65- by 32-foot catamaran 3200sqft of living space

[nos4r2]

OK Hotrod I have some useful info for you re the old outboard motors you have on your deck if they are indeed British Seagulls.

These are quirky old units but there is a British web site that is a mine of useful info especially on getting the ignition system to work.

http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/index.html

Also be aware that the gas oil mix required can be as low as 10 to 1. Most run on 25 to 1 but it is important to know which motor you have and if it has been modified to run on a different mix.

If I had to choose two low power motors to move something as big as the FH they would be high on the list. They were designed to push heavy displacement hulls not lightweight planing dinghies. It might be worth giving them a try. However as others have said I really think you need more power. I have seen some large catamarans working the tourist day trade out here in the Caribbean with two 40hp OBs on a central drop down bracket. The lengths would have been comparable to the FH but the windage on the FH may be an issue.

Also I do not think any Seagull was made with a reverse gear but I could be wrong on this. The ones I used in the 60s certainly did not, in fact most were direct drive. The larger Seagulls did have a foward and neutral lever from memory. There were two types of gearbox and prop on some models the larger one was the high thrust model and was called the barge pusher.

The Seagull 40+ won't push FH at all. The Silver Century would on a canal (I've seen a 70' steel narrowboat pushed by one) but that's zero current and no wind. They had trouble steering. Don't try and use them, you'll be at the mercy of the wind and you'll have no steerage.Even if they did work, you'll spend more time running back and forwards refuelling them that you will going anywhere.

I've got one of each here. The barge pusher (Silver Century)has a neutral, but some of the larger ones don't.

The only way to tell what 2 stroke mix to run these on is to look at the jets and compare with the info on the Saving Old Seagulls site.

If it's any help, they were designed to be maintained in the 3rd world by Africans with hammers and adjustable spanners. DO NOT EVER try and use a flywheel puller on one-the flywheel will break apart.

If you're desperate, they were designed so you can use normal mineral motor oil instead of 2 stroke oil, but this can ONLY be done if it's meant to run at 10:1 premix. IF you do run them on mineral motor oil, don't go ANYWHERE without a spark plug spanner as they whisker up and they stop regularly.

The Saving Old Seagulls site sells the shear springs.Don't go anywhere without spare ones as they break if you touch the bottom.

If you need help with them PM me, I'm in the UK and I've used these motors all my life.My normal cruising area is the town where they were built when new.

 

[SloopJonB]

To recap for the Rod's supporters, from one of his detractors;

Dreaming Big - A+

Drive - A+

Hard Work - A+

Persistance - A+

Judgement - F

Independence - C-

Ingenuity - C-

Design - F-

Craftsmanship - F-

Sailing Ability - Incomplete

Awareness of Reality - Incomplete

And I've always been an easy grader.

 

[Steam Flyer]

I have a friend who owns a lumber yard.but im shure the experience of those on this site far exceeds that.

Is he the guy who sold you the CDX "plywood" to build a boat out of?

Some friend.

Did you tell him you were building a boat, or when people started telling you CDX is not good for that, you looked at the price and decided you're too smart to listen?

Thought maybe there was someone real on this site. Just more doris days in moron country sorry i ment marin county. We built.we launched .we sailed.next we will do more. And u will still dream and dream and .......not rich .not lazy.not afraid .did u c me in latitude last mounth.we look great.the family the flag the yacht the bike. what did u do? Im not perfect but im the talk of the town. If u wish to b part of something real. Let me know.

Slight correction- You built... then you did repairs because you didn't build it very well and it started falling apart before you were done

You launched... then you made more repairs because you didn't think ahead and didn't realize how heavy it would be, plus it was falling apart etc etc

You have never sailed.

Now you are stuck in the mud

What have I done? Well, yesterday I went sailing. The week before that I went sailing, and drove around in a motorboat (that runs) helping some kids learn to sail. The week before that I sailed some more, then did some yard work. Etc etc etc.... I'm not rich either although I do have more money sense than to blow my entire family's entire wealth on an unworkable project that I have no clue how to complete successfully.

HR and family:

I live in Oakland. If there is anything that you need from over this way that I can bring you, or if you could use some help for a specific task let me know. It must be tough where you are right now.. ... ...

