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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #1611
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    Quote Originally Posted by Submarino View Post
    That's nuts! But, it's tempting! Did you guys motor or sail out?
    Bob Buell and crew sailed ROBON through the Mokuaeae Passage under spinnaker. No motor. After all, they were Racing, from Hono to Hanalei. Although I doubt it came under consideration at the time, the Mokuaeae "shortcut" saved ROBON about 200 yards distance.

    5 years later, in the summer of 1978, Captain (then 2nd Mate) Bob Buell was at anchor at Hanalei on his L/36 BELLWETHER for their annual family vacation. In sailed some scruffly singlehanders from the Mainland. Bob rowed over to WILDFLOWER and asked, "what are you guys doing here?"
    "We're racing from San Francisco."
    "Where's your finish committee?"
    "Finish committee? We don't need no stinkin' finish committee."
    Bob rowed back to his BELLWETHER and returned with a 6 pack of cold beer.
    "Aloha to Hanalei," he says, becoming inextricably entwined in SHTP welcoming lore.
    Last edited by sleddog; 08-03-2016 at 12:51 PM.

  2. #1612
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    Name:  Lightning.jpg
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    Boat protection from lightning strikes is an inexhaustible subject, likely with no definitive answers. Certainly, the "Cone of Protection" aboard a boat is a myth, ask my brother who's Etchell's 22 was struck while racing in the Chesapeake.

    Aboard my previous WILDFLOWER I had a short length of #2 battery cable run from the mast butt to a nearby keelbolt. But I harbored no illusion that this recommended protective measure was anything but psychological.

    I've seen lightning strikes close by. The East Coast and Florida receive more than their fair share, as does Central America and SE Asia. Once, in a California coastal race, our rigging glowed green with St. Elmo's Fire. Another time, when working at the masthead of an all aluminum boat in Miami, my tools started to glow. I couldn't get lowered down fast enough!

    Thanks to Commodore Tompkins for sharing his thoughts on the recent lightning strike aboard FLASHGIRL. From his description, I'm guessing he was lucky not to be aboard. I can not imagine a lightning bolt loosening the injectors on his engine and running his autopilot.

    ~S,
    It is now nine days. I have been right thru the boat inside. Structurally she seems sound. I have NOT seen signs of blistering or bubbling either on the bulkheads, the cabin sole or along the waterline. So far have not been to the masthead, or under the boat, the water has been cloudy and uninviting, and I have plenty to do elsewhere. I plan to remove the mast for a thorough check on the rods, so going aloft is really not necessary.

    It is quite true that there has been water in the core of the hull, and I have detected, before the strike, a number of blisters in the paint below, four, I think. These are now no worse than before the strike. I believe these blisters are caused by residual moisture in the balsa-cored panels.

    The grounding system I installed at the suggestion of MM (in Sausalito), seems to have been effective. Four, (4) light fixtures, fastened to the overhead with small sheet-metal screws, were blasted off their mounts. The inside skin of the hull is carbon, from waterline over the house to the waterline opposite, and that is a good conductor, so I am told. I have found three (3) places where the paint over the carbon seems to have failed. These places are very small, perhaps 2mm x 10mm, no more. These spots are NOT associated with any fittings.

    I mentioned ET's name to MM, and he said that he was familiar with T's name and that he disagreed with him on a number of points. In my grounding system, the mast is connected by two battery-cable size wires to a pair of 3/8” diameter copper bolts, which are in turn soldered to the ground plate which was vacuum-bagged to the underside of the hull, centered on the butt of the mast. I expected the bolts to vaporize, and certainly the silver-solder to disappear. We shall see when I go swimming next week! The bolts appear untouched on the inside, and there is no scorching anywhere to be seen, including the partners , the chainplates, and the deck where the chainplates arise.

    The strike which hit FLASHGIRL was sufficiently violent that Dave and Nancy Nottage, in bed one quarter mile away, felt their house and bed shake. The violence on FLASHGIRL must have been severe. There is a place in the interior joinery where I made a 10/1 scarf joint. That joint, in Kauri, was perfectly painted and invisible. After the strike the joint was split. I deduce that the hull must have distorted significantly, and that it was this distortion which broke the PVC plumbing and caused the aforementioned split. The broken PVC is what caused the sinking. My investigation of the broken PVC suggests wracking, rather than anything electrical: no sign whatsoever of heat, the break is crisp and sharp for 360 degrees.

    The positive lead to our large alternator had it’s lug vaporized, a part is simply missing. When I went to remove the injectors in order to service the waterlogged engine, all three injectors were finger tight, I removed them without use of a wrench! I know for certain they were tight, as we used the engine from NZ to Hawaii and there were no fuel leaks, quite aside from watching a mechanic set them up tight. The engine will be saved, although immersion destroyed the small alternator, and we will have to replace the instrument panel and the wiring that serves it: saltwater intrusion to so many connections virtually guarantees trouble down the line if not sooner.

