Bowsprit on a Whitby 42......

The bowsprit on the Whitby 42 was an optional extra and by all accounts a necessary one. TIH, naturally does not have one. She does, however, have a very serviceable bow roller.





Because I have removed the mizzen I will HAVE to have some means of increasing the J dimension. The bowsprit, as drawn by Ted Brewer, takes the J from 15.5ft to 18.5 ft.



The factory installed bowsprit (as installed on Gaia, seen above) is a thing of beauty but it does beg a few questions;

1. Why do we put heavy anchors on the end of a bowsprit, surely it just adds stress to the rig and increases any tendency to hobbyhorse. I will admit that these forces may be minor.

2. Do we need the working jib that far forward except in winds under 15 kts, because above that I certainly tend to start reefing.

3. I plan to have a cruising chute for light airs. This would require a short sprit under the existing bowsprit design for the tack.

4. Might a removable sprit be a solution;





http://www.newjsi.com/bowsprits.aspx

I am putting these questions up because this is an active discussion on the Whitby Web Site and all ideas are welcome. I have not arrived at a decision as yet and am not in a major rush.

Damn you Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market...

I had reconciled myself to an expensive arch on the stern of TIH. This would have included built in dinghy davits. THEN I was lured to Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market.

$625 lighter I was the proud owner of these Kato Davits;



Now to redesign the arch to include them.

12V DC Calculation.....

Driving myself nuts with cable size calculation. The main consideration is the possible addition of a bow thruster at some time in the future. It will be powered by a dedicated battery bank in the bow, but I want to install cables to cater for the max amperage possible. With a possible draw of 350Amps from a bow thruster and a total run (there and back) of 40 feet, allowing a 10% drop (as it is an intermittent load, and possibly only for a minute or so) I come up with 2/0 cable. Its possibly overkill but the cost difference is only a buck + change a foot. As I am not building 200 Hunters, I can live with it.

This obeyed ABYC Standards;

"Conductors used for panelboard or switchboard main feeders, bilge blowers, electronic equipment, navigation lights, and other circuits where voltage drop must be kept to a minimum, shall be sized for a voltage drop not to exceed three percent”. (See Table B).

Conductors used for lighting, other than navigation lights, and other circuits where voltage drop is not critical, shall be sized for a voltage drop not to exceed 10 percent.” 11.16.1.2.7. (See Table C).

All input appreciated!!!!

12V DC install started - slowly.....

MasterShunt 500 and DC Distribution 500 installed outboard of chart table seat (ignore the sad paper mock up of the 120V A/C system) ;



Wiring Plan;




Distribution Unit - Digital DC 10X10Amp (Three, one port forward, one at chart table, one port side engine room.



All controlled by;



And switched (if necessary) by these guys;



I plan to have the system send me a txt message is the anchor light goes out or the bilge pump starts cycling...... that should annoy some purists. I may even give the system its own Facebook page.

Locker finished

At least now I can get some of the junk out of the way.

No right angles, EVER..........

The two photos above give a good indication of the complexity of renovating an old boat. Do not expect any right angles, just lots of wrong ones. Those traditional shipwrights knew their trade. Every time I come across a pencil mark or some calculation written on the inside of a locker I am suitably impressed. I know that the Whitby 42 was a "production" boat but it certainly was built by hand and by talented people.

So this is one of those sail thingies....

Spent Sunday helping a friend set up and fly a new cruising chute on a Beneteau 423. Nice.... 7.7 kts in 12kts of wind. The boss was onboard and she was impressed. Good thing as a Cruising Chute / Code Zero (I'll decide when I have more of a clue what I am talking about) is on my wish/want list. Also good to have Admiral approval as these frequently spend a lot of time in the V-berth as a $3K cushion.

Clever Hook...

Found this little guy via this blog;

Cool Tools

And bought them on Amazon. Simple and they work. Not sure what the second reviewer was ranting about but even if they did come apart a simple spot of glue would remedy the situation (mine work fine). I know that everything should work perfectly "out of the box" but have we become so helpless that we can't apply simple fixes.

Hand rails....

The purist amongst you (you know who you are, you sad bunnies) may have noticed that I did not tape off my interior handrails, prior to painting. My plan was to remove them afterward and paint them separately. I was a bit concerned as to how they were attached. I need not have worried as the Canadian work ethic is well in evidence. A nice bolt, up through the lower handrail, through the deck and then through the handrail on the coach roof. Neat and solid. I will be replacing the exterior handrail with a synthetic rail. Possibly from these companies;

Brightworks

OR

Plasteak

Half the ceiling finished.....

I will NOT be showing the mess behind the camera.

A 5ft painter.......

Which means that my painting is acceptable when viewed from at least 5 ft away. For some reason I had totally forgotten my previous experience with Interlux Brightside and that I had found Pettit Semi gloss more forgiving. Well I have now relearned this the hard way. I found getting the right mix of paint and thinner (333) difficult to achieve and ended up with some areas with roller marks on the ceiling. I will just have to keep the lights dimmed.