Yep, it probably is pretty tough. But hey that's what happens when you have the arrogance of stupidity combined with the tenacity to live on a mud flat in a 65' motorcycle storage shed.

Read His Rodness's last couple of posts and tell us you really -really- think he is willing to listen to well-meaning advice.

FB- Doug

 

[swims4USA]

Thought maybe there was someone real on this site. Just more doris days in moron country sorry i ment marin county. We built.we launched .we sailed.next we will do more. And u will still dream and dream and .......not rich .not lazy.not afraid .did u c me in latitude last mounth.we look great.the family the flag the yacht the bike. what did u do? Im not perfect but im the talk of the town. If u wish to b part of something real. Let me know.

I went to work 5 days last week, worked overtime, and went sailing 3 times (racing once).

you are the talk of the town, but not in a positive way, sorry.

 

[swims4USA]

Until a member of the FH crew posts a picture holding a sign like Da Woody suggested, I think everyone would be safe to assume this is an epic trolling.

did you see the selfie of Viking?

 

[svtenacious]

HR or Viking, not all sailors reading this forum are cranky, negative or downright foul, and are actually hoping for the most positive outcome regarding your endeavors. Here's an idea (you've probably already thought of) with a link http://www.kickstarter.com/

Maybe some of the enthusiastic followers of this forum, that our more supportive, could respond through "kickstarter". All of the others who spend all of their energy with negative useless diatribe, and are unable to read all 49 pages of the forum can keep typing their useless comments and posting pictures of topless women or dancing unicorns. Personally I spend more time at Latitude38 than here and I appreciate the positive story that Banjo Andy wrote over there.

short personal resume. Yes I sail, yes I own too many sailboats, yes I race regularly. longest trip - 14 months living on my 45' Lafitte, sailed BaHa HaHa to Mexico and back. Yes I'm a mechanical engineer (not Naval Architect) but I understand the construction of the boats I've owned & modified, and I can understand the challenges to the design of the FH. I also agree with a very early post from Bob Perry that commented positively on HR's ability to build the Flyin Hawaiian, regardless of whether he was supportive of the design.

Best of luck,

 

[nos4r2]

Until a member of the FH crew posts a picture holding a sign like Da Woody suggested, I think everyone would be safe to assume this is an epic trolling.

It's not a troll, Viking posted pics from the FH while it was moving, and pics of himself inside the cabin.

Unless there's an identical set of steering gear it's fairly safe to assume it's genuine.

 

[SloopJonB]

HR or Viking, not all sailors reading this forum are cranky, negative or downright foul, and are actually hoping for the most positive outcome regarding your endeavors. Here's an idea (you've probably already thought of) with a link http://www.kickstarter.com/

Maybe some of the enthusiastic followers of this forum, that our more supportive, could respond through "kickstarter". All of the others who spend all of their energy with negative useless diatribe, and are unable to read all 49 pages of the forum can keep typing their useless comments and posting pictures of topless women or dancing unicorns. Personally I spend more time at Latitude38 than here and I appreciate the positive story that Banjo Andy wrote over there.

short personal resume. Yes I sail, yes I own too many sailboats, yes I race regularly. longest trip - 14 months living on my 45' Lafitte, sailed BaHa HaHa to Mexico and back. Yes I'm a mechanical engineer (not Naval Architect) but I understand the construction of the boats I've owned & modified, and I can understand the challenges to the design of the FH. I also agree with a very early post from Bob Perry that commented positively on HR's ability to build the Flyin Hawaiian, regardless of whether he was supportive of the design.

Best of luck,

Supporting and reinforcing delusional people in their delusions is not "being positive" or even being a nice guy. The vast majority of what you call negative, useless diatribe here has actually been an attempt to introduce a little reality into HR's rather limited thinking.

You seem to have real sailing knowledge and ability - you are doing him no favours by supporting or reinforcing his craziness, only adding fuel to the fire.

In the real world, hard work and good intentions are simply not enough, especially on the ocean.

 

[swims4USA]

Until a member of the FH crew posts a picture holding a sign like Da Woody suggested, I think everyone would be safe to assume this is an epic trolling.

It's not a troll, Viking posted pics from the FH while it was moving, and pics of himself inside the cabin.

