New Mast for Wanderbird

Wanderbird is a 50 tear old wooden ketch  with a pronounced work boat flavor. The owner had built the mainmast for more than 25 years ago from a tree he cut down in his backyard. It is visible behind the trailer which has two utility poles on it. It is literally falling apart.

These poles are not  actually very straight when purchased. The pole was 12" at the butt and 8" at the top and our spar will be 6" at the base, 8" at the partners and only 4" at the top. We used electric planes to straighten the spar and start to work it down to size.

This is the headstock of my lathe. I also have a full set of face plates for this lathe with the largest being 10' in diameter.

This is the tail stock and also a center rest/support that we built for this application. We poured 12" thick concrete pads under the head stock and tail stock and bolted them down in place.

Here we have the spar chucked up in the lathe and are ready to go.

 

Here is the tool holder for this lathe.It weighs several hundred pounds and takes 3 of us to drag along the work.

 

 The problem with this whole set-up is that the pole is not round and in column when we start working on it.

This means that the pole flops around on the center support.It seemed as though it would be simple to just plane off the high spots. But when we marked the top when it spins I can't tell if the hump is on the bottom and pushing the pole up or if the hump is on the top and just needs to be planed off. The pole,  at 50' long is also very spindly and flexible.You can see the out of roundness in the photo below. When the wood spins around and hits the cutter the pole flexes away and starts wobbling harmonically.Even with very light cuts and a sharp cutter the flopping would happen.

My center support started off as a pair of pneumatic wheels that were woefully undersized. The flopping blew out one of the tires. 

In this photo we changed the two pneumatic wheels  with 4 steel wheels of 14" diameter. This didn't work out any better because there was no give and the flopping was just more violent. The wood also was compressing where it rode on the wheels. I learned that the folks who really know this stuff have a center rest that is round and opens up and clamps onto the pole and the rest the rolls on rollers and any out of roundness can then be trimmed off.

 

We ended up finishing the shaping of this spar with the planes and sanders. We ended up using the lathe just to hold and rotate the spar.

We completed the shaping of the spar and painted it and mounted all of the hardware to it.

We have delivered it to Indiantown Marina for installation.

The crane has just set the mast.

The owner is in the foreground and is very happy with his new stick. We have learned a lot about the process involved in turning a long part. next time we will be more up to speed.

New Carl Stambaugh 36' Sharpie

  I was recently out at Indiantown Marina to do a little job on a sailboat. I like to go out there because there are usually a few boats that are not  just like all the others. I was certainly not disappointed this time. Tied up right next to the office was this delightful little sharpie.

  The owners were aboard and gave me the tour and the low down. The boat was built by Ron and Judy Gabriel in Palm City, FL. Ron recently retired from American Custom Yachts in Stuart, FL. They are a well renown builder of  custom wood composite sport fishing yachts. This sharpie was designed by Carl Stambaugh of Chesapeake Marine Design. She is very nicely  built and outfitted.

The above pictures show the fine lines of this boat. for a sharpie to sail well she must be narrow. The masts on this boat are tapered aluminum flagpole stock. She also has an  3400 lb external lead stub keel which enhances her seaworthiness. She still only draws 24" with her board up. The board is actually a daggerboard .

Above is the line which pulls the daggerboard up.The builder changed to a daggerboard for more interior room. The daggerboard trunk fits neatly into the head wall.

 Here is a view into the head and the lower photo shows the holding tank. The holding tank is mounted above the through hull for easy draining when appropriate.

Everywhere you look the finish is nice and clean.

The electrical panel is accessible from the backside via a panel in the forepeak.

 A view into the forepeak.

The saloon table with storage inside.The boat is trimmed out with Sitka Spruce throughout and is very pretty.

A simple functional galley.

A spacious cockpit is located amidships with the entrance to the aft cabin visible.

A look inside the aft cabin.

The other side of the aft cabin. As everywhere, it is finished off cleanly and simply.

The bronze portlights throughout the boat are from Robin Hood Marine in Maine and are very nicely finished.
This boat is offered for sale at the very reasonable price of $75,000. She has been launched less than a year.
 She is currently in the water in Stuart. She will also be attending the Wharram Rendezvous there Dec.10-12.
 This IMO is a great deal on a very sweet sharpie. She draws appreciation where ever she goes.

George Beuler's Diesel Duck 44 "Pepi"

Warren and Robin Kelly decide a few years ago to move aboard a boat and do some traveling. They started off a a V-39 designed by Mark Van Abeema.They spent a couple of years playing on that boat and did most of the great circle cruise. Then they decided to change directions and boats.
  After some research and investigation they decided to commission a new build of a Diesel Duck 44 designed by George Beuler. George  is the author of the book  "Backyard Boatbuilding". This book has provided inspiration and impetus to many boatbuilders, myself included. The Warrens built there boat at a yard in Turkey ,recommended by Beuler that has built several of the Ducks.
   I had the pleasure of a tour of the boat and several hours of chatting with Warren last week and took some photos to share. They are in no real order.
   This is looking aft at the ladder to the wheelhouse from the saloon. The boat has only one stateroom. The Warrens built the boat for the use that they had in mind. The sole is real teak and holly, not plywood.

The galley runs down the port side between the saloon and the stateroom.

To port, as you enter the stateroom is a washer/dryer.

The bunk is on centerline with access from both sides and lots of storage.

The heart.

I somehow missed a picture of the helm station. This is the settee and table in the wheelhouse. The windows wrap all the way around.

This view is from the stateroom looking into the engine room. Every thing looks very clean.

A shot from the dock of the wheelhouse. The boat has a main sail and a big jib on a furler.

Behind the cockpit is a storage locker big enough to hold a couple of bicycles.

