mrthethird

I'm looking for some good books on traditional lapstrake building, with rivets, not glued lapstrake. Any recommendations?

In the nature of 'over-engineering'... It may be a little late to comment on this topic, but I have a keen interest in the subject. I am in the beginning stages of building a live-aboard boat, and the idea of not having to pull into port every two or three days for ice is somewhat intriguing. So let's go ahead and take this to the next level.... Very often we over-think things. The basic concepts are usually too obvious, and I know I am as guilty as anyone for overlooking them. I spent a lot of time in college years ago learning how to predict where a sphere will land, given the mass of the sphere, the angle of trajectory, velocity, and arc of travel. However, if I throw my dog a ball, he will catch it. The mass of the ball, trajectory, or arc are of little concern to him . I prefer his physics to ours... I may also include that I have been referred to as a nerd on occasion.... As with anything these days, conservation of energy is the key. The opening and closing of the cooler is your biggest source of energy loss. More so than the insulation on the sides, or the evaporated waste water trapped within. One only needs to go back about a hundred years or so, and look at what was done with the electric ice box. Other than the opening and closing of the cooler, the 'variables' are the consistency of the cooling source, and the variation in temperature of the contents. Concerning the variation in temperature: Coolers have a general fallacy of the size of the opening required to access. The interior contents need access for loading and cleaning, but general access requires an opening no more than the size of the largest item needing to be removed. So, a door big enough to maintain the cooler is necessary, but a smaller door for grabbing a beer or a sandwich is beneficial, and, in reality, all that is required. I might also suggest that you consider making the access from a vertical surface, rather than a horizontal one. If the secondary access is located higher, the cooler air stays in the lower portion of the cooler. For the consistency of the cooling source: The 5" or so thickness in insulation needs to be kept, at least until we figure out a better insulating material. However, as I understand it, cold air has an acknowledged tendency to travel downward. Placing the cooling source above makes a great deal of sense, for your example, in the lid. A better application might be a cabinet-mounted unit, with the ice above, and the cooled items in an area below. Freezing items that are expected to be used at a later date can beneficially be added to our cooling energy source. A couple of bottles of water for a short trip, or some steaks or a roast for a longer cruise. Either way, consolidating the cooling energy is a good idea. I wouldn't recommend freezing beer, though. Unless it were cans.....and not too solid... Let me take the aluminum foil theory mentioned earlier a little farther... If the cooling source were placed above, on an expanded metal surface perhaps, it would be good to have a 'membrane' of sorts below that could allow for the transfer of cold, and also help direct the shed of moisture due to melt. Aluminum foil would not make a good 'membrane' for this, but some other 'very-conductive' material would be awesome. A very thin, micro-corrugated material, angled to drain away melt water....the drainage could be made through the insulating walls easily enough and collected below, or sent to another waste area, be it waste water or 'bilge'. Since the cooling is no longer being made through direct contact, as in the cooler theory, circulation would be beneficial. Drawing air from the bottom of the cooling area to the top would help keep the entire cooling area at the same temperature. A fan located under a drip tray at the bottom of the cooler would work. Since there is now a barrier between the cooling source and the fan, this will not increase the evaporation of the cooling source, but will, admittedly, add somewhat to its decay. The fan would need to spin at no more than 30 RPM, so a solar-powered version of this idea would be rather inexpensive, and a DC version would not be power-exclusive. If the fan speed were any higher, you would definitely increase your melt-rate... I am not a betting man, but I dare wager that a cooler built with these aspects in mind would keep a standard block of ice for at least 5 days in 90F heat, shaded. My rules, of course I hope this is beneficial, but most importantly I hope this does not offend. I'm sure that Alexander Graham Bell received some criticism for his efforts along the way, but I am really glad that he decided not to just walk down the street to talk to his neighbor... I can supply some CAD drawings of my ideas, if you would like. No charge Godspeed, my friend.

