Duckworks - March Reports

The Treasure Chest

The Treasure Chest is a place in Reports to put those cool sailing, cruising, motoring and boating ideas you have. Send us your ideas... We just need a photo and a short description.

This time we have...

Flower Pot Heater

Flowerpot heater needs a clamp of some sort for safekeeping.

This idea came up while discussing with friends the use of a propane cooking stove as a source of heat on boats that lack a cabin heater. Simply firing up the stove produced little change in heat and only increased the condensation buildup (water vapor is a natural by-product of propane combustion). So how do you convert an open stove flame into a more efficient heat source?

What is needed is a way to create radiant heat with minimal equipment that can be easily stowed away when not in use. My suggestion was to invert an unfired red clay flowerpot over a stove burner. This will capture the heat and radiate it into the surrounding spaces. I have successfully used this trick in a small travel trailer, managing to take the morning chill off while making coffee on the other burner. The addition of spring clamps or rails could hold the flower pot in place against the boat's motion - don't try this until you have a way to secure the pot in place as it will get quite hot.

For materials, all you'll need is a clay pot of larger diameter than the burner and a length of wire. A coat hanger will do the job, but it quickly rusts. A better choice is brass brazing rod, 2mm (3/32") in diameter, available from a welder's supply house or some hardware stores. Refer to Figure 1 for directions on bending the wire. Note that the section marked, "Bend up," will exert a down force on the rim of the pot, keeping it in place, while allowing it to be easily removed when cool.

The most important thing to remember is that you must provide adequate ventilation - the open flame will quickly deplete the oxygen supply. To really make this safer, install a smoke head, such as a Charley Noble, and rig a length of flex conduit as a temporary smoke stack. This will carry the moisture and combustion by-products outside. Conduit fittings will connect the pot and flex pipe together. Most, if not all, vented propane stoves and heaters use 2.54cm- (1"-) diameter stainless-steel pipe, so the deck fitting should be compatible with your flowerpot heater. Adding a couple of small battery-operated fans will help circulate the heated air around the cabin.

By Ryc Rienks

A former musician, custom knife maker and teacher, Ryc Rienks lives with his wife aboard Mai Tardis II, a Cascade 36 in Seattle, Wash.

From DIY Boat Owner

https://www.diy-boat.com/content/view/161/56/

*****

On Board electrical power tools

On Board electrical power tools are a necessity for boat owners on moorings and cruisers. These boaters must be more self sufficient!

Take an old rechargeable hand drill whose permanently mounted battery will no longer hold a charge and modify it. Often a new battery will cost more than the whole drill did when new.

1. Remove the old battery.

2. Wire the battery terminals to a cord with a 12 volt utility plug that will reach anywhere on your boat- or make an extension cord. Be sure that this wiring is not compatible with 110 volt wiring to prevent problems should someone else use it.

3. Don't worry if the drill was originally intended for less than 12 Volt, it will work just fine and in most cases give better service for intermittent use. If your old drill was not a reversing motor, it can be now with the addition of a reversing switch or plug.

This same modification can be used on any of the popular 9.6 volt or 12 volt rechargeable battery tools where it is not convenient to recharge the battery on a 110 volt charger.

https://www.diybob.com/hottip.htm

Perspective

Mug Shot

This was done by Tom Pamperin - by the way, it is a gag. Here is where you can put your own picture on the cover.

Chuck

February 16, 2010

Navy puts first of new tug series to work

The YT 802 Valiant, first of the new series of Z-Tech 4500 Class tugs for U.S. Navy pilots operating in Puget Sound, was placed in active service earlier this month.

The new series tugs are being built in Tacoma, Wash., by J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Ltd., a sub-contractor to Pacific Tugboat Services of Long Beach, CA, the prime contractor.

The design was developed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada, and adapted to the Navy's needs based on the Z-Tech 6000 hullform originally developed for the Port of Singapore.

