July 15, 1998 Issue |
July 1, 1998 Issue |
July 15, 1998 Issue
Stripper Canoe and Kayak Too
By Ron MamerowAs it is my belief that the Great Lakes do not have nearly enough amateur boat builders, l was glad to hear from a new club in the Saginaw-Bay City, Michigan area called the "Tri-City Amateur Boat Builders." After long talks on the telephone, it was arranged for a few of our "Middle Of Mitten Boat Builders Club" members to visit the Tri-City work-shop, which is located in a local school for the time being. Three of us went up on April 22nd to see what was up with this group, and a really interesting morning it was. Much to my surprise, we found a shop with at least 14 boats in all stages of being built and one finished.
After meeting and talking with several of the members, I think I got the sequence of events that led up to this point. It went something like this: A semi-retired teacher, John Schmude, a man with a great amount of knowledge and dedication, decided to offer a class in building stripper canoes. In the beginning, the class learned to loft and build a 12-footer. Then they started on their own boats, built the strong backs, made the molds, cut all the cedar strips, milled the edges, then assembled them. All the boats I saw were very well done. The time and effort put into the stripper canoes and kayaks was obvious to us.
During the building process, the students formed a club so they could keep the construction going after the class was over. Then they started planning a symposium at a local park for this coming August. Plans are for some of the members to show their boats, some will give demonstrations on building stripper canoes, and some will give instructions in lap-strake planking. Also, there will be an epoxy seminar and a stitch and glue demonstration. The club also plans to have several paddle power boats in the water for anyone interested in trying them out. There will be no admission charge for the symposium, but the park charges an entrance fee of $5 per car.
All in all, it appears the "Tri-City Ama-teur Boat Builders" have gotten off to a great start. Much credit for this must be given to the dedication and hard work put out by John Schmude who, like many others who love wooden boats, are willing to pass on their skills and knowledge.
I am happy to report, even though they are losing the schoolroom in which to build the boats, John is committed to finding a new space for continuing the classes. So we can hope to see the club grow and prosper over the years.
Anyone wanting more information on either club, "Tri-City Amateur Boat Builders" or the "Middle Of Mitten Boat Builders Club" can contact me:
Ron Mamerow, 980 Grand River Road, Woos, M1 4X867-9717, 517-725-7407
Dreamboats: The Damsel-Fly-Fish Neither "Fish nor Fowle"
By Richard CarsenThis is a small elfin fly with gauzy wings. This playboat resembles it. If you are ambitious, this hull could be cut out of a log, the tail to be fitted later. The length between perpendiculars (without tail) would be 15-1 /2'; with tail about 18' . Width about 3', and height of side in the middle about 1-1/2'.
However, to build it from plank, with liar sides and flat bottom, would be alright. You could attempt a slightly curved (sectional) bottom. The side planks could run up to the front of the eyes and a bulk-head inserted there. The rest of the face could be added any way you see fit. This is a take-off on a maduran fishing prahu, and these become very narrow where the head is, about halfway to the eyes. You could use heavy (or double) plank there, attached to the forward bulkhead and strengthened with side attachments.
The masts are stuck-in. Make them heavier towards the bottom; you could build them from plank, getting a T section. If you use the plank for the forward part of the face, you could use two planks, flattening the mast there by trimming the sides. On the inside, another pair of planks could hold the mainmast. This was the very effective construction on my 30' yonck (junk) for a 33' mast, unstayed with 3' bury.
The sails are triangular and have booms. Make the foresail narrow enough that it can clear the mainmast when tacking. The canvas shelter is for overnight-ing.
The outriggers could be PVC pipe about 3" to 3-]/2" in diameter. Have them stick out as shown, for balance against somersaulting downwind. The outrigger booms are stuck into PVC pipes, maduran fashion and run approximately 6-1/2' from the side of the hull. These should be slightly divergent, about 3 degrees out of parallel with the boat's long axis, spread-ing outward at the front end. For booms you can take one-piece branches with the proper curve towards the outrigger, tying them to the pipe; or you can make up a two-piece booms the top straight and an-other piece connecting with the outrigger. I saw a simple and effective set-up on a single outrigger, motor driven, in Hawaii. It looked like a professional's fisherman's rig.
