In the shipyard

Age of Russia

2010-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool boat that hauled out next door a few days ago. Age of Russia is a familiar sight in Richardson's Bay, where it is usually anchored, well offshore, due to its thirteen plus foot draft.

1992 ACC cruising conversion

Richardson Bay, Sausalito

The port of hail is "Leningrad, USSR", which could confuse someone as neither Leningrad or the USSR still exist. The short history of the vessel is that nascent St. Petersburg yacht club built it in hopes of competing in the 1992 America's Cup, shipping it to San Diego in one of those giant Antonov cargo planes in 1991. Well, the Soviet Union collapsed, they never had the money, and in spite of an injection of cash from an American sponsor (Stolichnaya "Russian" Vodka), the boat was never assembled and languished in San Diego for many years. Another group then trucked it up to Vancouver, BC where, after doing some work, it was abandoned again.

Proud owner

Tyone (above) then bought it, built the cabin, installed an engine, etc. He's put up a website about the boat and his experience owning it. Apparently, people often coming zooming up alongside and yell at him in Russian, which Tyone does not speak. Before he messes with the keel, he should probably learn enough to say, "It's my Dad's boat...I don't speak Russian!".

I can see there is a great temptation to buying an old race boat and converting it to cruising, but...it's a temptation that (IMHO) should be resisted.

Over 13' of draft

A gigantic, steel mermaid fin

Well, that's just a bitter, jealous, old man ranting. Because whatever Tyone's doing, he's doing something right 'cause he's got a cute GF...although, maybe she's just a painter at Bay Ship.

BS&Y painter in protective clothing

Zdravstvuĭte, tovarishch! YA iz Sankt-Peterburga. YA hochu piva. Mogu li ya kosnutʹsya vashyeĭ zhenoĭ?

Five ply challenge

2010-09-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, Joel Welter had the bright idea for a developmental class of sailboats with a low barrier to entry. By low he imagined boats that could be built in seventy hours and cost less than 300 bucks...he did it! Joel and his coworker, Brooks Dees, came up with the "5 Ply Challenge". Last night at the Northern California SNAME section meeting the first (and, to date, the only) contestants showed their stuff.

Joel and his lake scow yawl Les Affames de Porc

Brooks with his FJ variant 64 Valient

Niko and the Cal student team aboard the unnamed proa

Here's a link to the class rules, but the main feature is that "All parts of the vessel’s hull, foils, and cross members (for multi hulls) must be made from no more than 5 sheets of 4’ x 8’ x ¼” thick plywood". Interesting idea (followed by the emoticon for a studiously blank expression combined with raised eyebrows).

Very fun meeting, although there were no takers for the offer of rides as the possibility of total immersion seemed too great. There was a little suppressed tension during dinner as Niko's proa disappeared down the busy Estuary with no running lights ("They prohibited by Class").

As a connoisseur of events of this type, I'll give full marks to Niko for innovation and speed potential...hampered by control issues. Joel clearly won the cheapskate award (and the honors attendant to it)...his floation was bags of trash lashed to the gunwales. Brooks apparently is the overall sailing champion. He (pussy) did not put 64 Valient in the water last night, so we had no way of verifying it. And although there was no evidence of rule evasion, I suspect he must have cheated.

Plastiki

2010-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

I had to post a comment about an article I read in the Chronicle this morning. My complaint? The idea that Plastiki is "made" out of plastic bottles or is "recyclable" is deliberate disinformation and self promotion.

The vessel has an engineered, composite structure built from laminated foam board. The core structure is made with a standard foam (used to make fridges, surfboards, boats) with a manufactured Polyethylene Terephthalate fabric glued and vacuum bagged to it. The voids in the structure are filled with high quality PET bottles...that's it.

Take a look at this picture:

Does that main look like it's made from plastic bottles? Or how 'bout the one below? The spars, rigging and equipment are regular sailing yacht stuff -- I suppose it can all be "recycled" at a swap meet...

Furthermore, the comparison to Kon-Tiki expedition is false. I don't know if Thor Heyderdahl really proved anything either, but it really was an expedition into the void. Kon-Tiki was a sodden, balsa raft that drifted miserably to leeward, carrying 200 coconuts for food and their water in bamboo containers. With aluminum spars, kevlar sails, aramid rigging, GPS, radar, sat-phones and an engineered watertight hull, Plastiki is a modern (although structurally inefficient) sailing yacht.

De Rothschild is a tall, handsome, self promoting rich guy...I've got nothing against him. But did they actually prove anything? Will their endeavor prevent people from buying soda in plastic bottles? Did they use less energy, or is it more recyclable than a homemade plywood catamaran? Is the "expedition" worth wasting the electrons it takes to publish this comment? (answer -- no).

I'm not dissing anyone who sails across an ocean, but hero? I don't think so. In contrast, here's the Junk Raft:

I think they actually did something...not sure what, but I'm pretty sure it's more than what De Rothschild did with Plastiki. Check out the junk raft:

http://junkraft.com/home.html

Cangarda makes it to Ellay

2010-04-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

Cangarda got its COI on Friday and left SF Bay early in the am on the 24th. I'm happy to report that the vessel and all souls made it safely to LA. Here's a report, in its entirety, I just got from the owner:

" The first voyage of the restored Cangarda.
The restoration of Cangarda, the last American Edwardian steam yacht, 1901, has been ongoing for five years. At 126 feet on deck but only a seventeen foot she is a long and skinny boat. Built as a cruising yacht she was expected to be fast for her day and with a flashy look. It has been great to undertake this restoration. The team led by Jeff Rutherford have done a great jog on the construction. Tony Guild was the master of getting a Certificate of Inspection from the Coast Guard. Now it was time for the first open ocean voyage of Cangarda. The plan was to sail from San Francisco to Los Angeles, only four hundred mile voyage but enough to test Cangarda.

Friday at 8:00 am I arrived at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Alameda California. Presence was requested to be present at the signing of the Certificate Of Inspection by the Commander of the operation for the Sector. Quite an event. A full presentation before probably a hundred CG personal, pictures et al.! For three days previous to this the Coast Guard had been completing the inspection of Cangarda. This included the inspection of the CO2 fire suppression system for the engine room, indeed a great thing to have for this vessel, as well as all the other safety equipment. The detail to safety elements was immense. The next day was a test and verification of the system that controls the boiler and burner management. In essence this was like taking your laptop and testing each module on the backplane of the PC to ensure that it communicated accurately to the next. This was a full days effort and highly intense. The third day was sea trials which included the normal testing of the different steering systems (including the tiller) but also demonstrating the use of each of the dinghies and launch. The end included a testing of the pressure relief valves and other items. All along the way you never know if the inspectors will come up with something else they want or if they will ever be satisfied. Finally it was done. After two years of effort to clear our system with the Coast Guard (which was built so well that we did not have to change any systems except one component of the Ethernet equipment) we were to be granted the COI just as they would issue to a thousand foot ship.

Friday evening the crew assembled for a dinner. We were to depart for Los Angeles. One never sails on Friday and we intended to sail with a favorable flood tide at 2:00 am. I went into my cabin to sleep asking to be awakened when we crossed under the Golden Gate. At 4:00 the electrician came in to pick up his tools and leave. Last minute work. The first delay. Steam came up and we left the dock at 6:00 and on our way.

Outside the seas were running a nine foot swell with two to three foot wind waves. A north westerly was to blow of some ten to twenty knots by prediction. Not too bad. We planned to go right out into the sea and sail in the middle of all this to test Cangarda in the sea with consideration of roll on the boiler. The tide was flooding hard with the beginning of the ebb on the south shore so we stayed to the right. Out on the horizon one could see the seas rolling. When we were out into the seas the boat performed very well. She slides down the waves. The stabilizers make it all tolerable and while we had alarms on the drum level we had no trips (the water in the steam drum of a boiler is critical to be at a minimum level or the fire is terminated).

