tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73342307723324332702024-03-11T03:06:03.960-06:00Quidnon “A houseboat that sails”
Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-12210380735304281872020-09-08T01:34:00.001-06:002020-09-08T01:49:42.328-06:00End of Project<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy181RAj0VBEpLhp776FpxHNOlrl1EtbKKNTQqlXgQSFgRoReXh0x6Cu2iwATdjVwBudGE9r_xazLBx2cmmEMUhyJIZDeEAqMicQ-j4dFSTV1zlaWl9Z0yql7uW58XVn8q6UFxurc3sf5h/s1042/hurricane+marina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1042" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy181RAj0VBEpLhp776FpxHNOlrl1EtbKKNTQqlXgQSFgRoReXh0x6Cu2iwATdjVwBudGE9r_xazLBx2cmmEMUhyJIZDeEAqMicQ-j4dFSTV1zlaWl9Z0yql7uW58XVn8q6UFxurc3sf5h/w200-h131/hurricane+marina.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This project was intended as a lifehack for getting around outrageously high real estate prices and rents in the few remaining desirable places to live in the US (many of which, incidentally, had marinas that provided something like a gated community—secure, friendly, and with good facilities). It was this situation that prompted us to spend a decade living aboard. The boats on which we lived were not ideally suitable to this lifestyle, and it was the mismatch between what we needed and what was on offer that led me to start thinking about a better live-aboard solution, which I dubbed Quidnon. But since then much has changed, and the US, along with much of the rest of the collective West, is no longer a desirable place to live, on board or otherwise, so my Plan B was to move my family to Russia, which is not perfect but close enough for our purposes. We now have an apartment in the historical center of a beautiful, thoroughly modern city, a country house with plenty of free farmland and forest, and a vehicle to move us between the two, all for less than it would have cost to build and maintain a Quidnon. Even if I were truly maniacal about living aboard (which I am not) the coastal and inland waterways here are closed to navigation November through April, with all pleasure craft pulled out of the water, making living aboard here a survivalist exercise rather than a lifestyle choice. And so I won't be working on this project any longer, since I have no use for it. I hope that others find the work that I did on it useful.<p></p>Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-49338792158628538742020-02-29T10:51:00.000-06:002020-02-29T15:07:47.200-06:00Custom HardwareThree years ago I bravely published a post titled “<a href="http://quidnon.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-final-sheeting-arrangement.html">The Final Sheeting Arrangement</a>.” I was filled with optimism at the time. After much experimentation I had discovered a simple way to keep Quidnon’s Junk sails sheeted perfectly flat. I had tested it out on a 1:12 scale model and verified that it worked very well indeed. But soon after I published it my friend and very experienced Junk rig operator Dave Zeiger blew my boat straight out of the water by pointing out a major problem with my design: it would not keep the sails anywhere near flat once they have been reefed. I accepted his critique with equanimity and, since I had no solution to offer, kept quiet about it for three years, during which, luckily, not a single person endeavored to build a single Quidnon, and so this unsolved problem hasn’t hurt anyone.<br />
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But now I believe I have finally found a solution. With this problem solved, the Quidnon project can finally move past the head-scratching phase and on to the next phase, which will involve grinding out a large number of mechanical drawings, assembly diagrams and other documentation without which no boat can ever get built. Here, then, is my plan, which I will call “The Final-Final Sheeting Arrangement.”<br />
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The previous, “final” sheeting arrangement involved attaching the sheet to a padeye on the deck arch near the centerline of the boat, sending it through a block on the boom, down through a block some distance out on the deck arch, up to the first batten, down to another block a bit further out, up to the second batten, and so on. The blocks on the deck arch are mounted on a T-track, allowing their positions to be fine-tuned. Likewise, the blocks hanging from the boom and the battens can be repositioned closer or further away from the leach of the sail for optimum performance on all points of sail. Here is what that looked liked on the scale model, in quite a stiff breeze.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4dgfz9qU7pc9JrkymrA13hM6V_Ttnnxd116br2Gr8q1oJmd-ibW1hBCErwWxWFIOKpPjAbPa-v4bbt3d-35YeSKq-QxLQRk7maYAz_eiaLM1a5vOFEFcfP80msg0NcQmllkPYYfKxEkL/s1600/sheetlets+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="288" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4dgfz9qU7pc9JrkymrA13hM6V_Ttnnxd116br2Gr8q1oJmd-ibW1hBCErwWxWFIOKpPjAbPa-v4bbt3d-35YeSKq-QxLQRk7maYAz_eiaLM1a5vOFEFcfP80msg0NcQmllkPYYfKxEkL/s400/sheetlets+copy.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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The reason this arrangement works so well is that each block on the sail receives exactly 1/5 of the overall tension on the sheet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVujLTu7kMMd5eljtnh4J0ZrfXvS-omXfICseiRpWhMfP80bboGb74K-mSkjk0YtBBaNeLMu5fxbwb0-m5RAGq025NYVqsWgvb3ygjano8FX3jvCr7Uo_lXjEzgbORUzx7hTfregSZxUTy/s1600/full+sail.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="453" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVujLTu7kMMd5eljtnh4J0ZrfXvS-omXfICseiRpWhMfP80bboGb74K-mSkjk0YtBBaNeLMu5fxbwb0-m5RAGq025NYVqsWgvb3ygjano8FX3jvCr7Uo_lXjEzgbORUzx7hTfregSZxUTy/s400/full+sail.png" width="298" /></a></div>
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However, this only works on the full sail, all 50 sq.ft (4.6 m2) of it. But if it’s reefed (lowered part way, that is) to compensate for stiffer breezes, more force is concentrated at the bottom, warping the sail and ruining its efficiency. This effect is only slight for the first reef, and gets progressively worse, so that by the time the sail is on its third reef it wouldn’t work as a sail at all because all of the wind would simply be spilled out of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Vy1P21ZUX_Uhqo0MJXDrtSGiRsu944Dd__VH1mudO_Wp7jTE7SvksT3uc_qF3fmqTsJ75AgNno6PFgYS4rLAzo6m1fFNR1leMllVIyTrHT12MV_9b0jexR7Z1cxaa8lBWlBRRNiyVUru/s1600/1st+reef.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Vy1P21ZUX_Uhqo0MJXDrtSGiRsu944Dd__VH1mudO_Wp7jTE7SvksT3uc_qF3fmqTsJ75AgNno6PFgYS4rLAzo6m1fFNR1leMllVIyTrHT12MV_9b0jexR7Z1cxaa8lBWlBRRNiyVUru/s400/1st+reef.png" width="306" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned, I have now found a way to solve this problem, using a custom piece of hardware.<br />
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But before I explain my solution, I’d like to mention another custom piece of hardware, which was already part of the plan: the take-up spool. It solves a number of problems. First, it eliminates cockpit clutter: all loose line magically disappears. Second, it makes a simple winch into a self-tailing one: just take a few turns on the capstan and crank; the take-up reel maintains the tension for you. Third, by automatically taking up slack, it reduces the chance that a loose sheet will get caught on the roach of the sail, requiring a trip out of the cockpit to free it.<br />
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Quidnon’s cockpit layout provides an ideal place to hide all of this loose line: directly under the cockpit floor, at the top of the anchor chain locker, where there is plenty of room. The details of the take-up reel are not particularly interesting. It is a sealed metal box bolted to a bulkhead that has a shaft sticking out of it. Inside it is the sort of mechanism found in every wind-up toy or mechanical watch: a constant-force spring and a gear reduction mechanism. The shaft goes through a shaft seal to keep water out and grease in, and the entire mechanism is designed to never require any maintenance. A spool is splined to the shaft and a fairlead some distance away from the spool makes the turns wrap onto the spool tidily.<br />
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There will be a total of 12 take-up spools hiding under the cockpit floor, 6 for each sail:<br />
• Halyard (to raise the sail)<br />
• Reefing line (to pull the battens down when reefed)<br />
• Port and starboard sheets – tension end<br />
• Port and starboard sheets – slack end<br />
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Why do the sheets have a slack end, and why does it need a take-up reel? That’s what I will explain next. The key element in my cunning plan is a custom piece of hardware that is probably something I invented, because in all of my years of perusing sailing gear catalogs I have never come across such a thing. It is a remote-operated locking sheet block.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOiB8zWRQSfHxx3cKPwugSmREb8Ieqj7CoN6QOIH93E3U8FXSfu6vkK_2MkdcIPCFWHcrQOFGkDYg5Vscq7BXEA1FHgrVSSZGKQt9SYHCdoT1w80ESLHrqaxT1oJedxds1ElUlawI3A4B/s1600/locking+sheet+block.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="605" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOiB8zWRQSfHxx3cKPwugSmREb8Ieqj7CoN6QOIH93E3U8FXSfu6vkK_2MkdcIPCFWHcrQOFGkDYg5Vscq7BXEA1FHgrVSSZGKQt9SYHCdoT1w80ESLHrqaxT1oJedxds1ElUlawI3A4B/s400/locking+sheet+block.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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In its unlocked state it is just like any sheet block: the sheet goes in one side, around a pulley and out the other side. The pulley is on a bearing and spins freely to minimize friction. In its locked state, the sheet is firmly clamped between the pulley and a shoe. The shoe has a dog that matches a recess in a pulley, preventing it from turning. The shoe has a channel with diagonal serrations similar those on a jam cleat which grab the sheet tighter when it tries to slip in one particular direction. That is, the locking action is unidirectional.<br />
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The block is switched between its free state and its locked state by means of a control line which goes through it. On the control line is mounted a very specifically shaped plug. It is prevented from slipping along the line by a ferrule which is crimped onto the line. The ends of the plug are tapered to reduce the amount of tension on the control line needed to move the plug into position by compressing a very strong spring whose job is to clamp the sheet in place. There is also a much weaker tension spring whose job is to keep the shoe away from the sheet when the block is in its free state.<br />
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The locking sheet blocks are mounted on the T-track on top of each side of each deck arch, observing correct orientation, so that the locking action is when the sheet is pulled to outboard. There are four signal lines which are sent through four cascades of five locking blocks each. A fairlead at each end of each cascade prevents the plug from escaping. Each of the four control lines is led to the cockpit, forming a loop.<br />
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When the sail is fully raised, the inboard-most block is locked. When the sail is at first reef, the next block to outboard is locked; and so on. As each reef is taken in, the sheet purchase is reduced from x10 to x8, x6 and so on down to x2, at which point only the topmost panel is showing (to use the mainsail as a riding sail when at anchor, or to use on the foresail for scudding off with a drogue in extremely heavy weather). Note that there are two control line adjustments to be made: one for the port sheet and one for the starboard sheet.<br />
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The steps to take in or to let out a reef (or two or three or four) are as follows:<br />
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• Open the sheet clutch to depower the sail<br />
• Open the reefing line clutch<br />
• Open the halyard clutch, pay out/haul in the required amount of halyard, close the halyard clutch<br />
• Haul in the reefing line, close the reefing line clutch<br />
• Move the starboard control line the required number of clicks; repeat for the port line<br />
• Haul in the sheet to power up the sail, close the sheet clutch<br />
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Importantly, all sail evolutions can now be done without leaving the cockpit. This has been a requirement all along. Quidnon is designed for easy single-handed operation.<br />
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There are a couple more changes to the design which are small but important. Previously, the two pilot berths, which are on both sides of the salon and on top of the water/ballast tanks, were accessed by climbing up on the settees and going through a door in the two bulkheads that make up the keelboard trunk.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9FWT-D_TDGkAyl2ftVWriQWyApO_Wp7aKTeNVnVCYpJveDqdoWNPBNnwopwSRc2ns9n90T72sev9uPR8sHAq2Y6zUFreJp29VwRl6AHxhlQ2d4i623_56hhKN4CK1WSacGE5KqDz61lw/s1600/Salon+and+Pilot+Berths.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9FWT-D_TDGkAyl2ftVWriQWyApO_Wp7aKTeNVnVCYpJveDqdoWNPBNnwopwSRc2ns9n90T72sev9uPR8sHAq2Y6zUFreJp29VwRl6AHxhlQ2d4i623_56hhKN4CK1WSacGE5KqDz61lw/s400/Salon+and+Pilot+Berths.png" width="142" /></a></div>
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This plan raised several objections. First, this method of ingress seemed rather undignified, required rather excellent range of movement in the hips and wasn’t at all convenient if attempted in the course of a dinner party, during which the settees in the salon would be occupied. Second, cutting a door through the keelboard trunk resulted in some significant structural complications, Third, it wasn’t clear how to provide good sound insulation, which would be important if pilot berth occupants wished to sleep while a dinner party was in progress.<br />
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For all of these reasons, the pilot berths will now open to the stateroom, which is in the bow, with a small two-step ladder leading into each and with the opening fitted with a sliding door. This makes the layout of the pilot berths much more convenient, with some free space at the entrance, then the berth, and some cabinetry at the head. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMvybxyVrOkvfsf9Ep5lLlrC5qQa0zPX6f3aO7DNSOBZIAhVfAHGzEZmxm3uH7SnVwsb_uRL1lX4kRu1eCaj8GqwaRNOM7RSeMTlEtMDX4TAfr5h79sy8A31u-gbN-1l8r2Da-5nk3b4x/s1600/pilot+berth+rethought.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="341" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMvybxyVrOkvfsf9Ep5lLlrC5qQa0zPX6f3aO7DNSOBZIAhVfAHGzEZmxm3uH7SnVwsb_uRL1lX4kRu1eCaj8GqwaRNOM7RSeMTlEtMDX4TAfr5h79sy8A31u-gbN-1l8r2Da-5nk3b4x/s400/pilot+berth+rethought.png" width="297" /></a></div>
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Finally, the decision to eliminate one of the keelboards has been reversed. The reason is that a single keelboard positioned off-center would give Quidnon a different turning radius depending on which direction it was turning. If the keelboard were mounted to starboard, the boat would turn tighter to port; and vice versa. This seems like a very bad feature. With such a wide hull, it is important to be able to reliably execute the tightest possible turns when maneuvering in and out of marinas. Another advantage of having two keelboards is that they can be made smaller, easier to manage and less likely to damage the hull if they hit something underwater.<br />
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As I already mentioned, this completes the head-scratching phase of the project. The next phase will involve producing detailed construction plans and cost estimates.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-78740895594725018622019-10-19T11:47:00.002-06:002019-10-19T13:05:26.741-06:00Engine Mount Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9CU-MFG4KsKv2_T-YlRtfPfeU-Ktb4YjhaxhbppzOnn0nEEUwi-E9sQbZ6Dwpu3taNNr8MbhA_2TKNlWn7quOUJWF3Okq7RMlt9d_LT-NBoE_kZDF4Zu6yLflLoVpMXTu7h5L_2Uxhv4/s1600/engine+well.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="923" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9CU-MFG4KsKv2_T-YlRtfPfeU-Ktb4YjhaxhbppzOnn0nEEUwi-E9sQbZ6Dwpu3taNNr8MbhA_2TKNlWn7quOUJWF3Okq7RMlt9d_LT-NBoE_kZDF4Zu6yLflLoVpMXTu7h5L_2Uxhv4/s320/engine+well.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deployed — Stowed — Raised for maintenance</td></tr>
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Quidnon is rather indifferent to choice of engine: just about any outboard over 25hp will do. But the leading contender right now is Yamaha T50 or T60 (the number is the horsepower rating and the T stands for high-thrust, which is bad for high-speed planing and good for pushing a heavy barge). The engine is installed in an engine well, making it an inboard outboard, if you will.<br />
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This arrangement presents a few design challenges:<br />
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• Normally outboard engines are hung directly on the transom. When not in use they tilt until they are out of the water. But in an engine well there is no room for the engine to tilt; instead, it has to slide up and down inside the well.<br />
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• Normally, control cables for the throttle and the shifter are led forward from the engine, but in an engine well the engine is up against a bulkhead, so control cables have to execute a tight 180º turn as they exit the front of the engine, which is something that cables can’t do.<br />
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• Also, engines are usually bolted into place (they come equipped with clamps, but these are far less secure than bolts). But bolting the engine into place when it is in the engine well would require reaching down, and perhaps hanging down, into the well—a very awkward working position—and this would have to be done every time the engine has to come out for maintenance.<br />
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• Lastly, what happens when the engine hits a submerged rock or some other obstruction? Does the engine’s lower unit get destroyed, or does it just get banged up a bit while it is the engine mount that fails. And when the engine mount fails, how does the owner repair it on the spot using provided spare parts and without having to haul out the boat?<br />
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Quidnon’s engine mount design solves all of these problems.<br />
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Backing up a bit, some contraption—be it a shop crane, a hoist or an improvised A-frame—is used to lift it into place, usually with the boat ashore. In exceptional circumstances two or three big, strong men can simply lift it into place with the boat backed up to a floating dock, but this is a risky operation. On Quidnon, which is designed to never need a haul-out, it has to be possible to install and remove the engine with the boat in the water.<br />
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This is done using a swinging hoist that is part of the aft deck arch. The hoist is used to lift the engine off a floating dock or a dinghy, lift it up to the deck (a rise of 10 feet/3m or so) swing it toward the engine well, and install it onto the engine mount. This would have to be done repeatedly because outboard engines don’t last that long, with 1200 hours being the typical point at which people give up on trying to make them run reliably and buy a new one.<br />
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Someone who motors all the way down the Intracoastal Waterway and back every year, putting around 300 hours on the engine each time, usually needs to replace the engine every four years. A lot depends on the amount of preventive maintenance, and with enough care that number can be doubled to eight years. A complete overhaul can stretch it out to ten. But Quidnon’s expected useful life is at least 30 years, so it will need to be repowered at least three times, and perhaps as many as ten. Luckily, outboard engines don’t cost that much. A Yamaha t50 with 0 hours costs around $10k. Now, $100k is quite a bit of money for most people, even over 30 years.<br />
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The amount of preventive maintenance an engine receives is generally a function of how easy it is to get at. Impossibly awkward and cramped engine spaces that are common on sailing yachts with inboard diesels will quite predictably receive less than the optimum amount of attention from their owners; but if the engine can be pulled out and placed on a stand without so much as breaking a sweat, working on it and tinkering with it will be a pleasure and it will receive all the care it needs. Quidnon’s dedicated engine hoist incorporated into the aft deck arch and the design of the engine mount are intended to make working on the engine easy and pleasant.<br />
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The engine mount consists of just seven major components:<br />
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• Four brackets that are attached to the forward bulkhead in the engine well, two at the top of the well and two at the bottom<br />
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• Two rods that run vertically between the two sets of brackets<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG60CK6MYLm0inPFQlVEccRkoKyN8-oQraBhJT8QcXJdwiSGriXOgpX6lM1GzSZYGaV22ACXDxu3rYTjVXG3IMfDqNPFZGocU3FZIlLk4XwFSYC9lT5h0dXveTm9LtsRNczUd_M3rZo2CL/s1600/upper+bracket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="728" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG60CK6MYLm0inPFQlVEccRkoKyN8-oQraBhJT8QcXJdwiSGriXOgpX6lM1GzSZYGaV22ACXDxu3rYTjVXG3IMfDqNPFZGocU3FZIlLk4XwFSYC9lT5h0dXveTm9LtsRNczUd_M3rZo2CL/s320/upper+bracket.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper bracket</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOBLVheIHfNO0B9P2oyyxYFxbGsxWCPVXsGPY3m04AAXtzQj8aHEkKZEOwnNZmylJw2GjxwpN9VrqE_bH8GoLx8lB3B07ToDz6NN0vYu3Fzi69l87i7sgsZ_WPO5Alcwjd3JW9nIiyVkC/s1600/lower+bracket.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="728" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOBLVheIHfNO0B9P2oyyxYFxbGsxWCPVXsGPY3m04AAXtzQj8aHEkKZEOwnNZmylJw2GjxwpN9VrqE_bH8GoLx8lB3B07ToDz6NN0vYu3Fzi69l87i7sgsZ_WPO5Alcwjd3JW9nIiyVkC/s320/lower+bracket.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower bracket</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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• A slider car which slides up and down on the two rods and incorporates a large, solid piece of hardwood to which the engine is bolted<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTo9oEqip82Vzhh1oKlyQUf6gskfSBnAP0_CsrGeouPw2MLc5EfSWA7X7zwGZP_RwB6gNOXxJJZRDJPcJw_Yp3TUJgYoMgIoX79RTfU_SSFLJqEqWnmUTTzQN2PjBNIDGBpWNzMtNgkRF/s1600/car.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="509" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTo9oEqip82Vzhh1oKlyQUf6gskfSBnAP0_CsrGeouPw2MLc5EfSWA7X7zwGZP_RwB6gNOXxJJZRDJPcJw_Yp3TUJgYoMgIoX79RTfU_SSFLJqEqWnmUTTzQN2PjBNIDGBpWNzMtNgkRF/s320/car.png" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Car</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The brackets and the car are welded up out of A500 steel and subjected to the same galvanization process used for anchors and anchor chains. They consist of tubes, square and rectangular pieces of channel and plates.<br />
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The two rods are of stainless steel because they have to be smooth to keep the slider car from binding up and can’t have a surface finish because it would wear through over time. The rods have caps welded to their top ends to keep them from falling through the brackets.<br />
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The brackets and the rods are not in direct contact. Instead, neoprene rubber inserts are used to isolate the galvanized steel from the stainless to keep them from galling together through galvanic action, to dampen the vibrations in the rods (which would otherwise ring like a bell at certain engine speeds) and to prevent engine vibrations from being transmitted to the brackets, the bulkhead and from there to the rest of the hull.<br />
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The car which slides up and down on the rods and on which the engine hangs uses similar inserts but of different material: Delrin plastic instead of neoprene rubber. This material is slippery and allows the car to slide easily. The inserts are forced into the pipes at each end of the car and slide freely on the rods.<br />
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The order of assembly is as follows.<br />
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• Hoist the engine aboard<br />
• Bolt the engine onto the car with it hanging above deck<br />
• Lower the engine into the well and skewer it into place by dropping in the two rods<br />
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There are a few more minor details:<br />
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• When the bottom of the engine hits a rock, the bottom two brackets are the designated points of failure. What fails on them is not the brackets themselves but the nuts that hold them against the bulkhead. The nuts are stripped off the pieces of threaded rod onto which they are threaded. In turn, the pieces of threaded rod is screwed into a socket that is installed from the opposite side of the bulkhead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikS9ICspu5DOI7FHoTUER6SmAa31IsLXQZnQs-CMjbFg_BQkAZ47kIig5n8-SMFB8IlnfLoFWS86kJbY6OQDXyBAJbzi_hELhFl-I8E-3Nt2tUcWTkfsyhYPyAs92_3Cx5GBONjB_OmADh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-10-19+at+20.44.40.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="667" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikS9ICspu5DOI7FHoTUER6SmAa31IsLXQZnQs-CMjbFg_BQkAZ47kIig5n8-SMFB8IlnfLoFWS86kJbY6OQDXyBAJbzi_hELhFl-I8E-3Nt2tUcWTkfsyhYPyAs92_3Cx5GBONjB_OmADh/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-10-19+at+20.44.40.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Designated point of failure marked in red</td></tr>
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The repair procedure then involves lifting out the engine (it is left hanging on a lanyard, which is the usual precaution to losing it), removing the stripped pieces of threaded rod (they have a slot at one end, to accept a screwdriver), screw in new pieces of threaded rod (provided as spares) and reattach the brackets using fresh lock washers and nuts. Then the engine (with the damaged bottom unit replaced or repaired as needed) can be put back into place and into service.<br />
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There are a few more elements to the design that are small but critical:<br />
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• A small custom 3D-printed part to make it possible for the control cables to face aft and up instead of forward.<br />
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• Lanyards for each bracket, so that they don’t go swimming if they are torn off the bulkhead in an underwater collision.<br />
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• Clips to keep the rods from falling out in a capsize.<br />
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One last element of this design will most likely need to be determined experimentally: how much and of what kind of sound insulation to install inside the engine well to keep the noise level in the aft cabins low enough so that people can sleep soundly with the boat moving under engine.<br />
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The engine mount was the last important conceptual part of the design that needed to be completed. Now that it is, the work of putting together detailed construction drawings can begin. It’s taken a long time, but we have finally arrived at that stage. Thank you for your patience!Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-41872303159005276852019-08-13T08:08:00.000-06:002019-08-14T05:38:27.455-06:00Hull Assembly Made EasyThis project is now in its fifth year and, dare I say, running smoothly. It started out as a pile of good ideas that came out of the experience of living aboard both custom-built and commercially built sailboats in various climates and social environments, plus a promise: that this project will result in plans and a kit for constructing a houseboat that can sail. A further stated goal is to make it possible to build and launch it quickly and easily using the efforts of moderately skilled people, working alone or in small groups. The reason it has taken so long has to do with the large amount of thought it has taken to bridge the gap between stating these good ideas and making them realizable.<br />
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One of the requirements for building the hull has been the following: “...low-tech assembly that can be carried out DIY-style on a riverbank or a beach.” Easier said than done! How can one build a hull that’s true and fair without having so much as a true horizontal surface for a reference?<br />
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Until now, the interim plan (for lack of a real one) was to build the hull upside-down, starting with the deck. Once the two layers of plywood that make up the deck are screwed and glued together, a frame is erected over the underside of the deck. Then the plywood panels that make up the sides are screwed and glued on, then the bottom. Then the entire bottom of the hull is sheathed in fiberglass, and the bottom covered in copper sheets. Finally, the hull is flipped right-side-up, and the upper surface of the deck and the superstructure (deck arches, cockpit, dodger and hatches) are completed. Then the hull can be splashed and the interior work finished with the boat in the water, preferably at a dock or in a slip at a marina.<br />
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There is a problem with this plan: assembling the deck requires a perfectly flat surface, or the deck, and then the frame, will end up warped, making the rest of the hull impossible to assemble. But where can one find a perfectly flat and level surface on a riverbank or a beach? Having to first erect a 20 by 40 foot platform makes the project take longer and cost more.<br />
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But there is an alternative: start by assembling the frame, still upside-down, and save the deck for last, to be assembled once the hull has been flipped right-side-up. The frame is built up in “stations,” which are vertical slices of the hull going from the transom to the bow. Once each station is in one piece, it is stood up vertically and joined to the previous station using longitudinal frame members. The stations can be propped up on bricks, cinderblocks, rocks, timbers, bits of driftwood or whatever else is readily available. The height of these makeshift supports can be adjusted by digging under them to lower them or by piling up soil or sand under them to raise them up. After each station is joined to the previous one, plywood panels that make up the sides are screwed and glued on immediately. To fine-tune the vertical alignment of each station of the frame, wedges can driven in under frame members.<br />
