Energy Diet,the full story

Its best we publish this which I found on the web,my thanks for the newspaper The Mercury for the copy.

Inflatable catamaran’s crew aiming for record


January 11 2011 at 12:26pm

Story by Kamini Padayachee (many thanks)

Picture by Roy McBride using a Canon G11 digital camera.

Energy Diet seen here in Hout Bay Harbour after her sail down from Durban,well done guys!

Anatoliy Kulik captain of Trimaran and Evgeny Kovalesky member of the Energy Diet team in Durban Point Yatch Club.

Visitors to Durban’s Point Yacht Club will see an odd-looking boat in the harbour – it belongs to four Russians who are embarking on a transatlantic voyage hoping to sail into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Evgeny Kovalesky, Evgeny Tashkin, Yury Masloboev and their captain, Anatoly Kulik, all of whom are from Siberia, began their voyage in November, setting sail from Mauritius.

Kulik designed and built their boat, Energy Diet, an inflatable catamaran that consists of three balloons fixed to fibreglass and metallic tubes and with sails.

The name of the boat refers to the energy drinks the team rely on to sustain themselves at sea.

The boat can be dismantled and packed into carrier bags.

The extreme sports enthusiasts want to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first people to complete the longest voyage on an inflatable sailing vessel that can be dismantled.

On Sunday, Kovalesky said their two-month voyage from Mauritius had been difficult.

“It is not a simple task, it is uncomfortable. We have no cabin, no bathing or toilet facilities. All we have is a little two-man tent and a gas stove to cook on. It is a small space to live in, especially for four middle-aged men.

“Not many people use it for such long trips because there is no comfort. You are as close to nature as possible. It is especially tough during the storms because water gets into the tent and our sleeping bags.”

Kovalesky said they had wanted to start their voyage from the Seychelles, but the country had refused them permission because of piracy in the area.

“We waited three weeks in the Seychelles for permission, but they refused. So we disassembled the boat and flew to Mauritius.

“Our next stop is Cape Town, then Namibia and then we will travel across the Atlantic to Brazil.”

Kovalesky said the team had to stop in Durban to repair their vessel.

“The sea is rough, so our boat gets damaged easily. We have had to stop to fix it up before we can carry on. We are determined to get into the record books.”

The team did two other voyages, in 2006 and 2008, that lasted about two months.

Aries Vane Gear comes out of retirement

This Aries Vane Gear looks reasonably new but its already been on two of my yachts and done three South Atlantic crossings plus the leg from Brasil to Venezuela and then Trinidad and back.

If you look closely you can just see a three stand line trailing in the water,that is a safety line that should be tied to the boat,its purpose being the paddle has a break off joint in case of hitting a solid object in the water,that way the joint breaks and not the Aries but for some reason Aries supplied the line about one foot short (305mm) and its near impossible to tie it to anything close.Charles,who was one of our crew for the day, says he can end to end splice another line to the existing one.

The fact is this vane gear is around thirty four years old,its been looked after and I fitted new stainless gears to it after the last crossing and return to Hout Bay on the trip back from Trinidad.
Spares are still available for the genuine Aries (beware local copies) speak
 to Helen Franklin @ http://www.ariesvane.com/products.html

Helen Franklin	Telephone:	+44 1326 37 7467
6 Dunvegan Road, Penryn, Cornwall	Telefax:	+44 1326 37 8117
TR10 8HJ	e-mail:	ariesvane@googlemail.com
England

Athol watches on a little bemused as to how the thing works and why,Athol has seen me mount the Aries platform box and connection tubes some while back,he was keen to see how an Aries worked,after about a twenty year lay off,so was I .

The Aries works once more! mind you we had our problems and each time we set a course,after a short while we would wander off a little (a lot) I was becoming bemused myself after about the forth attempt to set it up.We had both Charles and Athol re tensioning the new 8mm Dynema Braid control lines,which I was told when I bought it was just about 100% stretch free.  

This is certainaly not the case at all and the 14 meters I bought will now be at least 14.5 meters,I have never seen line stretch this much ever, its locally made, I may revert to a higher quality and import and use the Marlow line that Nick Franklin (r.i.p) used to supply originally.

Note,I have now taken Athols advice and removed the line,fastened it down to a strong point near the deck and then attatched a mast head halyard to it,with a Lewmar 46sta winch doing the job, I am stretching the dynema line,we should see it pre stretched and more suitable for purpose next time out?

