Thursday, December 19, 2013

Slow Going for ‘Minnow’





Surprise, surprise! I only managed to find 15 minutes for ‘Minnow’, and during that time I applied a third coat of varnish to the yuloh. This cold and damp weather is not ideal for varnishing, but by keeping the varnish warm I was able to brush an even layer over the second coat. Somehow, the varnish dries and hardens by the following day. One more coat will see the job finished.

I’m still considering how I shall make a bracket for securing the shaft end of the yuloh to the foredeck. When I was at B & Q I saw a stainless steel hanger rail that had a curved piece of metal almost, but not quite suited to making a semicircular bracket. Another idea that appeals to me is utilizing a large curtain ring that could be modified for the purpose. I have two rowlocks that could be converted into semicircular brackets, one in plastic and another in alloy.

Coming up with satisfactory solutions for this sort of thing is rewarding. The challenge is to do it in the most effective way, which is often the simplest, and sometimes the cheapest. Everything on a boat has to be robust enough to withstand strains likely to be placed on them. In the case of stowing the yuloh on the side deck, the fittings have to withstand forces that may be imposed by waves washing over the side deck. In the unfortunate, but unlikely chance of a 360 degree capsize; the fittings must be pretty strong to keep the yuloh in place.

3 comments:

Steve Carey said...

What a transformation. Looking very good.

I let my Bosun Grid-Steering Compass go when I sold Molly (West Wight Potter). It would have been rather large inside PUFFIN's little cabin! QUESTION: Which direct, edge reading small'ish compass would you recommend ? Something big enough to read from a 3-4 feet but not huge or heavy?

Steve

William Serjeant said...

Steve,
I think you know more about the sort of compass you've described than I do! I've always preferred grid compasses, but, as you've mentioned, a Bosun would be too large for Puffin.
Cheers,
Bill.

Steve Carey said...

Hi Bill, I hope you had a lovely Christmas with your family.

Back to boats . . . . . . or even Compass or another Compass (Compassesses). I've shortlisted two. They both have LED Illuminations and are pretty much the same apart from size:

The Uflex: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130922524866

The Ritchie: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271140736827

I think I will go for the larger one. I want to be able to see it from the helmsman's seat 4 to 5ft away (hopefully). I have also made a Digital compass but it's not packaged yet. It will just display up to 3 HUGE digits in º but if I integrate it with the Tiller Pilot chip, it could alternate between set course and actual course. Although I will have a lot of low-consumption electronics on-board and do have a lot of "Faith" in them, I do accept that they are more likely to fail than traditional mechanical units. For that reason I am backing up sufficient items so that I could continue onwards.

The Ritchie Compass is no bigger than 5" in any direction.

Steve

Steve