Simple habits, simple boat

Henry Ford said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said, faster horses.”
First he built cars with people sitting outside. On rainy days that was wet and uncomfortable so he added a cabin with windows. Then came the windscreen wiper. Today windscreen washers supplement them.
Let nature be your guide. Complicate things and you will be successful. Even the simplest cell is more complicated than a boat. The KISS principle is rubbish. The trick is not to make a new construction simple but functional. My guiding principle is utility. Building a nine feet pivoting mast is no rocket science. A 75 year old pensioner can do it with simple tools.
Its complexity is in the beholders eye. Some observers get confused when they see something unconventional. To calm their minds they call it complicated. The same people outfit their boats with outboard engines, electronic steering systems, water makers and induction cookers. They are so blinded by these mass produced products they do not realize that they are much more complicated than my homemade mast.
Optimizing each subsystem independently will not lead to a good boat. Of course, non-pivoting masts would be simpler, but then the whole system, the boat, would be more complicated. I would have less trim options. With the planned rig it will be very easy to change from lee helm to weather helm. Hopefully the result is that my boat will steer herself without electronic steering systems or wind vane self-steering gear.
I do not think that I ever will convince conservative sailors of the beauty of my rig. They suffer the same mental blocks that Max Planck observed a hundred years ago. Resigned he remarked: A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. Still, I wish my critics a long healthy life.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/all-things-boats-and-boating/yrvind-39341-27.html

#405
Sharpii2 have pointed out that when the masts are not vertical they are acting like a crane boom -true. I like to thank him for that comment. I welcome critics because I often make mistakes and forget details that can have dire consequences. It was a good observation.
However I do not worry and it is for two reasons. One, I do not agree, I do not think that it will put a lot of bending stress on the mast and tremendous stress on the pivoting axle and the locking pin. After all, Yrvind Tens masts are not longer than an oar. Small boats do not attract big forces because of the square cube law. Sure, things break even on small boats but that’s mostly a question of dimensioning and can easily be fixed.
The second reason is that when the wind becomes strong I am going to reduce the forces on the mast and support her.
I reef the sail. That brings the yard down to a position six feet above the fulcrum. At that point on the mast there is a fitting to which I tie it with a string. Next I slack the halyard, releasing the compression. At that moment the bowstring effect is no more. True, the wind force is still acting strongly on the reefed sail. However its leverage is now only six feet.
To break things you need leverage. Take a match, say 4 cm long and break it, no problem. Break it again, OK. Now its only 1 cm long and it starts to get hard because you do not get a grip. You have no leverage. Most catastrophic scenarios come from big boats disasters. Small boats are different. They are more resilient. Other laws apply.
Still I am a man of the belt and suspenders approach. When the wind gets stronger and the seas start to break I snug things down and beef them up. I will then support the mast with an eight feet long spar. I will attach one end to the mast at the height of the yard, six feet up. The lower end will be fastened near the root of the other mast on the axis of the fulcrums. With that geometry the mast and spar can be rotated for and aft as a unit. Thus the mast is always supported athwartships. Fore and aft support comes from ropes.
If this sounds complicated and confusing I assure you, it is less difficult than setting a spinnaker pole.

Below is a pictures of the 1/8 scale model with this arrangement. Click once or twice to enlarge.

Above mast in aft position, weather helm

Above mast in aft position, weather helm

Above mast forward position, lee helm.

laminating the centerboard slot.

Done.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.

Boat ideal will have leeboard. Thinking aboat leeboard has changed my mind. I have decided to have leeboard on Yrvind Ten also. Ocean going boats do not have leeboard, but traditionally ocean going boats are big structures and lika all structures subject to Gallileos square cube law. Becouse of the square cube law a small boat do not have to be simular to a big one. In fact its a big mistake to build a small boat simular to a big one. Its against the laws of nature. Bugs understand that. They to smart to try to imitate vertibrates. Each one to its own scale.

