Raps,
Thanks for posting that. I look forward to seeing what he does
with it after he gets back onto the project in X months.
I hadn't even thought of that general orientation -- a 7' wide
center bridgedeck with amas that fold lengthwise to meet under the
deck -- even when kicking ideas around in my head. Just when I've
settled on something, normally the standard Harry with stretched
amas, someone like Dennis or Timothy creates a briliant sci-fi
folding design that makes me drool.
A serious bridgedeck with big births, with 4' clearance, and fits
in a container? It would be very cool to see that design
implemented, particularly those slick folding amas.
I'd probably have to look into an unstayed carbon mast, though.
That semi-statyed design looks a bit complex and fragile for my
tastes.
- Mike
captain_rapscallion wrote:
This was way to off the wall not to share... it was posted on the boat design forums. Watch the avi... you will be impressed.
Lately I have being assessing my future , what kind of boat I really
need .and it occurred to me that there are a lot of us retirees out
there who would like to travel the world while we still can. I have
sailed and cruised for most of my life and have always been disdainful
of those road Gypsies in there RVs and mobile homes that
battle the highways all summer .But upon reflection I have concluded
that perhaps they have got it partially right. I think whats needed
is a boat that can function as a cruiser, that either a budget
conscious retired couple and occasional guests, or a young couple with
two children can tour the world, both land and sea,or as a day sailer
capable of taking eight passengers at speeds up to 20 knots. It must
be trailer able with small SUV or van.( load less than 6000Lbs ) Boat
and vehicle could have a symbiotic relationship ( charging storage,
tools Who knows ?) The boat and trailer must fit into container.
.(drive in drive out)The boat must fit in standard slip of less than
30 feet, be beach able as well as anchor and motor in less than two
feet of water. It has to be capable of cruising for a month at a time
( freezer refrigerator adequate water and fuel). All systems must
operate when the boat is on the trailer as well as in the water. The
boat would in fact convert to an RV for travel to inland destinations
( camp grounds , land locked seas and lakes). Boat would to be as long
as possible for comfort and speed .If possible an inside steering and
navigation station and stand up hot water shower would be nice (no
tents). It must be reasonably priced and easy to maintain as well as
sail. I guess the farrier 27 comes closest to my wish list and judging
by the number sold There must be considerable interest in trailer able
cruisers. There is also the warren 35 Maine cat .I like it but its not
really made to transport routinely. At any rate I have decided to
attempt to come up with a design that meets my criteria . I must say I
have been discouraged lately after reading another thread on this
forum "Can anyone design ?" but I am continuing as much as for my own
entertainment as anything else and with the intention of pursuing
professional help with the engineering if I can come up with something
that seems doable So far I am working on a folding multi hull 45 feet
long with a 27 ft beam that folds in the water and will motor at
slightly less than 27' by 8.5' and can be reduced to 22.5' by 8.5 for
transport so that either the boat trailer and towing vehicle or two
complete boats will fit in a 45' cube container. Projected all up
weight of the unloaded boat is about 3500 to 4000 lbs. Bridge deck
clearance is 4'. It is sort of a weight to windward proa but not
really. The hulls would have a length to beam ratio of 22 to 1 with
the longer wider leeward hull having more rocker( boat remains level
under power and at anchor even though more weight is carried by
smaller hull) It would powered by two Sanyo double sided panels that
can produce almost 600watts coupled to four p1800 Odyssey batteries
and an azimuth drive( 48 volt) all located in the fixed portion of the
windward hull along with a honda 3000 generator,two propane tanks,
instant hot water heater and water pump .The head with stand up shower
(pop up top) and galley would be adjacent and inboard between the
beams( all wiring runs would be short). The head would be an
"Airhead"(compost type). The sinks and shower would drain directly
over board ( no hoses or long pluming runs). Further inboard would be
the leisure cockpit , one of the three settees converting to a
covered double bed. In board again is the nav and steering station
stand up with sliding hatch open and sit down hatch closed. The sail
can be reefed and dropped from steering station. Adjacent to the
Leeward hull and under the rig is a covered queen size bed. I don't no
what to call the rig. Its kind of an articulated double Gunter or
dipping lug or maybe a sliding lateen , at any rate it cants to
windward close hauled and is upright off the wind. Hopefully it should
behave like a windsurfer rig. The idea is that it would be easy to
reef.( drop sequentially the Gunter sections then the sail and the
mast becomes a wing which constitutes the third reef).and could be
stowed for transportation on the trailer under the boat. To facilitate
shunting the rudder is mounted on circular tracks around the foot well
of the nav station and provides most of the lateral resistance and
lift to windward but even when lifted for shallow waters the
asymmetrical Leeward hull (flat side out) should provide enough lift
to sail to windward. Because the leeward hull slides forward the
center of gravity moves aft and the projected leeward bow increases
buoyancy forward so there should be less danger of pitch poling and
less pitching motion altogether. As an after thought I have put a
curved "lifting foil in the leeward hull. Initially I thought a
lifting foil would have to be farther forward to be effective and
since it would have to be symmetrical for and aft its effectiveness
would already be compromised. Add to that an inability to auto retract
with an inadvertent grounding and I didn't think that any potential
benefit would be worth the added complexity. I have not really changed my
mind but the ability to adjust the center of lateral resistance by
other means than the angling for and aft of the rudder could tip the
scales. Its hard for me to describe what I am contemplating but
hopefully the attached renderings and animation will help. Any Ideas
especially about construction and saving weight would be appreciated.
Feel free to advise me on what you think absolutely will not work and
what might. I am going to Canada to sail on my boat for the next 5
months and intend to build a one sixth scale RC model of a working
design if I can come up with one. I apologize for the long post.
AVI in files