Shipbuilding

[BATAAN]

BERTIE goes to windward as well as she ever will sailing on her hull. The keel is deeper that SPRAY's original centerboarder lines and when she heels the upright flat topsides add greatly to the waterplane effect. Her leeway, as a difference between where she points and where she winds up, is about 8 degrees when on the wind, and I really doubt that leeboards would make any difference in that at all, would be unusable in rough water, and just generally a waste to time.
When we are serious about getting somewhere far to windward, we motor sail with the controllable pitch prop set to just the proper place and the engine at half load with the mainsail set only, strapped in well and the vang on it. I've come up the coast from SF to WA 4 times like this against the constant NW wind.
Under this combo she goes to windward very well, there is nothing to flap or flog or wear out since the Chinese main is always flat, and the 1000 square feet of sail adds a great deal to covering a lot of ground quickly. We are not out there to sail, but to get somewhere. Sailing is fine, but it's good to get where you are going and not get caught by any weather. Let the wind get back to just forward of the beam and be in any strength above force 4-5 and we are faster under sail.

[BATAAN]

Steel version suggestions...
Leave the deck low and where it is. Avoid the temptation to make it all big cabin, with pilot houses, davits, antenna farms and more as this will destroy the good sailing qualities, turn it into a slug, and all will say "Yeah, I told you so. Too slow and unresponsive." A boat will never make a good apartment, and trying to do so makes it a poor boat. BERTIE still has no pilot house, davits, dodger, cockpit, wheel steering, shower, refrigeration other than a portable icebox, or running hot water.
I don't have to maintain or repair what I don't have.
I do have radar, modern gps chart plotter with electronic charts and picture depth sounder, self-tailing winches, strong hard dinghy with an outboard and braided rope for most everything.
The secret is don't get too far away from the original work boat proportions of rig area, freeboard, windage and all the other factors in making a good design work the way it was intended.
Very fair underwater lines, with no aperture or large prop help a great deal. BERTIE is not a SPRAY replica like JOSHUA shown here, but has a bit different stern and other minor details. Here are SPRAY's lines which formed the basis for my design, and a few things about SPRAY.

[BATAAN]

If anyone wants the full tour and maybe a day sail, come to the boat show.

[ironmatar]

i like the boat a lot as she is really i was just curious u built her and sailed her this long.
i appreceate uncomplicated. i had thoughts of 5-6" channel or I beam ribs and 3/16" a-36 plate cut http://www.irvansmith.com/scart/beve...m_term=BEV-B-3 and rivited on and edge welded like the USCG Eagle,paint on thick coat of pure portland cement inside and out as corrosion protection,paint it, skin the inside w cedar or fir.

and there are some decent things avalible now that were not when u built bertie concerning water and heat and things there is a nice one in all unit that does power/batterycharge/hot water,hydronic heat ..in not a very large package at all
without changing the boat
im

[BATAAN]

Steel vessels built the old way used angle bar for frames, often bulb angle. A steel BERTIE would do best with longitudinal frames and near-vertical strips of welded steel skin and no rivets. She is the most difficult planking job I ever did and steel would be more so.
One of the reasons for no domestic machinery is lack of space and unwillingness to deal with complexity, not lack of availability of appropriate or desirable gadgets. There is no free lunch and anything is paid for in initial cost, installation cost, maintenance cost and future hassles cost. BERTIE is not an apartment and no amount of machinery will make her so. There is no room for a shower and it would rot the boat anyway. Hot water for dishes comes from a big teakettle on the stove and the engine charges the batteries with help from the solar panels while the diesel heater keeps us toasty when needed.
If installing a does-all unit, it still needs fuel, exhaust, room and multiple hook-ups, and one of the reasons I personally go sailing is to get simple, not keep my status as mechanic and fix-it guy.
A floating condo can easily be built and equipped but will cost much more than something simple like BERTIE, and would take the hassles of modern technological life right along with you to the simplicity of the sea.

[Tad]

Joshua left here yesterday heading south......She was here for a week having some bulwark and house paint stripped and redone by my oldest son.....Ready for the show circuit (Victoria and PT) again.....

[BATAAN]

JOSHUA's owner and captain, a VN war amputee, amazes me with his long time careful maintenance, joyful ownership and use of this nice boat.

[BATAAN]

Here's the EQUATOR and she's well along on her repair. Launch is 10 days away. Purpleheart covering boards go on soon, then the aluminum bulwarks will be re-installed.

[BATAAN]

Ah, shipbuilding. Lead shipwright on EQUATOR offered me a job yesterday as a caulker so I am polishing old, long unused skills, getting the rust off my irons and pounding cotton and oakum to lighten my present poverty. If anyone has questions on caulking, I'm in the mode.

[hoytedow]

You'll have the devil to pay, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

[BATAAN]

Yes, tomorrow we start cementing seams. Heavy planking often uses plain Portland cement as paying over the oakum. The boss may make me use "bear ****" which is cement and roof patch asphaltum mixed and I hate it.