@@littlerupert1111 congrats! Glad the videos help.

Thanks for watching. Still have to make that version with my real French accentuated voice :)….

@@BethelHealthBuilders I think our newer 19 footer (Flow 19) is really in the sweet spot and combines, ease of towing/rigging, roomy, great performances and is seaworthy. The Siren 17 was a great started boat though.

Thank you!

Thanks!

Thanks for watching. Here is the link. If I would redo the installation, I'll make the furler structural (in line with the headstay with a swivel at the top). Also, no need for the fairleads, just run the furler line to a cam-cleat on the side of the coach roof. www.ronstan.com/us/series-60-furler-only-stainless-st-ball-bearings.html

Don’t recall but any led self adhesive light ribbon that’s sold in Amazon will work.

Yes, it’s a pretty simple main sheet and setup. That’s said, we have a center mounted cockpit main sheet on our new boat and I much prefer this arrangement. Mainly for the ease of control, from both sides with the swivel cleat being down low and easy to release and adjust.

@@stefanfriberg4358 you are welcome

Great! Thanks for watching mate.

Yes indeed. Thanks for the correction.

I think a tad longer and a bit more ballast would be ideal (Catalina 22, O'day 2+2....) but it's great to have a fully retractable keel.

A bit larger boat with more ballast would be ideal but the Siren 17 is a good fit. Having a storm jib is key to be able to sail safely in windy conditions.

I never made one specific to the Siren 17 but the one from our new boat, the Flow 19 is very similar. Here is the link. drive.google.com/file/d/1ojbAkhnty0qc8X4IK1pqRahlrUtmmmOI/view?usp=drive_link

Sounds like a great boat for it. Not as convenient to beach or rig as a Siren 17 but great ballast ratio for safer sailing in tough conditions. I had a 50AH LifePO4 battery to power our electronics, B&G chart plotter and tiller pilot supplemented by a 20W solar panel on an RAM harm mounted aft that was easy to aim at the sun.

Don't know, maybe just a clever guy with an engineering mind :)

You are welcome! I am glad it helps.

Hello, yes, having a continuous line furler on a small boat is a no brainer and is super convenient. You are right, the furler installation on my boat is what is typically referred as a structural furler, the furler is installed in line with the stay and you need a special (and expensive...) swivel on the headstay to which you attach the head of your foresail so it can furl around the stay. My boat is now on the water and can't take photos or videos of the setup (but will do at some point...). In combination to Ronstan's Series 60 furler, I have a Harken swivel at the top of this model. www.harken.com/en/shop/small-boat-underdeck-516/hoistable-furling-swivel-6-mm-wire/ Note that the head sail on the Flow 19 is also a hank-on sail so, it can be doused and removed from the headstay in case of problem with the furler. I never thought I would resort to this but last week, the splice on my furling line gave up (after a careful look, I concluded that the continuous line was poorly executed from the start...) and I had to douse the headsail in a classic way.

@@siren17 wow that swivel really is expensive! that definitely brings the price of the setup closer to a proper small boat furling setup which is disappointing. but, using hanked on sails is still a major savings for me. I just cannot converting my bagged out genoa or purchasing another sail to make a normal furling setup. thank you so much for the information! I do really like this solution.

@@devinerdmann5948 I gave you the link to the hoistable swivel for 6mm wire, mine is actually a cheaper version for 4mm wire. See link here, $310 list. www.harken.com/en/shop/small-boat-underdeck-516/hoistable-furling-swivel-4-mm-wire/ But... forgot to mention that you also need the one that attaches the headstay to the mast. Cheaper than the other one, $205 list. www.harken.com/en/shop/small-boat-underdeck-516/standard-furling-swivel-3-mm-luff-wire/

@@siren17 my CS22 is rather overbuilt, I will need to measure the forestay when I get a chance, the price of the 4mm swivel is much more palpable!

