2047 replies to this topic

[Great Red Shark]

Engine AND Lighting Geekery on a Saturday morning ?   Man,  that's why I check SA before heading to town for today's races.

[floating dutchman]

This is why it is illegal to put a fluro light over a lathe.

[Maxx Baqustae]

You gotta admire this! 

 

 

Full planing and a bulb bow seem to be at odds, but seems to work for this craft. Hey Jose, do your bulb bows do this?

 

Jeebuz - A CHB 34 on full rut! And planing - seriously? That takes a lot of ponies to make a big brick fly; but apparently it can be done. Probably needs a CAT 3208TA to make that work so at 375hp perhaps. And a bulbous bow. Why? These boats gets into the screaming 7's. Downhill, downwind - maybe. Sort of putting Formula car tires on a Lada though.

 

They spent a ton dough making this work for a 40 to 50k mildew/deck rot special that they will have to be buried in. Wow.

 

The things you see when you don't have a gun.

[Steam Flyer]

You gotta admire this! 

 

 

Full planing and a bulb bow seem to be at odds, but seems to work for this craft. Hey Jose, do your bulb bows do this?

 

 

I'm thinkin' Photoshop

 

The boat/water/background matchup is very good if so. But I can't shake the feeling that a cheapo Taiwan-built hull would crumple like tinfoil at the amount of power this would really take, and adding that much powerplant to an already-heavy boat would result in a much deeper waterplane anyway.

 

Looks like fun though. Definitely not a drive-from-inside boat, when it all goes pear-shaped you want to be able to jump clear like Casey Jones

 

FB- Doug

[SemiSalt]

I did a couple of deliveries of a Grand Banks 36 that was built for the Puerto Rico dealer and it had twin Cummings diesels. Way more power that that semi displacement hull should have had, but it saved our asses when we had to dodge a hurricane and duck for cover in Provo T&C. I took that boat from the VI to Ft Lauderdale and then the owner took her up the ICW to New Jersey. Took him a couple years to understand my questioning why he would move the boat from St John to Seaside but then I got hired to take her all the way back to the Islands. In the ICW, with both engines at full idle, I was still above the No Wake speeds and had oyster and clam tongers throwing shells at me. I would have to put one engine in neutral to keep the speed under 5 knots. I for get the actual numbers, but fuel consumption went up in a hurry above the normal 10 12 knots that the hull was best suited for. That boat on a plane had the best wake for the dolphins to body surf, they would stay with the boat for hours. I've never seen them so attracted to any other boat. They might have loved that bulb bow however!

 

Here are some fule figures for the Marine trader in the photo. I'm curious if that bulb is stock.

 

The tachometers for our Ford Lehman 120 have been a question mark since we bought the boat. We have had no way to know how accurate they are, and our cruising RPMs help to determine how much fuel we burn per hour. With the price of fuel today, this is an important piece of information and we would like to be as accurate as possible. Of course, calculating the number of hours run and the fuel added to the tank will give us an average, but we want to be more precise. Running the engine at our average cruising RPMs of about 1750 will mean a fuel burn of about 2.2 gallons per hour (GPH). Running at 1950, the fuel burn jumps up to 3.1 GPH and at 2000 RPMs, it is 3.4 GPH. Having the correct readings on the tachs can save us some considerable cash considering our cruises are usually thousands

 

If you know the owner, give him the attached proc.

 

 

Checking the Accuracy of a Tachometer.

There is a way to check the accuracy of a tachometer using the highly accurate and stable frequency of AC power supplied from any source of commercial shore power. The concept is to use the AC line frequency as the measuring standard. The only tools needed for this calibration check are a piece of tape and a fluorescent lamp which operates from commercial AC line power.

A fluorescent lamp is actually a gas-discharge lamp with the interior of the glass envelope coated with a light-emitting phosphor. When the gas within the lamp is ionized by alternating current it emits pulses of energy. One pulse occurs for each of the voltage excursions of the AC waveform. For the 60-Hz power common in North America, there will be 120 such flashes per second, 60 positive and 60 negative. The pulses of energy created within the lamp excite the phosphor coating, which in turn emits visible light. Because the energy driving the lamp is not continuous, the light emitted is not continuous. The fluorescent lamp emits 120 pulses of light per second, but the human eye's persistence of vision makes us think the light is always on. We can use the pulsing light output of the fluorescent light as a very accurate measuring tool with which to check the calibration of the engine tachometer.

