator in '98 to keep the battery charged. I had to buy the
larger motor to get an alternator. The motor weighs 65 lbs.

to buy it as an option. So, now I'm able using it with an alternator to
charge my battery. I'll use the battery for the navigation light mounted in the
mast.


jackscrew with removable crank handle. It is flush with the hull when retracted,
the hull has two keelsons and can be beached or rested on a tidal mud flat
without any tilting problem at all! It draws about, Hmmmm I'm guessing
here...3ft? and only 10 inches with keel up. The keel is heavy metal
(iron or lead) and fibre-glass I think. Due to it's straight leading edge I would think
twice about hitting an underwater rock....Ouch! Damage would occur...but I
haven't hit anything in 10 years (except mud).....my depth sounder and
careful chart reading keep me out of trouble.

The original head is a disgusting dry pottie with a seat, lid and a deck
pumpout fitting!!! I cut it out and installed a marine Port-A-Pottie
with deck pumpout. Much nicer. It hides under a cushion in the V-berth. There
are 4 berths, but really room only for two (friendly) adults and one
child to sleep.
There are four storage lockers under the berths as well as two
nice shelves under the two large side windows, and they hold a lot.
There is an anchor locker on deck, and a large opening fore-hatch.
A little DC power panel is inside for controlling nav lights, interior lights
and accessories...VHF radio, depth , etc. I have one compass mounted on
the port bulkhead in the cockpit. The three mooring cleats are very large
and strong. The wooden tiller and tilt-up rudder are easily removed for
storage at the end of the day. The older boats have a teak rub rail all around
the hull and teak safety rails on the coach roof. Later boats may have a
plastic rub rail. There is a large centreboard trunk inside the boat,
inconvenient at times, but can serve as a table in bad weather. There is
no place to cook inside the cabin.

By the way, the manual states that there is enough built-in closed-cell
foam flotation in the hull to allow the S-565 to float...full of water,
gear and crew...without sinking. I haven't tried to do this, but when
installing the head, I found a lot of foam at the bow, and also under
the cockpit floor and cabin sole.

I believe that the last CL Sandpiper-565 was built in Oshawa in 1988.
The design is from the UK and meant for sailing in more protected coastal
regions or the larger English lakes.
My boat is # 134, named "ShortWave" and was built in 1974.
I paid $5,300 in 1989 and you will see them listed from $4,500 to 6,500
in Canada. There has not been any sign of osmosis or blistering in my
boat's 1974 hull. I have kept it at a swing mooring in the lake for six years
and I have coated the bottom with 4 coats of VC-Tar anti-osmosis coating,
and then two coats of VC-17 anti-fouling teflon/copper paint every 2-3
years. I cannot comment on the quality of the hulls and osmosis in later S-565
boats.


I love my boat, and although it's small for Lake Ontario (Toronto) I can
handle it by myself in all conditions..and launch and retrieve it on the
trailer by myself too. This is all the boat I need...I'm 54 and often
always sail alone or with a novice. This summer I would like to sail around the shore (not straight across the lake) from Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake (near Niagara Falls) and
back. A trip to Kingston and Prince Edward county would be nice too.

for three or maybe four adults in the cockpit, lots of room on deck for
kids, full lifelines, pulpit and stern railing.
I have sailed this boat hard on a close hauled beat in brisk winds and
have NOT been able to wet the rail or even get the windows washed!!!!

Here's the URL of the CL Boat shop for advice, parts list and spare parts
in North America.
http://www.vaxxine.com/clsailboats/


It's very important to grease the keel screw every 2nd year. It looks
difficult but it's really easy.

On dry land, (as on a trailer) block up the centreboard in the fully
retracted position from under the hull.
Remove all the stainless screws holding the fiberglass cover onto the
centreboard trunk top.
Inside there are 4 large pop rivets holding the metal screw plate
retainer down. Drill these out.
Using the square wrench provided for the purpose, turn the square nut
counterclockwise, raising it and the screw out of the lead keel
assembly.
Raise it as far as possible and grease the jackscrew with waterproof
yacht winch grease (get this in the sailboat chandlery).

Grease the nut at the bottom, and screw it all home again. I took the
opportunity to replace the ball bearing race. You might not have to. The
bearing race is readily available from C&L Boatshop.

If the screw seems to bind too much when first raising it, either the
grease is really dry, (Squirt oil down the shaft) or the screw has been bent
from running the boat aground. (hopefully NOT!)

I would bet that the screw on your boat is OK...it is a naval bronze
jackscrew and very strong....but.....the shape of the keel lends itself
to damage if sailed into a rocky shoal at high speed.

My keel was very difficult to lower in 1999 so I lubricated it in May
2000.
It will be the second lube since buying the boat in 1988...pretty good
actually!!!

By the way.....after launching...always lower the keel in shallow water
at the dock...in case it decides to fall off the boat and go to the
bottom.........

Well, you heard my story of getting a new one. That's not easy.

Best regards to you Ken, and good luck with ShortWave on your sailing trips.

Manfred van der Voort

posted May 08, 2001 10:05 AM            

The larger 775MSD has more capacity but is too tall to fit under the cushions and will prevent the comfortable use of the v-berth.

posted May 12, 2001 12:55 AM            

Email me at skipper565@hotmail.com

I just discovered "Good Old Boat" magazine in February and now I read it totally from cover to cover. They have an excellent website and can ship back issues. I got all the issues for 99, and 2000. Seems to be the same publishers as "Gam"....Karen Larsen
www.goodoldboat.com