I glassed two rings to the bottom of the hull and strapped the battery box down. If you don't want to go through the trouble of using a battery box and doing all the wiring, the portable power stations are a great option.

@@siren17 Thank you Thierry! I see the ring now on closer inspection. I will do something likewise.

You don't need a bow roller on a 19 footer. It's still a small craft, you want to keep them simple and nimble!

@@siren17 Maybe, if you stay in marinas or only beach the boat. My 16ft Senior had an anchor roller, anchor chain will make light work of those topsides in any kind of chop, but maybe you only sail in perfect conditions? Nice boat otherwise.

Thanks for the tip!

You are welcome! I am glad you enjoyed watching.

Yes it is a great beginner boat. The keel locking system is a bit complicated to use but most of the time, you don’t really need to lock it unless there are serious risk to capsize. Also, running a small ICE outboard motor is noisy and gets annoying. You may want to look at an electric alternative.

1986 Siren 17, built by McGruer & Vandestadt

Washington DC

Easier to trailer and launch than a Catalina 22 because of its fully retractable keel. But less ballast weight so, a bit more tender.

I want one 20 years ago.

@@herbertocobock9436 never say never...

Hi, the lower bolt is the pivot bolt and should not be removed. The upper bolt it the keel locking bolt and is the one that is used to lock the keel in the downward position.

I would not take them and shrouds off if I would just drive a few miles to get to the ramp. But when trailering the boat for hundred of miles on the highway at 60 to 70mph speeds, it's best to keep everything lean. I have seen bad chaffing from stays and other stuff that became loose on trailered sailboats.

Yes, made it myself :) Sewing can be fun! But need a better machine... I had a similar cover on the Siren 17 but no lazy bag.

On small to medium boats , simple ideas are often the best. You may also want to put insect screens on the companion way, and the for hatch, glue magnetic strips on each side to easily remove, Almost ready for a big trip. Had a lot of bad weather laley so Its been difficult to get power up to make a volg of my boat but will try to soon. Gerard. Gera

@@SvGemstar I made screens last summer for the hatch and companion way. Using velcro to hold them but magnet idea is good. Have a great trip!

Thanks for watching... I don't have a video of the spinnaker being furled and unfurled, need to do one this season... Yes, you can keep the spinnaker furled while sailing. Just want to make sure the furler line is in its cleat. Yes, there are two reefs in the main. I did not show them in the rigging video but mentioned that they are installed and kept with the main in the lazy bag.

Just do it! Siren 17 and trailer were around 900lbs.

Thought about an inflatable paddleboard too but the kayak is more versatile. Absolutely no effect underway, no difference with or without the kayak in tow.

Thanks for the information. Now to decide which version.

Make sure you get a self-bailing kayak or it can be a problem, in any weather the spray will eventually fill the boat and it will weigh a ton and affect your seaworthiness.

​@@cc111me- thanks for the tip

Good to hear. We haven’t taken ours on whitewater yet but I think it’d do pretty good up to class II or III.

We went from a Tohatsu 3.5HP to an ePropulsion 3HP electric motor. My wife hated the noise and always had trouble firing it... Going electric is an expensive proposal but it really has changed the way we cruise around and the decision to motor not. I am also not missing the maintenance, oil/filter change, can of fuel... At the end of the day, when the wind abates, we tend to extend our journey all the way to sunset enjoying drinks and snacks "motoring" along silently, exploring the surroundings around our anchorage. When sailing on a hot day and having the wind die on you, it's also super nice to motor sail silently, just enough to feel a nice cooling breeze with everything quiet around. Most range figures you read from electric motor manufacturers tend to show the worst case scenario, motoring at 100% power. The reality is that you will often motor fast enough and efficiently with the throttle set between 30 and 50%. Below are examples of power vs speed with the ePropulsion Spirit 3HP on our 19' sailboat. We have 2 batteries and a 100W foldable solar panel. Last season, one battery was enough to cover our needs for a 3 or 4-day trip but having a fully charged spare onboard is good safety. The foldable solar panel works quite well but is mostly usable ashore. Most of the time, we cruise at 300W, that's about 30% of full power and the boat moves at 2.9kt. At that speed, we can motor for 4 hrs.

