TIKI 26 - Tsunamichaser

2009-10-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Clean up time - I'm clearing stuff out of my garage/workshop so I can get on with a bunch of winter projects. There was a couple of sheets of 1" thick pink rigid insulation tucked in between my plywood supply so I figured I could make a surfboard out of them. I gluded them to a stringer yesterday and shaped them today. Now I just need to find some glass cloth and I'll be on my way to having another board. I don't think I'll leave it pink though...........

2009-10-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

I got this video from my friend Alan Goto who is a big time outrigger paddler. The video is an interesting look at the construction of a very light weight and subsequently very fast OC-6. There are many other interesting videos in the related bar that shows up at the bottom of the feed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxWdjetGWdE

2009-10-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

A Facebook friend has been trying to connect me to one of his Facebook friends for a couple of weeks as he figured we both had boat building interests in common. It finally happened yesterday. Little did I know that the connection wasn't just boats but Wharrams! Upon landing back in Seattle from my visit back east (more on that later), my "crackferie" had a couple of invites from this new friended link! Turns out that a couple of guys have been building a Tiki 21 over an extended period of time in their garage not more than a kilometer from where I live. Tired as I was, I hopped on my bike midnight timezone where I had just been to go over and check out the action. Arriving in the dark I found one hull in the driveway and after knocking on the door another in the basement garage. Scott of Scott and Mike who are the builders was there (Scott's house) and Mike wasn't showing that evening so luckily I had dressed appropriately and brought my own gloves and the such as I was quickly put to work! Much work done with much remaining but once they launch there will be another fine Wharram gracing the seas. We glassed the fore deck of this pretty craft which is built of Doug Fir plywood and talked technique as we went. I'm sure I'll be lending a hand again. Maybe I should make a career of it - journeyman Wharram builder available, will sleep in the sawdust pile for grog and victuals. -

2009-10-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

Heading out for a week in the industrial wasteland. There won't be a drop of saltwater to be had.

2009-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

DUMPSTER DIVING AND SAILING

I haven't been blogging much lately. Out of practice, fallen off the wagon, moving on - not sure which. I have been working on some interesting boat projects and I've done some great sailing in the last few weeks.

Projects first. On my trip to the San Juans this summer, I started thinking more about self sufficiency. Julia on Badu re-introduced me to successful sprouting which I've taken up at home. Having read Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" food has gained importance. Especially conscious food choice. I'm back to baking bread. I'm experimenting with making my own crackers - super easy and rewarding. Most important are two projects - how to grow stuff on board and how to make beer onboard. With the first one I have started an ice chest greenhouse. I want to be able to grow herbs, salad greens and the likes. I've got the experiment going. As to beer making I've found a device called the "Beer Machine" on the web that has mixed reviews but has the best onboard potential. I just need to order one to get going. This week I added solar panels to Tsunamichaser. Two 10 watt panels mounted on the cabin sides outboard. Followers of this blog will remember that I converted one under bunk space to a battery well. The panels are now mounted all I need are some batteries. My needs are small and I plan to keep it that way. Essentially I want something other than my portable Brunton panel, as it is at risk of being stepped on and broken, to charge ipods, laptop, AA and AAA batteries. I have also come to the conclusion that I need better in hull ventilation so the batteries will drive fans to move moist air when there are sleepers below. Today I completed a small project in that I made a new cushion cover for a perfectly great cushion I found besides the dumpster at my marina. Yah for dumpster diving! Cover made of left over cloth from other boat projects. Speaking of dumptser diving thanks for the sheets of stainless steel and old bits I found in above said dumpster. Now I can make my new stove box out of things I already have and things I've found - nothing to buy.

On the boating front I've had a couple of great sails and some epic paddles these past two weeks. I took friends Louise and Andy who live in Montana out for a fine day and discovered a great new beach to land on. The day was finished off with and excellent burger at Hattie's Hat in Ballard and a fine bottle of wine. More sailing was done later in the week this time in the attempt to land some salmon but no luck there. This past week was focused on paddling. Lise and I had Ulua out in 3-4 foot rollers on Lake Washington where we had some great surfs on the way home and no huli's! Paddling the rest of the week was not so exciting. The waters were flat the temperature on the cold side and so it was an extra layer to cut the wind and heads down to make the pace and keep warm. Fall/winter are here. I'll need to keep getting out but although the weather remains stunning, the rains will come soon and dreams of summer will begin.

2009-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Lise and I went for a long paddle in Ulua this morning. My arms and back continue to ache this evening. We has 15 knots of southerly wind with decent size breaking waves - 2 feet max - on Lake Washington where we paddled from Sail Sandpoint to Kirkland then back via Juanita Bay. We had gear failure that we fixed on the water. The trim tab control lines broke so I had to splice with monofilament on the water. We had a seat change midway - I got out and stood on the ama while lise moved from the stern to the bow. We shipped a deal of water and had some wild surfs! I was glad the lake was still warm as it was all pretty sketch. It was great getting practice paddling in significant cross seas and dealing with the water we shipped. Paddling back I found that I couldn't change sides if we wanted to not risk a huli. I paddled several miles leaning to the ama side and on the ama side only hence the ache. I continue to appreciate the abilities and speed of this fisherman's canoe. Gary Dierking 's design is outstanding As a finale to our morning on the water, we did a high speed marker rounding practice with the ama out of the water which was pretty exciting. It was super tight and I think we were both amazed that we didn't end up swimming.

