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=================== News and pictures of Solitaire ====================
Subj: Fw: Sailing Photos.
Date: 3/22/2004 3:14:03 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: ripriver@ozemail.com.au (Shane Withington)
To: thaschman@aol.com

File:photo(1).zip (826224 bytes) DL Time (50666 bps): < 5 minutes

G'day fellow H28 lovers,

My name is Shane Withington and I'm another H28 tragic living in Sydney Australia. I've had 'Solitaire' for 23 years and of course have experienced just about everything an old wooden boat can throw at you from rot to rot to rot and even just recently re-powering. Removing an old Volvo to replace it with a Kubota Japaneese deisel, doesn't sound as lovely but hell it's a sail boat! But let me tell you digging around in the bilges that hadn't been touched for 20 years had a few heart stopping moments! Thankfully all was clear. Every year we set off for a four day offshore cruise (among other trips) looking for whales which thankfully have become plentiful up the east coast of Oz. That takes place in our winter June/July, so right now it's a case of going through all the off shore safety gear getting the provisions together and hoping that we get a good big high pressure system.

I've added a few photo's of Solitaire She is built of Oregon on Spotted Gum and was built locally in 1969, much loved.

Cheers,
Shane.

------------------------- Reply ------------------------
Hi Shane,

Beautiful Photos! Thanks for sending them. Here they are:
click the images for the full photos

=================== News and picture of Steadfast ====================
=========================== Mast Transport ===========================
Subj: Steadfast News
Date: 8/11/2004 6:33:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: draxler_at_exit109.com (draxler)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Theo,
Steadfast was in drydock all last year -- taking on new crew. But they are now seasoned sailors having made short trips on the Navesink. Here they are taking on a ration of grog at the end of a hard day.

Andy, Sue, Will, and Alec Draxler -- and Steadfast (Click on the picture to enlarge)

BTW, how far do you haul Lark's mast perched like that? Sue gets nervous even with it on the truck racks for the 5 miles we go.

------------------------------- Reply --------------------------------
Hi Andy,

Nice picture! Thanks for sending it.

As for transporting the mast, I drive it for 1/2 mile on our neighborhood streets with a friend in a car behind me, a red rag on the mast ends, and my flashers on. I get up to about 15 miles an hour on the straight stretch of road. The mast is so long and heavy that when I begin to turn, the mast doesn't at first! when I fiinish the turn and begin to straighten out, the mast tries to keep turning. If your truck racks are at least eight feet apart, and you tie the mast to each side of the front bumber, to stay it from swinging from side to side, it should be much safer for regular driving. The remaining problem is driving its long length around tight corners and pulling out of narrow side streets into traffic, without careless drivers impaling themselves. Big red rags or blinking flashlights made fast to each end would help.

Would you like to send a picture of transporting your mast on your truck to provide a better example for would-be mast haulers?

Regards,
Theo

============================================
Bright Star
click the images for the full photos

Subj: H-28 Bright Star update
Date: 7/5/2004 1:52:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: corkpuller_at_cox.net (Jaime Greer)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Hello Brothers and Sisters
Let me introduce myself, I am Jaime Greer, we are the new stewards of Bright Star. If anyone is intrested Bright Star is the pictured H-28 in
Herrshoff's book "Sensible Cruising" built in Spain. We,as a family, brought her into our lives to complement and reinforce the traditions
and standards that classic wooden-boats carry within them. The tasks of making her "Bristol" again began about 250 hours onboard ago. Having a
complete wood-shop and dock attached to her along with a master boatbuilder and historian, my father, makes this endeavor possible and
an inspirational pleasure. My son is 10 months old and has spent the greater part of his life onboard playing between the berths snuggled
and secured observing me sweat strip,sand,and varnish be assured he is well away from any dust or fumes). My daughter is 5 years old and has
spent much of her time swimming and playing 1st mate keeping things shipshape, and watching out for "Natives and Pirates" (reference to
Author Ransoms book "Swallows and Amazons") while we work on Bright Star. Beats video games. The reason I mention my children is to say a
project such as this can be managed and done involving the whole family. All of Bright Stars bright works have been stripped bare, color
sanded stained and refinished with 10 coats of Z-spar Flagship varnish,the 30 gal stainless steel fuel tank has been replaced with an
aluminum 20 gal, a new locust tiller is being shaped and the deckhouse is getting new canvas and drip railing. New sails were made to look
like Egyptian Cotton (beige color). We should be sailing by the end of July '04. Working on her is almost as enjoyable as sailing. Point
being, that just to be onboard her is a pleasure. I will send pictures of before and after for anyone intrested. Just e-mail me at
corkpuller_at_cox.net . Keep sweating and smiling for a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Cheers
Jaime Greer

