A bit faster, but not there yet
1 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 8:03 AM.
It was the perfect day - high of around 18 degrees C and dead flat calm during the morning. I finished all of my little fixes to the boat yesterday, and headed out to Glenmore Reservoir early this morning to test the boat again.
I climbed into my seat, kicked her off the dock and started to pedal when the the new U-joint that I had just welded onto the shaft snapped in two! Luckily I always ride with a paddle and was able to make it back to the dock. I drove home, picked up my old shaft with the big fat draggy U-joint on it and drove back to the lake. I installed the old shaft and headed back out.
Disappointing speeds again. Faster than Mondays test, but still not as fast as she needs to be to challenge the current 24 hour human powered distance record of 245 km.
I need to make something clear because I am getting a lot of advice (thanks - it's always appreciated) about what to do and what not to do, etc. There is almost zilch 'research' on this project. I am building a COPY of Rick Willoughby's V11 human powered boat. He has spent years doing the concepting, building, testing, and experimenting. I don't need to do any of that. All I need to do is copy exactly what he has already built and I *should* be able to match his performance numbers.
Here is a YouTube video of Rick pedalling his V11 to 16 km / hr !!!!
Rick's V11
100 watts = 10.4 km / hr
My V11G (on Monday)
100 watts = 8.8 km / hr
My V11G (Today)
100 watts = 9.2 km / hr
My cruising power for a 24 hour event is 150 watts which should equate to 12 km / hr and my current speed at 150 watts is 10 km / hr - 20% slower. If I were to maintain an overall average of 100 watts for 24 hours straight, I could cover about 250 km in Ricks V11, but that would equate to only 220 km in the current state of my V11G which would be 25 km short of Carter Johnson's record.
We need to figure out why my V11 is slower than Ricks. My V11 isn't *exactly* the same, so lets take a closer look at the differences and see if there are any clues to my missing speed:
1. My V11G is lighter than Ricks because the hull was made from Carbon. The weight of the hull with the seat and everything is 39 lbs (the 24 foot long hull alone is lighter than moat racing bikes at 19.5 pounds!). The outriggers are an additional 7 pounds for a total weight of 46 pounds. This means less displacement which should result in FASTER speeds, not slower!
2. My seat position is higher than Ricks. At 11 km / hr, the boat should balance on the center hull with the outrigger just lightly skipping on top of the water. Since I have yet to reach 11 km / hr, I can't seem to get my hull to balance on the center hull. To compensate for my higher center of gravity with the higher seat, I extended the outrigger arms to 8 feet (from 6 feet). This made it a bit easier to balance, but I found that I was still sort of rocking from one outrigger to the next. When it was super calm and flat out, I was able to get a few rides that I felt were very light on the outriggers, but it didn't make an appreciable difference to me speed. The reason my seat position is higher is that I have had foot numbness issues with a lower seat. When my heart is above my feet, I don't seem to get the numbness.
3. Rick is using spring steel for his shaft and no U-joint. We designed my version of the boat to use a U-joint and stainless steel shaft because in theory it should be slightly more efficient than the spring steel. That said, I could see and feel some pretty wicked vibration in my shaft under the water. This doesn't seem right and it seems that there would be efficiency losses through this vibration. The shaft vibrating is also shaking the prop around, and I can feel this vibration in the boat at higher speeds. It might be worth a test to place a support on the shaft at mid point to stop the vibration, and perhaps an angled fin to better support the prop.
When I spin the cranks and turn the prop when the boat is out of the water, the shaft and prop vibrate and shake wildly. Rick says this shouldn't happen under the water because a pusher prop is self stabilizing. When spinning the air, there is not enough resistance for the prop and it doesn't self stabilize. During my observation of the prop spinning in the water, this does not seem to be happening, as the prop and shaft are still vibrating - not nearly as much as in air, but still, something is definitely different with set up. Perhaps it is with the stainless shaft and U-joint.
Rick has a prop that doesn't have a strut! The prop is so stable that it pushes the boat against the spring steel shaft alone!
I ave also noticed that the prop when pushing water, seems to twist a bit to push to the starboard side. It is hard to observe this because the lake water is very cloudy, and it could be an optical illusion, but it appears that as soon as I start pedalling and spinning the prop, that it starts to twist the strut and rather than thrusting directly back, it pushing slightly to the right. When I am moving in a straight line forward, it feels like the boat is tracking slightly to the right. If I let the rudder go, the boat does a slow turn to the right. If the prop was pushing slightly to the right, then it would be pushing the back of the boat to the left which would cause the bow to make a slow right hand turn.
Perhaps providing a support for the shaft will resolve this, or maybe i need to add another triangulated strut to the prop bearing tube.
4. We had Manny at Rhomec Industries here in Calgary CNC machine a custom aluminum prop for me. In theory, this prop should be more efficient than a hand made stainless version because it is almost perfect (it is a true work of art!). Maybe the aluminum is too soft and it is warping under the water. My prop was designed for my cadence of 90 rpm at 150 watts compared to Ricks prop at 80 rpm for 150 watts. This means that my prop is spinning faster. Maybe there is something unexpected happening with that higher rpm? Like some unforeseen cavitation issue or something - I don' know. It would be worth it to exchange the prop for my old stainless hand-made prop from WiTHiN. I believe the rpms were the same - need to check that.
To top it all off, my Achilles tendon started to get sore after only 2 hours on the water yesterday! Ugh! It used to take 5 hours at easy effort to cause pain, and now it's down to 2 hours. I have been really taking it easy on the Achilles over the past 10 days. I've been using my ultrasound and applying anti-inflam cream every day. It would seem that the reduction in activity is counter productive to recovery.
The other problem I had at the lake yesterday was repeated chain derailments! I hate those! Luckily, it's an easy fix, but I need to add a chain guide.
I also ran aground yesterday! That is a freaky feeling. The water level in the reservoir is still low and there is a large area to the west where the river feeds into the reservoir and it can get very shallow there. I hadn't realized how far to the west I was when my prop suddenly struck the dirt! Yikes! Luckily, I had my paddle on board and I was able to paddle east and back into deep water. I need to check my prop for damage.
Well, I've got some work to do. I'm planning on getting as much of these changes done today as possible and getting back out to the lake this afternoon. It's supposed to be in the mid 20's today, and I have to take advantage of this weather.
Stay tuned...
Manny from Rhomec made me these neat little brass busings for the rudder.
Plus, I filled and smoothened in the welds
This is the narrower, less draggy u-joint. Good in theory but it failed
immediately at the ball bearings joint
You can see a small pulley on my frame used to tension the steering cable.
It worked very well.
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding
New 24 hour record boat lake test
Well, the good news is that it floats and generally works well. Very smooth pedaling action, very stable and quite comfortable. The less than good news is that it performed much slower than expectations which means I have more work to do.
Stefan messaged me yesterday that the ice is now melted at the reservoir and the docks are now in, so I finished up the last details of the boat and my buddy Greg B and I headed out to the Glenmore Reservoir with the boat on the roof of the Suburban.
Compared to WiTHiN, this new boat is very easy to haul around. The hull weighs only 19.5 lbs. With all the hardware, seat and frames, etc I think it weighs in at around 40 lbs.
The outrigger floats bolt onto a 1" square aluminum arm that is U-bolted to the seat frame.
The water is VERY cold. A few days ago it was frozen, so I wasn't going to take any chances with safety. I strapped a paddle on the deck in case my drive failed, and had two-way radio communication with Greg. The emergency phone for the patrol boat is right there at the dock, and the patrol boat was out on the water, so if something did happen and I lost my drive and the paddle wasn't working, or went for an unplanned swim, the patrol boat wouldn't have been far away.
