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Hello everyone. I'm the new "caretaker" of Ariel-109. She's located on City Island up in the Bronx. I've got my work cut out getting her seaworthy again but lurking through your postings has been a big help and highly inspiring.
Thanks
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/100_0188.jpg
Welcome and congrats! I see you're a furniture maker. Do you have big plans for the "new" boat?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbd
Thanks for the welcome. Ariel 109 is in pretty original condition and most of her problems are deck repair, replacing the rotting cockpit coamings and missing rigging. But the list as you all know is endless. The big plan is just to go sailing. Although I've fallen in love with the Ariel's lines and would like it to be a nice looking boat.
She's complete down below, even has her original foam cushion covers. I've cleaned her inside and out of all the little things that accumulate in a boat over the years. How many half empty suntan lotion bottles and rusty cans of insect repellent can a boat hold? She came with a nice clean set of sails (made on City Island) including her spinnaker and a recent Johnson 8hp motor.
I'm going to start working on the deck this weekend and I'll try and post pictures.
Ben
I am a furniture maker. I've got a simple website here:
http://www.benbajorek.com/
Ben
welcome aboard, it sounds like she is in good hands.
cheers,
bill@ariel231 :)
Welcome Ariel 109, Very nice looking boat and it FLOATS!!! you're already ahead of the curve:)
Float she does. Her bilge would be bone dry if it wasn't for the deck leaks.
Well the first thing I'm going to attempt fixing on 109 are the obvious holes and weaknesses in her the deck. I ran out today and bought a gallon of West epoxy, the faster hardener and a filler. I'm going to send away for a sheet of some 3/8" end grain balsa core. I couldn't find anybody local selling the stuff. I guess I'll start fixing the two areas on the un-cored rear deck while I await the balsa.
The bow pulpit is missing from 109 so I'll be doing without one for now and the screw holes will all get filled.
Here are pictures of some of the problem areas.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1492.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1494.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1495.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1497.jpg
Since you're located in the Northeast, check on Bill's Periwinkle thread for a nice all weather cover which will allow you work under and resist collapse in snow conditions.
Jamestown distributors has the supplies you will need for repairs . I get my stuff from U S Fiberglass coatings in FL but you have to be a business with a tax number, if you are, their prices are better.
Good Luck , Also any question you have will be answered on this site by it's members. There is nothing you can do to these boats that probably has not been done already including making a mess of a repair:eek: That the members can not guide you out of;)
Carl
A109,
Looks like she must have had an altercation with a hurricane - no pulpit and all those tear-outs obviously by rope. Basic glass work in difficult access areas. That old polyester is really tough. Though sometimes in sheer you'll get short delaminations like with a chisel.
The first photo of the boat seems to show she isn't tired anywhere. Looks pumped up and tight. She really looks good!.
Hope there's not too much you have to do with the deck!
And if she did survive a blow it doesn't look like she hit anything.
Have fun.:D
Thanks again for all your encouragement and help. I really don't know any of the history of 109 apart from the belief she's been kept at City Island for many years. I think she's been a sufferer of benign neglect and underuse. Maybe floating unused on a mooring for many years like a lot of other boats around here. Or languishing ashore on a trailer, which I think was 109's situation until somebody demanded their driveway back.
I really wasn't looking to get a sailboat but one of my old friends found 109 and enticed me into the purchase ($500). The wife also was very supportive with the ideal, go figure! My friend has been working on a Coronado 41, which he's hopes to live aboard and we're sharing a decently protected pier this winter with the local fishing boats.
109 is strong boat. While working on her this Saturday with 40 mph wind gusts buffeting her on the pier she felt solid. I don't think the deck issues are too extensive. But we'll see soon.
Can anyone here describe the gooseneck (sliding?) for the ariel? Mine doesn't seem to be all there. I'm missing the piece that attaches to the track on the mast.
Thanks
Ben
Hi Ben, Glad to have you aboard.