We sailed along through the morning until about one in the afternoon when suddenly the burners both tripped. For obscure reasons we had air in the oil lines making a foam. The burners would not stay lit. Cangarda was dead in the water, no steam. wallering beam to the nine foot seas. Finally, after rolling in the beam seas, we decided to quit the automated system and light the burners in manual and force the air out of the system so we could relight in the automated state later. We performed the task needed to achieve this and indeed we were able to light the system off and run for several hours. However finally the air/fuel mixtures made operation of the burners impossible and we decided to go back to automated firing where the mixture of air and oil are worked carefully by the computers.

But the light off did not go smoothly. We were off Santa Cruse about twenty miles, again wallering in the seas that were building as the afternoon wind was building. A series of misseps kept us from getting a good light off until we realized that a specific trip switch that we had opened when we did the manual firing had not been released. With that misstep rectified we were able to relight and again the burners operated smoothly and we stared again about six in the evening. The only item is that we had been blown all the way past Monterey.

The boat did well in the beam seas. There were a few seas that did come aboard but in a minor way. There were a couple of seas (probably doubles of some eighteen feet) that some of the crew said could have put green water on the deck but did not. In the engine room the roll was not too severe but we are near the pivot line there. The wind had built to thirty five to forty knots. Finally we were glad to be back steaming and again riding down these swells, dipping the bowsprit into the waves and then surfing down. Nothing broken, all safe but a few seasick. The team did a great job sticking to the task until we had worked the last kink out of out problem. It is good to know that the element was not the fundamental control system. Just saltheads not having full command of the highly complex automation system of Cangarda.

We have had no events since this one problem. We are not off Santa Cruse Island (Ventura) and will be in Los Angeles tonight. All is well. It is nice and quiet sailing on a steam vessel. None of the roar of a internal combustion engine. Just like sailing. Cangarda performed well in difficult conditions. Nothing broke. We understand the complications that made for our five hour delay. This vessel deserves the respect of a good sea going boat.

Next challenge is getting to Maine.
Bob"

Confusing presentation with substance

2009-10-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

The dark side of yacht design is the desire to just make pretty pictures. I believe we would all like to make things of beauty...that applies even to engineers. Indeed, there have been beautiful bridges, automobiles, trains, buildings, commercial aircraft, and dams. Yachts, particularly large sailing yachts, are intended to be beautiful and to be admired. Unlike the previously mentioned objects, there generally lesser requirements for performance, safety or reliability. Nor is there any requirement that the designers be professionally licensed, or even show minimal compentency. Anyone can put up a shingle or website declaring himself to be a yacht designer. Here's an example from Lila-Lou Design House I found on Sailing Anarchy yesterday:

Skimming over the sea.

More skimming

Look, they even made a fully rendered video and posted it on Youtube. I know just how long it takes make a 3D model of a complex vessel, as well as how many hours of CPU time are sucked up rendering these images and making the video. Consequently, I have to give these guys extra credit for using their full allotment of electrons, as well as an overall "A" for presentation. However, I'm afraid I've had to give them "F" on both Substance, and Comprehension of Sailing Forces 101. Alas, where to start?

Arrangement of masts and keels

Perhaps I can start with the multiplicity of keels and masts...ah, screw it, it's hopeless, and I have other stuff to do. To be (more than) fair, I've emailed them and asked them to respond with their design rationale. My point is not to pick apart this particularly stupid design, but to comment on the confusion between style and substance that you often see in yacht design.

I imagine, from their website that they have some training as interior designers or architects; consequently, presentation is everything to them. One of the dangers of photorealistic rendering is that it confers plausibility to even the most outlandish concept. Okay, you may say, it's just harmless masturbation. However, there is always the possibility that they will be able to convince some poor feckless schmuck to actually build it.

10/30 update: Amazing the PR that these loons are putting out. Looks like they've acquired a handsome pitchman with some stripes on his sleeve:

In one of Sailing Anarchy's user forums they've already beat on this striped idiot. Check it out.

Cangarda and Cape James

2009-10-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Just back from the Cangarda (checking out the thrust bearing) and trying to avoid real work. Yes, Cangarda is still here and still stuck in regulatory limbo. I've got many emails enquiring after her including one with a nice link to the Fulford Place in Brockville, ON. (George Fulford owned Magedoma ex-Cangarda for many years).

Cangarda and Cape James

Beautiful, cloudless day at the Marina. (Ah...should go outside more and top up on Vitamin D!). Astern of Cangarda is Cape James, which is a cool little ship with an interesting history. This stout wooden (mostly Douglas fir) vessel was designed as a coastal freighter. Built in 1943 by the Martinolich Shipyard in Oakland (now closed for many years) and drafted into the US Army as the FP47 , it operated in the Western Pacific as a communication vessel during WWII. They say the rust spots in the hull that periodically appear are shrapnel (hmm...I don't believe it). For many years it has been a small passenger vessel operating in adventure tourism...which makes you wonder what they're doing in Richmond (actually adventurous in parts). They have a very nice website (although they guy labelled as Douglas MacArthur on board in WWII is really just some other white man in a hat) .

At Tri-Coastal, we try not to reinvent the wheel, unless it really needs it. Cangarda, unfortunately has been held back a little by unnecessary wheel re-invention.

Cangarda's original awning

Some ridge poles, some guy wires, a few clever fittings...the awning was protective, useful and simple to set and strike. It was a refinement of a design that probably went back to the Babylonians. I think you can tell how critical the awning was to the operation of the yacht by the number of historic drawings we have on the awning fittings. At least half of the Pusey and Jones drawings we got from Hagley Museum are of awning fittings.

Cangarda's new awning frame

I don't know what the heck they have in mind for the new awning, but then I didn't design it. The top looks like it will make a pretty good airfoil!

Pride of Baltimore

2009-07-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Seaforth Publishing is about (although they've been saying that for a year) to publish Sailing into the Past, which is about learning from replica vessels. Frankly, I don't believe we've learned that much; however, I did write the chapter on the ill fated Pride of Baltimore. I'm sure there are people who are much more qualified; unfortunately, they were all dead, demented or apparently wanted too much money. Hence, by default...

Pride at her zenith

Reaching down to Cruz Bay a few weeks before her end

Pride and its fatal end have been covered elsewhere. Tom Waldron wrote a book about the sinking. My chapter mostly covers the history of Baltimore Clippers in general and the construction and early days sailing it. I've already been remonstrated for one error in the chapter. I said that Pride never had a new, matched set of sails...obviously false as shown in these photos.

Post any other corrections, or email me.

Classic wooden yachts

2009-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff is, undoubtedly, the greatest American yacht designer and builder ever. Most notably "Captain Nat" Designed and built the five winning America's Cup yachts from 1893 to 1920. (He also built the winning cup yachts in 1930 and 1934 ...every winning America's Cup Yacht from 1893 to 1934 was built by Herreshoff). He was a fantastically prolific innovator, inventing the folding propeller, the two speed winch, cross cut sails, the modern catamaran, the streamlined bulb keel, and other devices and practices too numerous to list here.

What I admire most about Captain Nat is the way he handled relations with clients. In 1903, following the brilliant success of Ingomar, Kaiser Wilhelm (yes, that Kaiser Wilhelm, the supreme leader of the German Empire) contracted Herreshoff to build him a new racing schooner. When the model (Herreshoff designed hull forms using wooden models) was complete, the Wilhelm cabled Herreshoff and instructed him to make certain modifications to it. Herreshoff famously replied that he would build the vessel but could accept no design input--basically cancelling the contract with the Kaiser! (and thereby setting the gold standard for client management to which all yacht designer must aspire.) Anyhow, at the end of April, 1910, the Herreshoff schooner Westward crossed the Atlantic to take part in the Kiel Regatta, winning three out of four races, leaving a frustrated Kaiser Wilhelm II behind on his Meteor IV. (This was, of course, the true underlying cause of WWI).

