Port Townsend Sailing Association » In the Yard

What Are You Going to Do About Your Bottom?

JK — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:15:28 +0000

Thursday night. Free for everyone. 2012 racing season skipper’s meeting follows the talk.

Spring PTMTA Newsletter Is Out

JK — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:54:38 +0000

Poised and Ready For Her New Wood and Lead Keel at The Shipwright's CO-OP

The latest issue of the Port Townsend Marine Trades Association Spring 2012 Newsletter is out and as always full of interesting stories on the projects and talented trades people who work in PT’s marine trades. You can download your own copy here. Here’s a small sample to wet your appetite. More pictures and stories on the work being done on MARTHA are available here.

The Schooner Martha

By Rick Petrykowski

In the aftermath of the mid-January snowstorm, we sat down with Robert D’Arcy and Chris Grace to get the skinny about Schooner MARTHA’s current restoration at the Shipwright’s Co-op. But first we needed to hear about MARTHA’s stellar performance in the Round the County Race in November 2011.

Sponsored by the Orcas Island Yacht Club, the Round the County is one of the Northwest’s premier races, open to all classes, which brings a big turnout to the starting line at Lydia Shoal. Boats participating in the “little jaunt” circumnavigate the San Juan Islands counterclockwise or clockwise on alternating years. The forecast for the race on delivery day was for winds @ 25-50 knots with a large swell. Still, of the 70 entrants, there were no cancellations for Saturday’s start. Interest piqued on the big boats (“the Monstatrucks”); NEPTUNE’s CAR, ICON, BRAVEHEART and MARTHA.

Out thru Peavine Pass into Rosario Strait, north to Clark, Matia and Sucia, turning west at Patos thru Boundary Pass to Haro Strait and then the push to Saturday’s finish at Roche harbor, her crew’s local knowledge and timing of current changes helped MARTHA seize the advantage. When the first day’s results came out, MARTHA’s time was first in her division and first overall! – to which Holly Kays (Mrs. Martha) said, “Oh my!”

Sunday’s race started next to Henry Island in Haro Strait, dropped south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca to an easterly traverse below San Juan and Lopez Islands. No holds were barred; crews were on the rails, rigging was strained, rudders were lost, knockdowns, spinnakers cut and chutes poppin again. Magnificent MARTHA rode the wind to first in division and first overall – a full 40 minutes ahead of her next competitor. Respect for a true racer and stellar

Gluing up the new spar at the NWMC.

testimony to the 105 year old girl’s designer, Crowninshield and the MARTHA Community. For more details of Round the County go to www.pressure-drop.us/forums/content.php and type “Goliath beats up on David” in the search box.

Sailor and shipwright, Robert D’Arcy is the point man for the Schooner Martha Foundation and he is all about management. In it’s last year of the 15 year program of bringing the schooner to fully restored status, he has kept faith with the goal (including corrections along the way). His main nemesis in reaching the goal is funding, so he has never let the budget bust and became systematically efficient in planning each phase’s productive timeline and then got her back in the water. This gained recognition from the Washington State Historic Preservation Council and consequent funding after seeing great strides accomplished.

The Schooner Martha and Port Townsend are symbiotic partners and that is why Robert has asked us to publicly thank those who have helped keep the MARTHA right on target; the NWMC Boatshop for providing space that Steve Chapin could build a replacement for the old undersized fir foremast. Chapin is engineering the design requirements of naval architect Craig Johnson, scarfing and fairing the octagonal mass of Sitka Spruce slabs supplied, by Bruce Tipton, into a stronger hollow spar that is also lighter aloft. The Port of Port Townsend’s outstanding haulout crew, the Shipwright’s Co-op for storage, tooling and a can- do spirit, Turn Point for CNC work on the new lead ballast mold, Gus Sebastian for transporting the new ballast from Seattle on his boat-moving trailer, Pete and Cathy Langley at the PT Foundry for the requisite bronze keel bolts, the diverse crew of volunteers and marine trades for their contributions and productivity is a big plus.

Robert believes our community wants the Martha to succeed and he’s doing all he can to fulfill that wish. His parting comment was “Imagine Port Townsend without this present level of skills in the marine trades who help revive timeless old wooden boats.”

For more information and video of this year’s restoration go to www.schoonermartha.org.

Dan Newland Reports in From the Bleeding Edge

JK — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:05:38 +0000

http://project.kiteboat.com/

After helping finish up one of the first GP 26s with Brook Dees, and Jim Antrim’s Class 40 built at Berkeley Marine, Dan is again in the Bay area working on the Kiteboat Project, a foiler trimaran that is powered by a kite. Here’s a short report from the always entertaining Mr. Newland.