Based in Bremerton and Bangor, Washington, the tugs will perform ship-handling duties for the full range of Navy surface warships and submarines. They are equipped with an extensive array of underwater fendering, as well as the typical resilient style fenders for handling surface ships.

The Z-Tech 4500 class tugs have the following particulars,:

Length Overall, 27.42 m

Beam, Molded,11.65 m

Depth, Molded, 5.00 m

Load Draft, max, 4.88 m

Propulsion machinery comprises a pair of CAT 3512C, main engines, each rated 1,350 kW (1,810 bhp) at 1,600 rpm, each driving a Schottel Model SRP 1012 steering/propulsion Z-Drive units, with 2,100 mm diameter fixed pitch propellers. This combination delivered in excess of the predicted performance, providing 42 t (92,500 lb) bollard pull ahead, 45 t (99,205 lb) astern, and a free-running speed of 12.4 knots on trials.

Electrical power is delivered by a pair of R.A. Mitchell Co. diesel gensets with a John Deere 6068SFM75 prime mover, each rated 130 ekW at 1,800 rpm.

Deck machinery fitted includes a ship-handling hawser winch forward; JonRie Series 210 Assist winch, fitted with 180 m of 175 mm line. This winch has a brake capacity of 136 t (300,000 lb), and a line pull/speed rating of 9 t (20,000 lb) at 53 m/min (175 ft/min).

The fendering is all rated "non-marking" for dealing with the gray hulls of warships, and was supplied by Shibata through Schuyler Fenders.

The tugs are configured as "day-boats" but also provide accommodations for a crew of up to six persons. One of the unique features of the layout is the complete separation of the accommodation deckhouse from the machinery casing, a configuration designed to both provide a reasonably dry access to the accommodation spaces in the notoriously damp northwest climate, as well as to provide a significant degree of noise attenuation in the crew spaces.

Phenomenon

Dear Chuck,

Hope all is well. It was an exciting weekend at the Miami Boat Show and just wanted to follow up in regards to Al Copeland’s ‘Phenomenon,’ the fastest boat in the world.

As you may know, ‘Phenomenon,’ 56 feet long, 13’ and 6”, with 4 turbine engine that produce 12,000 horsepower, was built to break the world’s propelled speedboat record of 220.5 mph.
It was created by engineers from Boeing, former US Naval architects, & world class professional power boat builders.

The magic of this prototypical vessel lies behind the story of famed restaurateur, Al Copeland Sr. who founded Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits Restaurants and Copeland’s Restaurants and was the former driver of the Popeyes Offshore race team. He was a six-time National Champion who popularized the sport of off-shore racing with actor Chuck Norris in their Popeyes/Diet Coke race boat.

Unfortunately, about two years into building ‘Phenomenon,’ Al Copeland Sr. was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). Just eight months after the diagnosis, he passed away. At the time of his death, Al Copeland Sr. had two goals he wanted to accomplish: One to find a cure for MCC, and two to finish the boat in order to break the world record.

A southern icon, Al Copeland’s memory lives on through his 52 restaurants, hotels, and comedy clubs throughout the US and his Foundation, which is dedicated to the eradication of Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Please let me know if you can run this information – really appreciate your help!

Thank you again.

Best,

Alex and Tanya

MWW Group

[email protected]/[email protected]

Watercolors

Here's some small watercolor sketches from last year's season.

Stacy D. Smith

Kayak by Vic

Here is my kayak so far. Had to borrow ALL the tools...etc....read both of Nick's books....looked at tons of YouTube thingies....and ...for the first time...tried woodworking stuff. This is my Kayak wet down after 60 grit sanding. I guess I can go up to 80...then...when warmer weather hits...fiberglass. Totally scared about that, but...then again, I was terrified about starting this project that was so far out of my comfort zone....and it...ended up...so far...being a blast. Got a bunch of exotic woods (didn't even know they existed before)...for the deck.