At first, I found it quite difficult to balance without falling over onto one or the other outrigger. According to the design, when I reach a cruising speed of around 10 to 11 kph, I can balance on the main hull with the two outriggers lightly skimming on the water. The outrigger level is adjustable with the U-bolts and I found that if they were two high, then I would flop from one side over to the other, so I had to lower them quite far which was creating additional drag.
Low speed expectations were for a cadence of 75, wattage output of 89 watts, and resulting speed of 10 km/hr. Actual wattage at 75 rpm was 100 watts and 8.8 km/hr (and that was WITH the wind). This is FAR slower than it should be and points to excessive drag as being the problem.
Items that need to be 'tightened-up':
1. The outrigger positions need to be adjusted. I notice in the photos that the attitude of the floats is nose-up and they really need to be level. I also need to ensure that they are both pointed directly forward and this isn't something that I measured previously, so they could be off.
2. Rick thinks that because my seat position is higher, I might require a wider stance for the floats to make it easier to balance on the main hull. I am going to add 2 feet of length to the outrigger arms to extend that moment arm.
3. My rudder is WAY too loose in it's tube. The carbon tube is 7/16" ID and the aluminum steering rod is 3/8" diameter. Manny is making me a plastic bushing to make the fit tighter. The rudder was vibrating in the tube quite a bit and also because the fit was so loose, the rudder was flapping back and fourth a lot. I found it very difficult to hold the rudder steady with my two steering lines. This flapping back and fourth was probably creating quite a bit of drag.
4. I have not faired the rudder with micro yet. The rudder is a 1/4" aluminum plate welded to a 3/8" diameter aluminum tube. I grinded down the plate to form the trailing edge of a NACA0020 airfoil (photos below), but have not yet filled the weld gaps with fairing compound.
5. The U-joint that I am using on the drive shaft is the back-up U joint and I think it is creating quite a bit of drag due to the fat flange on it. I have another u-joint that is being repaired by Manny right now that I will exchange for this one. This will make a small difference.
6. To test other components to make sure they are working properly, I have a spare prop from WiTHiN that I could mount on this boat to make sure that the prop is working as designed. I think it is because the resistance I'm getting at rpm is close to design specs and point to additional drag. I also have a second SRM that I will swap out to double check that I am getting the right measurements for power.
Here are some photos of some of the details:
Items that need to be 'tightened-up':
1. The outrigger positions need to be adjusted. I notice in the photos that the attitude of the floats is nose-up and they really need to be level. I also need to ensure that they are both pointed directly forward and this isn't something that I measured previously, so they could be off.
2. Rick thinks that because my seat position is higher, I might require a wider stance for the floats to make it easier to balance on the main hull. I am going to add 2 feet of length to the outrigger arms to extend that moment arm.
3. My rudder is WAY too loose in it's tube. The carbon tube is 7/16" ID and the aluminum steering rod is 3/8" diameter. Manny is making me a plastic bushing to make the fit tighter. The rudder was vibrating in the tube quite a bit and also because the fit was so loose, the rudder was flapping back and fourth a lot. I found it very difficult to hold the rudder steady with my two steering lines. This flapping back and fourth was probably creating quite a bit of drag.
4. I have not faired the rudder with micro yet. The rudder is a 1/4" aluminum plate welded to a 3/8" diameter aluminum tube. I grinded down the plate to form the trailing edge of a NACA0020 airfoil (photos below), but have not yet filled the weld gaps with fairing compound.
5. The U-joint that I am using on the drive shaft is the back-up U joint and I think it is creating quite a bit of drag due to the fat flange on it. I have another u-joint that is being repaired by Manny right now that I will exchange for this one. This will make a small difference.
6. To test other components to make sure they are working properly, I have a spare prop from WiTHiN that I could mount on this boat to make sure that the prop is working as designed. I think it is because the resistance I'm getting at rpm is close to design specs and point to additional drag. I also have a second SRM that I will swap out to double check that I am getting the right measurements for power.
Here are some photos of some of the details:
This is my prop strut. I had faired it with an aerofoil leading and trailing edge, but this is not right, and something that I need to fix. The lowest drag fin is a sharp taper on both sides. When I first measured the prop depth and bent the aluminum plate, I positioned it too low. To raise it up I added a couple of spacers. This will allow me to experiment with different positions. Note the FAT U-joint
I still need to fair in the join with some micro
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding
24 hour record boat progress
7 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Thursday, May 08, 2008 at 6:38 PM.
Big progress over the last couple of days. It is Saturday morning now, and I am pretty sure that tomorrow she will be ready for her maiden voyage if I can find some unfrozen chunk of lake somewhere.
Here are a pile of images showing progress over the last few days:
Here are a pile of images showing progress over the last few days:
My buddy Manny from Rhomec Industries contributed this jewelry for the suped up pedal boat. Two complete drive units consisting of a CNC machined propeller from Rick Willoughby's computer file, a bearing tube that hold two glass bearings, an aluminum nose cone, tail cone, U-joint and 3/8" shaft that runs to a coupler that is connected to the MitrPak right angle gear box.
Manny made me some interchangeable gears for the gear box. These collars will hold any standard Shimano rear cassette gear.
This is the MitrPak right angle gear box with a 13 tooth gear mounted on the input shaft and the 6 foot long prop shaft mounted with a coupler onto the output shaft of the gear box.
This is my seat frame sitting on the top deck of the boat hull. I was able to fit the hull into my shop, but the bow and stern are jammed into two corners of the room.
This is the rudder tube after I added the additional carbon reinforcement layers
The rudder tube bonded to the rear bulkhead
Before the top deck went on, I filled the compartments with water to check for leaks
This is the deck after it was removed from the vacuum bag. We used CoreCell core material + 1 layer of 5.8 oz carbon on the top and 1 layer of 5 oz fiberglass on the back.
The deck has been bonded to the hull using a bit of micro and some epoxy. I clamped the deck onto the flange at first, but we got more even pressure around the flange using weights and duct tape.
Ben is filling my outriggers with expanding foam
Temporary setup showing the seat and pedals
The drive unit is mounted to the seat frame and everything is temporarily clamped to the deck. It all worked!
Top view of the boat
This is what I am dealing with in the middle of May! All the lakes around Calgary are still frozen over. Stefan was telling me that this is the first time in over 20 years that the reservoir hasn't opened during the first week of May.
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding
Training woes, and 24 hour record boat progress
4 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Monday, May 05, 2008 at 5:01 PM.
Progress updates:
I kept the cut-out sections of this sandwich board frame for Critical Power
and used them for the bulkheads for the new boat
I was very surprised when I weighed the hull with the outriggers because it was one pound LESS than when I pulled it off the mold. Even with the carbon bulkheads bonded in, it is only 13.5 pounds. It will weigh more when the top deck is on, but this is a good start!
You can see the Kevlar (gold) with the carbon weave.
Kevlar will prevent the hull from ripping apart if it is holed.
The top deck will be a 24 foot long piece of closed cell foam core called CoreCell. CoreCell is what we are building the new ocean crossing boat WiTHiN out of.
You can now follow my micro updates by subscribing to the PedalTheOcean Twitter feed. I am thinking of updating this feed during the 24 hour record attempt every hour. The advantage of following a Twitter feed is that you can choose to receive updates on your cell phone, text messages, email or follow using the Twitter web site, the AdventuresOfGreg web site (upper right hand corner), or my FaceBook page (status updates).