Take a look at these threads to see what parts you may need
http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/s...ight=gooseneck
http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/s...ight=gooseneck
Peter
Please use the search function at the top of the page. That's what Commander Pete did . . . here is another thread to view.
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...ight=gooseneck
Thanks for the information about the gooseneck. I will try the Search function first next time.
Ben
Well here's some progress. I glued up a tiller for 109 this morning. Made out of laminated Purple Heart which I had leftover from a project. I used Titebond Ultimate III glue which I've had good experiences with in similar situations. Any recommendations for varnishes?
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1500.jpg
EPIFANES
Epifanes.
I second that.Quote:
Originally Posted by ebb
However, seeing the beautiful layup I am not sure I am qualified to post to further inquiries. ;)
Oh Epifanes! Oh Epifanes!
How lovely is your Tiller.
In classy gloss will always glow
Thru summer sun & winter snow.
Oh....etc
Oh Epifanes! Oh Epifanes!
Your graceful curves look mo'betta.
With regular touchups most sublime
You bling my Tiller thru all time!
Oh....etc:rolleyes:
What a nice poem! Thanks for the advice. Epifanes it will be.
I stayed an hour after work, cut out and started forming the tiller. Here's how far I got. I need to get more radius on the edges.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1501.jpg
Cold and wet morning up on City Island. But I wanted to see if my new tiller fit before I started to sand and varnish it back at my shop. Building a new tiller seemed a good starting project.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/100_0191.jpg
Great Job!
Careful... the tiller was also my very first project! :D
- With your skills, I'll be waiting to see how the rest goes!
Rico your boat "Mephisto Cat" (great name) is the gold standard I'm sure everyone here is looking to copy.
I've got skills gained from working with my hands most of my life, I'm 48. But fiberglass repair is new to me. And I haven't really been around boats very much since I was a kid. I know I'm going to make many mistakes working 109.
The tiller seems like the logical place to start working on a sailboat. You can make it look really nice and hope the rest of the boat follows. I brushed my first coat of Epifanes on the tiller last night. How many coats do I really need to apply? Purpleheart is a very dense non-porous wood so the varnish doesn't need to fill much grain.
Ben
Thanks for the nice comments!
I am a big fan of epifanes varnish. You do need to build-up a nice thick coat of varnish on first application. It is for the wood's benefit mainly by leeping the weather out of the wood, but the thickness also helps to stabilize the varnish coating itself, giving it a bit of body and allowing it to last MUCH longer and look better...
A nice thick coating also helps both to minimize the damage of dings & scratches to the wood, and when you do need to refresh the varnish - you abrade the coat of varnish- not the wood. The base layers seem to do quite nicely.
I start with a very diluted coating of varnish. I dilute about 50-60% producing a very thin varnish that is easily absorbed by the wood which should be dry. I think that first step is important so that the varnish & wood get full adhesion allowing for a good transition between materials. After that, I start building up the varnish thinning progressively less at each application.
I sand after each coat for smothness and to create more of a mechanical bond between coats. By coat #4 or so, I am already at full strength (0% dilution - straight out of the can). I usually do a coat in the early morning and one at night (in the summer in California) your drying time may vary in the NY winter...
I did about 8 coats on my tiller initially, and about 10 on my coambings. I highly recommend something like that... I went with about 4 coats on the companionway wood, and I can see the difference! (Already on the to-do list!)
Since you sand lightly at each coat, the build-up is not tremendous. You do end-up with a nice solid layer of nice varnish that is strong and readily accepts spot treatments in case of scratches.
Good luck!
A sunny but cold day up at City Island a day after our first big snow storm. I went up to the Bronx and checked up on 109. If you look close you can see the resident family of swans wading in the background. These guys are as big as ostriches.
