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Everything posted by Tom Lathrop
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Some folk have also been imbibing in the strange stuff along with Chick.
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One of my favorite demands when taking new work to draftsmen was "if I wanted it tomorrow, I give it to you tomorrow, I want it today" We had good rapport though so all was well and I never got thrown out of their space. Introduction of CAD slowed things down considerably until they and I got used to it. Took a Morgan 46 Out Island from Savannah to Nassau in the 80's. Even with a stop at West End, the whole thing was on port tack with wind 15 to 25 over the port deck. All sail controls were electric so the fact that my two crew mates were always seasick did not matter. Great run with no upwind tacking. I don't even allow particle board in my shop, much less on a boat or furniture. Bloody awful stuff.
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Well Chick, I hope you did not do the engineering on Charlie's Windmills. I saw one of them punch the mast right through the bottom in a National Championship race on the Chesapeake in the 1970's. Rough and windy but never saw that before or since. Hooray for air tanks.
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I felt fortunate to get a coffee break. Was able to go home with lots of dust of various compositions and did not have to pay for any of it.
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I chose the Bigfoot with the higher gear ratio for my boat as hedge for pushing a larger boat at lower than bass boat speeds. Because my boat turned out to be easy to push, that was not really necessary but I don't see a downside at speeds up to the mid 20's. At normal cruising speed of 12 to 18 mph, I think a big foot is likely the better choice. At higher speed, the big foot would undoubtedly have more drag because of the larger cross section of the gearbox. I think the standard Yamaha 90 has plenty thrust at any speed and condition for your boat. A standard Yamaha 70 is more than adequate for the BJ25.5. Graham's 26 has quite a bit more waterline beam (~12%) than a BJ of comparable LOA, so it may require as much power as the BJ28 for the same speed. While this is just an educated guess, it fits the data. Homebuilt boats are very often heavier than the designer intended and that factors in to power required. You don't actually know how a particular boat/motor will perform until a speed/RPM curve is made. That will also establish which available prop is best for the boat or whether a prop shop can improve things with a bit of pitch or cupping modification. Experience with a type is also useful and Graham may be able to help with that.
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The motor on my Bluejacket 24 foot cruiser is a Yamaha and it has been good for 18 years now. Builders of Bluejackets have used Yamaha, Suzuki, Etech and Mercury four strokes and all are proving to be very reliable and mostly equal. My recommendation is to get the one from a nearby reliable dealer. You will need some lever of routine or other service at some time and it is far easier and probably better to trail the boat to a dealer close by that you have history with.
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Chick, You make me remember when I whacked my fingers on Graham's tablesaw while building the Oriental Express 20 foot tri in 1988. Cause was a violation of the first thing never - ever, ever to do on a tablesaw. Good news is that the numbness will fade a bit if you live long enough. It's been 30 years and numbness is almost all gone. The ER put in some stitches, put on aluminum guard splints to protect the remains and I went back to work. We had a deadline for the World 1000 race and I was not eligible for sick days since there was no pay anyway.
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Will, It looks exactly as expected and the final result should make the boat as good as new with the repair being invisible. Good job so far and good luck with the rest of it. Nice to know that there is no internal damage to worry about.
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Chuck, That looks like a draftsman's drawing table brush, which I also use for smoothing out glass cloth. Best tool I've found for this use.
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I did not mean that the entire foredeck should come off but only back to the main bulkhead. How much damage is actually done to the beams in addition to the kingplank is not shown and will probably be clear when you have full visual access. The forward part of the foredeck would be buckled if there were damage to the stem/bow area so I doubt that is the case. I devised the router technique to remove a large damaged plywood panel from a 24' trimaran some years ago and the interior frames and stringers were not affected at all. After installing a new panel and fairing it in, the repair was invisible. I'd expect the same success with your boat. How much of the foredeck needs removing will be clear when you get into the job. There is an obvious point at the forehatch shown by Graham that will be easier if there is no damage beyond that. The bad news is that we sometimes break our boats. The good news is that, since we built them, we can also fix them. No boatyard bills involved.
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Pretty clear that the foredeck must come off and the structure underneath replaced. In doing this kind of work, I use a router with a straight bit set to the depth of the outside panel and route around the edge to the level of the inwhale and stem. Cut out the rest with a jig saw and remove the whole thing. Clean up so a new foredeck can be built to fit exactly like the old one and replace the mast tube. Trying to do this piecemeal will probably turn out to be more work and less successful. I'm surprised the mast was strong enough to do this much damage. Most of them just break off above the deck with much less damage like yours. Good luck with it.
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Liz and I visited Scammon's Lagoon in 1997 and had the same experience with the grey whales. I think Mexico prefers to call it St Ignacio Lagoon. The salt harvesting was interesting as well. Very inexpensive then with no fee for camping on the lagoon shore. The only place we've been where whales are practically guaranteed to be seen close up.
