Another Navigator nearing completion Down Under

Lester Searle is nearing completion of his Navigator yawl Leighton.  Lester is building his Navigator in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, which is on the East coast of Australia - about midway between Sydney and Brisbane.

Lester named his Navigator in honor of his father and his service during World War II.

"Shes called Leighton which was the name of the British merchantman out of Liverpool my Dad was serving on in WW2 when he met my Mum in Fremantle West Australia."

 

Lester tells me hes "given the plastic a workout at Duckworks" and has "got to the really scary bit for me - the rigging."

"Still no rub rails  but think I will get her in the water sometime in the next few weeks."

"I am not an experienced sailor so this is the most mysterious part of the whole thing.  I am not an experienced boat builder either - gardener by trade and latter day pen pusher - so the building thing has been great fun."

 

Looks like fine workmanship to me, Lester!

"...sometimes I just go down to the shed (4th one so far in a seven year build) and look at her and feel happy. "

For his yawl rigged Navigator, Lester rigged his mainsail as a sliding Gunter main, but with a sprit boom in lieu of the conventional boom.  Ive seen this rig many times on other Navigators, but I havent heard much discussion from those who have used this setup.  Im very interested in hearing how he likes it.

Congratulations, Lester, on your accomplishments thus far.  We are all looking forward to your upcoming "splash", and wish you many, many years of joy and adventure aboard Leighton.

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Another New Boat Launched

My good friend Larry Cheek launched his new Sam Devlin designed Winter Wren today.  Beautiful job Larry!  Her name is "Nil Desperandum", which is advice from the Roman poet Horace to “Quit worrying".  Larry has a terrific blog here.  Nil Desperandum will be on display at the Port Townsend wooden boat festival in September.

Larry and I met when he was writing his book The Year of the Boat.  Back then, Larry and I were coincidentally both building Sam Devlins Zephyr design at the same time, a mere 30 miles apart when we crossed paths.  What are the odds of that? If you havent read Larrys book, I highly recommend it.

Congratulations on a magnificent job, Larry!  I wish you many, many years of happiness, joy, and adventure, and above all, No Worries, aboard your beautiful new craft.

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Another settee another drawer needing a notch

Every morning at 5:30 or so,  I step out on to our back porch to do my wood stove duties, and while I can feel the cold, the echo of splitting kindling bouncing back from the frozen trees and earth, really announces the below zero mornings. A long stretch of  below zero nights and daytime highs in the single digits, and low teens, has finally given the Ohio river a crust of ice weve  not seen since the late 1970s. On these frozen mornings as I gather kindling, I  have recently heard a great horned owls deep, hollow calls, and I feel better knowing the earliest mating bird species in North America has begun  tending its nest. A cold winter  has lost its novelty, and Im ready for spring.

During this type of weather, "for pay" work has come to a standstill, but I continue to make progress on board. This week found me routing the six inch heat duct from the salon in to the wheel house via a galley cabinet, and the wheel house settee. Because Im getting ready to build the wheel house console, I wanted to tidy up some of the elements under the console. I connected the air line manifold under the console so I can hook  my air tools to this area vs routing  air hose from the lazarette, and also made up the air connection for the air horn. I cleaned up some of the wiring under the console and got it temporarily strapped to the  forward bulkhead, and also connected my two 30 amp shore power feeds to the smart plug inlets. I built the wheel house settee, mounted some of the galley cabinets, and all in all had a pretty decent week.

We have a settee in the salon, and now another in the wheel house. Besides having another item checked off of the list, I needed the wheel house settee built in order to verify the final position of the wheel. The final dimensions of the settee are 46" wide x 72" long.  The table will collapse down and make for a full sized berth. There are three drawers under the settee along with the 6" air conditioning  duct that feeds the wheel house.  I purchased one pedestal for the table, but Im going to have to either add another pedestal, or build some creative folding brackets to support the table when its collapsed for berthing. The settee benches have removable seats for stowing life jackets. I plan on having cushions made for the seats, but for near future the seats will be hardwood. For the seats, I used 3/4 cherry plywood, and glued on solid stock, rounded over, to finish the edge. The seats look good, and will do just fine until funds for an upholsterer can be found ( way down on the list ).  A strategic cleat and some Velcro hold the seats fast. Ill have to look at head room pretty close, but I think theres room for a small cabinet or shelf above the settee on the bulkhead wall. At least one of the drawers will have to be notched to accept the table pedestal, and two drawers if I add another pedestal. 