I finished varnishing the new tiller which was tougher to do well than I thought and hope to soon start working on some new coamings. I keep learning all sorts of important things from your old postings.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/IMG_8077.jpg
That modren foredeck looks pretty good
Came back from the lumber yard today with these two Sepele boards to make new coamings, winch stands and hand holds for Ariel 109. Half the price of Hondo Mahogany and finishes to the color of a lovely old bottle of Bordeaux. These 14' long boards are almost book-matched.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1512.jpg
Acquired this nice spirit stove for the galley. It's a Homestrand alcohol stove who's style I think matches the Ariel. Works nice, lights right up.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1513.jpg
I've been sanding and re-oiling the interior's teak trim and doors. Oiled teak is so pretty, I'm thankful nobody ever varnished it all.
And a question. Where do you store the dinette table that came with the Ariel when you're not using it?
Ben
Those like like some nice beginnings for the combing boards, I hope you include the 'after' pictures also.
It is funny you mention the 'look' of the stove, it DOES seem to just kind of 'fit' the interior.
The dinette table i not something I ever recall hearing about as a standard Ariel option. I did have a folding table that came with the boat (pretty much a fancy TV tray). It worked ok, and was nice for some tasks below but the stowage problem caused it to go the way of all things....
I have had many different lapdesks, and and like aboard that have been tried and abandoned. They were stowed under the counter, where the foot wells for the settes are. If you search, there are some nice folding surfaces some have come up with.
I believe this boat came with a dinette table, could seat four. It clips into the jams of the forward cabin door and on the other end has a single leg that hinges to fit into a plate on the cabin's sole. It's table surface is the same formica used on the rest of the boat. And it's framed using the same teak mouldings as used in the galley area. Everything about it and the installation looks factory.
I've seen pictures of other Ariels with the clips for the table in the door jams.
Ben
New aluminum spreader bases I welded together this afternoon. First I annealed with a torch two 1/4" thick small pieces of 6061-T6 sheet. Then hammered the sheet with a rawhide mallet over a sheet metal dolly that nearly matched the curve of the mast. Then welded the tubes to the sheet. Still need to drill the holes.
6061 has good corrosion characteristics so I don't know if I'm going to do much in the way of a finish. Just clean then up with a file and brush.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1514.jpg
Looks like you have welded once or twice before :)
I was thinking the same thing... looks pretty good to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Commander 147
Could you be persuaded to fabricate another pair????;)
Carl
Oh man, I've got so much work to do on my boat. I'm dying to fix my deck and go sailing. All I need is some free time, temperatures in the high 40's, and sunny weather.........Quote:
Originally Posted by carl291
But if you have some older cast spreader bases that are cracked it may be possible to weld and repair them. The ones on my boat are beyond repair and missing chunks.
Ben
Awesome aluminum welding, Ben, really impressive!
Ole 109 has a right handy skipper and must be happy with ya.
Maybe I'll give it a try. We got the MIG here. All that's needed is courage, right? Damm, where'd I put that rawhide mallet?;)
Thanks EBB. I used a TIG welder on these spreader bases. MIG welding is great in situations where you need to quickly make large welds. But MIG welding aluminum can be really frustrating without the proper technique and set-up, usually very expensive. TIG is intimidating at first but really versatile and it's hard to beat the control over the weld it give you. You can also gas weld aluminum and produce beautiful welds. Remember that electric welding of aluminum wasn't wide spread until after WW2.Quote:
Originally Posted by ebb
Small inverter type TIG welders the size of a lunch box are becoming popular and can run off a 110V extension cord. These are great to bring to jobs sites or maybe taking to the dock.
Ben
Beautiful Brackets Ben!
I was of the same mind as Carl... I was going to place an order of my own!
C-187 (my rescue boat) has the cast brackets and they are turning to powder...
I think a nice coat of primer / paint will go a long way on your new brackets... For both looks and longevity. Even 6061 Aluminum (Not anodised) tends to pit and create a oxide/gunk coating in a salt environment. Might be a real issue on the contact surfaces.
