"Egyptian" engineering... (Making room for the keel... Pics))

[Art Read]

It's funny how "casually" I used to talk about just "hoisting" the boat up higher in the cradle to make room for the keel when the time came... It's also funny just how much heavier she's gotten since the last time I moved her!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/pd06c2f0ad459256d77cdd8acc950f889/fd2f0ade.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/pecf5cc10d36847c63c0294a018052441/fd2f0add.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/p255fe52d95e28fca1dff04d3dd153db7/fd2f0ad9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/p51e6b5b621a85a525219e09476490461/fd2f0ad8.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/p820fa74d5438beba8667ecf02dda9238/fd2f0ad7.jpg

If you're wondering whether I had any vivid images of diasaster running across my mind during this little exersize... I did.

Ah, well... She's back in the shop, safe and secure, and now I'm finally ready for the long delayed keel drilling party!

[ 10-10-2002, 03:36 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[John R Smith]

Great set of pictures, Art. The boat looks very fine indeed.

John

[doorstop]

A lovely thing she be mate

[skuthorp]

Beautiful boat, looks like she'll just slide over the water. How much longer till launch do you think?

[Paul]

Looking good Art. She is a beauty! Good luck on drilling the keel bolts.

[nedL]

Fantastic progress you've been making Art! She looks wonderful, & good luck with the 'drilling party'! smile.gif

[Garrett Lowell]

7:15 a.m. What a nice way to start my day! Thanks for the pics, Art! She's beautiful.

[Concordia..41]

:cool: :cool:

Good job! That lift sure looks like a handy do dad to have around!!!

- M

[Rich VanValkenburg]

Been watching this project for a long time. Looks great!

Rich

[Ed Harrow]

Heck, we need that lift, but we'd have to put it on steroids, LOL. Art, you must get tired of having all these people say all these nice things. Good show.

[D]

that really is a beautiful craft. Please keep the pictures coming. by the way, are you building her in a rental storage unit?

[Ed Nye]

Art,
She's a sweet boat indeed. You still need to get the diagonal bracing on the fore and aft sides of that cradle. You need to create a triangle somewhere on the long sides of that thing.
Ed

[Wild Wassa]

Art, I admire your dedication.

Did you persue the carbon fibre for the rudder shaft?

Warren.

ps, I admire the boat too.

[ 10-10-2002, 03:35 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Jamie Hascall]

Hey Art, Don't forget to give a call for more hands when you want to set that chunk o lead. Melinda'd never forgive us if you dropped that thing on your toe. Great Egyptian engineering.

Jamie

[Roger Stouff]

Man, that is FINE! smile.gif

[Art Read]

Thanks again folks! And no, Ed, actually, sometimes the only thing that keeps me plugging along on this is the guilty feeling I get if I'm not making enough progress to justify posting another "update" here. The encouragement is greatly appreciated, even if I'm sometimes glad you all can't get "too" close a look at some of my sloppier joinery. ;) That hoist WAS a Godsend... The guy who runs the storage complex has a retired auto mechanic brother who just gave him a bunch of his shop equipement. Perfect timing!

D... I started building her in the basement/garage of our townhouse, but for domestic and neighborly "tranquility", decided (was forced) to move into the storage unit after I got the hull turned over and settled in the cradle. Expensive as hell, but awfully nice to be able to make as much noise and dust as I like...

Ed... I've got the lumber for the "diagonals" ready to go. Just waiting 'till we get the deadwood and ballast in place to attach it. It'll be pretty much impossible to get in there once they're on and it's really pretty "stable" as is, believe it or not. It does "sway" a bit if I shove it hard enough, and once that ballast keel is hanging on there... well... I just hope those casters I've got will be up to the job too!

Warren... Still mulling over rudder possibilities. Right now I'm leaning towards a simple copper/nickle(?) tube for the shaft to pass thru between the keel and deck. But I seem to change my mind every time I think about it lately...