The present project will then teach me much about them. Good for the next boat. The upcoming circumnavigation will be a lot of down wind sailing. Thats were leeboards excel. Downwind a keel is really bad a centerboard better but there is still the slot causing turbulence. Then the control ropes. Traditionally there is only one rope, an uphaul. but if the boat is going to be capsize-proof you need also a down-haul to control the board in all positions. For piece of mind. I have not got these mechanism to work to my satisfaction. This is not the first time I change my mind regarding centerboards. Bris had one to beginn with Yrvind.com started with a centerboard, then a daggerboard I scarped boath of them. Centerboard worked fine for me on Bris- Amphibie, a daggerboard worked fine for me on Duga.

Leebards will also give me much more space in the saloon.

I am avare that leeboards have its own sets of problem. I will try to solve them later.

Below are some pictures. click once or twice to enlarge.

Above the 15 kilo scrapped centerboard.

Above. The centerboard case cut off above the storage.

Above the turbulence causing opening for the centerboard.

Above the turbulent causing centerboard opening starting to be plugged.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind

Here are 4 pictures of the planned side by side rig with folding masts.

The above pictures (click once or twice to enlarge) shows the rig set up for reaching in light wind.

Both sails are in clear wind. The boat has lee helm. The skipper can relax and enjoy.

The above picture shows the boat close hauled in light wind. Compared to a tandem set up the sails are much better separated thus  giving better flow and sail efficiency.

The above picture shows the boat reaching in strong winds.

When a boat with a mast in the centerline is reaching the sail and boom is off center unless its a square sail. By folding the lee mast the balanced lug sail will much like a square sail be centered avoiding excessive rudder action. The unstayed mast guaranties no chafe; a good thing on long passages.

The above picture shows the boat close hauled in strong winds. In real life the sail will be reefed to suit wind conditions. One mast is folded to reduce wind resistance and to lower the center of gravity and mass moment of inertia.

When using the lee mast there be more weather helm, desirable when you like to forereach witn little sail area up. Using the mast on the wind ward side gives less weather helm. It also reduces the tendency to dip the boom in the water. As a bonus one can also move the sails forward or aft by tilting them.

The side by side rig gives the prudent navigator many options and eliminates the need  for autopilot or selfsteering.

I also do work on Yrvind Ten. Presently it is the boooring job of filiting and taping all the pieces of plywood and composite that makes up safe stovage space.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.

Rig choices belong to the domain of aerodynamics, right – wrong. A cruising boat is much more complex than a racer. The more complex a structure is, the more interference there is and nothing is so difficult to deal with as that. But there is also a positive side to complexity and it is that it gives the designer many possibilities to use one element for different purposes.

At first one would not think that the placement of a hatch would influence the choice of rig and normally it does not but when one is designing a ten feet circumnavigator a new set of problems comes up. To deal with storms the interior of my boat is divided into two parts by a watertight traverse bulkhead. The boat has one dry section and one section where saltwater will do no harm. The wet section is in the forward part below the hatch. The two compartments are each about five feet lengthwise. Previous experience has thought me that hatch openings of 40 cm wide and 45 long is convenient. Add 5 cm around for coamings gaskets and labyrinths and the hatch will be 55 cm long – closed. But a hatch that cannot be opened is by definition not a hatch so to make it operational I had to find an unobstructed place for it more than a meter long. That place must be close to the masts, otherwise handling of the sails has to be done from deck and that is not convenient in rough weather. From one hatch it is impossible to reach two masts if they are arranged tandemly. An eight year old girl understands that. That creates a problem. I have solved that problem by arranging the masts side by side and placing the hatch between them. That way I can use one hatch to serve the two masts.
An other advantage – now I can open the hatch because there is no mast in front blocking it – in other words the hatch is in the middle of the boat but the masts are on its side.

Lifeline stanchions are usually 50 – 60 cm high and pretty useless. My center of gravity is 90 cm above the deck. If the lifeline is going to have a chance of doing a good job of keeping me aboard it should be at least one meter high. My masts are strong and high and situated on the boats side they are there in a perfect position to be used as stanchions. This is a good example of how one element can be used for two different purposes. Now I can have lifelines one meter high or more and they will be extremely strongly attached.

Mast placed on small boats centerline blocks the passage for and aft. A pathway in the middle of the boat with high strong lifelines and masts at each side to support you makes moving around safer than the narrow side decks found on a small healing boat.

An other dual use of the side by side masts is that the forward end of the awning can be attached to them. The awning protects against the sun but the main purpose of that piece of canvas is to catch rainwater. A funnel and a hose will conduct it to polyethylene jerry cans. I will be able to store about 70 liters of water, enough for two months.

