Princess Sharpie 28

[PeterP]

Joe, it won't be that serious I hope. Huge percentage of that heat will be wasted simply because of inefficient heat transfer. I don't want to invest the time or money into building an efficient smelter for one shot pour. To combat any accidental vapor I will run my HPLV to give me a positive pressure air at face shield. Regards PeterP

[Garry]

Hi Peter,

 

I sure enjoyed meeting and sailing with you and Kathy at the Mess-about. I wanted to make sure we keep in touch. You can reach me at Garry.Prater at the gmail

 

Can't wait to get a look at the 28!

[Greekbuilder]

Hi Peter,

First of all CONGRATULATIONS on an excellent boat !

You're an inspiration to all of us if I may say so.

But man !

5,5 yrs have gone by and you "keep on walking"

Amazing !

I admire your dedication and perseverance, not to mention your craftsmanship.

I'm a new member from Greece who originally started thinking about building a CS20 MK3.

Then I "discovered" the PS22 then my apetite grew and checked the PS26 for which I made the "mistake" of asking Carla for the Companion CD to see pictures etc. before final decision. The "mistake" being that Carla suggested (obviously) that instead of the CD I should check the forum.

That's when you came into the picture.

28' sailing boat seems like a good size to sail the Aegean Sea.

Now all I have to do is get the plans, divorce my wife (she will divorce me to be precise), sell my house and buy the lot where I will build the boat. Sounds like a good plan ?

Keep up the great work you are doing and don't despair. Summer 2015 is just around the corner.

From a humble boatbuilder-to-be from Athens.

Chris

[PeterP]

Chris, thank you for your kind words regarding my boat. You sound like a person of solid judgement and refined taste. At least from here anyway. If you permit - a word of caution: if this is your first build -consider starting with something smaller first. Like a nesting Spindrift. You will pick up a lot of good skills building that and if you're still game for the big one after you get done -you'll have a tender for it already. Plus you will have a boat to use and recharge your (mental)batteries when you get stuck on the big one. And you will get stuck. Trust me. Also -a Nester can be built anywhere- balcony, spare bedroom- you name it; put a set of kayak wheels on it and you can tow it to the water a couple of blocks with your bicycle. Finally, discovering that boatbuilding is'nt really 'you' is a whole lot cheaper on a 10-12 footer.

Anyway, as to my boat - this is where things stand as of today: I have a trailer after spending hours and hours scouring Craigslist. Obviously used one, but a great deal. Stuff needs attention so I'm attending. Checking and replacing wheel bearings and some rollers. The lay out needs to be modified some -to allow for my 14in keel etc. The lead keel mould is completed. I'm presently scratching around for something that will hold 11.6 gals of hot lead so I can finally pour the b...dy thing. The inside of the cabin is almost all done including the laid flooring which needs to be varnished yet. Both wishbones are glued up & awaiting harware. One interesting thing I would like to mention: I shopped around for a chart plotter for the boat and this is what I came up with. Got a used 10in HPNetbook on e-bay for 100bucks. Spent 35bucks on Globalsat BU353S4 puck GPS. Installed Navigatrix software with OpenCPN -free (donation if you are so inclined - which I was), downloaded ALL the US gov charts of the east coast - free. I LOVE THIS THING! Finally- the sails are on order. I'd say I'm getting closer and closer. About time. Best wishes to you all PeterP

[Joe Anderson]

I love the shape of your wishbone. I wish I could see the details of the laminate but it is just blurry.  You can make art out of scraps you find.

 

I have to say I am surprised to hear that it sounds like you are purchasing your sails instead of sewing up some loft scraps on Cathy's Singer.

 

It is fun to see the Princess poking out of the shed. Best wishes.

 

 

[Howard]

Peter:

 

Looks good. If you need an audience when it comes time to launch that thing, let me know. I"d love to be in attendance.

 

On pouring the keel, what I learned from doing the CB tip, and from a conversation with a local lad who claims to know a thing or two about casting, is you need a cap on top of the mold, PLUS a a makeup reservoir on top to replace the volume lost due to shrinkage as the lead cools. Otherwise, you end up with a cavity on top that has to be filled with something.