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Once the entire frame has been assembled and the sides installed, plywood panels that make up the bottom are added. Some amount of tugging at the frame left and right may be required in order to counteract the frame's trapezoidal tendencies and to align the frame with the bottom panels. This can be done using a Spanish windlass: a loop of rope and a stick with which to twist it. Once the bottom has been assembled, the sides and the bottom are sheathed in fiberglass. Finally, the bottom, topsides and transom up to the waterline are covered in copper sheets and the topsides above the waterline are faired and painted. Now the hull can be flipped right-side-up. At this point, a bit of foresight is called for, to make it easy, when the time comes, to roll the hull into the water over logs, dragged over skids, or whatever other arrangement can be contrived for the splashdown. Ideally, all that will be needed is to knock out some chocks and let gravity do the rest.<br />
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Once the hull has been flipped and until the deck is assembled, it is open to the sky, forming an above-ground swimming pool, and so the plan should be either to complete the deck in short order, or to erect a tent over the unfinished hull, because having it fill up with rainwater would be bad for it. Installing the deck involves laying down, screwing and gluing two layers of plywood, sheathing the top surface with fiberglass, and installing aluminum diamond hatch panels over it.<br />
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Once the deck is complete, the hull is ready for water and can be splashed immediately, although I suspect that most people would prefer to assemble and install the deck arches, the cockpit seats, the dodger and the hatch cover prior to launch. In any case, some amount of hardware needs to be added beforehand: gudgeons for the rudder, engine bracket, deck cleats, etc. Since the lifelines attach to the deck arches, and may be required for launch as a safety consideration, the deck arches need to go on first. Masts and sails can be added at any time later, or even not at all if sailing turns out not to be in the cards. The motor (Yamaha t50 long shaft is still the favorite) can be dropped into its engine well either before or after launch, or not at all if all that's required is to float in a marina slip or at a mooring ball.<br />
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This assembly procedure fulfills the promise of “...low-tech assembly that can be carried out DIY-style on a riverbank or a beach.” Plywood panels are installed using brushes for brushing on the epoxy and screw guns for driving screws through the plywood (where indicated) and into the frame members. Fiberglass sheathing is added by draping fiberglass cloth and saturating it with epoxy using squeegees and rollers. Copper for the bottom and aluminum diamond hatch for the deck are laid on using specific glue and caulk, but the procedures are simple. Fairing and painting the topsides is done using spreaders, sanders, rollers and brushes. All of this is very much within the skill set of anyone who is moderately handy and can follow instructions.<br />
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But what about frame assembly? Well, here is where there has been a recent breakthrough. Now the only tools required for assembling the frame are a wooden mallet and a ratchet with a hex socket. The frame can be hammered together and will hang together by gravity and friction.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgh4SSYZbUC8Ffn-g5aR9qEL0zq5SmbNztviB21GcEeXbaZpyFE-Pvz0SUF35S6EtXuIYRUpjW5MAd4Apo2HcaErn19eK7WObtdYZJEoc89U-PC5lgmMGhL_YcFR3jVx91V9-Y6kSMaRJC/s1600/Slide+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgh4SSYZbUC8Ffn-g5aR9qEL0zq5SmbNztviB21GcEeXbaZpyFE-Pvz0SUF35S6EtXuIYRUpjW5MAd4Apo2HcaErn19eK7WObtdYZJEoc89U-PC5lgmMGhL_YcFR3jVx91V9-Y6kSMaRJC/s1600/Slide+1.png" data-original-width="423" data-original-height="310" /></a></div><br />
The frame consists of brackets and frame members. The brackets are welded together out of aluminum square tubing, 3½ by 3½ inches if you build to imperial measurements, 100x100mm if to metric. The frame members are made of Douglas fir timbers, also 3½ by 3½ inches or 100x100mm. The ends of each timber are precisely machined: the last six inches on each end are taken down by the thickness of the aluminum tubing for a tight press-fit into a bracket and to compensate for any twist along the length of the timber; the very tip on each end is tapered for ease of insertion into the bracket; the ridges that are six inches from each tip are milled to set a precise length from ridge to ridge and therefore from bracket to bracket. Two sides of each timber, as needed, are planed flat to compensate for any bowing and twist. Once it is milled, each frame member is coated with penetrating epoxy, making it immune to short-term humidity fluctuations and preventing any further bowing or twist.<br />
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Building up the frame involves driving frame members into brackets using a mallet, then fixing them in place by screwing in a single self-tapping screw for each joint. The screw does the additional job of making the already tight, press-fit joint even tighter by compressing the grain at each end of each frame member. Since the tips of all frame members are confined within an aluminum tube, it doesn't matter if the screw splits the grain; that frame member isn't going to go anywhere. Then, once the boat is in the water, osmosis causes the water content of the frame members to increase, causing it to swell up slightly and further tighten the joints. The use of softwood will prevent the frame members from bursting the aluminum brackets, as would happen if hardwood were used.<br />
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Some two dozen different bracket designs are needed for the entire frame. One set, used throughout the frame, is quite generic: the brackets are designed for a variety of joints, but since the hull is square, all of these joints are at 90º.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTURwb7r_hQLTjCYH2Rej8rGaDJbmmkeLjMIrdAuahYk6UYE32vHXt5SYf9TTaqWRn7lm5eyf8MLm1XjChKFNK-dJACVeRnT0YjRwifkO-NamYblnephkunucgEhLtH0vb01_MQyMD-vy0/s1600/Slide+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTURwb7r_hQLTjCYH2Rej8rGaDJbmmkeLjMIrdAuahYk6UYE32vHXt5SYf9TTaqWRn7lm5eyf8MLm1XjChKFNK-dJACVeRnT0YjRwifkO-NamYblnephkunucgEhLtH0vb01_MQyMD-vy0/s400/Slide+2.png" width="400" height="187" data-original-width="929" data-original-height="434" /></a></div><br />
Another set of brackets is used to join frame members along the bottom. These are fabricated in a variety of specific angles, to accommodate the shape of the bottom.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAywHEPKU3iq9fzAqUx3oaVOxcXPGky60Kv1oeR8_gDEGLR1i-dv35qTZXOUFcA9tTeBiH1mBgnybAqeFvhUBgXcRHyZ7BkuRHt_YEyvIjKmTJOzaVfi_r7okVvgS1H_ULqgX-34Ge0Vl1/s1600/Slide+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAywHEPKU3iq9fzAqUx3oaVOxcXPGky60Kv1oeR8_gDEGLR1i-dv35qTZXOUFcA9tTeBiH1mBgnybAqeFvhUBgXcRHyZ7BkuRHt_YEyvIjKmTJOzaVfi_r7okVvgS1H_ULqgX-34Ge0Vl1/s400/Slide+3.png" width="400" height="306" data-original-width="940" data-original-height="718" /></a></div><br />
Here is the hull frame in longitudinal view with the brackets omitted and the locations of the transverse frame members indicated in magenta. Note the rounded plywood panel at the bow; there are four of them, and they are used to create the rounded shape of the bow, which is the only curve in the entire hull. There are four of these panels, located at Y=8, 1.5, -1.5 and 8 feet, where Y=0 is the centerline. Also shown is the inner layer of the plywood panels that make up the sides, which are screwed and glued into place as the frame is assembled, starting at the transom. All of the plywood panels will be marked with the locations of all of the screws.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC9A-Ko166V3NB7pkA_4udmw8bgJD34UV3dKZTZSyH70FmGcHPVYbFjm7l9QHjj0HlyV-2f4aIDUjCUoI5v9vqtxYO83w_gLMuYajRX1MJnEuxWgHHYeWEoOcif9s51CVxrMvyqkqLtdH/s1600/Slide+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC9A-Ko166V3NB7pkA_4udmw8bgJD34UV3dKZTZSyH70FmGcHPVYbFjm7l9QHjj0HlyV-2f4aIDUjCUoI5v9vqtxYO83w_gLMuYajRX1MJnEuxWgHHYeWEoOcif9s51CVxrMvyqkqLtdH/s400/Slide+4.png" width="400" height="106" data-original-width="1120" data-original-height="297" /></a></div><br />
And here is the top view of the horizontal cross-section of the frame corresponding to Z=8, which is the deck (horizontal cross-sections start at Z=0, corresponding to the flat part of the bottom, to Z=8 at the deck). This view shows all of the brackets that are located immediately underneath the deck and the inner layer of plywood panels that make up the deck. The plywood panels are staggered between the layers to maximize overlap while minimizing scrap.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJi-qKA3EEiXtuxzano3xgTEqXCBtjVXOTvMYmS5SLX8dWEeT70YBbuAbwo-JB7OKMwTkwhvnFxFGD_RWfLgTKnsfste8lrkK9cABZAlPQzb62QMz9ZqgAUMR3tgwf-tWQtYqW3gbA0Zvu/s1600/Slide+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJi-qKA3EEiXtuxzano3xgTEqXCBtjVXOTvMYmS5SLX8dWEeT70YBbuAbwo-JB7OKMwTkwhvnFxFGD_RWfLgTKnsfste8lrkK9cABZAlPQzb62QMz9ZqgAUMR3tgwf-tWQtYqW3gbA0Zvu/s400/Slide+5.png" width="400" height="197" data-original-width="1040" data-original-height="513" /></a></div><br />
At this stage, the end of the project’s design phase is starting to come into focus. At this point it is a matter of completing the mechanical drawings, numbering all the parts, generating tool paths for milling them out and, very importantly, generating a bill of materials in spreadsheet form for producing precise cost estimates and assembly time estimates. The project is now at a point where new design ideas are not necessary for completing it. If all goes well, detailed study plans and a cost estimator will be made available before the end of this year.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-48865697612219344692019-06-16T09:14:00.002-06:002019-06-16T21:32:55.570-06:00Dismasting Made Easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb3k9pwVc_BInJBGFQ9nYW2v-haAKftnv05YgRqJMq6k5J5ncsXAxwdJ4f3vRivvo-BqD4Rc-M1iBjOJweXgGixfryrn6OuQcHekI_3_2-nYPdHFARSNHIV_oJdPlwxXXaUrZooD28ksm/s1600/rig_failure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="500" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb3k9pwVc_BInJBGFQ9nYW2v-haAKftnv05YgRqJMq6k5J5ncsXAxwdJ4f3vRivvo-BqD4Rc-M1iBjOJweXgGixfryrn6OuQcHekI_3_2-nYPdHFARSNHIV_oJdPlwxXXaUrZooD28ksm/s200/rig_failure.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
You are sailing along on a passage, on autopilot, the radar set up to wake up and do a sweep every 10 minutes or so and sound an alarm if it detects a collision course, with the entire crew (which could be just me and the ship’s cat) down below doing whatever people and cats do when they aren’t sailing. Then a squall kicks up, or a waterspout (a sort of water-borne tornado), or you royally screwed up and plotted a course that takes you under a bridge that’s too low. Suddenly, you find yourself minus the masts. This can be very dramatic, or not, depending on how the boat is designed. And since Quidnon is primarily a houseboat (that sails), drama is specifically what we don’t want. <br />
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There are a few different solutions for installing masts. First, there are deck-stepped masts. They are installed using a crane which lifts the mast up by a point somewhere above its center of mass so that it hangs down more or less straight. The heel of the mast is placed where intended, and then the standing rigging is hooked up, which consists of wire rope and turnbuckles with which to tension it. Standing rigging consists of a forestay, a backstay and some number of shrouds that go off to the sides of the deck and may go around spreaders. (By the way, spreaders are a terrible idea, unless you like your deck to be covered in guano, because they provide nice perches for sea birds.) Where there isn’t room for a backstay (such as with a mizzen mast on a ketch or a yawl) there are often running stays which are clipped on and tensioned as needed. There may also be baby stays (miniature forestays) and triatics that tie the tops of masts together. <br />
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Second, there are the keel-stepped masts. These go through a reinforced hole in the deck (which will at some point leak water into the cabin) and the heel of the mast is stepped in a bracket that’s bolted to the top of the keel. The nice thing about keel-stepped masts is that they don’t flop down instanter whenever some bit of standing rigging fails. On a deck-stepped mast, if the forestay fails, then the mast flops down on the cockpit, braining whoever happens to be in it; if the backstay fails, then it flops forward. The standard material for standing rigging is stainless steel wire rope, used because it’s less stretchy than regular galvanized wire rope, and stainless steel fittings to attach it (turnbuckles, shackles, etc.) The nasty thing about stainless (other than its exorbitant cost) is that unlike regular mild steel it tends to develop invisible microfractures over time, then fail catastrophically. <br />
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When standing rigging on a keel-stepped mast fails, it may soldier on for quite a while, enlarging its hole in the deck as it swings about. When it finally fails, it is likely to snap off at the deck, since that’s the point of greatest stress. Either way, what you end up is a rather large stick flailing about uncontrollably, tugging at a mad tangle of rope and cable that gets caught up on everything it possibly can, trying to rip it off. At that point, people generally rush about the deck with bolt cutters, tying to snap every bit of line and cable that connects the mast to the boat, in order to set the mast on a journey of is own, down to the murky depths. <br />
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There are also unstayed masts which have no standing rigging at all. These are always keel-stepped, since if they were deck-stepped they would simply fall over. They have to be quite a bit stronger than stayed masts, since they rather than the standing rigging have to withstand the press of the sails. To keep their weight reasonable, they are usually tapered. Mast-stepping techniques are a bit like the techniques for holding up your pants: deck-stepped masts with standing rigging are like wearing suspenders, keel-stepped masts without standing rigging are like wearing a belt, and keel-stepped masts with standing rigging are like wearing both. Which of these makes for the most exciting strip-tease (dismasting, that is) is, I suppose, a matter of taste. <br />
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Keel-stepped masts have some disadvantages. I already mentioned the almost inevitable leaks through the hole in the deck. There is also the problem of sagging, especially if there is standing rigging: the mast pushes down on the center of the boat while the forestay and the backstay pull up on the bow and the transom. Over time, this causes the hull to acquire a slight banana shape. In turn, this causes bilge water to pool around the mast heel. The bracket the mast heel rests in is usually made of mild steel while the mast itself is usually aluminum, and the two undergo a galvanic reaction: the bracket rusts while the mast heel rots away. If the forestay or the backstay and the mast heel both fail, then you have the bottom end of the mast ripping through the cabin. <br />
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Finally, keel-stepped masts chill the cabin. Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat, and having an aluminum stick part of which is inside the cabin and part of it outside sucks heat out of the cabin most efficiently. Wrapping it in layers of radiant barrier and fabric helps somewhat, but it’s much more pleasant not to have it there in the first place. <br />
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Mounting the masts on Quidnon presents a rather interesting design problem. Since there is no keel, keel-stepped is not an option. Since there is a requirement that the masts be easy to raise and lower without recourse to a crane, deck-stepped is not an option either. And since the sails are Junk rigs, which rise above the top of the mast when fully raised, having forestays and backstays is not an option either. Lastly, Quidnon is a houseboat, and whereas with a sailboat built for sport or ostentation it is acceptable to respond to a dismasting at sea by declaring it a total loss, abandoning ship and setting off in a life raft expecting to be rescued (or not, as the case may be) with Quidnon the loss of two large vertical sticks should not compromise its ability to serve as a floating domicile, albeit one now temporarily deprived of its ability to sail. It is thus a requirement that a dismasting does not compromise the integrity of the hull. <br />
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Since Quidnons will spend most of the time sitting at anchor or at the dock and only once in a while undertake a journey under sail, perhaps as a seasonal migration to shift berth between summer and winter quarters, perhaps to relocate to a different permanent location as conditions warrant, most of the time the masts can be kept lowered and the sails bundled up into their sail covers and stowed on deck. Thus, it is yet another requirement that the masts be unobtrusive when lowered. <br />
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This mast tabernacle design has gone through a number of changes but is now in a state that fulfills all of these requirements. Here are the plan and elevation views with the masts lowered and resting on the deck arches. Note that with the masts lowered Quidnon is not any longer overall than with the masts raised. This is important, because marinas charge slip fees by overall length, which includes any overhanging objects. Quidnon fits into exactly 36 feet, makes full use of the width of a marina slip with its 16-foot beam, and provides very close to 36 by 16 feet, or 576 square feet of interior living space with ample headroom. <br />
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There are three deck arches, and they serve a large number of purposes: <br />
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• They provide support for the masts when they are lowered <br />
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• They allow the masts to slide back and forth, back before being raised, forth after being lowered, on rollers positioned close to the centerline <br />
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• The second and third deck arches have T-track with sheet blocks running along their tops <br />
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• They provide cabin ventilation through openings in their front and back, blowing air into the cabin and sucking it out again <br />
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• They serve as a frame for either a canvas cover or shrink-wrap for winterizing the boat <br />
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• The second deck arch has a block and tackle for loading and unloading the boat through the deck hatch <br />
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• The third deck arch has a block and tackle for installing and removing the outboard engine that lives in the engine well <br />
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• The first deck arch provides a mounting place for the radar’s radome <br />
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• The deck arches provide places to hang hammocks or swings, to mount solar panels, etc. <br />
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In short, deck arches are fantastically versatile and useful, which is why Quidnon has not one, not two, but three of them. <br />
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Here is the elevation view of Quidnon viewed from the transom, with the masts lowered and sitting side by side on the deck arches. <br />
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Note the various dimensions. The hull is basically an 8-foot by 16-foot by 36-foot box. It is 1 plywood sheet tall, 2 plywood sheets wide and 4.5 plywood sheets long, arranged in a pattern that generates minimum scrap. There is 5½ feet of vertical clearance below the deck arches, and the taller people will have to stoop to walk under them. On the other hand, they are low enough for most adults to be able to work with them, and with the masts that rest on them, without having to resort to footstools or stepladders. It’s a compromise. The bridge clearance with masts lowered is 14 feet, and most fixed bridges on navigable waterways provide at least that much. <br />
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Now let’s go through the details of the mast stepping arrangement. Here is a drawing of a mast (in this case, the mainmast, but the differences are subtle). There are three main elements: <br />
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• The mast itself, which includes a masthead fitting at the top and a heel plug at the bottom. The mast is made up of either a single 36-foot length of 6-inch Schedule 40 aluminum pipe or (since 6-inch Schedule 40 pipe is most easily obtained in 20-foot sections) two pieces joined together using a short length of inner tube and some epoxy. (Welding the two pieces together is also possible, but making structurally sound welds in aluminum is quite an art while the epoxied joint is dead simple and relatively idiot-proof.) <br />
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• The tabernacle, which is made of galvanized mild steel and can be fabricated using an oxyacetylene cutting torch, a stick welder and a grinder (although a plasma cutter and a TIG welder would work even better) and includes a mast hinge at the top and a pressure plate at the bottom. <br />
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• The mast trunk, which is a cylindrical piece of lumber that runs from the bottom of the hull through a hole in the deck and protrudes 3 feet above it. The mast tabernacle fits over it. <br />
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The set-up is basically of a deck-stepped mast, because the pressure plate rests on the deck. But the mast doesn’t topple without standing rigging because the tabernacle sits over the mast trunk, which is constrained to being vertical. It goes through a hole in the deck, where it is secured using a pin and caulked into place, so that there are no deck leaks. The heel of the mast trunk sits in a cup that is fastened to the bottom. There is an air gap between the bottom of the mast trunk and the hull bottom of the cup, so that the mast trunk does not exert any vertical force on the hull bottom as the hull flexes. It does exert horizontal forces, which the bottom can readily withstand. <br />
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Taking each of these elements in turn. The masthead fitting is a simple affair; like all the other elements except the mast and the mast trunk, it is made of galvanized mild steel. It consists of a short piece of pipe that fits over the masthead welded to an oval plate with two gussets that face fore and aft. The gussets have holes which take the pin of a D-shackle. This shackle is then used to attach, using teardrop-shaped thimbles, all of the needed lines: the halyard, two topping lifts and four running stays (of which more later). <br />
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Masthead fittings generally include some number of brackets for mounting a VHF antenna, an illuminated wind direction indicator and a wind instrument that measures wind speed and direction. It is also a good place to mount a 3/4/5G router; at some 50 feet above water it will “see” towers quite far over the horizon, making it possible to have internet and VOIP access even when sailing outside of sight of land. <br />
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All of these masthead instruments generate quite a mess of wiring which has to be sent down the mast and into the hull. To keep it banging around inside the mast, keeping people awake at night, a good trick is to squeeze the wiring into a tight bundle using large zip ties every foot or so and leaving the tail of the zip tie in place to push the wiring to one side of the mast. The masthead fitting plate has a hole in it for sending the wiring bundle through. It is then closed off with a plastic plug and the cracks caulked. <br />
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At the mast heel there is an indexing bolt that is used to align the mast with a recess milled into the mast hinge. It also serves the function of keeping the mast captive within the mast hinge.<br />
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Next down is the mast tabernacle. The mast slides through the 1-foot pipe that is part the top tabernacle hinge and is held captive by it because neither the masthead fitting nor the mast heel fitting can slide past it. The inside of the top tabernacle hinge pipe is coated with graphite-loaded epoxy to create a low-friction surface. When raising the mast, it is slid aft until the mast heel is aligned with the bottom of the hinge plate and rotated until the head of the indexing bolt fits into the matching recess in the hinge plate. Another bolt is then screwed in to hold the mast to the hinge, preventing it from slipping as it is raised. <br />
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Part of the top tabernacle hinge is a fitting that accepts a 5-foot gin pole which is used to raise and lower the mast using a hand winch. It is a solid 2½-inch steel rod that has to accept well over 1000 lbs. of load without flexing. <br />
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The top tabernacle hinge is connected to the bottom hinge using a slightly tapered hinge pin. A second tapered hinge pin is inserted on the opposite side of the hinge to secure it in place as soon as it is raised. The hinge pins can then be pounded until the joint and tight and secured using a nut and a stop nut. This immobilizes the hinge, preventing friction and wear. <br />
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All of the wiring going through the mast has to be fitted with connectors at the mast tabernacle. The connectors should be waterproof, because there will inevitably be condensation inside the mast. <br />
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At the bottom of the tabernacle is the thrust plate, which rests on deck, where it is, again, coated with epoxy loaded with graphite powder, creating a low-friction bearing surface. The tabernacle fits snugly over the mast trunk, which rises 3 feet above the deck. <br />
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Where the mast trunk penetrates the deck it is pinned into place and caulked, to prevent deck leaks. Thus, the mast trunk hangs from the deck rather than resting on its heel. Instead, its heel floats in its heel fitting, which is fastened to the bottom of the boat via a wooden block cut to the appropriate angle. The mast trunk heel fitting is not subjected to any vertical loads, only horizontal ones, which the bottom of the boat can readily handle. The mast trunk incorporates a slot that accepts the mast wiring bundle, which snakes all the way down into the bilge, through the mast trunk heel fitting, and back toward the cockpit. Within the cabin the wiring is hidden by installing a decorative cover over the slot. <br />
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A key feature of the mast trunk is the notch. It is located an inch or so above the deck and is the designated failure point in a dismasting event. The depth of the notch is calibrated so that the mast trunk is only slightly weaker than the mast tabernacle or the mast. Once the mast trunk snaps off, the mast and the tabernacle are free to topple overboard as a unit. Some amount of additional damage is inevitable. The wiring bundle will be pulled apart and the masthead instruments are likely to be destroyed. To free the mast, several lines need to be released: 4 running stays, the sheet, the halyard and the reefing line. But this isn’t a lot of work: 4 on snap shackle pins released and three rope clutches opened. Dismasting made easy! <br />
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But what is most important is that the rest of the boat remains undamaged. After a dismasting event, a Quidnon owner can say “Masts? What masts?” shrug and motor on nonchalantly. When the time comes to replace the masts, any welding/machine shop can fabricate a new mast tabernacle and mast fittings, any wood shop can make a new mast trunk, any canvas shop can stitch together the sail out of Sunbrella fabric (a tough material used for awnings), the pipe for the masts is quite standard and easily obtained, and masthead instruments and rigging components can be mail-ordered from the usual outfits. The rest is just puttering about, to be done at one’s leisure. And if the masts and the sails can be salvaged, then all that needs replacing is a piece of wood (the mast trunk) and some masthead instruments. <br />
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The only difficult task in replacing the masts is heaving them onto the deck arches. Each mast weighs around 200 lbs, so it is best to have at least three strong-backed people on hand to assist with this operation. The easiest way to do this is to place the masts on the dock next to the boat and roll them aboard using two loops of rope or strapping, one placed fore, one aft. One end of each loop is secured, and the other one pulled, rolling the mast onto the deck arches and into place. With this technique and four people, two people are pulling, exerting 50 lbs. of force each, and two more are making sure that everything stays nice and even. Once all the pieces are in place, the masts can be raised. <br />
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Prior to being raised, seven lines have to be attached to the masthead: <br />
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• Four running stays, two forward, two aft <br />
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• Two topping lifts, one forward, one aft <br />
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• One halyard, aft <br />
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These can be draped over the deck arches to keep them from snagging on things or getting dropped in the water as the mast comes up. The running stays can be shackled to their respective pad eyes on deck ahead of time; the rest of the lines can be tied off at the nearest available deck cleat. <br />