My side by side pivoting unstayed mast will not use tabernacles. I will put the fulcrum on the chine between deck and sidedeck. That chine is very strong, it only needs to be beefed up locally. The bottom end of the mast will be fixed to a semicircular track on the rub rail. This arrangement is stronger than a tabernacle has less air resistance and its center of gravity is lower. The mast can pivot 20 degrees forward and 20 degrees back. It can also be folded 90 degrees backwards to be stored along the deck in strong winds.

Naturally I will be glad if my novel rig also can propel the boat. A small cruising boat is a complex thing and I may have made mistakes somewhere along my thinking. Although untried I am willing to bet on this side by side rig.
Racing boats are designed with racing rules in mind. Consequently the almost universal custom is to design rigs in such a way that you get maximum effort per sail area. That implies tall rigs with one mast. I see it differently. I am not racing therefore I do not worry about efficiency per square meter sail area. I design for the shortest possible mast. A deep water cruiser have to withstand the seas worsts fury. When it starts to blow a boat with a short mast is much more weatherly than one with a tall mast because the top part of a reefed mast is not only useless it also creates drag, top hamper and slows down the boat. A short mast is not only much stronger than a long one it will also be subject to much less forces. In heavy weather it wins hands down. Out there, far from shelter, the fundamental task is to survive. Nice weather is no problem for me because I like to spend time at sea.
My strategy is to hang on when the wind is contrary and ease the sheets when it starts to come from a more favorable direction. A small boat will not go to windward over ground better than 60 degrees. 60 degrees means twice the distance sailed. Windward sailing also means half the speed. In strong winds the difference between the speeds you make running and beating is even bigger. That means it will take you at least four times as long sailing upwind as downwind. You cannot have a rig that is efficient in both strong and light winds; I have chosen efficiency in strong winds. My weapon: one short mast standing and the other one folded on deck and big, big lateral areas.

The balanced lug sail is very interesting because it is only attached to the mast by its halyard. The mast does not even have a track. By pivoting my mast 20 degrees the masthead mows about three feet for or backward. By moving the downhaul the same distance along the deck the sail can be moved parallel to itself six feet along the deck. That is 60 % of the boats length. That way I can choose weather or lee-helm in any wind strength. Production boats with fixed masts and ballast keels are designed with weather helm. They do not have the option of giving their boat lee helm. Obviously sailing downwind with weather helm is fighting the elements. A seven year old girl can understand that. Trade wind sailing is down wind sailing and on a boat with weather helm the rudder have to be used all the time because the boat is not directional stable on that course.

If I had not had pivoting masts on my side by side rig, then when the apparent wind is on the beam one sail would blanket the other. Now it is easy to separate the sails for maximum wind exposure; I just move the lee sail a bit forward and the windward one a bit back. Problem solved.
In strong winds sailing downwind I will fold the lee mast. I will use the sail on the windward mast. Its center will be close to the center of the boat. Think square sail then move the mast not the sail to windward.
That reduces the rudder force and hence the resistance. If desired I can move the downhaul forward. That will give me a lifting force. Also the windward mast keeps the boom more inboard making it less likely to dip into the waves when the boat is rolling to lee.
However if I would like to ride out a gale slowly forereaching I can use the lee mast because that will give me lots of weather helm for a small sail area. A boat forereaching does not roll much. It also by definition moves slowly so dipping the boom into the water is no worry in that case.

It is much more to write about side by side masts and their interference and integration with a small boat but now I will stop and hopefully come back to the subject at an other time.

You should newer be the first one to try something new, nor should you be the last one to hang on to something old. If you like life tranquille follow that advise but it will not make you into a trailblazer.

The picture below shows the scale 1/8 modell sailing with the mast in tandem position. The aft mast creates unavoidable downwind turbulence.

The picture below shows the modell in light wind with the masts in side by side arrangement. Both mast gets nice clean air.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.

Here are some pictures showing work on the hatch in the bulkhead.

Taking off shape to make shore the thing fits.

Starting to laminate

Off the mould

It fits and very lucky I can change the gasket with the retainer/drippedge in place saving much work and making it less complicated. Sometimes but not often things goes faster than expected.