Also see more tales of Bright Star on the Message Board

============================================
Wynella

Subj: a greeting from a H28 owner from "Down Under"
Date: 9/20/99 1:44:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

I visited your site with interest.   I am the proud owner of a H28 in Perth,
Western Australia.  Our club (South of Perth Yacht Club) has a fleet of
about 17 H28's.  Not a bad fleet he?  My Yacht the "Wynella" was built in
1955 and launched in september 1956 by Don Bourne from whom I bought the
Wynella.  I am the second owner.  She is built from Jarrah, a local hardwood,
and is fitted (offset) with a two cylinder two stroke petrol
engine (handcranked).  I have enclosed a photo of the Wynella.  She is due
to come out of the water for a year or two for a major overhaul to bring
her up to showroom condition.  The majority of the H28's here in Western
Australia are rigged like mine (single mast).  This does seem to improve
their performance for racing.  Hope you enjoy the photo and Email.
Kind regards

March 13, 2000:
From: bbjcoaus_at_ca.com.au (paul stoker)
Hi,
Just to show you that I did take the WYNELLA out of the water for a
rebuild. I found that 75% of the ribs were broken and needed replacing.
This was caused due to the planking being too tight when she was built.
All the planking was in perfect condition. The ribs have been replaced
with laminted Karri timber. While doing all this I decided to revamp the
cabin interior, cockpit and cabin sides and more.
Regards
Paul Stoker
 

===========================================

Jin Lung
Jin Lung is for sale! See the For Sale page

Date: 2/17/2000 2:52:15 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: DKMacKenzie_at_compuserve.com (Daniel A. MacKenzie)
To: thaschman_at_aol.com (Theo Aschman)

Hello Theo,
Here is a digital picture of my H-28 which has won awards for the best
preserved H-28 on the West Coast. Last week here in Los Angeles she was
sailing well with the California Grey Whales migrating back to Alaska. We
are still smaller than they are.  The boats name presently is "Jin Lung" which is Chinese for "Golden
Dragon". Most probably we will be making a modification there.

Kindest Regards,
Daniel A. MacKenzie

======================================================
Yaraandoo

Yaraandoo Feb-June 1999

From: dick allom <allom_at_powerup.com.au>
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 12:22 AM
Subject: H28/ original design drawings

I am the owner of an early H28 "Yaraandoo" built in Sydney in about 1944 of
Queensland Maple and generally in better than normal condition.  She is my
'five year' project.  After three years I'm still slowly working on little problems
while trying to keep a balance between sailing time and rebuilding time.

Next month, however, I go on the slip for a cockpit rebuild and new motor.
I've spent weeks/ months checking every other H28 and some others beside to
see how others have done it.  The only indication of the original that I
have are the tiny drawings in LFH's book 'Sensible Cruising Designs'  I
have made enquiries locally for early drawings so far without
success...most timber H28s were built many years ago.

I am therefore writing to ask if any of your members have a set of
Herreshoff's original drawings at a sensible scale.  I don't need a full
set (though that would be nice) only sufficient detail of the cockpit and
companionway to give me some direction in this current project.

I know that they are available from the United States at a hefty price and
exchange rate but am avoiding that option.  I would nevertheless be glad to
reimburse any of your members who may be able to help me for the cost of
copying and postage.  I am in a bit of a panic...12 March is when I go up!

My postal address for those not on the net is:

PO Box 431
FORTITUDE VALLEY  Q 4006
Australia

 Richard Allom

===============================

Date: 2/22/99,5:52:33 AM
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Theo,
  I've stumbled on your site, through the NZ H28 site, only tonight.

