One more...

Editing is difficult. Choosing the right pictures among so many... ;-)

Deck painted - First coat

I've been waiting for this for a long time. The deck is now painted in white. It is not complete yet. But it is a big step forward, and I feel that the deadlock in the paintjob is finally being solved.

Now all it needs is a second coat. And I suppose before that Valmir will insist on some fairing... I could live without fairing, certainly. But I'm not sure Valmir could. The are some tiny rough spots, here and there.

Sailplan versions

I'm still tinkering around with the sailplan. I had drawn up a similar version, but I realized, that it wouldn't be workable, since it would actually need a vang, which I could not accommodate. I thought it would be self-vanging, but I realized, that to be self-vanging the boom would need to be horizontal, and would thus stand in the way of the sail.

So, I'll go the more conventional route, as in the image above. I suppose that this is feasible.

Fork!

The boom fork is now being assembled. It looks very much the same fashion as the gaff. However, the fork is actually glued to the lateral of the actual beam. I think that to improve lateral resistance, and avoid the fork coming off, I will also laminate a layer or two of fiberglass cloth around the section where it all comes together.

By the way: Just as I had estimated, the boom weights 6kg. And that's pretty light, I think.

I have also gotten the weights of the beams and deck. Each beam weights 35kg. That makes 70 for both. The deck panel 17kg. The supporting beams 35-40kg in total, and the lattice wood another 40kg. That makes in total: of 167 kg... Pretty heavy. Adding 150kg for the ama, and about 350 for the main hull, and 50 for the mast. I would have a total of 717 kg. Not a lightweight, but also not a heavyweight. Or is it?

Pollution in the Botafogo Bay

My lovely neighborhood Urca suffers from sewage water which is directed into the bay without any treatment. I just can't believe how authorities allow the countries major postcard to be treated this way-

 But apparently things are going to change. I just read in the newspaper, that the water treatment company will make investment, to end the direct disposal of brown water. I hope it will happen, and hope it will improve our water quality. At least a little, because many other inflows still need fixing.

History of sail in Rio de Janeiro

Into the light

Oh boy! I love this picture! I took it while sailing on Cairu II.

Next step: Gluing the boom fork

The main part of the boom, the stick, is now closed and coated in epoxi. The next step is to glue the "fork", which will hold it on to the mast. Very much in the same fashion as the gaff. The difference being that the boom is much longer, with 4 meters, and hollow, so that I can pass the leechline and reefline through it.

A lovely feature of this new boom is, that it is surprisingly light. I dare say, that it weights about 5kg. But I'm not sure. Certainly not more than 6kg... One of these days I'll remember to bring a scale, so that I can give some more precise information.

Tuiga - Finest Boats of All Times

The Classic Boat Magazine has elected the lovely Tuiga as being the finest boat of all times. Designed by William Fife, according to the 15 Metre Class, it is the boat which best translates the ideals of beauty, functionality and grace.

Interestingly, we had just such a boat here in Brasil. Our lost "Cisne Branco", was designed to the same 15 Metre Class, by the also famous designer Alfred Mylne. What would be a treasure abroad, is lightheartedly given as lost, with not much more than a shrug, by the officials that had it under their custody. Formerly in the Brazilian Navy the yacht was lost between 1980 and 1983. I really wonder what the Navy did with the boat. Much research, which involved many people resulted in nothing.

Many gluing steps

Assembling the boom is taking a considerable amount of time, due to many gluing steps, and some movable parts. But now the box is closed. Next it will receive the open "fork" which will embrace the mast. and then it will be coated, faired and painted. The lovely wood, however, tempts me to leave it varnished. But since the mast is white, I'm not sure it will go well together.

  Two cleats, for the leechline and reefline have been properly fixed.

 The cleats are distant from the mast, to facilitate handling from the steering position.

Red light

Coming together

 The boom is coming together. A short trip to the boat shed allowed me to glue the second half of the boom. The image below shows how it will be structured once complete.

Booom!

After some consideration, I have decided to go with the fork.boom. The idea is to have a self-vanging mainsail going with it. See the image above for the sailplan. Hope to find someone to tailor that sail for me.

The boom is coming together. I have all the material. But the gluing steps are several, so it will take a little while to have is assembled. I'm planning to have it without moving parts. So, the leechline and reefline will turn on a pvc round section, and then will be led through the hollow boom.

