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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #1401
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    Jan 2008
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    Santa Rosa
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    A good memory is vital to woodworkers, especially wooden boat builders. All that beautiful wood, the grain, the colors, and - yes - the smell, disappears under multiple coats of protective paint seldom to be seen again. As I watched "FREDA's" rebirth at Spaulding's Boat Works in Sausalito over the years, I savored every rib and plank as it was lovingly shaped, steamed, fastened or hung until a beautiful piece of wooden sculpture stood proudly in the shed. Then one day when I visited I saw a white boat sitting there. All those thousands of wood working hours disappeared under the protective paint, only to be seen in another hundred years when a new generation of dedicated wooden boat builders with hopefully dismantle this century's work and do it all over again.

    That's a beautiful piece of wood and will be a great rudder to safely steer you through those San Juan islands shoals and rocks.

  2. #1402
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Celebrate Earth Day!

    Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

    The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” War raged in Vietnam and students nationwide overwhelmingly opposed it.

    At the time, Americans were running leaded gas in massive V8 sedans. Industry belched smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Our school classes in the LA Basin were regularly kept indoors because of the pain of breathing eye stinging smog.

    Although mainstream America largely remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and began to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment, and links between pollution and public health.

    After witnessing the ravages of the massive 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara, Earth Day 1970 was imagined, planned, and promoted by classmate and student body president Denis Hayes to give voice to an emerging environmental consciousness by channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement to put environmental concerns on the front page.

    Denis Hayes, with the support of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and then Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey of California, built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. April 22, falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, was selected as the date of the first Earth Day.

    On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

    Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city folk and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

    As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

    As the millennium approached, Denis Hayes spearheaded yet another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. With 5,000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990.

    Earth Day 2000 used the power of the Internet to organize activists. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC for a First Amendment Rally. Earth Day 2000 sent world leaders the loud and clear message that citizens around the world wanted quick and decisive action on global warming and clean energy.

    Much like the early days of 1970, Earth Day 2016 comes at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a distracted public, and a divided environmental community all contribute to a narrative of cynicism versus activism. Despite these challenges, Earth Day has prevailed and remains a relevant, powerful focal point, celebrated by more than a billion people in 192 countries, the largest secular observance in the world.

    The fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the effects of climate change and pollution become more manifest every day. As sailors skilled at turning the wind into forward motion, and who regularly see the effect of pollution on the health of the world's seas, we have a responsibility to educate, whenever possible, the desirability of leaving a clean wake.
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-22-2016 at 07:02 PM.

  3. #1403
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    WILDFLOWER's new rudder has its final shaping complete and checked with templates. Next up is a protective sheath of 4 oz. S glass fiberglass cloth. overlapped at the leading edge. The fiberglass cloth is not for strength, rather abrasion resistance, and to keep the finish materials from cracking, and letting moisture into the wood.
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    Howard says 4 oz.S glass cloth is as strong as 6 oz. E glass and 80% strong as carbon fiber.

    The finish coat on the S glass will be West System #103 epoxy resin with #207 clear hardener, applied with a reusable black bristle brush, making for a clear and glossy finish. (We don't use foam rollers as they force bubbles into the goo. Likewise, we don't use disposable brushes as they tend to shed, no bueno on wood that will be finished bright.) It's the #207 clear hardener that makes the rudder finish glossy, clear, and smooth.

    Lastly, several coats of varnish will be added for UV protection, and the leading edge will be painted white to show weed. Also, we will build a sheave box at the top of the rudder for the kick-up adjustment line, as well as the attachment point for the pneumatic cylinder that assists in kicking up the rudder when pulled by hand, or when it hits a submerged object, like the bottom on a beach landing.

    If you are wondering why a single rudder on a catamaran, it is because the single rudder is on centerline. No, we don't fly a-hull except by accident.
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-23-2016 at 02:08 PM.

  4. #1404
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    Sep 2007
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    Some nice chicken skin music for a Sunday morning. Check out the Hanalei Pier at 1:00 and 6:15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDa0YmZD0Jk
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-25-2016 at 08:25 AM.

  5. #1405
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    Sep 2007
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    The breeze fan along the CA coast is currently on "High" setting, with gale warnings for NW winds from Oregon/CA border all the way to Mexico. In the last 24 hours gusts of 40 plus knots have been recorded at weather buoys offshore Bodega Bay, Half Moon Bay, Monterey Bay, Santa Maria, and Santa Rosa Island.

    Similar conditions will continue today, as a strong high pressure, 1031 mb., is anchored off the coast. Conditions will moderate later in the week, 20-25 knots through Friday. But currently not a good window to be bashing north in anything less than a 40,000 hp container ship.

    It's why the lighthouse keepers at Pt. Sur used to keep their children and chickens on leashes. As the good sail doctor would say: "Sheep's in the meadow." "Bolt your socks on, take two reds, and call me in the morning."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO5Wr-R3Og0
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-25-2016 at 09:43 AM.

  6. #1406
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    Sep 2007
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    Though I am well aware that Rocky Mountain Elk jerky is particularly favored by some SHTP buglighters for its nutritional and tasty qualities, I was unprepared for an "unclear on the concept" encounter yesterday at our local West Marine.

    I'd briefly visited the store to retrieve some free sailing magazines, usually stacked on shelves between the footwear and bungee cord. I guess I was too late in the month to find Lat-38, 48 North, or Pacific NW Yachting.

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    The only printed matter available was a glossy 2016 California Big Game Hunting published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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    A West Marine sales person approached and asked if he could help me find something. I said, pointing to page 46 in the Big Game Hunting magazine,
    " these hunters on page 46 look happy with their magnificent deceased wild animal. What aisle has guns and ammo so I can get in on the action?"

    The store went silent... The sales rep rolled his eyes... Ammunition in West Marine?

    The good news is, to protect endangered California condors from lead poisoning, hunters cannot use lead bullets in condor habitat.
    Last edited by sleddog; 04-27-2016 at 04:52 PM.

  7. #1407
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    Howard assures me we will not be putting small bumps, "tubercles," on the edges of WILDFLOWER's new rudder.

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    Says Howard: "Tubercles are found on humpback whale pectorals. Humpbacks weigh many tons and don't swim much faster than 5 knots."

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    Paul Bieker is designing foils (rudder and daggerboards) with tubercles. His foils are being tested on ORACLE's AC catamarans. Reportedly, Paul's tubercles act as vortex generators and work to delay rudder stalling caused by cavitation, especially at high speed. The tubercles are said to divert air flowing downward on the rudder's surface that causes lack of control at high angles of heel.
    http://ptsail.org/2011/10/11/whale-f...udder-designs/

    If whales could fly.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 04-27-2016 at 05:10 PM.

  8. #1408
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Santa Barbara Sometimes
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    167

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    "If whales could fly"

    That is almost infinitely improbable, according to some

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h02a2HSB58M

  9. #1409
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
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    6

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    Nice looking rudder! How do you come up with the templates for the shape? I am making a new kick-up rudder for my Jester dinghy.

    Robert Stege

  10. #1410
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    Sep 2007
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    3,688

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    With reference to post #1394 above, it appears "the race is on." I received this photo yesterday:

    Attachment 1481
    Last edited by BobJ; 04-28-2016 at 04:15 PM.

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