First, obtain access to the front of the engine. Place one piece of white tape on the face of the large pulley mounted on the engine's crankshaft (usually this is the largest pulley in sight). Illuminate the front of the engine with light from the fluorescent lamp. Run the engine at 1,800 rpm, as shown on the tachometer. If the tachometer is accurate, four stationery, or very slowly moving, white marks will appear on the face of the pulley where the tape was placed. If the tachometer is inaccurate, the tape marks may be rotating in either direction. Adjust the throttle until the four tape marks appear to stand still. Note the tachometer reading. If the difference between the reading and 1,800 rpm is at all significant, look for a small adjustment screw on the back or within the body of the tachometer. Turning this screw slightly should make the indicator needle move to exactly 1,800 rpm. If the speed range of the engine permits, increase the engine speed to 3,600 rpm. At this speed, only two tape marks should be visible on the crankshaft pulley. Repeat the check of the tachometer reading and, if necessary, readjust the tach. The basis of this stroboscopic speed calibration is quite simple. At 1,800 rpm, the engine is turning at 30 revolutions per second. The lamp is flashing at 120 flashes per second, or four flashes per engine revolution. Therefore, if the engine is turning at exactly 30 revolutions per second the tape mark will appear four times, with each apparent tape position 1/120 of a second or 1/4 revolution apart. When the engine runs at 3,600 rpm there will be only two light flashes per engine revolution. If the boat is in a country where the standard AC power frequency is 50 Hz, the check speeds would have to be 1,500 and 3,000 rpm since the light would flash 100 times per second.

 

In my college introductory physics course, we did this with a lab experiment involving a sterling heat engine. Instead of a bit of tape, we had a disk with circles of marks at various intervals.

[MisterMoon]

Because I know Michalak boats get some of you going, here are some photos I took on Friday while sailing in company with two of them. 

 

 

 

For the record, I think they are cool. 

[MisterMoon]

Another cool boat, this time from Bolger. 

 

[MisterMoon]

And one more cool boat, another Michalak design. Tom has done a lot of great cruises on this little boat, including the western Gulf side of the Everglades in February, which is pretty sporty time of year. Tom told me right after this video was taken he caught a big bluefish. 

 

[Jose Carumba]

You gotta admire this! 
 

 
Full planing and a bulb bow seem to be at odds, but seems to work for this craft. Hey Jose, do your bulb bows do this?

Uhmmmm, no.

[Tom Ray]

Nice shot of Oaracle, MrMoon! And that green thing too!

 

Another cool boat, this time from Bolger. 

 

 

Isn't that boat whiskey-powered or something? Or was it whiskey-seeking? Something magical.

[MisterMoon]

Nice shot of Oaracle, MrMoon! And that green thing too!

 

Another cool boat, this time from Bolger. 

 

 

Isn't that boat whiskey-powered or something? Or was it whiskey-seeking? Something magical.

 

The proper term is "Wish-key" as making whiskey yourself is frowned upon by the authorities. It's pretty good stuff, too. Pat and I did spend some time diving under big Horizon Cat of your acquaintance rigging a new centerboard pennant. I was surprised to find the attachment was a simple bowline! 

[Southern Cross]

Does this count? Kind of cute in a way.

Met the owner this weekend. Retired aerospace engineer, weapons specialist and advanced composites and materials. Worked for Skunk Works and JPL. His wife worked for NASA. Go figure.

 image.jpg   288.63K   11 downloads

[blackjenner]

Does this count? Kind of cute in a way.

Met the owner this weekend. Retired aerospace engineer, weapons specialist and advanced composites and materials. Worked for Skunk Works and JPL. His wife worked for NASA. Go figure.

 

Maybe he doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks.

[Southern Cross]

Does this count? Kind of cute in a way.

Met the owner this weekend. Retired aerospace engineer, weapons specialist and advanced composites and materials. Worked for Skunk Works and JPL. His wife worked for NASA. Go figure.

 
Maybe he doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks.

Maybe he knows something we don't.

[SloopJonB]

Does this count? Kind of cute in a way.

Met the owner this weekend. Retired aerospace engineer, weapons specialist and advanced composites and materials. Worked for Skunk Works and JPL. His wife worked for NASA. Go figure.

image.jpg

I guess he's had enough high tech and advanced design to do him. Time to simplicate things.