G ot bad knees...don't plan on getting in it...but 5 grandsons should have a hoot....right?

notbadforfirsttimer, Vic Druten

GIS

Good morning, Chuck,

Planning to launch my GIS next Saturday. I'm coating the hull with epoxy today and may wait until after the launch to primer and paint the hull. Charlie Jones and Mik both said three coats of epoxy will protect the hull for the launch. (I have a good reason for launching next weekend even though the boat will not be "finished.") Skipping the primer coats this week would free up some time for other tasks.

Pics are from yesterday afternoon.

Bob

Sea Fever to the Bahamas

Hi Chuck and Sandra

We're planning on leaving February 14 to trailer the boat to Miami and
sail across to the Bahamas. I've started keeping a blog about our
preparations, and once we're sailing we hope to update it every day or
two with a little bit of news, and maybe photos if the satellite phone
(very slow) can manage it. Anyway, you can use this site to check in now and then to see our progress.

https://blog.mailasail.com/seafever

All best,
Garth

James Chen's Photo After a Storm

James Chen photo of boat's a'beach after the big storm......some folks anchor offshore to avoid Santa Barbara's slip fees......we had 13 on the beach this last weekend.

Bruce Armstrong

Stop by a Museum

Helen and I stopped by the museum today to check on the guys. There's a lot going on, boats everywhere, sawdust in the air, funny looking old sailors in abundance, a perfect setting. This is what the place is all about, volunteers doing boat stuff and having a good time. If you're tired of golf and TV go on down and sign on. Bob showed us the cool buggy they acquired, I need one of these. They are almost finished the huge dory they're building for the park service. Maybe Bill Burger and the crew of Spanish soldiers can make it across the river without the thrill of sinking dressed in full armor when they use this one. There is an old Star boat out front. Stars have always been a favorite with me but this one is pretty far gone. Bob says that it all iron fastened and every frame is cracked in at least one place. The big spritsail skiff "Sally Adams" is getting a face lift along with a new centerboard trunk and board. One of the benefits of working on these boats is that you get to sail on them if you have the nerve. Sally takes a lot of nerve when it's blowing and she's screaming along like a freight train and Bob says " ready about". The big Cortez fishing boat is taking a lot of work, Smiley will be a good addition when it's finished. The second surf boat for the Jacksonville life guards is about finished. When you go out to see all this make sure that you check out both shops and the museum and all of the grounds.

https://fgctsca.weebly.com/index.html

Dave

David Lucas
Lucas Boatworks and Happy Hour Club

Dugout Canoe

I am building a dugout canoe in Honduras. The hull is 22 feet long and is hand carved from a Guanacaste tree. The stern stems are made of Caoba which is mahogany. I am attaching a couple pictures I thought you might be interested in seeing. I was wondering which pintle and gudgeon set you would recommend. I am thinking about using your rudder hardware for weekenders because they can be mounted vertically on a narrow stem.

Greg Long

Mickey at Macy’s in Fairoaks Mall

This is a late Christmas picture of a boat I sold Jim Schafer in November, his girlfriend happened to be the decorator at Macy’s in Fairoaks Mall in northern Virginia. This month St.Mary’s Children’s Home will have an auction as part of a large fund raising gala,two of my models will be auctioned.

Bob has some other models in January Reports.

Bob Guess

I’ve been busy building boats. More specifically I have been building the Bolger Micro Trawler I wrote about last time we corresponded. This from the guy who wrote the Duckworks 2008 article “Need for Speed”. I blame it on my wife because she’s the one who won’t hang her posterior over the side of the world famous “Chuggerboat”. That caused me to have to build a boat large enough to have indoor accommodations. Anyway, as I continue to try to finish her up I thought I’d send an update for your upcoming “March Reports”. Hopefully I can send a more complete and detailed article in the near future on the completed project. I haven’t come along much further than the attached November picture due to the unusually (relatively) cold weather here in Pensacola Florida this winter. I hope to finish her up this spring though and will report again at that time.