2009-09-15T21:52:00.001-07:00

I'm providing a link to Julia and Casey's blog tonight. They are amazing people who are venturing forth on their Tiki 21 "Badu" http://www.sailblogs.com/member/nycteris/ Casey is a great photographer as you'll see if you look through the attached photo albums.

Not sure why the link http://www.sailblogs.com/member/nycteris/ is not working. I took it right from their site. Until I figure it out try googling "Badu Julia Casey" which will take you their blog.

TRY THE LINK IN THE SIDE BAR - IT WORKS.

2009-09-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a couple of weeks of sailing in the San Juan Islands in north western Washington State. Sixteen days or so of living on Tsunamichaser. I sailed up with my buddy Andy Detloff to deliver parts to Casey and Julia Orr who live on their Tiki 21 Badu. They are self-claimed dirtbag climbers/sailors. We had a reat time sailing hanging out away from the crowds in "cat corners" and generally having a good time eating the seafood we caught. Summer time in the San Juans usually mean light winds which we had until I started home solo when a gale decided to blow through. I sat it out for 30 plus hours in a slough enjoying the books I had along and the silly songs I concocted on my ukelele. Here is a short sunny day video - no sound!

2009-08-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Heading to the San Juans in Tsunamichaser in search of Badu a Tiki 21. I'll update our position with my spot.

2009-08-20T21:54:00.001-07:00

When I built my T26 my oldest brother was pretty fascinated and would ask tons of questions. One day when I called him he announced he was building a cat too. I asked him what design he was doing to which he said "oh I looked at the pictures on Wharram's site and started building." It's a bit of a mash up but then he lives in Nova Scotia where that is the way boats have been done for generations. It works well. Here's a video.

2009-08-14T17:15:00.001-07:00

I was checking out the Wharram Tangaroa I posted about awhile ago. The owner, Andy, was onboard and we had a great chat. He told me about some buddies, Julia and Casey who left yesterday on their Tiki 21, Badu, for points unknown but possibly the Sea of Cortez. Here's the link.

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/nycteris/index.php?show=gallery&aid=5579&pid=113706

I borrowed a picture from their blog to post here.

2009-08-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is the craziest version of seasteading. Kind of appealing though. One way to deal with rent in the high rent districts. Not sure the mangroves would take in Puget Sound!

2009-08-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

2009-08-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

2009-08-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Huli free day but I did go for a refreshing swim!

2009-08-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

The paddle I built this week worked fine ....until I destructively tested it back to "broken iako!" I had nicked the carbon fiber fabric on the blade with a chisel when I was cleaning up excess resin. I filled the nick on the final coat but that is where it failed. I was paddling as hard as I could and snap the blade folded - starting from the cut fibers . Not to worry, I've removed the broken bits from the shaft and have a new and improved blade started. Beta 1 was pretty light, about 4-5 oz lighter than production CF blades of this size so on Beta 2 I've decided to add a 2 mm sheet of plywood to back up the CF as the balsa certainly doesn't provide any strength. The plywood adds about 3 oz. The other thing I'm working on is vacuum bagging. For paddle making my neglected food vacuum bagging unit may just be the ticket. I did a test run on Friday when a made a closed cell foam and CF "hockey puck" the vacuum bagging part worked great though with only one layer of CF the whole thing remains spongy.

2009-08-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Video of the building of an outrigger paddle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCiZE1XVzxk

2009-07-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Eating well at sea in the trades is easy on a cat - level cooking, steady sailing and a hungry crew- when you have the right stuff. A fresh caught tuna, dried veggies, canned coconut milk, onions, rice and spices! Salud!

2009-07-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video from one of the last days on Aluna's trip to Hilo. It's hot, we can smell land and we are ghosting along at 2-3 knots on next to no wind wondering who will spot the Big Island first.

***(sorry no sound it's raw video and the waterproof case cuts out any sound from reaching the mike)

2009-07-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here are four photos from sailing my 18' Ulua last week. Bamboo spars and white poly tarp sails. Works great! We had light winds and were making good speed. Brailing up the sail works excellent too.

2009-07-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

The night before our departure.

Beat contemplating his boat on a pre-departure test sail.

Beyond the "Gate".

I've been back on the mainland for a week now getting reoriented. I have many phots and videos from the trip on Aluna, Beat and Beatrice's crab-claw rigged Tiki 38. She worked great and our white polytarp sails drove us west at speeds of up to 15 knots. The above photos are from our departure party, heading for the gate and making it out beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been asked if I would make the same trip on my Tiki 26. In the conditions we experienced - yes. WInds were 20 knots or less (excepting gusts) and seas never more than 15 feet. The sailing was great!

2009-06-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Aluna has left SF for Hilo HI. We have a gentle southerly swell and a 10 knot SSW breeze. Probablty the last post until Hawaii but follow us on SPOT

2009-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

At the dock in San Leandro. Working on ouitboards and sails. Drizzle last night. Sunny and hot today

2009-06-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

All it needs is some wax and a wave!

2009-06-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Trying to get it so I can post from my Blackberry. Further testing.
I have the mast down on tsunamichaser. More oak problems. I sheared the knucle off the main mast that locates the foot of the mast. This time its screwed and glued into a rabbet