Helsal 1 - Adams - Concrete Racing Yacht Plan Sourcing

Angelique,

Thank you for your help.

As far as I know even 80 grade widely available cement is nearly two times more stronger than the 40 years old cement. There are thousands of high rise buildings , bridges , roads , dams worldwide and engineers always wanted stronger concrete. Concrete chemistry is extremelly complex but new interigendts are smaller size and the additive chemicals are wider available.

I think 6 things made concrete better today.

- Additive chemicals , improved chemistry , smaller size agrega ,nano powders , steel fibers and better cement.

Look for high strenght concrete and reactive concrete.

You have to keep water in concrete least and add plasticizer. Portland comes in 2 ways , high strenght portland and sea water resistant .

Strenght of portland is put by a number on the bag and you have to order with that number. I think must be 80 or higher.

Steel fibers are miracle , I am thinking to add % 15 or more or may be faraway more steel fibers inside of concrete and not use any other steel rod.

Reactive concrete is out of reach to me but its very very very very strong. And aluminum oxide nanopowder added concrete. I will do everything to improve strenght.

I found a blog post at internet from australian yachting writer on Orca but no response yet. If you know someone else , please contact with him.

 

It took a while before Andrew's name dropped back into my mind, it happened during dinner, so here as promised, but not 100% sure though if she was the first one built to the design . . .

The "mini Helsal" 51' ferrocement cutter Orca designed by Joe Adams was built by Andrew and Vicky Bray, together with their friend Max Riseley, in Waverton Sydney Australia, the launch of the bare hull was in 1971.

Andrew Bray - aka: Andrew "Aussie" Bray - aka: "Aussie" Bray ---> Sailing ---> Our Yachts

‘‘ Much of my adult life has revolved around building and using cruising yachts. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows something about the subsequent cruising or ownership history of the boats I was involved in building.

↓ ORCA / FLYING CLOUD - 51' ferrocement cutter - canoe stern - aft cockpit ↓

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My first boat building project was a joint effort with my university friend Max Riseley. The lines were drawn as a "mini-Helsal" by Jo Adams, who had just had a great success with his design of the ferrocement yacht Helsal, winning line honours in the Sydney Hobart Race. Working part time we constructed the hull and deck in a disused coke bin at the North Shore Gas company premises in Waverton, Sydney. Ours was the first yacht built there, although many other boats (mostly amateur) followed, until the facilities were demolished and replaced with apartments. My then girlfriend and later wife, Vicky, also participated in this project. After launching by the "Falcon" floating crane in 1971 (unrigged and virtually empty) , we lived on board, even fitting the engine, propeller shaft, and rudder while afloat. Max and I sold Orca still unrigged and with minimal fit-out, and parted on amicable terms to build separate yachts. Orca passed through several hands and next came to our notice as "Flying Cloud" after being seized for smuggling wildlife into New Zealand (1976?). She was was auctioned by Australian Customs, and quite a bit later, fitted with a doghouse. She has passed through several hands, but as far as I'm aware has remained a Sydney boat, usually moored in Pittwater.

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Launching Orca by floating crane 1971 (left) and about a decade later when renamed Flying Cloud.

The photo below (provided by Jeff Jvancich - thanks!) shows her with the added doghouse, while undergoing a refit in 2006.

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< added note: I've reluctantly quoted pic #4 with the later added doghouse, as I think it destroys her beautiful appearance, but eventually did it anyway, because it provides a good look on her nice hull, and when you're inside in bad weather it's nice to have at least a doghouse on a 51' boat. >

↓ HONEYWIND - 52' ferrocement cutter - counter stern - centre cockpit ↓

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Honeywind's lines are similar to Orca, but we had Jo Adams redraw the keel profile and the stern, and did the sailplan ourselves. Unusual features were a sealed spiral welded steel mast, and a furling system for the light genoa in which the whole stay rotated. Vicky and I built her in our spare time (weekends, holidays, and nights) between 1974 and 77, at "Jerusalem Park" - a small egg and pig farm at Oxford Falls, belonging to a lovely couple, George and Grace Sutherland. The farm is now a private school. The boat was launched fully fitted out, and 1978 we cruised her through New Caledonia, New Hebrides (as Vanuatu then was), the Solomons, and to Cairns via the Louisiades (Islands in the East of Papua New Guinea) and hence back to Sydney. We were married on board in Middle Harbour in 1979, and sold Honeywind in 1980 to provide capital for a home. The first new owner was Arthur Nomminson, who cruised her through the New Hebrides, and probably other places before eventually selling her sometime after 1988 (we went on board when she visited Sydney during the Australian bicentennial). She has probably passed through several hands since, and we noticed her berthed at Mooloolabah in 1989. Last heard she was based at Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach, where she had suffered localised hull damage during a Whitsunday fun race. . . . . . . . ’’

 

Oops... I've missed the above post while having dinner and writing my previous post, which info turns out to be known by you already.

Anyway, now some of Joe Adams' Orca pics are here on the thread too, for those who didn't know her yet, and for later reference.

 

Hi Umut, thanks for the newer types of cement and concrete info !

The next is not important at all, and was perfectly understandable in the used context, but my guess is that ‘‘agrega’’ could be Turkish for the English word ‘‘aggregate (composite)’’ / ‘‘aggregate (construction)’’

P.S. - To have the right word might be helpful when searching for new developments plus specs and other info, which might be mostly available in English, I believe.

 

****, forgot to reply to this one!

Kind of, and it depends somewhat on the type. The first type I'll allude to is Ultra High Performance Concrete, which uses steel fibers, silica fume and superplasticizer combined with a much more controlled curing environment (high temperature, pressure and humidity). Crazy strong stuff. The second is using poly vinyl alcohol fibers, which react with the cement in such a way to give it much greater ductility

As for other reinforcement: fiberglass and basalt mesh and rods have both become more commonly used, especially in marine environments.

Otherwise, various pozzolons (e.g. silica fume) can greatly reduce the permeability of the concrete, to the point where no plaster is needed (as far as covering the outside of the concrete).

Other admixtures include:
high range water reducer (reduces the amount of water needed by the mix)
superplasticizer (improves the workability of the mix)
liquid polymer additives (improves crack resistance, reduces water penetration)

For aggregates:
lightweight aggregates (lower weight concrete, although in many cases is a tradeoff with strength). The most interesting of these to me are the microspheres (literally tiny glass spheres that are a byproduct of glass production) and expanded glass spheres. (produced similarly, IIRC). A lot of weight reduction without a lot of reduction in compressive strength (and perhaps more importantly, tensile strength).