Athol now (our line adjuster in chief) now understands how an Aries Vane Gear works,he has the so called Snaffle Lines,which when pulled will turn the wind vane either left or right,each click being six degrees either way. Once the wind vane is trimed to stand vertical,meaning the paddle in the water it contols is then plumb,we can engage the rope clutch on the steering wheel and from then on we are sailing hands free,excepting for the line stretch in our case.

To give you some idea just how much stretch there was,those red lines started off closer to deck level but as they stretched we had to adjust them ever higher to take up the slack,local is Lekker (good) I think not in this case.

A closer look,left click the pictures to view in a larger size.

Always remember to oil the center gears at least once per 24 hours,this Aries Vane Gear is now lubricated with Fluid Film,which should be a perfect long term weather protector for the alloy,stainless and plastics used on this type of self steering.

From the Aries web site on servicing:

In service, keep all moving parts well oiled - if it moves oil it. Of special importance is to oil the bushes No 53, either through the holes provided just below the lower bevel gear or around the outside of the gear where it sits on the thrust washers No 52. Oil on the steering lines, which must be 8mm pre-stretched will considerably increase their life span.

Operation


The wind vane is feathered or edge on into the wind, when the yacht goes off course one face of the vane is presented to the wind and it folds down sideways. This motion is transmitted through a linkage which deflects the servo rudder from 'dead ahead' in the water. The servo rudder is able to swing sideways on its top bearings and this in turn pulls the steering lines which operates the wheel or tiller. The gear only has to develop the low forces to move the main helm, similar to the helmsman as compared to the direct acting type of gear which has to steer the vessel by itself with the main rudder fixed.

Universal Rope Block

The Universal Rope Block is constructed of aluminium die castings. The rope sheaves are contained in a sphere which can be rotated to any angle inside the outer housing and locked in position. This is ideal for wheel steering installations where two steering lines are lead together as a pair to the wheel drum

Now made by Peter? under licence and in Denmark, highly recomended!

Aries Denmark	Telephone:	+45 7445 0760
Damgade 27, Holm	e-mail:	aries@email.dk
6430 Nordborg	www:	www.selfsteer.dk
Denmark QuestionAries has by far the best name in the world. Why ? AnswerTo build equipment for using at sea long term is not easy. You never know what can happen. Many builders and customers do forget that you do not always have normal conditions out there. You can not say "the gear will manage to steer from force 1 till 12". This is not enough. Every part of the gear has to withstand rough misuse. Then the gear will survive year after year like the Aries.

The trimaran Energy Diet is in Hout Bay,in English and now Russian!

Суббота 29 января 2011

The blog of yesterday,which was done just before we went out for a sail in Chapmans Bay,was seen by the crew of the yacht Energy Diet it  seems,I have no Idea how,it must have been The Water Rats work?

Тримаран Energy Diet в гавани Хаут Бэй

Литературный перевод Джека Ковалевского, участника экспедиции «Через океаны с Energy Diet»

Hi Roy,
Chris Sutton aka Water Rat added me to his mailing list and this morning sent me the item you had written on the inflatable trimaran currently in Hout Bay.

The crew are very chuffed with the article and the insight it shows into the potential of the design.
Would it be okay with you if they translated it into Russian and put it on their sponsors' website?

Regards -
Karin Solomon

So we now have a Russian translation,many thanks for sorting this out Karin and Chris (aka Water Rat) this is a first for this blog and now people in Russia can read at least this entry.


The Russian designed and built inflatable trimaran arrived in Hout Bay two days back,I am told it was built with the idea of breaking the record for distance sailed in a demountable craft,the start was supposed to be Seychelles but the fear of pirates stopped that start.It started from Reunion Isle I think?

Созданный русскими надувной тримаран прибыл в Хаут Бэй (пригород Кейптауна) два дня назад. Как мне сказали, он был построен с идеей побить рекорд самого длительного и дальнего плавания на разборном парусном судне. Старт предполагался с Сейшел, но угроза пиратского нападения не позволила стартовать. Я думаю, они стартовали с Реюньона (прим. Джека – мы стартовали с Маврикия)

At first glance it looks a mess,due only to the lack of internal storage space of any sort in any of the boats three hulls,this is for a crew of  four remember,take away the clutter and take a closer look at the boats engineering and you will be impressed,I know I was.