While at it here is the solution for next boat.

BYRÅLÅDSEFFEKTEN

The drawer effect: This is what we engineers call the nuisance when a drawer gets stuck in a chest of drawers and it does not only happen to drawers; it happens to most sliding things that are wider than deep. It is a pain.
To avoid it I made an analyses and it turns out that the solution is surprisingly simple. Drawers that are wider than deep have little guidance and therefore not always move straight but turn. When they turn the short side of the drawer is not any longer parallel with the guiding sides. The drawer takes more space and gets stuck diagonally. The more you pull the worse the drawer gets stuck.
I said to myself: what geometrical figure does not get wider when it’s turned, obviously the circle, by definition. I use part of a circle as can bee seen on the illustration below.
For my hatch I have a second problem. I like to take it out for service. But the guides go al the way around so I have to do a detachable opening in them. On Yrvind Ten its to late to change but on the next boat the “Boat Ideal” it will look like below. Then byrålådseffecten will not give me a problem. Also and very convinient by twisting the hatch 90 degrees it will come clear of its retaining tracks so that I can do service on it

One more screanshott

Today I also written sermon and put it in “BOAT IDEAL” One of the other blogs on my website. You find it at the startpage.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.

I have now started a new blog on my site. Under the heading “Boat Ideal” I will from time to time note my thoughts on a desirable cruising boat. Things I learn from mistakes on the present project and ideas that come to my mind. The present boat is made to set a world record. It will never be a good cruising boat. Let this be warning.

Regards Yrvind.

I am grateful to Sharpii 2 for commenting on my “Next Boat”. On my web site I will start a blog for her titeld ”Boat-Ideal”. It will replace the blog “Lecture”. When building and sailing I always have the next boat in mind. When doing a mistake on the present one I say to myself “that I will correct on the next one”. And it helps; my boats have over time become better and better , very much better. I am very grateful for comments and for persons helping me pointing out my errors as it is difficult to objectivly observe oneself. However that is not always easy becouse often I do not express myself clear and English is only my second language and I am dyslectic, all which add to the confusion. There is also an other aspect and that is values. Most often my values differ as to comfort, speed, use of engine and more. Here engineering principles do not apply.
I will here try to do a bit of clarifying concerning sail area and speed. 1974 I sailed 20 feet 1.3 ton displacement Bris from Jamestown St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean to Fort de France Martinique in the North Atlantic Ocean, necessarily crossing the Doldrums. Bris had no engine; not even an outboard. I could have put up more sail but chose to use only 4 square meters. I enjoyed the passage. The 3800-mile passage took me 45 days from anchor up to anchor down. That is an average speed of 85 miles a day or 3.5 knots. I found the voyage pleasant. The sail area/displacement was 3.4 if I have done the numbers right.
2011 I sailed the 15 feet 0.9 ton Yrvind.com 2900 miles from Madeira to Martinique. It took 45 days 64 miles a day 2.7 knots. The wind was more variable often so light that a candle could stand on deck without flickering, still the boat made 0.5 knots and steered herself downwind. I used very little sail. Most persons would be unhappy to sail at 2.7 knots. Me I was happy to spend six weeks at sea instead of three weeks. Me, when eating, I do not try to get the food down as quickly as posseble, me when making love, I do not try to get an ejakulation as quick as posseble, then why should I try to cross an ocean as quickly as possible? I am not racing. I am cruising. I enjoy being out there on the big, blue, wet, deep, endless ocean.
Still “Next Boat” has two 4.6 s.m. sails. In light wind going to windward I intend to use them if desireable so Sharpii 2 can double the number he got for “Next Boats” S/A relation. Sharpii 2 prefers sails his in tandem. That’s the common way. I differ, I think its more advantages to have them side by side like, the early airplanes, instead of one sail in front of the other becouse then they interfere less with each other.

