Pacifico in Rio

Born and raised in Rio, my cousin Hermann, aka Jorge, came back to Rio after long 30 years living in Germany. His smiling face shows how happy he is about it. And so he can be, having fulfilled his dream of coming down South on his own keel, and taking in the atmosphere of the Yacht Club and the view of the sugar loaf from his own deck.

I enjoyed a short tack across the bay on his capable sailing yacht "Pacifico". He keeps her to a very high standard of readiness. All is sound and well prepared. A real boat for long term travel.

As a bonus we got a lovely sunset, and a quick chat with my friends on TikiRio, who were also enjoying an afternoon sail, after watching the game against Chile. I suppose Roger will be happy about some beautiful shots of his boat under sail.

Worldcup pace

Worldcup pace, in this case, means very slow, indeed. I had the intention to step the mast this weekend. Well, maybe it was a wish. Because I should have known better. It would never do. Saturdays in Worldcup times... The mast was not painted yet. Valmir doing his thing again. And anyway, neither would I ever be able to join the crew to move the boat and work on the mast, while a game of the Brazilian Selecao was going on... And neither would I want to, myself.

So I just did small jobs, and then went back to watch the game with my girl. Mainly, I fixed a stainless steel part on the bow. It is thought to provide a fixed point for an asymmetric spinnaker, which I will add in future. It might also be a welcome protection if I ever get to T-bone the Sugar Loaf.

Later, after the game, I went sailing to relax. It was a tense game indeed, so a little sailing came in nicely.

Pimping up

Arpex received a dark green stripe above the waterline. Looks great to me. Of course I am partial, but to me it looks absolutely smashing! Some might think that red and green are critical colours to put together. But I love it. And since the boat has other details in green, like cushions in the cabin, it all looks like it belongs together. But hey! That's me.

I have also added fairleads on the bow. These are necessary for mooring. Cleber, my Stainless man, did a good job producing them according to my requirements. One of them, unfortunately, has the arms, or the "leads" in the wrong direction. Which is why I will need to ask Cleber to make another one...  

 I also managed to cut down the excess on the ama support structure, and coat it with epoxi.

I had told Valmir that I wanted a 7cm stripe. Which he didn't like much, but he started taping according to my orientation. Luckily, I arrived in time to see the bad decision I had made. In good time to correct it. so we narrowed the stripe down to 5cm, just as Valmir had suggested in the first place.

 

Also the cushions for the cabin are ready, as you can see below. 

Small victories!

The day was not promising much. Since Roger had disappeared to Paraty, I'd have to regain the momentum and work on my own. And, a bit surprisingly, I went right into the working modus, and managed to squeeze out a very productive day, with many small tasks done, and an important milestone achieved.

At the start was a stop in the marina, to purchase the double block I was still missing for the top of the mast. Once arrived in the club I started right away to work on the steering, which needed installation. But to be able to install the steering, I had to cut a piece to the tube, of the top of the steering quadrant. Mr. Palma, the good man, again offered help, tools and advice. And thus the job was quickly done. I took the opportunity to lend out his Makita, so that I could cut off some lengths of screw-ends inside the cabin. So that was done too...

I also installed a set of U-Bolts in front of the mast. I should have had it positioned closer to the mast, I think...

I also managed to coat the drilled holes for the pins with epoxi. I took a small rest of copper powder to coat a spot which had gotten damaged at the launch.

And of course I managed to install the steering. It is now operational, and I'm very happy with it. See the video.

Boatbuilding is also the story of small victories.

Rogerio has mounted the winch on the now painted mounting pad.

The boom has now received leather padding and the slider.

While making an inspection of the hull, I noticed that someone had sanded the bow. I have no idea who did it, but it was certainly a very bad idea to sand it right down to the bottom paint! This really had me upset, and I don't understand what has happened here. Luckily, I still had a bit of the epoxi with copper-powder, with which I more or less covered the naked spot. It is now precariously covered.

This is the spot which was accidently damaged when the boat went into the water. It now needed a coat of copper.

Trivial Pursuit?

Look at this video. What does it show? Seems like someone turning a wheel, and somewhere, more in the back, there seems to move a rudder? It seems to be linked together. Maybe a steering mechanism. Is this how it seems to you? And it better should too! The steering works fine, thank you. The wheel turns gently and precisely. About one turn of the wheel from center to full rudder to starboard and then to port.

So, what looks like a very trivial, even boring video to you, is actually the proof of the completion of a major milestone on the construction  of Arpex. The planning and construction of all parts of the steering took me a lot of energy, time, brainwork and sweat. To see it successfully working as planned is a very satisfying sight, indeed!  

A great many parts must work perfectly together to have a good reliable steering. First of all, it must be strongly integrated into the hull structure, and avoid any possibility of leakage. On Arpex I have built a very strong wooden structure, which holds a stainless steel tube, which in turn contains the rudder shaft. The rudder itself is was a challenge to build. A wooden surface must be bonded to a stainless steel shaft, and then be shaped into a hydrodynamic form. On top of the shaft you must be able to actually put a turning force on the shaft, so as to move the rudder blade. My solution was to build a wooden wheel, reinforced with stainless steel plates. It is then fixed to the shaft in a quite ingenious and strong construction made by Mr. Palma.

The wheel must then receive cables to transfer the force forward to the steering wheel. In this case, I opted for spectra lines, which are tremendously strong, light, and reliable. The cables should be led forward with a minimum possible number of touching points, since when the cable touches something, you loose direct steering feedback feeling on the wheel. I achieved to have only two touching points, which is very good.

Once arrived at the planned steering position, I had to produce a steering wheel, an attached steering drum, to receive the cables. And the whole thing had to be held in place by a steering console.

This is just the short story.

If you watch the video again, you'll have a better idea of the challenges of producing a steering mechanism for a boat.

A special visit

Yesterday was a very good day in the shed. First of all, I had a very pleasing visit from family. My sister Elisa and the charming kids, Mariana, Mathias and Leonardo came to check on the final provisions before they come on board for sailing trials. They promised to crew on board Arpex, to help me find out how the boat works.

The visit occured "on the way" to the sailing course. All three are learning the ropes of sailing in the Optimist group.

 Also the new project has been approved by the little folks.

Fly away

Soccer World Cup Starts Today

 As a few are aware, the Soccer World Cup starts today, with the game between Brazil and Croatia. My girl, Mrs. Arpex, is getting ready for it. She is not really a soccer fan, and is unlikely to be converted anytime soon. She fears that the turbulences around the cup might delay the launching of her boat, Arpex. It might, or it might not. Let's see.

Good morning Urca!!!

For some reason I woke up early this morning. It is not unusual. Regularly I wake up around 6:30. But today it was 5:50 when I woke up. The still dark sky showed promise of a stunning sunrise. So I took the bike to go enjoy it from my favorite spot, which is on Botafogo Beach. 

After enjoying the colorful, almost pyrotechnic start of the day, I went for a ride in my neighborhood Urca. From there I was awarded with a lovely view on TikiRio, with the great mountain range of Serra do Mar in the backdrop, with the "Finger of God" blessing the Bay.

A flight of pictures

Working together with Rogerio has been great fun. It is surprising how easy some jobs become, when you have two guys, ready to get the job done, and the right tools.

The deck area seems to come out handsomely. Notice the open hatch, and the stainless backing plates on the inside of the hull. The side of the ama is also where I plan to install a ladder, to board the boat after swimming.

 The engine sled, seems to be sturdy enough, to cary the planned weight, and support the engine thrust.