As with everything in life there is always give and take, pros and cons, good with the bad. Very seldom is anything easy and straight forward. The new 24 hour record attempt human powered boat build is going really great - too great in fact. Something needed to offset all this great progress and that something is the Greek sea-god Achilles.
My Achilles tendon on my right leg is swollen and very, very sore and is becoming an issue for me.
My weekly long training rides alternate between an ultra-long, but moderate paced ride which progressively grows longer each 2nd week as I near the record attempt date and a 5-hour, very intense, hard ride. Today's 5 hour ride was supposed to average 200 watts and I made it to 3 hours and had to quit because my Achilles tendon was too sore.
It's been getting worse over the last few weeks and I continue to hope that it will just disappear. Last weeks 10 hour training ride outside with my buddy Greg Bradley was very painful for the last 4 hours of the ride. Today, I didn't make it past 3 hours. I need to get this problem resolved!!!
My buddy Chad who is an Ironman triathlete and also an MD, suggested I purchase this cool portable home ultra sound device called Sonic Relief:
I've been using it aggressively in combination with a topical anti-inflammatory cream and it seems to reduce swelling. I will keep at it.
What I really need to do is to give my foot a break for a couple of weeks to allow the Achilles to heal, but I am afraid that I will lose too much fitness and won't be able to stick to my scheduled 24 hour human powered boat distance record attempt for late June. We have a pretty busy summer, so it will be tough trying to schedule the record attempt for July or August.
Since postponing the Atlantic crossing until December of 2009, I now have time for other athletic pursuits, so I signed up for Ironman Arizona in November. I really have to get this 24 hour record attempt done and finished with by July at the latest so I can recover and switch training focus back to Ironman. My goal for Ironman in November is to make it back to World Championships in Kona! I have a special reason for going back to Kona, Hawaii in October of 2009 - more on that at a later date.
-------------------------------
24 hour record boat progress
My Achilles tendon on my right leg is swollen and very, very sore and is becoming an issue for me.
My weekly long training rides alternate between an ultra-long, but moderate paced ride which progressively grows longer each 2nd week as I near the record attempt date and a 5-hour, very intense, hard ride. Today's 5 hour ride was supposed to average 200 watts and I made it to 3 hours and had to quit because my Achilles tendon was too sore.
It's been getting worse over the last few weeks and I continue to hope that it will just disappear. Last weeks 10 hour training ride outside with my buddy Greg Bradley was very painful for the last 4 hours of the ride. Today, I didn't make it past 3 hours. I need to get this problem resolved!!!
My buddy Chad who is an Ironman triathlete and also an MD, suggested I purchase this cool portable home ultra sound device called Sonic Relief:
I've been using it aggressively in combination with a topical anti-inflammatory cream and it seems to reduce swelling. I will keep at it.What I really need to do is to give my foot a break for a couple of weeks to allow the Achilles to heal, but I am afraid that I will lose too much fitness and won't be able to stick to my scheduled 24 hour human powered boat distance record attempt for late June. We have a pretty busy summer, so it will be tough trying to schedule the record attempt for July or August.
Since postponing the Atlantic crossing until December of 2009, I now have time for other athletic pursuits, so I signed up for Ironman Arizona in November. I really have to get this 24 hour record attempt done and finished with by July at the latest so I can recover and switch training focus back to Ironman. My goal for Ironman in November is to make it back to World Championships in Kona! I have a special reason for going back to Kona, Hawaii in October of 2009 - more on that at a later date.
-------------------------------
24 hour record boat progress
Above is a computer model of what the new boat will look like. Click to enlarge. My recumbent seat sits on a 10" wide, hollow carbon fiber hull that is 24 feet long. There are two, light weight carbon outriggers for balance that typically sit a few inches ABOVE the water line while underway. My forward momentum should be enough to keep the narrow main hull balanced without the extra drag of the outriggers.
The main hull is 2 layers of 5.8 oz carbon fiber + 1 layer of 6 oz carbon+Kevlar weave. To add stiffness and strength, I inserted six bulkheads which I cut out from a left-over section of the carbon fiber sandwich board frame for Critical Power. I think it is cool to have part of Critical Power in this boat. (Critical Power is the name of my human powered vehicle that I set a 24 hour distance record with in the summer of 2006).
I kept the cut-out sections of this sandwich board frame for Critical Powerand used them for the bulkheads for the new boat
I was very surprised when I weighed the hull with the outriggers because it was one pound LESS than when I pulled it off the mold. Even with the carbon bulkheads bonded in, it is only 13.5 pounds. It will weigh more when the top deck is on, but this is a good start!
You can see the Kevlar (gold) with the carbon weave.
Kevlar will prevent the hull from ripping apart if it is holed.
The top deck will be a 24 foot long piece of closed cell foam core called CoreCell. CoreCell is what we are building the new ocean crossing boat WiTHiN out of.
The CoreCell will be covered with 1 layer of carbon each side, then cut to fit onto the flange of the hull.
The short sections of CoreCell are joined with tabs that are epoxied over the seems. This should also provide a bit more stiffness to the top deck.
The rudder tube is an old carbon tube that I had. It wasn't quite strong enough, so I reinforced it with a wrap of carbon. After the carbon went onto the tube, I wetted it out with epoxy resin, then wound a tight layer of electrical tape around it. I poked holes in the electrical tape to allow excess epoxy to seep out.
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding, training
The new 24 hour record attempt!!!
2 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Friday, May 02, 2008 at 9:54 AM.
24 hour human powered boat record:
This boat is going to be fiendishly fast!
First you have to check out this work of art that my buddy Manny from Rhomec Industries made for me:
It's the aluminum prop, spinner, bearing tube and fairing cones for the drive for the new 24 hour record attempt boat. VERY SWEET!
I want to keep the exact configuration of the drive unit proprietary for a little while, so I'm not posting any drawings of it here. I am aware of another group who has indicated to me that they plan on challenging my 174 km pedal boat record from last summer and I don't really want to give away any of our secrets just yet. I am not **repeat NOT** attempting to break my own 174 km pedal boat record - I am attempting to break Carter Johnson's 245 km kayaking record! I am aware that there is a big spread between 174 km and 245 km, and this boat that was designed by Rick Willoughby is capable of at least 245 km in 24 hours. If I am able to go farther than 245 km in 24 hours on a flat lake, then it will be the farthest any person has ever travelled in 24 hours on water under their own power.
Rick is helping with design and engineering direction, Manny from Rhomec is contributing his wicked machining skills to make the prop and drive unit parts, the right angle gear drive was donated by my buddy George and PedalTheOcean sponsor MitrPak, and my right hand man Ben is helping out in the shop. I'll have a cast of other friends helping with officiating, observing and other help like last year - it is TRULY a collaborative effort and I am VERY grateful for all of the support these friends are providing.
My original intention was to invite Carter Johnson to Calgary and stage a race and possibly a new world record by either Carter or I. I'm not sure that is going to work because lake conditions for a record need to be nearly perfect - very calm and flat water. That means I need to race on a day with little to no wind which means that I can't schedule an exact date for the record attempt. My intention is to be ready to go and watch the weather closely, then when a suitable weather window opens up, just DO IT.
Ben came over today and we made some progress on the main hull. This hull is 24 feet long and 9" wide at it's widest point. The Styrofoam plug was CNC machined by Jarrett Johnson in Saskatchewan and delivered to me in 4 parts. I had to build a 24 foot long FLAT table to place the hull onto deck side down.