You have no contact info on your profile - I'll be looking to replace the Coambings on C-187. I'm not familiar with 'sepele'. Can you tell me what your experience / expectations are for this type of wood - relative to Teak or Mahogany? Thanks!
Rico, now you've got me mixing up some PPG epoxy primer!
Sepele is considered a suitable wood to build boats from, which seems to be the case with most tropical timbers. But my experience with it is limited to furniture. You'll find it machines easier than mahogany, less splintering. Denser than mahogany, more like teak or rosewood, but not oilily. The quality and value of the what's available is so much better than current mahogany or teak supplies. And it's very pretty.
Ben
After some epoxy primer and silver single stage acrylic urethane. I'm waiting to drill the cotter pin holes on the boat. Anyhow I'm going up to City Island to try and install them today.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...DSCF1528-1.jpg
Rico did a really nice job on his. Check out post 87 of Mephisto Cat's gallery.
Here are some shots from today's installation up at City Island. The existing spreader bases crumbled like Chip's Ahoy cookies as I removed them. Everything worked out nicely on this beautiful day.
Commander 147, Thanks, I did see how Rico installed his with the compression tube. Something to think about maybe in the future when the mast gets pulled.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1530.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1531.jpg
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Looks like you had a beautiful day to mount the bases, The disintegrating bases are very common after 40 + years. something else to think about when you visit this area when you lower the mast is it appears in the photo your bolts are short and don't engage the lock nut completely. I think it would be good to have a plastic gasket ( maybe just a couple layers of electrical tape) between the mast and the S. base to seal out any moisture which may collect there. Nice work .
Carl, the nyloc nuts seemed to fully engage the bolts threads. The bolts are fully (just barely) through the nuts. But you have successfully planted in my head that there could be a problem, thanks.
I'd like to recommend the Werner Multiladder I used for climbing up to the spreaders. It's wide legs fit snugly between the sliding hatch glides of the Ariel. Felt very safe to work on after I strapped it to the mast. And we did attach some temporary (truck straps) shrouds to support the mast while changing the spreader bases. I should have taken a picture.
Great fittings.
The base plate is very robust and should spread side loads to the mast very well. The top bolt with this heavy plate can be seen as supporting the hard working lower bolt with the tangs for the lower shrouds.
Looking at lit'lgull's mast after DEcommisioning you could see the tang bolt had elongated its hole in the mast. The bolts had originally been installed without compression tubes. Imco it's a good thing to have at least the lower one done, not so much for 'compression', but because there is a larger bearing surface on the edges of the hole with the bolt in a tube.
Get 6061T6 tubing from online metals by the foot! Tubing means you can drill regular sized larger holes.
IN THEORY you can imagine the crystalline structure of old cast aluminum sockets being cracked by the lower bolt pulling down on it while the upper one, without load, holds on unmoved.
For what it's worth, riggers isolate all metals including the same metal when they bear on each other. When I took the mast apart some original cleats AND the sockets had no corrosion under the fittings, with no discernable isolating material.. This was not true for all the attachments. Small ones created serious corrosion on the mast where attacht. Plastic pipe or electric tape was used to install the track, which shows NO visible corrosion.
It seems simple to 100% isolate fittings on the mast with pipe tape. The stuff is made with polyethylene and will last one to four decades. That's what Pearson must have used. Lanocote or anhydrous lanolin is another fairly easy to apply isolator.
Running a 1/2" s.s bolt through a compression tube seems problematic. What protects the aluminum tube and mast from rapid galvanic action?
Maybe the size difference of the metals keeps the corrosion somewhat in check. But I won't use any rubber - it's more important that the system can be taken apart easy.
One of the spreader socket bolts that came out of lit'lgull's mast was rusted, the other was still bright. I think that it was a later replacement. What is the answer for these bolts? Regular replacement? Make absolutely sure they are 316. What happens with a s.s. bolt stuck in an aluminum tube for a decade? Even the tube where it bears on the mast extrusion in the drilled hole should be isolated with tape and grease. MY two aluminum cents!.:D
The two long Sepele boards are all cut up. It took all the wood from one of those boards to make the winch and coaming blocks. I guess it's still cheaper than buying those bronze winch stands from Rig-Rite. I'm going to try and shape the blocks tomorrow on the big belt sander.
