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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #1131
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    Howard, I think you'd want gaiters on those.

    The next R2AK has the mental gears whirling around here. After our last SSS meeting I listened to Gordie Nash talking with a couple guys about developments in rowing apparatus, conditioning, stroke rates, etc. I shouldn't have been surprised that "simple rowing" is at the same technological level as most sports.

    There are some folks taking this very seriously. The proposed rowing times for the race to Ketchikan are well under what Team Elsie Piddock accomplished. I just hope all the technology doesn't ruin the spirit of the event.

  2. #1132
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    As H. Spruit suggests, figuring out the human power for the R2AK is a challenging exercise. For $500, I had the used oars, sliding seats, foot stretchers, oarlocks and spreaders, and was rowing daily at the local gym. But the geometry wasn't proving right for my narrow catamaran. It would have taken two crew, each positioned near the stern of each hull, pulling one sweep (12' oar) apiece, to move WILDFLOWER at 2 knots in calm conditions.

    I consulted with Norton Smith, Piper Dunlop, and Russell Brown. All advocated for considering the pedal power solution, as did Gordie. Norton reported he could pedal the Hobie 20 HEXAGRAM 59 in the '15 R2AK at speeds that created enough apparent wind to use the sails and get the boat moving 5 knots. Norton's visual of pedaling while steering and trimming the spinny sheet was compelling, as was his observation that HEXAGRAM 59 was the fastest R2AK boat under manual propulsion.

    Norton generously offered me the Hydro-Cycle from HEXAGRAM 59. But the installation involved cutting into WILDFLOWER's cockpit and bridgedeck, and modifying the Hydro-Cycle to extend the shaft.

    The 800 mile R2AK could involve manual propulsion for several hundred miles, even on the fastest of sailcraft like the tris and beachcats. In this year's race, the difference between second and third was a final dash using manual power.

    Engineering WILDFLOWER's rowing rig had me occasionally sleepless at 3 a.m., as did finding a capable and committed crew who could take the time for this crazy adventure. In the meantime, I'd built a 5 foot bowsprit for a hypothetical Code Zero, rigged trapezes, secured a satphone with data capability, sewed in a 3rd reef in the main, added 55 pounds of masthead flotation using two WM auto-inflate PFD's, and found a used Etchell's jib to replace my current well thrashed headsail.

    I suppose if WILDFLOWER was competitive, more beamy, and suited for the often windy upwind segments of the R2AK in the Straits of Georgia and out Johnstone Straits, and if my wallet would have supported the mods, entry fee, and logistics, I would have pressed ahead with the R2AK. I'm not disappointed to say I've backed off from the R2AK, which had my fire lit for some months. I've met fun and interesting people, made improvements to the boat, gotten in shape, and had the right amount of titillation without becoming all consumed.

    Good luck to the 2016 R2AK competitors. We'll be watching.
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-06-2015 at 06:52 PM.

  3. #1133
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    And the spice rack? Might you have had to relocate it? The more I thought about it, and the more often I looked at that Hobie with its rudder completely out of the water in high wind, the more I began to reconsider encouraging you. After all, what if you flipped Wildflower in those conditions? Aaahhhh!!! You might soak the bedding again. Plus, now maybe you will come lay around the Corinthian Yacht Club deck and wave goodbye to the 2016 Transpackers!
    Last edited by Philpott; 11-04-2015 at 01:23 PM.

  4. #1134
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    Since entangling in the 70' red topsail schooner SWIFT of IPSWICH's dolphin striker, it seems the color red has been a magnet in my sailing life. That afternoon as a kid, my Sabot, in the grip of an unseen tidal current, snagged her mast in SWIFT's bowsprit as my attention gazed upwards at a buxom figurehead. Fortunately, the actor Cagney appeared from below, and smiling, freed the tip of my mast and sent me on my distracted way.

    More red boats followed over the years. RED WITCH, the 1932 Matt Walsh "Common Sense" design and the star of Balboa Island. RED ROOSTER, Dick Carter's famous 40' sloop that took England by storm and won the 1969 Fastnet Race. IMPROBABLE, David Allen's 42', Gary Mull design, downwind speedster, and AMERICAN EAGLE, Ted Turner's 12 meter, a Bill Luders design and build, and stepping stone to America's Cup fame.

    And then there was DANCER. I hadn't thought of DANCER in a long time, not until yesterday when I received a couple of photos from long time SSS supporter Rich Baker asking "what boat is this and when?" Rich's photos showed a smallish, dark hulled, sloop sailing along the undeveloped shores of Tiburon in the background, about where next July's SHTP starts off CYC.

    A couple of synapses clicked in my memory. "Why, that's DANCER. Look at that reverse sheer and transom." About the time I was sailing my Sabot under SWIFT of IPSWICH's bowsprit, our father had chartered the same DANCER for a family weekend at Catalina. As kids, we had fun sliding down the reverse sloping stern into the clear waters.

    DANCER was red then, bright red, and how could that not make an impression on a budding sailor. In 1951, DANCER was young Bill Lapworth's second design, 32 feet LOA, hard chine forward, and a standout in the day when yacht design was more "traditional."

