Steve Day
-
Posts
914 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Steve Day
-
-
Spindrift is a small boat and there is no room for a cat ketch rig. There is room alright, but not for a rig that is more than a cute novelty. The masts get in the way on all boats and more so on a small one. The sails would be kind of dainty too.
Wouldn't that be "dinky?" (pun intended!)
:lol:That would be an interesting sight to see a Spindrift with a cat ketch rig. I cannot imagine trying to move around in that rig.
Steve
-
Unfortunately, there is no tach on the boat. The alternator that came with the engine does not have a lug for the tach connection. We are working through how we are going to get an idea of how fast the engine is turning, but by ear, I don't think we are getting the 3000 RPM. Yes, we did end up with a 10 x 14 prop, but without the RPM's of the engine/shaft we don't know for sure where we are.
I went out today and ran the boat for a couple of hours. I am now able to get a little better than 13 knots with full throttle and I can ease it a bit to "cruise" at 11 to 11.5 knots. It seems to be running very well, but we don't know what RPM's we are turning. There is a vibration I don't like and I think the solution is a pillow block type bearing just forward of the shaft seal.
Wally and I will be working with the boat tomorrow morning to finish up some of the details.
Steve
-
Here are three pictures taken while on the trip up the river last Sunday when we were only making 7.5 to 8 knots. The boat had a better attitude when we were going faster on the way back, but we didn't get any pictures on the return trip.
Steve
-
Holes were drilled thru each of the frames to allow water to pass right after we turned the boat over. All of the holes are epoxied to protect the wood.
Water will also drain from the stern area forward when boat is at rest and level. However, if we are nose up, the water will collect back there if it is deposited there (like the exhaust leak we had yesterday).
Bilge pump easily handled any of the water in the boat.
Steve
-
Scott,
Nice photos. The yellow Belhaven looks really nice and it appears you had a good trip. It appears the Catalina is one of the pop-top types you were discussing in the other thread. Was that the one you fixed up?
When are you going to bring that boat down here to Alabama and the "Redneck Riviera" for a visit/sail?
Steve
-
We were able to take the boat out today and run up Fish River to Big Daddy's for an afternoon meal. The way up the river was slow, as we were only making about 7 - 8 knots. I discovered a small leak in the exhaust system that was putting water into the aft part of the boat and had to stop once to bail it out, since the water was not running into the main part of the hull to get to the bilge pump.
As we were sitting at the restaurant having our meal, I realized the engine was not turning up like it should and remembered a throttle stop adjustment on the engine. We made an adjustment to that stop and were able to get 12+ knots on the way back. That was a decided improvement. I was also able to tighten the hose clamps on the muffler and stopped that leak into the after section of the boat. We were still getting some water into that area, so we have a bit more chasing to do on that account. The increased RPM's seem to have helped the speed, but there probably is more we can do with that.
The increased blade area on the rudder has helped the handling and the boat does quite well on that account.
More to come as we work the punch list on the boat.
BTW, We had a lot of fun with the boat and got several pictures. As soon as Wally gets the pictures to me, I will post them. It was a bit colder than my wife would have liked at 62 degrees F.
We got several compliments on the boat at the boat ramp. Made us feel good about the way she looks.
Steve
-
We are also anxious to see her on the water once again.
We had a rainy day today and the revenue "boat ride" I had scheduled on the big boat this afternoon cancelled due to the weather. Therefore, I had an afternoon "free" and went out to the Rescue Minor for a little work. As I was working, the door slid open and Wally had decided to take part of the afternoon off to work on the boat, too.
:grin:We got the bulkhead for the forward storage area in place and the doors are epoxied and are being coated with varnish. The door hardware should be here this week and it should be installed soon thereafter. The seats are complete and are being varnished. The lighting (LED) for the forward storage area and the cargo/passenger deck has been installed. The decks have their final coat of paint. Not a bad afternoon's work! 8) :-D
We both stood back to contemplate the situation and agreed that we are real close to getting her back in the water. That is a real nice feeling.
-
There is no doubt we did the right thing going on the kayak trip yesterday. The weather was nearly perfect and we saw a whole bunch of neat wildlife while enjoying the company of fellow kayakers.
We got the starboard seat completed and the final coat of epoxy on it and will be starting the varnish Tuesday. Wally got the forward bulkhead and doors cut out and epoxy coated.
Now it appears we have everything complete but varnish and finish work . We should have it out of the barn pretty soon.
Steve
-
I finally found some time to work on the Rescue Minor Wednesday and today. The starboard seat is now glued together and we are applying Urethane to the epoxied wood on the inside of the hull and the bottom of the port seat (for UV protection, and appearance).
Wally has fabricated two covers that had not been done yet while I have been doing the seats.
We're getting ever closer, but the last few items are going a lot slower than we would like.
More pictures when we make some recordable progress.
One of the things that keeps us from working on the boat is the kayak trip we are going on tomorrow. We just have to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather we are experiencing. Priorities, priorities :?