The layout of the console has the wheel centered on the port side fixed window. To port of the wheel is the navigation desk, to starboard is a fixed cabinet that will hold  charts and other stuff. The height of the wheel house console will be 36", and the height of the navigation desk will be 30". Right now, the wheel is 16" off of forward bulkhead. With the wheel on the port side center window, the navigation desk feels cramped. Im going to move the wheel from its current off center local,  to be on the center line of the wheel house. This  move will represents the helm pump moving 13" to starboard. Ill be able to leave the welded pedestal in place and will only have to fabricate a bracket to weld to the existing  pedestal. If I were to cut, move, and re weld the pedestal, Id be getting in to foam and paint damage to the master cabin ceiling. The distance between the wheel and the settee is 52".  Besides moving the helm pump to the center of the wheel house, Im going to push it 2" further away from the bulkhead. The additional 2" will make the console 18" deep, which makes me feel better,  and I still will have adequate room between the captains chair and the settee. The navigation desk will be 24" deep along with the cabinet to starboard of the wheel. The console will now be "notched" in to the forward array which makes the captains chair/ work, the desk work, and the space between the back of the chair and settee work. Between I pads, smart phones, and inexpensive chart plotters, I wonder if  paper charts are fast becoming a thing of the past. Technically, Im the last year of the baby boomers, and I still write checks and carry cash in my wallet, so Ill carry charts until the winds of change blow in my window. Personally, I like looking at charts and look forward to plotting our way.

Building the galley wall cabinets last summer, I had  mocked up the salon ceiling in order to get the angle for the cabinet doors. I had left plenty of meat on the port side style to fit the cabinet to port side wall along with enough wood on the top rail to scribe the cabinet to the ceiling. The only problem is that the actual ceiling angle changed a little from my mock up to the actual site built ceiling. This slight oversight, while not crazy, had me scribing the top rail of two of the doors to make the wall cabinets look good. I"m not 100% pleased having to have scribed the door rail, but I do like the way the doors look, and especially like how the angled raised panels match the camber of the ceiling. I had to cut about 3/4" from one of the microwave cabinet doors, and the same from the outbound large wall cabinet door. 

It seems like every day I show up at the boat, I bring 50 lbs of something on board, so I needed a few cabinets installed to be able to start stowing "stuff".  Between the few galley cabinets and the wheel house settee, I now have some decent topside tool stowage that helps me out  by not having to run down below to get "stuff".

Im going to continue on with the wheel house, so the next order of business is to get the console to some level of completion. Im  not going to be able to button her up as I have to leave room to land wires and run controls.

Cheers

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Break Out Another Thousand

There is a dangerous type of seaweed that lurks around here.  It covers the beaches at low tide in thick mats that smell like dead fish.  It lurks just under the surface at high tide, waiting.  Its commonly found in shallow bays near shore.  It has a fine, hair-like consistency.  If you were to shave all the hair off a dead cat, dye it green, then soak it in a bucket of water overnight, youd have a close approximation of this stuff.

If you happen to come across this stuff, beware, for it is evil.

On July 8, 2011, only a couple weeks after launching Ellie for the first time, my son and I set sail for the annual Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous.  Helping us along was my brand new Suzuki 2.5hp outboard motor.  We arrived at Fossil Bay about 2:30 in the afternoon, beached Ellie, greeted the new arrivals, and set up camp.  A while later, as the tide ebbed,  I noticed that the shoreline was littered with sharp rocks so I decided Id motor around to nearby Fox cove, which had a much less rocky beach.

So I hopped aboard Ellie, fired up my brand new motor and set off for Fox.  A few minutes later, it sounded like the motor was losing power.  A few seconds later, it died.  I turned to look at the motor and saw it was smoking.  Smoking!  I removed the cover and watched in horror as smoke billowed from the engine.  It looked like it was about to burst into flames at any moment.  Located  inches away from this smoking mass of metal was a plastic fuel tank containing about a quart of gasoline, all strapped to a boat made of wood and dacron.  I quickly reached over and scooped up a handful of seawater and splashed it onto the engine.  It immediately sizzled and turned to steam.  I did this a few more times in a desperate attempt to keep the engine from bursting into flames.  The engine eventually stopped smoking.  I waited for several minutes for it to cool, then attempted to start it.  It wouldnt start. I sailed back and beached Ellie on the same rocky beach that Id left minutes before.  It was then that I discovered the source of the problem.