I am going to use the same composite layup method that I used for one of the outriggers - that is to cover the entire foam hull with packing tape, lay down the carbon, wet it out with epoxy and vacuum bag & cure for 8 hours. Then pull the carbon hull OFF the foam hull. The thin carbon shell will then be reinforced with some bulkheads and a thin sandwich panel deck will be bonded to the top.
I did this for one of the outriggers and it worked, but there were millions of pin holes in the 2 layers of 6 oz carbon I put on. These holes leaked water like a sieve - not exactly what you want for a boat. For the main hull, we are letting a base coat of epoxy on the taped hull get semi-hard before applying the carbon and wetting out. I am also applying two additional layers of composite fabric - 2 layers of 5.8 oz carbon weave, 1 layer of 6 oz carbon/Kevlar weave and an outside layer of 5 oz fiberglass for sanding. I am also going to apply LESS vacuum pressure this time which won't suck out all the epoxy through the fabric which leaves the nasty pin holes.
Ben and I are pulling a length of string tight to make sure that the
4 foam sections are assembled in a STRAIGHT line
We covered the foam plug with packing tape. When the carbon cures,
I can pull the boat hull right off the foam plug leaving the foam plug for future use.
2 layers of 5.8 oz carbon, 1 layer of 6 oz carbon/kevlar mix the 1 layer 4 oz fiberglass on the exterior. We set the vacuum pressure high enough to press the wet fabric against the form, but not to remove too much excess epoxy.
------------------------------------
Follow AdventuresOfGreg 24 hours a day!
Yes! Your dreams have been answered. If these casual updates are just not enough AOG for you, then I have some exciting news. With my new Twitter feed, you can follow me 24 hours per day. That's right - imagine it! All day long, every day of the week, 4 weeks per month, 12 months per year, year after year after year! Yeah!!!! You'll know when I brush my teeth, take out the garbage, and cut my finger in the shop. It will be like you are there - right in the thick of the action!
Seriously - I have a Twitter feed that I'll be updating every day - or more often depending on what I'm working on that could be semi-interesting. You can follow it at the AOG main blog page (upper right hand corner of the page):
http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html
Or at my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/pedaltheocean
First you have to check out this work of art that my buddy Manny from Rhomec Industries made for me:
I want to keep the exact configuration of the drive unit proprietary for a little while, so I'm not posting any drawings of it here. I am aware of another group who has indicated to me that they plan on challenging my 174 km pedal boat record from last summer and I don't really want to give away any of our secrets just yet. I am not **repeat NOT** attempting to break my own 174 km pedal boat record - I am attempting to break Carter Johnson's 245 km kayaking record! I am aware that there is a big spread between 174 km and 245 km, and this boat that was designed by Rick Willoughby is capable of at least 245 km in 24 hours. If I am able to go farther than 245 km in 24 hours on a flat lake, then it will be the farthest any person has ever travelled in 24 hours on water under their own power.
Rick is helping with design and engineering direction, Manny from Rhomec is contributing his wicked machining skills to make the prop and drive unit parts, the right angle gear drive was donated by my buddy George and PedalTheOcean sponsor MitrPak, and my right hand man Ben is helping out in the shop. I'll have a cast of other friends helping with officiating, observing and other help like last year - it is TRULY a collaborative effort and I am VERY grateful for all of the support these friends are providing.
My original intention was to invite Carter Johnson to Calgary and stage a race and possibly a new world record by either Carter or I. I'm not sure that is going to work because lake conditions for a record need to be nearly perfect - very calm and flat water. That means I need to race on a day with little to no wind which means that I can't schedule an exact date for the record attempt. My intention is to be ready to go and watch the weather closely, then when a suitable weather window opens up, just DO IT.
Ben came over today and we made some progress on the main hull. This hull is 24 feet long and 9" wide at it's widest point. The Styrofoam plug was CNC machined by Jarrett Johnson in Saskatchewan and delivered to me in 4 parts. I had to build a 24 foot long FLAT table to place the hull onto deck side down.
I am going to use the same composite layup method that I used for one of the outriggers - that is to cover the entire foam hull with packing tape, lay down the carbon, wet it out with epoxy and vacuum bag & cure for 8 hours. Then pull the carbon hull OFF the foam hull. The thin carbon shell will then be reinforced with some bulkheads and a thin sandwich panel deck will be bonded to the top.
I did this for one of the outriggers and it worked, but there were millions of pin holes in the 2 layers of 6 oz carbon I put on. These holes leaked water like a sieve - not exactly what you want for a boat. For the main hull, we are letting a base coat of epoxy on the taped hull get semi-hard before applying the carbon and wetting out. I am also applying two additional layers of composite fabric - 2 layers of 5.8 oz carbon weave, 1 layer of 6 oz carbon/Kevlar weave and an outside layer of 5 oz fiberglass for sanding. I am also going to apply LESS vacuum pressure this time which won't suck out all the epoxy through the fabric which leaves the nasty pin holes.
Ben and I are pulling a length of string tight to make sure that the
4 foam sections are assembled in a STRAIGHT line
We covered the foam plug with packing tape. When the carbon cures,
I can pull the boat hull right off the foam plug leaving the foam plug for future use.
2 layers of 5.8 oz carbon, 1 layer of 6 oz carbon/kevlar mix the 1 layer 4 oz fiberglass on the exterior. We set the vacuum pressure high enough to press the wet fabric against the form, but not to remove too much excess epoxy.
Follow AdventuresOfGreg 24 hours a day!
Yes! Your dreams have been answered. If these casual updates are just not enough AOG for you, then I have some exciting news. With my new Twitter feed, you can follow me 24 hours per day. That's right - imagine it! All day long, every day of the week, 4 weeks per month, 12 months per year, year after year after year! Yeah!!!! You'll know when I brush my teeth, take out the garbage, and cut my finger in the shop. It will be like you are there - right in the thick of the action!
Seriously - I have a Twitter feed that I'll be updating every day - or more often depending on what I'm working on that could be semi-interesting. You can follow it at the AOG main blog page (upper right hand corner of the page):
http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html
Or at my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/pedaltheocean
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding
Sneak preview of the new boat!
5 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 11:18 AM.
Click on any of the images below to enlarge.
Naval architect Stuart Bloomfield from Bloomfield designs is making good progress on the design of next version of WiTHiN - the speed demon that I will human power across the Atlantic ocean. It's still a work in progress, but I thought I would show you how it is looking.
I took a .dxf file of the basic hull shape from Rick who converted it from Stuarts drawing and imported it into my 3D software where I added hatches and windows and other details. The construction method will be based on developable surfaces. First, we create flat panels which are carbon over varying thicknesses of core material (probably something like CoreCell). Then computer cut the flat panels and join them together around the bulkheads to create the boat.
This flat panel method of construction is fast and less expensive than the traditional CNC machined foam plug/mold method. It's also very strong and according to Ricks computer simulations, just as efficient as a compound curved hull.
or kneel on the sea-anchor locker which is behind my seat to
deploy the sea anchor or a drogue
The aft top deck hatch also makes it easy to enter the sleeping cabin
Another 'living position' is to sit on the sea anchor locker top and
look out through the aft top deck hatch
After the seat is rotated out of the way, I can stand up
through the sliding pilot hatch
There is a hatch separating the cockpit and sleeping cabin
This view shows the sleeping cabin hatch open and resting
on top of the sea anchor locker
A view into the sleeping cabin. There is a rear port light window to
see behind, and two round port lights on each side.
The monitor that you see hanging down from above is
the AIS radar monitor
This is a view out the front window. The port lights on the sides open IN and DOWN.