His smaller yachts were also justly famous and are considered classics today with the old vessels patiently restored and new ones painstakingly built to his designs. Almost every issue of WoodenBoat magazine has an article about a Herreshoff restoration or new build. He was truly the "Wizard of Bristol", his designs were great and innovative, and the vessels were wickedly fast...for their era. Now, I don't relish a shit storm of angry responses on this, because NGH truly is like a god to me; however, design and technology have advanced since then.

I had this epiphany Wednesday night at the local SNAME meeting. Former TCM employee Brooks Dees was presenting his latest sport yacht design (I wrote about it previously), a GP-26. Part of the presentation was boat rides. I watched from the dock as Brooks backed out of the slip in front of the restaurant and proceeded to close reach up the Oakland Estuary at nine knots (in about 10 knots of true wind and with seven, somewhat overweight, naval architects on board). In minutes they were out of sight to windward. A moment later, a Buzzard's Bay 15 (much like this picture) dragged its classic wooden ass past us to leeward at a sedate two or three knots. The owner seemed content at the helm, wearing a Greek fisherman's cap.

Yachting in a Buzzard's Bay 15

Although the two boats are similar in size and intended use, they are separated by a hundred years of change. Now, not all change is good, and I'm sure that there are many traditionalists out there who (will rage on me as soon as I publish this)believe that one "can't improve on perfection". They would rather arrive sedately at three knots in a vessel of highly varnish wood than operate something made from carbon fibers.

I feel otherwise. Without parsing perfection, I suppose my argument is that sailing is always uncomfortable, so you might as well get it over with as fast as possible (which is why I windsurf). I don't know if Nat Herreshoff would necessarily agree with that, but I suspect (if he were alive today) he would be appalled that people still build, and claim to enjoy "racing" his 100+ year old designs.

Cangarda under way!

2009-05-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Cangarda under way! Coast Guard has given limited permission on the Bay for builder's trials. The steam yacht operated for Saturday and Sunday, going just outside the Golden Gate for a helicopter photo shoot.

Leaving Richmond Marina (Albany Hill in the background)

Helicopter aerial

A little bow trim

The crew is making progress with the vessel. The automation and boiler managment system are much more stable and seem to be working better. Previously, there were several problems with the steam plant. One of the big ones was maintaining the burner flame when turned down low. They've spent a tremendous amount of time adjusting the steam atomization, fuel pressure, etc. Now (from a distance), it seems to be working... for the first time both burners have operated at once.

Indeed, although Cangarda is working much better, there is still a great deal to do on the regulatory side before the USCG will let the vessel go to the East Coast. Stay tuned.

Cangarda at Bay Ship and Yacht

2009-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

Cangarda was hauled last week for a bottom job (it has been almost two years since it was launched) and a repair of the shaft seal. Joel Welter, the chief naval architect at Bay Ship and Yacht, took this picture of it on their synchrolift.

The vessel is operating under automation now, and navigated around San Francisco Bay this weekend for about twelve hours. According to Steve Cobb, they reached 205 shaft rpms (~ 10 knots), which is about 80% of the theoretical maximum. So far, it looks like our propeller calculations were good (whew!)... the prop seems to perfectly matched to the vessel and the power plant. We won't be able to determine that for sure until we can conduct full sea trials.

The owner is quite anxious to move the vessel to the East Coast; however, there are still a few bugs to work out and regulatory barriers to hurdle. Stay tuned.

Cangarda haulout update

2009-04-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

After months of labor by many expert steam and automation technicians, Cangarda is finally able to maintain combustion and operate under steam. Coast Guard permitted the vessel to move to Bay Ship in Alameda on Sunday, where it will be hauled and have a few repairs. Photos to follow!

Finite element analysis

2009-03-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

I'm clinging on to the top of Cangarda's main engine with one hand (the crocheted glove is a style thing) while leaning back to take this picture. The point of this exercise was to get a better 'grip' on the geometry of the cylinder head for a finite element analysis of the pressure forces. Our first cut at determining the stresses in the head was to assume it was a flat plate. A simplification that was ...simple, but clearly incorrect. The stress result was ~9600 psi for the test pressure, which for an old casting of unknown quality, could be too high...it could fail.

So, we made a 3D, virtual solid model of the head (omitting the stud on the top, which is probably not important).And, after applying simplified boundary conditions, subjected it to the virtual test pressure force.

This is a plot of the Von Mises "stress" for the test pressure. The result is that the predicted stress is actually ~3700 psi...a stress which is much less likely to result in failure.

I put "stress" in quotes since it really isn't a stress. It's a numerical way Von Mises, whoever he was, developed to combine the three principal stresses into single number, which he then compared to the yield stress of the material.

Cangarda Overtime

2009-03-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

"Hola, amigos. How's it going with you? I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. I been trying get through a jungle of bullshit, but it grows back as fast as I can cut it down.."*

As all the homies know, Cangarda (and Jeff Rutherford) moved out in January. The marina is reverting to the swamp and fenland from whence it came. We have a semi-resident female sea lion now, which is in a way preferrable to yachts, boatbuilding and commerce. Our landlord (of whom I must speak in the gentlest terms, lest we be kicked out as well) evidently prefers it this way as only our office and a houseboat remain.

Cangarda's new berth is on a westerly facing end tie in the Richmond Marina (Marina Bay). It's a little exposed to the West, but they have some strong fenders out and it looks in pretty good shape.

It's in a picturesque spot (across the Marina from the old Ford assembly plant), and the docks and bathrooms are way better than at 320 West Cutting, but the boat is a full seven minutes walk from the gate, making it a time/management nightmare. Still, it's a veritable hive of activity there with the owner, captain, Jeff, Steve, electricians and assorted helpers on board, as well as three super experienced steam engineers laboring away, trying to make the thing run. Here's Chief Jordan and Gary upside down in the bilge...Pull up your pants fahcrissake!
Getting it to run is still problematical, but perhaps a bigger hurdle is getting the permission to run it at all. Steam boats have been pretty strictly regulated in the US since 1871 with the formation of the Steam Boat Inspection Service (merged into the Coast Guard in 1942). The law, still very much in force, regulates all vessels, even yachts, greater than forty feet in length with a steam pressure greater than 50 psi, i.e., Cangarda. In general, yachts are only subject to very weak oversight by the Coast Guard. As an example, a lunatic could quite well have the idea to build a fifty foot sailing catamaran, out of disposable plastic bottles, attempt to sail to Hawaii, and the Coast Guard would do nothing to stop him. But steamboats, even privately owned pleasure yachts, are subject to all federal regulations. Period. That's why I stopped by Cangarda on Friday.

The new boiler is hotter and more energetic than the original Almy, and is currently set to run at a high pressure. Although the boiler has been tested to the higher pressure, and the piping is rated at much higher pressure, the Coast Guard has no assurance that engine itself can withstand the higher pressure.

Here are the decorative covers to the cylinder head covers. Each cylinder, and the adjacent steam receiver, has a seperate, bolted head.

This is the head of the high pressure cylinder.
The complex shape of the head makes any simple analysis of the pressure forces a little dubious. Tomorrow I will put up some images of a finite element analysis of the pressure forces on the head.

*Jim Anchower, The Onion

Cangarda cangarda cangarda cangarda

2008-10-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Blow a gasket is a beautiful idiom, rarely heard today. As, "if I come home late, the old lady will blow a gasket." You can visualize those old Looney Toons...Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, heads inflating, turning red and live steam issuing out of their ears. Of course, the idiom originates with to steam technology.