[MisterMoon]

FWIW, the designer of that boat is an aerospace engineer. Jim Michalak used to work on missiles for McDonnell-Douglas.

[Elegua]

Well it sure ain't rocket surgery....

 

 

But honestly, only genius could breed that kind of ugly. Truly impressive. 

[Southern Cross]

FWIW, the designer of that boat is an aerospace engineer. Jim Michalak used to work on missiles for McDonnell-Douglas.

Oops. I was mistaken. The owner also worked for McDonald Douglass. Not JPL. He told us a story about how they used to use wood for templates to create the bulkheads for the DC10's but still come within a tiny fraction of an inch tolerance. Good chance they knew each other. Never got around to talking about the boat. Maybe next time.

[blackjenner]

It's not ugly in the way that the VW Bug wasn't ugly.  The Bug wasn't pretty but it wasn't ugly either.  It was very very different.  I like it.  I'd sail it.

[familysailor]

It's not ugly in the way that the VW Bug wasn't ugly.  The Bug wasn't pretty but it wasn't ugly either.  It was very very different.  I like it.  I'd sail it.

The VW bug?

[blackjenner]

Yeah, the VW Bug.

[Ishmael]

One of the Kennedy family tried that, no luck, they don't float for long.

[sam_crocker]

  Ugly, and interesting at the same time.

 

http://www.yachtworl...ckpit&noOfPic=7

 

 

 

In a 19' boat things like: 

"The hydraulics for landing gear and rudder involve 13 cylinders, interconnected in variants of back-to-back (with multiple cylinder summing in the landing-gear steering and a kickup valve in rudder deployment). Without actively pressurized hydraulics, this is simple... as long as the volumes are balanced. This manifold, with a valve per circuit and a reservoir of fluid, allows the whole system to be quickly calibrated by simply opening associated valves, positioning drive and target cylinders as needed, and closing the valves."

 

 

 

Uhhhhhh, this boat thingy needs its own thread. I see it is self propelled on the road as well. Here is the description of something up front-

 

"The bow carries an assembly of three hydraulic cylinders that allow active steering of the forward landing gear while hauling the boat down the road. The relationship between one simple linkage and the curved cam follower implements the Ackerman steering function that controls turn angle of each wheel independently, eliminating "scrubbing," and the third cylinder is a summing device that allows the wheels to be pigeon-toed... creating a parking brake."

 

There is a canoe under it all. Very far under.

 

I found the online link to the website about this one.  You could probably negotiate him down.

http://microship.com...ship/index.html

 

A technomadic lifestyle..... Funky Winnebiko (of course it's a recumbent bike)

 http://microship.com/

[blackjenner]

I remember reading about this crazy nomad and his Winnebiko years ago. I admire his kind of crazy.

[familysailor]

Yeah, the VW Bug.

Shouldn't be too hard to step a mast if it has the sunroof option.......

[whinging pom]

Some guy took a Beetle across the Irish Sea in the 70's

 

[Py26129]

 thCAXSLEYI.jpg   7.56K   0 downloadsThey alos used it at Skye Bridge protest crossing was great fun.  A new bridge had been built and the toll was 8 Euro for a 70 meter trip, people were very unhappy, they used the Water Beetle to make a point.
 
Then again they could just have used a Schwimmwagen which was an amphibious Beetle.

 

 
 
 

[Blye]

Not Ugly, kinda neat actually

 

 

 

[whinging pom]

Friends of my parents had one of those Amphicar deathtraps.  The pic shows it on a slipway, in reality it had about 3" of freeboard and no pump.    The car came to a sticky end when the steering seized and it rolled.  Driver survived on account of a fridge being carried on the back seat at the time...

[Tucky]

When it comes to cars and water . . . . . . . . . .

 

[blackjenner]

Friends of my parents had one of those Amphicar deathtraps.  The pic shows it on a slipway, in reality it had about 3" of freeboard and no pump.    The car came to a sticky end when the steering seized and it rolled.  Driver survived on account of a fridge being carried on the back seat at the time...

 

Are you sure it was operating properly?  Not defending the car.  It is what it is.  

 

http://www.amphicar....AmphicarFAQ.htm

 

 

Freeboard seems more than 3".