The horizontal part comes out till above the outrigger. In the case I saw, this was a narrow plank just nailed across the sides, which were ply. There was another plank teed on the end just butted on. It we' fastened into the wooden outrigger, a beam. At the top of this vertical piece were two wires fastened. They ran towards the canoe side and were fastened there. A toggle-stick was stuck in between these wires, and this connection had been tightened by twirling the stick. The vertical plank itself just butted against the end of the horizontal and was fastened there with two nails to hold it in place.
Underneath the horizontal piece, the same thing as above was repeated, but these wires did not run all the way to the side of the canoe, but maybe about halfway. The canoe itself was wall-sided and flat bottomed. The whole thing looked as if it was regularly used. This is simple, and you can devise your own version, to your own taste.
The craft may need some kind of lee-board forward. You can fasten one to each side forward with a thru-hull wing-nut assembly, so it can swivel.
Color your damsel-fly red underneath the dark side-stripe, and a very dark green above it. Make the head black and the eyes very light green. Making them phospho-rescent would add a nice touch on a late summer evening.
This is a plaything, meant to flit about at random on some suitable pond in a pleasant breeze, or a small protected bay. Do take a paddle just in case there is the usual no-wind period at the change over from day to night.
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July 1, 1998 Issue
More on Trailering Without Problems
By Bob SmithsonJim Thayer raises some good points in his account of trailering problems, and I would like to add mine, the results of trailering my San Juan 21, Pelican, and Lido 14 up and down the West Coast for thousands of miles.
Before you leave, make sure you have wrenches that will fit all the nuts and bolts on the trailer, including the lug nuts. Vise grips are not an acceptable substitute.
Either carry a spare set of bearings and races or put a slip of paper with the part number of the bearings and races in your glove compartment. Parts stores have a much easier time with the part number than trying to find a bearing for a "1970 Road Wanderer". I usually carry something to pry frozen bearings off the axle, one of the flat steel prybars works great, and a file to smooth up the nicks etc. I've never had to use it, except in my garage, but it would be invaluable.
Wire strippers, small wire nuts, and ex-tra wire take up little room. Grease gun and grease, or at least good waterproof wheel bearing grease.
If you can't remember when you last did it, repack the bearings. If you have Bearing Buddies, fill with grease until clean grease comes out the inner seals. It's a lot easier to clean grease off the bottom of the boat than to replace a bearing on the edge of the freeway. If you must immerse the wheels to get your boat off and on the trailer give a shot of grease before immersing and always afterwards.
Jim makes a good point about using the largest wheel and tire combination possible. Sadly, on many small trailers the fenders interfere with the next size wheel, but you might consider going to the next size larger tire. On 8" wheels, the 5.70 tire will give about a 10% reduction in wheel revolutions over the standard 4.75 tire. Carry a spare. Check lug nuts before leaving and when on the road. Every time you stop, feel the hubs to detect any heat buildup. If hot, pull the hub and check the bearings for grease and adjustment.
Trailer lights are always a problem. The so called "submersible" lights can be counted on to give trouble. A much better solution is to build a light bar that can be fastened to the back of your boat. This puts the lights up high where they are easily seen and you don't have to worry about them getting wet. A good light connection on the towing vehicle is a must. I try to use the heavy duty ones available at RV supply stores, and always use a separate ground wire. When buying a boat and trailer, always check the bearings on the trailer before leaving the sale site. Nothing sours you on your new purchase quicker than having a wheel come off on the way home.
Happy trailering!
Submergibles
When Robert Manry decided he would set out for England in the 13' Tinkerbelle, he had made a thorough study of the North Atlantic, its moods, swells and storms, to ascertain what could be the worst conditions in wave and weather he could possibly need. His conclusion was that one could cross the Atlantic, or any sea or ocean for that matter, if one had a craft "like a corked bottle" (his words)-and, of course, built sturdily enough. If the worst came to the worst, some killer wave might wholly submerge it, but it would pop up, ready to continue, once the wave had passed.Many ages ago, the Sumerians, who lived in what is now Iraq and Kuwait (Mesopotamia) shipped gold from mines in South Africa. On the tablets that they left us, they recorded that these craft were submergible. In spite of the definition in my dictionary, they did not mean that their ships were submarines.