Of course today internal combustion engines have gaskets too, but they're generally pretty good, being precisely manufactured from high temperature polymers, and inset into perfectly machined grooves. It's rare to have a catastrophic failure. Oh, the occasional hopped up race car blows a head gasket spewing hot oil on the track, but it can only spews as much oil as is inside the engine...a few quarts. In contrast, the head gaskets on olde timey steam engines are comparatively weak, and fragile. And when one blows, the entire content of the external boiler erupts through the gap until the brave engineer can fight through the steam and shut it off. Yosemite Sam with 453 F steam whistling out of the top of his head.

In this picture you can just barely make out Chief Pete Jordan exercising the whistle Friday afternoon. He was warming up the boiler prior to a celebratory trial in the Channel planned for Saturday. Well, evidently they didn't drain a cylinder or something, because they blew a gasket and couldn't go. Makes you wonder though...blow a gasket racing your Porsche around town, you just call the tow truck. What happens at sea?

To all the Cangardaphiles who have bombarded me with questions as to why, for gods sake, is it not running yet, here is a picture of Henry I took today wiring up the automation panel. Maybe you can zoom in and check out what's inside that box (damn the resolution of this picture) -- there are hundreds of terminals for valves, senders, and gauges needed to control the steam plant and engine. Only about a third of them are hooked up. I'll take a closer picture tomorrow before he gets to work.

Here's a final note. My neighbor, Jeff Rutherford, who restored Cangarda, has a new webpage. Check it out.

Cangarda all the time

2008-10-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

The film makers have posted a new trailer:
http://www.kailuna.com/ultimate_restorations.html
It looks all done and ready to go -- oh, hang on...I guess it's still out there.

Schooner racing

2008-09-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Is the name of this vessel Virginia or Schooner Virginia? Better check the website. Aw, I knew the answer, since we designed and built it. Every plank, every screw, was designed, planned and built by Tri-Coastal Marine...that is, us. While it may belong to others now, it still is our creation.

Virginia winning the Govenor's Cup in Gloucester

Here are the race results for Class 1:

You can hardly read it - there a very close margin at the finish...Virginia by 26 seconds over American Eagle. Yet that is Victory! Unfortunately, the thrill of being top schooner was short lived. Last weekend Virginia was creamed by Spirit of Bermuda in the multi day round Prince Edward Island race, taking a distant third (Pride of Baltimore II was second). Defeat is hard enough, but the purse for this race was $40,000! I don't know if that was $US or Loonies...either way, it's real money. Glory is great, but money is mo' bettah.

The main problem with any kind of competition between sailing vessels is making it fair. Boats that are built to the same class, e.g., Echell's, Lightnings's, J-24's, etc, are all nominally identical and compete equally, winning by superior skill or luck. Roughly similar vessels often race on the basis of handicap. Handicapping or rating systems are based on physical properties of the vessels, previous performance, or the corrupt judgement of inept race organizers. Virginia and Pride are true historic replicas built with historically appropriate technology. Spirit of Bermuda looks like it may have been based on something old, but is really just a big, cold molded sailing yacht. Fair? Hardly. The only truly fair result is when one of our designs wins. (and all prize money is awarded to the Andrew Davis Personal Aggrandizement Fund!)

Cangarda under way!

2008-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

In answer to all the angry emails demanding information, I'm now doing continuous coverage on Cangarda.

[Breaking news] Sunday the 24th Cangarda raised steam and maneuvered for about an hour in the Richmond Ship Channel. The owner was at the helm and Chief Pete Jordan (ably assisted by Alex David of Maritime Controls) was controlling the boiler and engines. I missed the whole thing (windsurfing)...if anyone has a photo of it under way, email it to me and I will post it here.

Pete came in this morning, jonesing for coffee, and reported that the engines and propulsion worked well. He doesn't have any idea where they actually went, because he and Alex were so busy controlling the boiler, furnace, pumps and engine that they couldn't even stick their heads out the companionway.

As I wrote previously, the intention is to automate much of the operation; however, essentially none of that has been done yet. The electricians are not close to finishing their work (the vessel operated Sunday with a temporary load center), and until they do, Maritime Controls can't hook up and calibrate the dozens of valves, gauges, etc required for normal operation.

So in answer to all the emails about Cangarda's schedule...she still has a long way to go. I will keep you posted.

Lake Champlain Sail Ferry

2008-08-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here's an odd little vessel we designed and built in 2001:

Weatherwax from port quarter

Ha, ha. The first caption was fake -- it's double ended, and the rig is on one side (the leeward side, duh)! It's stange, but we didn't just invent this thing up in a caffeine fueled weekend, in fact, the double ended sailing ferry is a historic type that was unique to Lake Champlain. Bordered by New York and Vermont (and maybe Quebec), the prevailing wind on the long and narrow lake is along its narrow north/south axis, which let the double ended sailing ferries reach back and forth across it.

People used to wear nice hats

Weatherwax is licensed by the USCG to carry passengers and now lives at the Champlain Valley Transportation Museum. Find out more about the vessel.

In the first sentence, I wrote "we designed and built...", which I suppose is strictly true, but doesn't give Douglas Brooks, the project manager, the credit he deserves for getting the contract, motivating the project, and then actually building ~90% of the vessel himself.

Douglas caulking the bottom

Since the fery project, he's kept himself busy. Here's his latest creation, a glued lapstrake replica of a Henry Rushton Catboat.

Under way

Douglas is an interesting mix of scholar and practical, Yankee boatbuilder. Without a doubt, he is the living expert on the tarabuine (japanese tub boat). Go to your local bookstore and ask for his book, The Tub Boats of Sado Island: A Japanese Craftsman's Methods. Yeah, well that's supposed to be a joke too...let's say you won't find it at Barnes and Noble, but you can get it through his website.

As far as being an excellent, completely no-fake, Yankee boatbuilder, I will now bestow upon him the highest praise that a Yankee boatbuilder can give to another, "Boy, you are clever. Why you are good enough to make a set of false teeth."

CN 55 Eager

2008-07-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Fiber reinforced plastics, FRP, transformed boat building more than any other single technology. Prior to FRP, small yachts were built individually, mostly from wood. The earliest fibers used in FRP were fiberglass, which was discovered serendipitously by Owens Corning in the 1930's. The first frp composites production molding followed soon thereafter. Although today frp can be made with fibers made from different materials (eg., graphite, polyester, boron, etc), fiberglass is still used as a shorthand for anything made from frp.

'Fiberglass' was the perfect material to meet the nascent demand for mass produced pleasure craft back in the 50's. The first successful molded frp production sailboat was the Pearson Triton, which started production in the early 60's. Twenty eight feet long, the Tritons were relatively small and easy to mass produce (there are over 700 of them), and were so solidly built that most of them are still around today (in fact, Bobby Botha, one of the workers on the Cangarda project, recently attempted to single hand one back to Kiwi). Like the Triton, many other old production boats were very solidly built...they still look great and can function just as well as they did when new. There's even a name for them, Plastic Classics.

Eager (ex-Lutine) is undergoing a total rebuild in Jeff Rutherford's yard (which we call Tire Barn for the faded logo of a former tenant). It is a Camper and Nicholson 55, one of the first large, production fiberglass sailing yachts built in quantity. The Nic 55 was a popular and successful ocean racer and cruiser through the 1970's and has a cult following today. Unfortunately, Eager, like many yachts of that era, was built with a plywood core in the deck and cabin trunk ... it's amazing it lasted as long as it did. Hence, the vessel is getting an all new deck and cabin. Here's the deck mold, which Tony and the crew built using the old deck as its core:

With the deck removed, it's a whole lot easier to build a new interior from the top down, rather than passing every little bit in through the companionway. This is how any new custom yacht would be built today. Unlike a house where the roof is put on as early as possible, the deck is put on after the interior, wiring, plumbing, mechanical systems, etc are largely complete.