Thanks, Paul. I was a machinist for ten years, then I was a finish carpenter until just recently =). I'm more concerned about the choice of material's ability to handle, say, the change of temperature from the Baja pennisula to Prince William Sound. Would the wood hull seams handle the temperature changes over time? I am probably overthinking the issue, as the Mayflower made a successful passage, and the Titanic didn't. The designs i am considering at the moment are the Spray 36 and Michael Kasten's Grace. Both would be Gaff Ketch rigs, I am seriously considering your previous recommendation about a tracked main and aluminum spars

Hey, haven't been on for quite some time, last project was a real success. Thanks to all who helped. I am looking ot start a new project soon, and have some questions about hull materials. I may be building a coastal cruiser soon, but I am a little torn on materials. What benefits (other than I have all the tools) are there to building a 40' wooden hull as opposed to a steel or aluminum hull?

Judging from the pictures, I'd say definately yes on being salvagable. Check the deadwood area and mastbox for rot, sand it down and paint it. It's a home-built wooden boat, there will always be issues . As long as the hull is sound, the rest can usually be fixed. The rigging looks a little twisted up (maybe you could replace that fiddle block with just a double block on top), but really, it looks like a couple of eye bolts are twisted. Looks like the previous owner tried to rig some kind of bridle on the gaff, too. It actually appears to be in better shape than mine at the moment.

This is completely awesome! I also raised the mast 8" to raise the boom above head height. A good mod, to be sure. I will be watching this thread for more progress.

A more defining picture: This is not progressing as fast as I expected ( :'() I am supposed to launch on the 13th. It will turn into a full-time project starting tonight.

I have a Minn Kota with a 36" shaft, and have never had a problem with it coming out of the water, even in rough weather.

I'm sure wiser people than me will reply to this, but the biggest downside I know to using expanding foam is that you cannot remove it to check for rot. Any water that gets trapped between the inside of your hull and the foam becomes a prime location for rot. In the minicup I am building, I filled the empty voids with 2 liter soda bottles, hot-glued together so they won't rattle around.

Been workin on this mini cup over the last couple of years, less than half-heartedly. It was started the week after I launched my weekender. Here are some proress pics: I had a problem with the deck bubbling (technical jargin for wouldn't bend properly), so i considered stripping the deck with wood. As I sanded the deck, I burnt through the plywood, confirming the deck stripping idea. You might remember my weekender cabin: For a little more racey look, I am strippingin a flame pattern. You have to look hard, the photo didn't contrast very well:

yer a bit further along than me.... Looks real good. I had considered s&g construction, but the kayak hull is already strip-built, so I'm staying with that. That boat ought to be a blast down on the gulf.

Hmmm.... I will post more as I progress. The forms for the amas should be ready for testing very soon. I will be cutting them out of cardboard first, and attaching them to the actual strongback to check for fairness. I have decided to reduce the sail size to 40 sq ft, and am considering a furling main system of some sort. The rudder control system is eluding my ability to sketch out....

Tried this on the Design Board first.... PAR influenced me into posting this project here I have been tinkering with design a bit, and am looking to move forward on this conversion project. It has been on the back-burner long enough. I have a 14' kayak hull that is about 70% complete, and I would like to modify it to carry a sail and two amas, much like the CLC conversion kit offered on the web. I have drawn a basic sketch of what I have in mind, and I am looking for some other opinions. I know that opens the door... My CAD skills are pretty rudimentary.... Any input on rig, daggerboard size, ama size, pretty much any input is welcome

PAR influenced me into posting this project here.... I have been tinkering with design a bit, and am looking to move forward on this conversion project. It has been on the back-burner long enough. I have a 14' kayak hull that is about 70% complete, and I would like to modify it to carry a sail and two amas, much like the CLC conversion kit offered on the web. I have drawn a basic sketch of what I have in mind, and I am looking for some other opinions. I know that opens the door... My CAD skills are pretty rudimentary.... Any input on rig, daggerboard size, ama size, pretty much anything is open for opinions

thanks. sent an email to him this morning.