Subject: Re: Ex40 Light
From: Mike Crawford
Date: 10/27/2019, 4:54 PM
To: harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au

Why can the integrated tender under the ww hull not do this? Please detail the concerns you have or see. I can't see them.

  I just don't see the geometry working out if the tender is going to remain attached to the main boat and the outboard lifted clear of the water, while the tender is under the on-water collapsed proa. 

  If the tender's bow is fastened to the forward beam in "sled mode", the top of the tender will have to clear the sunken cockpit and stairwell on the windward hull when the stern is in the water.  Also, at that angle, I'm not sure how the outboard could be kept high and dry when not being used.

  Depending upon the beam setup, that might mean detaching the tender completely and hooking it up to a new connection point when collapsing for a marina.  That would be enough hassle to where I'd eventually find excuses not to do it. 

  (This laziness is a personal limitation.  I enjoy exerting large amounts of effort in the pursuit of specific goals.  However, little things like a few extra tasks when putting the boat to sleep at the end of the day, inevitably when the wind has died and the mosquitoes and midges are feasting, become obstacles for me.  I also wouldn't want to have to detach and reattach the tender's bow in a 25-knot breeze with 2' chop.  Maybe that's fun once or twice, but after a few times, it would become a reason to not use the boat any time the weather's not perfect)

  I'd also worry about being able to work on the motor when the tender is underneath the windward hull.  Working on the motor when the tender is hauled up to deck level would be a dream compared to a normal outboard setup.  But squeezing under the hull and doing maintenance when it's breezy out could be a challenge.

  Again, the Ex40's tender options can't be looked upon as a design flaw. -- there's only so much one can ask of a 1,760 pound 40 foot trailerable.  Integrating a 14' tender with a 25 hp motor that also serves as main propulsion is already a big deal.

  It's possible the integrated tender could work out, in which case I'll be pleasantly surprised.  There's more than one time Rob and Steinar have done the impossible, including with the Ex40, but that said, at some point there's a limit.


I dont know how a 12' boat with 2' hulls fits on a 8' trailer.

  Ha!  Yes, it would have to be a 12' trailer.

  I've struggled so much with our current expanding/collapsing trailer that I just want a simple dual or triple axle 12' trailer that doesn't change size or shape.  Part of it is emotional, part is practical.

  Any mechanism that has to support a boat's weight on land while expanding/collapsing, and also be able to endure immersion in salt water, is destined to fail, or at least jam.  If the boat can stably be collapsed on the water, it can probably be hauled even without its custom trailer.  Say, at a marina with a smaller travelift, or even on a big flatbed (probably have to lift with a crane, but still an option).

  So being able to drive up onto the trailer in the water, secure the bow, and tow the boat over to a prep area is a fixed requirement for me.

But you still need a motor, and a way to get on the boat when swimming or load/unload.

  True.  If I waffle long enough, even more things will get solved in the meantime, possibly the variety of seemingly-conflicting tender requirements.

  But until that time, a solution could be a permanent narrow sled for the motor under the cabin/cockpit, and perhaps another removable drop-down sled/steps next to the leeward hull.  The boarding steps could even fasten to the side of the a flip-up toybox that will live on top of the leeward hull when the boat is collapsed.




'.' eruttan@yahoo.com [harryproa] wrote on 10/26/2019 7:45 PM:
 
| -- I want to be able to just drive onto a single trailer and then haul the boat over the the prep area to deal with the masts.

Why can the integrated tender under the ww hull not do this? Please detail the concerns you have or see. I can't see them, and you have way more sailing experience than me.

|   We'd use the tender so infrequently (once every few years?) that simplifying the main boat and going with an inflatable tender with a roll-up floor makes more sense than fiddling with the integrated tender.

If you dont think you gonna use it, then you not gonna use it. But you still need a motor, and a way to get on the boat when swimming or load/unload.

Looking at the renderings, it looks like it fits under the current Ex40.

If designed right it could make the trailer work, as it could hold the underside of the ww hull while on the skinny trailer, but that's a guess.

I dont know how a 12' boat with 2' hulls fits on a 8' trailer.

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