На первый взгляд, на корабле царит бардак из-за недостатка внутреннего пространства на лодке, состоящей из трёх баллонов, с командой из 4 человек. Но стоит взглянуть с другой стороны и посмотреть на инженерную сторону вопроса, и вы будете поражены, также как и я.

A few have said this is not good,the boat will not sail to windward,etc,the boat does have lee boards and in a dead flat sea I expect some windward progress may be made but not exactly pointing very high,then again,the idea was always to sail down wind and thats exactly what they have done.

Кто-то говорит «это не хорошая лодка, она не может идти по ветру, и т.д.», судно не имеет швертов и в абсолютно спокойном море может идти по ветру, но не слишком точно по курсу. Опять же идея всегда была идти по ветру и они точно сумели это сделать.

The pictures will enlarge if you left click on them.

Seen here on the end of the HBYC marina with Table Mountain in the back of the picture,this craft has just sailed around Cape Point and in very windy conditions too.

Здесь видно в конце марины яхт клуба Хаут Бэй с горным массивом на заднем плане, эта штука шла под парусами вокруг мыса Доброй Надежды и в чрезвычайно суровых ветровых условиях.

As I say,look through the clutter and you will see some very sound and well thought out engineering,the attention to detail is good,I was reminded how the Aires Vane Gear self steering is attatched to a
boat (not this one) ,it uses pins with rings on them,very similar to whats seen in this picture,its simple but well made.

Как я уже говорил, присмотритесь повнимательнее и вы увидите хорошо продуманные и очень продвинутые технические решения, включая мелкие детали. Напомню как управляющая система расположена и закреплена на судне Aires Vane Gear (не на этом), используются штифты и кольца, очень похожее можно видеть на фотографии. Это просто, но надёжно сделано

The Lee Board is lashed with rope,very much in a fashion seen on some Wharram type cats,rudders can be hinged this way,they can also be repaired while still at sea.

Шверт приделан верёвкой, очень похоже как на катамаранах типа Wharram, руль также приделан в этом стиле. Они могут ремонтироваться прямо в море.

This is a well prepared expedition,the equipment is quality and well marked.

Это прекрасно подготовленная экспедиция, оборудование качественное и хорошо подготовлено.

Sound engineering abounds,its taken a pounding but not broken as yet,the fact that the hulls flex will have something to do with this?

Конструкция повреждена, есть элементы ремонта и усиления, но она ещё не сломана. Очевидно, что гибкие возможности корпусов позволяют избегать разрушения.

Happy Christmas,has this tree been there all the way since Durban!

note the lashings.

Счастливого рождества – эта ёлка путешествует на тримаране ещё с Дурбана (прим. Джека  - с Маврикия).

Flexible tie downs,the secret of this design? I can see this boat building idea being used to make much larger craft for rescue purposes,such craft will be good load carriers and with a pair of outboards at the back,flooded areas can be safely serviced and the demountable boats flown in by plane or helicopter.I look forwards to seeing further developments of the idea.Its principal parts and ideas can be made smaller or larger,the entire boat when unloaded will weigh very little.
Гибкие связи – секрет этой конструкции? Как я могу предположить, технологические идеи этого судна могут быть использованы при строительстве большего судна для спасательных целей. Такое судно может нести груз и с парой дополнительных трапов на корме, затопленные территории могут безопасно обслуживаться, и в разобранном виде перевозиться самолётом или вертолётом. Я смотрю на дальнейшее развитие идеи. Принципиальные части и идеи могут быть меньше или больше, целиком лодка без груза будет весить очень немного.





Well done and Bon Voyage!

Roy McBride
Hout Bay
South Africa


Прекрасно сделано. Удачного путешествия!


The Water Rat

aka Chris Sutton

Разослано Водяной крысой – Крис Саттон

News Item:

Our HBYC marina manager,Alan Batley tells me the next leg it to Namibia,it is from there the crew intened  setting a distance record,I suspect they have already set some records,rounding Agulas and Cape Point in a sailing inflateable being just one.

From Namibia they sail none stop to Brasil,water is the issue,they need 300ltrs (only?) but where to stow it? I have suggested flexible water tanks and made upin pairs to straddle the center hull in canvas saddle bags,its an easy fix and can be used simply,500 ltrs will be no strain I think?

All men are equal

At the RCYC Andries and Notty meet for the first time,I made the introduction and noted a slight difference in size.Some it seems are more equal than others?

This blog is a work thing,part of the way I advertise what we have done and can do again but its also about people,many who are friends and many friends are customers too,both Andries and Notty being past buyers of some product or other.

