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Since Heather has let us all down so badly, and the prospect of a long, cold winter faces all of us armchair sailors living vicariously through others, , I submit for your approval or denigration the strange voyage of Mr. David Vann...about to commence in ....the Tin-can Zone.....
No word yet on how his mommy feels about the voyage....but rumour has it that he DID buy her flowers on mothers day so obviously he is merely acting out her long repressed sea-dream she once had while opening a can of Sacremento Tomato Juice!
Either way, my thoughts and heart are with those who may have to risk their lives to rescue him after someone calls the Coast Guard of some maritime nation after they haven't heard from him in a week or two.
If it's a risk he and his family are willing to see him take, then I hope he makes it. But I don't see how those three hulls are going to stay together on what seems like a really aggressive schedule.
If he makes it, great. If he doesn't, then I'd prefer there be only one casualty and no more.
No word yet on how his mommy feels about the voyage....but rumour has it that he DID buy her flowers on mothers day so obviously he is merely acting out her long repressed sea-dream she once had while opening a can of Sacremento Tomato Juice!
By building a boat out of the cans? (disclaimer: SAID IN JEST)
Actually I bet it's fast and I hope it goes far.
Well at least he has crossed the ocean before...(apparently from his blog or some bio I read)....but I thought that the whole purpose of owning a cat or trihull is that you get more room ...
From the looks of it - it almost appears his mast has more room inside of it than does the main hull....
Since it looks like he going to try sailing an I-beam I don't think the CG will have to look far. He's likely to be sitting on the bottom at the end of the launch ramp!
The two things I see wrong with this... is he wants to build a 50' x 30 trimaran for $25,000, and one of his heroes is Ken Barnes... and yes, he does know how Ken Barnes's most recent voyage ended.
I know how expensive boats are to work on and to refit and build... and I just don't see him making a seaworthy vessel capable of handling the Southern Ocean for $25,000.
The fact that David Vann says:
Ken [Barnes] was well prepared and knowledgeable, and he had the proper equipment aboard to survive the conditions.
Looking at the images of the boat design and the actual photos of the boat, I don't think the boat is going to be able to withstand the kinds of stresses it is going to be encountering.
I mostly avoided the other thread, because I had no doubts that the Flicka was capable of the voyage, which afterall was the original question. But this one is irresistible.
I did not read the blog, just glanced at the photos. Here are my predictions, all of which I hope are wrong:
-The vaka is too fine with insufficient buoyancy, and will submarine; also, it does not seem to have a very hydrodynamic-shaped bottom
- The akas are too flimsy, and will not withstand the torsion loads places on them by the amas; they will either collapse or the weld/bolt points will fail where they attach to the amas
- The amas MIGHT have been adequate if not for the shortcomings mentioned above, but in this case will be sorely taxed by the inadequacies of the over-all design
- The first adverse weather event will leave this "vessel" in pieces.
I wish he would seek the opinion of a few naval architects and reconsider the proposed route. His family should urge him to play around with it in local coastal waters for a while, as sea trials.
I also hope there is a watertight compartment in the main hull and an escape hatch on the bottom of it.
Umm.... JRP, he did speak to a few naval architects IIRC.... and most walked away from the project.
He's also filled the amas and most of the vaka (main hull for you monohullers) with foam supposedly. The foam struck me as a really bad idea, since most foam isn't waterproof, and if the foam starts to absorb water... the buoyancy of the boat is going to drop rapidly, with little way of fixing it. If the amas were empty, they could at least be monitored for water leakage and then pumped out—as they are on my boat... but with foam in the amas and vaka—there will be little if any warning.
The akas (crossbeams for monohullers) would have been much stronger and better designed if they weren't crossed. That would give them much more strength against torsional loads at least... since the torque lever arm on the amas wouldn't be so much greater than that the vaka can apply, due to the difference in distance between the akas.
Also, the akas and frame work of the boat is supposedly steel, and the skin of the amas and vaka are aluminum. Last I checked, welding the two was a difficult task with the proper equipment....and chancy at best otherwise... Why would they make and sell Triclad otherwise??? Galvanic corrosion is also an issue at the welds and between the metals.
Given the mass of the framework and skin of the boat, I don't think the boat will have enough buoyancy to really be safe in the Southern Ocean. Whether it has enough buoyancy to resist the forces cause by the sails is another question entirely.
I think I remember that between his hero and himself they have sunk 3 boats thus far.... maybe just two. One of the previous sinkings was a home built multi hull in the Carib, correct? Deja-stupid?
As far as natural selection goes, lets just say I've seen some really good candidates slip through the cracks unscathed.
Sail Dog Has a great point !
The braceing is mostly wrong for the forces it may incounter .
The weak point might be the rear contact of the main strut from pontoon to the main body .
Put the plastic Jesus on the dash and go for it !
Enough of this mindless cheerleading. When will you all stop encouraging this guy?? Please put away your pom-poms and warn him that he is on a dangerous mission in a poorly designed vessel and that he does NOT have to please mommy. What kind of mindless drones are you that you would encourage him with comparisons to Darwin and sailing-gods like Barnes and Stowe!!
This guy's great grandmother has been bickering back and forth with me via posts on another forum about how David only needs "soul" to make this wonderous voyage a reality.
I donated a dollar to his cause and only asked that he send me a case of rum from Cane Garden Bay in return. Hopefully he doesn't decide to take my money and "do the Europe-by-hostel-and-train thing".
This guy's great grandmother has been bickering back and forth with me via posts on another forum about how David only needs "soul" to make this wonderous voyage a reality.
I donated a dollar to his cause and only asked that he send me a case of rum from Cane Garden Bay in return. Hopefully he doesn't decide to take my money and "do the Europe-by-hostel-and-train thing".
The one whos "Architects" quit because they realised he was crafting a one way ticket the sea floor at the bottom of the boat ramp? Yep, thats the guy.
He said he really wants to travel the beautiful coast of Portugal and out sail every boat there in the most humiliating fashion.
Now look here,
This guy might be as nutty as a squirrel turd, but I really do have to give him props for giving it a shot.
His set is a heck of a lot bigger than mine, I'll give ya that.
I'm not going to bang on anybodys dream.
Same thing for Stowe and that little chicklet he's got with him.
Go nuts buddy, give it a go, If you make it, its a hip, hip hoo-ray, if you don't its an aw-*hite, and "when you gunna give it another try, eh? "
Now look here,
This guy might be as nutty as a squirrel turd, but I really do have to give him props for giving it a shot.
His set is a heck of a lot bigger than mine, I'll give ya that.
I'm not going to bang on anybodys dream.
Same thing for Stowe and that little chicklet he's got with him.
Go nuts buddy, give it a go, If you make it, its a hip, hip hoo-ray, if you don't its an aw-*hite, and "when you gunna give it another try, eh? "
You just like the fact Reid has a chicklet and if this whatever hulled guy manages to con a chick - you'd vote there too... I am with you - lesbians rock
I saw nothing in the previous posting of this voyage that gave me cause to find it well-founded. And there are some Flicka's around in his price range. (g)
I also find the moderator intrusion into this thread is producing a chilling effect on the free expression of sailnetters everywhere and I can only hope that rational input from outside sources of expertise will aid in putting a stop to it. HELP!!!!!!
Ever see that MythBusters where they lift a sunken ship with ping pong balls? I bet it would have put the Tin Man way over budget though, best go with 500 cans of Great Stuff.
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