I own an H28 built in Sydney in about 1944 and in really remarkably good
condition...built of Queensland Maple and in most respects very original.

I would like to send you some pictures (of which I have many) so that we
can compare notes.  "Lark" looks just wonderful.

My immediate concern however is this.  In two weeks time I go on the slip
to fit a new motor and rebuild the cockpit.  I have spent weeks looking at
old H28s here and at photographs of others in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth
in an effort to understand how the cockpit may have been originally and any
local variations.

One local and early variation on the east coast of Australia seems to have
been a self draining cockpit rather than the bilge drained version that LFH
designed.  The cockpit sole is raised which has the effect of providing
more room for a motor below. But how was the original motor accommodated?
Was it in a box? How did the companionway stairs fit?

I have a copy of LFH's book "Sensible Cruising Designs" and the drawings
that accompany the essay about the H28 but really need something a little
larger in scale.  I have written to the company that you mention in your
web site tonight but am worried that they may take a little long to respond.

I wondered if you have a set of design #80 if you could let me have a copy
of those sections concerning the cockpit/ companionway.  I would of course
reimburse you for any costs of copying and postage.  They needn't be full
scale just something a little clearer and more detailed than the ones in
his book.

Maybe a sketch or photograph of "Lark"s cockpit and how you managed to fit
a new engine would be helpful, too.

I'm sorry this is all so rushed but would appreciate your reply ..and look
forward to swapping stories

 Dick Allom
 "Yaraandoo"

==========================

Author:  THAschman_at_aol.com at Internet
Date:    2/27/99 10:39 AM

Hi Dick,

My computer's hard drive died with all my data, so I had to borrow one to
respond.

You can get one sheet of the plans for only $12, which may be a cheaper option
than buying a full set.  I don't know how fast they respond.

Lark has a self-draining cockpit, similar to the Far East 29's and Bermuda
30's I saw at our 1993 rendezvous.  I have no plans or drawings for our
cockpit, but I'll describe it  to you.  The coaming is the same as the
original plans, or appears so, as well as the seats.  Our cockpit sole is
about 2" aove the waterline, as indicated by the level of water in the hose
just below the cockpit drains in the forward two corners.  The big
difference, which makes room for the engine, is that she has a bridge deck.
That is, the seats on port and starboard continue around the front of the
cockpit and are the same height and width as the side seats.  This front
section, called the bridge deck, goes from side to side and provides great
strength to the hull and and is safer at sea since it reduces the cockpit
volume by a lot if a sea climbs aboard.  Further, since the two doors to the
cabin are now only the upper half of what is shown in the plans, with the
lower half blocked off by the bridge deck, there is a much lesser risk of
downflooding into the cabin if a sea comes aboard.  The disadvantage is that
you must step over it when going below.

Into the space provided under the bridge deck went our 30-hp 1967 Atomic Four
engine.  One third of the engine's height was in the volume of the bridge deck
above the level of the cockpit sole.  There is no box to enclose the engine,
and the Atomic Four is very quiet.  There is just a large empty volume down
there on each side of the engine.  The engine projects a few inches into the
cabin, but he companionway ladder, which slants forward (about 15 degrees from
the vertical) as it goes down, just clears it.  The companion back is a sheet
of plywood, so the engine is separated from the living space, and small pieces
of plywood on the side rest against the cabin-engine bulkhead and block the
spaces on each side of the ladder caused by it's slanting forward.  The entire
ladder and plywood assembly lifts out of the way and I put it on the cabin
sole when I work on the engine.  There are little metal inserts, sort of like
pintles and gudgeons, that hold the ladder when I replace it.

The new engine will be much smaller, but it is still tall so the bridge deck
stays.  Only a horizontal cylinder "suitcase" engine could fit under the
cockpit sole, if at all.  Even LF Herreshoff's little crank-start magneto
engine needed a little raised cover where it projected above the cockpit
floorboards, and his companion doors had raised bottoms to clear it.

To put any engine into an H-28, my guess is that it would have to live in a
raised enclosure or under a bridge deck.  I don't think there's enough room
under the original non-self-bailing cockpit to fit one.  We're used to the
bridge deck and the need to step over it to go below.  An engine box would be
in the way also, anyway.  The bridge deck also gives us more seating, as well
as a place for the crew to set out dinner or drinks or snacks.  We like the
safety and the self-bailing cockpit.