“The boat is a kick. The hulls are 25′ long and weigh about 90 lbs each and (I’m not kidding), overbuilt. We could take probably 20 lbs out of them. Everything is carbon and the core is Nomex. VERY stiff but you can litereally put a half-hull under your arm and carry it off.”

“The systems are interesting and fairly complex. The foils are “J” shaped and tied to the bow “sensors” i.e. paddle like deals that move when waves hit them to keep the boat from porpoising. The “T” foil rudder has a swiveling box with electric trim to adjust height. Then there are the kite launching poles, reels, controls…the list goes on. Anyway, it’s fun and great working with these guys. Most came from BMW/Oracle and built the trimaran so they are used to this stuff. Good guys, all. OH! and Tom George is good friends with one guy, Gabe Murphy. He grew up on Guemes Island in the SJ’s and ferried to school in Anacortes.”

“No, I haven’t had my ride yet but I am hoping to do it soon! After this one is done, they want to set a record sailing to Hawaii. Should be fun!”

“I did race last Sat and we got a 1st and a 2nd with big breeze. This weekend if I could have started looking sooner, I could have done the 3 Bridge Fiasco. Holy Shit! They have 320 boats entered! I was on the SSS Board when we came up with this crazy race and now it’s one of the most popular races on the planet AND STILL GROWING!!! There are even 2 races now copying it I heard. One in Seattle (the 3 islands race or some such???) and one in Rhode Island. They asked me to get up and tell the history of it, that was fun. Well, the first hour for me was fun anyway!”

“Anyway, say hi to everyone!”

Dan

Left Coast Dart Auction

Larry Fisher — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:07:44 +0000

A welcome to a new voice on the PTSA site, Larry Fisher of the mighty Columbia 30, SILENT WAY.

The price on this boat is dropping $1000 a day. PHRF 117 NW

What if you built it and they didn’t come? Jim Lee has built a wonderful new 26-foot sport boat up in Anacortes, but customer response has been underwhelming. Actually, he hasn’t been able to sell a single one in two years. So he’s hit on a radical measure to sell hull #2 and make way for #3: a reverse auction. He’s lowering the price $1,000 a day until the boat sells.

You can follow the auction here.

Base price on a Dart is $49,950, before sails, instruments, and so on. But this one, tricked out with all the trimmings, would be $73,767 plus shipping. As of today, February 3, it’s going for $62,000. That’s still a good deal of money, but given today’s materials and manufacturing costs, it’s not out of line. And it’s built here. In a more buoyant economy, ahem, Jim would surely have sold some boats by now.

A former software engineer, Jim moved to Anacortes to retire, but got bored quickly and started taking boat-building classes. He’d always liked the lines of the B-25, a southern California sportster designed by Leif Bailey, and thought that something similar would make an excellent all-purpose boat, equally suited to racing round the buoys and camping overnight with the kids. Then, one day, who should appear in class but Bailey himself. They talked, and talked some more, and the result was the Dart, similar to a B-25, but better looking and more modern.

I drove to Anacortes yesterday to have a look for myself, and can attest that the Dart is worthy of the technical term “way cool.” This is just a beautiful boat with a big open cockpit, top of the line hardware just where it should be, and a surprisingly warm and spacious interior. You really could sleep four in this 26-footer, in long, cushy births. Hull #2 comes with a carbon bow sprit for asymmetrical kites and the boat has a great set of Ullman sails, used just twice, in winning the Windemere and Pitch regattas. Check it out!

Shipwrights’ Race Is In a Week!

Piper — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:58:40 +0000

The 21st annual Shipwrights’ Race is coming right up on Saturday, February 25th. Round up your hibernating crew or pick up some fresh crew here on this site or at the skippers’ meeting and get ready for a fun race with wacky trophies and valuables prizes.

You’ll have the choice of three fleets — Racing, Cruising, and Inshore (small boats). Download your entry form here (Shipwrights’ Race Reg. Form 2012) or pick one up at the Chandlery at the Northwest Maritime Center. Entry fee is $20 per boat before Feb. 16th and $25 thereafter.

The Sunrise Coffee sponsored skippers’ meeting will be at 9 am at the Maritime Center commons, and the race is scheduled to start at noon.

If you don’t have a boat but want to come sailing, just show up at the skippers’ meeting and we’ll find you a ride!

There will be chowder, libations, and an awards ceremony at the Maritime Center following the race.

For more information contact Ace Spragg at 360 379-2759 ext. 103 or Piper Dunlap at 360 774-0819.

Time to Check Your Rig

JK — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:46:30 +0000

Needless to say, this is a joke. Don't do it.

