Cutting out the Bulkheads.

By Dermot Tynan, about 11 years ago.

A slight change from the version of the hull from The hull starts to take shape.; the hull height from the base of the hull to the deck (not including the keel) was 180mm. As I started to look at cutting bulkheads and the transom, it struck me that the hull is quite shallow. It looks fine from DelftSHIP but that's a low freeboard.

The beam of the boat is around 360mm, which is twice that depth. The original intent was to create a hull which wasn't too "beam-y" but that's a 2:1 aspect ratio. I decided to increase the hull height by 50%. Luckily, DelftSHIP will scale your drawing in any or all of the three vertices. So, five minutes later, and we have a new hull with a 270mm depth.

• April 14, 2013
• |
• |

Wind Direction Indicator

By Dermot Tynan, almost 11 years ago.

Now that the hull is looking solid, it's time to start thinking again about the wind direction indicator. It is possible to detect wind speed by using an ultrasonic sensor and receiver, and measuring the delay between the two. You need to account for temperature changes and gusts can cause issues, but it is fairly reliable and has no moving parts. Generally, you use two transducers offset by a distance of perhaps 20cm for the North/South computation, and another pair in the East/West direction. I think if we were using a larger hull, such as a 4m boat, this would be a good plan. But, for the 2.4m (or the 1.2m) boat, it's just too big and awkward. Also, this jury is undecided about how well they would work, over the long haul.

• May 4, 2013
• |
• |

Work continues, slowly but surely.

By Dermot Tynan, over 10 years ago.

It's been pretty quiet here on the blog front for a couple of months due to work and life pressures, but efforts on the hull and keel have continued unabated.

Much to report since the last post, including two transatlantic attempts (neither of which have succeeded, yet).

• August 12, 2013
• |
• |

The New Winged Sail

By Dermot Tynan, over 10 years ago.

My original plan was to use a traditional mast and mainsail, with Yannick Lemonnier of West Sails volunteering to produce the sail. Yannick is no stranger to mad schemes himself, having competed in far too many Figaro races. These days, he spends his time sailing his Moth winged-beast, or racing his International 14. That is, when he's not making sails for everyone from Beoga Beag to the Volvo Open 70s.

• January 8, 2014
• |
• |