The lower hull jig is finished and we have the first panel in!
First, my training progress for the Northface Endurance Challenge Gortex 50 mile run June 6: My last long run weekend consisted of a 6 hour run on Saturday followed by a 3 hour run on Sunday. Both went very well and my pace was faster on the 6 hour run than the previous weekend, so that is good. No serious injuries so far - my Achilles tendinitis has gone away like I knew it would and now I have a bit of a sore knee developing. The race is still a bit over 2 weeks away, so I have time to recuperate.
Second, Pedaltheocean human powered ocean crossing progress: I've been making some good progress on expedition plans.
I am close to signing on with a new charity which is very exciting. I did some research and found that previous ocean crossing expeditions raised anywhere from $20,000 to $600,000 for their charities, so I'm totally pumped about what I can do - sorry, about what 'WE' can do for this great cause!
I need to announce the new Canada to Hawaii route, so I am working with a great web design company & PTO sponsor / team member on a Pedaltheocean.com re-design. The roll-out of the new site will coincide with the route announcement and the partnership with the charity.
I am also pretty happy that I may have found a safety boat to follow me across the Pacific to Hawaii. Again, I don't want to say anything until it's a 100% sure thing, but if it works out, it will provide me with the responsible safety net I want, plus it will be a great platform to film from. I am looking for someone who might be interested in producing a film, ( or documentary, TV series, TV show, whatever) and who might enjoy a 40 to 60 day Pacific cruise.
Third, speaking: I'm not nearly as busy as I want to be, but this economy is really beating up on the speaking business. I have a booking to speak at a Toastmasters club annual wrap-up luncheon on June 21, a Junior high school year-end function on June 9, and I'm speaking to American Program Bureau in Boston on June 23. APB is one of the largest speaker bureaus in the US and they want to sign an exclusive representation agreement with me which I am considering.
Fourth, other cool projects: My buddy Roz Savage is due to depart Hawaii for Tuvalu, then onto Australia. According to the countdown timer on her web site, her departure window opens in 3 days from now. We all wish her well!
Fifth, boat building progress:
40. The jog sections are traced onto 1" thick MDF
43. The jig sections are aligned using target holes and a tight string. After we aligned each station, we could peer through a 1/4 inch hole in the end station and look through ALL 15 holes in 15 stations spanning almost 30 feet!
44. A slot was cut down the middle of the floor hull panel to allow it to bend slightly to fit into a shallow 'V' shape in the jig sections. It is held in place temporarily by weights.
45. The carbon panel is secured to the jig stations with screws and blocks, and the cut is filled with a runny mixture of micro & epoxy
46. The seem is reinforced with a strip of carbon tape, then peel ply is placed over it.
47. Sand is poured into the epoxy whetted carbon tape & peel ply to keep the carbon tightly pressed against the panel and the seem.
See the ENTIRE process (all 47 steps) at this blog post.
See the ENTIRE process (all 47 steps) at this blog post.
Labels: boatbuilding
Greg, I am not sure your speed design is the way to go and that Two Blade Prop is not strong enough to withstand an impact at sea, which is possible.
I would like to see you use a Stern Paddle wheel for power, this should work with both leg and arm power.
Steering with twin Rudders installed in a U-Box Keel for protection.
All the best in your crossing.
Mike Humphrey
Mike: I will carry spare props in case of damage, and an entire spare drive leg. Regarding the paddle wheel idea, I am WAY past the point of experimenting with different ideas. The prop worked very well in the prototype boat, and I did set a distance record with the same type of prop on a similar boat, so.... I'm just not convinced we can do any better than what we've got as far as propulsion. In fact, I think we are pretty close to 99% or something (Rick knows what the exact efficiency % is ??), so going after that additional fraction of a % just isn't worth the effort and risk required.
Greg,
The paddlewheel wouldn't be anywhere near as efficient as a prop, I can see where Mike thinks it should be more bulletproof but you'd be giving up a LOT of performance. What are your plans for the old boat? It would be fun to try a side/paddlewheel arrangement on that.
Congratulations on the new route - good choice.
Greg,
The paddlewheel wouldn't be anywhere near as efficient as a prop, I can see where Mike thinks it should be more bulletproof but you'd be giving up a LOT of performance. What are your plans for the old boat? It would be fun to try a side/paddlewheel arrangement on that.
Congratulations on the new route - good choice.
Forgot to sign my message,
Nick Hein
Morgantown, WV