Good luck with Yaraandoo's new cockpit, and please e-mail me or phone
401-467-2234 USA East Coast time if you have more questions.  If I can get
photos of Lark's cockpit taken, scanned, and e-mailed before you begin work, I'll try.

Theo Aschman
THAschman_at_aol.com
NAH28CA
Lark
Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA

=======================

Subj: ..more about my new motor and cockpit...
Date: 3/2/99 7:36:07 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

File: dicksboat02.JPG (111879 bytes)
DL Time (50666 bps): < 1 minute

Theo,

Thanks for your quick response to my e-mail of last week and for your
helpful description of "Lark"'s cockpit. I agree about the value of a
bridge deck in heavy weather and even in the convenience of having
somewhere to sit or to put the nibbles as they are passed out from the
galley...BUT...somehow I want to explore a solution that is closer to LFH's
concept.

I suspect that there were lots of early variations to the original design
including the back stays to the main mast, the raised, self draining
cockpit (which may have done away with the necessity for the chain to the
mizzen shown in the drawings in 'Sensible Cruising Designs), and the raised
coach house.

Certainly there is evidence that LFH agreed with the first. An H28 in
Australia claimed to be the first completed and sailing and built from the
drawings in "The Rudder" is still in use and the present owner has a letter
from Herreshoff agreeing to the need for backstays.

The others are less well documented although there is such consistency and
the changes are so early that they have become significant in their own
right. All the H28's that I had seen until recently have self draining
cockpits. Last year however I discovered a fleet of about 30 in Western
Australia all constructed with low set cockpit soles draining to the bilge.

The raised coach house occurs in every Australian city and yard. I spoke
last year to an old boat builder who built (I think) seven within a few
years after the war. Some had raised coach houses, some not, some had
motors, some not...but the variations were strictly limited.

The bridge deck was, as far as I can determine, not one of those early
variations. 'Yaraandoo' has a bridge deck but is clearly a later addition,
crudely constructed. It is one of only a few later changes. The deck has
been replaced in ply (although the original boarded system survives at the
coach house), the galley has been rebuilt and the engine, originally a
petrol Stuart-Turner has been replaced at some time with a single cylinder
Yanmar YSM12 HP.

It has been a good old motor but spares are becoming harder to acquire and
worst of all it shakes the boat. That is one reason why I have decided to
replace it. I have chosen a Beta 20HP (basically a Kubota 3 cylinder
marinised by an English firm.) It is the lightest, smallest motor in the
power range I want.

Your choice of a 9HP is very sensible and will help weight distribution
but I sometimes have to punch against adverse tides and winds over quite
long distances here on Moreton Bay (Brisbane) and think that the extra
horses are justified. It means a new prop of course but within the
existing aperture of the cutlass/ hull.

Thanks again for your interest in my call for help. It's very good to
know that you are out there. I'm attaching a snapshot of 'Yaraandoo' taken
last year. Not of the same standard as your photographs of 'Lark' and in
fact a composite taken with a disposable camera with a plastic lens. I
will send more later.

Dick

==========================

Subj: Re: ..more about my new motor and cockpit...
Date: 3/3/99 8:41:26 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: THAschman
To: allom_at_powerup.com.au

Lovely letter and Photo!  May I publish both on the website? The letter is
well-written and packed with information. If you wish I can publish the
composite photo, or just the lower half, or await other photos.

You reminded me of other non-original items on Lark I had forgotten to mention.
I have twin backstays for the Main which go to chainplates just abaft the mizzen
lower shrouds. I have no Mizzen backstay at all. Its job is performed by the
mizzen lower shrouds, which are set slightly back. You can feel the Mizzen pump
or breathe on gusty days with the wind abaft the beam. I'm a bit nervous, but at
80 sq ft, which is the size of an unstayed Sunfish sail, It's probably fine.

