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Abbreviated rules 07/28/2017
Underdawg did an excellent job of explaining the rules. Here's the simplified version: Don't insinuate Pedo. Warning and or timeout for a first offense. PermaFlick for any subsequent offenses Don't out members. See above for penalties. Caveat: if you have ever used your own real name or personal information here on the forums since, like, ever - it doesn't count and you are fair game. If you see spam posts, report it to the mods. We do not hang out in every thread 24/7 If you see any of the above, report it to the mods by hitting the Report button in the offending post. We do not take action for foul language, off-subject content, or abusive behavior unless it escalates to persistent stalking. There may be times that we might warn someone or flick someone for something particularly egregious. There is no standard, we will know it when we see it. If you continually report things that do not fall into rules #1 or 2 above, you may very well get a timeout yourself for annoying the Mods with repeated whining. Use your best judgement. Warnings, timeouts, suspensions and flicks are arbitrary and capricious. Deal with it. Welcome to anarchy. If you are a newbie, there are unwritten rules to adhere to. They will be explained to you soon enough.
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Russell Brown
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Interesting... Good to get a report from someone who was in the area.
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The pedestal is supported fore & aft by an aft facing strut. The photo shows an unfinished bunch of hardware on top of an unfinished horizontal plate that holds all the hardware. The strut bolts to the aft crossarm. The hardware on top of the pedestal is for the main and screecher/spinnaker sheets. I got used to sheets being always within reach and the G-32 wasn't that way at all. The main sheet comes from the end of the boom, which is the only place to sheet it because of the around-the-boom reefing and furling. The sheet will still come from the end of the boom, but will run through the lead block and cleat to the cam cleats. The screecher/spinnaker sheet will go to the winch. Both sheets will now be in easy reach of the driver. The tiller has to pass between the sheet and the strut, which will be interesting, but I think it will be easier than what I had. Gybing this boat with the spinnaker or screecher is a handful. There's the mainsheet & traveller, the running backstays, bowsprit from one side to the other, spinnaker sheet, mast rotation, and water ballast. Keeps me on my toes and it's fun.
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I have no experience with belts, but they have some advantages. Chain is a lot easier to make the right length. The idler pulley in the pedestal was a mistake. I should have made the geometry of the pedestal to allow for a straight path from the upper to lower pulley. The leg will be sealed and will hopefully stay dry inside. I like the electric idea, but I also really like outboard motors, especially when there's a long way to go.
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The pedestal is the big part. The big pulley is where the cranks (pedals) attach. The lower pulley is offset to starboard to give heel clearance and to offset the leg (the second attachment) far enough that it has room to swing up laterally. Both the leg and the pedestal have pulleys and belts inside. Four shafts and eight bearings (not shown), four pulleys, a long drive shaft connecting the pedestal and leg, an idler pulley, etc, etc... The leg rotates (kicks up) laterally on the 2 1/8" carbon tube shown in the drawings and photo. I have made some mistakes already, but it should be operating and I should have photos in a couple of weeks.
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I'm not sure if these files will be visible and if they are it's going to be hard for anyone to figure out what's going on. I'll try to explain. line223.pdf line2345.pdf
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Seems that there are more entrants than the website shows. My friend Larry Olsen just entered in an Olson 30 (team Deam Catchers). There's going to be lots of us old guys trying to make it to Ketchikan. It would be good to see some people that I know on the course.
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I haven't posted anything about the new system because there's nothing to post that will really help anyone. For one it's experimental and until it works, there's nothing to recommend. For two, the only drawings are my full size working drawings that are understandable to myself and the two people who are helping with the design, but would only cause confusion if I posted them. If I had lots of time I could learn CAD and post all kinds of stuff, but I have a full time job and the pedal drive is going to be a months-long project. I will have photos of the inner workings and geometry soon and I'll post them here as soon as I have them.
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Well Hell, that was easy. I did exactly as Proa said. I already had the photos reduced for e-mailing and just dragged them in. I was going to wait to post until I had more explanatory photos. The big part is the pedestal. It gets pulleys and a belt inside and the cranks on the outside and a winch on the top. The long rectangular thing is the leg. It gets pulleys and a belt inside and a prop at the bottom. The leg will be attached to the fiberglass tube that is slid over the long carbon tube that supports the leg. The leg rotates sideways to kick up out of the water. The shaft that connects the two units will be inside the carbon tube. Get it? Now you know why I was going to wait until I had explanatory photos. All the other parts are here, most of the machining has been done. Lots of assembly left to do.
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Is this going to work?
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That would be super-cool. The ferry goes from Bellingham, but maybe only goes as far as Prince Rupert, or maybe that's the ferry that leaves from Port Hardy at the North end of Vancouver Island. I don't know (obviously). I don't think I need a ground crew (maybe another month to get ready instead), but I do need to get my outboard motor to Ketchikan. You might enjoy just the PT and Victoria parts. Ketchikan is a bit weird with 12000 cruise ship passengers a day (sometimes) and it's crazy expensive.
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Okay, I'm getting close to being able to to show the new pedal drive unit. I would have shown the design work, but it was done full size and the drawings were never complete enough to understand what was really going on. I have the major parts built now and have the pulleys, belts, bearings, and stock for the shafts and bearing retainers. It got really complicated, but to make it easy to deploy it had to be complicated. Two belts, four pulleys, five shafts, eight bearings, etc. Parts of it have been fun and I really hope that it works. I have never post photos here. Will someone please point me to the instructions.
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Sorry I didn't respond sooner to this post, DDW. A bit too much work happening at the moment and I didn't even see this until just now. Thanks for the info. I got to know Ted Van Dusen from Composite engineering by phone because I used their bolt rope track on my new rig. We have kept in touch over some other projects and I'm quite impressed by him and by what he has done with composites. Maybe you know this, but his spar division was basically shut down in the recession. It's recently back to full bore and they are looking for qualified help. There aren't many spar builders period, but even fewer that build unstayed masts, so it's good that it's going again. They have quite a mandrel list and seem to have a good understanding of the engineering of unstayed masts. I still don't see one in my future, but I do appreciate the advantages.
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I got the message, Wess.
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Actually Trevor, I don't like to argue. Most proa fans like to talk about them a lot. I don't even like doing that. I like even less to see to see false advertising and bullying. Do you like false advertising and bullying? I'm not proud of my display of distaste for Rob Denny, but I certainly won't take any of it back.
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I'm glad that you like Sidecar, DDW. It's cool looking and very innovative. I don't think the bugs have been worked out yet, but I'm quite interested in it. I would be interested to know the length, weigh and cost figures for your mast. I like unstayed masts, even though I have little experience with them, I just can't picture adding those kind of loads on a multihull.