Some might be inclined to ask; which is the wood used for the boom? Well. My first choice would be Freijó, which I have used throughout, on the other parts of the boat, including the gaf. Second would be Cedro. None could be found. And I guess I I had found it, it would be outrageously expensive. So, I have used "cedrinho". This is a lesser wood, without proper denomination. But it looks and feels wonderfully, light and flexible. As a matter of fact, it looks and feels so nice, I want to bite into it. Maybe the bugs feel the same. But I'm ready to take the risk. After all It is an experimental piece of equipment. And it will be wonderfully light.

I have also epoxi coated the beams which will hold the central deck. These are massaranduba, and bloody heavy - and strong. I guess I will loath the day I have bought them. On the other hand, they will still be there in a 50 years, I guess. Since they will work in a very wet spot, this is a comfort.

I have grumbled a bit here about the slow progress of Valmir's painting job. But I do admit, that he is working with care. Whenever I say; "Valmir, just leave it like this, it is good enough for me." He answers; "Are you nuts?! You want to ruin me?!? Just let me finish my job." And that is what he is doing. When I hope  that paint is about to touch the cabin, he comes with another finishing touch. I'll let him do.

Boom options

 In the last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about the sail configuration, and specially the options involving the boom for the main sail.

Tiki wingsails are usually designed without a boom. The wide sheeting base of the catamaran and a full width traveller allow that option. But even so, I think, sailshape is somewhat penalized   The exception is on the Tiki 31, where a loose sprit-style boom is used. When I bought the plans for my mast and sails from Wharram, the loose boom option was recommended.

In the case of Arpex, a boomless mainsail is not an option. I don't like it, and I don't have the wide sheeting base either. So, I need to figure out how to install a boom on the Wingsail. At first  I was thinking towards a wishbone. But conversations with sailmakers indicated that either of them is not sure how it works, specially for reefing. In principle, my preferred option would be the conventional fixed boom with gooseneck. Here, the main challenge is that the wingsail actually slightly turns around the mast, when sailing with beam and aft winds. If the boom is attached firmly to one point, at the gooseneck, a distortion will appear. ...  I would suppose. To avoid this I wonder whether it would be possible to have a gooseneck where the boom would be allowed to follow the movement of the sail. I don't think the picture below shows this well. But It's what I got now. Maybe I will produce another, or produce a mock up. Later might be the best option, since it would also allow to explain to Cleber, my Inox man, who would produce the part.

The other option is to produce a fork-boom, very similar to the gaff. This would certainly be cheaper and quicker to produce. And it could probably be retrofitted with the gooseneck solution, in case the open fork-boom version doesn't work properly.

The other project is about the jib. My plan was to have a salf tacking jib. However, producing the self-tack arrangement seems easyer than it actually is. Also, the sailmaker convinced me to add sailarea, due to our frail winds in Rio. So I decided to go with 100-100% genoa. I found a simple arrangement for the sheeting, which will work fine.

Every Saturday another surprise

Yes, every Saturday, in the last few months, it is another surprise; will the boat will be painted, the deck? Will some sanding at least be done? If you're not prepared to throw a bucket of money into the job, that is what you will get.

And that is not just me. It is the general picture, with all service takers I talk to around the club...

And tomorrow? What will it be? I can't wait to see.

Sad day for sailing

One sailor died today, after the AC72 Artemis capsized. A sad day for sailing, and sadder even for the family and friends of the deceased sailor.

It is fascinating technology. But the AC boats are pushing the envelope of performance, and I wonder what will be the consequences of this accident.

Finally, the deck

Today I've purchased the wood to build the decks between the two hulls. Part of the deck, closer to the main hull, the deck will be composed by a ply-foam sandwich. This has already been built. The other will be built of a lattice. The wood to build this needs to be very resistant. Not only to carry the load of the passengers, but also to withstand sun and water. Ipê is my choice in this case. It is extraordinarily resistant  but also quite heavy.

Well,... what can I do? I really think it will be worthwhile to have a nice wooden deck. If I later find out, that it is too heavy, that the weight is penalizing the sailing abilities, and that I need to loose weight, then I will do.

Just some pictures...

Here are some pictures taken after priming the deck.

Labor Day

To my utter surprise, Valmir was working today, on Labor Day. I just checked in to see where we were standing, and to do this and that on the electrics part. But, to my positive surprise, I couldn't get into the cabin, as Valmir had just primed the deck. Working inside was, therefore, not an option.

I "tried to figure out" where the waterline would be. It sounds strange, I know. But, well, it is how things are. No real plans, so the waterline is somewhat an unknown. But the line above gives an approximation, of where I guess it will be. I suppose the bow will be sticking out a little, like above. But that is not a problem to me, it is even desired.