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For the foremast, the gin pole interferes with the forward deck arch, and so the deck arch, which is hinged at the front, is tilted forward and out of the way for the duration. This involves loosening two turnbuckles and removing two clevis pins. <br />
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The masts tend to wobble between port and starboard as they come up, or lean to port or starboard, or both, especially if there is a bit of a sea running, or if the boat lists a bit from the way it is loaded, or if there are wakes from passing boats. This is nothing to worry about: the mast tabernacle can spin around on the mast trunk. Once the mast is all the way up it can be rotated to the correct fore-and-aft position out by putting some extra tension on the hand winch line. <br />
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The masts have 1º forward rake (meaning that they lean forward 1º) and once they come up all the way they flop decisively into place. At that point, the second, forward hinge pin is inserted and the hinge pins pounded in and secured in place using nuts and stop nuts. The hand winch line can then be removed. The next step is to install the running stays. <br />
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Quidnon’s method of keeping the pants up is the “belt and suspenders” method. The mast trunk is the belt, and keeps the mast up even by itself, but it is not sufficient to withstand the pull of the sails or the rocking of the masts in heavy weather. For this, running stays (suspenders) are needed as well. <br />
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For the running stays, galvanized steel wire rope is an economical choice, but it tends to be rather cumbersome to store between sails because it has to be coiled. A more expensive but excellent choice is Spectra or Dyneema, which are synthetic fibers that are just as strong but so flexible that they can be stuffed into a bag. There are four running stays per mast, all going to the sides of the deck, two forward (to oppose the weight of the sails) and two back (to oppose the pull of the sails). The running stays need to be clipped into place and tensioned before the sails can be put up. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilub25tcnBcoYjmT_TwHnl8Qm6DHUVFK7QGxGSrRjygEA_oXQ4PptXQr6RFEUgSp0dPGXB_rITt1Pii4FFMaHgh9zpUModdxaIQiofPSKswOAyt0ugAyKT_3mmBM-sxNOYW-5Z09xl9Vop/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+18.03.44.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilub25tcnBcoYjmT_TwHnl8Qm6DHUVFK7QGxGSrRjygEA_oXQ4PptXQr6RFEUgSp0dPGXB_rITt1Pii4FFMaHgh9zpUModdxaIQiofPSKswOAyt0ugAyKT_3mmBM-sxNOYW-5Z09xl9Vop/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-06-16+at+18.03.44.png" /></a></div>
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The procedure for raising the masts is now pretty simple: <br />
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1. Attach lines to masthead fitting, drape them over the deck arches; clip running stays into place <br />
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2. Roll the mast into position <br />
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3. Rotate the mast until the indexing bolt fits into its matching recess <br />
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4. Thread a bolt through the tabernacle hinge and into the mast (wait to tighten it until the mast is up) <br />
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5. Connect mast wiring cables at tabernacle hinge; test the circuits for opens and shorts <br />
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6. Attach gin pole (insert into top tabernacle hinge, insert retainer clevis pin and ring-ding) <br />
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7. Attach line from hand winch to D-shackle at the end of the gin pole <br />
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8. Heave the mast upright using the hand winch <br />
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9. Insert second (forward) hinge pin <br />
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10. Pound in and secure hinge pins <br />
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11. Tighten the bolt in the tabernacle hinge that holds the mast in place <br />
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12. Tension the running stays <br />
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The procedure for taking the mast down is almost the exact reverse of the one for raising it: <br />
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1. Pull the lines in the running stay purchases out of their jam cleats and flake their lines on deck so that they run out as the mast comes down <br />
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2. Loosen the hinge pins (loosen the lock nuts and the nuts and given the pins a tap so that they turn freely) <br />
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3. Attach the line from the hand winch to the D-shackle at the end of the gin pole and take out most of the slack <br />
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4. Take out the second (forward) hinge pin <br />
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5. Get the mast started by pulling back on it using any of the lines that run from the masthead <br />
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6. Ease it down using the hand winch; horse it onto its rollers if it comes down at an angle. <br />
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7. Detach the line from the hand winch to the D-shackle at the end of the gin pole <br />
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8. Detach gin pole (take out ring-ding, slide out clevis pin, remove gin pole from tabernacle hinge) <br />
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9. Disconnect masthead wiring at the tabernacle hinge <br />
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10. Remove the bolt that holds the mast in position <br />
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11. Slide the mast forward <br />
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12. Detach lines from masthead <br />
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I wish it were possible to simplify this procedure from this 12-step program, but I don’t see how. As it is, the design achieves the following important objectives: <br />
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• The masts are secure and unobtrusive when stored on the deck arches and don’t add to the overall length of the boat (thus avoiding any added expense) <br />
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• The masts can be raised and lowered by just one person in a couple of hours (probably less with practice) <br />
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• In the unlikely event of a dismasting, there is unlikely to be severe damage to the hull and the injured mast can be dropped overboard by undoing four snap shackles and releasing three rope clutches. <br />
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• A salvaged mast (which may survive undamaged) can be reinstalled after replacing a single sacrificial wooden component, spares of which can be kept on board, plus the ruined masthead instruments <br />
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The entire sailing rig design is at this point far enough along to be set aside for now; the next step is to produce detailed fabrication drawings. Some other previously missing parts of the design, such as the engine bracket (which slides up and down) are pretty much done too, and are at the same stage, but are not exciting enough to deserve an entire blog post. <br />
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Therefore, we will now move on to mapping out the build process, starting with the deck, then moving on to the frame and the bulkheads, the bottom, the topsides and, finally, the surface of the deck and the superstructure (which can be completed with the boat in the water). Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-36569058327517665652019-05-22T08:24:00.003-06:002019-05-23T13:57:21.335-06:00The Rudder<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_s2Uaa9UiAlvSOku4kEUysEPsLT8p6yM30VN56Aw5HoVzvR_u-JLpGUnCK2XrKypqwiCM3srjM6naXz7TfxblP2iUvp6LYoH0xKBSGOlbS0D91adsb37Ln3GkYLMOytdRt1Hb-uofIoV/s1600/assembly.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_s2Uaa9UiAlvSOku4kEUysEPsLT8p6yM30VN56Aw5HoVzvR_u-JLpGUnCK2XrKypqwiCM3srjM6naXz7TfxblP2iUvp6LYoH0xKBSGOlbS0D91adsb37Ln3GkYLMOytdRt1Hb-uofIoV/s1600/assembly.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudder assembly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Quidnon’s steering has evolved quite a lot since the original concept. Now all that’s left of the original concept is the idea that the rudder should have a kick-up blade: when sailing across shallows it should gently float up instead of getting torn off or getting stuck, and when the boat settles on its bottom at low tide the rudder blade should automatically get itself out of the way. Only now has a good solution to this problem finally been found.<br />
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Early on it was thought that twin rudders and wheel steering made sense, but this made the design complicated and expensive. Twin rudders require a complicated steering linkage that uses something called Ackermann geometry, which is also used in cars: when turning to the right, the right wheel has to turn more than the left wheel because, being closer to the point around which the car turns, it has to follow a tighter circle.<br />
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Later on, after single-handing a 36-foot sailboat from Boston to South Carolina, I discovered that wheel steering is a bad idea and that I prefer a simple tiller. There are very few steering positions that are comfortable with a wheel: sitting behind it and standing behind it are more or less the only choices, and they both get tiresome rather quickly. On the other hand, with a tiller, it is possible to steer the boat while standing, sitting or lying down, using hands, feet and hips, or, with a tiller extension clipped on, with the inside of the knee or the armpit. It is possible to operate the tiller remotely, by tying a bungee cord to one side of it and pulling it to the other side using a lanyard.<br />
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In turn, a tiller on a boat of Quidnon's size is only workable if the rudder is a balanced rudder, with about a third of its area ahead of its rotational axis, so that the boat can be steered with a fingertip instead of your heel on the tiller pushing with all your might, as is the case with an unbalanced “barn door” rudder that rotates around its forward edge.<br />
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Further on, I discovered that Quidnon doesn’t heel enough to make twin rudders necessary: just a single rudder would work fine, and so the design was changed to a single rudder hung off the center of the transom. But this arrangement was still somewhat problematic. First, the rudder assembly cluttered up the transom and made the boat a bit longer (which is a problem because marinas charge slip fees by overall length). Second, the pivot point of the rudder was too far from the cockpit to give the tiller a useful swing range.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiWnIyJTh2YQNPrxCfMCCgmJJyFR8Laf7aF4RPTjhqjL7SUU1NS4UPdedNE0pu9OIdg0vCGrKmbHzUkdARloURcBL1lrIjbxuEEnoW6loctQ-Uz6xhSigwlxT0ZgFIOKIBqVfjJKbIee3/s1600/installed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiWnIyJTh2YQNPrxCfMCCgmJJyFR8Laf7aF4RPTjhqjL7SUU1NS4UPdedNE0pu9OIdg0vCGrKmbHzUkdARloURcBL1lrIjbxuEEnoW6loctQ-Uz6xhSigwlxT0ZgFIOKIBqVfjJKbIee3/s1600/installed.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudder assembly installed in engine well</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And so the rudder was moved from the transom to the back of the engine well, where there is just enough room for it. This made it possible to solve a few more problems.<br />
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Quidnon doesn’t always need to have a rudder. It is a houseboat, and houseboats mostly just sit at the dock, where having a rudder is not just unnecessary but also rather inconvenient. The tiller tends to whip around and hit things whenever the tidal current shifts or a boat wake hits. Since it sits in the water, it tends to accumulate marine growth which makes it not work very well when the time comes to move the boat. A better solution is a rudder assembly that is easy to install and just as easy to take out again when the boat is at rest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhvgY8_C4_9dihxRBVLCwPLFfZs4MsBqNoXrkcG69vZWdH4kS3I2MUhG0WXaVBOkzCkAgUYuKWLAVcJg7PBtWfptzAJDYancpzPumTPJ_ZuxG8zD9gSGiFWD3JVUGhpXD4HKPKsV9IsCu/s1600/gudgeons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhvgY8_C4_9dihxRBVLCwPLFfZs4MsBqNoXrkcG69vZWdH4kS3I2MUhG0WXaVBOkzCkAgUYuKWLAVcJg7PBtWfptzAJDYancpzPumTPJ_ZuxG8zD9gSGiFWD3JVUGhpXD4HKPKsV9IsCu/s1600/gudgeons.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gudgeons in engine well: top view; aft view</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
With the rudder assembly removed, all that remains on the hull are two gudgeons bolted to the back of the engine well along the centerline. To install the rudder assembly, it is turned 90º, so that the tiller faces directly sideways and lowered into the engine well using a hoist. The rudder shaft has two pintles that engage with the gudgeons. The lower pintle has a longer pin than the upper pintle, so that it can be engaged first rather than having to try to line up two pintles with two gudgeons at the same time.<br />
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Once the rudder assembly is dropped into place it can be turned to the 0º amidships position, with the bottom part of the assembly sliding under a recess in the bottom of the transom. This recess serves several purposes: it provides an exit path for the stream from the propeller; it also provides an exit path for the outboard motor’s exhaust when it is in idle (when it is in gear the exhaust goes through the propeller and into the water); lastly, it provides a space for the rudder assembly.<br />
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The bottom part of the rudder assembly consists of the rudder blade case and the rudder blade. The case is a box, welded out of mild steel and galvanized, with its bottom and rear open and forming a slot from which the rudder blade protrudes. It is welded to the bottom of the rudder shaft (a steel tube) and reinforced using a triangular gusset. The gusset has a hole in it for attaching a lanyard by which the rudder assembly is hoisted out of the engine well. The sides of the box have specifically shaped cut-outs in them.<br />
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The rudder blade is made of a 3/4-inch (20 mm) piece of plywood sheathed in fiberglass and painted. Close to the bottom of the blade is a circular cut-out that is filled with a lead disk, to ballast the blade to counteract the buoyancy of the plywood and to exert a certain downward force when submerged. The top of the rudder blade is surfaced with epoxy that’s loaded with graphite powder, to create a hard bearing surface.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl12dLWzBHn9i6RqyM_z-vpnyc2zBS1-ULmIxixIK0rmH-CL1sA7tVxvR80VUVsO2nVeXGUf6ArZ1vt5uWaV2OgQmVO7iyuJYxuZ99Mtu8uUfVzrz-jGgp_Q6DEv1vssh4kYXBJBOf-hcz/s1600/mechanism.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl12dLWzBHn9i6RqyM_z-vpnyc2zBS1-ULmIxixIK0rmH-CL1sA7tVxvR80VUVsO2nVeXGUf6ArZ1vt5uWaV2OgQmVO7iyuJYxuZ99Mtu8uUfVzrz-jGgp_Q6DEv1vssh4kYXBJBOf-hcz/s1600/mechanism.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudder blade detent mechanism: roller guide and rollers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The rudder blade is joined to the rudder blade case using 4 rollers, 2 on each side, that are through-bolted to the blade and ride inside the cut-outs in the case. The arrangement of the rollers and the cut-outs acts as a detent: in order to get the blade to kick up the force acting on the front of the blade generated by an obstacle has to be more than 4 times the downward force on the blade due to gravity.<br />
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The lead disk is sized so that this force is significantly more than 1/4 of the force generated by drag with the boat moving through the water at its maximum speed. Once this initial resistance is overcome, the rudder blade kicks up rather easily. Once the external force acting on it is removed (because the boat is again in sufficiently deep water) it floats down into vertical position and the roller mechanism clunks into place. When the blade kicks up, it fits in the recess under the transom.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4vsA8WC_rZqmAD-PSuJUIlVvJR8uupvdSFcfzzuS540IP4O9kSbgjZcv-4K2XSyXjjom36ucCntf8V2RLADQYNEw3PirMs1KSHKleQtqOgvoOsUrqjXgAmifMEIA02nccvoUexd29Qqn/s1600/kicked+up.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4vsA8WC_rZqmAD-PSuJUIlVvJR8uupvdSFcfzzuS540IP4O9kSbgjZcv-4K2XSyXjjom36ucCntf8V2RLADQYNEw3PirMs1KSHKleQtqOgvoOsUrqjXgAmifMEIA02nccvoUexd29Qqn/s1600/kicked+up.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudder blade in kicked-up position</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The only necessary precaution is to avoid running aground while moving astern: the rudder blade will not kick up backwards. Most of the time the centerboard will strike bottom first, because it hangs down lower, and will stop the boat, shattering if it has to, in which case it will be time to pull the remainder of the centerboard out of its slot on deck and to drop in a new centerboard. But if the centerboard somehow misses the underwater obstacle and the rudder blade doesn’t, then the rudder may suffer a bit of damage.<br />
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If the bottom is soft and the boat is moving slowly, it will simply stop with the rudder blade stuck in the sand or the mud. If the obstacle is hard or the boat is moving fast, the bolts holding the rollers to the rudder blade, which are designed to be the weakest element, will shear off and the rudder blade will drop off. Then it will be time to pull out the remainder of the rudder assembly and to jump down into the water (all 4 feet of it) to recover the rudder blade and the rollers. Then the rudder assembly can be put back together with new bolts. There is also the chance that the rudder blade will strike and damage the prop, in which case it will also be time to pull up the motor and replace the prop. In short, don’t run aground when backing up!<br />
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To summarize: the rudder assembly easily installed and easily removed when not in use and for maintenance. With the rudder assembly removed, all that remains in place are two gudgeons mounted to the back of the engine well. It doesn’t kick up unless it encounters a hard obstacle, with no amount of moving water able to displace it from vertical. Its action is fully automatic, never requiring any operator intervention. It provides for fingertip steering using a tiller because the rudder blade is balanced, with 1/3 of the area ahead of its axis. The use of the tiller makes it possible to use the simplest and most affordable kind of autopilot: a tiller pilot that clips onto the tiller. The tiller itself is of a telescoping type, with a handle that slides into its body, so that it isn’t left swinging about the cockpit when the boat is on autopilot.<br />
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After all of the various evolutions, I dare say that this rudder design is very close to final. Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-39149364308476556312019-05-13T06:15:00.000-06:002019-05-13T06:40:01.655-06:00The Centerboard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDctBBjA2kB38jZAQW9Epg0qm4AAnqC6HSfJBCrsyDocrv3o4TvXNXognZPBZc_7323ky3RhCIpY04aL4fnaz_nFXapusNRSa-XwYJx7RNkHUTKttaN33qF_EeduNoKxqwrmeoVmw1g2Wy/s1600/with+daggerboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDctBBjA2kB38jZAQW9Epg0qm4AAnqC6HSfJBCrsyDocrv3o4TvXNXognZPBZc_7323ky3RhCIpY04aL4fnaz_nFXapusNRSa-XwYJx7RNkHUTKttaN33qF_EeduNoKxqwrmeoVmw1g2Wy/s320/with+daggerboard.png" width="320" height="125" data-original-width="714" data-original-height="280" /></a></div><br />
Although the Quidnon blog has been quiescent for the past three months, there has been some good progress on completing the design, and I can now report these results and see what comments, ideas and suggestions emerge. It takes time to come up with simple and cheap solutions to complex and potentially expensive problems.<br />
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One of the problems that is now solved is how to provide lateral resistance with minimal complexity and expense. The initial concept included chine runners, which are narrow ledges that extended horizontally from the hard chines at which the bottom joins the sides, and two centerboards that hung down from wrist pins and extended from slots in the bottom in such a way that they would kick up into their slots when encountering an underwater obstacle.<br />
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The chine runners were discarded when it turned out that Quidnon’s hull, being quite wide in order to provide relatively spacious living quarters (it is, after all, a HOUSEboat), doesn’t heel enough to allow the chine runners to bite into the water. All the chine runners did was add some drag (and, of course, complexity and expense).<br />
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The kick-up centerboards worked well enough, but there is a basic problem with them: since they hang down from a hinge, they are deflected when moving through water, and this makes for erratic steering behavior. The deflection can be minimized by adding ballast, but this makes the boards too heavy. It is also possible to add tensioner lines fed to cleats that pop open when the boards hits an obstacle, but this adds complexity.<br />
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The problems with the original centerboard design didn’t end there. How does one remove them for maintenance and cleaning, and put them back in? If this required the boat to be hauled out, then that would invalidate the very important requirement that Quidnon must never need hauling out (haulouts are expensive!). The copper cladding can be cleaned with the boat hard aground at low tide and there is nothing else down there that should ever need attention. And so a plan was created for installing and removing the centerboards with the boat in the water with the help of a diver. But divers are also expensive!<br />
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And then another good question arose: why are there two boards? Well, the initial thinking went as follows. Putting a single centerboard along the centerline wastes precious living space in the middle of the cabin by filling it with a centerboard trunk. Moving it off to the side makes the design asymmetric, and that’s functionally unimportant but aesthetically unpleasing. Therefore, let’s have two of them. The flaw in this logic is that the aesthetic consideration matters not at all because the centerboard isn’t visible. Your heart is on your left and your liver on your right, but nobody will ever call you ugly because of that.<br />
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If two centerboards are too many, how about zero centerboards? Well, it turns out that having a centerboard is rather important, but only when the boat moves. It is especially important when motoring in and out of marinas, because without the centerboard the boat will drift sideways instead of turning within a tight radius. It is also important when motoring, especially upwind. It is sometimes possible to sail downwind without the centerboard, but that’s about it. But if the boat doesn't move (as houseboats often don't) then a centerboard isn't needed at all, and having one that's quick and easy to install and remove would be a bonus.<br />
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And so just one centerboard is both necessary and sufficient. It will be located off-center (to starboard) with the centerboard trunk located unobtrusively in the back of a settee in the salon, sandwiched between it and the water tank. (But we’ll still be calling it a centerboard because offcenterboard is not a word.) The centerboard trunk forms an L-shaped slot that extends from the deck all the way to the bottom (and does extra duty as a deck drain). To one side of the slot is a channel that stops short of the bottom and tapers in a specific way before it stops.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR6pMnDx6lvzUeCJ_DEXwDxXLu2blPDoe4-MqEgSWKunWRxyoOBZ5nlmlMxJjl2mfLCqsNF9QxiKhoNuESngog-jTPqAQhrDkmCtoylK-Tq-6mAk6jPwOXtksYSm3XURIrZKn-ovRrc-2/s1600/slot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR6pMnDx6lvzUeCJ_DEXwDxXLu2blPDoe4-MqEgSWKunWRxyoOBZ5nlmlMxJjl2mfLCqsNF9QxiKhoNuESngog-jTPqAQhrDkmCtoylK-Tq-6mAk6jPwOXtksYSm3XURIrZKn-ovRrc-2/s1600/slot.png" data-original-width="243" data-original-height="213" /></a></div><br />
The centerboard is just a piece of 3/4-inch plywood covered with fiberglass for durability. A circle is drilled out of it near the bottom and filled with lead in order to make the centerboard heavier than water, but not much heavier. It doesn’t have to sink particularly aggressively; it just can’t float up. To one side of the centerboard, near the top, is screwed a cam that rides inside the channel on the side of the centerboard trunk. At the very top of the centerboard is a hole used to attach a lanyard by which the centerboard is retrieved. If the lanyard breaks, a boathook can be used to grab the board by the hole. The centerboard is sacrificial and designed to snap without causing damage to the hull. Making a new one is neither expensive nor difficult.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1r5Doli-3s6oKPs8aTkFt78azBNzGvz_hWlpCdnNWy6wqePSohVwNh3v1Nij1RDwnM__53rnMPr0_uV5L478pyBrX9Uqp9MD44XAYMFO3Gq26t2aa_qoHrTOFLswFFdMDJAvlbhX40q-/s1600/installation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1r5Doli-3s6oKPs8aTkFt78azBNzGvz_hWlpCdnNWy6wqePSohVwNh3v1Nij1RDwnM__53rnMPr0_uV5L478pyBrX9Uqp9MD44XAYMFO3Gq26t2aa_qoHrTOFLswFFdMDJAvlbhX40q-/s1600/installation.png" data-original-width="207" data-original-height="348" /></a></div><br />
The centerboard will spend most of its life sitting flat on deck. When the boat is getting ready to move, it is installed by unceremoniously dumping it into its slot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0d5swpSKvcne0zGwqiFMxc03DBFkbPjTp3WlIAwWrWFa_mzaIGcHacO91hasG4jrh7FPmlyr6qF3zBVY34VvuKTqOlaiS0wjVlkxbnwj1692AgtuOeWzg0F5SaSmQjGejFXb3sJ6uUT_/s1600/deployed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0d5swpSKvcne0zGwqiFMxc03DBFkbPjTp3WlIAwWrWFa_mzaIGcHacO91hasG4jrh7FPmlyr6qF3zBVY34VvuKTqOlaiS0wjVlkxbnwj1692AgtuOeWzg0F5SaSmQjGejFXb3sJ6uUT_/s1600/deployed.png" data-original-width="207" data-original-height="289" /></a></div><br />
If there isn’t enough water under the boat it won’t go all the way down, but that’s usually not a problem. (You may need to give its lanyard a tug when backing out of a shallow berth, to keep it from catching on things.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADb-JGlM-MsoFswQtn_sTFgCTUhrBSdzu1jIqHy7kLkE4cLoy15vam0nWrzGaYLQXQ4pD3X1mBjcOH3hQKvvn0ewjTdf-JaZZsOsFUc23ZMUURF-lk9Am7RVqK1H-EJQnqrkcBADOwjnq/s1600/kicked+up.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADb-JGlM-MsoFswQtn_sTFgCTUhrBSdzu1jIqHy7kLkE4cLoy15vam0nWrzGaYLQXQ4pD3X1mBjcOH3hQKvvn0ewjTdf-JaZZsOsFUc23ZMUURF-lk9Am7RVqK1H-EJQnqrkcBADOwjnq/s1600/kicked+up.png" data-original-width="207" data-original-height="242" /></a></div><br />
When the centerboard hits something underwater with the boat moving forward (as boats normally move) it deflects aft, but in order to do so it needs to ride up a bit, so that the cam moves up inside the tapered slot. It can stay in this semi-retracted state, bouncing along the bottom, while the boat sails or motors across shallows. This will slow the boat down a bit, but will also provide good steering because the boat will pivot around the board as it digs a shallow trench in the sand or the mud of the bottom.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMviu8EBU4gwYkaXHge9hdonmvriy-WRoyebTLPFiWv056iA0BxNidvodTxmw-Z3Nt1H-APFi6Cn5NRF3Ze3vCzJ0jQ-K5zGUvCQr2Z0m7j-q6p1kXb9KJQCrBk7qlPQKEvNFIPGEqpij/s1600/fully+retracted.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMviu8EBU4gwYkaXHge9hdonmvriy-WRoyebTLPFiWv056iA0BxNidvodTxmw-Z3Nt1H-APFi6Cn5NRF3Ze3vCzJ0jQ-K5zGUvCQr2Z0m7j-q6p1kXb9KJQCrBk7qlPQKEvNFIPGEqpij/s1600/fully+retracted.png" data-original-width="207" data-original-height="189" /></a></div><br />
It is not necessary to remove the centerboard when anchoring above the low water line with the intention of drying out at low tide because it will be forced up entirely into its trunk.<br />
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This completes the conceptual design of the centerboard; next on the list are: the rudder; engine mount; mast steps and bow structure. These have all been reworked, and I will be detailing the new designs over the coming weeks.<br />
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Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-18900434889793422142019-02-08T12:59:00.000-06:002019-02-08T14:36:31.495-06:00Frame Joinery ReduxAlthough most of the problems with hull structure have already been solved, there remained one problem that stood in the way of completing the design: how to join together the frame. It consists of 4x4 softwood (fir) timbers (3.5x3.5 finished size) combined into a box structure that reinforces the bottom the deck, the bow and the transom and provides support for mast steps. After working out a design that included a dozen different steel brackets that had to be custom-fabricated at considerable expense, I realized that I don’t like it at all: too complicated and too expensive. And so, as usual, I sat back and waited for some new ideas to filter in from the ether.<br />
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Eventually this happened. An unrelated project required me to build a rectangular frame by joining together some square cross-section sticks using L-brackets. To avoid the wood at the ends of the sticks splitting as I drove in the screws, I wrapped the ends using several turns of fiberglass packing tape. It worked just fine. The tape took up all the force that would have gone into splitting the sticks along the grain, and the resulting joins were impressively strong.<br />
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Transferred to Quidnon’s frame design, this technique will make it possible to assemble the frame using just 3-inch-wide perforated steel strips cut to two or three different lengths and bent to various angles. Some of the brackets will need to be bent to specific angles other than 90º, but this is not a complicated procedure.<br />
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The procedure for fabricating the frame now consists of the following steps:<br />