It will has entirely new interior and deck arrangements. New bathrooms, new staterooms, new engine, mechnicals,new carbon rig...everything new, new, new. Here's our new exterior arrangement. Underbody will be unchanged, except for a new (improved) rudder and skeg.

Is it worth it to renew/rebuild a plastic classic? Well, people choose to do different things with their money (some people may choose to pay the rent, or buy canned goods and medicine instead), but, in spite of the new rudder and rig, it's probably not if measured by cost/performance measure.

Pirates of the Caribbean

2008-06-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

One of the many interesting jobs we've had recently was designing the ships for Pirates of the Caribbean. We still get numerous requests for lines, detail drawings, etc of Johnny Depp's flagship Black Pearl. Of all of them, it is only truly functional vessel we designed for the show. But, it's fake too.

There are no detailed drawings of the whimsical 18th century, round bottom, wooden pyrate ship, because there is actually a 120' steel OSV (offshore supply vessel) inside of it. This is what we started with:

The idea was to take a fully functional, working ship and stuff it inside a Black Pearl shell. First we created the concept hull:The Sunset was a 1970's era stout and well maintained little ship, carrying cargo in the western Caribbean...that is until we wrecked it. We made the new hull considerably bigger than the vessel in Pirates I, but still had to trim off the stern as shown in the pfoto above. Here's a picture of Sunset immediately after being hauled at Steiner Shipyard. Note the framing for the new watertight sponsons.
Steel framing was attached to the modified hull, and a cold molded shell fastened on top. This just after it rolled out of the building shed. Sunset's bottom with propellers, shafts, bearings and rudders sticks out the bottom.

Check out the hydraulic crew door -- I think that's the coolest part of the boat...turns out it was the cheapest, easiest, safest way to transfer the equipment, food, stars and makeup onto the Pearl. Very 18th century.

I'm posting this final picture for all those who don't believe that we don't have detailed rigging plans for the vessel:

Look...there is no rig! It's truncated at the fighting tops...everything above there was CG. Well, if that part is CG, you may wonder (as I did) why didn't they animate the whole thing? One of the fascinating things about working on this project was to see how the studio determined what would be real and what would be animated...it depends how long it will be on film. If some part is going to be on film more than a few seconds, its still cheaper to build a full size thing then it is to create a virtual thing...I guess carpenters get paid less than animators.

Sunset/Black Pearl turned out pretty well, and as I wrote, fully functional. Immediately after it launched, it navigated 2000+ nautical miles from Bayou La Batre down to the Eastern Caribbean, then back up to the Bahamas. As far as I know it's now stored somewhere in Ensenada, Baja California.
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Cangarda update: I see there is an ongoing thread on the WoodenBoat design forum

Homemade boats

2008-06-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

My daily blog has deteriorated to ...monthly? It's windsurfing season now, and my productivity, always low, has declined to near zero. Today is the first day of summer and there is no wind, but rather than working on something useful, there's a mighty vesicle next door that I had to post some pictures of.

Looks like someone found a sunken, dented and rusted push boat stern and decided to marry it to a new bow:

Human ingenuity! I will keep an eye on this important project.

Ah crap...am I being a neg-head downer again? That's the only thing keeping us from greatness -- my lack of a positive attitude. A couple of years ago while I was stomping around the office, wailing that a well known (but lesser) designer got a commission for yet another fabulous mega sailing yacht. An employee (who had previously worked for that lucky designer) noted that he never had anything bad to say about any boat (or any subject for that matter).

"And what inference should I draw from that!?", I asked the (now former) worker. Hence, my summer solstice resolution is "Never tell a man his wife is fat, his child is stupid or his boat is slow (because he already knows and doesn'w want to be reminded of it)". Starting now, a new positive me. So, to the proud owner of the vessel next door -- excellent concept, nice workmanship, and my sincere wishes for your prosperity and success!

Chuck and others have asked for an update on Cangarda. Looks like they're stuck here for at least the summer and back to a Skeletor crew. The owner had raised expectations (and here) it would get to New England for the summer yachting season, but ("positive, positive, try to stay positive...") was unable to meet that skedyool due to (my) weakness, bad posture and lack of belief.

As I wrote previously, Cangarda has raised steam. Chief Jordan was here for about six weeks and is a miracle worker. The main engine turns and shifts beautifully (amazingly rapidly). There was some problem with the air pump for a while, but now all the auxiliary engines work as well. Critically, Pete raised steam by hand. Of course, that's how they did it a hundred years ago...shovel in the coal, open the dampers and away it went. However, there's nothing simply about the operation of the renewed vessel. It is dependent on automatic combustion and boiler controls.

I don't think anyone, even the greatest neg-head downer (uh, that would be moi) anticipated that the process of automation would be so difficult. All the valves, sensors, switches, et cetera for the combustion process will be controlled remotely. As far as I can tell, not a single connection has yet been made between these devices and the controller.

During the last few weeks, Pete bypassed the automatic devices and fired the boiler by hand; however, the process is not sufficiently reliable or efficient to actually go anywhere. Also, because the valves are not really laid out for manual operation, it's possible to inadvertently have a furnace explosion when lighting a burner. Indeed, the owner himself caused one two weeks ago...luckily no one was hurt.

Hey, now that's positive!

Single handed sailing

2008-05-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

What was it Mom always say about single handed sailing:

- "One hand for the ship, one hand for yourself?

- "Always wear your harness and clip into your lifeline? ...or was it:

-"Fly there instead and stay in a hotel". (actually, I think the only thing she did say was, "where do you stop at night?")

Well, even the great Chuck Handy can go overboard, and he just blogged about it.
Chuck is a circumnavigator and an itinerant (reknowned) boatbuilder who worked here on Cangarda among many, many other projects. Now, on Deviant he's on his way to the Marshall Islands (wherever they are). Clearly, I'm in no position to lecture anyone at any time on any subject, but for crissakes Chuck...at least wear sun block.
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For all the Cangarda blogee's out there, Chief Jordan raised steam this weekend. He fired up the boiler (by hand) and carefully got it up to ~100 psi...even turned over the main engine a half a revolution. Congratulations, Pete.

Brooks Dees' GP 26

2008-05-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

On May 1st, Brooks launched Salt Peanuts next door at Bay Ship and Yacht. Right after launching, he sailed it off the dock:

Here's the video of the first sail in what looks like 10 -12 knots off Richmond (you can see Angel Island in the background). Salt Peanuts is a GP 26, a developmental class, which is gaining popularity in Europe. It's the first one in the US, and Brooks designed (and built) it.

Salt Peanuts is featured in this week's Sailing Anarchy, which would be worth a visit even if Brooks weren't the headline. Tri-Coastal homies know that Brooks worked here in the late 90's. He left to work for Jim Antrim. Now his day job is with BS&Y in Alameda. I don't make predictions (especially about the future!), but I'm hoping this is going to be his breakthrough boat.

Check out Brooks' site

Cangarda to go to Mystic

2008-04-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hot off the press -- Cangarda will be donated to Mystic Seaport! Here's a recent newspaper article. (At least I assume it's a newspaper...it's so hard to tell nowadays when anyone can post a Blog!!!). "A San Francisco area boatyard has just completed a four-year restoration of the yacht. The work included construction of a new hull and restoration of the elaborate Victorian interior and woodwork. The museum said the current owner of the Cangarda, which is one of only three of its kind left in the world, wishes to remain anonymous." Interesting to read "has just completed a four-year restoration"...wonder what all those guys are doing out there today? ;-)

Percy posted a comment asking what the heck happened to Steve Cobb? Captain Cobb was involved with Cangarda since the beginning...in fact, since before the beginning. Here's a link to an article about him that appeared in Power and Motor Yacht back in 2003. Some time ago he sent me a link to some of his Cangarda pictures. Some nice engine room shots, although it's way more crowded in there since those pictures were taken.