    The screw-drive to the Alpha autopilot spewed water when I centered it. The fact that it was hard over to port, suggests that the electrical charge somehow drove it’s motor. All Autopilot parts will go back to Port Townsend for service. I do not expect the CPU to be repairable.

    The two 8D gel cells, about two years old, have survived, and are presently holding a charge. They are ashore, so that I can properly clean the boat.

    Have not examined any radios. The compass seems OK. The B&G CPU is toast, as is the CPU for the NKE autopilot. The submersible VHF units seem to work, they were not deep underwater, nor immersed for long.

    More news as it comes to light. Sleeping better, helped by being dead tired every night. This getting old business is not for sissies!

    Thanks for your good wishes,

    wmt/FLASHGIRL
    Last edited by sleddog; 08-04-2016 at 08:07 AM.

  3. #1613
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    Cetaceans are the maxi-boats of marine life. Though they can't plane on the ocean's surface, their hydrodynamic shape and powerful tail can propel a large whale at great speed. Orcas can easily reach 25 knots.

    Orcas, like humpbacks, love to jump clear of the water for pure joy. Recently, near San Juan Island in Washington State, a pod of orcas was seen breaching off Lime Kiln Point. In the thick of the water aerobics was Orca J2, also known as "Granny."

    By historical records and sighting reports, Granny, at age 105, is the oldest orca on the planet. Granny was around before the TITANIC hit the iceberg.

    Granny is a long time family member of J Pod, the "Southern Resident" orcas of
    Washington state. The Southern Residents of J Pod number only 29. Since 1998 there have been 16 recorded births and 11 deaths in Granny's family.

    Southern Residents have previously ranged from the Oregon Coast to Vancouver Island, preferring to spend summers in the Salish Sea near Puget Sound. Their diet is salmon, and here lies the problem, why they are considered " Federally Endangered" in both Canada and the U.S: Salmon stocks of the Northwest are down 95%.

    In their quest for food, orcas never really stop swimming. This means Granny has been swimming pretty much non-stop for over 100 years. The Southern Residents on average travel about 72 miles in a 24-hour period day in, day out. This means in Granny’s lifetime she has swum around the world the equivalent of 127 times, or 1,300 Singlehanded Transpacs.

    Currently, in their hunt for salmon, the Southern Residents, including Granny's J Pod, have been seen as far south as Monterey Bay. I'd be hungry too if I needed 100-300 pounds of wild fish per day to survive.

    Here's to Granny (photo below) and her long life!

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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-07-2016 at 04:30 PM.

  4. #1614
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    Name:  Morgan.jpg
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    Not often one gets to see world class skipper Morgan Larson about to go down for the count on his Moore-24 BRUZER. If a leeward round down is gonna happen, it's likely to be in the Double Damned Race in the Columbia River Gorge, from Cascade Locks 40 miles upriver to the Dalles. Winds gusting 25-40 are common place as the Gorge funnels the breeze between steep canyon sides.

    So how many people went overboard off BRUZER yesterday at this particular moment? As Paul Harvey's tagline used to say, "And now for the rest of the story.."

    In Morgan's succinct words, "3 people overboard. Christa alone on the yacht. She dropped the kite and put it head to wind. I was hanging on the backstay and climbed back on. We picked up the other two swimmers, then took a 2 minute breather and hoisted again! We stopped half way at Hood River (our plan from the get go) but the Melges broke the record and it was a fun time!

    Just a typical day on the Gorge"

  5. #1615
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    "And now for the rest of the story.."

    And Morgan proves another old line, used by the racing world....
    The better you are at what you do, The more trouble you will be in when you CRASH!

  6. #1616
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    Quote Originally Posted by H Spruit View Post
    "And now for the rest of the story.."

    And Morgan proves another old line, used by the racing world....
    The better you are at what you do, The more trouble you will be in when you CRASH!
    that photo looks like the mast is coming down. Is that just the pressure on the forestay, pulling that far away from the boat? Yikes

  7. #1617
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    that photo looks like the mast is coming down. Is that just the pressure on the forestay, pulling that far away from the boat? Yikes
    More than meets the eye. The mast looks fine. But the spinnaker pole looks to be detached at both ends, and the boom vang released. Guessing they were trying to jibe? With 4 crew total, and 3 off the boat, seems fortunate Christa was able to get the spinny dropped and the boat turned head to wind.

  8. #1618
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    More than meets the eye. ....With 4 crew total, and 3 off the boat, seems fortunate Christa was able to get the spinny dropped and the boat turned head to wind.
    Good God, that looks and sounds hairy. I will stick with windsurfing and small-time catapults, thank you.

  9. #1619
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Here's to Granny and her long life!
    Granny's mayoral address (and hopefully not her final address as the heading suggests).

    I wonder if "J32" (see article) is why SSS'er Chris Boome named his J/32 RHAPSODY.

  10. #1620
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    "Just a typical day on the Gorge"
    Here's the Express 27 MONSTER EXPRESS doing a cockpit rinse in that same race.

    "Uh... MADE?"
    Last edited by BobJ; 08-08-2016 at 05:03 PM.

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