Jamie... Don't worry! I'm counting on you! ;)
Actually, I've been meaning to get in touch with both you and Roger. Think maybe next weekend might be a good time frame? Of course, SWMBO's are welcome to join us with Pizza and Beer to follow? Any other locals who'd be interested in seeing how these guys help me sort out this problem are welcome as well. E-mail me for directions. (Oh, and I've got a fence that needs painting, too! ;) )

Here's another shot of the puppy supervising the lifting process... (Notice he stays well out from under? Smart dog!)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid35/pf55c1402b9b27bf6e7ea5c4b0d1c50f5/fd2df05c.jpg

[ 10-11-2002, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[Concordia..41]

Uh oh - Looks like Finbar's got some strong competition coming from the west coast. :D

- M

[Art Read]

Finbar... Meet McCrae... ;)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid19/pae2f36b8a5fb6702ec5bcbdd71efa40f/fdc70af7.jpg

[True Love]

Art,

absolutely beautiful. Congratulations on your progress! I can't believe you let the dog up on the deck but I'm impressed. (You must keep your pup's nails clipped.)

I have a couple of questions for you, if ya don't mind. How long has it taken you to get to this point? Approx, how much has it cost you (including tools purchased for the project, etc.)?

You know I love the Dark Harbors. I doubt you'll want to build one for me, so if I ever get brave enough to strike out on my own (it just occured to me that I have a completely empty dining room which would make a great shop/building spot) I'm just wondering dollar-wise, what to expect, for a 12.5?

Cheers, and congratulations again - TL

[Paul H. Morris]

Great work on a wonderful design, Art. I can remember my grand dad pointing out "Daak Haabus" to me as a young person as we would drive around the Cape, New Bedford, Wareham, etc.. Anyway, on the Joel White Sakonnett 23 I'm trying to get time to build, his rudder tube design is a heavy wall copper tube through the bottom and up under the deck in my case (above deck I think on Dark Harbor). Rudder tube 1.25" ID, rudder shaft 1"OD and in both the top and bottom ends of the tube are halves of a cutless prop shaft bearing of the proper diameters to keep the rudder shaft centered and noise free. Under the tiller clamp. there are two large brass washers with a piece of teflon between them to act as thrust bearing that carries the weight of the rudder. Cool, simple design I thought. Keep up the good work ! ! ! Paul

[D]

Thanks Art, storage shed is a great idea and I'm sure the expense of that is helping push you along as well. I tell ya, those are some of the finest lines I've ever seen. Who designed her?

[True Love]

D - not to steal Art's thunder, but since he's not had a chance to answer you yet, the designer is B. B. Crowninshield and the boat is a Dark Harbor 12.5.

[JMAC]

I'll never look at a rental storage place the same again...I'll always be wondering what sort of fine craft are lurking behind those blue garage doors.

[Art Read]

True Love... Your "time" question is easy. October 9th marked 4 years to the day since I started laying down a bunch of MDF panels on our garage floor to do the lofting. 'Course, I had pesky things like work, family "functions" and vacations get in the way since then, but I've tried to work on her at least a little each day if I wasn't at sea or out of town. Some days obviously saw more accomplished than others. Some days I didn't do much more than sand some bungs smooth and sit and stare at her, trying to figure out what to do next or just how I was going to do it... I like to think the boat will be ready for launching this year. With or without the rig is the big question right now, but I've GOT to get her out of that storage shed...

As for cost, well... that's tougher. I've saved all my receipts, but I stopped adding 'em up after the first few thousand dollars. And that was a long time ago! 'Course I took a big hit up front, outfitting myself with tools and the initial material expenses. I only had a few basic tools to start with and pretty much had to go buy whatever I needed as the occasion demanded. As far as power tools go, the 12" planer I got was the most expensive but probably the best value. For the rest, I could have gotten by with just my jig and skill saws, random orbital and belt sanders, corded and cordless drill motors and the hand-held power plane. The band saw I got has been handy, but it's really just a toy as far as doing "boat work" goes. I would have done far better to have spent more money on a "proper" used one. As it was, I almost always wound up reaching for something else and "muddled through" what should have been an easy job.