??? Not sure what you mean :)

@@siren17 If the bottom of the mast is square on the bottom when tilted back the mast must first rise to overcome the 90° portion because it has to rotate around the mast tabernacle bolt. Sort of like having square tires on your car or bicycle, it has to bump up then go down. So a radius must be cut or ground based on the radius From the bolt which secures the mast to the tabernacle. Perhaps the mast already has been modified. I had to do this for my Catalina 25 swing keel which I trailered often. I had a gin pole system which allowed this to be done. When I first unstepped the mast, the standing rigging was damaged due to this very reason. Live and learn. The forces can be quite great.

Storage is a bit limited but adding a cockpit floor hatch added a lot. It's important to use a quality hatch though, you don't want water liking in to your hull...

Hello Gerard, yes we took the K2 on Lake Moosehead in Maine last summer and it was great. The all short is rocky, nowhere to beach the boat and that is why I decided to get an inflatable tender. The kayak is great because it's also nice to paddle around to explore. Here is a link to Lake Moosehead video. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eMmknbOjqb-yeWQ.html The Flow 19 is great, I think it's as big as a 19 footer can get yet, with great performance. It's a very light boat and doesn't need much wind to get moving. It can sail 12 to 14 kt on the plane with a kite but you'd have to be careful not to broach...

@@siren17 broaching can occur on any sailing boat. The main thing to watch for is when the wind backs around the mainsail. It is a good point to run a line forward past the mast and tie off one end to the boom, to stop the boom from jibing back accidentally. That's called an accidental jib. Gerard.

@@SvGemstar Yes, aware of accidental jibes.... The point I wanted to make is that when going 12 to 14 kt with a kite on a 19 footer, all bets are off and even without going into an accidental jibe, you can can get in some other kind of troubles.

I think the Venture 17 is a very fine boat. How much does the keel weight? Is it fully retractable?

@@siren17 I believe the swing keel is 270lbs and much like the Catalina line of swing keels it does not retract flush to the hull. Minimum draft 17 inches.

@@crawford323 Sounds good. A bit harder to launch from shallow ramps but a good deal of ballast compare to the Siren 17.

@@telecamfilms From what I can see, the Siren has better storage and head room inside the cabin plus the cockpit arrangement with the locker at the stern is extremely nice. The Venture has no anchor handling/ storing features. I have built an anchor roller from oak for the bow which will double as a place to secure the mast during trailering. I will wire the mast for an anchor light and radio antenna. On my 25 Catalina swing keel which I have passed on to another owner, I used automotive molded trailer lighting plugs, to for the mast pigtail and deck plug. They are cheap and certainly durable. I had adopted a gin pole system for the 25's mast raising task, but the Venture is light enough to rig without it. The McGregor I now have was built in 1972 and the model was manufactured 1972-1974. I have cut two access deck plates now to replace loose gudgeons and found no rot with the material which was used in the glass layup. I do not know what the material is but I'm pleased to say it is certainly not plywood. The only rot I have found is the untreated pine 2x6x17" used to back the gudgeon places on the inside of the stern. Two six inch access holes were cut, one horizontal at the rear to act as a clean out to the hull stern drain. The other cut vertical a foot or so up to access the gudgeon hardware and the sheet rigging pulleys. The hull has flotation blocks haphazardly loosely fitted. Fifty plus years of gunk made sure the hull had standing water in it which had to be addressed. It has great access for inspection now. It has been fun to resurrect her and I have and will spend too much money on her considering she was a "free boat."

It’s a kayak, not a canoe. The last Siren 17 was built in 1986…. I am not selling anything.

@@siren17 ok no worries, I was being nice, I see it was a wasted effort.