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1. Using a chop saw cut 8-foot 4x4 timbers to required lengths.<br />
2. For each timber, shave down the first 6 inches off each end on all four sides using a planer.<br />
3. For each timber, router off the corners on the first 6 inches on all four sides using a router.<br />
4. Roll on a layer of epoxy to the prepared ends, wait until it “tacks up.”<br />
5. Wrap each end in three layers of 6-inch-wide fibergass tape.<br />
6. Saturate the tape with epoxy; let it cure.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-RRxgyUfBmO_jUEjjAeWY5at3jL_9WjO0gp23VLJZU-vlbdJAg-ssmqUAcUE3oJObKQ9qnJdsR3ycRlvj9bKUpTO196viu9DitPEqDkPXltd_mEdtbjmFDby_wV2fbZTK-gcOaw6uYSp/s1600/Q+Joinery+-+Fiberglass+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-RRxgyUfBmO_jUEjjAeWY5at3jL_9WjO0gp23VLJZU-vlbdJAg-ssmqUAcUE3oJObKQ9qnJdsR3ycRlvj9bKUpTO196viu9DitPEqDkPXltd_mEdtbjmFDby_wV2fbZTK-gcOaw6uYSp/s320/Q+Joinery+-+Fiberglass+2.png" width="320" height="156" data-original-width="485" data-original-height="237" /></a></div><br />
Frame assembly then consists of matching up the timbers and the brackets and connecting them together by driving in a lot of self-tapping screws using a cordless drill. There is no need to worry about the wood splitting, and the resulting joints are strengthened by the fact that they are pre-stressed: the wood is compressed between the screws and the fiberglass. In a humid marine environment the timbers will gradually absorb moisture and swell, increasing the pressure on the fiberglass and the screws, holding them in place securely. (The choice of softwood for the timbers is critical: when hardwood swells, it generates enough force to burst fiberglass.) The strength of the joint is determined by the force needed to crush the wood fibers, which is somewhere around 6 times greater than the force it takes to split them along the grain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwzDOkvyvxgm2E2DzkzpyVS3Of3nfylUjQXszXDNFXTrlgIrI3kwM90YLvEMXA3zVuh1wRTePZeaRHDSNkMfdDujXeZZ5BzbyaJvZj4dVDhDxafAFWs5gfsEu4oPmTu8WLTkgKlypyuVZ/s1600/Q+Joinery+-+Fiberglass+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwzDOkvyvxgm2E2DzkzpyVS3Of3nfylUjQXszXDNFXTrlgIrI3kwM90YLvEMXA3zVuh1wRTePZeaRHDSNkMfdDujXeZZ5BzbyaJvZj4dVDhDxafAFWs5gfsEu4oPmTu8WLTkgKlypyuVZ/s320/Q+Joinery+-+Fiberglass+3.png" width="320" height="133" data-original-width="582" data-original-height="242" /></a></div><br />
There are still several more complicated pieces that will need to be fabricated: engine bracket, mast tabernacles, masthead fittings, tiller and keelboard hardware and bow rollers. These are all key elements of the design and there is no way to simplify them. But the frame joinery is now very well in hand and can be done cheaply using components that can be locally sourced in many places around the world.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-48606783075514338372018-10-12T08:03:00.000-06:002018-10-12T08:03:02.216-06:00A HOUSEboat vs. a houseBOAT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCgTSdjxqURzEe1O2fylHF-60D0HbS5EzXSrOuMODnUjexynltxtHacB9HbSt5kO9KEscsLlLHX6xU2-iCTwEYknEw2Uj2M05QMhjFS7TVIbitiM61Nds8b30HI6_10z03781-0qAh_T9/s1600/Q+Plan+and+Elevation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCgTSdjxqURzEe1O2fylHF-60D0HbS5EzXSrOuMODnUjexynltxtHacB9HbSt5kO9KEscsLlLHX6xU2-iCTwEYknEw2Uj2M05QMhjFS7TVIbitiM61Nds8b30HI6_10z03781-0qAh_T9/s400/Q+Plan+and+Elevation.png" width="400" /></a></div>
The most important design aspect of a tiny house is the success of its interior layout. The tight quarters may look quaint on paper but in reality turn out to be claustrophobic. The need to stoop and to contort yourself to fit into the small spaces may lead to bumps on the head and cramps. Lack of storage may seem inspirational for those aspiring to minimize their earthly possessions, but inevitably results in clutter. Lack of private spaces may inspire greater intimacy short-term but lead to strained relations in the longer term. And so on.<br />
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The set of such problem to solve is even greater when designing a houseboat because of the need to compensate for the almost constant rocking motion in all but the most sheltered marinas and anchorages. Berths (beds) have to be oriented with the head pointing aft: cribs rock side to side and while having your feet bounce up and down is tolerable, having your head do the same generally isn’t. There can’t be any sharp corners, especially where your head or your knees and elbows might end up, and there have to be handholds within easy reach. Shelves and tables have to be fitted with fids to prevent items from rolling off. Dealing with the inevitable condensation is far more important on a boat due to its proximity to water. (Many sailboats will drip cold water on your head as you try to sleep.)<br />
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These problems are easily solved by paying a few million dollars for a megayacht, but our goal is to make living aboard an affordable, comfortable, competitive alternative to paying rent. Not only does this tiny house have to float, but it has to be mobile and move both under engine and under sail. The constraints that this imposes on its design are quite formidable. Consequently, only now, after several years of design effort, is it approaching the point where there are no conceptual problems that remain to be solved and construction planning can begin.<br />
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Until recently, the design was close but not quite all there. Headroom was adequate for a boat but not for a house—not enough for a tall person to stretch. The cabins were reasonably sized but odd-shaped because of the curvature of the hull. Ventilation was adequate in some spots but missing in others… and so on. The breakthrough came from a very simple realization:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>If Quidnon doesn’t make a good tiny house, it won’t matter how good a boat it is.</b></div>
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Previously, we made an effort to appease boat enthusiasts who look for “sweet lines” (curves, that is) and sailing performance (sailing against the wind, that is). Curves are expensive because they add complexity in engineering and construction and result in lots of scrap, while sailing performance to windward is a ridiculous thing to strive for in a houseboat, especially one that has a motor that can be turned on whenever the wind becomes uncooperative.<br />
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The effort to indulge and appease the sensibilities of sailing enthusiasts was not successful. They thought that Quidnon was ugly, ungainly and uncompetitive—as a boat. What they thought of it as a house—specifically, as a tiny house—well, they probably didn’t. Sailing enthusiasts either have lots of money to burn or live vicariously through those who do and aren’t interested in tiny houses. And so their opinions didn’t help advance the project.<br />
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There is a basic rule that applies aboard boats: if a thing isn’t useful, then it belongs overboard. And so it will be with all of the non-practical considerations that have burdened this project since its inception. Quidnon is a HOUSEboat, not a houseBOAT. Since most of these considerations were purely aesthetic, jettisoning them will not negatively impact performance.<br />
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If Quidnon is first and foremost a house, then, like virtually all other houses, it should be rectilinear, with right angles everywhere; basically, a box. There are good reasons why houses are rectilinear: curved floors and slanted walls are nightmarish to live with and more expensive to build. In a rectilinear design all the dimensions can be read off just two drawings—plan and elevation; most of the cuts needed to make parts are at right angles, resulting in less scrap; most of the assembly can be done using a tape measure and a carpenter’s square.<br />
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Are there any boats that are rectilinear? Yes, there are, and they are quite ubiquitous. They are called barges. And so Quidnon is now a barge, with just a couple of small concessions to sailing efficiency: the bow is rounded rather than slanted and the aft section of the bottom is curved so that the transom just kisses the waterline. These tweaks improve performance somewhat: the bow generates less resistance while the transom doesn’t drag water behind it. These tweaks don’t add much to the cost or the complexity of the design and don’t produce too much scrap.<br />
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Speaking of scrap, minimizing it is key to minimizing the construction cost of the hull: it’s material that you pay for but then simply throw away. Not only that, but you have to actually make the scrap: every piece of wasted material has to be cut out of a piece of stock to make the piece that you are actually going to use. Quidnon minimizes scrap by using whole sheets of standard 4x8-foot (1220x2440mm) plywood as often as possible.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU7g-WxPb0ZlDzM8zzwAYcPswx7zslqhN4hetOXIMxW7WrVDipXr-KMziYKQ2RCFh5Wl-kN5p5Xh7YLo2yIhsDE6V2yV45_sxNHqRlyjwLB9gWOgIHIrrhEqF7vBh3Xbx7ROE7iCpvYss/s1600/deck+layers.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="753" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU7g-WxPb0ZlDzM8zzwAYcPswx7zslqhN4hetOXIMxW7WrVDipXr-KMziYKQ2RCFh5Wl-kN5p5Xh7YLo2yIhsDE6V2yV45_sxNHqRlyjwLB9gWOgIHIrrhEqF7vBh3Xbx7ROE7iCpvYss/s320/deck+layers.png" width="320" /></a></div>
For example, the deck layout is 16x36 feet. Ignoring the openings for the hatches, cockpit and engine well, which do generate some amount of scrap, it is constructed out of two layers of ¾-inch (20mm) plywood screwed and epoxied together (which is then covered with a layer of fiberglass and epoxy and surfaced with aluminum diamond hatch).<br />
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Note the tiling pattern: in order for none of the seams to overlap between the two layers, out of the 36 pieces of plywood only five need to be cut in two. This is most easily done on a panel saw. The layer with the cuts will be ¼ of an inch narrower than the layer made up of whole sheets because of the 1/8 kerf of the cuts. But ¼ of an inch distributed across 7 gaps is less than 1mm per gap and is negligible.<br />
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Similarly for the sides and the bottom. Each side is made of 18 sheets of 4x8, only one of which has to be cut in half lengthwise. Some amount of scrap then needs to be cut away to make the profile of the bottom and the bow. But then the construction of the bottom hardly generates any scrap at all. The overall goal is to have less than 10% of the plywood end up as scrap.<br />
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In addition to minimizing scrap, the barge hull shape has made it possible to dramatically improve the ergonomics of the cabin layout. Headroom is 6½ feet (2m) just about everywhere. There are four double-berths (beds) that are 6 ½ by 4 feet (2m by 120 cm). Most importantly, there is now room for a very comfortably sized stateroom (living room) in the bow.<br />
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Let’s take a tour of Quidnon’s redesigned cabin, starting at the bow and working our way toward the transom.<br />
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When I first started designing Quidnon, the very first seemingly insoluble problem I came across was where to put the couch, the coffee table and the TV. Few reasonable people would agree to live in a house that’s missing a living room, a den or similar. Having looked at a lot of boat designs, both sail and power, none of the reasonably small, reasonably priced ones had anything that resembled the traditional living room found in most homes. A good living room has a couch, one or two armchairs, a place for a TV set, a few end tables and a coffee table to tie it all together. The best ones have lots of natural light and a great view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Cbka6-coCbzBSFF5X_6IG3GBUZL1sxkmfnyq25uc4SMl2oYlVrzq0WdHd6I6tqNRRRmxnPCDRrV6aIwTJloZNRHTosNTxXNXFXIQzGl-G8qnUDYRLoly3lwRhj4SH71brtzN2wxwoaFg/s1600/Stateroom.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="656" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Cbka6-coCbzBSFF5X_6IG3GBUZL1sxkmfnyq25uc4SMl2oYlVrzq0WdHd6I6tqNRRRmxnPCDRrV6aIwTJloZNRHTosNTxXNXFXIQzGl-G8qnUDYRLoly3lwRhj4SH71brtzN2wxwoaFg/s320/Stateroom.png" width="131" /></a></div>
So, how can Quidnon provide all of that? Switching to a barge hull opened up what was before an awkward, cramped wedge-shaped space in the bow (that is found on most boats) into a spacious 160 sq. ft. (15 m2) rectangle. There is room for a wrap-around couch, two end tables, a huge 3 by 6 foot coffee table and enough bulkhead space to mount two 50-inch screens.<br />
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There is also quite a bit of storage space: 10 cu. ft. inside each of the end tables and 20 more under each of the port and starboard settees (couches; the seats tilt up) for a total of 60 cu. ft. (1.7 m3).<br />
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Above the settees there are two rows of shelves with 34 linear feet of shelf space, enough to hold a 500-volume library.<br />
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Above the shelves is a row of deadlights (which are portlights that do not open). The commercially available deadlights and portlights start at around $200 each. For Quidnon’s 44 deadlights, that would come to at least $8800. To avoid this expense, Quidnon’s deadlights are just 1 ft. diameter holes milled through the hull with a layer of 1/4-inch polycarbonate plastic caulked and fastened over them on the outside. Since the holes weaken the structure of the sides by around 50%, this is compensated for by doubling the hull thickness by adding two strips of plywood, 16 inches wide, over the holes. The materials cost for the additional plywood and the polycarbonate is around $1200.<br />
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Lastly, the two red boxes in the two corners of the bow are air vents that are connected to a deck arch above. The vents are louvered and can be adjusted for both intake and exhaust of outside air.<br />
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Moving aft from the stateroom is the salon, which can be partitioned from the stateroom by a folding divider.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHBT0_N_RcS9dQl-jun9JeBpSvGXwtMdicSIz_6z0ZN6WRQoWmTBNfabs9aX-9D-7NQ1DVlPd1c3ZA1O5P79NGQ0AneP2oQYcHHxc8P-g8fRvAzeJtIDKHYmM0Aki9WO1ZO2u3gSs-gJL/s1600/Salon+and+Pilot+Berths.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHBT0_N_RcS9dQl-jun9JeBpSvGXwtMdicSIz_6z0ZN6WRQoWmTBNfabs9aX-9D-7NQ1DVlPd1c3ZA1O5P79NGQ0AneP2oQYcHHxc8P-g8fRvAzeJtIDKHYmM0Aki9WO1ZO2u3gSs-gJL/s320/Salon+and+Pilot+Berths.png" width="114" /></a></div>
The salon contains two facing settees (couches) with a drop-leaf table between them. On both sides of each settee is an end table. The seats of the settees tilt up to provide access to the storage space beneath them, providing, together with the end tables, 40 cu. ft. of storage space.<br />
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In the center of the table, between the two drop leafs, is a vertical slot that is ideal for securely holding laptops and tablets, cell phones, keys, wallets and other small but important items.<br />
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Above the table is a large translucent hatch (skylight, shown in light green) that provides a lot of light. It is designed to prevent ingress of all forms of water (rainwater, sea spray, condensation) and can be angled up slightly for ventilation. It can be removed completely for loading and unloading, making it unnecessary to haul heavy loads up and down the companionway ladder. A deck arch, mounted directly above it, provides an attachment point for a hoist.<br />
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On both sides of the salon are pilot berths. They are accessed through hatches that are above the backs of the settees and are separated from the salon by double longitudinal bulkheads that form the walls of the keelboard trunks. The pilot berths’ hatch doors are thick and filled with foam, and together with the double bulkheads provide excellent sound insulation and privacy.<br />
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The pilot berths (beds) are 6.5 by 4 feet—large enough to comfortably sleep two adults.<br />
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At the foot of each berth is a sea chest that provides 20 cu. ft. of storage space for clothing, children’s toys (the pilot berths are perfect for children and as nurseries) and other possessions.<br />
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The pilot berths are supplied with fresh air through air vents connected to a deck arch above. With the pilot berth hatches open, they can also provide fresh air to the salon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP34JVZNEx_3YmD741WAZC4bE6lxArinCPp892XB6Vo6qbNmWUU6j5MHKltKEWh4Try78FhPyMCeVKF5H-3wDbuIHSH2iKJjGsyvZHVttWkao-6fnA6Z6zxBJKudaP8ET44zCDtBfqwGcc/s1600/Galley%252C+companionway+and+heads.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="374" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP34JVZNEx_3YmD741WAZC4bE6lxArinCPp892XB6Vo6qbNmWUU6j5MHKltKEWh4Try78FhPyMCeVKF5H-3wDbuIHSH2iKJjGsyvZHVttWkao-6fnA6Z6zxBJKudaP8ET44zCDtBfqwGcc/s320/Galley%252C+companionway+and+heads.png" width="74" /></a>Below the pilot berths are the water tanks. At 135 cu. ft. each, the two tanks provide 8 tonnes of salt water ballast. Fresh water is stored within these tanks inside floating bladders—up to 2000 gallons of it. As fresh water is used up, it is replaced by water from the outside using a pressure-activated pump. The use of water ballast adds a lot of versatility. It is necessary when moving under sail and/or through large seas; it is helpful when docked or at anchor, to reduce motion; it isn’t necessary or helpful when motoring on inland waterways and being able to dump it when hauling out or when recovering from a hard grounding is a positive benefit. It also saves lots of money (the equivalent weight in lead would cost over $16,000) and provides the added benefit of being able to store 2000 gallons of fresh water.<br />
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Moving further aft, there is the galley (kitchen) to starboard (right), the heads (bathroom) to port and a companionway (vestibule) in the center. Only the galley is shown in the elevation drawing. The galley cabinets provide 50 cu. ft. of pantry space.<br />
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The heads offers the usual amenities, including a full-size shower stall that can be fitted with a bathtub. All sorts of options are possible for both the galley and the heads, including composting toilets, flex-fuel stoves and the likes. If the stove in the heads is eliminated (not everyone plans to overwinter aboard in the Arctic or needs an on-board sauna) then there is enough room for a vertically stacked washer-dryer unit.<br />
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The companionway is an open area that links together the heads, the galley, two aft cabins, the salon and the cockpit via the companionway ladder. At the bottom of the companionway ladder is a foot locker while hooks along the sides of the companionway are for hanging outdoor clothing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsrLADnqz6oB4c0MH9wWgsW14FBuCucxHh37Q_JT2oYl6vIAedPI75Cjzw6HfGJrWOFvv1ML8Ci9i83XZNywJwCLDqIjjArw71MJuyPE28Up5J8TlvQkYOzottpPBFiVbRR39Yvlu8Cis/s1600/Aft+cabins.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="689" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsrLADnqz6oB4c0MH9wWgsW14FBuCucxHh37Q_JT2oYl6vIAedPI75Cjzw6HfGJrWOFvv1ML8Ci9i83XZNywJwCLDqIjjArw71MJuyPE28Up5J8TlvQkYOzottpPBFiVbRR39Yvlu8Cis/s320/Aft+cabins.png" width="137" /></a>Aft of the companionway are the two aft cabins. Each has a table with a seat, a row of shelves and a double berth. The table can be used as a chart table and the shelves packed with navigation equipment, but it can also be used for doing any other type of sit-down work. Space under the berth provides 40 cu. ft. of storage space.<br />
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The aft cabins and the heads can be closed off using sliding doors (shown in magenta). These doors are counterweighted so that they don’t spontaneously slide back and forth due to the motion of the boat but stay in place.<br />
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Between the two aft cabins is the utility chase that includes the cockpit, the anchor chain and line locker beneath it, the engine well and the gasoline tank and propane locker further aft. The engine well is heavily insulated to dampen the engine noise when motoring. Since the engine is a gasoline outboard rather than a diesel, it produces a high-pitched whine rather than a heavy throb, and is easier to suppress using a few layers of foam.<br />
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This, then, is the tiny house that will also function as a houseboat and a sailboat. Some things about it are still distinctly odd for a house; the shape of the windows for one, the fact that you enter it via the roof (deck) for another. But this can’t be helped; if you could enter it at ground level, then so could water, and house windows don’t work at all when submerged.<br />
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Now that Quidnon is barge-shaped with no funny angles the joinery has become dead simple. It involves plywood panels screwed and glued to softwood strips. And then the entire hull gets fiberglassed on the outside, making it relatively indestructible.<br />
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Quidnon’s conceptual design is now complete. What lies ahead is producing the detailed mechanical drawings, the bill of materials, a parts list and a set of assembly instructions. Much to the dismay of boat hobbyists and enthusiasts, the sailors among them especially, it is manifestly and resolutely a HOUSEboat, not a houseBOAT. It will get built, and people will live aboard it. Once in a while this shoebox of a boat will erect its masts, drop in a motor, hoist the sails, promenade around the harbor in stately splendor and eventually disappear over the horizon, to the slackjawed amazement of tourists and bystanders.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-50727753430821365682018-10-05T09:03:00.000-06:002018-10-05T09:35:35.495-06:00Coppered Bottom is a No-Brainer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWZkE5XtV3VMQEWFAtLZJzOKQ_tk9eISDgFTwizdo4aKnJZ6py2rJisTO5J2TkZ33JU23LhxPpebXDoKVbwUzwuMxo-xvvxJ7TNDoQ5qokTAUnfPEeJyjjasfVHoO4gghf-BpC4jSsDYE/s1600/copper-sheet-250x250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWZkE5XtV3VMQEWFAtLZJzOKQ_tk9eISDgFTwizdo4aKnJZ6py2rJisTO5J2TkZ33JU23LhxPpebXDoKVbwUzwuMxo-xvvxJ7TNDoQ5qokTAUnfPEeJyjjasfVHoO4gghf-BpC4jSsDYE/s200/copper-sheet-250x250.jpg" width="200" height="200" data-original-width="250" data-original-height="250" /></a></div>The last post on <a target="_blank" href="https://quidnon.blogspot.com/">the Quidnon blog</a> attracted some attention from various places around the net. One in particular—the forum <a href="http://sailinganarchy.com" target="_blank">Sailing Anarchy</a>—attracted over 400 visitors. I followed the link and tried participating in the discussion.<br />
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The sailing anarchists just couldn’t wrap their heads around the concept of a houseboat as a lifehack that lets one avoid getting wiped out by exorbitant real estate prices and rents. Well, I’ve said this many times before, but I’ll say it again, briefly: in the US, housing is a racket, on par with other rackets, such as health care, higher education, national defense and quite a few others. The very lightly regulated recreational vessel space offers a wonderful opportunity to escape the landlubber debt trap.<br />
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The sailing anarchists also couldn’t accept the idea that it is better to build a boat from scratch, at considerable expense, than to buy an existing, used boat, many of which can be had for very little money. The problem there is that none of the existing boat designs fit the bill. Sailboats are either big and unaffordable or small and too cramped. Powerboats with accommodations for a family are also too expensive, both to own and to move from place to place because of exorbitant fuel bills. Houseboats are generally dock-bound and not seaworthy in any sense.<br />
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Some anarchists thought that the Junk rig wouldn’t work well. Little do they know that the Junk rig is one of the oldest and most successful designs in the world that has stood the test of time, providing low-cost propulsion and ease of handling for more centuries than any other. Some thought that the boxy hull shape was unstylish, ugly and simply wrong, unaware of the fact that sailing barges, scows, cargo lighters, dhows, bateaux and junks of similar lines had been the staple of coastwise navigation around the world throughout the age of sail.<br />
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I presented my list of requirements which Quidnon must fulfill, but which no other boat does, to no avail. Apparently, these anarchists are rather closed-minded. Not a single comment they made was on target. But one valid question did come out of the discussion: Why cover the bottom with copper sheet when bottom paints are available. Since this is an easy question for me to answer, and since the answer is instructive and demonstrates the type of thinking that informs the whole design, I will answer it.<br />
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Quidnon’s bottom is 16 by 36 feet, or 576 sq. ft. The bow, transom and sides below the design waterline add an additional 208 sq. ft for a total of 784 sq. ft. Roofing copper comes in 4x8-foot sheets, or 32 sq. ft. Dividing one into the other gives us 25 sheets. 16-gauge (1/16-inch) copper sheet is currently priced at $91.29 per, for a total of $2,282.25.<br />
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This may seem like a considerable expense, but now let’s consider the cost of bottom paint. After much experimentation I settled on Interlux Micron CSC Ultra as the longest-lasting paint. It costs $209.99/gallon and its datasheet claims that a gallon of it covers 439.7 sq. ft in a single coat. The manufacturer recommends 3 coats and a minimum of 2. This gives us 784 sq. ft times 3 coats divided by 439.7 sq.ft/gallon, giving us 5.3 gallons or $1,123.<br />
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Note that the paint only works for about a year; after that, the bottom starts growing slime, then sea grass, then barnacles and mussels. If you don’t plan on going anywhere, then you can just let your boat turn into a floating island festooned with seafood. But the need to move may arise suddenly: the marina may close because of an approaching hurricane and kick everyone out; your job situation may require you to move your floating home to a new location; a shortage of money may require you to give up the slip at the marina and take up life at a mooring or at anchor. With a neglected, painted bottom the prerequisite to moving is an expensive and lengthy (3 days at least) haul-out which includes hiring a Travelift and someone to pressure-wash and paint your bottom (unless you yourself enjoy spending your days with a roller, wearing a bunny suit and a respirator, and being exposed to toxic fumes anyway). Haul-out and bottom painting costs vary, but you generally end up spending upwards of a thousand dollars, and if you want your boat to be able to move effectively, you need to do this every year.<br />
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And so by going with bottom paint instead of copper sheet you will save $2,282 minus $1,123 in construction costs, or $1,159. But every year thereafter you will spend a minimum of $1,123 + $1,000 or $2,123 in maintenance costs. Over the 30-year expected lifetime of the boat, this will amount to as much as $60,000. Compare that to copper sheet: yes, you will pay extra up front, but thereafter all you will need to do is a semiannual cleaning: find a sheltered, shallow spot that dries out at low tide, anchor, wait for the tide to go out, and then take a scraper on a long handle, a roofing spade or a similar hand tool and scrub all of the copper you can reach. The seafood you can’t reach will be crushed and fall off by itself. If that’s still too much work, then you can hire a diver to scrub the bottom for you while the boat sits at the dock. This service generally costs only a few hundred dollars and can often be done on short notice—when you find out it’s time to move.<br />
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Attaching the copper to the bottom is slightly technical but not particularly difficult. The bottom is made up of 3 layers of 1/2-inch plywood screwed and epoxied together. Fiberglass matt is then nailed to the plywood using bronze annular nails and saturated with epoxy. The matt is then covered with 3 layers of fiberglass cloth, leaving an epoxy-coated surface, tipped off with a soft brush to make it perfectly smooth. The task of attaching the copper sheet is then as follows:<br />
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1. Thoroughly abrade the epoxy on the bottom with 100 to 200-grit sandpaper using a rotary sander.<br />
2. Clean off sanding residue using denatured alcohol. Be sure not to leave any fingerprints.<br />
3. Thoroughly abrade one side of a copper sheet with 300 to 600-grit sandpaper using a rotary sander.<br />
4. Degrease using trichlorethylene.<br />
5. Rinse the copper sheet in one of two solutions for 1-2 minutes. Option 1: 6 parts copper chloride, 30 parts 70% nitric acid; 200 parts water. Option 2: 25% aqueous solution of ammonium persulfate.<br />
6. Rinse with distilled water; let dry.<br />
7. Coat the bottom evenly with epoxy and apply the copper sheet prepared side down. Use cotton gloves when handling the copper sheet to avoid contaminating the contact surface.<br />
8. Cover the copper with polyethylene sheet, then weigh it down with sandbags until the epoxy has set.<br />
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Why don’t other boatbuilders use copper cladding for the bottom? Well, it used to be a popular option during the age of sail. Ships were periodically run aground (careened) to have their bottoms scrubbed. But ships now use powerful bottom paints (illegal for use on smaller recreational boats) while for smaller boats copper is simply not an option. Look at the bottom of just about any commercially produced boat. It is made up of compound curves, and it is an expensive proposition to make copper sheets take up compound curves. Add to that the fact that most commercially produced recreational boats are made of fiberglass and vinyl rather than epoxy, and these don’t provide a good substrate for attaching copper sheet. Quidnon’s bottom is curved (slightly) in one direction only—fore and aft—and can be tiled with sheets of copper: 4 sheets across and 5 sheets lengthwise, for a total of 20 sheets with almost no scrap.<br />