Materials are another "variable". I always went with whatever I was convinced was the "best", based on my understanding from my reading here and in the magazine/books etc. And I often paid a LOT more than I might have if I'd been able to shop/scrounge around a bit more or been more "flexible" about alternatives. I've been pretty surprised by some price quotes I've seen mentioned here that were a LOT less than I had to pay!

All that being said, after the first few months of getting "under way" the expenses tend to spread out over enough time that it never seems to hurt "too" much. You can spend a lot of time working a few hundred bucks worth of wood, bronze and paint. What does hurt is the "nickle and dime", continuous expense for "consumables". Do yourself a favor and buy bulk from someplace like Jamestown Distributers right up front. And buy three times as much as you think you could possibly need. I'm afraid that when I tally my total expenses, I'll find I spent as much on things like "chip" brushes, sandpaper, thinners, various "goops and googes" and yes, CPES, in the small pint or quart cans as I did on materials that actually went in the boat. And I wasted an awfull lot of time running back to Home Depot or Fisheries Supply just 'cause I forgot to get some more sandpaper, chip brushes or the right "goop" the last time...

For what it's worth, I'd say that realistically, you'd want to have about two or three thousand put by before getting started on a project like this. That'll be enough to get you going with the first, basic tools and enough material to loft, set-up and begin framing. By the time you're ready to start buying the lumber to hang your planks, if your experience is anything like mine, it'll probably be about a year or so later and you should hopefully have some more cash stashed away by then. After that, the expenses will come more regularly, but won't be quite such a big hit all at once. (At least until your ready to cast your keel and buy or build your sails!)

I'm just taking a wild-ass guess here, but I suspect my total costs will probably work out in a comparable range with the folks here who've priced out building a Haven. I believe it's usually something between 10 and 13 grand? Would have been a lot more if I'd had to pay "retail" for all the bronze boat jewelry I've managed to scrounge up. And I'm sure for that kind of money I could have just bought a "lot more" used boat or perhaps picked up one of the original Dark Harbors for even less, but THIS is the boat I wanted, and I'd hate to think what I'd have paid if I'd had somebody else build her for me. Besides, this way, I only had to pay for her "one piece at a time"! ;)

Here's a link to a guy in Maine who's offering to build a DH 12 1/2 on spec. I beleive he already has a contract for one. I found his base price "illuminating". All I know is, once she's done, you wouldn't be able to buy MINE for that!

http://www.chipboat.com/darkharbor.html

(Hey, Paul... Do you have the plans for that Sakonnett 23 yet? Any chance you could make me a copy of the rudder plan detail you desribe? Sounds perfect! Nice choice, btw!)

[Norske3]

Chipboat...oh my...what a good price...about $2700/foot!

...ah!....oh what I could buy '"PRE-OWNED" for $38,000...just saw listed ...good survey new 350 engines....1972 ...38foot Viking....wood hull with solid all glass cabin from shear line up....no rot there...owner axious....$8,000!!...$210/foot!

[True Love]

Thanks for all the hard won info, Art. I figure if I start now, I'll be done about time for burial! If you figure how many times I'm likely to cut off a finger, get frustrated, throw things at the wall, get re-fired up and go at it again, maybe sometime 'bout the next millenium I will have something that approximates a boat.

Better get started (hehe!).

[John B]

Art!! the wheels on the lead? you didn't forget em did you?LOL.

Gee, she's really coming together now.
She won't be so easy to shove around with that on the bottom of her. Neat to see the progress . thanks.

I popped the cradle arms on Waione the other day for painting. She's flat on the bottom of the lead with some ridiculous ballast ratio and she just sits there. Sort of sways a wee bit when you walk around on deck but has no chance of falling over .
What will you do with your cradle. leave it with the lead suspended or pack her up? As you're probably well aware it can get dangerous when you do that.Less so with that type of cradle I suppose but I saw a guy in the boatyard one day who had jacked his boat up off the cradle. All the load was taken by the jacks under the keel so therefore the only thing that was holding the boat upright was it's balance and the weight of the cradle itself( which now had no boat weight on it).She wasn't a type like our old boat. Keel was narrow. A good push and... !!