One of the principal reasons we're happy with the bridge deck is because it's
already there and change is expensive!  I sometimes dream of opening the tall
doors and walking below without stepping up over the bridge deck, as if I lived
aboard a luxurious yacht. We seldom get the chance to go off soundings so the
safety issue could be small. If we had a chance to choose without expense,
though, I think I'd go with the bridge deck.  I know how you feel about being
true-to-LFH-original.  I'd like to have jib sheet winches and genoa block tracks
for the masthead jib, without which racing in light and medium airs is difficult
and non-competitive, but we've resisted.  I really like the decks free of clutter
and hardware.

==========================

Subj: Re: ..still more about my new motor and cockpit and bank balance...
Date: 3/4/99 6:30:21 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Theo,

Sure you can publish the letter and photo. I have lots of other
photographs but most are details or snapshots taken while I'm on the slip.
I keep meaning to arrange for a friend to sit in the dingy and take
pictures while I sail past but there never seems to be a good time to fluff
about. The conditions are either perfect for going somewhere or too
wet/windy/overcast to bother.

I have some snapshots and bits of a video taken last year at the local
'gaffers' regatta but they are not perfect either.

Why don't you post the composite photograph for now and I will try to let
you have something better later. The letter is OK to publish too as far
as I am concerned but is hardly a mine of information....more like a series
of rambling observations.

It had occurred to me to record all my decisions and concerns about
installing a new motor in a little document when it was all over and
perhaps we could aim toward that for publication on your site.

I have spent an extraordinary effort over the last twelve months or so
researching engines, stern gear and propellers, with calculations of hull
speed and power loss at different gear boxes and even more time with
concerns about how all the new stuff will fit in a tidy and seaworthy
manner beneath the cockpit sole and, as you are aware, how these decisions
will effect the integrity of the boat and the design intent of our mate L
Francis...

I have also tried to arrange for the work to be done in a way that won't
cause a permanent break in relations with the bank manager...although
perhaps not as successfully as some other tasks in this exercise.

I'm a terrible fusspot and not every H28 owner will be interested in my
ruminations and delays in decision making until its almost too late. I
guess too that if I expose my decision making process and make the end
result available to all comers I will be risking some criticism.

Still if we fill the gaps in the text with some nice pictures it should
appeal to a broader audience. I haven't met anyone yet who didn't like
looking at an H28.

Keep in touch.  It's good to meet a fellow enthusiast,

Dick

=======================

Subj: Re: ..still more about my new motor and cockpit and bank balance...
Date: 3/4/99 11:00:03 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: THAschman
To: allom_at_powerup.com.au

Great!

I don't know for sure what is the right size propellor for my 9 hp diesel. You
mentioned prop calculations. What can you tell me about the right prop size is
for my installation? What if I use a folding prop?

Thanks,
Theo

================================

Subj: Re: ...prop size, pitch, horsepower and gear box ratios...
Date: 3/6/99 9:36:18 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Theo,

Of all the dark arts of boating that requiring the calculation of
propeller size and pitch for a given displacement, waterline length, engine
power and gear box ratio is the most mysterious.

The manufacturerers of propellers have a computer program (they say) and
are certainly able to give an answer to the question without too much
delay. Assuming that the calculations are only mathematical with a limited
and predictable number of variations I have tried to find such a program on
the web but so far without success.

In the book "How to Install a New Diesel" by Peter Cumberlidge and
published by Adlard Coles chapter 4 is called 'Choosing the Right
Propeller' It covers issues such as 'matching a propeller to engine and
shaft horsepower' and 'the effect of diameter and pitch' but concludes that
advice from either the engine supplier or the prop manufacturer is the best
course of action.

I assume that 'Lark' like 'Yaraandoo' has an offset shaft projecting
through the hull on the port side and that as a result the diameter of the
prop is limited to the space between the cutlass bearing and the hull...in
my case 12 inches. The most efficient prop will be large and slow turning
but given our limitations in prop diameter adjustments must be made in
shaft speed and that ultimate mystery, pitch, to achieve a balance between
displacement and waterline length (optimum hull speed) and the available
horsepower and engine or shaft speed.

In other words you will need to build into any calculation the rated
horsepower of the Yanmar at about 85% of full power, deduct any loss
through the gearbox (say 5%)and calculate the revolutions minute at the
shaft (normally 2:1).