A lugsail is only attached to the mast at the top. As the mast are pivoting I can move the mast top back 1.5 meter and forth 1.5 meter and with it the sail moves. Then I move the downhaul back and fort along the deck to suit. That way I can give the boat weather or lee helm as desired.
As to preventing leeway, the hull is five beams long and has very flat sides. In a way it works as a battering ram. It has very little frontal area compared to driving force. Norman Skene in his original book on yacht design always calculated lateral area as a function of midsection. Now it is calculated as a function of sail area. I do not agree. When heeled 20 degrees the leeward side present a lot of area to the water. Some of it will flow under the hull. That takes much energy. That energy creates a vortex floating along the bottom up to windward. Healed the bottom presents a bigger curve to the flow than the side making the water flow faster there. Bernulli says, the energy in a streamline is constant. This is classical two dimensional wing theory. High aspect wing have a tip vortex that disappears behind the wing. Low aspect bodies edge vortex sweeps over the surfaces combines with the fore and aft flow increases the particles energy. As the energy is constant in the streamline that energy is creating lift. That’s why the concord airplane could fly with an angle of attack of 45 degrees. Ordinary foils stall at 15 degrees. Its not efficient on the other had here we are recycling energy so its ok. This is my thinking on the leeboard and of course I lift them up sailing down wind. The rudders have even higher aspect ratio.
And of course I do not sail flat downwind. I always have the wind 15 or 20 degrees on the quarter.
It getting late but more will come.
Regards Yrvind.

Michael has been busy working on the models. Here are some more screenshots.

The leeboards angle of attack has ben reduced to 3.5 degrees which is satisfactory. Hatches and ventilation system has been added. No water will now enter even if the boat is capsized. Of course she is self righting to 180 degrees heel.

Keels, centerboards, daggerboards, chinerunners, and leeboards prevent leeway. Only leeboards makes no resistance downwind. A cruising boat spends a lot of time running downwind at anchor and in port.

The use of the two aft masts are: holding an awning/water collector, stanchions for lifelines, holders for GPS and AIS antennas (important these days)

Click on the pictures if you like to enlarge them.

Regards Yrvind.

After Pierre the illustrator Michael Tatschl is here helping to put my thoughts into rhino 3d models. He can be reached at:

m_tatschl@hotmail.com

I have changed the mast arrangement on Yrvind Ten. The two side by side masts is not longer connected by spreaders. A darling has been killed; there has been some give and some take. I deeply regret that I no longer so easily can climb the masts and that I lost strength. What I have gained is: the whole system is now much lover down and the hinge pin secured in a simpler way and as can be seen on the picture above one mast can be lowered if desired in strong winds. I have decided its an over all gain. Also I can give the two mast individual rake in light wind so that with the two sails up the do not interfere.

We have also been working on Pierre’s and mine next boats. They are small cruisers; here small refers to displacement not length. My next boat has half Yrvind Ten’s displacement and nearly twice its length. Pierre’s boat is a bit different mine is shown below going to windward in a breeze one mast up.

Abouve going downwind in light air. Thanks; yes we forgot to raise the leeboard. Things like that happens when you are excited and in a hurry.

Regards Yrvind

What you desire is a question of taste. Production boats are not to our taste. We like a boat that is small cheap and functional, have shallow draft, can be propelled by wind, wave and muscle power, a boat that can ride out any storm at sea and at the same time protect you from the weather, a boat that is directional stable upwind and downwind so that it do not need your attention.

This long and narrow boat meets these demands. Pierre’s boat is 5,6 meter long with a displacement of 778 kilos, my is stretched to 5,8 meter and have a displacement of 806 kilos. They have the same square midsection and a prismatic of 0,723. The draft is tolerable 19 cm or 7,5 inches.

The boats have balancing lugsails. There are two pivoting side-by-side mast and leeboards. The mast and leeboards pivot on the same axis. Because the section is square the leeboards will lay flat against the hull. Because the boats are small, they will attract small forces. The same mast and leeboard arrangement will not work on a bigger boat ( Galileo’s square-cube-law ).
This is the beginning of a project and as yacht design is an iterating process many changes will be made. Only the imbecilely never changes their mind.

One reason I like you to know this is that so that you will not think that my Yrvind Ten is a good cruising boat. She is twice as heavy has twice the draft and half the speed. Yrvind Ten is made to set a world record. She will be good at that and give me a unforgettable time at sea far from land.

Below are some pictures.

Pierre and me putting the modell together.

Abouve: Viuw  from below.

Above: Pierre inside the boat. The inside measurment is 1 meter. All that space comes from the square section.

Regards Yrvind.