There will be enough room to crouch to access the
bow locker and to remove the drive leg
Look at this awesome looking beast! It's Pete Bathune's Earthrace - a 100% biodiesel powered wave piercing boat that departed today from Spain on it's way to set a new round the world power boat speed record.
You can follow Earth Race progress here: http://www.earthrace.net/ The race tracking map and data is presented by none other than my buddy Pat Brothers from Racerecon (now Rushdigital).
Naval architect Stuart Bloomfield from Bloomfield designs is making good progress on the design of next version of WiTHiN - the speed demon that I will human power across the Atlantic ocean. It's still a work in progress, but I thought I would show you how it is looking.
I took a .dxf file of the basic hull shape from Rick who converted it from Stuarts drawing and imported it into my 3D software where I added hatches and windows and other details. The construction method will be based on developable surfaces. First, we create flat panels which are carbon over varying thicknesses of core material (probably something like CoreCell). Then computer cut the flat panels and join them together around the bulkheads to create the boat.
With the two hatches on the roof, I will be able to sit up on the top deck
or kneel on the sea-anchor locker which is behind my seat to
deploy the sea anchor or a drogue
The aft top deck hatch also makes it easy to enter the sleeping cabin
Another 'living position' is to sit on the sea anchor locker top and
look out through the aft top deck hatch
After the seat is rotated out of the way, I can stand up
through the sliding pilot hatch
There is a hatch separating the cockpit and sleeping cabin
This view shows the sleeping cabin hatch open and resting
on top of the sea anchor locker
A view into the sleeping cabin. There is a rear port light window to
see behind, and two round port lights on each side.
The monitor that you see hanging down from above is
the AIS radar monitor
This is a view out the front window. The port lights on the sides open IN and DOWN.
There will be enough room to crouch to access the
bow locker and to remove the drive leg
-------------------------------
Earthrace has started!!!
Earthrace has started!!!
Look at this awesome looking beast! It's Pete Bathune's Earthrace - a 100% biodiesel powered wave piercing boat that departed today from Spain on it's way to set a new round the world power boat speed record.You can follow Earth Race progress here: http://www.earthrace.net/ The race tracking map and data is presented by none other than my buddy Pat Brothers from Racerecon (now Rushdigital).
You can support the record attempt for as little as $10 by buying a nautical mile at the Earthrace web site.
I just finished reading Pete's best selling book about their first failed attempt to set the record last year. Earthrace - Futuristic Adventures on the High Seas is a GREAT read and I can really identify with how difficult it was for Pete and his team to even make the start line! I think just getting to the start line is more than half the battle.
I just finished reading Pete's best selling book about their first failed attempt to set the record last year. Earthrace - Futuristic Adventures on the High Seas is a GREAT read and I can really identify with how difficult it was for Pete and his team to even make the start line! I think just getting to the start line is more than half the battle.
Labels: boatbuilding, expedition
Am I a Sea Biscuit?
8 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 4:19 PM.
Am I destined to end up as yet another Sea Biscuit?
After hearing the 100th story about the Sea Biscuit from the locals in Tofino, Murray and I decided to do some investigating and learn more about this ill-fated world circumnavigation in an eight foot sail boat.
Sea Biscuit is a 8-foot (yes, as in EIGHT feet long from bow to stern) sailboat that Floridian Harley Harlson built to circumnavigate the globe, nonstop. Construction details here. Previously, the smallest boat to circumnavigate the globe is 12 feet long, sailed by Serge Testa. I highly recommend his book called 500 days. A really great read! In my opinion, Serge really knew what he was doing - I'm not so sure about Harley, but then again, perhaps people are saying that about me.
Harley arrived in Tofino to start his world circumnavigation in August of 2006. He made it from the trailer to the public boat launch dock where he discovered a foot of water in the bottom of Sea Biscuit that leaked in through his rudder bolts. Failing to repair the leak, and missing his weather window, Harley returned home and docked Sea Biscuit at the marina at the end of Olsen Road in Tofino where Murray and I found her on Sunday.
The two stories we heard from the locals were: "He was lying in a wet bed pan for 2 weeks bailing water out with a sponge" and "The coast guard seized his boat and wouldn't let him go". Neither story was true. It's funny how a story sort of has a life of it's own that may only be loosely connected with the truth.
I am not sure just how much testing Harley did previous to his failed launch in Tofino. I did read in an interview that he tested Sea Biscuit in a lake, but I am really not sure about how much open ocean sailing he did with her. That might have been a good idea.
-------------------------------
I have said this before and I think I need to repeat it - if not just to re-confirm my own objectives regarding this record attempt. About 1 year ago in my blog, I said:
I certainly hope that this project is viewed by others as a serious endeavour to demonstrate the potential of something long forgotten - our human power in all of it's forms. PedalTheOcean is a physical, mental and emotional challenge unlike anything I have ever set out to do.
Seeing Sea Biscuit falling apart in a pile of seaweed under the dock at the end of Olsen road, is a really good reminder of how I could potentially be viewed by the people of Tofino - those who saw me on TV, read about me in the paper, or have seen me come and go from the WeighWest marina.
-----------------------------
Like every worthy challenge, there is always more to it than you can ever imagine or can possibly plan for. At times like this I need to remember this bit of greeting card wisdom: "Persistence prevails when all else fails". Following are a few of the "learning experiences" that I am dealing with right now:
EXPERIENCE: After Mondays 9 hour training session on the water I know first hand how important gaining the appropriate experience will be in my ability to succeed at this challenge. The best kind of experience will be time spent in WiTHiN on the ocean - there would be no substitute for that. Murray and I discussed this during the drive back from Tofino, and what I would like to do when the new boat is finished (calling it "Ocean WiTHiN" for now) is dock it in Tofino fully equipped and provisioned for multi-day trips. Then I can fly out from Calgary which is a very easy and inexpensive flight and head out to sea in WiTHiN. I could start with a day trip similar to what we did with Matahil's support boat, but do it on my own. Then I could slowly advance to an over night trip, then a 3 day trip, etc. I would experience all kinds of weather and ocean conditions and I think this kind of training would be very good for me.
Sea sickness: They say it can't be trained, but I doubt that, as I know from many others that 2 to 3 days is usually when the body gets accustomed to this alien rock and roll environment and stops getting sick. That is basically what training is. There was an episode of Myth Busters a while ago where they tested sea sickness cures. They found only 2 cures that worked: Ginger and medication. I will experiment with both, as well as some trampoline training. I used to be a gymnast in high school and was very surprised at how dizzy I got doing simple flips on a trampoline a while ago. I am certain that I can train this motion sickness away by simply doing trampoline flips every day. If that's the case, perhaps there will be some residual inner ear / spacial awareness that I develop that will carry over to the ocean environment.
OW (Ocean WiTHiN) design: One of the causes of motion sickness is a miss-match between where the eye registers the bodies location in space, and it's actual location in space. As soon as I looked away from my small front window, I got sick. I also found it very difficult to see anything outside - I rarely saw Matahil and he was always close to me. I think I would like to re-visit the sliding canopy idea for the new boat design. The Naval architect Stuart Bloomfield designed opening hatches and a small sliding pilot hatch on the roof, but I don't think this is enough to provide me with the 'livable' open environment that I want in the cockpit. I would like to 'really be there' - not watching everything from the detached view point of a closed-in cockpit. The advantage of a sliding canopy cover is that I always have the option of sliding it over for really bad weather or big seas. Of course, the sleeping cabin is closed off with a bulkhead and hatch, as is the bow storage locker, so with the bilge pump on the cockpit floor, even if WiTHiN flooded, I would still be capsize safe.
