Docpal

I have a trial version of "ProSurf 3" ( three versions $395 top end...) loaded on my computer, but haven't had time to play with it yet. The trial version actually allows you 25 "saves" so you can practice, and play with it before you make a purchase. I've seen some boats produced by the program and they are intricate, and accurate. http://www.newavesys.com/products.htm

Yeah it seems strange that the countdown timer for the completion of leg 5 would go beyond the actual start time for leg 6 ! ( Currently shows over 4 days left to finish leg 5...) In any event I hope to be "at the helm" for this entire leg as I am not scheduled to be out of town for a few weeks. Belated Kudos, (and thank yous) to Dave who actually was driving TWO boats for part of the last leg as I was in a place where the internet connection was a dial up (31.2 k...remember those days..?) and the computer involved was being run off of car batteries, ( when there was gas for the generator...) Took almost 30 minutes for the game to even load, never mind operate, so Dave helped me out by making course changes etc. when I was unable to communicate. In spite of that distraction he was still able to finish in 1301st place out of over 180,000 boats !

If I'm reading the schedule correctly we should all be on the starting line around midnight tomorrow ( 11th?) for the run up to Boston. But when I go to the actual web page for the race the race countdown "timer" isn't running yet. Anybody have more info on this, or should we just be ready to go tomorrow night? ???

Congratulations to Dave for being the first in our group to round Cape Horn ! Things are a little weird down in these latitudes, and my guess is that the projection we are seeing on the screen is somehow skewed as some of the bearings are NOT "true". I just thought I cleared a small island close to the Horn, and got a message that I had run aground (even though in blowing up the image it looks like I easily cleared it...). I think the skipper of "Power of 7" also mentioned this in a blog... Worst case scenario here is that after 33 days of trying to reach Cape Horn I may not make it there by morning, and then I have to fly to the West Coast for much of the morning so I may "miss" seeing my rounding.....

Just read a great book that puts the entire boat building process into a different perspective. It's called "A Speck on the Sea" by Wm. Longyard ( got it from Amazon.com). It documents most of the major ocean crossings made ( and not made) in VERY small boats. I was pretty amazed to find out that the current record for a trans Atlantic crossing was done in a boat measuring FIVE FEET, FOUR INCHES (!). And what's even MORE amazing is that it's skipper-Hugo Vihlen had done it before in a SIX FOOT boat, but found out that someone else had then done it in a boat that was FIVE FEET, TEN INCHES.....SO he HAD to respond... Taking it to the next (?) level there was then competition between Hugo and another skipper. One built a boat which is three feet, eleven inches,($80,000 price tag...). so Hugo has planned for a three foot, EIGHT inch version..... People have crossed in canoes, kayaks, and one guy even made it in a Sea Doo.....! And that's only the trans Atlantic crowd. Others have circumnavigated in boats that make our Core Sounds look like an aircraft carrier.....

Yeah, you're positioned pretty well at the moment. I head for the airport in a few minutes and will be away from a computer for much of the next five days so I'm going to have to pick some "safe" course(s) and hope I don't get hung up in the dead zones for too long...

Looks like Polar Dip is "stuck"on one of the Solomon Islands for most of the day today ! ...Really trying to get some traction towards the East, hope these little systems in the forecast actually do what they predict...Peeked at the weather down in the roaring 40's and it really was blowing hard...!

My vote for "most creative" design of a small engine to power a boat goes back to my days in Key West when a couple of refugees from Cuba built a raft and powered it with a weed whacker they "converted" by using a beer can to make a propeller for the hub.....In spite of the dubious engineering they made it as far as the reef outside of KW ( 6 miles out) and were only stopped because they ran out of fuel ( HOW do you guess how much to bring along on a trip like that...). Even the coasties who "rescued" them had to admit it was a pretty gutsy voyage. Last I saw of the raft it was on display down there a few years back...

I'm not sure what size tubing you're looking at but in this post of 3 weeks ago I got mast tubing from Online Metals for a little over $300 including shipping to the East Coast; http://www.messing-about.com/forums/index.php?topic=6494.0

http://www.watertribe.com/

Google Earth has just released a version that shows you some details of the ocean...Really interesting update to an already powerful tool... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/science/earth/03oceans.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

It took more time than I thought it would since I was really trying to keep the inside diameter as close to round as I could. I'd say between 60-90 minutes for both tubes.One nice thing about the cartridges is that they are close to 9" long. Cutting fluid helps take off material but it really loads up the paper faster. Do your self a LARGE favor and make some sort of "measuring gauge" so you'll know when you have reached the proper diameter. I originally tried to fit the upper section of the mast inside and it got stuck about 3 inches inside the tube so I had to hammer it off ! I found the bottom of a plastic container that was the right diameter and nailed it to the end of a stick so I could be SURE the upper was going to penetrate the full 9" the next time I tried it...