 

what the freeboard is.  It is about 21". The front bumper is just above the water and the rear of the car sits just slightly lower due to the rear engine.

 

Seems it should have a bilge pump.

 

"Like other boats, the Amphicar has a full complement of required maritime equipment: water navigation lights, an electric bilge pump to expel any water that may splash or leak aboard, and US models (i.e. most Amphicars) also have a special timed bilge blower fan that blows out any fumes that may have collected in the hull before the engine will start--a safety feature required in any inboard motorboat in the USA. "

[Rasputin22]

What do you expect? Think how the weight and height of a 12 cu ft refrig would affect the stability of the Amphicar. I don't think they recommended refrigs as lifeboats anyway...

[Blye]

I wonder if you need life jackets and flares and basic safety gear when on the water? Bet you do.

 

 

 

 

[Nicolations]

UGLY boat admiration society! not BARELY-a-boat! We have standards which we strive diligently to maintain and...ok, I'm done. I can't keep a serious face for long, as my children will attest.

That'd be cool to drive to a ramp with your amphib mobile and drive in pulling your boat on a separate trailer!

[whinging pom]

What do you expect? Think how the weight and height of a 12 cu ft refrig would affect the stability of the Amphicar. I don't think they recommended refrigs as lifeboats anyway...

 

I was about 10 at the time, so maybe memories  about free board can be a bit unreliable.  The car turned over on the road, the fridge acting as a roll bar.

[lord_nougat]

What do you expect? Think how the weight and height of a 12 cu ft refrig would affect the stability of the Amphicar. I don't think they recommended refrigs as lifeboats anyway...

 

I was about 10 at the time, so maybe memories  about free board can be a bit unreliable.  The car turned over on the road, the fridge acting as a roll bar.

I hope the beers were okay!

[olaf hart]

Strangely enough, I could do with an amphibious car.
We regularly ferry the car across to Bruny Island, to visit friends .
Unfortunately, the last ferry is 7pm.
We actually considered living on the island, but the ferry trip turned us off.
If there was a reliable amphibious car it would have been a different story.

[mcsailor0303]

Oh man...

 

http://sfbay.craigsl...3808123320.html

[Occams Razor]

please stop. this is a thread for ugly Sail  boats.

[Sailbydate]

Strangely enough, I could do with an amphibious car.
We regularly ferry the car across to Bruny Island, to visit friends .
Unfortunately, the last ferry is 7pm.
We actually considered living on the island, but the ferry trip turned us off.
If there was a reliable amphibious car it would have been a different story.

Hey, OH. Check this out. Maybe the 4 x 4 version would suit?

 

 

 

Sorry for the continued drift, Razor.

[Occams Razor]

that one's ok, it's got a pretty girl in it...

[Jose Carumba]

Pikers!

 

 2009_amphicoach.jpg   42.17K   0 downloads

 

 Our Clubhouse.jpg   27.9K   0 downloads

[Blye]

please stop. this is a thread for ugly Sail  boats.

The title of the thread is "Uglyboat Admiration Society Hang Out" Not "UglySAILboat Admiration Society Hang Out"   

[INFIDEL]

Oh man...

 

http://sfbay.craigsl...3808123320.html

 

 

 

+ Hobie Rig!

Kinda cool....

INFIDEL

[INFIDEL]

so, no need for a run to Home Depot? Bob's Burgers and Brews just up the road.


Sometimes ugly boats are owner inflicted too.

 

Admirable submarine design. Why pay slip fees??? PARK UNDER THE DAMN THING!!!

INFIDEL

 

[INFIDEL]

 

+ astroturf and full walmart patio set on the roof.

 

window a/c and genset.

 

green t-light lens on the L side.

 

the list goes on....

INFIDEL

 

[hard aground]

sorry I missed the earlier amphicar posts.

 

[INFIDEL]

Backyard Boats seem to have their special type of ugly, some, like the Curmudgeon Craft, are Backyard Built Ugly- Good intentions, Maxwell Smart execution ("missed it by that much") Some I think are BYB because their owners are too embarassed to even think about lauching or re-launching them. Like this one:


Believe it or not, that is NOT homebuilt.

 

My bad, why improve "the van" with this laying about to start with.

Question: Why do all the yard boats seem to have some upside down "freebie" in the back???

INFIDEL