Boxy Fisher Catamaran

For the wind direction I'm using two linear hall sensors and a diametrally magnetized magnet. The linear sensors are placed at 90 degree from one another to give a 90 degree phase shift in output amplitudes. The micro can then work out what the direction is. The advantage is no mechanical parts except for the bearings.

For the wind speed I'll use the same but with only one linear sensor, just count the waves. Since the signal goes from low to high and low again in one rotation I can use equal the amplitude up to about 800 counts per rev of 'clock' pulses to make it more accurate for slow wind speeds.

 

Whats up brother

my building is soooo slow at the moment
January is just plain lousy - to get back to work

and the rain and rain and rain is driving me nuts
cant walk outside just mud
damn

 

Hello Manie,

Same problem here, I'm so bored I work on my own nerves

I'm still waiting for my stuff to get done. This waiting is getting to me

 

I just came back from an "inspection tour" at Fanie's

what you guys must understand that when somebody does "boat" things around me i go and pester them from time to time
and offer buckets of useless advice
but i usually dont get thrown out
anyway Fanie's stuff is looking great and he has got zillions of things done already
i can spell electronic but that is actually how far my knowledge goes

the stuff he is working on, sure as hell is very interesting, watch this space
and keep in mind that his business is manufacturing electronic computerised "stuff"
his machine to make the hulls, is sure as god made little green apples, coming along just fine

anyway Fanie here are a couple of pics of the Beneteau 35 that is sailed now
btw it is the same boat that i sailed April last year, i dont have a water proof camera so unfortunately no pics underway

go man go

 

Hi Manie,

Ok, out with it, what are you after Good grief but you can exaggerate eh.

I have to ask, that 3rd pic, is it the mayo and the the potato salad you have there

I must say that Manie was so excited about his sailing experiences, the storm... and the waves... good grief it was close or I was going myself too !!!

Anyway Manie has now achieved his super duper upper high level sky high masters sailer something... If it was medals his boat is not going to stay afloat.

Well done Manie ! Pity the younger guys aren't also doing it eh ! Soufricans does it. Exceptional people, and I must say I'm glad I've met the likes of you Manie. An inspiration to me.


As Manie said he slept on the boat - and it is my opinion that if one hears the sound of rain
drops on the deck and the hulls while on the water it will add 5 years or more to your life.

There is just that something about it.

 

Mooi so, Manie!
Glad to see the Grey and Ancient Mariner is still teaching on "my" boat! Did you attend Greybeard's Academy or do you sail Nina privately? I have very fond memories of her and the people I sailed with.

 

Splash Gordon yes, I am a proud product of the "Offshore Sailng Academy" and yes ole Greybeard's is still going strong at 74?
Still as fiesty and "spirited" as ever and Libby is still a perfect lady!
The academy is really doing well and i, like you will always have very fond memories of my time with them
I dont know if you ever came across their personal picture album in the tea room. Well i did and i was blown away. Its a wonderfull story of a Durban couple that built a Morgan 32 in the 70's and then did a couple of laps for a couple of years. He was around 37? at the time. Remarkable is that they built the boat in less than a year, the hull was laid up by pro's and them they did the finishing. It gave me new respect for The Man. Very experienced sailor and a very dedicated and hard working person. For me it was an honour to be schooled by an expert.

I will still sail with them for time to time to do mileage trips, for fun, and in my next life or when i retire i will go and join then as an instructor (that's of course if he will have me - i am methodical BUT slow)

anyway i will see you next year 2011 because i am going to sail the micro around the Cape of Storms

 

I've been hugely frustrated the last few weeks. Things are going too slow, mostly work interfering with the boating stuff...

Our building plans was finally approved - after about four years of various things happening and changes to it and neighbours (philamon) who refused to sign anything that is for whites and it cost an arm and a leg as well.

The boat's beams was prepared (finally) so the pins can be glassed in, I'll probably start to do this tomorrow night after threatening one of my friends and played his emotions a bit to get him to come and help .

The CNC laser machine's X and Y axle's are working again (Manie ) I've got to make a little Z-axle thing so we can draw the profiles.

The LED boat light PCB's are in for production. A friend on another forum suggested a circuit I forgot about so I redone the whole friggin thing. There will be almost zero emissions from it, current is limited to 230mA for the 3 x 1W LED's for each board. The boards can be cascaded so that one control can dim more than one LED light board.

The auto steering motor's driver board prototype is assembled and I'm playing with it currently. It works impressively well but I have to build a setup to hammer the motor for max torque and max current to see if it will stand up to bad weather abuse.

The steering position will have active position feedback, I figgered a way to make it work sensibly. It's just a bit more expensive that I would have liked.
I haven't had time to populate the board and test it.

The liquid level boards have been received, but they are difficult to assemble, so I'll redesign them. The prototypes are good for playing with though.