Thanks! I hope I don't have to do that on any of the next race legs...

Larry, It was that tool which "showed"me that the compass heading was going to be off ! HOW do you get afloat after running aground in this game ( not that I plan on doing so...)? Glad to hear that my paper parallel rules aren't the only symptoms we're all showing... PS- Finally just finished, Dave any recommendations for a good place to eat in Qingdao?

Ken, Don't feel bad, last night I was wondering if I should go out and buy some plastic parallel rules so I could chart a course between a few islands.......When I realized it was too late to do that I "made" a set out of printer paper and found out that apparently the image on the screen is actually set up so that a course of 360 degrees "true North" is NOT directly at the top of the screen ! It's about 2 degrees "off". For most computer applications I wouldn't care, but in this case if I had proceeded without my makeshift ""plotting tool" I would be sitting aground on an island East of Shanghai right now....Looks like Larry tried the same thing and he got away with it too.....!

I had Online Metals ship me 2 sections of .125" by 8', and 2 sections of .0625" by 8' ,as well as one section of .125" by 3' a few weeks ago. Very reasonable I thought when you consider they were shipped from Seattle to New Jersey ! The (5) tubes were $328, and shipping was just about $35 ! I got the 3 foot piece so I could do some "testing"and main mast placement alignment a lot easier while the hull is still in the garage. I'll also use it to wrap some cloth around and made the "receiving tube" for the main mast. Thinking about saturating this layup with graphite in the epoxy/cloth as well... The trick was trying to get the "upper" sections to fit into the "lower" sections. I saw the drill rig which is pictured on the CD that came with the plans, but I wanted a round mandrel, and being Winter my lathe is buried under various types of debris so I came up with the following: Just took an empty caulking cartridge (that was in the upper debris layers), ran a carriage bolt through it and epoxied it all in place. A caulking cartridge is very close in diameter to the internal diameter of the .125"mast section so all I had to do was wrap some emery paper around the mandrel until it was barely able to fit inside. Then I turned on the drill, squirted in some cutting fluid, and had at it...Tried different grits of emery paper, but it was finally 60 grit sandpaper that made the fastest progress. I then used the same mandrel, wrapped an old sock around it with metal cleaner/degreaser and got the remnants of the cutting fluid/aluminum slag out of the tube, and then I was easily able to slide the upper section the full recommended 9" into the lower section with a nice thick coating of epoxy lathered on both sections. I used a "V" file and scored the upper section many times to get some extra "tooth". Now I'm thinking about the upper section. What has worked best for most people, wood,carbon fiber layup,all glass, etc.?

PAR, I kept getting kicked out of the game last night, and had to log back on every time I tried to check on the position. Seems to have cleared up today. Amazing how a day or two away from the game can drastically change one's position. My laptop died while on the road, and I was trying to log into the game from various people's machines, but by the time I looked up Dave had zigged when we all zagged, and he's now sitting in Qingdao while we're all limping into port...!

All of a sudden I can no longer "see"any other boats except for the Messing about group. While that makes for a much cleaner field of view I'm wondering if it works that way every leg ( I jumped in mid way on leg 3...). Even though they claim that current has no bearing on this virtual race it seems that the starboard tack is like sailing through sludge...! Ooops-Just logged off/logged on again and they're ALL back....

PBS has been running a series on the "real" version of the Volvo race every week. Usually weekend afternoons or evenings. Check online for the next show in your area as it changes from region to region...

Look out PAR, she's going to ram you!!!

I'm trying to set reasonable goals for this race; like finishing in the top 62,000...

I'm in as "Debutante" (my last boat's name as "Petunia" was taken already...). I LIKE sailing from my living room in the Winter!

Roy, I just looked at my CS 17 Materials list sheet and it says the seat stringers should be 16'.....It also says "cockpit side stringers" are 12'. So maybe you did get a sheet for the " '20 ". Where in the Philippines are you located? ( Everyone always says "Manila"since it's the only city most Americans know about...) I spent a few years down on Negros Occidental ( New Sagay)with the Peace Corps (many years ago) and I can imagine how much fun you're going to have over there with 7,000 + islands to sail to/from !

Here are two of the shots taken at the messabout. Ken you have most of the mizzen sheet routing worked out, but I think you missed the "fairlead" Tom has attached to the underside of the mizzen sprit to give a better angle of approach to a block he has attached on the mizzen mast.. You can see that block in the first picture about a foot below where the sprit and mast intersect. (But I think Tom said he was planning to raise that block higher than pictured here). Hopefully he'll post a shot after he's done so. The second shot shows the block/cam cleat/swivel thingy mounted on the thwart. After seeing how logical it is I'm pretty sure I'll try something similar on "Petunia" as it lets you have all sheets within close proximity of one another, and you can look forward while you handle all sheets...

What's the best way to determine tongue weight? Is it as simple as somehow using a scale under the ball hitch?