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There is nothing to stop anyone building a Quidnon from deciding to use traditional bottom paint instead of the even more traditional copper sheet, but the decision to use copper appears to be a no-brainer: lower costs, no need for haul-outs and time spent on the hard in a boatyard and generally more flexibility.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-34982873564931664452018-09-17T02:01:00.002-06:002019-10-19T13:17:40.041-06:00Quidnon 2.0This boat design project started out by setting out some very ambitious requirements:<br />
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• A houseboat that makes a comfortable tiny house big enough for a family<br />
• A competent, seaworthy sailboat, with masts that can be put up and taken down by a single-hander with the boat in the water<br />
• A motor boat with an outboard motor for an engine that can be installed and removed easily, positioned in an engine well to prevent cavitation, collision damage and other problems with transom-mounted outboards<br />
• Never needs a haulout: copper-surfaced bottom resists marine growth; settles upright and can be dried out and scrubbed at low tide<br />
• Can be beached and relaunched by rolling over logs using anchor winch<br />
• Can be assembled quickly from a kit on a beach or a riverbank by moderately skilled people<br />
• Uses materials that are readily available almost everywhere: plywood, softwood lumber, bolts and screws, fiberglass and epoxy, galvanized mild steel, polypropylene three-strand rope<br />
• Designed for all climates and seasons, from frigid to torrid<br />
• Can be constructed and maintained at minimal expense<br />
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Over the past four years since I launched this project several people have made significant contributions to it: modeling, prototyping, contributing ideas and criticisms, helping spread word of it. Taking our sweet time with it has been very helpful in preventing us from building the wrong boat.<br />
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But what would be the right boat? How will we know when we have the right design? Well, one very basic indicator would be an empty list of unsolved problems—problems not in the sense of having every last detail worked out on paper (that’s largely a matter of grinding out mechanical drawings) but in the sense of not being sure what to do. And until very recently the list of unsolved problems contained the following big ones:<br />
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• No good, useful interior layout for the U-berth (the front section, normally called the V-berth, but Quidnon’s bow is semicircular, making a U). We went round and round on it, but the space was just too awkward.<br />
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• No reasonable procedure for installing and removing the keelboards or the rudder with the boat in the water.<br />
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• Complex joinery that required pieces of lumber to be milled to a variety of bevels, then steam-bent, adding expense and making the kit difficult to pack flat.<br />
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• The angled twin rudders, and the rudder linkage that went with them, gradually grew in complexity to include Ackermann geometry, a system of levers for amplifying the tiller angle and various other details, making it quite baroque.<br />
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• There was no straightforward way to construct the chine runners so that they would be neither too fragile nor too heavy and expensive.<br />
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• Rolling the hull over logs is made difficult because the bottom is curved throughout, causing the logs to squirm out from under it.<br />
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There were a couple of other, relatively minor problems as well. I will mention them later on.<br />
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And then something happened that broke this entire logjam: I consulted with a marine architect who raised certain criticisms of the design. They made perfect sense, and forced a rethink that made all of these problems go away.<br />
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• The hull doesn’t heel enough to make chine runners effective. They only work well at a considerable angle of heel, and with a hull as wide as Quidnon’s the heeling angle is insufficient to make them scoop up enough water to stop the sideways slide. Solution: get rid of them altogether.<br />
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• The hull doesn’t heel enough to make it necessary, or at all useful, to angle out the keelboards or the rudder blades. Solution: make them all vertical. It then begins to make sense to make the keelboard trunks into full double longitudinal bulkheads with a slot between them, leaving them open both at the bottom and at the deck. Keelboards can then be loaded into the trunks from the deck. An added bonus is that this creates a double baffle between the salon and each of the pilot berths, providing sound insulation. Another added bonus is that there are now two large deck drains, to quickly get rid of any seas that climb aboard.<br />
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• There is no reason to introduce the cost and complexity of twin rudders. Solution: have just one rudder, mount the rudder post on gudgeons and pintles along the aft wall of the engine well with the rudder blade nestled in a recess under the transom (which is already included in the design, to let through the stream from the prop). Instead of the baroque linkage, we can then have a simple tiller connected to the top of it. When at anchor or at the dock, the rudder can be pulled out to reduce noise and wear.<br />
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• There is no reason to curve the sides or to angle them out. It doesn’t improve sailing or motoring performance at all, but it complicates the joinery. It is better to simplify the construction, minimize the cost and maximize useful interior space by making them flat and vertical. This gets rid of most of the complex joinery and the need to steam-bend pieces.<br />
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• If the sides are flat, there is no reason to curve the bottom throughout. It has to have a curve at the bow, to help it move smoothly over the water, and it has to curve up gently toward the transom, to avoid dragging water behind it and to keep its center of buoyancy where the ballast is. Giving it a generous flat section in the middle makes it possible to roll it over logs while further simplifying the joinery.<br />
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• The fancy bow, where the sides sweep together to meet the bottom at a flat point, will not help performance. On the other hand, it is what makes the space in the bow so difficult to make any reasonable use of. The solution is to make a simple barge hull: at the bow, the bottom curves up to the deck with constant curvature while the sides are perfectly flat. This makes it possible to use the space as a comfortable livingroom of 114 sq. ft. (10 m^2).<br />
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What will the result look like? Well, my new motto is “Start your morning with a 3D model and get it over with.” Here is the 3D model, constructed out of highest-quality cardboard and scotch tape.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GvoMGysqYPA?version=3&autoplay=1&controls=0&loop=1&playlist=GvoMGysqYPA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Yes, Quidnon looks like a barge. That’s because it is a barge. Efforts to make it look like something else—by slanting and curving the sides and giving it a fancy bow added complexity and expense while taking away useful internal space. Also, these little nods in the general direction of yacht design did nothing to appease people who like fancy yachts with curvy lines—there is no pleasing some people!<br />
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These major simplifications make it possible to produce the detailed plans over the course of the next few months. This is important, because the money with which to build the first Quidnon should be in hand over the course of the next year, allowing us to move on to the next phase: building and testing it.<br />
Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-10132024808472573462018-05-16T06:54:00.000-06:002018-05-17T11:53:36.691-06:00Marine Russian Stove: Heat StorageThis is the next in a series of posts devoted to solving the problem of fitting a traditional Russian stove aboard a boat. It is interesting to see how the concept evolved based on feedback from the readers, following the same pattern that the entire Quidnon project has taken, where half-baked ideas eventually turn into fully baked ones based on good ideas contributed by knowledgeable, experienced people.<br />
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The reason for the name is that this stove will do everything that a traditional Russian stove does: it will provide space heating, a warm place to sleep, hot water for washing, heat for cooking, and can be used to heat rocks for a sauna/steam room. But the Russian stove is a massive piece of masonry erected on its own foundation, and masonry doesn’t belong aboard a boat except perhaps as ballast. (The distinctive red bricks out of which much of Boston was built had sailed over as ballast aboard British ships and were so plentiful that the colonists took to paving sidewalks with them.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb4z2drriocA5hCRJ_T0oNX0k_I8_EKByK6_6Nj1wOvpxcBVVC8kSbAzATzY7ypFsPb1jvTGOqP1Dmk5I344V_NmwZhzH4I2kk-3-n0onByWUdmwBPXV4YB180OCOrg1Fr7l0bm0P1XWs/s1600/Marine+Russian+Stove+Sketch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb4z2drriocA5hCRJ_T0oNX0k_I8_EKByK6_6Nj1wOvpxcBVVC8kSbAzATzY7ypFsPb1jvTGOqP1Dmk5I344V_NmwZhzH4I2kk-3-n0onByWUdmwBPXV4YB180OCOrg1Fr7l0bm0P1XWs/s320/Marine+Russian+Stove+Sketch.png" width="229" /></a></div><br />
And the reason for including not one but two marine Russian stoves in Quidnon’s design is to make it possible to travel and live aboard a Quidnon in Russia, and overwinter aboard in places where rivers freeze solid and temperatures can stay below -20ºC for weeks on end, but where there is generally plenty of firewood available. Quidnon’s hull, made up of 3cm or so of plywood and insulated with closed cell foam and radiant barrier, and hauled out on a riverbank, replaces the traditional log cabin. To keep it warm, the marine Russian stove replaces both the traditional Russian stove and the stove used to fire the Russian banya (sauna, if you prefer Finnish).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrrBycR_iaDqVmtRtC10hEDxGlVY6IYWXyNV-sany4foF6AljC_m70hO9qQwVZJoq6WbhZt0y8kavvve3OUDRmW_x3ghbpMtAWwuDs32JFgHfJkPCF8lYU4d0xFQws0hLeUzPT9ZhvC6I/s1600/Marine+Russian+Stove.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="603" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrrBycR_iaDqVmtRtC10hEDxGlVY6IYWXyNV-sany4foF6AljC_m70hO9qQwVZJoq6WbhZt0y8kavvve3OUDRmW_x3ghbpMtAWwuDs32JFgHfJkPCF8lYU4d0xFQws0hLeUzPT9ZhvC6I/s640/Marine+Russian+Stove.png" width="366" /></a></div><br />
On board, all of these many functions provided by the use of masonry in a traditional Russian stove have to be arranged for in other ways. Space heating is provided not by radiant heat but by forced warm air; hot water is produced using a heat exchanger; cooking (and heating up sauna rocks) is on a stovetop rather than a pizza oven-like vault. (Heat can be directed to the stovetop—or not—using a baffle.) With the stovetop shut off the stove will generate minimal radiant heat, allowing its heat output to be piped and ducted to where it’s needed. (Who needs extra-hot galley or heads?) Heat is stored in the hot water tank instead of within a masonry structure. In a wood-fired stove, masonry can get four times hotter than water can get under atmospheric pressure before turning to steam, but water has about four times the heat capacitance of masonry.<br />
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Most of these concepts have been worked out already and described in the previous posts. The only new element I have added since then is a water-to-air heat exchanger around the hot water tank: forced air will be made to flow around all six sides of the water tank. Thus, it will be possible to fire the stove in the evening long enough to get the water hot, then use that heat to produce warm air all night. On colder nights this may not be enough to keep the entire cabin comfortable, but with the hot air ducted to where people are sleeping it will at least keep the berths warm: a boat-sized hot water bottle. The position of the hot water tank is directly below the stove itself, keeping the runs of plumbing very short and placing the mass of the water low down where it will add to the boat’s stability. The hot water tank is integrated into the structure of the stove, and this will save on materials.<br />
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This stove will ship as a kit consisting of sheet metal shapes plasma-cut and bent on a brake so that they can be assembled using hand tools. The kit will be designed to pack flat efficiently, and will include all of the plumbing, hardware, insulation, sensors and electronics (a programmable controller for regulating the flow of fresh air from outside, for dialing in air and water temperatures, plus an alarm for when it’s time to add firewood) and a thermoelectric generator to power the control circuitry (and for charging phones and laptops).<br />
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This stove is a marine stove, meaning that no effort will be made to certify it for residential use. Some locales regulate wood stoves more strictly than others, and it’s up to you to figure out if you can (or have to) use it legally. Keep in mind, this is a stove that two people can lift and move (with the water tank drained) and so it doesn’t have to be a permanent installation. If you have a fireplace that’s grandfathered in, then you are probably good to go. If not, you’ll need to install a flue somehow. It may be a bad idea to use this stove in an urban or suburban environment in what currently passes for “developed” countries (i.e., litigious and riddled with bureaucracy). But there should be few issues with using it in a rural environment, especially on a homestead.<br />
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If you use it on a boat, then the standard marine disclaimer applies, which goes something like this: “Please check your local and federal regulations concerning the use of wood stoves aboard.” But it should, by its design, pose many fewer risks than most marine wood stoves. It will be insulated with rock wool all around and remain only warm to the touch even when fully stoked, making it safe to use around toddlers. It cannot be made to overheat the water, and will automatically shut down the hot water circuit by emitting a puff of steam. And it will regulate the burn rate as needed by adjusting the amount of fresh air pumped into the combustion chamber from outside. The firebox will remain completely sealed off from inside air (except while adding wood) minimizing the chance of CO inhalation. The kit will carry product liability insurance, but anyone filing a claim would have to answer a simple question: Did a qualified marine surveyor approve the installation?<br />
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I hope that this stove design will turn out to be very useful both on and off boats. It can be used to heat a cabin in the woods while providing cooking and shower water. It can be used for summer cooking, canning, and to keep greenhouses warm during cold spells by piping in warm air. And arriving, as it will, in the form of a lightweight, flat-pack kit, it will be possible to install it in roadless locations such as cabins up in the mountains, where hiking in a masonry or a cast iron stove would be too difficult.<br />
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So, how many of you would consider buying this stove? And how much would you be willing to pay for the kit to build one? It would be very helpful to have some indication of the level of interest before committing resources to working out the detailed design and organizing the fabrication process. Potentially, the sale of kits for building this stove will offer us a way to financially bootstrap the project. It will also allow us to get our feet wet with managing the logistics of producing kits, so that we can learn by making mistakes that are small and cheap rather than boat-sized and very expensive.<br />
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For those who have been Quidnon fans for some time, I hope that you will find the bootstrapping approach appealing. I see it as a potential way to keep the emphasis on building some excellent boats rather than on hurrying up to making money to pay back investors.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-86528681247618790202018-02-27T11:14:00.000-06:002018-05-16T22:11:25.648-06:00Marine Russian Stove, Take 2[Update: I added a schematic of the hot water plumbing system and improved the description of how it will operate.]<br />
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Thanks to all the feedback I received for the previous iteration of the design, it is much improved.<br />
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The basic goals of this design are as follows:<br />
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• The stove has to be cheap and easy to fabricate as a kit out of sheet metal stock using a plasma cutter and a brake.<br />
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• It should be easy to assemble the kit using a few hand tools: wrenches, screwdrivers and a pop riveter.<br />
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• It should be able to burn either wood or charcoal.<br />
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• It should also make it possible to fit a propane burner as an option. (Some marinas do not allow solid fuel stoves.)<br />
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• It should provide heat to a cooktop, a water heater and an air heater. Each of these may or may not be in use at any given time.<br />
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• It should produce negligible amounts of radiant heat (except from the cooktop, and only when it is in use)<br />
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A lot of people commented in favor of heating a thermal mass, and this is indeed a good idea. Thermal mass heaters, such as the traditional Russian Stove, use masonry to hold heat. But masonry doesn’t have a place aboard a boat, and hiding a few bricks inside a sheet metal stove won’t make much of a difference. However, there is one substance that is better than masonry at storing heat, and it’s free. It’s seawater. It takes 4.18 J/gK to heat seawater, while soapstone—the preferred material for solid mass storage—is only 0.98 J/gK, so its more than four times worse at holding heat.<br />
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Quidnon holds 5 tons of water ballast, and the best way to store heat aboard a Quidnon is to heat the ballast water to some reasonable temperature, such as 15ºC (60ºF). Running salt water through the water heater will cause it to crust up with salt deposits that can only be removed mechanically, using a grinder. It is much better to reinject heated fresh water from hot water tanks into the fresh water bladders floating inside the ballast tanks. This would also heat the surrounding ballast water, producing the same effect.<br />
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But this was part of the plan all along. The following realizations, however, are new, and demonstrate the power of the design process we’ve been following on this blog, where experienced people contribute many excellent ideas.<br />
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The first very important realization, thanks to Rhisiart, is that the stovetop needs to be directly above the firebox in order to produce sufficient temperatures for applications such as stir-frying and generating steam for the sauna (via sauna stones). But the stovetop doesn’t need to always be hot. When the stove is being used to heat the interior of the boat (via hot air) and/or to heat water, it should be possible to close off the stovetop using a sliding baffle.<br />
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The second very important detail, contributed by Jef, is that it is very important to be able to completely seal off the firebox from the interior airspace and to feed the fire by taking in outside air. I already knew how important this is: lighting a charcoal stove on board on a stormy night would sometimes send ash and lighter fluid fumes flying into the cabin. The trick was to catch lulls to light the flame, because once the draft was established wind gusts no longer mattered much.<br />
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This has prompted me to follow Jef’s advice and to add two air injectors. The bottom air injector is used for stoking the flame and can be driven by a small fan. Once the fire is burning, the top injector is used to produce combustion of the flammable gases emitted by the wood at just the right spot. The flow rate for the injector can be turned down, to keep a couple of hardwood logs burning all night, or turned up, to rapidly heat the stovetop and/or a lot of water.<br />
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Other parameters of the design were relatively easy to derive. A 3-inch flue is reasonable for a boat-based stove (I’ve used it successfully before). The cross-section of the flue has to remain the same both inside and above the stove. There is enough space available on Quidnon for a 16-inch-wide stove (plus a couple of inches all around for rock wool insulation and an exterior jacket made of either aluminum or stainless steel sheets pop-riveted together). Thus, the width (<i>w</i>) of the flue box inside the stove is 16 inches, and its depth works out to<br />
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π<i>r</i><sup>2</sup>/<i>w</i> = 3.1415 * (3 / 2)<sup>2</sup> / 16 = 0.44 = 7/16 inches<br />
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The most common size of firewood is 16 inches long, so the firebox is 17 inches deep. It is reasonable to keep the profile of the firebox reasonably square, so it is 16 inches wide by 16 inches tall. The ash box at the bottom and the stovetop compartment at the top, above a baffle, bring the total height to around 30-32 inches.<br />
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The reason the section below the stovetop is taller than at first appears necessary is because of the threshold. Thresholds are commonly used inside stoves to keep in the hot gases, raising the combustion temperature and making for a more efficient burn. There are two thresholds: one in the firebox, and one below the stovetop. The front opening of the stove (which is fitted with a door that seats tightly against a gasket) is sized so that the top of the opening is just below the bottom of the threshold, to keep combustion gases from escaping into the cabin while loading firewood. The ash box is similarly sealed from the inside air.<br />
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There are two heat exchangers: air and water.<br />
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The simplest and cheapest heat exchanger design is one with hot flue gases on one side of a metal plate and the medium to be heated on the other. For the air heat exchanger, just as with the flue, it is important to maintain the same cross-section both outside and inside the stove, and a 3-inch duct is reasonable for piping hot air under the cabin sole and distributing it throughout the boat. This translates to the depth of the air heat exchanger also being 7/16 inches. It may at first seem strange that the cold air is pumped in at the top, since hot air rises, but this makes no difference since it then has to be forced under the cabin sole anyway.<br />
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For the water heat exchanger, the flow is much slower because of the very high heat capacitance of water, and matching the cross-section of the input and output pipes to the cross-section of the heat exchanger is unnecessary. Above the stovetop, the flue forms a square box, insulated on the front. It shares its back wall with the water heat exchanger box, which has a couple of nipples welded to it for letting water in and out.<br />
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It is a given that the water heater will generate some amount of steam, and this steam has to be released. It is also a given that quite a lot of the time the water heater will not be used, and the stove’s sole job will be to heat air. This will make it necessary to vent the steam and to let the heat exchanger stand empty.<br />
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For this, I am thinking of doing the following.<br />
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A demand pump set to 16 psi injects cold water from the fresh water tanks directly into the hot water tank until the air release valve located near the top of the tank starts spitting water and is manually closed. The air release valve is connected to a nipple located a couple of inches from the top of the hot water tank, leaving an air pocket at the top that allows it to operate as an expansion tank, absorbing excess pressure periodically generated by steam. The demand pump keeps the tank permanently near full and pressurized as water is drawn from it. So far, this is just a pressurized cold water system with a reserve tank.<br />
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When the stove temperature sensor reads above 80ºC, a second pump starts injecting water from the hot water tank into the top of the heat exchanger. This is not a demand pump but a simple circulator pump, and it doesn’t particularly care what pressure it’s generating (up to a point). The heated water drains out of the bottom of the heat exchanger and back into the hot water tank through a check valve. It keeps running until a temperature sensor in the hot water tank reads above 80ºC.<br />
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It is at that point—when the circulator pump stops running—that an interesting series of events has to unfold, because the remaining water trapped inside the heat exchanger starts to boil and generate steam. Steam pressure forces most of the water remaining in the heat exchanger down into the hot water tank. As steam pressure in the heat exchanger continues to increase, the pressure relief valve opens and vents the steam.<br />
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As steam is being vented, pressure in the heat exchanger falls below 16 psi but the check valve keeps water from being forced back up into the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger then stands mostly empty (if the check valve leaks a bit, the pressure relief valve will periodically produce puffs of steam) until the hot water tank cools down below 80ºC, and if at that point the stove is still above 80ºC the circulator pump starts squirting water into the heat exchanger again. After some amount of hissing, during which the heat exchanger generates steam, the hissing stops and water starts being heated again.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-29849280664052796212018-02-13T05:27:00.000-06:002018-02-13T05:32:01.518-06:00Marine Russian StoveDuring the decade or so we have spent living aboard, we went through a succession of methods to keep the cabin warm during the cold months. On our first journey south, we cast off from Boston in mid-October, the day before the marina would have kicked us out because we hadn’t signed a contract for winter dockage. We progressed south rather more slowly than we had expected, and made it as far as Charleston in early December. There we decided to overwinter, and proceeded further south three months later. When we first set off, all we had on board was an electric space heater, plus a propane heater powered by 1 lb. camp stove canisters. We went through a large pile of these. The electric space heater only worked when we were tied up at the dock and plugged in to shore power. While under way, we tried to keep warm by burning propane. But propane generates a lot of moisture as it burns, causing the entire cabin—the clothing, the bedding, everything—to become dank, robbing the body of heat, while the moisture in the air condensed on the underside of the cabin top, causing it to literally rain inside the cabin. (There are few things more disagreeable than an intermittent cold drip on your head as you are trying to sleep.) When we got to Baltimore, we tied up at a marina to which I had previously arranged to have shipped a propane-fired Cozy Cabin Heater. It was designed to be plumbed to a 20 lb. propane tank, and included a flue, thus solving the moisture problem. I installed it using the materials on hand and life got significantly better. Once in Charleston, where we overwintered, we used this heater along with the electric space heater, and the cabin stayed comfortable.<br />
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Eventually we got back to Boston, by which point the Cozy Cabin Heater died, as had the company that made it, and hunting down replacement parts for it turned out to be a nightmare. This is not at all unusual: most of the equipment manufactured for the recreational marine market is shoddy, overpriced and falls apart rather quickly. At that point, as part of a thorough refit, I replaced it with a Tiny Tot charcoal stove, made by a tiny company somewhere in Michigan. The heat it delivered was intense and very dry, and kept the cabin toasty all by itself on even the coldest nights with no condensation problems. But we had to get up every 2-3 hours to add 5-6 charcoal briquettes. Solid fuel stoves were forbidden at the marina where we stayed, but nobody noticed. Also as part of that refit I insulated the entire cabin with two layers of radiant barrier, ½ inches of Pink Panther foam insulation, another layer of radiant barrier and a layer of fancy 1/16-inch varnished cherry plywood with oak trim. This made a huge difference: there were no more condensation problems and the cabin felt warmer than one would have guessed by looking at the thermometer. The one remaining problem was the cabin sole: there was no way to insulate the bilge and it was still cold. In spite of putting down rugs everywhere possible, it was difficult to keep our feet warm.<br />