The exterior is all finished simply and cleanly.

This view is from the cockpit looking into the wheelhouse.

The Warrens spent two years living in Turkey while the boat was being built and the spent some time cruising in the  eastern med before sending the boat back to the US via Dockwise. Their plans have again changed and they are unable to use this boat as they had dreamed of and have decided to offer her up for sale. This appears to be a well made vessel that is ready do do some comfortable economical cruising.
   Warren Kelly can be reached at  warob02 at mac.com

James Wharram Catamaran less or more than a Tiki 38

   We built our first Wharram catamaran, a Tiki 30 2 years ago. We have a blog bout the construction and sailing of that boat at http://tiki30.blogspot.com/ .  We have sailed this boat several thousand miles since launching and spent many weeks on board  in the Bahamas, the Keys and the west coast of Florida. We have also exhibited her at several boat shows and had a received a lot of feedback.
   The boat sails very well in most conditions and is very comfortable most of the time. But there are a few features or lack thereof which could be improved upon. Several people who have spent time on this boat and have many years of experience on a variety of sailboats  sat with me several times and we discussed the issues and went through several versions before we decided that we had made some significant progress.
   First we added 6" to the aft end of the boat. It seems like most if not all Tiki 30s trim down in the stern.The bows tend to be very empty and light. We added a fourth beam 5' behind the  beam right behind the house.We lengthened the houses by 1' for more space in the galley and nav area.
  We also raised the sheer height by 1'. This is to increase the bridge deck clearance to 3'. Sometimes when our Tiki 30 is jamming along at speed in seas we would thump pretty hard. This really slowed us down when going to weather.Raising the sheer also provides us with wider main bunks and makes the fwd bunk spaces much more comfortable. It also allows us to achieve standing headroom in the galley and the nav area.
  We used the space in the starboard hull between  the 3rd and 4th beam to have a separate head compartment. By building a small house to the height of the top of the beams we  are able to get decent sitting headroom over the toilet and you can stand in the companionway to the head.
  In the same space to port we have include a storage compartment for the propane bottles as well as a large space to store foulies and wet suits. Also we have included a shower that can be used in the companionway or on deck.
   Behind the main cockpit we have put in a helm station. tiller steering or wheel steering are can be accommodated. The helm station  has a fwd windscreen and roll down side curtains for helm protection in cold and/or wet weather.
    We have included two twenty HP outboards in this design for stellar motoring speeds and great maneuverability.  These motors are power tilt and are located under the seats in the main cockpit area. Being in the center of the boat will minimize cavitation and increase maneuverability. Batteries and fuel tanks are also stored under cockpit seats. There are also built in ice chests in the cockpit
   We have included two 160 watt solar panels atop the bimini and 4 8d batteries for increased electrical generation and capacity. This is to allow for the use of either an ice maker or an electric reefer unit.
  I like to sail and I especially like to sail fast. To facilitate this we have used a 42' aluminum mast with a big roach full battened  square top main  with a mast head rig. To help even more with light air performance we have added a retractable carbon bowsprit on which we can fly a srceecher or asymmetrical spinnaker. Working sail area is 650 sqft. It's ok to reef when needed.
   The beam has been increased to 19'8". The weight will come in between 4500 and 5000 lbs. The idea here is to build a bigger faster boat than the Tiki 30, while keeping the small boat feel and performance. The Tiki 38 is a much larger, heavier boat and does not have the same good sailing ability as the Tiki 30.

   Here are some drawings of this design. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

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Cool Tables on a Sabre Yacht

  We were recently asked to build some custom tables for a 40' Sabre Yacht. The first table was for the settee next to the helm station. They wanted a table that would support a laptop and swing out of the way and be removable when they didn't want it at all.



The leg is carbon fiber over pvc pipe with the base squared off to prevent it from rotating. The bracket at the top is built up from fiberglass with a locking screw built in to fix the tables orientation.

This is not a great picture, but it is the fiberglass receiver which mounts under the step into which the leg goes.We are clamping the glass between forms to form the bracket.


Below is the top bracket in progress.


Here is the leg hole. The receiver bracket is screwed and glued to the floor and the two vertical pieces of the settee under the step. We had to install this through an AC register. Not easy at all. You can see the edge of the fiberglass receiver bracket in the corner. The squared off bottom of the leg is tapered slightly to permit easy removal and installation.

A little teak plug to cover the hole when the table is removed. This is before the plug was varnished.
The owners did not like the standard dinette style table and wanted to put a larger TV in. We took out the cabinet that the original TV was in and built a new cabinet that was only deep enough to hold the electronic audio visual components. I met with the Missus and came up with a design that she approved. We were almost complete with the installation and she said well you aren't going to put that there, are you? (This being the knee to support the table as per the drawings she had blessed). So she didn't want the knee. I then designed a bracket that mounted onto the wall and cantilevered out  to support the table. Having built several tables of this type the structural design standard is whether it is strong enough to have a go on or not. She laughed and said it indeed needed to be that strong. We built the bracket of Divinycell foam and fiberglass with some carbon fiber applied for extra rigidity. We painted it black and attached it securely to the side of the house. We screwed and  glued the table top down to the cabinet top and bracket.

The photo above is a compass rose we put in to cover the holes that attached the old table bracket. Below is the wall with the electronic components attached.

We extended the  counter top to form the new table.

Below you can see the end of the bracket under the table. What you can't see is the part of the bracket that is inside of the cabinet and attached to the wall. Don't know where those photos went. Also visible her is the support for the table leaf extension in its' retracted position.

Here is the table extension and the support extended.


Here is the table with the extra leaf in place. The owners were very pleased with both tables.