Unless there's an identical set of steering gear it's fairly safe to assume it's genuine.

Did The Viking actually post them on here, or send them to someone else for them to be posted? Maybe they came from some other site? Just saying.

that's a good point.

 

[ramwel2010]

Mr. Hot, Guy has extensive experience in the field of "HP Induced Sailing" having been CEO of the AC Team Murrelet syndicate in Valencia. Guy would love to extend his services to your project. Compensation can be discussed at a later date.

Also, Guy wishes to inquire of the status of this captivating waif pictured below. Is she Mrs. Hot? Can she be had without much fuss? Mrs. Frank has gone frigid and Guy's blood boils!

Cheers and Huzzah to the crew of Le Voler Hawaïenne!!

Mrs Hot.jpg

tis a shame the bulk of the idiots reading this thread are unaware of Mr. Guy's stature in this community

Huzzah indeed, Mr. Guy

 

[phillysailor]

Thought maybe there was someone real on this site. Just more doris days in moron country sorry i ment marin county. We built.we launched .we sailed.next we will do more. And u will still dream and dream and .......not rich .not lazy.not afraid .did u c me in latitude last mounth.we look great.the family the flag the yacht the bike. what did u do? Im not perfect but im the talk of the town. If u wish to b part of something real. Let me know.

HR'FH By the way, if folks on this site piss you off, and you don't want to hear from them, use the pulldown next to your login id up top to the right. You can "ignore" anyone you like.

Otherwise, HTFU, because this is SA and not everyone is a friend. That's FB.

 

[HR'FH]

I would appreciate any and all real input.please keeping in mind we have been dealing with criticism from the start .people don't build their own anything anymore .the best they do is buy and modify.bicycles ,cars , homes,boats ect. None believe they r qualified or they r told they can't and they believe it.it's not rocket science to build a boat. Its just not the norm .a sixteen year old sailed here from Japan on a raft. And there r many other success storys.im built a yacht with my son.u may or may not understand what that means.

We have only achieved a couple knots sofar but im not dun yet.

 

[svtenacious]

HR or Viking, not all sailors reading this forum are cranky, negative or downright foul, and are actually hoping for the most positive outcome regarding your endeavors. Here's an idea (you've probably already thought of) with a link http://www.kickstarter.com/

Maybe some of the enthusiastic followers of this forum, that our more supportive, could respond through "kickstarter". All of the others who spend all of their energy with negative useless diatribe, and are unable to read all 49 pages of the forum can keep typing their useless comments and posting pictures of topless women or dancing unicorns. Personally I spend more time at Latitude38 than here and I appreciate the positive story that Banjo Andy wrote over there.

short personal resume. Yes I sail, yes I own too many sailboats, yes I race regularly. longest trip - 14 months living on my 45' Lafitte, sailed BaHa HaHa to Mexico and back. Yes I'm a mechanical engineer (not Naval Architect) but I understand the construction of the boats I've owned & modified, and I can understand the challenges to the design of the FH. I also agree with a very early post from Bob Perry that commented positively on HR's ability to build the Flyin Hawaiian, regardless of whether he was supportive of the design.

Best of luck,

Supporting and reinforcing delusional people in their delusions is not "being positive" or even being a nice guy. The vast majority of what you call negative, useless ditribe here has actually been an attempt to introduce a little reality into HR's rather limited thinking.

You seem to have real sailing knowledge and ability - you are doing him no favours by supporting or reinforcing his craziness, only adding fuel to the fire.

In the real world, hard work and good intentions are simply not enough, especially on the ocean.

oops I need to apologize for a typo or two in my original post, you'd think a Berkeley education would enable me to avoid that.

ahh and one last thought. I wouldn't have sailed into the Pacific and south for 14 months on a beautiful Perry boat if I wasn't a little delusional and a dreamer myself, I really couldn't afford it... I also ALWAYS genuinely appreciate someone who works hard rather than sits around complaining about others or life. I do understand at least 30% of the people commenting here know what they are talking about and are genuinely concerned. On the other hand, follow the 1st rule, GET OFF THE DOCK AND GO SAILING, regardless of what your boat looks like.