Steve
-
Scott,
Looks really nice. It's nice to see one of your "babies" go out the door to be used.
Steve
-
Nice catch Mike! Looks like you are using the boat.
Steve
-
The port seat is complete! The only thing left to do on it is varnish. Now to get the starboard seat done. Not much time to work on the boat with charters starting to happen on the big boat. Lots of work on her to get her ready to go.
Here are a few pictures with boat cushions on the seat.
Steve
-
No disapproval! Actually, hearty encouragement for the trial. I just wasn't sure about the pictorial record.
Steve
-
Good idea to try things out while changes are easy. Getting "stuck" in a head that is too small in a seaway can be quite interesting, to say the least. Careful thought and trial really is a good thing.
Keep on working and taking pictures. However, we might have done without the one of you sitting on the "throne."
Steve
-
Good to hear from you, Mark. Glad to hear all is well on the northern frontier.
Those times with the kids are great, but there are always new opportunities to make more memories. My son (34 years old) and I try to have new sailing experiences every chance we get and we have been successful for the most part.
Keep on with the sailing adventures as best you can. I know it's hard where the water turns to ice early in the fall and stays that way all winter.
Steve
-
We got some things done this past week, but not as much as we would have liked. Too much going on in our "normal" lives for boatbuilding.
The seat frames are being built and we have them glued up. We have made the seats to be removable, so that we can take them out when desired.
Here are a couple of pictures of the frames as they are being glued up.
-
We got the African Mahogany coaming installed on the boat and I got the first coat of epoxy on it. Looks pretty good. Seats are next.
The engine modifications are all done and we are mechanically ready to put 'er back in the water.
Here are a couple of photos:
-
Some of you asked how much we were adding to the rudder for more authority. We have added 6" to the length of the rudder carrying the angle into the extension. You can see the modified rudder in the attached photos.
-
I was able to get a full day on the boat today and was able to get the coaming "glued and screwed" onto the boat. The plugs over the screws are also glued in place. Sanding is coming later this week.
-
Hey Guys,
We finally broke down and put the boat back in the shop on the trailer to work on it in the Air Conditioning. It was just too ____ hot to work outside. Wally took the rudder off and we are adding some blade to it to improve the authority. We also put a check valve into the raw water circuit and are adding oil pressure and temp senders for the instrumentation. There was also a minor (no pun intended) problem with the wiring and we were able to trace it and correct the situation.
Meanwhile, I have found some mahogany and am making the coaming around the well deck/cockpit. It will be finished bright and should make the boat look better. Here are a few shots of the dry-fit coaming on the forward and port sides. Starboard side is next.
-
I take it that is Travis there with the Princess. Good to see all of those B & B boats in one spot.
Steve
-
I would agree. If the boat is floating on her lines, the prop is partially out of the water at rest. (10" prop - 8" draft, you do the math.) When you start out, there is a good bit of frothing going on back there, but as the speed increases, things settle down. Really an interesting design.
Here is a shot of the wake as we were running at speed. Interesting flow pattern, You can also see it on a couple of the photos above.
-
Mike,
The rudder performs as it should, and I expect it is as designed. I remember Navy boats from my days in the Navy, and they never could turn like I wanted them to. Wally and I just wanted a little more authority maneuvering in close quarters, such as near a dock. A little length/area added to the trailing edge of the blade will not do any harm and should provide us with what we are looking for. If not, we will look at other options. We don't want to add anything to the top of the rudder at this point due to hull clearance issues.
The swing check valve is what we are looking at. A spring type will not work as it will add too much resistance to flow in this application. We should be able to "hard pipe" it rather than have another hose in the circuit.
Here are a couple of shots of me maneuvering the boat on its very first sortie.
-
No details on performance. We didn't take the GPS with us, so don't have any idea how fast it goes, other than a rough guess of "about 15." We will have to get the trim issue resolved before we can really do anything with the performance. We will also have to take a more extensive "cruise" to get any idea of fuel burn.
The engine performed as expected. We discovered that the raw water cooling drained back when we stopped the engine, and we couldn't get a prime without filling the strainer with the sea cock closed and opening the cock after the engine started. The raw water pump was able to pump water quite well if we primed the line first. We will put a non-return (check) valve in the intake line to (hopefully) resolve that problem.
The boat backs slightly to the right. The angle of offset is a little larger than design (minor construction error) and that appears to translate into the backing characteristic. We made the rudder to the plan specifications but think we could use a little more rudder authority. While the boat steers OK, we would like to see it a bit more responsive, so we will add additional area to the rudder.
All in all, we were very happy with the boat. Thank you all for your positive comments.
Steve
Rescue Minor Under Construction
in Main Forum
Posted
Tachs on gasoline engines are relatively easy. However, as PAR noted, this is a diesel. If we get the correct alternator, we can use the tachometer that is in the instrument cluster. As long as it is not too expensive, that is the way we will go.
I took the boat out with some friends along for "ballast" and the ride. We had a great time and the boat performed well. We're gradually getting the "bugs" out of the boat.
Steve