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Travis, It looks quite a bit different from the original. The wide flat on the stem is gone. I wonder if the bottom rocker has been changed? Where was the added beam put in? I expect it will be bit dryer in chop and I hope it will retain the all round utility of the original which I thought was an ideal small skiff. Tom
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Chick, OK, I admit it, I just like a well done flush deck boat and think they look, what is the term? "yar". Beside, I expect to take a ride in your new boat at the messabout. May as well be a boat that looks like I want it to. Get to work. Tempus is figiting.
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Another positive for a raised or flush foredeck is that it adds a lot of righting moment, especially on such a small boat. The raised foredeck on the Mark3 series is a major reason they self-right so easily after a capsize. Its structurally stronger and the strength/weight ratio is better to boot.
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In about 1950, the accepted USCG weight for boat calculations was 150 - 155 lbs. Then came the good times, every one started eating the bad stuff, too much of that and the current obesity trend was underway. The USCG is having a hard time keeping up. The number has advanced at least 20 lbs since I started using it as a design factor. I'd use my own judgement for any specific case and the latest USCG number for when that is important.. Cypress is a mixed bag. Heartwood is rot resistant but usually has lots of knots. Sapwood is often clear but not so durable. At first glance, I thought I was looking at "Lapwing" but then saw that it was a Lapwing even though it has my top strake scroll carving and shape. Graham put it in the computer I guess. Very nice anyway.
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Speaking of flushing motors, I see the sun shining and there is some hope that this messy winter may be on the wane. LIZ needs to be pulled out of the boathouse, washed outside and de-mildewed inside as well as flushing and cranking the Yamaha. Then there needs to be a launch, gassing up and taking us for a cruise through Core Sound and down to Cape Lookout to see if the Banks and horses are still there.
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Just working on a bit more room for you big feet Chick.
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Chick, 8" plywood will take a scarf and make 15' 6" OAL on this boat so why not go for that?
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Chick, Just for reference, I have built sailboats of the approximate size as the Jessy/Bay River Runner with a class regulation 1/4" bottom. I'm not saying that this is ideal but these Windmills were raced hard for many years without breaking up. They do have a V bottom but the only reinforcement of each side bottom panels was a single stringer which does not add a lot of stiffness. Changing the bottom to 3/8" plus side tank/seats resulted in a structure that is multiple times stronger and stiffer than the thinner ones.. I consider a 1/2" bottom on such a boat way overkill and unnecessarily heavy.
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Chick, This is going to be an interesting exercise and I like the idea of doing much of the design yourself. The Bay river Runner or whatever its called now is a good starting point. There is really very little difference between the BRR and the BRS and that is straightening the aft buttock lines to aid planing. For that matter, the original BRS would plane with 8hp and one person. I doubt the 200# target is going to hold for the finished boat though. I also like a bit of V in the bottom for several reasons. Its stronger and stiffer, allows a better pointed bow, more centerline headroom in the cuddy and comes out lighter for the same strength. 3/8" is plenty for the bottom if there is some V but a flat bottom needs to be thicker with a lot more stiffening. Panel span width is all important for stiffness. The layout of AF4 with the slot top is a good one. The flush deck design is lighter, stronger and roomier, regardless of any protests from Oyster. We have found that the enclosed side tank/seat and berth arrangement makes for a very strong and lightweight structure. While the open seat design may look simpler and lighter, it does not work out that way. The tank/seat sides greatly reduce the span of hull bottom and side panels and I think you can get away with a 3/8" bottom and 1/4" everywhere else. I am just starting on finishing the partial Kayak I hauled away from your place a few years ago.
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Beautiful design beautifully built. Now, to what is not so great. She floats down by the stern and way off the design lines. Adding non-functional weight to such a boat is an admission that something is not right somewhere. Like cutting off your toe to get rid of a painful hangnail. Some serious thought needs to be applied about the best course to take in getting to a proper solution. Its clear that there is too much weight (probably about 1000#) cantilevered off the transom and the scant amount of buoyancy afforded by the bracket is inadequate to set it right. Sorry if this is not a popular assessment, but it is what an old curmudgeon sees. As Oyster said, eliminating one engine is the equivalent of an extra 8.5+ cu. ft. of buoyancy in the current stern with two engines. I'd bet the performance will still be just fine.
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Dollar General sells a toilet bowl cleaner called "The Works" for a dollar or so that must be a close match to the expensive stuff that boating places sell. There are no abrasives and it works well on auto wheel covers as well.
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The Little Known History of Vienna Sausage
Tom Lathrop replied to Chick Ludwig's topic in Boating & Crusing Stories
I don't know if it fell behind the shelves or not but I did just lose my lunch. Chick and I already had our discussion of the merits of Southern Sweet Tea while ghosting along on Summer Breeze this afternoon. Its clear that Chick was fed a bottle of undiluted Karo Syrup on his first feeding out of the gate. -
There's a whole heap of energy tied up in those little boxes. No problem as long as it is let out slowly but, if released suddenly, bad stuff can happen.