 

[fstbttms]

Did The Viking actually post them on here, or send them to someone else for them to be posted? Maybe they came from some other site? Just saying.

Jeezus fucking kee-rhyst- read the thread, will ya? Fucking noobs...

 

[swims4USA]

I would appreciate any and all real input.please keeping in mind we have been dealing with criticism from the start .people don't build their own anything anymore .the best they do is buy and modify.bicycles ,cars , homes,boats ect. None believe they r qualified or they r told they can't and they believe it.it's not rocket science to build a boat. Its just not the norm .a sixteen year old sailed here from Japan on a raft. And there r many other success storys.im built a yacht with my son.u may or may not understand what that means.

We have only achieved a couple knots sofar but im not dun yet.

welp, now we know what the bulk of those 10,000 yacht designs consisted of.

it's not rocket science, but it is science. mathematics, physics, geometry... addition.

 

[Kirwan]

To the entire FH Family; Don't get too upset over the folks on this site, we may joke hard, but some are actually trying to help. And some of the people really do know what they are talking about, and have a lot of experience. (Not necessarily me, but I do own a small boat in the bay, and have a couple of engineering degrees)

And, as others have said, I'm impressed with the effort and stick-to-it that you all have shown in building and launching such a large project. Most of us here have the dream of 'sailing off into the sunset', and you are out there going for it. Good on ya.

But we are concerned; We don't want to see anyone get hurt (including those that might try to help), and there is concern that you might leave a big mess that has to get cleaned up by... well, our tax dollars.

My advice is this:

- Get your emergency supplies organized. Be prepared for the situation where you get a hole in the hull, or other bad things start happening (broken rig, structural failure, etc). They can happen fast.

- I agree with the part about internal bulkheads to make several separate watertight compartments in each hull. This might buy you lifesaving time in an emergency. Got pumps?

- The same for strong points for towing, anchoring, etc. Maybe even mark on the sides where it is ok, or not ok to push.

- Spend a lot of time sailing around in the bay to figure out rigging, steering, etc. There was talk of lee boards earlier, I think you'll need those.

- Or better yet, consider the 'upriver' choice. The Delta might be a good place to spend a season working in peace.

I'd be willing to help, but It's my OPINION that the boat just isn't strong enough, and is doomed to break apart when Mother Nature gets angry, and I can't think of anything I could contribute to avoid that.

Good luck, and stay safe!

 

[jerryj2me]

perhaps filling the hulls with old railroad ties - then filling with lapping tar or sap / pitch

would give the hulls more of a lifetime

not together regardless - but longer none the less

Woody - shut up.

 

[Bitter Gnat]

Oh, this is getting good. Much like when HWMNBN showed up and spun out his theories on the Future of Yacht Design thread. Hopefully, HR will not implode and cause us to delete this thread into internet void.

Step one: Hot Rod and Michael need to buy a bottle of Scotch and have a sit down visit with Bob Perry!

 

[durundal]

Until a member of the FH crew posts a picture holding a sign like Da Woody suggested, I think everyone would be safe to assume this is an epic trolling.

It's not a troll, Viking posted pics from the FH while it was moving, and pics of himself inside the cabin.Unless there's an identical set of steering gear it's fairly safe to assume it's genuine.

Did The Viking actually post them on here, or send them to someone else for them to be posted? Maybe they came from some other site? Just saying.

I posted my spam trap email for him to send photos to an upload them under the assumption that its at best a huge pain and at worst impossible to upload photos with a mobile phone. I'm the guy building a F22 in Alameda, I have met a number of folks from the Bay Area multihull association if you really need to trace my bona fides. No connection to the Rod clan other than dropped by the Hawaiian once during construction to check it out (no one seemed to be around when I did).

And unless the notional troller is good enough to modify the exif data on both pictures they match up with when he took them (the 26th and last night).

 

[TQA]

Oh, this is getting good. Much like when HWMNBN showed up and spun out his theories on the Future of Yacht Design thread. Hopefully, HR will not implode and cause us to delete this thread into internet void.

Step one: Hot Rod and Michael need to buy a bottle of Scotch and have a sit down visit with Bob Perry!

Noooooooooooo not Bob Perry think James Wharram.

IMHO there is no one better qualified to give an informed opinion on the FH.