Seeing that there was plenty of material available to build reed boats, that is probably what they used. Thor Hyerdahl, of Kontiki fame, certainly proved that such craft could survive long ocean voyages. Both from Homer, and ancient Chinese records, it can be deduced that such travel was coastwise, with frequent landings (and no doubt overlays when the weather acted up). Time to dry out.
Off the coast of Brazil, sometimes hundreds of miles from land, I have seen the iangadas, small sailing rafts. Obviously, as long as you can catch your dinner, the sky is the limit; they have been observed as far as Florida.
Preparing for a lengthy off-shore trip, my own solution was to make my boat submergible. My boat was very vulnerable. A big, wide cockpit, big slatted doors giving access to the cabin, and inside ballast that according to the builders, would not allow the craft to stay afloat if fully swamped.
I had, however, two inflatables: a small one for kids, and a big survival one. The former had a pump, the latter would inflate by a compressed air canister (which comes with this kind of kit).
In ultimate survival conditions, which I am happy to report that I did not meet, I would inflate the small inflatable in the cockpit, where I had means to tie it down. The survival one I would allow to fill the cabin. There would be water underneath the cockpit and low down in the cabin. The boat could take care of that. But there would be no possibility of the boat swamping to the point of sinking. I would be uncomfortable, yes, but the boat and I would survive.
For small craft this seems to me an ex-cellent method, and for those who have such trips in mind, such safety gear could be tailor made. In case of a serious holing, this would be the only effective defense. Stores would still be accessible, if with difficulty; the craft would still retain, if not all, at least some of its operational abilities. Small boat adventurers, give it a thought.
A Method for Quick, Easy, Accurate Measurement of a Boats Speed Through the Water
By Kilburn AdamAfter mounting my 9.9 4-stroke Yamaha outboard on my 16' Amesbury Dory, I wanted to get accurate speeds at various power settings and operating conditions. Having read about boats timing a floating wood chip pass-ing along the known length of the boat, and using that information to calculate the speed of the boat, I used the following method to measure the performance of my boat.
We need to round up a closed face spin-ning reel, about 90 feet of 10-pound test line or stronger, a stop watch, and an old tennis ball. Using a piece of thin stiff wire with a tight loop bent into one end, thread the fishing line through the tennis ball and then tie the line back to itself, thus securing the tennis ball to the line. Measure off 88 feet of line from the tennis ball and tie off onto the spool on the reel, remembering to thread the line through faceplate first.
We'll use the device in the following way. After getting the boat in the configuration and speed desired to measure, hit the release but-ton and let the ball drop into the water. When the ball contacts the water, hit the start button on the stopwatch. When the line pulls tight, stop the watch. To determine our velocity through the water, we divide 60 by our measured time in seconds. (60/seconds = mph). Example: If we time 4.2 seconds then 60 divided by 4.2 seconds = 14.28 mph. The tennis ball can be quickly retrieved by reeling it in. Additional runs/measurements/verifications can then be performed.
The derivation of this method follows along with sample numbers arranged so that we can see the relationships. If an object is moving at a velocity of 60 mph, then it is trav-eling one mile/minute. (60 miles/60 minutes = I mile/1 minute). Since there are 60 sec-onds in I minute, and there are 5280 feet in 1 mile, we can divide 5280 feet by 60 seconds to find how far the object travels in one sec-ond at 60 mph (5280 divided by 60 = 88 feet/ second at 60 mph). We'll use this relationship to develop the following table. The table will demonstrate the relationship of speed, time, and distance (a constant in our calculation), so that we can have a feel for doing the speed calculations in our head, interpolating when necessary. Of course, to get the really accurate value, you may need to actually do the division.
For safety and ease of taking measure-ments it would be nice to have a helper at the helm.
Once you know your boat's speed under various conditions, such as % power, rpm, loading, sea conditions, etc., you will be able to navigate more accurately, determine best cruising speeds, calculate economy, miles per gallon, etc. You can check your GPS, but remember, it yields speed-over-bottom, so a current will create a difference in GPS speed and our measured speed. Our measured speed is the speed through the water.
If you want knots, you may simply con-vert by multiplying by .869, or you can use a line of 101 feet length on your reel.
I hope this will be of use to those of you who have wondered how fast your craft moves. This method has been fun and enlightening for me.
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