human powered boat for Atlantic crossing

Hi:

I have put together a new web page for the ocean crossing:

http://www.adventuresofgreg.com

The link to the human powered boat is:

http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html

I will be adding blog updates to that site occasionally. If you are interested in following my progress, I would invite you to sign up to receive my email blog update notifications. It's a private email list, and your name and email is secure. Enter your email address on this page:

http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/hpv.html

The actual boat design is still in it's infancy. I welcome any comments, suggestions or questions.

Best regards,
Greg Kolodziejzyk

 

I suggest you change your hatch design and use a Bowmar type aluminum hatch, not a sliding hatch. There are too many opportunities for problems to occur with a large sliding hatch. Make sure you have a place to securely sit with handholds outside of the boat as well.

 

I agree.

 

Just a few thoughts:

What is the reason that the prop is so low? Is the length of the keel and depth of keel ballast needed for stability?

A longer cockpit/cabin house would help reduce inverted stability and add some comfort when off watch.

The fore and aft balance of the boat will be changed when the pilot moves from pedaling position to the sleeping position. Have you worked out the location of stores to make sure the boat is balanced optimally when in the pedalling position? I assume when the boat is balanced in this way, when the pilot moves to the sleeping position, the boat will weathercock with the sleeping end into the wind. Is that taken into account in the design?

 

>> What is the reason that the prop is so low? Is the length of the keel and depth of keel ballast needed for stability?

We are working on some calculation now regarding the weight, size and depth of the keel - the model does not represent the exact placement of the prop.

>> A longer cockpit/cabin house would help reduce inverted stability and add some comfort when off watch.

Yes, we talked about moving the hatch as far forward as possible - in fact, probably to follow the reclined angle of the seat. I'm not sure if you are suggesting that the boat be longer than 24' ??

>> The fore and aft balance of the boat will be changed

No - we have not worked out any balance issues yet - this is still pretty preliminary.

I am building a slightly scaled down 'test boat' based on a kayak hull. I'll put a drive leg in with ballast, a top and a canopy top for it and do some testing. This should help with the final design of Concept 1. I wish there was some software available that would help determine some of those weight and balance issues - as well as weight and position of the ballast to offset being able to stand up and possibly walk on the deck.

Thanks for the comments!

gk

 

You should talk to Jim Antrim re your design.

 

that's one friggin awesome looking boat!