Archive for June, 2008
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
$%@*! (again)
I’ve been a Mac user since I was 9, I cut my graphic design teeth on Adobe Illustrator 5.5 and Photoshop 4 on a PowerMac 7100/66. I think that Apple makes damn good software and wouldn’t want to work with any other OS. I used to think that they make the best hardware too but it looks like I might be totally wrong. Remember the old computer saga? Well, the replacement for that problem (my current iMac intel 2.4 Ghz 20″) is in the shop. For what? Busted power supply! Sounds familiar?
The super annoying thing is that I have a rush job this week. 8 days to put up a site and no computer… Luckily Apple has a 14 day return policy, I think i’ll just try out their newest iMac in the mean time….
*update* they can’t seem to reproduce my problem! I can sort of see why, it only happens when the computer is put under load (like during a rush job), the back of the machine heats up and then it shuts down… The rep mentioned the possibility of a complete replacement?!?!
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Heavy Weather
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Scratching the itch
With the outside pretty much ready for final fairing, priming, and painting, I decided to do the rest of the truly dirty work. What’s so dirty? Simple, the engine. Why is it dirty? Because the entire cabin sole needs (ok *needs* is a bit strong, its more like a 50/50 split between ‘need’ and ‘want’) to be ripped out proper stringer put in, new engine beds laid, and finally, a new sole that actually lets to get to the bilge. How’s this for bad bilge access, 3 cut outs in various parts of the sole 1 of which is directly over the hull and I can’t even get a hand into…
Right now, when someone walks on the sole, it’s not squishy per say, but it does flex. I don’t know about you, but I like my floors solid. This sole could have easily been stronger, all it needed were some floor beams, but since it was created with pan construction, beams would have been pretty damn hard to put in. So the solution is to take it out.
I’ve been wanting to do this since I got the boat. First day one Hobyn I had tried to clean the bilge but found that no matter how hard I tried, I could only get to about 25% of it. The openings were pretty badly placed and the area by the engine was completely inaccesable. That one little opening on the side is the one that looks right at the hull. I could probably snake a tube down it but that was it.
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Introducing: the FairMaster®
“Hi folks! Ever get tired from constantly having to sand your hull fair? Tired of those aching arms and blistered hands? What about that annoyingly constant ’swish-swish’ sound of that long board? Well not to worry, its days are numbered! Introducing the FairMaster®! Don’t be fooled by its ghetto construction and obvious use of second hand parts and recycled materials, the FairMaster® is a precision piece of fairing technology home-grown right here in the USA.”
“The FairMaster® is like someone else making 10 passes with a longboard for your every one! It’s orbital action also makes sure that you never sand out a gouge and feathering is a snap! With its small, old, rebuilt 1/3 sheet sander power source the only thing to tire out are the old-school felt and brass bushings! Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, June 6th, 2008
TIG time
Ok now I have an even better reason to get my TIG setup. My parents have a pop-up camper that they use pretty regularly to go camping. This thing and I have never ever, ever gotten along (the design is kind of on the chinzy side which matches the finishing) but my parents love it. Sadly (for them) the beast has a pretty nasty case of rot in the undercarriage and hitch set up. The bright minds at StarCraft decided that they would put the battery in a frame that is directly welded to the chassis and then have the ground lead to another part of the chassis. Naturally where the ground was located is pretty much just rusty pieces of paper and the battery box is in slightly better shape.
The “professional” estimate for the whole repair is something like $1,500 and that doesn’t include repainting or repairing the other rusted out areas like the leveling legs, lie downs, bumper supports… oh did I mention that the entire frame is just painted steel, no hot dip galvanizing here.
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
Meet the stem head fitting : part 2
Now that I think about it, I might want to thank the stem head for being so damn crappy (seriously, all stainless rigging, bronze chocks, all stainless hardware and stainless chainplates attached to a cast aluminum fitting…). reason? It probably gave me the boat. Ok, the fitting didn’t actually give it to me but it’s failure did. The bow mounted anchor chocks were made out of good high quality bronze and were bolted directly to the aluminum fitting… and thats it! The fitting corroded, the chock broke off, the anchor rope chaffed on the broken edge and Hobyn broke free of her mooring.
Since reading books by the Pardeys and Annie Hill and the essential boat building witicisms of Ferenc Maté, I began to realize just how important my anchoring system is and the epiphany of how I came to own Hobyn crystalized this. I’ve been looking for a reason to buy a TIG setup, a full stainless stemhead/anchoring platform sounds like a plan.
Something like this maybe, but not as ugly/chunky:
I think I’ll run this by Jack when I head back over to the boat to patch up the mess left by the fitting. The deck was never actually sealed here, just left *sort of* matched up and completely drowned in polysulfide sealant (which of course has shrunk considerably in its 40 years of service and is no longer worth a damn)
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
Meet the stem head fitting
…or what’s left of it really. This lovely piece of corrosion used to be where everything met up at the tip of the boat. By the looks of it, when it was first made, the casting was just shy of 1/4″ thick but when I pulled it (and I do mean pulled it, the casting around the screws just cracked) it was more like a hair over 1/8″. So why did it still look like it was 1/4″ of an inch high? Simple, there was a hidden 1/8″ pile of aluminum oxide under it! It was like a perfect little pillow of white powder. When people ask me why I’m doing this to a “perfectly good boat”, I think I’ll just show them a picture of the steam head.
*note: I seem to have misplaced my the memory card of this stuff… I’ll find it…