The GPS, compass, barometer, temperature, wind speed, wind direction combination proto board is also here, did not have time to play with it yet. This board will do the direction control from the GPS or the compass chip for the direction steering. The GPS will also indicate speed on the LCD display.

The compass module will indicate direction when you're not moving, the barometer is for indicating weather trends, so when the reading drops you get the life jackets and rain coats out and put some hot soup on.

The wind speed and wind direction boards that have the pick up sensors have been done as well, I need to do the software for it now.

I'm still awaiting the quote for the jig that will make the hulls. It's almost two weeks just for this. It does however seem that I will get it at a much better price than the previous guys quoted me.

I've modified the roto jig's drive system a bit to accomodate various jigs that can be used for various parts, hulls and masts.

Manie I spoke to Heinrich, he was in trafic so couldn't talk and when I called him back later he didn't answer. Probably avoiding me
I actually forgot, I have the formulas for different shapes to calculate their strengths. Got it from Heinrich as well...

The Hermie (Hermle) milling machine I haven't had time to finish reconditioning yet. This is the machine I will use to cut the racks and gears for the auto steerings. The machine I cut the racks and gears with before is a bit light in the pants ? for this kind of thing.

Oh yes, one last thing. I'll use a standard PC joystick to do the steering. They have all the functionality and buttons already built in. Lightweight, and I can sit anywhere on the boat and steer, you're not limited to the cockpit or cabin either.

 

I've glassed the center pins in place. It almost turned out disastrous. I have just finished when in less than 5 minutes a gale picked up and it started to rain. It was really close or I didn't get the beams inside.

Pic 1 the beams propped up agains a makeshift lean-to.

Pic2 23 layers of glass on the inside

Pic3 34 layers of glass on the outside

Pic4 one of the pins as seen from the side

The white you see all over is peel ply.

 

Getting the alignment right must have been a *****.

 

Not really...

 

Very interestng Fanie. I look forward to watching the whole boat come together gradually. Have you made a guess as to how long the build will take? I know it's impossible to be sure with things like this.

 

Hi Richard,

There are so many things happening it's a bit overwhelming.

If you want to know about the hulls, they are due for the making in the next few months. I don't have the space here on the moment, but I'm looking at teaming up with a friend of mine.

The sooner the better. I need to get on the water. We were going to go fishing last Sa but now suddenly these bunch of f samsa are so buzy no one could survey a boat. Gawd I'm sick of the crap in this cuntry

Sorry about that. There are a lot of activities you cannot see any progress on the moment. It's a bit frustrating because you don't see stuff coming together but there is progress.

Thanks for checking in.

Haven't heard from you in a while.. how are you ?

 

I'm fine thanks Fanie. I'm currently trying to sell my music and ideas to one of several animation companies. It's a 20 min soundtrack for a spooky children's movie (with adult humour). The characters are all computer generated. If I don't get any interest in a couple of months I will release the music on the internet and downscale the production to a music video and see how it goes from there.
I've decided to stay put in New Zealand for a bit longer until the US economy bottoms out. My catamaran ideas evolved into a monohull design which is complete but I've put that on hold too...pretty busy at the moment. Just having fun watching you and Mas making progress on your boats. Looks like Mas will be sailing in the near future! I hope it all goes well for both of you. I'm sure Mas will be full of beans when he takes his boat out for it's first test run.

 

The economy is a bstrd every where on the moment, even worse here because the R is worth so much less. The corruption and abuse here is a huge joke, you cannot believe what philamon and friends do.

Just because the economy is up to doesn't mean you (and I) have to be up to as well This is the time for us to put the pedal to the medal and take things a bit beyond.

You say you went to a mono ? Why? You were going to sail the whole place over with your friends. For me the biggest drawback of a mono is it's limited space and I like the stability a cat has. I may not finish this cat as I initially planned, there are a lot of developments.

If you can get someone to make you two hulls you're half way there, 8 or 9m or so. Then you need two beams to keep them apart. Just see how easy Warram's beams ties to his hulls. You will need all the other groceries. mast, rudders etc, but you also have the option to just put two small outboards on it. Displacement hulls do well with small motors, and they're ok on fuel.

Did you see the little tri I built and played with ? The aft mast with the single main sail works very well. Now if you put two shorter stand alone masts on a cat, one on each hull, you still have a relative large sail area, but sails that handle easy.

Don't give up. You live only once so go and start on your rig. Every little thing you do or get brings you one little step closer. If you have money, you get a few things, if you don't have money you spend time designing and refining. I have boxes full of things standing around here. It just means it's less I have to get later on.

Start a new thread and work on it there.

You say Mas is full of beans The English expression is 'stiff upper lip'. Yes I guess he won't talk to us low life's for a while But it will wear off, we can't follow him out there and when he gets lonely again he'll return and be our friend again Man doesn't drink alone.