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We were about to set off sailing again when we became pregnant and had to “upgrade” to a larger boat. The reason “upgrade” is in quotes is because we sold a very good boat—Hogfish, the eminently serviceable, versatile and fun 32-foot sharpie custom-built by Chris Morejohn—and bought an unwieldy, boring maintenance nightmare that is the typical commercially built yacht—a 36.5-foot Pearson. Its only real selling point is that Pearson made a mistake and made the fiberglass of the hull ridiculously thick, thus making it fairly indestructible. Over the five years that I owned that Pearson I came to genuinely detest it. Rest assured that I will never buy another commercially built production boat again, having learned firsthand all the different ways in which they are crap. As far as I am concerned, it’s either going to be a Quidnon—or a nice homestead. But if all goes as we expect, I’ll have one of each.<br />
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The Pearson came with a very strange piece of equipment: a Newport evaporative diesel heater. It used a little electric pump to squirt diesel oil into a bowl, and it was your job to get it burning. This involved tossing in some tissue paper soaked in diesel, lighting it on fire, and using a little electric fan to vent the fumes and fan the flames until the bowl of oil heated up enough to start evaporating and burning on its own. When everything was working as it should, it produced a pretty-looking warm glow, much like a fireplace. The rest of the time it produced prodigious amounts of soot and made the cabin stink of diesel oil. And the once in a while—invariably on a cold and stormy night—it would blow out, and coat the walls of the cabin, and everything inside it, with a fine film of smelly, oily soot. We used that heater for one winter, then gave up on it and let it sit, unloved and unused. As far as the rest of the boat, we did get some use out of it. I moved it south one summer, single-handing all the way down the coast, then had my family fly down, and there it stayed, at the dock, until we sold it. I didn’t enjoy sailing it; it sailed like a pig, with a strange corkscrew motion and a jarring “stomping on the breaks” effect at every other wave as the Pearson buried its fat snout in it. Well, that’s what you get with a hull that’s shaped like an endive. Its best feature by far was the heads: it had a full-size shower stall. Its second-best feature was the galley—once I tore out and rebuilt half the cabinetry.<br />
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Another problem with an endive-shaped hull (and most production cruising sailboats are, unfortunately, shaped like that) is that is almost impossible to insulate. On Hogfish, the sides were made of flat plywood sheets, curved in a single direction, and this was easy to insulate by adding flat slabs of foam. This is also going to be the case with Quidnon. Also, on Hogfish the sides were accessible, while the Pearson the cabin was a mess of fiberglass forms, one wedged into another before the deck got screwed on. (Yes, the deck was <i>screwed</i> on, not bolted on, using sheet metal screws bedded in epoxy; the wonders of commercial boatbuilding never cease to amaze!) Clearly, the designer had spent zero minutes thinking about how this hull could ever be insulated. Thus, the Pearson stayed uninsulated, and the cabin felt cold no matter how many electric space heaters we had going. We used a thick rug in the salon and electric blankets under all the mattresses, and that helped. We also taped bubble wrap under all of the hatches and insulated the companionway hatch as best we could.<br />
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As an aside, the economics of unique, versatile, custom-built boats like Hogfish, and like Quidnon is going to be, and sloppy production boats like the Pearson are very different. When I put up Hogfish for sale it sold almost immediately, and I doubled my money on it. If I hadn’t accepted the first offer (which I did because the buyer matched my asking price) there would certainly have been a bidding war. The Pearson stayed on the market for six months and eventually sold for a miserably small amount of money, because there is a glut of very similar boats sitting on the market forever, unused and unloved. The closing date for the sale fell on my birthday, which I took to be a sign that Neptune had taken pity on me. This contrast hints at what the situation will probably be like with Quidnons, once there is some number of Quidnons floating about. There are likely to be bidding wars for any of them that come on the market, be they bare hulls or be they finished boats with all of the equipment and amenities installed.<br />
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Getting back to the question of how to heat the cabin, our plans for Quidnon is to make it very comfortable and cheap to heat. Last week, Chris Raine asked a profound question: “Will this houseboat also have a <b>Русская печь</b>?” This question, I thought, requires an equally profound response, so here it is. What follows is an excerpt from my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865718385">Shrinking the Technosphere</a></i>.<br />
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<blockquote>The design of the <b>Russian stove</b> is several centuries old and seems to have emerged soon after the spread of firebrick, which is a formulation high in silica that is less susceptible to spalling when heated repeatedly. It is a massive masonry structure with its own foundation. At its center is a vault with an arched ceiling and a flat floor, often high enough for someone to squat inside. Fire is set inside the vault, far inside the stove. At the front of the stove is a flue, which includes a dogleg with a gate that is used for hanging meat and sh for smoking. Right back of the flue is a threshold that protrudes down from the top of the vault, holding hot combustion gases inside the innermost part of the vault, resulting in better heat transfer. The top of the vault is filled with solid fill and covered over with a layer of brick, forming a platform, and a straw-filled mattress, which is often big enough to serve as a bed for an entire family of five. Between October and May, when the stove is red twice a day, the temperature of the platform stays at a constant, comfortable 25–27ºC (76–80ºF). During the hot part of the summer, when the stove is not red because cooking is done at an outdoor hearth, the stove provides a cool place to sleep. <br />
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The outer wall of the stove has several niches. They improve heat conduction from the stove to the air in the room and are also used to dry clothes, herbs, mushrooms and berries, to keep food warm and to provide a place for the samovar, which boils water for tea. The firebox of the samovar, typically stoked using pine cones, exhausts into the flue of the stove. Under the stove is a space that is used to store firewood and can be a warm place for animals to sleep. The stove can also be used as a sauna—by sitting cross-legged inside the vault when it is relatively cool. <br />
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The Russian stove includes an entire dedicated set of utensils that are specific to it, each perfected over the centuries to have the largest possible set of functions. Food is cooked in clay pots and in cast iron skillets that lack a handle. The pots are placed inside the stove using stove forks, which come in three sizes and grab pots by the neck, while the bread and the skillets are moved about using a flat-bladed wooden spade, similar to the paddles used to handle pizza. <br />
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For the sake of comparison, let’s consider what you’d have to shop for if you didn’t happen to have a Russian stove. To heat the house, you’d need to buy a furnace and either install an oil tank or hook the house up to a gas main. Then you’d need to construct a way to distribute the heat, through either forced air or baseboard heating, and this involves installing lots of either ducts or pipes. You could also install a modern, energy-efficient wood stove, but then the bedrooms would be cold, so you’d probably run out and buy some electric space heaters and, to keep the beds warm, some electric blankets. To cook food, you’d need to buy a cooking stove with an oven, either gas or electric, a toaster and a microwave oven. You’d need a separate smoker for smoking fish and meat, plus some drying racks for drying things. Or you could just get rid of all this expensive, short-lived junk and render yourself naturelike by building yourself a Russian stove and using it in place of all of the above. <br />
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From <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865718385">Shrinking the Technosphere</a></i>, p. 139-40</blockquote><br />
So, how does one adapt the Russian Stove concept to a boat? Obviously, placing a massive masonry structure on board is out of the question. But after giving the question some thought I found ways to provide for most of the rest of its uses, including all of the following, using a relatively lightweight structure made of sheet metal:<br />
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• Keeping the cabin warm and providing warm, dry places to sleep and sit<br />
• Heating water for showering, bathing and washing and to keep water ballast tanks from freezing<br />
• Cooking<br />
• Making steam for sauna<br />
• Generating electricity<br />
• Drying things<br />
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There will be two identical stoves—one in the galley, one in the heads/sauna—that will burn wood, charcoal or propane (since some doing like having to stoke a stove, and some marinas forbid the use of solid fuel). To burn propane, the ash box is replaced with a propane burner; the firebox can then be repurposed as an oven and used for baking or broiling. But when cruising or overwintering along wooded shores propane may be hard to come by while firewood is likely to be plentiful and either cheap or free for the taking, and so the option to burn wood is very useful.<br />
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Above the firebox is a stack of three heat exchanger compartments. Flue gas from the firebox can be sent through any of them using diverter valves. Right above the firebox is the water heat exchanger; next is the air heat exchanger; and at the top is the hot plate used as a cooking surface. The flue gas is then discharged into an 10-foot smokestack that penetrates the deck and rises above it, to produce plenty of draft. The sides and the back of the stove are double-walled, with a layer of rock wool between the walls for insulation.<br />
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The back wall, which is in contact with the hot flue gas, is especially well insulated, with a layer of aluminum flashing sandwiched between two layers of rock wool to provide a radiant barrier. A patch of the back wall is left uninsulated; there, a thermoelectric generator module is attached directly to the steel plate that is contact with the hot flue gas. The cold side of the thermoelectric generator is cooled by circulating ballast water through a water jacket. The two thermoelectric generators will provide a total of 100W of DC current—50W on each stove—and also keep the ballast tanks from freezing.<br />
In the heads the hot plate surface has a pile of sauna stones attached to it using a stainless steel mesh. Having a sauna on a smallish sailboat may seem like an extravagance, but the Finns, the Russians and many others would disagree. I am sure that anyone overwintering on a Quidnon would value having a sauna on board.<br />
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Since most people prefer to cook with propane rather than fire up the stove for that purpose, in the galley the hot plate will usually have a propane cooktop placed over it. Above it is an exhaust hood vented to the outside; in the relatively small space of the cabin, it is essential that cooking smells not be allowed to permeate the cabin.<br />
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Space heating is via warm air. A circulator fan takes a mixture of outside and inside air and pushes it through the air heat exchanger. The output is injected into a network of ducts and plenums under the cabin sole which distributes the heat evenly throughout the cabin.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6Y6-UdJJQ_78m3vmdTKstmGUBeqj7U6V3t7z_N6St6bPJcaXd_XPj30BUDFqla3goHAKx0yzFwXjkm_DusWfIgc-81Ou_nN4AiwsKy07Yaai7JWQNUBf16wxPBgOA1KPdeLv0WGc6oKh/s1600/Q_CabinSoles.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="1211" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6Y6-UdJJQ_78m3vmdTKstmGUBeqj7U6V3t7z_N6St6bPJcaXd_XPj30BUDFqla3goHAKx0yzFwXjkm_DusWfIgc-81Ou_nN4AiwsKy07Yaai7JWQNUBf16wxPBgOA1KPdeLv0WGc6oKh/s400/Q_CabinSoles.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The plenums can be adjusted for optimum heat distribution and to suit the preferences of the occupants of each cabin and berth. Some of the warm air is sent under all of the berths, to keep the bedding warm and dry. In addition, warm air can be sent into the cockpit lazarettes and the cockpit well, to keep the cockpit warm and to provide warm places to sit while sailing. To keep the heat in, the cockpit can be enclosed using sliding window panels along the sides and a transparent vinyl curtain across its aft end.<br />
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The water heat exchanger is used to heat up water in the hot water tank used for bathing, washing and showering. The hot water tank is fitted with an alarm: when the water temperature rises above 80ºC, an alarm sounds, informing the stoker that it is time to turn the diverter valve on the water heat exchanger to off and to turn off the hot water circulator pump.<br />
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There are several good reasons why there are two stoves instead of just one:<br />
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• When overwintering on a Quidnon in the far north, hauled out on ice or on shore, and temperatures drop below -20ºC, both stoves would need to be fired in order to to keep the cabin toasty.<br />
• During the warm and hot months in the temperate latitudes, and in the tepid ones, people still want hot water to be available, but lighting the stove in the galley would make it uncomfortable to be in, but the stove in the heads can be used instead.<br />
• Having a large wood-heated cooking surface is very useful when preparing large quantities of food—whether to feed large groups or to process and lay up supplies for the winter—but the one in the heads is occupied by a pile of sauna stones.<br />
• Having a pile of hot sauna stones to throw water on is the excellent, traditional way to generate steam for a sauna.<br />
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Above deck, one more flue gas diverter and heat exchanger can be installed to supply heat to a hot box that can be used to dry various things: mushrooms, salted fish, herbs, fruits and berries, clothing and footwear, etc. The hot boxes—one for each stove—can be made in one of two ways: as an easily assembled temporary installation, or as a permanent fixture attached to the bulwarks. In either case, the hot boxes provide additional warm places to sit while out on deck.<br />
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Two things need to happen in order to make the Marine Russian Stove a reality. First, with your help, I hope to sanity-check the concept and see if I made any mistakes or omissions. Second, if the concept is sound, comes the step of doing the math and producing the mechanical drawings, and if any of you are knowledgeable about stoves and heating system design and have the interest, I would welcome your input.<br />
Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-45556458795945003642018-02-06T09:15:00.000-06:002018-02-10T05:38:20.672-06:00Specifically Useful or Generally Useless?I once made a cockpit awning. It was a fiberglass-over-plywood affair. Not only was it a cockpit awning, but it also could have been pressed into service as a mediocre paddleboard, a bus shelter for small children and/or midgets, a roof for a tiny gazebo, a protest sign, a miniature frog pond and, of course, a planter. It turned out to be a universally useful/useless piece of crap, depending on how you looked at it.<br />
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It started well. I used 1/16-inch Luan for the top and narrow slats of 1/2-inch for the frame, which I cut to gentle curves that made the top into a cold-molded conic section with just a tiny bit of spherical distortion for added stiffness. I filleted the inside joints, sealed the plywood with epoxy, fiberglassed and faired the top… and then I tossed it. Actually, I gave it to some artists, thinking they might use it for some sort of art installation. It didn’t make that good a cockpit awning: too heavy, too difficult to mount securely, plus it added too much windage aft. I didn’t think it would survive a hurricane (unlike the hard dodger I made earlier, which survived passing close to the eye of Hurricane Matthew with no damage).<br />
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I did most of the work on sawhorses on the floating dock at the marina. All of the other marina denizens, who mostly just sat on their boats and got drunk, were rather enthusiastic, and a few even tossed some business my way, fixing stuff on their boats. But the marina staff were less enthusiastic, talked about made-up “customer complaints” and eventually exiled me, together with my sawhorses and tools, to a windless, gravel-paved back lot, where I worked roasting in the sun. The hostile work environment probably had something to do with the project’s ultimate failure, but mostly I blame myself, for not spending enough time on the design phase.<br />
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There are plenty of designs that are specifically useful for their stated purpose, but are otherwise completely useless. In this category are special-purpose tools, like the egg slicer or the lemon juicer. Yes, they make short work of slicing hard-boiled eggs or juicing lemons, but beyond that they just add clutter. In a pinch, both can be used to prop open doors and windows, and the egg slicer makes a tiny out-of-tune harp, in case you are ever in need of a really pathetic sound effect. But that’s it.<br />
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Lots of boat designs are the same way. Most yachts, for instance, are only useful for showing off how rich the owner is (or was before he bought the yacht). Sporty ones are only good for pounding across the seas slightly faster than the competition and in great discomfort. Shantyboats, sailing scows and single-wides floating on barges or pontoons are cheap to maintain and comfortable to live aboard, but they give harbormasters and marina managers the vapors because they don’t look sufficiently yacht-like.<br />
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In setting out to design Quidnon, my objective was to create something sufficiently versatile to make it one’s single most valuable possession. It is a houseboat, a motorboat, a sailboat, a party boat and a beach house. It can handle deep water as well as the shallows. This level of versatility calls for some amount of compromise, and the question is, How much compromise is too much? “Better is the enemy of good enough” is a good saying, but how does one go about determine what’s good enough? And when should the alarm go off to indicate that a design has cross the line between generally useful and generally useless?<br />
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This requires lots of careful thought, and that is why the design phase of the Quidnon project is taking a few years rather than a few months. A typical boat for a rich guy to show off on or for a charter fleet is relatively easy to design. The design of a very unusual boat that will be useful as a home and a magic carpet to many different kinds of people all over the planet is far more challenging. And yet I think we’ve come quite far. A dozen or so well-defined design tasks stand between us and a set of plans from which we can build the first hull.<br />
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I know that are number of you are waiting for that moment. I am sorry to make you wait, and to make up for that somewhat I want to share with you the complete list of tasks to be completed before we can produce the design plans. Very importantly, these tasks need to be thought through before they can be drawn. As they say in the world of software, “with enough eyes, all bugs are shallow.” So far, this has been the case with Quidnon as well: over time, good ideas have been added and bad ideas eliminated simply through knowledgeable, thoughtful people asking good questions. If a question doesn’t get asked, a bad idea can stick around for a long time.<br />
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A case in point: Willie, a marine engineer who recently joined the project, asked a simple question: Why are there twin rudder blades? The boat doesn’t heel much, so angling the rudder blades doesn’t add much to the performance. The Ackermann steering geometry requires a complex (and expensive) linkage. And accommodating the twin rudders complicates the hull shape at the transom. Why not have one rudder, located amidships, where it can deflect the prop wash, for better maneuverability?<br />
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Some of this logic also applies to the twin keelboards. If the boat only heels 12º even when pressed hard (as shown by the scale model) then angling the boards has little benefit. But the second board does add complexity and cost; why not get rid of it and just have a single centerboard? It can be mounted off-center, as in some of Phil Bolger’s designs, to keep the center of the cabin unobstructed by the centerboard trunk.<br />
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And the answer is, I initially added the twin keelboards and rudders before I knew how little Quidnon would heel, and I didn’t revisit the question because until recently nobody had asked it. So, please ask! With that in mind, here are the known tasks to work out.<br />
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<b>• Add a small deck arch at the bow to serve as a mast support</b><br />
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When the masts are taken down, they fit within the overall length of the boat while sitting on the deck arches with the sails (along with spars and battens) slung below them. But the masts are unsupported at the bow. Adding a post at the bow would preclude a boarding ladder from being deployed off the bow. This is useful when docking bow-to (to pick up or drop off passengers quickly), when nosing up on a beech or to an ice floe, etc. The arch should be skinny so as to not obstruct the view forward. And it should not incorporate vents, as do the other two deck arches, because there is often too much spray at the bow that would make it through. Ventilation for the U-berth will need to be provided in some other way, such as through airducts run under the cabin sole.<br />
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<i>UPDATE: In response to this, Matt suggested that the mast tabernacles incorporate shelves to support the masts. This is a very good idea. The foremast is close enough to the bow so that this change would make no difference. Mast shelves on the mainmast would be useful too: when the mainmast is first lowered down and the tabernacle hinge pin removed, the forward end of the mast needs to rest on something before it can be pulled forward. The mast shelves should extend aft of the mast tabernacle hinges so the masts can rest on them as soon as they are unhinged.</i><br />
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<b>• Add dinghy forks aft</b><br />
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This is a relatively small detail, but important. There is ample room for storing multiple dinghies on deck, but it is often helpful to be able to deploy a dinghy quickly. Setting a dinghy upside-down on dinghy forks that slide out from the transom and lashing it down securely is in many ways optimal, and in my experience better than hanging the dinghy from dinghy davits so that it rocks, accumulates spray and rainwater and blocks the view aft. The dinghy forks can be used as dinghy davits when Quidnon is at anchor or at the dock, just to lift it out of the water, to keep it from accumulating marine growth and to give would-be dinghy thieves second thoughts.<br />
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<b>• Add skids to the bottoms of keelboard trunks</b><br />
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Having straight skids is useful in a number of cases, such as rolling the boat ashore over round sticks and dragging it onto and across ice. If one of the keelboards is eliminated, there will still be two longitudinal full bulkheads that can be extended below the bottom to form the skids. The bottoms of the skids will need to be fiberglassed heavily and finished with epoxy thickened with graphite powder to provide a durable, low-friction surface.<br />
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<b>• Finalize design of sliding doors</b><br />
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There are a few places where two-panel “Star Trek” sliding doors (minus the silly swish-swish noise) make a lot of sense. We already have a good design that uses counterweights on loops of cable to keep the panels from sliding open or closed as the boat rocks. It just needs a couple of tweaks. The main one is to have two counterweights—top and bottom—to compensate for angular momentum.<br />
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<b>• Design stoves for heads and galley</b><br />
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The two stoves can be identical. They need to be able to burn propane, wood or charcoal. When burning propane, burners are inserted into what is normally the ash pan; the firebox can then be used for baking or broiling. The top of the stove is a cooking surface for the galley stove and a rock heating surface (to make steam for the sauna) in the heads. There need to be two thermostatically controlled louvers to divert flue gas flow to two heat exchangers. One heat exchanger is air-to-air, the other is air-to-water. The hot air is piped around through ducts under the cabin sole and to the cockpit well, for heating. The hot water is piped through an insulated hot water tank, to be used for washing and bathing. In freezing weather, some of the hot water needs to be piped to the water ballast tanks, to keep them from freezing.<br />
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<b>• Rework joinery to use “screw and glue” rather than “mortise and tenon”</b><br />
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The scale model, and the earlier plan, used a lot of mortise and tenon joinery. It worked quite well in some places and less well in others. Specifically, it worked well for orthogonal joints and badly for joining elements on a curve. And it suffered from three major overall defects: 1. because the joints had to be kept a bit sloppy to make assembly possible, it soaked up a lot of epoxy, adding weight and expense; 2. it turned out to be rather difficult to calculate the strength of these joints; and 3. a lot depended on how carefully the joints were filled with epoxy, leaving open the possibility of voids that would concentrate moisture and cause rot and in pinholes that would produce small leaks. For all of these reasons, we decided to use a much simpler joinery technique of using square or beveled fir sticks and screwing and gluing the plywood panels to them. This technique is time-tested, the pull strengths of fasteners and the holding power of epoxy joints are both well known, and the skill level required to achieve good results is quite low. But quite a bit of structural analysis needs to happen in order to determine the appropriate sizes and spacings of screws.<br />
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<b>• Rework the shape of the bow and the transom</b><br />
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With the twin rudders gone, the shape of the transom is simplified. Previously, the bottom, where it meets the sides of the transom, had to be angled; now it can only be curved in one direction: fore-and-aft. The bow needs to be made deeper in order to compensate for the loss of some 3 tonnes of fixed ballast aft by adding a shallow stem to it, as I explained in a previous post. The addition of the stem will also help sweep aside floating debris and bits of thin ice. The exact shape of the bow will be determined by running Orca3D hydrostatic simulations, to make sure that the boat sits on its lines.<br />
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<b>• Rework bow construction technique</b><br />
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This didn’t work out so well on the scale model because the curves are too tight to be cold-molded. I ended up having to steam-bend plywood, which is not something we should expect Quidnon assemblers to be comfortable doing. Plan B is to use a single layer of 1/8-inch plywood to create the shape, then use it as a male mold to lay up as much fiberglass as needed to give it the necessary stiffness and strength. On the other side of the 1/8-inch plywood will be a lattice of thicker plywood to support the shape from the inside.<br />
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<b>• Rework sheer strip assembly, hull and deck joints</b><br />
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A major problem when assembling the scale model had to do with fitting the sheer strips, which were two layers of plywood. At least 3 layers of 1/2-inch plywood will be needed for the full-scale build. The holes for the deadlights didn’t line up and prevented the sheer strips from developing a smooth curve. It took a lot of clamps to keep it from becoming lumpy. So, the revised plan is to make the deadlight holes using a hole saw or a jig saw and a router post-assembly. Also, after a bit of math it turned out that the deck-to-sheer strip and sheer strip-to-topside joints needed reinforcement. The simplest way is to use perforated aluminum angles rolled to the right and curve and attached using stainless steel mechanical screws with fender washers and nuts. That’s a lot of hardware, but deck-to-hull joints are critical and notorious for developing problems.<br />
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<b>• Rework the rudder to use a single, central rudder blade</b><br />
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The rudder blade assembly can be tucked under the transom into the recess between the engine well and the transom that is directly below the gas tank and the propane locker. The recess is already there so that the back of the engine well doesn’t catch waves or prop wash from the motor. The entire Ackermann linkage goes away (along with several thousand dollars’ worth of expensive hardware). Some amplification of the tiller angle using an adjustable linkage between it and the telescoping tiller extension may still be required to keep the useful swing range of the tiller inside the cockpit.<br />