I don't know what happened to Steve. I think he may have just got fed up with the slow pace of work...he's married and has a life back in Camden, Me. Email him and ask (steamer@midcoast.com). I believe the owner may not have felt a pressing need to have a licensed captain on board as he intends to operate both the vessel and the steam plant himself (that's the purpose of the plant automation). Even though Cangarda is a yacht, it is subject to federal regulation (assuming it is reflagged in the US) since it has a steam boiler on board. I'm not certain that all the regulatory issues have been resolved.

With regards to Percy's comment about the wisdom taking the vessel and ancient steam plant on a long sea voyage as soon as it is completed (the owner's intention)...well, good luck to "they who go down to the Sea in Ships".

Making steam (actually hot water)

2008-04-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Chief Jordan et al have done as they said they would...fire up Cangarda's burners. Now ladies and gentlemen, here is the first dramatic, photographic evidence of their success.

Apparently, the first step prior to actually making steam is to boil out the boilers to clean out the chemicals and mill scale left over from fabrication. They had to jury rig the burners, blowers, et cetera to make a fire, but...they did it!

Cangarda make steam (um...actual just hot water)

I think Pete is going back to Maine for a coupla' three weeks until the electricians finish their wiring. Next step is regulated steam. Check back for breaking news!

I see the film company put up a link to the movie trailer: http://kailuna.com/ultimate_restorations.html

Check it out and get back to me.

Cangarda update

2008-04-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

"I am going to get my nut on this trip, Miles. And you are not going to fuck it up for me with all your depression and anxiety and neg-head downer shit." Jack, Sideways, 2004.

Supposedly, I am one of the major neg-head downers of the marine world. (Years ago, a sailing magazine described me as "a bucket of cold seawater in the face of nautical enthusiasm". It's me nature.) And maybe, yes, I've been a little too down on the prospects of Cangarda raising steam and actually navigating any time in the near future.

Today that changed.

Pete Jordan is the real deal. Marine Chief Engineer Motor & Steam any horsepower, Pete is something like Scotty on the Starship Enterprise -- he will make the engines run, even if he has to go down to the Vulcan surface and mine the DiLithium crystals himself.

"I'll get it running alright...it may not be pretty, but it will run."

Innovation in Yachting Part B

2008-04-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Mast aft rig, mast aft rig, mast aft rig..." Say that ten times as fast as you can and I think it starts to sound rude. Well, it turns out there is a whole internet world out there full of people writing, designing and building these mast aft rigs, which I previously didn't even have a name for. Obviously, I have been living in Plato's Cave, imagining the real world. In fact, thousands of words have been written about this subject, and numerous vessels actually built:

Here's one with a slightly different rig that looks like it's going along okay.

This could be the boat next door in sailing trim

All this and more can be found here: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=623 , the scope, and effort of which simply proves the central theme of my previous blog entry.

I taught an Introduction to Yacht Design class years ago at Cal Extension. I tried holding it on Saturday mornings (obviously before my child was born); however, many of the sailors in the class objected to that hour (fruitlessly). They needed Saturday mornings to get ready for racing. I said that there were two kinds of people who were interested in boats, those who actually liked to go boating, and those who liked to stay inside and think about going, and the class was for the latter.

Innovation in yachting

2008-04-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

About once a month we have a middle-aged (meaning "old") white man present us with a great innovation in yacht design. He would like us to enable, share and perhaps even invest in his idea. Sailing surface effect catamarans, inflatable trimarans, jet quadramarans, mating the bow of a New England fishing schooner with the stern of a Colin Archer redningskoite, vessels that stick to the sea surface by surface tension... I can state categorically that in the fifteen years I have been in this office, not a single one of those ideas has been offered up by a person of color, a women or anyone under fifty for that matter. They've all been old, white men.

There must be something about marine design that inherently encourages innovation. I'm not talking about not the careful, plodding, boring innovation based on science or previous examples, rather the pure form that comes directly from the unconscious, unmitigated by practicality, expense, or physics. It's probably because there is little or no regulation in yacht design or construction. Commercial ships are subject to a world of regulation, federal and international, governing construction, operation and navigation. But in the US, even large pleasure yachts are essentially free from regulation.

Thus, a mature man can have a vision of a solar powered crystal house, from which the shit flows up hill, but unless it meets the building codes, he can't tie it into the sewer, the electrical grid, or even live in it. He can build a visionary aircraft, but can't fly it anywhere unless a powerful and emasculating goverment agency (that would be the FAA), finds it airworthy. Blind, ignorant government regulators, conspiring to stifle innovation and freedom. It is frustrating to a free man.

At least there is the Sea. If a (white) man can envision his vessel (say a solar powered trimaran built entirely from beer kegs) he can build it, and, if he chooses, sail it out of the Golden Gate, with his whole family of home schooled children on board. No one can stop him.

The Relentless is next door at Bay Ship right now.
Okay, I truly don't know how this vessel sails...maybe it skims across the top of the waves, while the owner and his content crew sit warm and dry below in a spacious cabin, sipping drinks as they reel off the miles. Then maybe not.

Where is the front of the boat? Let's see...look for the rudder. Ha ha, that's a trick question. I guess they took the rudder off to fix it, so it's hard to figure out. I'll make it easy for you, see the propeller...that must be the back.

The big wishbone spar in the back is the mast, which supports the two headstays. The rig is tensioned by the backstay, which is supported by the two jumper struts. I imagine the design concept was that mainsails are bad because the mast interferes with the luff of the sail, especially to weather. Solve the problem by putting the mast behind the sails...voila. I wonder how it goes.

I keep looking for the owner so I can find out more about this innovative vessel. (And if the owner reads this, you may alert me to your presence by throwing a rock at my building.)

The Gaff Rig

2008-04-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a little known fact. The absolute world sailing speed record for absolutely any type of vessel under any sail plan, was made with a gaff rigged sail. (WTF?-- that's impossible!) Yet here is proof, a video of the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KISRG6USvj4&feature=related

That's Antoine Albeau going 49.09 knots at Les Saintes Maries on the March 5th. But wait, that's not a gaff rig...it's a windsurfer. Well my homies, you're wrong again. Check it:

This an illustration of my current, favorite sail, which is a de-tuned version of the one Albeau just sailed at over 56 mph. Note the sail is square on top, and inside that square top is a gaff, a little carbon fiber gaff. Yes, it's a real gaff and it does everything the gaff on a gaff rig should do.

Windsurfing has ruined sailing for me. I can't stand sailing on a real sail boat anymore. Oh, once a year or so I'll go out and lash around the Bay, just to be friendly, but it all seems so pointless and slow. And the one thing that drives me to desperation is the way the main sail on a typical racer/cruiser sets and is trimmed. The first third of the sail (from the leading edge) is blanketed by the mast, the leech is too tight and they are always oversheeted. (A short aside to all the racer/cruisers out there: you're oversheeting your main. Don't argue with me about this...just ease the sheet out, now.)

How is it that a lowly, ordinary windsurfer out performs huge, million dollar sailing machines? They're the fastest, and yet they have several huge disadvantages: they're small relative to the wave size, the sails are small and low experience the highest wind gradient, and they have a huge bluff body (the sailor) standing to windward of the sail. In spite of those obstacles, they are the fastest. Why? Because of the awesome gaff rigged sails.

Our website has a little bit on the old timey gaff rig. But that's not what I want. Now I have a vision. Every sailing vessel should be rigged with windsurfer sails.

Pier 3 San Francisco at 6:30 am

2008-04-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Coast Guard to show up, this is the view from the upper deck of the Flyer at 6:30 am this morning. Beautiful I suppose...if only sunrise could happen at a decent hour later in the day! I believe we avoided an inclining experiment for this vessel and substituted a "Deadweight survey", which is cheaper, faster with only a slight decrease in accuracy.