Pat Johnson
Pensacola, Florida

Trailer Sailer Powerboat

Just got this Dennis TS 500 its 19 ft by 7 foot beam thinking of making it into one of those power cruising boats out of it. It was made in Melbourne probably 20 years ago. I hasn't been in the water for ten years and I don't know what the sails are like.

Cheers Stewart

Fishing Boats on the Clarence

I am amazed by the number of old style sharpies professional fisherman use on the Clarence River, NSW, Australia, so I took a picture of one.

This is a fairly typical design with quite a raised bow.

This is a punt made of aluminum planks edge welded. No need for internal frames it seems and the hollow planks give some buoyancy.

While we are on professional fisherman, this photo was taken at Iluka, NSW. It's not faked. He was up on that ladder looking for fish. The picture doesn't show it was blowing 40 knots with rain showers.

Mike John

NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser Press Release

NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser Hull #1 Underway
NorseBoat Limited Prepares For Spring 2010 Production

January 29, 2010, Belfast, Prince Edward Island, Canada - NorseBoat Limited has begun construction of their much anticipated NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser. Hull number one is currently being built at their Lunenburg, Nova Scotia shop using modern wood/epoxy construction. Subsequent production NorseBoat 21.5 Cruisers will be constructed using a high quality glass/wood/epoxy composite. Optional all-wood construction will also be available.

The NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser is the largest in NorseBoat’s line of high performance sailing and rowing craft. Her sisterships include the popular NorseBoat 17.5 Cruiser and the recently launched NorseBoat 12.5 Cruiser/Tender. These versatile, trailerable daysailers and camp cruisers have earned the reputation of “the Swiss army knife of boats.”
NorseBoat founder and president Kevin Jeffrey developed the design for the NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser in cooperation with Mark Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Marine Architecture, Camden, Maine. Mark drew the lines of the NorseBoat 17.5 Sailing & Rowing Cruiser while working at Chuck Paine Yacht Design.

Production of the NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser is proceeding on the strength of five initial orders and strong consumer interest in a NorseBoat of this size.

The NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser has distinctly NorseBoat lines and features, plus interior accommodations for two adults and two children, a self-draining cockpit, and innovations unique to this design.
The sail plan is a high performance, easy to handle cutter rig with fully battened mainsail, signature curved gaff yard, pivoting carbon mast, self-tacking jib, and optional furling drifter/reacher headsail.

Customers can choose the standard ballasted centerboard or optional low-profile fixed keel. The fixed keel option can temporarily replace the centerboard when sailing in deeper waters or keeping the boat at a dock or mooring. The NorseBoat 21.5 Cruiser is strong yet lightweight, has a seaworthy hull shape, shallow draft, some rowing capability, and is trailerable and able to be towed with a normal vehicle.

The pre-production price is CN$29,995 plus trailer and options for the NorseBoat 21.5 Cabin version, and CN$24,995 plus trailer and options for the NorseBoat 21.5 Open version (no cabin).

NorseBoat 21.5 Specifications

LOA (on deck) 21’-8”, 6.60m
LWL 19’-7”, 5.97m
Beam 7’-1”, 2.16m
Draft (board up) 0’-9”, 0.23m
Draft (board down) 3’-10”, 1.17m
Draft (fixed keel) 3’-0”, 0.91m
Mainsail area 143sf, 13.28sm
Jib area 54sf, 5.02sm
Drifter/reacher area 120sf, 11.15sm
Mast height off water 22’-0”, 6.71m
Lightship displacement 1280lbs, 580kg
Rowing stations 1
Berths (1) V-berth, (2) quarter-berths
Propulsion electric or gas/petrol outboard

MARIETTE and the Herreshoff Schooners

Dear friends, colleagues and sailing enthusiasts,

Here is a short mail to inform you of a new book, soon to be published, by Jacques Taglang and myself, in collaboration with Luigi Lang.

Also attached is an order form offering the opportunity to acquire this, our latest work, at a special pre-publication price.

With my best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2010,

yours sincerely,