 

When I do the keel for the 26, if I don't get that fellow and his large crucible to help, I'll make a casting form box with 2 x 8 lumber on the top and bottom..........2 x 6 lumber on the sides, with green sand as my mold, replacing the top board before the pour. I'll  leave two gaps and make two sand boxes on top to pour through, which will double as my makeup reservoirs. For my crucible, I'll make two of them from 20 pound LP tanks, with legs welded on, and use two fish cookers as my heat source. Each of them will be slightly more than half full, so they will heat faster, and with two running at the same time, will dump faster........one on each end, filling towards the middle. The 26 keel runs about 750 pounds, so you would probably need three crucibles instead of two. It might sound like a real fire drill to handle that many, but I bet not. Heating that much lead takes a long time. The only trick would be if you have to heat each individual drain pipe to get them flowing. I plan to have a helper on the 2nd one. For something like this, it shouldn't be too hard to recruit bystanders.......if nothing else out of morbid curiosity.

 

I'm also mindful of what Tony told me about his first attempt at casting his keel, where the weight of the lead pushed his mold apart, so he got to do his twice. That is why the heavy 2X lumber and making a tube of it. That and the need for a cap to get an even top. Wood will scorch, but it shouldn't hurt the keel any, provided it is dry.  Green, wet wood might get ugly.

[PeterP]

The juicy things you find out if you listen long enough. Tony never brought up his lead adventures with me. I actually plan on pouring about 50 -60# more than required to allow for the uneven shrinkage and all the substitutes in the wheel weights that are likely to affect specific gravity of the metal. I'm not doing a stand pipe - just overpouring into an open top  mould and planing it flat for mating to the keel stub. Good point about shoring up the sides which I intend to do using 2x4 stakes in the ground tied across the top. As for the help - I already have offers to video the proceedings "just in case". Now if I could only get some help with the actual work...Cheers PeterP

PS Joe the Singer will go to work on the boat cushions. Regards

[Greekbuilder]

Thank you Peter for your nice comments and solid advice. I'm also wondering if I should go that big.

This will actually be my third build. Since my last post I managed to permanently include my boats at the bottom of each post like everyone else, but do these account as real boats ? Sure I spent a couple of months on the canoe and some 8-9 months on the Cartopper (mostly weekends and evenings) which adds up to about a year of boat building experience. But from a 12 footer to a 28 footer ?

We'll see.

How did you build the wishbone ?

Out of thin strips laminated around a jig ? Got any pictures of the process ?

And the lead keel mold ! You definitely know your way around.

I watched these metal casting videos on youtube if you haven't seen them already

Might be of some help.

Can't wait to see how it comes out.

Good luck with your pour.

[PeterP]

The wishbones are laminted over a jig. The curved part - that is. Spruce strips 1/4 in. To save work I glued up one  "fat" piece for each and slit it in half on the table saw. You will need to make two different jigs since the 'bones are both different. The straight sections are just that - sawn wood scarfed on at 10:1. I did'nt feel like I needed to go overboard on the scarf since I wanted tape on the outside for added strength anyway. The finished dimensions are 2 1/4 in x 3 in x 3/8 in hollow box main and 2 in x 2 in x 5/16 in hollow box mizzen. There is 6 oz (?) kevlar tape front and back and 10 oz glass top and bottom. The kevlar is mostly for ding protection ( whacking pilings), the glass will help with sun degradation. May even paint the top and bottom and leave the yellow kevlar for an accent. The main weighs 24 lbs and the mizzen was 18 or 20. if memory serves right. That's without hardware. Not super but not bad since they are big mammas. Don't ask me how I got the numbers - Graham thought they looked reasonable. We'll see.

[W.Robson]

Just another way of making wishbones using a combination of heavy and lightwall tube, high strength adhesive gunk (Sikaflex)

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterP]

Thanks for posting that. It's a bit late for me but others will undoubtedly find it worth copying. I don't see a topping lift anywhere - how's that working out? I would be interested in seeing stuff on lazy jacks. I have zero experience with those but hey -the very name- LAZY- makes my heart beat faster. PeterP

[W.Robson]

Hi Peter, yes I do have topping lifts but usually let the booms down on deck to avoid inducing a permanent bend in the the masts which are built to original plan with alum tube plus hollow wood top section . The lazy jacks are essential to contain sails as they are dropped. I do find reefing a bit awkward with wishbones but trying to improve the system.