Stuart Bloomfield and Ricks closed canopy/hatch design (click to enlarge)
sliding cockpit cover
I noticed how much work it took to stay on my bearing and I think I will look into installing a small autopilot. This should not only make my forward progress a bit more efficient (always on track), but will also ease the work load for me. If anyone knows of a small, very efficient autopilot, let me know. The smallest I have found is this Simrad TP10.
Support boat: Being the optimist that I am, I always thought that I would be able to find someone sailing from the Canaries to Barbados who would be willing to accompany me as my safety boat. I know now that this is a lot to ask, as staying even in the broad vicinity of me in the middle of the ocean takes a lot of work. After speaking with a few boat brokers and yacht management companies, my best bet is to arrange my own crew, and buy a yacht capable of a trans oceanic voyage, then sell it at my destination. My friend Stefan Dalberg has volunteered to skipper the support boat, and I hope I can find a few more crew interested in the experience.
Spanish coast guard: This is a problem. I have heard from others who tried to deal with the coastguard, that they do not negotiate with individuals. Letters and attempts to contact them go unanswered for months. So far, every independent ocean rower who has departed from Canary Islands has left at night incognito. One option is to join the Atlantic rowing race in December of 2009 which includes a support boat shared by all of the race participants, and Spanish coast guard clearance. I like this option because of the community and the publicity opportunity. Speedy WiTHiN is an interesting contrast in amongst all the sluggish row boats.
Shipping WiTHiN: I had budgeted about $7000 to ship WiTHiN to the Canary Islands. Because she is over 20 feet long, she has to go in a 40 foot container which is twice as expensive as a 20 foot container. Plus, it will take up to 2 months for delivery! OUCH. And another $14,000 to ship back to Miami.
Schedule: December of 2008 is definitely OUT. There is no way I can get proper training, finish building WiTHiN, test her and ship her this year. Looks like December of 2009 for Canaries to West Indies route, or I could leave as early as June of 2009 if I were to change routes and head across the Pacific instead (this is an option that I am considering, as it also eliminates my shipping problems. More on this later).
We have made some serious progress since I made that comment about the support boat a year ago, but I still have very far to go. I need to remember that it's all about the journey, not the destination. This journey will be a long one, and I need to stop every once in a while and remember to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Greg
Here are a few more photos from Mondays sea trails in Tofino:
Soon after we left the dock, I started to over heat. With the new keel, standing up in WiTHiN is no problem
Leaving the Weigh West marina at sun rise
Long Beach
WiTHiN leaving Tofino with the town in the background
We got home just in time - just missed a big winter storm!
After hearing the 100th story about the Sea Biscuit from the locals in Tofino, Murray and I decided to do some investigating and learn more about this ill-fated world circumnavigation in an eight foot sail boat.
Sea Biscuit is a 8-foot (yes, as in EIGHT feet long from bow to stern) sailboat that Floridian Harley Harlson built to circumnavigate the globe, nonstop. Construction details here. Previously, the smallest boat to circumnavigate the globe is 12 feet long, sailed by Serge Testa. I highly recommend his book called 500 days. A really great read! In my opinion, Serge really knew what he was doing - I'm not so sure about Harley, but then again, perhaps people are saying that about me.
Harley arrived in Tofino to start his world circumnavigation in August of 2006. He made it from the trailer to the public boat launch dock where he discovered a foot of water in the bottom of Sea Biscuit that leaked in through his rudder bolts. Failing to repair the leak, and missing his weather window, Harley returned home and docked Sea Biscuit at the marina at the end of Olsen Road in Tofino where Murray and I found her on Sunday.
The two stories we heard from the locals were: "He was lying in a wet bed pan for 2 weeks bailing water out with a sponge" and "The coast guard seized his boat and wouldn't let him go". Neither story was true. It's funny how a story sort of has a life of it's own that may only be loosely connected with the truth.
I am not sure just how much testing Harley did previous to his failed launch in Tofino. I did read in an interview that he tested Sea Biscuit in a lake, but I am really not sure about how much open ocean sailing he did with her. That might have been a good idea.
-------------------------------
I have said this before and I think I need to repeat it - if not just to re-confirm my own objectives regarding this record attempt. About 1 year ago in my blog, I said:
I want to make this clear - this challenge is NOT about doing a solo, unsupported survival adventure across the Atlantic ocean. I have the highest respect for those who do that like current ocean crossers Roz Savage, Jason Lewis, Bhavic, Ralph Tuijn and previous ocean crossing expeditions Leven Brown, Greg Spooner, Colin and Julie, and the many others I follow and have followed.
My 'thing' is the combination of technology and human performance. A fully supported human powered Atlantic speed record attempt is exactly what this expedition is. The support / safety boat will accompany me and provide supplies, traffic lookout, water making, equipment backups, communications, repairs, food, company and even occasionally a safe place to escape to (if ocean conditions allow). This allows me to focus on designing and building the fastest, most efficient human powered ocean boat possible, and my ability to pedal the machine 3000 miles across the Atlantic ocean in less than 40 days.
Since then, I have decided that a "fully supported" speed record isn't a fair comparison to the existing unsupported Atlantic crossing record of 43 days set my Emmanuel Coindre, so my support boat will be a safety boat only, and will not be used for support of any kind unless there is an emergency in which case my unsupported crossing either becomes a supported one, or I am rescued and have to abandon the crossing.My 'thing' is the combination of technology and human performance. A fully supported human powered Atlantic speed record attempt is exactly what this expedition is. The support / safety boat will accompany me and provide supplies, traffic lookout, water making, equipment backups, communications, repairs, food, company and even occasionally a safe place to escape to (if ocean conditions allow). This allows me to focus on designing and building the fastest, most efficient human powered ocean boat possible, and my ability to pedal the machine 3000 miles across the Atlantic ocean in less than 40 days.
I certainly hope that this project is viewed by others as a serious endeavour to demonstrate the potential of something long forgotten - our human power in all of it's forms. PedalTheOcean is a physical, mental and emotional challenge unlike anything I have ever set out to do.
Seeing Sea Biscuit falling apart in a pile of seaweed under the dock at the end of Olsen road, is a really good reminder of how I could potentially be viewed by the people of Tofino - those who saw me on TV, read about me in the paper, or have seen me come and go from the WeighWest marina.
-----------------------------
Like every worthy challenge, there is always more to it than you can ever imagine or can possibly plan for. At times like this I need to remember this bit of greeting card wisdom: "Persistence prevails when all else fails". Following are a few of the "learning experiences" that I am dealing with right now:
EXPERIENCE: After Mondays 9 hour training session on the water I know first hand how important gaining the appropriate experience will be in my ability to succeed at this challenge. The best kind of experience will be time spent in WiTHiN on the ocean - there would be no substitute for that. Murray and I discussed this during the drive back from Tofino, and what I would like to do when the new boat is finished (calling it "Ocean WiTHiN" for now) is dock it in Tofino fully equipped and provisioned for multi-day trips. Then I can fly out from Calgary which is a very easy and inexpensive flight and head out to sea in WiTHiN. I could start with a day trip similar to what we did with Matahil's support boat, but do it on my own. Then I could slowly advance to an over night trip, then a 3 day trip, etc. I would experience all kinds of weather and ocean conditions and I think this kind of training would be very good for me.
Sea sickness: They say it can't be trained, but I doubt that, as I know from many others that 2 to 3 days is usually when the body gets accustomed to this alien rock and roll environment and stops getting sick. That is basically what training is. There was an episode of Myth Busters a while ago where they tested sea sickness cures. They found only 2 cures that worked: Ginger and medication. I will experiment with both, as well as some trampoline training. I used to be a gymnast in high school and was very surprised at how dizzy I got doing simple flips on a trampoline a while ago. I am certain that I can train this motion sickness away by simply doing trampoline flips every day. If that's the case, perhaps there will be some residual inner ear / spacial awareness that I develop that will carry over to the ocean environment.
