Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Gale

It is a great day to be tied up to a dock or inside reading.
There is a gale going on.
(The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (63–87 km/h17.5–24.2 m/s or 39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds.)
They were above 40 and gusting higher.
Here is a link to the Town Dock wind gauge:

Visiting boats at the town dock





Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Marine Consignment

I was unhappy with the block type I had on hand for the turn in the cable near the stern.  It was the type that feeds through a wall.  It would be good for running a line under a deck.  We want the cable exposed inside the cockpit.  So, I stopped at Marine Consignment in town and found two perfect Schaefer blocks.  They will work well.
Marine Consignment is always fun to poke around in.  It is somewhat chaotic but there are aisles of great boat parts and great books.


Marine Consignment
Broad Street,  Oriental, NC.




Saturday, February 6, 2016

Hydro: Steering

We are anxious to keep the hydro moving forward. So even though it is too wet and cold for the needed glass work, it was a good day for a run to West Marine to pick up some needed parts.

For the steering we picked up 20 feet of 3/32nds stainless steel wire.  Some assorted swage fittings.
We also got some paint and 2 6inch deck hatches.  These will allow us access to the back of the pontoons.  Good for a little storage, but mainly to keep the interior of the hull ventilated and inspectable.

Here is the thin wire we will use for steering control.

In the bag

We are using a 4x9 inch piece of Starboard for the steering support.  We drilled a snug hole that supports the shaft and acts as a bearing.
The battens we used to form the cockpit fairing will eventually be glassed over.
At some point, we will flip the hull over and do this work then.  We will also address any needed fairing on the underside of the hull and paint the bottom.

Because the shaft and the drum are steel and we are in a salty environment, we sanded the part and coated it in epoxy.