My water cooled Suzuki had choked on a seaweed hairball.

Later, I got the motor running again after an hour of picking seaweed out of the water inlet with a bent paper clip.  The motor had gotten so hot that it melted the insulation on the kill switch wire, grounding it to the case, which actually saved the engine from total destruction.  But the motor has never run right since.  It runs OK at slow speeds, but overheats, gets smoking hot and dies after running for more than a few minutes at anything over about 1/4 throttle.  I removed the thermostat and found seaweed stuck to it.  Im certain the cooling jacket is clogged with seaweed.  But the overheating may have warped the cylinder head or cracked the block.  The cost estimate to have the engine disassembled, inspected, cleaned and rebuilt was close to that of a new engine, so, that means its time to...

Break Out Another Thousand

Meet my new air cooled Honda 2.3hp outboard.  The air cooled Honda BF2.3D has many nice features.  Three of its nicest features are:

1. It is air cooled.
2. It is not water cooled
3. It is cooled, by air.

There are a few other differences between the Honda and the Suzuki DF2.5.  The Suzuki has a shift lever, which allows you to manually shift between drive and neutral. The Honda has a centrifugal clutch.  At idle the prop doesnt turn.  Give it some gas and the prop starts turning.  This takes some getting used to, and can be potentially dangerous if youre not careful.  The normal starting throttle setting is about 1/4 throttle, which means the engine will always be "in gear" when its started. Someone could easily get tossed overboard if they happen to be standing when the engine starts, or your boat can take off unexpectedly if not secured.  So be prepared.  This is one feature of the Honda that I do not like.  Id much rather have a shift lever so I can safely start the motor in neutral.  On the other hand, the clutch makes docking more pleasant.  No need to fumble with a shift lever to switch out of gear when approaching a dock.  Just throttle down.

I had to modify my Duckworks motor mount to get the Honda to fit.  At first glance the two motors look identical in size and shape.

But there are differences.  The Suzuki is slightly larger, and longer.  The Suzuki measures about 17.5" from the top of the motor mount to the anti-cavitation plate and about 21" to the prop.  The Honda measures about 16.25" and 19.5".  Its odd that theres a difference.  I thought short shaft engines were a standard length.

In order to clear my transom, I have to turn the motor on its side when its raised. The Honda can be turned on its side.  The Suzuki cannot, unless you remove the bracket that is designed to prevent you from doing so.

Remove this bracket to allow the Suzuki to be raised on its side

I had to adjust the height of my motor mount bracket to precisely the right spot to enable the motor to clear the transom and still reach the water.  The height is different for each engine.

Four stroke outboards can have issues when laid on their sides. Its commonly known that oil can get into the cylinder if you lay them on the wrong side.  My Honda, for instance, leaks gasoline from the carb.  Thats because the carb is below the fuel tank when on its side.  Storing the engine on its side presents no problems, but bouncing around over waves opens and closes the float valve causing the leak. It leaks continuously with the engine shutoff valve open.  It leaks whats in the float chamber with the shutoff valve closed.  To prevent any leaks, I have to run the engine dry prior to raising it on its side.  It leaks oil too, from the starboard rear area of the case (through a crankcase breather port, Ive been told).  Im certain it wouldnt leak at all when raised normally.  The Suzuki on the other hand, never leaks, even when raised on its side.

[UPDATE July 2015: I found the solution to prevent leaks is to raise the motor on the "wrong" side (with the tiller handle down)  In doing so it does not leak oil or gas, nor does it have any ill effects.  This places the carb above the fuel tank, the crankcase breather on the top side (presumably) and the motor is not tilted far enough to allow oil to get into the cylinder.  Problem solved.]

Another concern I have about the Honda is how the power head is completely surrounded by ductwork.  Im not sure how to rinse the saltwater off the engine when its buried inside all this ducting.  Theres no way of knowing whats corroding inside without removing the ductwork. This is not a problem on the Suzuki which had no ducts.

