A truly mighty sailboat on its way around the world

Arpex

I didn't work on the boat today, but I did buy the wood for the akas.

The proa Mbuli again

Too hot!

Its been quiet these days, here on this blog. This is basically, because the extreme summer heat has taken its toll. Last Saturday I went to the boatshed, and worked on the steering mechanism. I was eager to push forward. And so I did, despite the tremendous heat. Although I was constantly drinking water, to prevent dehydration, at one point I felt extreme exhaustion. I felt that I overdid it, called it a day, and went home.

I payed the bill over the rest of the weekend and during this whole week. I felt miserable, weak and wasted. And I won't go the the shed tomorrow either. We have temperatures around 40Degrees. Its too much for me.

Hot, hot, hot...

Recently I decided on a strategic reorientation of my project. Instead of fiddeling around with interior fit-out, I am now focussed on getting the structural elements done, to bring this boat to the water. It is not at all a matter of despair, of me getting weary of boatbuilding. It just seems more rational, to first make a rough test of this quite unusual configuration. And then, in case of promising results, finish the job, regarding interior fitout and whatsoever. The main things I want to have tested in the water is trim, maneuverability, stability,...

I was impressed with the ease with which the club workers brought the ama to the water, under the orders of Club Director Ivan. Holding the main hull level is not as easy as the ama, since it has no stability as a stand-alone hull. The ama could be held upright by arm's strenght. This is not the case with the main hull. Therefore, I'll build the akas, and the deck and the rudder. And then, get them together. And do the test.

But in order to build the akas, I need to decide on the material to be used. And now I did. I've decided to play it safe - and expensive. I'll use freijó, for its resistance and light weight. But I won't get it until next weekend. And it will cost me 1300 Reais! But hey! What is peace of mind worth?

Until I get that material, I have continued on the bed-bench. I did a rough job on it. But at least one can now safely, and comfortably sit there. And I have glued together the mast step. All was done in copious heat of about 40 degrees Celsius. The sweat came down in buckets. I ended the job just shorly before swamping the boat in my own sweat!

Sunrise

This is where the sun comes up in summer-time. As opposed to a far more northern location in winter-time.

Cyclic tragedies

Just as last year, tragedy has stuck Rio de Janeiro. Heavy rainfalls have devastated large communities in the mountains, about 100km from Rio de Janeiro. More than 740 lives have been claimed.

What remains is a clear reminder, that some things on this earth don't change. One is that nature, the weather, is cyclic. Natural phenomenae tend to occure in a cyclic pattern. This is why we say "weather pattern", stations of the year etc... In the subtropical belt of South America, little above the tropic of capricorn, summers are hot, and high humidity levels result in heavy, violent rainfalls. Mostly in the afternoon, when the heated atmosphere starts to cool down. So, there is nothing new with that.

The other thing, is that humans have a terribly short memory. We saw these pictures only last year. If we had any sort of prevention, and warning mechanisms, we wouldn't have to mourn, and sorrow for all the scattered families.

River margins, situated in the dephts of steep valleys, surrounded by rocky mountains, are treacherous places. Building there should not be tolerated by authorities.

Brasil 40

The other day, I just couldn't resist climbing ontop of the Class Brasil 40, stored in the Ramos Yacht Club, to peek inside. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone who was able to tell me the name of the boat.

The restauration of the boat has been underway at one point, but since I'm in the Club, for about 2 years now, no further work has been done. See in the picture below, that there are big gaps between the planks. Which is worrying.

Still, I found it nice to see this lovely boat from up close. I hope someone takes on the task to bring it back to life at one day.

Waterline

The ama is an important element in the configuration of a tacking outrigger. Its weight, shape, volume will influence sailing characteristics determinantely.

In my understanding of a tacking outrigger, the ama should be as neutral as possible, and influence the minimum possible, the sailing of the main hull. Therefore, the round bottom and light weight of the ama, that Michel Pomar has produced for me from a mould, fits the bill handsomely.

In the way that the hull sits in the water now, whith the bow and stern slightly above the waterline, when the ama gets depressed into the water, as it is sailed to leeward, it gets pushed into its "hull-waterline", with maximum waterline, and the transom above the waterline. It also has plenty of reserve buoyancy, so as to avoid cutting into and under waves.

As the ama is sailed to windward, the ama will quickly reduce the wetted surface on the stern sections. The bottom of the stern has a nice sweeping curve upwards, to achieve just that effect. I'm glad that my conversations with Miguel, about how the stern should be shaped, have been very fruitfull.

I had an excellent conversation with Ivan, one of the Directors of the Iate Clube de Ramos. A very friendly and generous guy. I took the opportunity to show him Arpex, from outside and inside the cabin. Ivan reminded me, that I should quit fiddeling with tables and beds, and that I should get this boat to the water! I should concentrate on the structural elements, rudder, decks, and get the boat floating, to see how it works. After that, there would be sufficient time to finish a bed for the boat.

A good piece of advice, indeed.

Still interested in the construction, Ivan asked about where the calculated waterline of the boat would be. I explained him where the calculated waterline according to the plans was for the main hull, and told him that the waterline for the ama, was only suspected, since no calculations had been done on that. He asked, candidly, why I didn't just put it in the water, to see??

I looked at him, and then at the ama, and started to explain what a laborious job that would be, and hardly necessary to bother... But of course, I'd have to admit, that I was very eager to see the ama in the water. Ivan just smiled, and said that this was hardly a problem. Only 15 minutes later, the hull was on a trailer, pulled by the clubs tracktor, and the hull touched the water without much fuss. Four strong guys just manhandled the hull onto the trailer.

I was very gratefull to Ivan. Seeing the ama actually floating was a great, small moment. And reassuring too.

The ama is still quite rough, in its finishing. In order to push the project forward, I have agreed about the execution of some finishing jobs on the ama, with Valmir. He will sand it, fair it and paint it.

Arpex Floats!!!

The year 2011 started with a surprise for Arpex. The ama was taken to the water to make a float-test, and check where the waterline would come to be. This is important information for me. This data will be needed to build the akas, crossbeams and wooden deck.

Luckily, I can say that it is just perfect. The bow sits about 2-3cm above the waterline, and the stern sits well out too. With half the weight of the deckstructure and equipement, like anchor and chain, weighting on it, it will sit perfectly fine. I was very happy to be able to see, at least a part of the boat, floating in the water. Unfortunately, I did't remind to take a picture with the ama floating clearly free. I was a little tense...

The volume and displacement were not exaclty calculated for the ama. All was made based on the eye, common sense and rough estimations.

A now for something completely different....

Wally Fulcrum 88 Concept Yacht from Wojtek Bachleda on Vimeo.