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  1. In case some people have wondered what is going on with Bluejackets, this is the latest. Plan sales and building is moving along, although at 88, I have started slowing down on all facets of boating. There have been several inquiries about whether a Bluejacket can be built in Aluminum. My answer has always been that a BJ can certainly be built in aluminum but I am not in a position to do detail design and manufacturing in that medium. Quite a few aluminum boats have and are being built in the Pacific Northwest and are used mostly for fishing. None of these boats are, to my knowledge, optimum for cruising, which is a Bluejackets stock in trade. Weight of aluminum is a lot greater per unit of volume than wood which is the main reason that attempts to use other materials have not been pursued to a good conclusion. Weight of the boat and resultant performance advantages of light weight was the driving force behind many decisions in the Bluejacket design. Earlier this year, a builder of aluminum boats in Melbourne, South Australia contacted me about the possibility of using aluminum for 100% of the boat structure. After considerable discussion of what would be involved and by his enthusiasm for the project, work was started on evaluating whether a Bluejacket could gain the benefits of non-perishable material and rugged aluminum structure while retaining its better qualities of performance of the wooden model. Of course, the benefit of an ability to buy a commercially built Bluejacket from a quantity builder was also a main factor. How well this is accomplished is a bit unclear but the prospects look good. While I did do some work on this project, the main effort has been from John Pontiflex who owns and operates Plate Alloy Australia Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He builds a fairly large range of aluminum boats that are used mainly for fishing, either commercially or privately. Some modification of structural parts of the wooden Bluejacket was required to utilize aluminum but the design was followed very closely. He says that cruising boats are not a big item in Australia at this point and none that approximate a Bluejacket are available. Therefore a commercially available aluminum Bluejacket may well be a viable offering for Plate Alloy. He also teaches aluminum boatbuilding and the welding techniques necessary to make a good job in one week (or so) courses in various areas of Australia. CNC kits can then be a large part of Plate Alloy’s offerings. Cut files are, of course, available but legal requirements safeguarding their use by those other than Plate Alloy will be required. Shipping costs of ether boats or building material from Australia to the USA are high. Such costs may make shipping of boats or part inventories infeasible but that can be worked around is not known yet. The attached photos show the boat in its unfinished form at the trial launch. The engine is not equipped with final controls and is a larger size with much more weight than the 70hp specified. This engine is a larger than recommended size as that is what John had at the time. Performance is expected to be good with the recommended engines up to the Yamaha 70hp model. Yamaha outboards from 50hp to 70hp all have the same displacement although the 70hp will provide the best high end speed. In case some people have wondered what is going on with Bluejackets, this is the latest. Plan sales and building is moving along, although at 88, I have started slowing down on all facets of boating. There have been several inquiries about whether a Bluejacket can be built in Aluminum. My answer has always been that a BJ can certainly be built in aluminum but I am not in a position to do detail design and manufacturing in that medium. Quite a few aluminum boats have and are being built in the Pacific Northwest and are used mostly for fishing. None of these boats are, to my knowledge, optimum for cruising, which is a Bluejackets stock in trade. Weight of aluminum is a lot greater per unit of volume than wood which is the main reason that attempts to use other materials have not been pursued to a good conclusion. Weight of the boat and resultant performance advantages of light weight was the driving force behind many decisions in the Bluejacket design. Earlier this year, a builder of aluminum boats in Melbourne, South Australia contacted me about the possibility of using aluminum for 100% of the boat structure. After considerable discussion of what would be involved and by his enthusiasm for the project, work was started on evaluating whether a Bluejacket could gain the benefits of non-perishable material and rugged aluminum structure while retaining its better qualities of performance of the wooden model. Of course, the benefit of an ability to buy a commercially built Bluejacket from a quantity builder was also a main factor. How well this is accomplished is a bit unclear but the prospects look good. While I did do some work on this project, the main effort has been from John Pontiflex who owns and operates Plate Alloy Australia Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He builds a fairly large range of aluminum boats that are used mainly for fishing, either commercially or privately. Some modification of structural parts of the wooden Bluejacket was required to utilize aluminum but the design was followed very closely. He says that cruising boats are not a big item in Australia at this point and none that approximate a Bluejacket are available. Therefore a commercially available aluminum Bluejacket may well be a viable offering for Plate Alloy. He also teaches aluminum boatbuilding and the welding techniques necessary to make a good job in one week (or so) courses in various areas of Australia. CNC kits can then be a large part of Plate Alloy’s offerings. Cut files are, of course, available but legal requirements safeguarding their use by those other than Plate Alloy will be required. Shipping costs of ether boats or building material from Australia to the USA are high. Such costs may make shipping of boats or part inventories infeasible but that can be worked around is not known yet. The attached photos show the boat in its unfinished form at the trial launch. The engine is not equipped with final controls and is a larger size with much more weight than the 70hp specified. This engine is a larger than recommended size as that is what John had at the time. Performance is expected to be good with the recommended engines up to the Yamaha 70hp model. Yamaha outboards from 50hp to 70hp all have the same displacement although the 70hp will provide the best high end speed. The video does not work for me as yet.
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