How to stow a Bruce pattern anchor

The original Bruce was forged and I have only ever seen one that bent,they are very strong and I have never had mine drag,even when others anchored close by,with other anchor brands and one  with a tandem anchor set up,was dragging in the Cabedello river in Brasil.Stowage of a spare Bruce can be quite a problem but this is as neat as I have ever seen.

Left click for more detail.

Beware of copies,the original Bruce is no longer in production in sizes suitable for yachts,there are a good many being sold now but just in cast Iorn, (some I saw in Brasil were not even galvanized) which will not be as strong as a genuine forged Bruce,if the real thing costs more be prepared to pay,its worth it!

The Hillman Imp as a work of art

Using a group of Hillman Imp parts to press a pair of BS1088 Ockume marine ply self steering  rudder blades flat,I cant help but notice the quality of engineering and metal  that the Rootes Car Company put into their cars around 1964,surely and art form?

Left click for a larger size view,these parts are ex a 1967 car,some of which will go onto the race car we are preparing.

The Sonnet dinghy kit

This was started a few months back but needs a buyer to proceed past where we are right now. We had a visit from Bill yesterday and he may just be our man,Bill is a member of a dinghy club that has an active Sonnet class race fleet and it sounds as if they want to expand the fleet. So  we may be asked to produce the kits,which will make it a very easy one design to control,as all kits from CKD Boats cc will of course be exactly the same.

Sonnet


The Sonnet, of which more than 500 have been built in South Africa. The Sonnet was based on the stunning success of the very popular 12-foot Dabchick, a junior trainer that is fleet of foot, yet stable and great fun to sail. That class numbers more than 5,000, and it is still very active; every well-known South African sailor learned to sail and race on a Dabchick. The Sonnet was also derived from the 15-foot Tempo, aimed at the more expert sailor with trapeze and spinnaker.

The Sonnet is also an ideal boat for junior sailing

So we have progress,more than I had thought really, as Bill has the class rules and will try and tie up any loose ends in the transition from our original paper plans drawn by Jack Koper all those years back,then before we even cut the first boat, we will have agreeemnt with the Sonnet Association that our boat kit is correct and they will accept it. From Bills own build we will then have a set of  'How To' assembly pictures and a basic guide on building the Sonnet.

This shapely little rocket would make an excellent family winter project, not to mention a wonderful family dinghy. A dinghy with a history and horsepower that you can build yourself.

Specs:

LOA 14'6" Sail Area 122 sq. ft. (main and jib)
Beam 4'6" Weight 188 lbs.

Info and pictures taken from the Imperial Yacht Club site here in Cape Town,my thanks to them.

Roy

Phone and fax on 021 790-3859
Hout Bay

Wheel offsets,Imp to Mini,will they fit? (yes and no)

Thats a term heard many a time and we all think we know what an Offset is,or do we?

I am trying to find out if a certain SA vendor of Supalite alloy wheels has a set that will fit the Hillman Imp race car we are about to assemble,they have 13" diameter x 6"wide which are suitable for a Mini  (old type) we asked will they fit our Imp? such is their power of service,we got no reply,so I set out to find out for myself.

A friend of mine,his name is Charles, is restoring a 1275 Mini,I asked would he bring a wheel so we could see if the wheel studs would line up and fit,we doknow that both the Imp and the Mini use a PCD of 4",which is 101.6mm,Charles came around and checked, and found that while the stud centers line up,the hole sizes on the Mini are smaller,so Mini wheels are not a straight fit,plus the center hole on the wheel may not suit the bearing hub either?

But what about the offset?

More on this just now,its tea time!

Back to the blog stuff, it seems that a 12"Imp wheel will fit a Mini,I assume with a low profile tire,which will not be easy to find,its much better with a 13" wheel though,the selection is far greater. This issue with a wheels offset is all about how far in or out the wheel goes,many modern cars see most of the wheel rims width is on the inside,just check a rim out on say a Ford Bantam,the wheel looks flat sided,as most of the tire sits inside and over the wheel hub,this widens the suspension and makes the track wider too.

The offset of a vehicle's wheel is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and the plane of the hub-mounting surface of the wheel. It can thus be either positive or negative, and is typically measured in millimeters. Offset has a significant effect on many elements of a vehicle's suspension, including suspension geometry, clearance between the tire and suspension elements, the scrub radius of the steering system, and visually, the width of the wheel faces relative to the car's bodywork.