Cheers Wayne

[PeterP]

I've got you now. You're Wayne the Kiwi - built a P26? - one of the first ones. What's the deal on Newbie with 2 measly posts? Did you lose your password and Frank is making you start all over again? Anyway thanks for the lazyjacks pics. I notice two cheek blocks and a cleat - is that you outhaul? If it is - do you find it a pain to tweak the sail shape from the cabin top? I want to put cascade blocks on the front of the mast with a control line led aft. A copy of someone's design that was recomended to me. PeterP

[W.Robson]

The cheek blocks are positioned for reef lines. Outhaul is one of the three lines running back to cockpit, other two being halyard and downhaul. So in theory it can all be done from cockpit, seldom happens in real life.

[PeterP]

Poured the lead keel. Not something I want to do very often but it is doable. About the mould which underwent a few changes in its evolution - I think it was up to Mark III by Pour Day. The basic concept of using Hardie Plank for the contact surface backed by sand proved to be excellent. The idea of using drywall mud mixed with sand to leak-proof the joints would've worked -I think- except when I filled the mould with water to double check the volumes- the whole thing turned to soggy mess necesstating a major re-do. So back to square 2. The final configuration had regular mortar 3in fillet on the back side and 3M FireStop (1000 degF) caulk 3/4in fillet inside. That worked great. I had zero leakage. It took a bit over 2 hours to melt the 1200 # lead with +/- 300 000 BTU on hand. Hugely inefficient heat transfer. I tried to mitigate the heat loss by walling up with fire brick but still - I guestimate 70% of the heat just blew away. (Some of it kept me warm on that very cold day tho') The big hand-held propane torch was invaluable as it helped to melt the plug which forms inside the pour tube. Big thanks to Tony and Seth who selflesly loaned me some of their equipment. I melted aprox. 1200 # - left about 10# inside the two tanks, skimmed off about 40# of slag and I suspect another 20 - 30 # will come off during clean up and fairing. I thing I shoud be realy close to designed weight. Not a bad days work. PS -There are two tanks available to who ever shows up. Mine will hold 700# and Tony's will hold 500# - his is the better built of the two. Cheers PeterP

[Joe Anderson]

Very Nice Peter. Thanks for the photos. Glad to hear the pour went well. Looks like the hardi plank is a good way to go.

 

Your earlier version Mk 1 mold had sand filling the center board slot. Mk 3 has no sand just some 2X spacer blocks. Why the change?

[PeterP]

After I water logged the mould all the sand had to come out for it to dry out and when it was time to put it back together - upon reflection- I did not see the need for it there any more. The lead is only about 3-4 in high in that section so the pressure wasn't that much of an issue.

[PeterP]

Last week brought some cold weather while I was cleaning up the lead keel. Nasty cold and wet - so I moved indoors and made some cushions. One more thing I learned on this job. The day I die I'll have so much experience I can hardly stand it. The cushions look great with fancy piping and all. In addition they fit like they are supposed to, they are comfortable and the price would be hard to beat. Take a good look at the Singer sewing machine: no frill all metal job given to me for free simply because it was deemed to be too old and lacking in sophistication. I love it - it is slow BUT it wil put a V-92 thread through six layers of Sunbrella and never miss a beat. The key there is: all metal. And now for the best part: it warmed up again so I went around the boat jacking it up bit by bit, slid some schedule 40 PVC pipe under the building frame, hooked up the old Ford pick up and promptly smoked the clutch. In the excitement I forgot to remove one of the blocks, things got jammed up and smoky before I realised what the problem was. Then -finally she slid out. Bit by bit and there she was in the light of day. PeterP

[Dale Niemann]

WOW!!!!  Peter she is looking very very nice, very beautiful.  Great job!

dale

[Howard]

Hmmmm. Cushions finished.......pulled out of the shed into the light of day........next to a trailer. Keel ready to install. That is looking very close to splash time!!!