OW (Ocean WiTHiN) design: One of the causes of motion sickness is a miss-match between where the eye registers the bodies location in space, and it's actual location in space. As soon as I looked away from my small front window, I got sick. I also found it very difficult to see anything outside - I rarely saw Matahil and he was always close to me. I think I would like to re-visit the sliding canopy idea for the new boat design. The Naval architect Stuart Bloomfield designed opening hatches and a small sliding pilot hatch on the roof, but I don't think this is enough to provide me with the 'livable' open environment that I want in the cockpit. I would like to 'really be there' - not watching everything from the detached view point of a closed-in cockpit. The advantage of a sliding canopy cover is that I always have the option of sliding it over for really bad weather or big seas. Of course, the sleeping cabin is closed off with a bulkhead and hatch, as is the bow storage locker, so with the bilge pump on the cockpit floor, even if WiTHiN flooded, I would still be capsize safe.
Stuart Bloomfield and Ricks closed canopy/hatch design (click to enlarge)sliding cockpit coverI noticed how much work it took to stay on my bearing and I think I will look into installing a small autopilot. This should not only make my forward progress a bit more efficient (always on track), but will also ease the work load for me. If anyone knows of a small, very efficient autopilot, let me know. The smallest I have found is this Simrad TP10.
Support boat: Being the optimist that I am, I always thought that I would be able to find someone sailing from the Canaries to Barbados who would be willing to accompany me as my safety boat. I know now that this is a lot to ask, as staying even in the broad vicinity of me in the middle of the ocean takes a lot of work. After speaking with a few boat brokers and yacht management companies, my best bet is to arrange my own crew, and buy a yacht capable of a trans oceanic voyage, then sell it at my destination. My friend Stefan Dalberg has volunteered to skipper the support boat, and I hope I can find a few more crew interested in the experience.
Spanish coast guard: This is a problem. I have heard from others who tried to deal with the coastguard, that they do not negotiate with individuals. Letters and attempts to contact them go unanswered for months. So far, every independent ocean rower who has departed from Canary Islands has left at night incognito. One option is to join the Atlantic rowing race in December of 2009 which includes a support boat shared by all of the race participants, and Spanish coast guard clearance. I like this option because of the community and the publicity opportunity. Speedy WiTHiN is an interesting contrast in amongst all the sluggish row boats.
Shipping WiTHiN: I had budgeted about $7000 to ship WiTHiN to the Canary Islands. Because she is over 20 feet long, she has to go in a 40 foot container which is twice as expensive as a 20 foot container. Plus, it will take up to 2 months for delivery! OUCH. And another $14,000 to ship back to Miami.
Schedule: December of 2008 is definitely OUT. There is no way I can get proper training, finish building WiTHiN, test her and ship her this year. Looks like December of 2009 for Canaries to West Indies route, or I could leave as early as June of 2009 if I were to change routes and head across the Pacific instead (this is an option that I am considering, as it also eliminates my shipping problems. More on this later).
We have made some serious progress since I made that comment about the support boat a year ago, but I still have very far to go. I need to remember that it's all about the journey, not the destination. This journey will be a long one, and I need to stop every once in a while and remember to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Greg
Here are a few more photos from Mondays sea trails in Tofino:
Soon after we left the dock, I started to over heat. With the new keel, standing up in WiTHiN is no problem
Leaving the Weigh West marina at sun rise
Long Beach
WiTHiN leaving Tofino with the town in the background
We got home just in time - just missed a big winter storm!
Labels: boatbuilding, expedition, training
V11G carbon outrigger #1
2 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:22 PM.
V11G outrigger shell pulled off the foam plug
My first carbon outrigger popped off of the Styrofoam plug nicely. The general shape is very true, but there are small imperfections on the surface finish due to the release film creases and some imperfections in the styrofoam. These could be sanded off, but I think I would be worth adding a 5 oz layer of fine fiberglass weave for sanding. Then i think the surface would be very smooth.
This is a great way of using Styrofoam as a re-usable male mold (plug). Just cover it with packing tape.
This is a great way of using Styrofoam as a re-usable male mold (plug). Just cover it with packing tape.
I will probably leave about 1/4" of the flange around the edge to bond a thin top deck to it. The top deck will be carbon over a 1/4 inch sheet of Styrofoam or core material for the top deck. To stiffen the outrigger, I'll add a bulkhead to the middle. I will also fill in the inside nose and tail with some micro to give it some strength.
Getting ready for sea trials
---------------------------------------
Getting ready for sea trials
---------------------------------------
Dates for the second set of sea trials have been finalized. I am heading out this Saturday with Murray. We arrive in Tofino on Sunday and launch WiTHiN. Monday morning we meet up with Matahil Lawson and his boat. I'll be spending at least 8 hours on the water. The objective is to head WEST as far as I can for 4 or 5 hours, then turn around and head back. Mat also knows of some great areas to get into some chop and swell and other various challenging conditions, so maybe we'll play around a bit. Tuesday will be more of the same - two 8-hour days in a row out in the Pacific.
I need to establish a speed profile for WiTHiN. I need to know how fast she goes into varying degrees of head wind as well as from abeam and from astern. Knowing the differences in efficiencies between the prototype version and the new ocean crossing boat, I will be able to predict a speed profile for the new ocean boat.
This is sort of important, as I need to get a better understanding of how WiTHiN will perform in adverse wind/sea conditions. Most of the ocean rowing boats can't make headway in moderate onshore winds. This is one of the reasons why they have had difficulties in the past getting away from California for ocean rowing expeditions to Hawaii and Australia.
Since being able to accept a tow is a very important safety issue during sea trials, I decided to fabricate a bridle to tie the line to. This won't stress the rope like the old set-up did.
I made a couple of foam inserts for the Dorade vents. These will be used to stop road crap from being blown into the vents during the drive, and - more importantly, to stop water from leaking into the boat when I tip her over beside the dock to mount the keel.
Another addition to WiTHiN is the new nifty clamp fan. It really blows, and I can mount it in a variety of places using the handy clamp - to face the window to de-fog, or face me for cooling.
All I have left is to re-build our rotten wooden boat stand on the trailer. This got so wet during the first Tofino trip (snow and constant rain), that it started to fall apart. I'm going to weld a steel one to replace it.
Training
----------------
Tomorrow I have an 8 hour INSIDE training ride - UGH!!! It's snowing and minus 17 degrees C right now, so an outside ride is NOT in the cards unfortunately.
After a rest week last week, I attempted a new 20 minute power test today and I was pleased to find a 15 watt increase over my last test. My goal is to get up to 270 watts for 20 minutes and I'm pretty sure with another set of CP 20 intervals over the next 6 weeks, I'll be able to achieve that - and more, once I get outside. My peak CP20 power was 300 watts a couple of years ago on my tri bike. It's always lower on the recumbent - I think 280 was my PR on the bent.
All I have left is to re-build our rotten wooden boat stand on the trailer. This got so wet during the first Tofino trip (snow and constant rain), that it started to fall apart. I'm going to weld a steel one to replace it.
Training
----------------
Tomorrow I have an 8 hour INSIDE training ride - UGH!!! It's snowing and minus 17 degrees C right now, so an outside ride is NOT in the cards unfortunately.