There are some other differences between these engines.  The Suzuki is noisy.  The Honda is noisier.  The Suzuki has an aluminum prop.  The Hondas is plastic.  Ill have to try and remember not to hit anything with it.  They both weigh about 30 lbs.  The Honda has a slightly bigger tank at 1.1 liters vs 1.0 liters. The Honda has a 5 yr warranty, the Suzuki has a 3 yr.  The Honda costs more.

All in all, I think theyre both good engines (if there is such a thing) but they each have their own pros and cons.  If you get one, take good care of it.  These tiny engines are sensitive to everything, not just seaweed.  Always filter your gasoline through a coffee filter.  Always run them completely dry after every use.  Never run old gas in them.  Buy ethanol-free gasoline if it is available in your area.  If not, always add fuel stabilizer to your gas if you plan on keeping it longer than 2 weeks.  If you dont know how, consider taking the time to learn how to disassemble and clean the carburetor. Its easy to do once you know how, and its only scary the first time you do it.  There are many how-to videos on YouTube.  Itll save you about a hundred bucks every time the engine wont start, idle, or run right because the carb needs yet another cleaning. 

And if you live in an area with hairy seaweed, consider an air cooled outboard.  Or a lovely pair of nicely varnished oars.

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Epilogue: Its now several years later.  Having nothing to lose, some spare time on my hands, and armed with a service manual, I dusted off the old Suzuki and tore it all apart.  The entire engine block and cylinder head was clogged with seaweed, as I suspected.  Plus salt crystals and some corrosion caused by the trapped water in the cooling jacket. I cleaned out all the passages, ordered a new set of gaskets, and reassembled the engine. It runs.....well, mostly.  It starts, idles and runs just fine at all speeds, except if I run the engine at wide open throttle for  more than a couple minutes then it dies, but not from overheating like it did before.  I suspect something got warped or cracked due to the overheating.  Im not sure what to do with the engine at this point, except maybe hang onto it as a backup for the Honda.  Its still usable to me since I never need to run it at more than 1/2 throttle anyway.
-Joel 7/2014

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Another Jib Mizzen affair

I seem to be doing more than my fair share of jib and mizzen sailing lately.

After three days of having no wind at Sucia, we awoke to a very nice 15kt southeasterly wind for the return trip on monday.  Perfect!  A welcome sight after having motored over 40 miles during the previous three days.

Bob and I set sail for Sandy Point marina together, Bob in his Jim Michalak designed Scram Pram "Duck" and I in Ellie, having dropped off my son Tim at school in Bellingham the day before.

The wind and seas gradually increased during the voyage.  About halfway there I started to get hit with some spray.  Reefing early is always a good idea and its something that I always do.  Besides, I was in no hurry to get home!  So we hove-to and went straight to jib and mizzen.  It was a good decision as the seas continued to build and I still got sprayed on despite being heavily reefed.  Here, enjoy this one in slow-motion.

I was very impressed with Bobs Scram Pram. Its fast!  Really fast.  And dry too.  Bob can pilot the boat from inside its warm, dry cabin without sacrificing his view of his beautiful surroundings. My next sail was last weekend.  The forecast was for 10 mph winds.  Excellent!  I could do with a nice relaxing sail. Ellie and I set out for our typical daysail - a lap around Hat (Gedney) island.  It started out with a pleasant breeze, just as forecast, but then a squall quickly rolled in, churning up the bay.  There have been frequent thunderstorms here lately, so I decided that it would be an excellent time to high-tail it home.

The more times I do it, the more I appreciate using Ellies mizzen to heave-to.  When the conditions get rough, I simply sheet the mizzen in tight, lash the tiller, furl the jib and drop the main.  Ellie points into the wind and stays there, giving me ample time to reef, collect my thoughts, take a break, or whatever.  If you look closely at the following video, youll notice she doesnt point directly upwind, as you might expect.  She settles in at about a 45 degree angle to the wind and travels in reverse.  Note how the waves are hitting the starboard bow.

Heaving-to like this only takes seconds when you have all the controls led back to the cockpit.  Even lashing down the tiller is quick.  I use a bit of line with three loops in it.  One in the center and one on each end.  I slip the center loop over the tiller and the end loops over the stern cleats and thats all there is to it.

Still, I am looking forward to a relaxing sail next time out!

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