Offset (ET): Distance in mm from center (C) of rim to mounting plane (M)

In simple terms we measure from the back inner face of the rims hub,to the rims center line this gives us the offset and is an important dimension when choosing a none standard rim for a car,if the offset takes the rim too far in,its liable to foul up either on the cars body or suspension when turning.

Zero Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel.

Positive Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is shifted from the centerline toward the front or outside of the wheel. Positive offset wheels are generally found on front wheel drive cars and newer rear drive cars.

Negative Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheel's centerline.

"Deep dish" wheels typically have negative offset or a very low positive offset.

To maintain handling characteristics and avoid undue loads on bushings and ball joints, the car manufacturer's original offset should be maintained when choosing new wheels unless there are overriding clearance issues.

Wheels are usually stamped with their offset using the German prefix "ET", meaning "Einpresstiefe" or, literally, "press depth". An example would be "ET45" for a 45mm offset.

When considering new wheels, offset can make or break a decision. Using a rim with less offset can cause the tire/rim to rub the outer fender and using a rim with more offset can cause the tire/rim to rub the inner fender or even suspension components. As an example, consider the image to the left.

In the example, the factory rim utilizes a +45mm offset (the hub is +45mm from the center of the wheel) and the rim is centered within the wheel well.

Should new rims with a +30mm offset be utilized (the hub is +30mm from the center of the wheel), the edge of the rim is shifted further outbound by 15mm and closer to the fender lip. In some situations, this could cause the tire to rub the fender lip and in extreme cases can cause damage to the tire or fender itself.When utilizing a lowered suspension, there may be a greater chance of this issue.

Thought for the day,check before you buy!

Roy

Calm sailing in Hout Bay

Just to proove its not always blowing a gale on our local waters,here is a picture of our last boat Ocean Cloud spreading her wings in light airs.

Seen from above the Endurance 37 Ocean Cloud shows off her North Sails 'Leach Cut' head sail,made for me by the local loft and the first ever such cut sail made in Cape Town.

Lyle Hess designed 34 GRP hull and deck for sale

This is actually a lot more than just a hull and deck unit,the interior has been fitted but still needs finishing and trims,the Yanmar 40hp engine is fitted, there is a propshaft, Aquadrive and propeller, bronze cowl vents, bronze deck chain winch, the rudder is dry hung,plus of course all the really nice teak has been proffesionaly laid and fitted.

As is, the boat is ready to ship country or  world wide right now, the price is its actual cost to the owner at U$95,000.

CKD Boats cc are working as the owners agents and can arrange making of a road or shipping trailer in steel,plus the shipping to your destination.

Contact me for the full details and inventory. Cape Town 021 790-3859 or by email roy@ckdboats (dot) co.za

Superform for spiral staircases

A lamination of a number of layers of Superform plywood makes and easy base to build a spiral or curved staircase on,can you think of any easier method?

Superform bending plywood in Shop and Office fitting

Always the ply of choice when making counters and columns with curves,Superform is both light and while flexible in one direction,its  stiff in the other  and can often be used with very little support behind it once finished,a cover with our flexible veneer sheeting is all thats needed to finish it off.
Counters with curves are easy to fabricate,leaving the designer a much larger free hand to think up new ideas and shapes.

A counter such as this is simply no problem to make with Superform bending plys Contact me for stock and pricing at 021 790-3859 Cape Town.

Superform bending plywoods on yachts

Once you have made the substructure from Superform Bending Plywoods,the finish can be made with Flexible Veneer sheet that we also import.One of the top yacht building yards in South Africa won Boat of The Show using our Cherry Flexible Veneers recently,this was against some major other yards.

We have been the main importer of bending plywoods into South Africa for many years now,about twenty I should think,the original idea was for yachts and boat moulds but of course it has many uses in general  office and shopfitting,even concrete shutters as its water proof,we can also have it Tanalith treated for architectural uses.

We have retailers in the Western Cape but can also off trade prices on pack lots

with thicknesses of 3mm,5mm and 8mm,plus grain directions in either long or short,this gives a lot of selection for most jobs.

The next container load is on order contact me for information on whats left unsold and pricing,Cape Town 021 790-3859

Roy

High flying with a Hillman Imp

This great shot of a 1967 Hillman Imp with a sports motor was taken by my good friend Eric Wells who also owns the car,which he bought off me one christmas day a few years bck.