Alcatraz Flyer (ex Bay Flyer, ex Long Beach Prince) had an accurate inclining experiment and deadweight survey in 1975 (witnessed and approved by Coast Guard), the results of that are still valid. Although Flyer was recently spiffed up and repowered (de-powered), it is possible to calculate the change, if the weights are accurately known, which we do. Since the Cosco Busan disaster, local Coast Guard has be extra careful about vessel inspections.

Cangarda's engine room

2008-04-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple of requests (demands) for updated photos of Cangarda, as well as angry comments on the lack of progress. I just walked out there and took some pictures in engine room. It's so full, that it's hard to get away far enough to get an image that conveys the complexity. Here's shot looking down at the foot of the ladder showing some of the piping underneath the sole.

Under the engine room sole

I believe there are twenty-eight valves in the fuel supply located below the engine room sole. Most of those are remotely actuated, computer controlled valves part of the automatic combustion control system. (That's exclusive of the fuel transfer system. See the photo below).

Twenty-eight valves (just for the fuel), located below the sole, all of which have to be correctly operated to maintain combustion...hmmm. There is the theory of the normal accident first put forth by Charles Perrow in 1984 (and lately adopted by Nasa to explain their catastrophic system failures). Normal in the sense that when a system becomes so complicated, failure is statistically normal.
Very neatly made fuel transfer manifold

It's very complicated...how did it happen? I've had many questions in that vein. Originally, Cangarda/Magedoma had a naturally convected, coal fired furnace. The coal fire, raked by hand, boiled water in the boiler, which ran the main engine and auxiliary machinery. The intensity of the fire was controlled by shoveling in more coal and opening the furnace doors to admit more air. The coal soot and ash was blown out the stack, the expended clinkers shoveled overboard, and the permanent nine man crew kept the boat and guests pretty clean with constant hard labor.

The main reason is boats aren't allowed to simply blow coal soot out their stacks and shovel ash overboard anymore. A diesel fire is inherently cleaner, requiring fewer crew to maintain the boat in its lovely state. With controlled combustion and a forced draft, it's possible to get more power out of a given volume. But the power, convenience and cleanliness come at a cost...complexity. I see Jeff and the owner are giving a paper this weekend at the Classic Yacht Symposium at the Herreshoff Museum of Yachting in Bristol, RI. Maybe there will be more information on Cangarda's current status there.

The inclining test

2008-03-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

As I wrote previously, Cangarda's launching (or partially floating) instability really has little or nothing to do with its stability at sea. A vessel stability derives from its shape, its mass and the center of mass. The distribution of the mass is important for calculations of motions and ship strength, but for hydrostatic stability calculations, it makes no difference how it is distributed, only where its centroid, or Center of Gravity (CG), is.

It's easy to figure out a ship's weight and the longitudinal (LCG) and transverse (TCG) centroids from just observing its drafts, trim and heel. Weight as function of the volume of water of water displaced...Archimedes figured that out it two thousand years ago (Hey, Eureka!). But determining the vertical centroid, the VCG, is different and has to be determined by an inclining experiment. Here's a pretty good explanation of the process at the naval post graduate school website.

The elements of the experiment are moving precisely measured weights, precise distances transversely in the ship to cause heel, then measuring (precisely) that heel angle. This is the relationship between the heel and weight moment (weight x distance).

The weight or displacement of the ship, , is known. The transverse moments and resulting heel angles are measured. Solve for GM. From GM, and the ship hydrostatics, derive the VCG.

In theory easy, in practice...precision is everything. The standards and precision for conducting the test are in our federal regulations. A vessel must be heeled to a maximum angle between two and four degrees, the angle to be measured precisely. We commonly use a pendulums or water filled clinometers. Here's what they look like:

I say pendulums plural because three separate devices are required (and I think insisting on "pendula" is affectacious). To get the required precision, the minimum greatest deflection is six inches. To get that deflection for two degrees of heel, the pendulum length has to be 172" (4.4m). A pendulum that long on a boat on a windy day wiggles around quite a bit...it can be hard to get an accurate reading.

We're conducting the inclining experiment on the Alcatraz Flyer on April 11th. It's a very wide and stiff little ship, and to get the required minimum of two degrees of heel, we have to move thirteen tons of weight in a specified set of movements across the deck. It takes up most of the day.

More on launching instability

2008-03-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. The idiot with the needle gun is out there on the rusty old Ranger again today, futilely hammering away. "Idiot! Idiot! You are accomplishing nothing except to drive me nuts!"
I'm going to go outside and scream at him.

(...three minutes later) Well, he couldn't hear me yelling, but I feel much anyway.

As I wrote yesterday, Cangarda's (ex Magedoma, ex Cangarda) near capsize is not unique in ship launching history, especially for long slender vessels like steam yachts. Here's an illustration from the London News in 1883 showing the capsize and sinking of the S/Y Daphne:

Not quite the same thing happened to the American S/Y Norma in 1884 as you can see from the Times archive:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9806E1D9163AEF33A25757C0A9639C94659FD7CF&oref=slogin

It simply had too many passengers on deck. It wasn't a launching instability.
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Back to Cangarda. Here is a the picture of forward moving dolly:

Note how it only supports the vessel at a single point on the bar keel. And wow, check out the tires:

Even more amazing, those were the good "road wheels", the mover changed them for even more threadbare launching wheels right before the launch.

To retrun to yesterday's theme, what does its launching instability say about Cangarda's ultimate seaworthiness? Basically, nothing. Here is a graph of its righting arm in its most adverse loading condition:

Cangarda has a great range of positive stability (> 90 degrees) but, compared to a modern motor yacht, a very little initial form stability. This means that it will be very subject to roll motion and have large roll response to relatively small waves, but is also pretty immune to full capsize due to the low center of gravity. The roll stabilizers (obviously, not original to the vessel), should give it a better ride.

Transverse stability

2008-03-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Cangarda...you can't get enough of it! On Friday, the owner said the filmmakers had promised to put up a dedicated Cangarda site, but I don't know if that will ever happen. In the meantime, I will attempt to bring you up to date. Thomas asked about the near capsize at launching. It is true. It happened. Here is a shocking photo:John Horton (on the rail) probably hadn't anticipated this event, and is trying to decide whether to hold on or leap free. Andrew and Jody were in the Zodiac and are backing like mad. Yeah, it looks funny now, but it was serious and could have been far worse. I just read the article you cited: http://www.ebdailynews.com/article/2007-8-25-eb-yacht. Evidently, some people, including the owner, didn't fully understand what happened. As you point out, he seemed to think that this was proof of the vessel's inherent stability. It's not.

This is classic launching instability and, until recently, has been a standard part of elementary naval architecture instruction. Today, most vessels are launched parallel to their design waterline either with a travel lift, a syncholift, or by allowing water to enter the building dock --never losing transverse stability. Years ago, most vessels were end launched (stern first) off an inclined railway or set of building ways. Launched this way, as soon as the stern floats, the ship is only supported at the bow, and would lose all transverse stability if inadequately suported. The forward poppets have to be strong enough to resist that lateral load.

If a vessel were launched perfectly straight and there were no asymmetry, then it could slide all the way to the end of the ways with no incident just as a riderless bicycle could be sent down a hill with a perfectly straight push. The farther the ship makes it down the ways, the more form stability it gains...its a race between the stabilizing and destabilizing forces. Here's a link to a video of a launching in 1907 that went wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj-FIXlTPIo
The instability and the overturning moment can be calculated. Before computers that calculation was difficult and rarely done, now (with the right software) it is easy and accurate. Long, slender vessels are more prone to overturning than short, wide ones (with LCB well aft of amidships). Cangarda was launched by a very interesting and energetic housemover who had experience launching large fishing boats with the same gear and method. The gear consisted of a massive, multiwheel dolly under the stern, and a steerable dolly that supported the bow at a single point. When I told Jeff and him that Cangarda would capsize the mover said, "I was thinking about some kind of tie down, but I didn't want to eff up the guy's paint."