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<b>• Convert inboard sides of keelboard trunks into full-height, vertical, longitudinal bulkheads, then get rid of the port keelboard and its keelboard trunk.</b><br />
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This was a major area of concern. There is a lot of side force on the keelboard trunks from both the keelboards and the mass of the water ballast. The longitudinal bulkheads will have openings in them through which to access the pilot berths, which are on top of the ballast tanks, and the sides of these openings may need to be reinforced with vertical ribs.<br />
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<b>• Create plumbing, electrical and air duct schematics</b><br />
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The plumbing schematic exists; the electrical schematic needs to be created. The routing for all of them needs to be laid out and components selected.<br />
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<b>• Design engine mount</b><br />
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Similar engine mounts, in which the motor slides up and down instead of tilting, exist for catamarans, so it may be possible to repurpose or borrow an existing design.<br />
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<b>• Complete design of standing and running rigging</b><br />
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The standing and running rigging for the sails needs to be tested on a physical prototype at 1:5 or 1:4 scale to work out where to place the blocks, etc. Of specific concern are the details of the mast parrels, the placement of halyard and downhaul for optimum sail tension, and the placement on boom and battens of sheets and reefing lines. Take-up spools for running rigging (which will live under the cockpit well, above the chain in the chain locker) need to be designed as well.<br />
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This is the list as it stands at the moment. A few more items will probably need to be added as we move along. If you have the time, the skills and the inclination to tackle some of these, please let me know; we are, of course, looking for more engineers to join the team. The work is on a volunteer basis until the project reaches the equity crowdfunding stage.<br />
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If any of this brings up questions in your mind, please ask! That’s the main purpose of this exercise—to see if anyone can poke holes in our plans, or open us up to ideas we haven’t thought of or considerations we haven’t been aware of.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-83400746307794314232017-12-16T12:24:00.002-06:002017-12-16T12:27:36.063-06:00The Sails RevisitedBased on the positive test results from the 1:12 scale model, the design of Quidnon nouveau-retro Chinese Junk sails is almost fully baked. But there are a couple more bothersome problems to solve. Junk sails are attached to the mast using parrels, which are short lines or straps running along the battens and around the mast. This generally works rather well, but produces a couple of unintended effects:<br />
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1. The sail tends to rotate forward on the mast because the part of it that is aft of the mast is larger and therefore heavier. To counteract this tendency, Junk sails employ an additional control line called a “luff hauling parrel” which is laced through the front of the battens and then around the mast. It is yet another line to adjust, and it would be nice to get rid of it. Depending on the design of the sail, other minor control lines may be necessary as well, further complicating the handling.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitILBQLFQ5SNWEoaUNuhNUQWyLNBxC7a-GfIUZkkwibQV6EyWEWb0biXb4MaVp_KNvwfpzUtNXE4qGmf7zHKkQHwJIbHHFcGhlcM6C-B8cpoqj2gY8tmnNgIRetfMGrBF-RRFrWWkFOKli/s1600/031003_DSC01271_Johanna-seil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitILBQLFQ5SNWEoaUNuhNUQWyLNBxC7a-GfIUZkkwibQV6EyWEWb0biXb4MaVp_KNvwfpzUtNXE4qGmf7zHKkQHwJIbHHFcGhlcM6C-B8cpoqj2gY8tmnNgIRetfMGrBF-RRFrWWkFOKli/s1600/031003_DSC01271_Johanna-seil.jpg" data-original-width="269" data-original-height="360" /></a></div><br />
2. On one of the tacks (depending on which side of the sail the mast is) the sail drapes over the mast, distorting its shape and making it a less efficient airfoil. Without this distortion, each panel of Quidnon’s sails forms a very efficient airfoil, similar to a Lateen sail. This is an important effect when sailing hard on the wind, making one tack significantly more efficient than the other.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm0WHGteCNwuYpaNp1F5g7TId0DKu0sPumbqKzqfewD1MnIZJJEdyucHO3_bwFYvtOaAS2jquKepKs6pNJ_GsCUfY61I79kZi3zTeYOctK1PSAevIaxXZdbci21OOay72e0ltVxA9rnfb/s1600/Q+Batten+Standoff+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm0WHGteCNwuYpaNp1F5g7TId0DKu0sPumbqKzqfewD1MnIZJJEdyucHO3_bwFYvtOaAS2jquKepKs6pNJ_GsCUfY61I79kZi3zTeYOctK1PSAevIaxXZdbci21OOay72e0ltVxA9rnfb/s320/Q+Batten+Standoff+1.png" width="320" height="270" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="507" /></a></div><br />
To get rid of these unintended effects, I would like to introduce a new piece of rigging: the batten standoff. These are basically sticks that fasten onto the battens at one end and onto the parrels near the mast on the other. The batten standoffs do two things: they keep the sail from sliding fore-and-aft on the mast, and they push the sail away from the mast. Under most circumstances they are self-tending and don’t require adjustment.<br />
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At their ends near the mast, the standoffs are daisy-chained on lines—batten standoff lanyards—that hang down from the end of the halyard. These lines make sure that the standoffs hang almost but not quite horizontally: they have to slope slightly toward the mast, so that they don’t ride up the mast when under compression. If the mast is to starboard of the sail, it may be necessary to walk forward and pull down the batten standoff lanyards after reefing while sailing on a port tack, when the standoffs are under compression. When they are under tension, they will be pulled into position by the battens and settle a bit further by themselves due to gravity. Thus, when reefing while on a port tack, it is best to release the sheet first, allowing the sail to luff, then release the halyard partway, then haul in and tighten the reefing line, and finally haul in the sheet to power the sail back up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58dafk4OHYqpSwHgOiz5S5dFvfJ6Bp2MUo_XMKJvmMWL7T9L1g6zaysW3g-2q3doWgjDPJTzd_o4rzm6Wo0Z-R9OzxUZJ4eNM1wXza7uU77_Gw8_tP8_SZMAf8qwbb46V9NHrmdihztXO/s1600/Q+Batten+Standoff+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58dafk4OHYqpSwHgOiz5S5dFvfJ6Bp2MUo_XMKJvmMWL7T9L1g6zaysW3g-2q3doWgjDPJTzd_o4rzm6Wo0Z-R9OzxUZJ4eNM1wXza7uU77_Gw8_tP8_SZMAf8qwbb46V9NHrmdihztXO/s320/Q+Batten+Standoff+2.png" width="282" height="320" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="680" /></a></div><br />
The batten standoffs have to be cheap, light, reliable and easy to jury-rig or to replace when they fail. To achieve this, I intend to make them out of aluminum pipe. The pipe is cut to length, the ends are tapped, and stainless steel threaded rod is screwed into the ends. The mast end consists of a triple clamp, with two horizontal slots for the parrels and one vertical slot for the lanyard, all tightened together using a single Nylock nut. The batten end, which goes through a hole in the batten, has a couple of washers and a Nylock. There will have to be 24 batten standoffs (6 battens × 2 sides × 2 sails) and they will cost a bit of money to fabricate (out of aluminum pipe and bar and stainless steel threaded rod, two rubber washers and two Nylocks). But I think that the improved performance and the elimination of extra control lines will make it worth it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjoKPrAyt90k7jYml10FsaCUuGJFbC16oRQOrkgJ8sebYND4IqyMCV9Jd9hJalv19Ruca0kauUb_0iL_sou45JSvAoBbvzPeUYBviOokHwb-LALiEqdveDoqakIv8aEc5Ao4cTc8X5eUd/s1600/Q+Batten+Standoff+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjoKPrAyt90k7jYml10FsaCUuGJFbC16oRQOrkgJ8sebYND4IqyMCV9Jd9hJalv19Ruca0kauUb_0iL_sou45JSvAoBbvzPeUYBviOokHwb-LALiEqdveDoqakIv8aEc5Ao4cTc8X5eUd/s320/Q+Batten+Standoff+3.png" width="320" height="123" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="231" /></a></div><br />
There is also an element of perfectionism to it. There is some amount of extra joy to be had in looking up and seeing a perfect, maximally simple, undistorted form of the sail lit up by the sun against the sky.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-8263289085768673112017-12-15T03:47:00.001-06:002017-12-15T05:53:40.897-06:00Hull Shape Revisited<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCAfhMZBL-XpQUhdXMdz_67j-8nCX3DIdQcVuq08QqFk8P4Dkr-nf9KA-7-29_hi5vxCU66nMncJDcXJrGPwUc9-EXe6Qo4QiMjVEa4-DpWykmVq_xAbN3nV9mzQmiphdt5_EYFWxgnTz/s1600/QuidnonHullShape.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCAfhMZBL-XpQUhdXMdz_67j-8nCX3DIdQcVuq08QqFk8P4Dkr-nf9KA-7-29_hi5vxCU66nMncJDcXJrGPwUc9-EXe6Qo4QiMjVEa4-DpWykmVq_xAbN3nV9mzQmiphdt5_EYFWxgnTz/s1600/QuidnonHullShape.png" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr>
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The second post on this blog, which I started almost exactly four years ago, was titled “Hull Shape” and featured the sketch shown on the left. A lot of work went into it. Concerns such as minimizing cost, maximizing ease of construction, maximizing interior living space and many others were addressed. A key feature of the design was the ability to combine the structure of the keelboard trunks with the water ballast tanks. Their position and size were based on many constraints, but the result was that water ballast alone turned out to be insufficient. Although it was more than enough to ensure stability under sail, more ballast would have to be added further aft in order for the boat to sit on its lines.<br />
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After many design iterations, the additional ballast was confined to a steel scrap-filled cement block bolted in place under the chain locker, which is, in turn, located under the cockpit. An entire sequence of steps was drawn up for dropping it out, with the boat in the water, before sweating the boat ashore using the anchor winch (to serve as a temporary beach house) and for winching and bolting it back into place with the boat once again in the water. But it was, essentially, a complication. And now, after four years of thinking through all of the various details, happily, it turns out to be unnecessary.<br />
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One of the worst mistakes one can make is to build based on an imperfect plan: build in haste, as it were, repent at leisure. Four years may seem like a long time to design just one boat. Most boat designers worry about time to market, remaining competitive, keeping the money coming in and other such issues. I am not worried in the least about any of that. I just want to design a very good boat that I am going to like, and that plenty of others will too. I am quite a few years yet away from retirement, my son is a few years yet from being able to serve as master of a ship, and so I am not going to rush. When designing something and faced with a problem, bad ideas are the first to arrive, while the good ones can take a very long time.<br />
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That said, the project is moving along. Thanks to the crowdfunding exercise of last summer, we are now running on licensed/donated CAD software (instead of lots of evaluation versions) and have a new, powerful, dedicated server box for doing renderings and running simulations. There is a list of a dozen or so to-do items, none of them huge, that have to be worked out before we can have the plans analyzed and signed off on by a marine architect, and we have the money to pay him. The questions to be answered are along the lines of “How thick should we make the fiberglass”, “What gauge steel do we use” and so on. Once past that point we will accept equity investment and start building hulls in several places around the world where people are waiting for us.<br />
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That is actually a good position to be in, making it a very good time to try very hard to resolve the few remaining unsatisfactory issues with the design. The solid ballast box is one issue. The fact that the sails are much more efficient on one tack than the other when sailing close-hauled is another. We’ll deal with that one later; today we kill the solid ballast box.<br />
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When I drew up Quidnon’s initial lines, I tried to follow Phil Bolger’s advice about square boats—that complicating their hull shapes adds more to their complexity and expense than it adds to their performance. But here is a counterexample: I believe that this change will subtract from the expense (no more solid ballast box or the mounting brackets it requires; simpler hull shape aft because the recess for the box is no longer needed) while boosting performance.<br />
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Previously, the bottom of the hull forward of amidships consisted of the bottom and two sides joined at two chines. The angle between them was 100º aft of amidships while forward from amidships it decreased until they met at a point at top and center of the bow, where the angle between them went to 0. The modification is that forward of amidships there are now four surfaces rather than three that come together to a flat spot at top and center of the bow. The bottom is now formed from two surfaces, and the centerline, called the stem, is buried a bit deeper than the two chines. This modification adds the exact amount of buoyancy forward that’s needed to make the boat sit on its lines without the fixed ballast mounted aft.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKvbCh14cN-SdCUoMiD1sb3JXiF2Y8fWK5Om9bEA6xOnqMrR30x_W_roamNwEnSl2vaC5oHMYOW3g9IbreJ6hYzuxH9ammTXxm_c1RPaMjFlEf2z3iUm9HI30tOsGHBoGm-cb5OyGwSvH/s1600/QuidnonLines_NewBow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="730" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKvbCh14cN-SdCUoMiD1sb3JXiF2Y8fWK5Om9bEA6xOnqMrR30x_W_roamNwEnSl2vaC5oHMYOW3g9IbreJ6hYzuxH9ammTXxm_c1RPaMjFlEf2z3iUm9HI30tOsGHBoGm-cb5OyGwSvH/s400/QuidnonLines_NewBow.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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But then there are the other benefits. First, there is the improved motoring performance. When sailing on almost any point of sail Quidnon heels over a bit and presents a lopsided “V” to the water, which cuts very well through the waves. But when motoring the hull sits level and the flat surface presented to the waves at the bow slows it down. Just a small amount of deadrise at the bow (that’s the term for the “V” shape of the bottom) is enough to deflect the flow of water to the sides rather than making the boat bounce up and down while pushing an energy-wasting roll of froth with the bow (a boat with “a bone in its teeth” is Bolger’s term for that effect).<br />
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Simulations using Orca3D software showed that prior to this change to the hull shape Quidnon would actually take less power to push forward at hull speed when loaded with 10 tons of cargo then when motoring empty. This was because when empty the stern would be quicker to bog down. Getting rid of the cargo box will lighten the stern, and the added buoyancy at the bow will extend the effective waterline length, both of these changes counteracting this tendency. Moreover, when motoring along rivers and canals with the masts dropped there is no reason not to drain the water ballast, to lighten the load. Under these circumstances, having solid ballast mounted aft would be most unhelpful. When motoring without the ballast, Quidnon may be able to push its hull speed somewhat. We’ll run simulations to confirm this.<br />
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One more benefit: the slight “V” shape at the bow will not only deflect the flow of water but also of floating debris and ice chunks. Without this feature, the debris would wash directly past the prop, possibly fouling it. And as for ice, Quidnon is by no means meant to serve as an icebreaker, but it should be able to sail through many forms of ice. Sailing through ice is a big topic, and I will take it up separately later, but Quidnon’s bow turns out to be almost perfect for powering through pancake ice, slush, thin crust and other varieties of frozen water that occur in the fall and the spring. Having an “icebreaker” bow surfaced with roofing copper may allow Quidnon to extend the season a month or so in each direction.<br />
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Lastly, this change to the bow shape adds a welcome visual feature to what was previously a rather blank and featureless bow. Now, Quidnon’s hull shape is not designed to titillate—it will do enough other things that other boats can’t do to make up for its somewhat unexciting hull shape—but having a bow that looks more like a bow than like half a transom is a nod in the general direction of boating fashion that some people would I am sure welcome.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-25311507038140499532017-10-10T06:39:00.002-06:002017-10-10T09:40:46.182-06:00World's Largest Playground<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIxzz2bs0iCLpUoJpfxMY3rY_sF5YFg0AICEqza67l70bBvHF1yYki9POG90ynBr7genfGGm_8eBf0fJ-pIGG1sDUddXBr9tKhdgeQaeOOrPDjLqNkjhrNLruTkaogutTyEiVzmYIY8c/s1600/%25D0%2591%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B8%25CC%2586%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIxzz2bs0iCLpUoJpfxMY3rY_sF5YFg0AICEqza67l70bBvHF1yYki9POG90ynBr7genfGGm_8eBf0fJ-pIGG1sDUddXBr9tKhdgeQaeOOrPDjLqNkjhrNLruTkaogutTyEiVzmYIY8c/s200/%25D0%2591%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B8%25CC%2586%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BB.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Baikal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Quite a number of people in the world have taken up a nomadic lifestyle by living aboard boats. Instead of cooperatively running in the rat race, they have escaped and now work some vague and sketchy internet-based job while sailing around the islands of the Caribbean or around the Mediterranean, with the Greek islands a particular favorite. Other favorite cruising grounds, for those who don’t much care for the open ocean, include the canals of England or Canal du Midi in France. The Inside Passage which runs up the coast of British Columbia from Washington state to Alaska is another favored playground. The Intracoastal Waterway that runs along the Eastern Seaboard (and is lovingly called “the ditch”) is said to start in Boston, Massachusetts, but can really only be said to exist between Norfolk, Virginia and Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexican border. The more adventurous go through Panama Canal and go island-hopping among Pacific atolls. There are many others. But there is one truly gigantic cruising ground that is charted, dredged, has plenty to see and plenty to do, but remains almost entirely unexplored.<br />
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The boats used depend on the application: the seaworthier sailboats—keelboats and catamarans—for the ocean, while motor boats are restricted to the coasts, the canals and the rivers. There are exceptions: plenty of keelboats try to get through the Intracoastal and often end up running aground, and every autumn a steady stream of sailboats and catamarans arrives from Canada via the Erie Canal and Hudson River with their masts down (to make it under the bridges) and their decks a mad tangle of rigging.<br />
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There is a lot to like about cruising: the relaxed, unhurried lifestyle (you move at your own pace with no schedules to hurry you along); there is the chance to explore new places that are not easily accessible except by water and therefore not likely to be overrun with tourists; the intimate contact with nature and the chance to observe it daily at close range.<br />
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One of the biggest problems with cruising is that it’s boring: virtually all of the cruising grounds have been mapped out, with detailed cruising guides telling you where to go and what to look at. Essentially, when you go cruising, you are signing up to do something that’s already been done.<br />
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Another problem with cruising is rich people. Now, there is nothing wrong with being rich, and a good quote to remember is Deng Xiaoping’s 致富光荣 (zhìfù guāngróng): “To get rich is glorious!” The problem is with people who try to act rich around you while you are trying to ignore all of that competitive nonsense and just have a good time. To quote me: “To act rich is in bad taste.”<br />
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An associated problem is that cruising tends to be expensive: the industrial sector that supplies the boats is competitive, and it competes on the basis of ostentation—in sportiness and luxury—while catering primarily to those who want to act rich. And what sits at the intersection of sportiness and luxury is a financial black hole: the boats that result from this process are maintenance nightmares, and the most common topic of discussion among cruisers is getting their broken stuff fixed, wherever they happen to end up. <br />
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And the offshoot of all this is that most cruisers happen to be over the hill. The vast majority of those I’ve seen are baby boomers squandering their children’s inheritance on expensive toys, marina transient fees (which cost as much as hotel room stays) and lots of trips to local restaurants. Most of them are reasonably friendly and personable, but what they mostly talk about is insipid: the quality of the food and the service, the weather and, of course, what broke and how they fixed it or are planning to. If this doesn’t sound too adventurous or exciting to you, then perhaps you are right.<br />
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And then it occurred to me that there is a cruising destination that hasn’t been explored at all: Russia. Russia has the largest network of navigable waterways in the world: over 100,000 km long. The European part of it is 6,500 km long, all of it dredged to 4 m (13 feet). A system of canals connect it into a single network of waterways that reaches from the Baltic to the Ural mountains and from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. The following map shows all of the navigable waterways in light blue.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mW3hY9c7TBZGwY4vyXRB_37_TG1oax7zUeE5DRTa4MLxIbYQ3AGC28WZ0TkEo8ENE0aj5vQdYlmBzsUbnC22DGfUOsqEi7k1jfRpm1YGhxTo-URkQRH4XGkVdHoD_9oYIcjk6qo75bk/s1600/%25D0%259C%25D0%25BE%25D1%2580%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B8%25D0%25B5+%25D0%25BF%25D1%2583%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8+%25D0%25A0%25D0%25A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mW3hY9c7TBZGwY4vyXRB_37_TG1oax7zUeE5DRTa4MLxIbYQ3AGC28WZ0TkEo8ENE0aj5vQdYlmBzsUbnC22DGfUOsqEi7k1jfRpm1YGhxTo-URkQRH4XGkVdHoD_9oYIcjk6qo75bk/s640/%25D0%259C%25D0%25BE%25D1%2580%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B8%25D0%25B5+%25D0%25BF%25D1%2583%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8+%25D0%25A0%25D0%25A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge</td></tr>
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Of particular interest is the area just inland from St. Petersburg, which is on the Baltic Sea. River Neva, which is short and wide, connects it to Ladoga Lake, which is the largest lake in Europe. It has islands, fjords and plenty of good sailing. From there is the somewhat smaller Onega Lake, and rivers and canals then run on to Moscow and a ring of cities around it, which are some of the most spectacular travel destinations in Russia, featuring medieval fortresses and monasteries, most of them accessible from the water. South from there, the mighty Volga River takes you through most of the rest of Russia’s historical heartland. Then, via the Volga-Don Canal, you can cross over to River Don, which takes you to the Black Sea.<br />
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There are a few logistical problems with going on such a cruising adventure. One is that no foreign-flagged vessels are allowed on Russia’s inland waterways. Another is that a local skipper, who speaks fluent Russian and knows the local regulations, is an absolute requirement. Also, any small craft that goes on this adventure has to be maximally self-sufficient: there are few to no marinas offering yacht repair services to be found. Lastly, the cruising season runs from May through October. It can be stretched by a few weeks each way further south, but nobody in their right mind would brave River Neva before the end of April, when Onega Lake has dumped its load of winter ice into the Baltic. But none of these problems is insoluble.<br />
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Specifically, it has occurred to me that Quidnon, by its design, makes it a splendid choice as a platform for such an adventure. It is simple, rugged, quickly and cheaply constructed from commonly available materials and parts, is safe in both deep and shallow water, and can be set up for comfortable living in a harsh climate. I will explain the details of this in the next post. Meanwhile, please enjoy the scenery!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoseRNa9muhQBJfeTLbrXtSz5ceG9in_aeENSkP1ZY7LKfvF5e7Q0mQq1MjWvj2pNuVyMGJYGkeAq85el6ygmCMHVlg8unlbMW_te5qibFec34D8qaFT4VhyphenhyphenjYfb82oCu-EaCyrl-NhjM/s1600/Caspian.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="696" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoseRNa9muhQBJfeTLbrXtSz5ceG9in_aeENSkP1ZY7LKfvF5e7Q0mQq1MjWvj2pNuVyMGJYGkeAq85el6ygmCMHVlg8unlbMW_te5qibFec34D8qaFT4VhyphenhyphenjYfb82oCu-EaCyrl-NhjM/s400/Caspian.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caspian Sea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQC8RZs8k7csGCD0hW6hVl4ZtrIderTekqwK_dCY67cYt4sdBhAyzaP_HxoFF-PM_whOTk3xOiiHJtD_GW_xgrGLZ8DNOTowHCzxn5nLB4EEfYvWQaP5sTY2EjRIrgbNEk4U80-YmjaM/s1600/Volga+delta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="700" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQC8RZs8k7csGCD0hW6hVl4ZtrIderTekqwK_dCY67cYt4sdBhAyzaP_HxoFF-PM_whOTk3xOiiHJtD_GW_xgrGLZ8DNOTowHCzxn5nLB4EEfYvWQaP5sTY2EjRIrgbNEk4U80-YmjaM/s400/Volga+delta.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volga Delta</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO4iN8qsP4o9yy3Vuc6_Yx5r5pLDyAtAHYF71x0tlNpFitgLzANBiSXz2dsHtqLg6p3TBBXA34hbTQhnlIbtggZc0ubVNuT0Y6th8MkGGtmb9y7emR14vn9Oz52eluKf-hjoS9dFKg0Q/s1600/%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B8%25CC%2586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO4iN8qsP4o9yy3Vuc6_Yx5r5pLDyAtAHYF71x0tlNpFitgLzANBiSXz2dsHtqLg6p3TBBXA34hbTQhnlIbtggZc0ubVNuT0Y6th8MkGGtmb9y7emR14vn9Oz52eluKf-hjoS9dFKg0Q/s400/%25D0%25B5%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B8%25CC%2586.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yenisei River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXVovb1QVHi54txog7-Qn0NGSnyzzng-j7ioI7yWun9lGnFJvirhZa-PmauKVAzk1fAsJQcWB6RIS3Yy_qD3RuKG8AyCREK1ksStfvCBE8hyphenhyphenmdgHWrg9kVe8yKentkgGajMd8AYckWCk/s1600/%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B4%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B6%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B5+%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B7%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25BE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="693" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXVovb1QVHi54txog7-Qn0NGSnyzzng-j7ioI7yWun9lGnFJvirhZa-PmauKVAzk1fAsJQcWB6RIS3Yy_qD3RuKG8AyCREK1ksStfvCBE8hyphenhyphenmdgHWrg9kVe8yKentkgGajMd8AYckWCk/s400/%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B4%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B6%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B5+%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B7%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25BE.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladoga Lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-13110430248728539362017-08-05T07:13:00.001-06:002017-08-05T12:53:03.705-06:00The Self-Sufficient Haulout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoYmrH5iz_VLoD0xoB2F9BCrGJDGkPVRqGPpXShRVajbMRLXZIY0To7c-0TRzR7DKH7JFxSgvyzBWEtG04UBzDPXhcljX217jcS54v7g6gcMVM6Uh0FiNjQMoV2LWmgiC0GbEDcPH9BAi/s1600/Q_Skids.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="1047" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoYmrH5iz_VLoD0xoB2F9BCrGJDGkPVRqGPpXShRVajbMRLXZIY0To7c-0TRzR7DKH7JFxSgvyzBWEtG04UBzDPXhcljX217jcS54v7g6gcMVM6Uh0FiNjQMoV2LWmgiC0GbEDcPH9BAi/s400/Q_Skids.png" width="400" /></a></div>A self-sufficient sailor needs to be able to get his boat in and out of the water either with minimal assistance or entirely unassisted.<br />
<br />
This need arises in a variety of situations, both common and less so:<br />
<br />
1. To deal with maintenance and emergencies.<br />
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1.A. To redo the bottom paint and to make emergency repairs that cannot be done with the boat in the water. With Quidnon, the list of such emergencies is much smaller than with most boats. There is no engine shaft, cutlass bearing or propeller; these are integral to the outboard engine, which is easy to pull out for servicing. There are no through-hulls below the water line; raw water intakes for the ballast tanks are via siphons. The bottom is surfaced with roofing copper that lasts longer the useful lifetime of the boat. The sides below the waterline need to be scrubbed and painted periodically, but this can be done with the boat drying out at low tide. Marine growth on the bottom, which cannot be reached while the boat is drying out, simply gets crushed and ground off against the sand or gravel and falls off. Still, there are situations when a haulout is needed for maintenance.<br />
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2.B. To get out of the water if a hurricane or a typhoon is bearing down on you. The easiest thing to do is to run Quidnon into the shallows in a sheltered spot and to run long lines out to surrounding rocks and trees. But an even better option is to haul it clear of the water first. While other yachts are busy hunting around for a hurricane hole (a sheltered spot with enough water to get in and out without running aground) or wait in line at a boatyard or a marina for an (expensive) emergency haulout, the captain of a Quidnon has plenty of options. <br />
<br />
2. To turn Quidnon into a waterside home.<br />