After a rest week last week, I attempted a new 20 minute power test today and I was pleased to find a 15 watt increase over my last test. My goal is to get up to 270 watts for 20 minutes and I'm pretty sure with another set of CP 20 intervals over the next 6 weeks, I'll be able to achieve that - and more, once I get outside. My peak CP20 power was 300 watts a couple of years ago on my tri bike. It's always lower on the recumbent - I think 280 was my PR on the bent.
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding
Discovery Channel interview & sneak preview of the ocean boat!
4 Comments Published by Adventures of Greg on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 8:10 AM.
When Pat and I were out in Tofino for sea trials, my PR genius Mark Dusseault arranged a media day in Victoria for local media to shoot pictures of WiTHiN and interview me. The entire afternoon was spent with a crew from Discovery Channel filming a second interview. The first Discovery Channel show is here:
The second piece turned out well, but I think they kind of focused in too much on the window issue - it wasn't really that big of a deal. Over all the goal was to see how stable WiTHiN was in waves and chop, and it did OK. I think the biggest thing I learned was I wanted to see what a keel would do to mitigate the excessive rocking. We'll find out soon.
The second piece turned out well, but I think they kind of focused in too much on the window issue - it wasn't really that big of a deal. Over all the goal was to see how stable WiTHiN was in waves and chop, and it did OK. I think the biggest thing I learned was I wanted to see what a keel would do to mitigate the excessive rocking. We'll find out soon.
Speaking of the second sea trials, WiTHiN is pretty well ready to go. The keel is now finished, and the other day I added this manually operated windshield wiper. I had also replaced the PETG window plastic, so it's no longer frosted slightly with paint over spray like that last one. This should make it easier to see out the window.
You can see the handle to operate the wiper under the top deck.
Another problem I was having in Tofino was my vent fan falling off the Dorade vent. It was held in place with a Velcro-like fastener. The reason is so that I can rip it off and manually shut the valve on he vent if I had to. To keep it in place, I bonded 3 latches onto it. To remove it, I just flip the latches and pull it off.
The last item repaired was where the old stops were for the outriggers. I had to kick them off to get WiTHiN through the door of the pool when we pool-tested the keel. I grounded the rough fiberglass down smooth, and filled over with micro.
Ready to go! Now I just have to find a support boat. I made a call to a friend who works for the Canadian coast guard office in Tofino to ask about boat availability for a couple of days within the next week or so to support me during my trials. He says that whale watching season has just started and many of the whale watching boats are fully booked. He's making some calls for me.
Is anyone local interested in going with me to Tofino?
The 24 hour human powered boat record
-------------------------------------
I just finished a 7.5 hour ride. Ugh! It was -10 C degrees this morning, but it was supposed to warm up later and the sun was up, so I figured I would break the day up by doing 5 hours outside, then another 3 inside. The outside ride was not fun. I froze my toes.
My hamstring started to get pretty sore. I'm not sure if it was because of Wednesday's KILLER AT intervals, or because the geometry on the M5 isn't exactly what I've been training on with the inside trainer. Anyhow - not a lot of fun.
One advantage that postponing the ocean crossing has is affording me a bit more time on other projects - including the 24 hour HPB record. I was thinking about an early June attempt, but I only get 1 month of unfrozen water here to train on. Glenmore res opens in May. That means that most of my training has to be either downstairs on the inside trainer, or outside on the M5. Outside is fine, but that really sucks when the temperature is less that 10 degrees C. I would much prefer a month or two of warm weather to alternate some long, 14 to 16 hour outside epic rides with some ultra long lake training days on the new boat. Scheduling the 24 hour record attempt and race for later in June would give me an additional month to train.
Boston marathon
---------------------------------
Helen and I have the Boston marathon next month and this will be an interesting experiment for me. I've been running only ONCE per week because of an old calf injury from last years 24 hour record. It's not going away, so I've cut my running way back. One long run per week - that's it. This week I did a 2.5 hour run and next week it will be 2.75. So far, it seems to be working. I have plenty of energy during that long run, and my calf hasn't been hurting. I wont be setting any personal bests in Boston that's for sure!
Ready to go! Now I just have to find a support boat. I made a call to a friend who works for the Canadian coast guard office in Tofino to ask about boat availability for a couple of days within the next week or so to support me during my trials. He says that whale watching season has just started and many of the whale watching boats are fully booked. He's making some calls for me.
Is anyone local interested in going with me to Tofino?
The 24 hour human powered boat record
-------------------------------------
I just finished a 7.5 hour ride. Ugh! It was -10 C degrees this morning, but it was supposed to warm up later and the sun was up, so I figured I would break the day up by doing 5 hours outside, then another 3 inside. The outside ride was not fun. I froze my toes.
My hamstring started to get pretty sore. I'm not sure if it was because of Wednesday's KILLER AT intervals, or because the geometry on the M5 isn't exactly what I've been training on with the inside trainer. Anyhow - not a lot of fun.
One advantage that postponing the ocean crossing has is affording me a bit more time on other projects - including the 24 hour HPB record. I was thinking about an early June attempt, but I only get 1 month of unfrozen water here to train on. Glenmore res opens in May. That means that most of my training has to be either downstairs on the inside trainer, or outside on the M5. Outside is fine, but that really sucks when the temperature is less that 10 degrees C. I would much prefer a month or two of warm weather to alternate some long, 14 to 16 hour outside epic rides with some ultra long lake training days on the new boat. Scheduling the 24 hour record attempt and race for later in June would give me an additional month to train.
The Styrofoam hull and outrigger floats for V11G are due in from Saskatchewan today. I will order my carbon, epoxy, and other supplies on Tuesday, then schedule a composites work day here maybe the following week - depends on if I can get all of my supplies.
Manny the CNC machinist extraordinaire has finished machining the new prop for V11G !! It is a piece of ART!
Sneak preview of WiTHiN-ocean!
------------------------------------------------------
Manny the CNC machinist extraordinaire has finished machining the new prop for V11G !! It is a piece of ART!
Sneak preview of WiTHiN-ocean!
------------------------------------------------------
Postponement of the 24 hour record has it's drawbacks - I am counting on this summer to complete all of the testing required for the new ocean crossing version of WiTHiN. Even with the postponement of the ocean crossing until next December (actually, it will probably be much earlier - like next JUNE. More on that later), I need this summer to complete all of the testing. This includes basic testing, as well as a few multi-day trips with the boat FULLY provisioned and equipped.
World record winning naval architect Stuart Bloomfield has completed some preliminary designs for the new boat. Check it out:
The big advantage to using the flat panel method of construction is speed and ease of building it. The panels can be made before hand using core materials and carbon on both sides. Then the panel shapes are laser cut from computer files. The carbon panels are seamed together to form the boat.
The front windshield is raked back, but there are two 'A frame' beams running from the roof line to the bow top deck. The beams are both structural and aesthetic.
World record winning naval architect Stuart Bloomfield has completed some preliminary designs for the new boat. Check it out:
The front windshield is raked back, but there are two 'A frame' beams running from the roof line to the bow top deck. The beams are both structural and aesthetic.
Boston marathon
---------------------------------
Helen and I have the Boston marathon next month and this will be an interesting experiment for me. I've been running only ONCE per week because of an old calf injury from last years 24 hour record. It's not going away, so I've cut my running way back. One long run per week - that's it. This week I did a 2.5 hour run and next week it will be 2.75. So far, it seems to be working. I have plenty of energy during that long run, and my calf hasn't been hurting. I wont be setting any personal bests in Boston that's for sure!
Labels: 24hourHPBrecord, boatbuilding, expedition,