Eric Hiscock says one horsepower per ton of displacement is sufficient for
quiet weather and a recent article in an English magazine called 'Practical
Boat Owner' (December 1998) has a handy table which shows that for a 10 hp
motor turning at 3600 rpm with a gear ratio of 2:1 that an 11 inch prop
should deliver 7 knots...it is assumed that the boat being powered is a
sailing boat but no allowance is made for underwater profile or
displacement and nothing is mentioned about pitch and this seems to be the
critical factor...I think that you would be better advised to get someone
to help with more precise calculations.

Similarly I have no experience with folding props. Logic says that a 3
bladed prop must be more efficient than a 2 bladed but the test results for
folding props look pretty good. The test results for variable pitch props
is even more impressive and the racing boys swear by them as they look for
that extra half knot on every leg.

I'm not so sure that 'Yaraandoo' needs that sort of advantage as I poke
about they Bay...a few extra minutes on each leg means more time to finish
one's drink before going about (and less spills on my new cockpit sole!!)

I also have a problem going astern at low speeds. Getting out of the
marina berth is hard enough with a deep keel and an offset prop without
waiting for centrifugal force to kick in and open the blades...compromise,
compromise.

My new motor has arrived in Brisbane and has been unpacked. I went to the
marine engineer's shop on Friday afternoon and had a look at it. It is so
small and compact and light compared to my old Yanmar that I can hardly
believe it has 30% more power.

I brought the boat back from Southport to Brisbane last weekend (about 50
miles of protected water) in what turned out to be a very wet few days. We
left early on Friday morning in so so weather and got a nice sail in but by
Sunday the weather had degenerated to solid sub-tropical rain with limited
visibility and no wind. It has taken all week for the boat to dry out.

I've been down this afternoon to remove the mizzen and mizzen boom and
tomorrow morning will have someone wind me up the mizzen mast to disconnect
the triatic stay and then help me lift the mast out. It needs to be out to
allow work on the cockpit but the varnish is three years old and needs
stripping back and re-finishing anyway.

Next Friday morning I'm up on the slip. I'll spend the weekend
antifouling and painting the topsides and on Monday morning work will begin
in earnest on removing the cockpit. Tuesday afternoon the old Yanmar will
come out and I hope that by Friday the new motor is in....

I will keep you posted

Dick

ps. I had a great sail on a friend's boat last night....full moon and
clear skies. Not much wind but a wonderful few hours unwinding from the
week's stress with good company and in almost perfect circumstances.

=============================

Subj: Props and triatic stays
Date: 3/6/99 10:41:19 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: THAschman
To: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)

Dick,
I've heard of 1 hp/ton for motoring in calms and maneuvering, along with 3
hp/ton for motoring in a head sea against a 25-knot wind. H-28 at 9017 lbs /
2240 = 4 tons or so leads to 12 hp engine requirements. My Atomic Four
(originally 30 hp) gas engine was putting out 12-16 hp as estimated from the
1600 rpm (her original rpm was 3500) and using a horsepower vs. rpm curve in
Skene's book of yacht design. This 12-16 hp was just enough to make good 3 knots
against 4-6 ft seas and 25 knot winds in open water. Local wisdom says 9 hp
diesel is worth 11 hp gas.  On all the foregoing I based my gamble on the small
size of the 9 hp Yanmar.  My first goal was to reduce weight aft so I could
reduce weight forward and get the weight out of the ends of the boat to reduce
her pitching moment (rotational inertia) to improve her performance in chop and
head seas. That improvement might be worth another 5 horsepower. I can't wait to
see what reality brings this spring! The weight out of the ends will also help
her sailing performance.

This thinking comes from current racing theory plus an article a few years ago
in Classic Boat magazine, about an English Channel Cutter in the Carribean who
nearly lost herself clawing off a lee shore in 25 knots. They wondered about
performance and moved the cast iron anchor windlass from the foredeck to abeam
the mast, and moved the chain locker from forward to the bilge there. They went
to the same lee shore in the same conditions and observed that the vessel
skipped away to windward like a racing dinghy. Plus the new location for the
windlass was much more protected than the foredeck in foul weather.

Does the handy table you mention hint at the waterline length or hull speed
assumed?