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2.A. Suppose you arrive at a tropical island and decide that you want to spend a few months there, subsisting on fresh-caught fish and crabs, coconuts, sea bird eggs, growing a patch of taro or yucca and generally lazing around. There is nobody around to assist you. You enter the lagoon, find a nice sheltered spot with an easy grade up a white sand beach, let Quidnon nose up to it, jump overboard, wade ashore, walk the anchor ashore, dragging the chain, and bury it in the sand. Then you drain the ballast tanks and unbolt and drop the solid ballast box that fits snugly in a recess under the cockpit. Finally, you spend an hour or so working the anchor winch while placing coconut palm logs under the hull for it to roll over. Voilà! Quidnon is now a beach house: it doesn’t rock, the bottom doesn’t accumulate seafood, and getting ashore is as easy as climbing down a ladder.<br />
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2.B. You spend your summers cruising inland lakes, rivers and canals, catching and drying fish, hunting wild game and harvesting wild-growing fruits and vegetables along the shoreline. Autumn arrives, it starts snowing and the waterways start icing over. Before they become icebound and dangerous you pick a spot where you want to overwinter: somewhere sheltered, with plenty of firewood available locally. If you are lucky, you find a spot that has something like a beach, with no more than a 10º grade. Failing that, you grab a shovel and an axe (to chop through tree roots) and dig down a slope. Then you follow the same procedure as above. If you are quite far north where temperatures stay below freezing for months on end, it would make sense to insulate the hull on the outside by piling snow against it (snow is an excellent insulator, and is free).<br />
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There are lots of other, less extreme scenarios. For example:<br />
<br />
3.A. You either own or lease a patch of land next to a waterway and build a boat ramp. Then, equipped with nothing more than a boat trailer and a pickup truck or an SUV you can either live on a Quidnon ashore or put it in the water and go cruising. This would be ideal in colder climates, where you would prefer to stay put during the winter. In going through the Intracoastal Waterway, I saw plenty of places where such a lifestyle would make sense. People there tend to have a full-size house and a half-size boat, but why not have a full-size boat and a small, utilitarian structure on land used as a workshop and for storage?<br />
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3.B. For those who have a shoreside dwelling, it is perfectly reasonable to own a Quidnon but only use it during the warmer months. But storing a boat, whether in the water or on shore, is often an expensive proposition. But there are plenty of creative ways to store boats in close proximity to boat ramps. For example, people who own vacation properties are often quite happy to have you pay a little bit of rent—much less than a marina or a boatyard would charge—to store your boat on their land during the off-season. Again, all you need is a trailer, a good-sized pickup truck or SUV and a boat ramp that’s nearby. (If it’s farther away, you will need highway permits and signal cars, because Quidnon qualifies as a “wide load.”)<br />
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The mechanics of a self-sufficient Quidnon haulout are as follows.<br />
<br />
1. Get rid of all ballast. Fully ballasted, Quidnon weighs in at 12 tons, 8 of which is ballast. Of that, 5 tons is water ballast, which can be made to disappear by draining the tanks. The remaining 3 tons is solid ballast consisting of steel scrap encapsulated in a concrete block bolted into a recess in the bottom directly under the cockpit and held in place by several large bolts and a purchase. To remove the solid ballast, with the boat in the water, it is necessary to rig and tighten the purchase, undo the nuts on the bolts (which are along the sides of the chain locker below the cockpit, so the cockpit sole needs to be removed to access them), then ease the ballast down to the bottom using the purchase. Finally you would probably want to attach a line and a buoy to the ballast block before letting go of it, so that you can find and retrieve it later.<br />
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2. If your haulout spot has overhead obstructions (tree branches, power lines) remove the sails and drop the masts. This can be done by one person using a comealong. Once down, the sails and the masts are lashed down on top of the deck arches, to keep them safe and out of the way. On the other hand, if your haulout spot is exposed, you may want to leave the masts up and mount wind generators on top of them, to avail yourself of the free, though somewhat unreliable electricity.<br />
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3. Let Quidnon nose up to a grade no more than 10º. The maximum slope for boat ramps is 15% grade, which is 8.5º; most beaches are less than that. If you are hauling over ground solid enough for logs to roll, all you need are the rollers; if not, you will need to lay down some logs to serve as rails. Walk the anchor ashore and bury it, as described above. Work a log under the skids, then work the anchor winch to move the boat forward. The first log will try to squirm out and will require some gentle persuasion using a sledgehammer. Repeat. Catch the logs that slip out the back and move them to the front.<br />
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4. The amount of time required to move Quidnon 100 feet up a 10º grade using a crab winch (where a single person rocks a winch handle back and forth) is around an hour of steady effort (assuming a person can generate 100W of power) not including the time needed to move and pound in logs, drink water, curse, swat insects and whatever else. Reasonably, it adds up to a few hours’ work for one reasonably fit person. Of course, if you have a 1kW generator, an electric winch and a couple of helpers you can get this accomplished in around 20 minutes.<br />
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Quidnon will come equipped with rails, integral to the keelboard trunks and surfaced with bronze angle to distribute the load and to resist abrasion. The round logs are not included and would need to be procured locally. Driftwood is often a good, free source, and can be collected beforehand in preparation and stored on deck. It can be used as firewood afterward.<br />
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Once Quidnon is far enough from the water, it is important to level it, by digging down or by pounding in wedges. It is rather important that it doesn’t try to roll back into the water one stormy night while you are asleep. On the other hand, if your haulout spot is in an area that is considered dicy from a security standpoint, you may want to crank the boat around, so that it faces the water, and rig up a system so that a few blows with a sledgehammer and a few minutes on the anchor winch will cause it to roll back into the water (or onto the ice) and, one would hope, away from danger.<br />
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Incidentally, although this is hardly their main function, the rails over which Quidnon is rolled ashore can also be used to turn Quidnon into a sled, over ice. Ice provides a nearly frictionless surface, and it should be possible for a few people to haul Quidnon to a new location a few miles over ice. This trick may come in handy if halfway through the winter the game or the firewood at a haulout site on one side of a river becomes depleted. A particularly adventurous Quidnon skipper might even consider putting up a bit of sail and taking advantage of a winter windstorm to try a bit of ice sailing. (It would make sense to put up a bit of each sail, and to use the sheets for steering, because the rudders won’t be of much use when gliding over ice… unless the adventurous skipper takes the time to fit them with skates.<br />
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If these scenarios seem outlandish to you, then consider the more prosaic ones: while all the other skippers are waiting around with their wallets wide open—for the diesel mechanic to fix their engine, for a scuba diver to cut away the dock line that got wrapped around their prop, for the travelift to haul them out of the water and put them up on jacks so that they can paint their bottom or fix a leaky through-hull, or for a crane to remove their mast so that it can be worked on it—you would be off on your next adventure, self-sufficient and free.<br />
Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-15904937776811293982017-06-01T07:28:00.001-06:002017-06-01T07:28:16.762-06:00A short promotional video<iframe width="480" height="370" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T_BMMtfUE_0?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Please share!Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-69672442712726560002017-05-24T11:28:00.001-06:002017-05-24T11:28:53.432-06:00A Speech<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lKdx-iL5Uvw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
How would you like to build yourself a free place to live that doesn't take up land?Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-66469704100972020922017-05-18T13:23:00.000-06:002019-10-19T13:25:54.909-06:00A Boat for the Reluctant Sailor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/0f/ed/950fede2ad6e65fae5faaa2610f1b9be.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/0f/ed/950fede2ad6e65fae5faaa2610f1b9be.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></div>A couple of days ago I conducted an interesting social experiment. I joined the largest Facebook group dedicated to sailing a cruising, and started a discussion thread about QUIDNON:<br />
<br />
“Looking for some advice from group members. For the past two years I have been working on a boat design with two other engineers. It is a 36-foot houseboat, with private accommodations for 3 couples and 2 single people. It is also a surprisingly seaworthy and competent sailboat. We've tested a radio-controlled scale model and it sails really well. Now we are looking forward to building the first full-size hull. It's going to be a kit boat, featuring high-tech manufacturing and rapid DIY assembly. Don't hold back, what do you think?”<br />
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The results were roughly as follows:<br />
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• It doesn’t have the proper lines of a sailing yacht, and is therefore ugly.<br />
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There is a certain image that sailboats are supposed to have, and anything that doesn’t fit with the image is by definition ugly. It is like approaching people who like Ferraris and Lambourghinis and trying to sell them a VW Bus.<br />
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• It doesn’t have the right elements to be a top-notch performer under sail, and wouldn’t win any races.<br />
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Saying “But it’s a houseboat!” doesn’t seem to have any effect. How well does a houseboat have to sail in order to be “A Houseboat that Sails”? Apparently, it has to be able to win ocean races. Just being able to move house whenever you like without burning fossil fuels… What was that? Hey, look, a squirrel!<br />
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• It doesn’t look expensive enough.<br />
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This last point was not made explicitly, but I sensed great discomfort when I mentioned how cheap it is, or the fact that moderately skilled people can assemble the boat from a kit on any riverbank or beach, roll it into the water and sail off, or that it uses an outboard engine in an inboard well to avoid the expense and the stink of a diesel, or that it never needs to be hauled out and have its bottom repainted because the bottom is clad in roofing copper… You see, an important function of owning a sailboat is to tell the world how rich you are. And what this boat tells the world is that you are happily living well below your means. Oh, the cognitive dissonance!<br />
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• It looks better without the masts and the sails.<br />
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Again, sailboats aren’t supposed to look like what it looks like. But without the masts, it looks like some kind of strange barge-like thing, doesn’t intrude on the sailboat space and is therefore inoffensive. Plus, if it no longer sails, then there is nothing further to discuss: problem solved! (But that is, in fact an option: if you don’t want to sail, you don’t need to install the mast tabernacles or the masts. Just place plugs in the 6-inch holes where the mast tabernacles penetrate the deck.)<br />
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The creature comforts, unprecedented in a 36-foot sailboat, such as three bedrooms with queen-size beds and full privacy, or the sauna, or a deck large enough to throw dance parties, left them entirely unimpressed. I guess sailboats are meant to be cramped, claustrophobic and uncomfortable. And houseboats aren’t supposed to be able to sail, at all.<br />
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I even came in for some insults, slander and abuse. One opinionated character with the last name Aass (can’t make this up!) made quite an… Aass of himself by claiming that I am clueless and running a scam. But that comes with the territory; after all, it’s Facebook, the natural habitat of the lonely half-crazed idiot.<br />
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In short, QUIDNON does not appeal to cruising sailors or racing sailors (and that’s pretty much who responded). To be sure, some people found the project fascinating and, based on the blog stats, went and read all about it. And some of them wished me and the project the very best luck. But the most vocal people were also the most negative. In all, it appears that most of the people who responded did so because QUIDNON rubbed them the wrong way in any one of several ways: it doesn’t fit the glamorous image of yachting, it is useless for either sport or ostentation, and it shows people the way to live and enjoy themselves on the water for very little money. Anathema!<br />
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And so who does QUIDNON appeal to? After all, 10,000 people visit this blog every month, close to 100 have already supported the crowdfunding campaign, and a dozen or so are seriously interested in building one, or having one built for them, once the design gets shaken out at full size.<br />
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There is one particular demographic that QUIDNON is explicitly designed to appeal to: wives of men who want to live aboard and like to sail. The vast majority of women have absolutely no interest in living aboard any of the typical commercially produced sailboats. Why is it so cramped? Where do you put the shoes? Where is the closet space I need? Why is there no bathtub? Why does it lean so much all the time? Why is the deck weirdly shaped and has strange hardware all over it? Why can’t it be like a proper deck/patio with room for a couple of chaise-lounges and a beach umbrella? Why do I keep bumping my head against things? Where do I hang the potted plants? Why is the refrigerator so tiny? A man may convince a woman to live aboard for a while even without coming up with good answers to any of these questions, but then longer-term the project is doomed.<br />
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And so the options are:<br />
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1. Abandon the dream of living aboard a sailboat and pay lots of money to live on land.<br />
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2. Get a houseboat and abandon the dream of sailing.<br />
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3. Get a houseboat to live on and a sailboat to sail around on, and go broke paying for both.<br />
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4. Get a divorce and live on a sailboat. (This happens surprisingly often; the call of the sea is sometimes stronger than the funny stuff Cupid coats his arrow tips with.)<br />
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5. Get a QUIDNON. It is every bit a houseboat and answers all of the above questions. In designing it, I thought extremely hard about putting in all the things that would convince my wife that living aboard is still reasonable and, on the other hand, about getting rid of all the things that she has hated about living aboard.<br />
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How well should a houseboat sail? Sailing performance comes at a cost in comfort, safety and skill level. Sailing a 36-foot high-performance racer is something of an art. Sail handling is quite demanding, and if you make a mistake you can capsize, hurt yourself or rip a very expensive sail. While sailing, you have to handle lines that are under a lot of tension—enough to rip your hands off if you aren’t careful. And none of that is necessary.<br />
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People who live on a houseboat and sometimes move house under sail have no specific reason to want to master that art and achieve that level of performance. They just want to get from Point A to Point B with a minimum of effort and drama. Other than moving house, the main reason to go sailing is to pass time, with company on board. This is best done on medium-breezy, sunny summer days. Motor away from the dock, put the sails up, leave the engine idling away just in case, and noodle about the harbor. Time is not of the essence; safety and comfort are. And, of course, cost.<br />
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QUIDNON’s sails are controlled using just four ropes (called “lines”) and all of them are led right to the cockpit, go through clutch blocks, and then disappear under the cockpit floor, where they spool themselves up on take-up reels. Yes, you do need to learn what they are called and what they do, but that’s about it.<br />
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• Halyard: used to hoist the sail up the mast. The clutches for the other three lines have to be released before you do that.<br />
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• Reefing line: opposite of the halyard; used to reduce the area of sail that is up and keep it taut. The more wind there is, the less sail you have to raise to push QUIDNON along at its maximum warp 7.5 knots (8.5 MPH, 13.9 km/h). QUIDNON’s sails can be reefed down to just the upper two panels.<br />
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• Two sheets, one on each side: these pull the sail toward the centerline while keeping it from twisting. The closer to the wind you sail, the more you haul in the sheet.<br />
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Of these lines, only the halyard requires the use of the winch. To get a sail up (which is quite heavy), you release the clutches, loop the halyard around the anchor winch and crank.<br />
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There is more to sailing than that, but this information, plus what you can learn from any introductory book on sailing, will be enough for you to sail a QUIDNON.<br />
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QUIDNON should be able to make ocean passages in good weather. The preferred direction is definitely with the wind rather than against it. Going with the wind stretches out the waves; going against the wind causes them to bunch together. It is like the difference between driving through a hilly countryside and driving down a rutted, potholed road. Because of its blunt bow and high topsides QUIDNON may not be able to make good progress to windward in all conditions. But it should do well downwind in almost all conditions.<br />
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Keep in mind, almost the entire planet was explored and colonized using sailing ships that could barely go to windward at all. For every mile they made good to windward, they made two moving sideways. And so they mostly moved with prevailing winds or waited for favorable winds. They made laps around the North Atlantic going clockwise, to take advantage of the Coriolis effect: the rotation of the Earth causes both water and air to move clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern. And QUIDNON can probably do the same, safely and comfortably.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-49660969689818507122017-04-27T10:36:00.001-06:002017-04-27T10:36:34.359-06:00Talk in BostonI'll give a talk and Q&A on QUIDNON at the <a href="https://artisansasylum.com/">Artisan's Asylum</a> in Somerville, MA at 8pm on Thursday, May 4th. Hope to see you there.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-76764926805428249702017-04-23T12:53:00.001-06:002017-04-24T06:10:19.262-06:00Ridiculously versatileThe world is full of boats that do just one thing quite well. QUIDNON is not one of them: it does a great number of things adequately and just one thing ridiculously well.<br />
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Ocean yachts are designed for ocean cruising and racing. They make poor houseboats due to lack of space. They can’t go through shallows because they have a keel. They don’t make good canal boats because their masts can’t pass under low bridges. They require a crane or a Travelift for hauling them out for maintenance. They are expensive. They are also quite slow. They can’t carry much freight.<br />
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Motor boats are sometimes big enough to make good houseboats. They are either unable to make long ocean passages because of their limited range, or they are expensive to take on ocean passages because of fuel costs. They can go faster than sailing yachts, but then their fuel consumption becomes quite ridiculous. When used as houseboats, their large engines make a poor investment. They also require a crane or a Travelift for maintenance. Some of them can carry a considerable amount of freight, but this makes them slower and increases the fuel consumption.<br />
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Houseboats are either houses built on floats or boats that can’t handle rough water. They are reasonable to live on and can be used on rivers and canals, but they can’t venture out on the ocean, never mind make ocean passages. They don’t carry freight.<br />
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Houses are great to live in—much roomier than any boat. But they do have two major shortcomings: they don’t move, and they don’t float. This is increasingly a problem: lots of houses are lost to flooding every year, and the toll will only go up as oceans rise and extreme weather events associated with climate change become more frequent. If an area where you have built a house becomes unpleasant or dangerous, you can’t just move the house but have find yourself a new dwelling.<br />
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Boats do float, but with most boats nobody particularly wants to live on them on dry land. On land, both yachts and power boats have to be put up on jacks, and then living on them is like living in a treehouse, with a long climb up a ladder just to get home. If a flood causes them to float off the jacks, they are unlikely to settle back onto them. Instead, they fall over and get damaged. Then they don’t float any more.<br />
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Houseboats generally do better on dry land than other kinds of boats. The Dutch have built some houses on barges that are designed to float up and down. When the water is low, they bicycle home; when the water is high, they row a dinghy. That’s a good idea in a country that’s mostly under water. But I haven’t heard too many stories about people living on houseboats on dry land.<br />
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QUIDNON is specifically designed to do a great number of things adequately.<br />
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It makes a reasonable land-based residence that floats when it has to. Its bottom is flat, and it settles upright again once the waters recede. It is a second-floor walk-up, but then its roof makes a wonderful deck, and the cockpit makes a nice gazebo.<br />
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It makes a good houseboat of the sort that just stays at the dock: then you can skip the expense of the masts, the sails and the engine, and just live on it. If you want a comfortable, inexpensive DIY dockside dwelling that looks enough like a boat to not bother the neighbors, look no further.<br />
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When the time comes to move house, just drop in an outboard engine. It is a good boat for rivers and canals because it only draws a couple of feet. If all you need to do is motor to a different marina twice a year (to shift between summer and winter camp) or to go from a marina to a mooring field and back, there is no need for a dedicated engine. Instead, you can just drop in your dinghy engine into the engine well, then put it back on the dinghy.<br />
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If you want to go sailing, add masts and sails. Even with masts and sails added, it still makes a good canal boat, because you can drop the masts by yourself with just a comealong—no crane needed.<br />
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If you want to make ocean passages, that is not a problem either. QUIDNON has 130º of stability, making it quite safe, and is reasonably fast for its size, especially downwind. It isn’t fast upwind, particularly in rough seas—but then few people enjoy such a bone-shaking ride in any case. Some people view the ability to go upwind in any conditions as key, forgetting the fact that the entire planet has been explored and settled using boats that couldn’t go upwind any better than about 60º to the wind, tacking through 120-130º. If sailing upwind were important, people would have paid more attention to this problem. The only sailors who valued the ability to sail close to the wind were corsairs—pirates! In fact, most ocean sailing is still done off the wind or downwind, with the prevailing winds. Choose your courses the way the old-time mariners did, and you can even use QUIDNON to circumnavigate. And should you wish to carry a few tons of freight, there is plenty of room for it, and the extra weight won't make much of a difference.<br />
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When the time comes to haul out for maintenance, you don’t have to pay a crane operator and a marina. Just find a sandy spot that dries out at low tide, anchor there, and wait for the water to recede. The bottom is surfaced with roofing copper, and you just need to scrape off the seafood that grows on it where you can reach it. The rest of the seafood will get crushed against the sand.<br />
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And now, here is the thing that it does ridiculously well: getting around onerous regulations.<br />
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If you live in a house, you are subject to an ever-increasing number of regulations. You are limited in what you can build, where you can build it, what materials you can build it out of and what you can use it for. There is a permitting process to follow. You are usually forced to hook it up to utilities and to pay real estate tax on it. You are often required to hire licensed tradesmen to build and maintain a house. All said and done, many people pay close to half of their income just for a place to live. This would indicate that housing is basically a racket.<br />
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If you live on a boat, the regulations are few. There is nobody to stop you from building whatever boat you want. There is generally no permitting process, except for mooring permits in certain areas. States will try to charge you for registration, but you can get around this by documenting your boat with the Coast Guard.<br />
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There are rarely any issues with storing a boat on land that you own or lease. If you also own or lease the boat, who is to say that you aren’t allowed to live on it? If putting it on land is still problematic, dig a reflecting pool and put QUIDNON in it. Lakes, rivers and harbors are generally considered free to anchor in. If a piece of land is particularly prone to floods, you generally can’t get a building permit to put up a house on it. But there is nothing to stop you from putting a boat on it.<br />
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With most boats, when you buy it you pay the designer, the manufacturer and his workers, and the investors’ profits—in addition to all the materials and supplies. With QUIDNON, the design was done by volunteers who designed the boat for themselves, you provide your own assembly labor, and your only costs are the materials and supplies and for somebody to mind the numerically controlled mill to cut out the parts for the kit.<br />
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QUIDNON may not be as posh and sporty as a yacht, not as fast as a power boat, and not as roomy as a house. The one thing that it does ridiculously well is set you free. First, there is financial freedom: no rent or mortgage, no real estate taxes, no need to pay tradespeople. Second, there is freedom of movement: sail or motor anywhere you want, stay for as long as you like. Haul it out and use it as a beach house on some nice uninhabited island, then push it back in the water and sail off again.Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334230772332433270.post-38662998130329616562017-04-21T09:25:00.001-06:002017-04-21T09:25:21.570-06:00Announcing: QUIDNON Crowdfuding Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/quidnon-a-houseboat-that-sails/x/5281138#/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRo_9sSlF4WI69Tr3U8F53EbJP2yls2toIiNbmSHZj6dvbOSfW5ukTZhyphenhyphenzNo8zo0ve7dT54hMSk8KnFju2tJQyFfsppgJ442ir5kskVFqy04VqTANPdLPCQN-82IYWaSLPl9ADh-K6glV/s320/Quid+render+7+640x427.jpeg" width="320" height="214" /></a></div><br />
For the next month or so we will be trying to raise money to build the first QUIDNON. If you want to see this project realized, <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/quidnon-a-houseboat-that-sails/x/5281138#/"><b>please consider making a contribution</b></a>.<br />
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We have t-shirts, posters and books for those who donate.<br />
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And if you donate $500 or more (USD) we will do our best to deduct the amount of your donation from the price of your eventual order of the QUIDNON kit (if and when it becomes available).<br />
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Dmitry Orlovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00381674543530177679noreply@blogger.com0