WHAT’S MISSING IN THIS PICTURE OF MARTHA?

Kathy Grace — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:17:09 +0000

MARTHA's in the Boat Haven yard getting a new keel, rudder and foremast.

A lot! But the biggest thing missing is the keel, which was removed early in January. MARTHA is in the Shipwright’s Coop building across from Admiral Marine Supply undergoing restoration, the largest part of which is the rebuilding of a new lead keel. Robert D’Arcy is leading the project with the help of numerous local marine tradesmen and volunteers. Meanwhile, over in the Northwest Maritime Center’s boat shop, a new foremast is being built for MARTHA under the guidance of Steve Chapin. Both the keel and the mast are works of art, combining old world woodworking knowledge with modern CAD design tools and machinery. These are arts that are practiced by very few tradesmen in this day and age. Port Townsend is one of the few locations in the world that can craft these kinds of projects.

If you arfe interested in volunteering time, money, or a few hours of work, contact Holly at 360-385-2150. You can truly say that you were a part of historty by working on this project.

For more information and pictures of the project, go to schoonermartha.org.

Getting A Jump On Spring

JK — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:49:59 +0000

Quick & Easy Winter Projects To Make Your Boat Safer (And Avoid Big Headaches Later)

Sometimes, it’s the little things that get overlooked; something as minor as a worn impeller or dead battery can ruin a day on the water. Even major things like a dismasting from a cracked fitting or a ruined engine due to clogged manifolds can be prevented by a quick inspection. This winter, devote some time to a few easy inspections or simple projects to make sure next spring your boat is ready for smooth (and safe) sailing.

Change Your Impeller

As the Nike ad used to say, “Just do it.” Unless you changed your impeller within the last two years, go ahead and replace it. Impellers can fail even (and especially) if they’re not used much. Over time, they take a “set” and the vanes become less flexible and less efficient at moving water. Eventually, the vanes crack at the base and break off, finding their way into your engine’s cooling system where they can cause overheating (and are often very difficult to remove). Replacing your impeller is easy and cheap insurance. If your engine’s pump is hard to access, consider installing a product called Speedseal, which is a replacement cover that uses four knurled screws, allowing much easier inspection and replacement of impellers.

The impeller on the left is worn out; the vanes could break off and get stuck in your engine’s cooling system, causing overheating. Now is the time to replace it if you haven’t done it in a couple of years.

Inspect the Other Zincs

Zinc anodes in the engine’s cooling system wear out like any other anode. Forgetting to replace them can lead to corrosion, ruining expensive components.

Many engines, especially smaller diesels and generators, have zinc anodes in the cooling system to prevent corrosion. Most heat exchangers are made of copper and other dissimilar metals, which can corrode if not protected. The anodes (usually pencil anodes) are screwed into the heat exchanger housing and should be inspected at least once a year; if they’re half wasted, replace them. Check your engine manual to find out if your boat has one.

If you have a water heater, you may have a zinc anode in it as well. Those anodes tend to last a long time (decades), but when they’re finally used up, corrosion can occur. Another surprising issue with worn-out water-heater anodes is that they can cause a foul odor in the hot water when the zinc wears off its iron support rod. These anodes are usually attached to the inside of the water heater’s outlet nipple and can be replaced by removing the nipple.

Read the entire article from Boat US’s Seaworthy magazine here

Happy New Year

JK — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:15:35 +0000

Happy New Year with lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to in 2012.

Ladies Who Launch: Ship Christening Photographs from Delaware Valley Shipyards

JK — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:45:19 +0000

Ship launching ceremonies have been recorded as long ago as 3,000 B. C. Although modern ceremonies no longer include such ancient customs as animal sacrifice to the gods, the sentiment behind them is the same as in ages past: to officially name the ship and bless it on its voyages.

In America, women became the preferred sponsors of ships around the 1840s, charged with breaking a bottle of spirits over the bow. Champagne eventually became the libation of choice for its effervescence.

Local shipyards documented their ceremonies with photographs of the participants, leaving us a record not only of the massive machinery they produced, but also of the human ritual that made an appeal to forces beyond mere technology. A number of photographs of ship launchings can be found at the site Ladies Who Launch.

Miss Juliet Edith Greene, great-great granddaughter of William Bainbridge, sponsor, USS Bainbridge, June 12, 1920.

USS Bainbridge, 1920

Miss Juliet Edith Greene, great-great granddaughter of William Bainbridge, sponsor, USS Bainbridge, June 12, 1920. New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey.

This destroyer was named after William Bainbridge, a naval officer who commanded ships during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, and served as a commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the 1820s.

Independence Seaport Museum
New York Shipbuilding Corporation Collection
1967.310