an infrequent repository of mostly new stuff
Final Centerboard Testing, half down
We got our first snow of the season today. Big, fat, soggy white croutons fell all day long, vanishing as they touched the ground. It marks the end of fall here, and one year of working on these boats. Something about the calls of geese heading south creates a feeling of urgency, and makes me want to get a move on. I’m really looking forward to getting these on the water. Thankfully, the Centerboards are essentially done. Continue reading “The Centerboards”
The Magic Crescent
So, let’s review:
A centerboard is more convenient than a daggerboard, simply because it kicks up when it hits bottom, and can be raised and lowered easily for beaching or sailing in shallow water. But, it’s less convenient because the space it requires is like having and extra person on board who sits right in the middle of the boat and refuses to budge. Compromises can be made to minimize the inconvenience, including changing sail size or position, moving the board forward of optimal balance, increasing weather helm, and/or reducing the size of the board. Any or all can be tweaked to give up more or less cockpit space. Continue reading “Adventures in Centerboard Design 4 – The Magic Crescent”
Don Scott’s centerboard trunk, with removable rowing seat.
On a project like this it’s always good to see what other people have done before starting something new, especially when it’s an element crucial to the handling of the boat. Sources can be hard to find, though, and when you do there’s usually very little evidence to help you follow how they got from A to B. This is particularly true of the centerboards as, in many cases, builders start out with daggerboards they replace months later, long after interest in documenting the project has waned. Over time, though, I’ve collected some examples of the different designs I found while researching my own. Continue reading “Adventures in Centerboard Design 3 – Prior Art”
South, down under
Lovely T says all these words are well and good, but she misses seeing pictures, especially of the boats, which is what all this is about. I don’t usually do requests, but she’s actually right, it has been a long time, and she is the First Mate, after all. So here ya go. Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week. Continue reading “Visual Interlude”
Original Daggerboard Plan
The Melonseeds of the 1880’s had daggerboards, as have most built since. Above is the original Chappelle plan drawing shown in black lines. A couple of things are striking about the original. First is the unusual crescent shape. It’s unusual enough that I had never seen one done like that before, and the reason for this shape is both interesting and ingenious. Continue reading “Adventures in Centerboard Design 2 – Virtues of the Daggerboard”
Fog above, Water below, Boats between
Random Thought #842:
Air and Water are both fluids – just of very different densities. There’s some limited mixing – clouds, fog, rain, foam – but gravity eventually separates them again, like oil and vinegar.
Ergo: Continue reading “Adventures in Centerboard Design 1 – Fluid Dynamics”
Black Angus, Morning Fog, Scottsville
It’s a 45 minute drive to work and back every day from Scottsville to Gordonsville. There are three or four different routes, but all go through rural farmland and take about the same time. Beats sitting in traffic. These are all shots from that drive, mostly from a single day.