"Well. His paint is going to get effed up a whole lot more when he capsizes on the ways".

The mover's gear was old and primitive, and watching his crew and he move Cangarda out of the yard brought to mind a horde of ancient Egyptians hauling a giant obelisk with ropes and rollers.

To make a long story a little shorter, prior to the launch the housemover added sufficient lateral support to the bow dolly, but when the stern floated free, the rusted old dolly itself split apart. Luckily, the mover was driving the truck, and when he saw his dolly start to rip apart, had the presence of mind to push Cangarda down the ways as fast as possible, thereby preventing a disaster too heinous to contemplate.

What does this say about Cangarda's transverse stability or ability to weather a severe storm...nothing.

Loadlines

2008-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've seen one of these on the side of a ship and wondered what it was:

It's an International Load Line "Plimsoll mark", named after Samuel Plimsoll, a 19th century British MP, who took up the cause of preventing ships sinking by overloading. The mark was adopted by international convention in 1966 and has applied to ships of all signatory nations since then. Of course, it was created to prevent greedy shipowners from overloading large commercial vessels with cargo, but it applies to any ship (other than a yacht or warship) over 79ft in length, including even small, wooden sailing ships like our Spirit of South Carolina.

Unfortunately, Spirit's load line is now slightly submerged. Today, I have to find out why.

- Was the Plimsoll mark placed in the wrong spot?

- Has the wooden structure soaked up a significant amount of water since the orginal stability calculations?

- Is someone storing gold bullion on board?

I suspect it's a combination of the first and the last...well, probably not gold bullion, but sailors are notorious packrats, and I'll wager there are random bits of chain (never know when it might be useful), tackle, tools, packets of Cheetos, etc that weren't there when the vessel was new.

I think we'll be able to fix this pretty easily by adding additional deadweight load items e.g., "crew stores", "bits of chain", "snack foods", to the stability calculations, to account for the general increase in weight, without however, exceeding some of the transverse stability requirements. Not too much, not too little.

Diesel oil

2008-03-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Cangarda instant update: Cangarda is taking on fuel today. The pump truck is right outside(but luckily I have my noise cancelling headset) and the +3000 gallons of diesel should take all day at acceptance rate of the vessel. (Just checked, fueling rate is ~24 gallons/minute...so a little more than two hours.)

I touched on the repowering of the Alcatraz Flyer yesterday. In the SF Bay we're very conscious about vehicle emissions. (That's why there are more Priuses here than anywhere in the world - they're powered by guilt) Replacing the Flyer's old Caterpillar 3512's with the MTU's will result in +30 gallon fuel saving per engine per hour at the operational speed. Let's say the vessel operates 1000 hours per year at the average operational power. That's an average fuel saving of ~60,000 gallons/year, which means at hundreds of thousands of dollars of fuel savings per year. Since there are ~2.78 kg of carbon per gallon of diesel, it also means 1668 metric tons of carbon won't be emitted into the atmosphere each year.

Alcatraz Clipper

2008-03-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Another Cangarda comment! Maybe I should start a steam yacht Cangarda blog?
Dear Thomas and other steam aficionados (nuts) who may read this, I believe Tri-Coastal Marine has been cut loose from this project (although no one has informed me one way or the other). We will update our Cangarda webpage when we get a chance. We've got many inquiries/complaints about progress with the steam plant, and I don't have any good answers. Basically, it is complicated, principally due to all the automatic combustion controls. I'll take some pictures of the engine room and post them so you can get a feel for it.

FYI, as I wrote previously, it appears to me that the project is at a standstill. Not a lot of recent activity, no sign of steam....John Horton is the only guy out there today. I'm pretty certain that Steve Cobb (captain) has left as well...at least he doesn't come around for coffee anymore.

_____________

Ahem. To return to the (my) Naval Architect's Blog:

This morning I headed over to Bayside Boatworks in Sausalito to measure the Alcatraz Clipper. The Clipper and the Flyer are ex- Blue and Gold Fleet ferries that Alcatraz Cruises bought for the Alcatraz/Pier 39 route. They are both over thirty years old, but still good. The Clipper is up on the railway at Bayside for replating, repowering and general rehabiliation. Here's a picture from the upper deck this morning over Richardson Bay:

What view. This railway, as others, was built on the foundation of WWII Liberty ship building ways. It's a little like stumbling across the giant remains of a previous civilization.

It barely fits.

The boats are old, and the documentation is indifferent. Today we measured the deck edge, chine, profile, draft marks, and propeller shaft location. This will ensure that we have an accurate hull model for future calculations. Here are the surveyors digitizing the chine with a total station device.

Surveyor with total station device

Cangarda

2008-03-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

A reader, yikes! Yes, there has been quite a lot of interest in Cangarda, and it is true our website is totally lame and out of date. In our defense, well umm...I think we’ve been more or less cut loose from the project so, aside from taking up 140' of dock outside the door, it’s dropped off the radar screen. Our part in its restoration was quite interesting and purely technical, but we weren't the builders, and provided no project management or any oversight. However, for all the steam aficionados, we will try and update our website to reflect its current condition, just because no one else seems to be doing it. As to its color, strange rig, etc., they were the personal choices of the owner...blame us for other stuff, but not that.

John evidently has been following Cangarda’s progress. For those who have an interest, Cangarda is/was the only existing American example from the short lived era of steam yachting. Here's our Cangarda page
She was built in my hometown of Wilmington, Delaware by the Pusey and Jones Co. in 1901. While I'm not old enough to remember Cangarda being built, I do remember the yard closing down in 1959. Here's a picture taken at the P&J dock in 1901:

As far recent photos and her current condition, it was launched in August of last year and Andrew Worm posted some of his photos here. Since then, it's been sitting at our dock with a few guys picking away at it. Is it going to sail anytime soon? (We could have steam ship pool!). My guess is...well, I better not say. They haven't "raised steam" yet -- I will post that milestone when it occurs. I'm sure the builder, Jeff Rutherford rbsinc@sbcglobal.net, can give a more up to date schedule.

More needle gun

2008-03-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the guy with the needle gun on the old, rusty Ranger...that vessel's an argument for sending old steel ships to Pakistan. Turning it into wire coat hangers would be a higher use for the steel. Today, I felt like going out there and telling them how stupid and useless they are, but why bring them down? They feel they're being productive. (They also play that 'orrible mexican, mariachi music, with the tuba all day...does anyone actually like that stuff? I suppose it sounds okay in old Puerto Vallarta, but it doesn't travel very well.)

Let me retract what I said about old steel ships. We've been spending a lot of time on some thirty five year old ferry boats for Alcatraz Cruises and they are still great. Every day they reliably carry thousands of overweight persons (snack bar aboard!) from Pier 39 to Alcatraz Island and back. They've been upgraded and repowered (depowered from 2000 hp to 1300) and fitted with catalytic converters...this is the Bay Area, and we all drive Priuses. Funny thing, the same company runs the same boats from Manhattan to Liberty Island in NY, but they could care less about catalytic converters there...instead, all passengers have pass through airport like security.

check out our website to see what we've been up to: www.tricoastal.com

F!cking needle gun

2008-03-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jeesus H. Christ! Some idiot with a needle gun has been blasting rust off an old crew boat for three straight days. He's about forty feet from my desk -- like being inside a 55 gallon drum with that fool hammering on the outside...kind of explains why I'm not being very productive.

FYI, a needle gun is hand held device, containing about twenty boron rods that jitter back and forth, powered by compressed air. The reciprocating rods bust rust off steel plate and can be pretty effective if the plate is thick enough (over 1/4"), but are useless for thin plating since it just deflects away under the blows. That moron is using it on 1/8" deck plating. All the energy is dissipated as sound, while the rust remains. This could go on for days.