A lot of my racing and cruising is done at 2.7-4.5 knots. The extra half-knot
claimed by a folding prop would be very significant. Additionally, current
racing theory and experience says that our racing rating system (PHRF)
underhandicaps folding props (3 or 6 sec/mi) so a serious racer installs them to
move up in the standings. Third, Lark doesn't behave in reverse with her 2 blade
12" dia x 6" pitch fixed prop and I can't rely on it, so I don't think I'm losing
much with a folding prop. We'll see....

Lark has a clever triatic stay attachment. It leads from the main truck through
a shackle on an eye high on the mizzen (where it normally would be attached),
thence to a pad eye on the mizzen where you can reach it from the cockpit seat.
The upper shackle is large enough to pass the whole turnbuckle (rigging screw)
through. To remove the mizzen, I loosen and disconnect the turnbuckle from the
cockpit, hoist the mizzen out of the step and cockpit with our gin pole and
tackle, then lower it and slide out the triatic.  When stepping the mizzen I
thread the turnbuckle through the shackle and hold onto it (or a rope pennant
made fast to it if I need the extra length) while hoisting the mizzen into its
step.  Saves a trip aloft.

Good luck this week!

Theo

===========================

Subj: ...too late to stop now...
Date: 3/21/99 8:24:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

Theo,

Rain, rain, rain. Impossible to work on the boat. It is bloody wet out
there. I've been up on the slip since last Saturday. I planned to go up
on Friday but missed the early tide, fluffed around all day and then
discovered that the afternoon tide was a 'low' high and not enough to get
me onto the cradle. An inauspicious start to the week's work.

I spent last Saturday and Sunday getting things cleared away ready for my
shipwright friend Rob to start on Monday morning....cleared all manner of
stuff out of the cabin that might be damaged or stained during the major
surgery of stripping out the cockpit and replacing the old Yanmar with a
new diesel.

The mizzen had come out the week before and I set it up on trestles in the
back of the shed to strip and refinish, I raised the main boom on its
topping lift, disconnected the starboard backstay and safety rails to allow
better access and removed locker lids and anything else that was screw
fixed or otherwise easily removable from the cockpit.

Then I antifouled the bottom, sanded the topsides, spot primed and added
some dutch putty to some seams etc. A reasonably satisfactory weekend's work.

Monday morning we started work at removing the old cockpit sole. It came
out a little too easily with soft timber in places where I hadn't seen it
and didn't believe it should be. Pretty soon we were finding softness in
some ribs and signs of rot in the planking. It was all pretty messy back
there and it was Tuesday afternoon before we had a clear look at the
structure and began to assess the damage. After the marine engineer had
removed the old engine and prop we were able to see just what needed doing.

My optimistic program prepared last week allowed one and a half days for
repair...we're now looking at five days, new fuel and water tanks, two new
floors, three new ribs, two splices to existing but otherwise OK ribs and
strap reinforcement to several existing ribs that are showing signs of stress.

Back there the turn of the bilge is quite dramatic and trying to steam and
fit new ribs is difficult (yesterday amidst cursing and burnt fingers we
thought it was almost impossible). We were using mangrove which simply did
not want to take up the tight radius required so this morning I went out
and got some North Queensland Silver Ash which should make the job a bit
easier on Monday when we start again.

The planking is sound except where the shaft passes through the hull and
will require two new planks. I purchased some Queensland Maple to do that.
Rainforest timbers are hard to get now and very expensive but the cost is
nothing compared to the additional time and delay.

The revised plan is now to go back in the water as soon as the repairs to
the hull are complete. The new motor won't be in but I am concerned that
she doesn't dry out too much. We will paint and tidy up in the water and
come out again, probably the week after Easter, to fit the motor. Once
that is complete we will go back in the water for the re-building of the
cockpit.

My earlier worries about the design of the bridge deck have become
secondary to my concerns and necessary decision making about structural
repairs on the run. I quickly decided against sistering the dodgy ribs,
partly because it always looks so makeshift and temporary to me but mostly
because of the rot down there between the ribs and planking and the need to
treat it/ kill it as a first priority. I've been persuaded to use a stuff
called Evidure where the new ribs meet the planking to make sure that no
more water gets in. While I don't like using epoxy sometimes modern
materials just win out logically or on grounds of sheer convenience. I am
however using it just where contact happens and am still trying to buy red
lead paint to paint the rest of the bilge (which is illegal to import or
manufacture here) or to find a reasonable alternative that relies on a
paint chemistry that doesn't stuff up the timber irreversibly with epoxy.