    DANCER led to further Lapworth successes, first as a designer of the L-32 Class, then the L-36, the L-50, and Cal line of boats, including the iconic Cal 40.

    Olin Stephens, of Sparkman and Stephens, may have remembered DANCER when Stephens put the reverse transom on his 1958 America's Cup winning 12 meter design, COLUMBIA. Likely it was to reduce weight aft. But when asked, Stephen's reply left the yachting press scratching their heads. "It's so rain drops push the boat forward," was Olin Stephens laconic reply to a YACHTING magazine reporter. It was a very different day and age of technology back then, and Olin's explanation seemed to make nonsensical sense.

    In 1953, DANCER came north for that summer's PCYA Regatta, and Rich Baker's father snapped the attached black and white photos. There's another photo of DANCER, with the tall ship BALCUTHA in the background. BALCUTHA had not yet been purchased by the San Francisco Maritime Museum (1954), and she is seen aground in the mud, off the Madden and Lewis wharf in Sausalito.

    The last photo is again DANCER, all prettied up and 4 SALE in Newport in 2013, 60 years later. Bill Lee sent that photo, and asked, "Do you know what boat this is??"

    Pretty DANCER.
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-06-2015 at 07:18 PM.

  5. #1135
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    Very pretty indeed. What a fantastic job on that refit!!

  6. #1136
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    Skip,
    Is the L-32 the same as the Dasher-32? As I recall Hank Easom built a few Dashers in Sausalito. They also had a reverse sheer. As for the first photo of DANCER, I recognize the location in Raccoon Strait. That's Paradise Drive and Elephant Rock in the background.

    Interesting to see the changes made to DANCER over time: added for'deck hatches and Dorades; moved winches off the mast and halyards led aft; new pulpit and lifelines; roller furling jib; AND the addition of big windows in the cabin front in place of the ports. Do you know what was the hull construction type? The hard chine suggests plywood, but it could have been strip planked.

    Interesting also to see how far aft the mast was. Such a big fore triangle was pretty radical. And look at those sails! I wonder who made that main with those narrow panels? Given the date I suppose those are cotton sails. Could that have been Hood with his pillowcase loom? I don't remember when Hood started making his own cloth.

    Nice post.
    Tom
    Last edited by Dazzler; 11-06-2015 at 11:10 PM.

  7. #1137
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    pogen is offline Sailing canoe "Kūʻaupaʻa"
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    Lone sailor, 1958


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    Peter Tangvald (aboard yawl Windflower). Supplementary material reads: “Gershon. City Desk. Illus. Lone Sailor. Peter Tangvald, 34, shown seated in Panama native dugout he bought to replace dinghy he carried as lifeboat on board 45-foot yawl Windflower. He is also shown in Sextant only navigational instrument other than wrist watch he has on six thousand mile sea voyage alone in Windflower. He arrived here yesterday after year-and-half voyage from England and is shown at Henry’s Landing, Terminal Island, Los Angeles harbor”.

    University of Southern California, Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961
    Sleeve Number 12479-007

  8. #1138
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    DAZZLER wrote ,
    Is the L-32 the same as the Dasher-32? As I recall Hank Easom built a few Dashers in Sausalito. They also had a reverse sheer.

    Tom,

    I was only aware of the Lapworth 32's in Southern California, all built in the early 1950's There were four: DANCER (Dick Stewart), MADCAP (Dudley Jarrett), VIXEN (Frank Rice), and DASHER (Warren Blinn). They were strip planked, built by Carl Chapman, and all had different sterns. DANCER and DASHER had reverse transoms, MADCAP's was vertical, and VIXEN's was traditional.

    I understand Hank Easom built four 32 foot "Dashers", the first in 1959, and the first boats Hank built at his new yard in Sausalito.. One was named BABY GRAND. The fourth Dasher, SERENADE, Hank built for himself.

    DANCER was a bit different than the Dashers. Essentially the same hull, the Dashers had their masts further forward. I'm not sure they had chines. It would be interesting to ask Hank what he remembers of these boats and whether his Dashers were the same as the L-32's in Southern CA.
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-07-2015 at 05:20 PM.

  9. #1139
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    It's sad to see the end of an historic vessel, especially one so loved as the 77 foot, 1942 tug WILLIAM B, Newport Harbor's most recognizable profile.

    WILLIAM B., owned and restored by a childhood friend, burned and sank at her mooring in Newport Harbor a week ago, a total loss. This morning she was refloated and towed out of the Harbor for the last time, to be dismantled in San Pedro. That's a big pump on her fantail in the above photo, keeping her afloat on her outbound voyage.

    WILLIAM B was to be the Commodore's Flagship for the 100th Anniversary of Newport Harbor Yacht Club in 2017.

    A salute to a fine wooden ship.

    The story of WILLIAM B was featured in the Los Angeles Times.
    http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-p...104-story.html

    http://www.newportbeachmagazine.com/...ind-of-luxury/
    Last edited by sleddog; 11-08-2015 at 10:44 AM.

  10. #1140
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    Skip, Do you recognize the schooner in the background of the photo of the WILLIAM B ?oiiiiiiiiiiiAZ)___########@ (This last bit was typed by my cat FLOW as she came to sit on my warm laptop keyboard ha ha...)

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