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| Green Dreamboats: A Rising Tide of Hybrid and Solar-Powered Boats |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Thursday July 02, @07:51AM
from the Energy-Saving dept.
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 Green Dreamboats
A Rising Tide of Hybrid and Solar-Powered Boats
By Don Wallace
Until recently, boating was one of the least green things one could do. Powerboats guzzle fuel at a rate that makes a HUMMER look like a teetotaler. (We're talking gallons per minute, not per mile.) As for sailboats, call them yachting's dirty little secret: They all need smoky, leaky engines and generators to power their increasing amenities: lighting, refrigerators, stoves, air-conditioning, TVs, hot tubs.
And so began the Great Tinkering. All through the 1960s, '70s and '80s, boats sprouted windmills, solar panels, solar-heated showers and underwater electricity-generating propellers.
Click here to read the entire article.
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| Made by hand: Doctor, sons build wooden boat in backyard |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Wednesday July 01, @07:01AM
from the Homemade dept.
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 Made by hand
Doctor, sons build wooden boat in backyard
by Lisa Crawford
Monday, June 29, 2009
As an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. C. Daniel Smith has a lot of experience using screws, drills, hammers and saws to fix his patients. But when he gets home from the ER, he doesn't relax by watching TV or reading a book. Instead, he has spent the last eight years building a wooden boat in his backyard.
"I've always been a woodworker, and I wanted, more than anything, for my boys to learn how to build," Dr. Smith said.
His two sons, Mike and Nick, have helped their father build a variation of a Nathanael Herreshoff boat since Mike, the eldest, first pointed to a picture of one in a magazine when he was 12.
Click to read the rest of the story.
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| On Board with Mark Corke: Rigging adjustment |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Tuesday June 30, @07:13AM
from the You-Can-Do-It dept.
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 On Board with Mark Corke: Rigging adjustment
June 28, 2009
It's been a very wet weekend up in the north east but none the less I have been out tuning up the rig on Mallard.
The mast is fairly short but I have definitely found that getting the rig set up correctly makes a big difference to the way the boat handles and sails.
With the mast sloping back there is a tendency for the boat to head up into wind in the puffs when sailing to windward but if the rig is too far forward the boat develops lee helm and the boat does the opposite and tends to bear way in strong winds which is far more undesirable than weather helm.
The ideal is for a very slight amount of weather helm so that should the helm be left to it's own devices the boat will slowly come up into wind and stop making way.
Read the complete blog entry.
Jamestown Distributors carries a wide selection of turnbuckles, toggles and other sailing gear.
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| Building Alfie's Magic Class 30: Week 39 - Lots of teak, plumbing, Dynel and exterior trim |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Tuesday June 30, @06:49AM
from the Blogging-the-build dept.
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 Building Alfie's Magic Class 30: Week 39 - Lots of teak, plumbing, Dynel and exterior trim
We came up a little short of our goal to finish the deck by Friday. But we are damn close. Oliver and I went at the deck all week and after we had put on the last of the full length planks, we were able to split off into different sections: Oliver taking the bow, and me at the stern. This way we could work at double the time. Although now that the planks are smaller, they need much more custom attention to fit them around the coach house, the hatches, cockpit, and lazarette.
As I worked in the stern, I shaped all the planks that hung off the end of the boat to follow the shape of the stern. Then I made a mold out of plywood in order to make a solid teak plank in sections that wrapped around the stern. This was pretty tricky and took me most of a day to finish, but the result looks wonderful. Then we just plugged away at the teak planking, trying to get on as many as possible in a day.
Read the rest of the blog.
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| Stolen Sailboat Puzzles Rockport, Massachusetts Harbormasters |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Monday June 29, @10:45AM
from the Be-on-the-lookout dept.
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 Stolen Sailboat Puzzles Rockport, MA Harbormasters
This sailboat, which was posted for sale on the Internet for $24,900, was stolen from Rockport Harbor early Thursday morning.
Rockport Harbormasters say a local man's 31-foot sailboat was stolen "right out from under their noses" about 2 a.m. Thursday in thick fog.
It was moored next to T-Wharf, in the shadow of Motif Number 1, the world famous and historic fishing shack that has been subject of artists.
"It's very strange," said James Tew, who learned his Cheoy Lee sailing yacht, Juno, was missing when friends called Thursday morning and asked, "Where's your boat?"
He looked out from the deck of his home at his empty mooring, speculating with WBZ's Ron Sanders.
"I don't know what to make of it, Ron, because my boat was not the sort of thing people would take out for a joy ride."
My Fox Boston - click to read the rest of the story
WBZ - click to read another version of this story
Gloucester Daily Times - click to read yet another version of the story
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| GMT Composites celebrates 25th anniversary |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Monday June 29, @07:03AM
from the Carbon-composites dept.
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 GMT Composites celebrates 25th anniversary
June, 26 2009, 09:20 AM
GMT Composites is looking for stories of its oldest spars as part of the company's silver anniversary celebration.
"For 25 years, GMT has shipped custom composite parts all over the world, rudders to the Netherlands, and rigs to the Americas, Europe and Asia. Our products have sailed around the world, flown around the globe and traveled to the depths of the oceans," said Jay Kiley, director of sales, in a statement.
GMT Composites of Bristol, R.I., designed and built the first carbon spar for a large cruising sailing yacht, built rudders for America's Cup and around-the-world race winners, and designed the new PowerFurl Boom for boats 45 feet to 100 feet.
The company has also made jewelry for Tiffany's and furniture for Ralph Lauren, and worked to build parts for aircraft, submersibles and military projects.
For information, contact Kiley at jay@gmtcomposites.com.
Click here for the full news release.
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| The Community Boat Building Project Launches First Boat Journeyman |
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| Blog: The building of a Fenwick Williams catboat: Planking in full swing |
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posted by DanaBerube
on Thursday June 25, @08:36AM
from the Catboat-under-construction dept.
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 The building of a Fenwick Williams catboat: Planking in full swing - Week 10Friday, June 12, 2009
We were right back into planking this week. The repair we made on the starboard side garboard last week turned out great. From the outside, you can't tell that anything was even done.
The view from the inside reveals our carbon fiber backing on the plank. This should prevent the plank from splitting again as we fasten it into place.
Speaking of fastening, with the plank repaired, it's time to do just that. Clamping the plank into place, we can lay out all our fasteners.
Click here to read the entire blog entry.
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| Panbo Blog: Wind Meter app, & iPod Touch bluetooth |
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