On the question of the design of the cockpit and bridge deck I have
managed to track down an owner of an H28 in Melbourne who has copies of
"The Rudder" of 1943 in which the designs for the cockpit were published
and he has sent me some photcopies...they are the same as those reproduced
in "Sensible Cruising Designs" and are not much help.

Through him however I've also found a boat in Melbourne thought to be the
only one in that city without a bridge deck and, since I will be there next
weekend for a family wedding, plan to take some time to have a look at how
it is done on that boat.

I have been taking photographs as we go along for our web page on how I
replaced an engine but as you can see it is becoming something of a saga. I
will let you know how things progress over the next week...

Dick

=====================================================

Subj: ...some progress...
Date: 6/1/99 6:24:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: allom_at_powerup.com.au (dick allom)
To: THAschman_at_aol.com

File: motor01.JPG (104637 bytes)
DL Time (50666 bps): < 1 minute

Theo,

I meant to write as work went along but have been distracted somewhat
since March when I last sent news of the new engine and cockpit
reconstruction. I put the boat back in the water 'till after Easter as
planned with the cockpit stripped out, ribs and planking repaired but
without a motor.

She floated ridiculously high in the stern as you might imagine and was
down in the bow a little...just enough to wet a plank that hadn't been in
the water before. The new planking was very dry after a day or two but she
did take a bit up forward.

I stripped out everything of any weight..anchors, chain, anything to try
to get her to float higher and shifted all my loose ballast as far aft as I
could. Everything inside was covered with a layer of dust and I took the
opportunity to remove everything loose and now have a whole room at home
stacked high with 'boat stuff'.

By early May we were back out on the slip again. I had found some red lead
paint in Melbourne and gave the bilge a couple of coats of that before work
began in earnest to get the motor in. Some new floors and engine beds, a
new shaft, and a new aperture in the port side (there were lots of
discussions about how and where to cut...) and general tinkering tempered
with the inevitable delays meant another week before the engine arrived.

Then the engineer was hospitalised with a poisoned hand and failed to show
at the appointed day, the shipwright had to return to his regular work as
an architectural draftsman, Mother's day was declared a definite no work
day ... Sensing a long delay I had the main mast removed and began to strip
that in anticipation of a new coat of varnish....maybe this was the major
refit that I had been avoiding for years.

Then things started to go right. The engine eventually went in relatively
easily and without too much drama or fuss. The engineer put it down to his
experience and the shipwright to his precise work. I think it was the
constant measuring and remeasuring that I did over the entire time.  I made
up a plywood model of the engine to enable us to set out the beds and shaft
alignment with some accuracy and to convince myself that the new motor
would sit back entirely under the cockpit sole and be low enough so that I
wouldn't need a bridge deck.

It seems to have worked. She has been back in the water for two weeks now
and I've had the chance to measure again and finalise the design of the
cockpit...no bridge deck but a nifty detail that will give rigidity as if
she did.

I will send a sketch later. In the meantime here's a photograph of the
new motor sitting on new beds...the new shaft is visible and in the
background you can see the new ribs and planking...the new prop is NOT visible

How's the sailing over there?

Dick
===================================

Feb 29, 2000

Hi Dick,

Lark's 9.1 hp Yanmar diesel works great! She seems to have the same power as
before, when the Atomic Four was only putting out 12-16 hp.

My old prop was a 12" dia x 6" pitch for a 30 hp 3600 rpm 2:1 reduction. My
new prop is 14" dia. x 9" pitch for a 9 hp 3600 rpm 2.6:1 reduction. Two
different installers agree on the new prop. That means my old engine must
have been rather underpropped.

I notice that my reverse is even less effective and cavitates with less
provocation than before. A powerboating buddy tells me that's because the
prop blades have camber for lift in forward, but it's a backwards camber for
reverse and cavitates more easily.

Theo
===================================

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