When I went up this past week to the Bronx to take the old coamings off the Ariel it was low tide and dead calm. The water was clear to the bottom and I could see the boat cowl that got knock off the deck about two months ago. With a long boat hook I was able to retrieve it. Made my day!
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1540.jpg
Here's one of the new coaming blocks (in the rough) with the angles "reverse engineered" from the existing old block. Quite a puzzle of compound angles.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1541.jpg
The rough cut winch blocks, ready to radius. These were cut on a big bandsaw which made things easy. Next time I have to be more careful about the gluelines. Off to the sander.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1542.jpg
After about ten minutes on the old Crouch belt sander. Watching my fingers!
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1544.jpg
Fitting a coaming block on one of the coamings. I'm not going to use any plugs over the screw heads. Great fun working on this boat. It's like the shoemaker finally making himself a pair of shoes.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1548.jpg
Ready to varnish. I used the old winch stands as jigs to accurately drill the 1/2" bolt holes through the blocks.
Where's that brush.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1551.jpg
If that doesn't quicken the pulse of anyone looking at these pictures a visit to the doctor is in order.
You have a lot of good stuff going on, Ben. I, for one, am impressed and envious by the quality of work you are putting into number 109. Keep up the good work and photo posting!
If anybody was wondering what Sepele looks like with a finish. These are quarter sawn boards so they have ribbon stripes.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1552.jpg
Ditto Tony's remarks Ben. That woodwork is absolutely gorgeous and is going to be breath taking when you get it all varnished up and installed! Nicely done!
Thanks guys! I'll keep posting progress shots. I've learned so much from going through this site's old postings. And it's important to get feedback and contribute what I can to the forum's "knowledge base".
If you're thinking of making coaming boards for your boat out of Sepele my advice is to save money and not to buy thicker boards to plane down at your shop. One inch thick coamings? Buy the 4/4 S2S Sepele at the yard. Be select and go through the pile. Sepele sands out beautifully with a random-orbit sander and you run the risk of grain tear-out with a planer. Those two boards I bought cost $135.00. Outside of NYC should be less expensive.
I've started searching on Craigs List for an old Singer industrial sewing machine to make new cushions for 109. I'm surrounded by friends and family who work in the fashion industry and have gotten some good advice. Should be fun!
Ben
Beautiful woodwork Ben.
Just noticed your 'reverse engineering' comment about the coaming blocks and winch bases.
Noticed that also when trying the angles. But it also turned out to be a piece of cake to not only bandsaw the angles by tilting the table but also to saw the curve. Carefully. By slowly walking it around the blade with the blade-guard WAY up. So fine to have the finished shape suddenly appear like magic.
Can often make cuts in a block and tape them back together so that they stay wide enuf on their base to cut long curves out on a 90degree table.
Ebb
Excellent comment. The block and tape cutting technique is so easy and elegant. That would be a good demo to do. With a sliding panel saw you overlook many ingenious solutions, everything is clamp and push.
I didn't use the band-saw to cut the curves on the winch blocks because all my blades are too wide for that radius. I suspect that the Pearson factory used a stationary belt sander to make the originals. My old blocks have parallel sanding lines in them. But a rasp, file and sandpaper would do just as good of a job. And build muscles and character.
Ben
Up to City Island to check up on the boats. My Ariel seems to be growing a beard.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ucksInarow.jpg
One of the local live-aboard boats sank at it's mooring. They are going to try and pump it out tonight at low tide.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...Hulk-BowOn.jpg
This neglected Bayliner Buccaneer snapped loose from it's moorings and ran aground in the mud across the "harbor" from my docking. It's listing from someone leaving it's hatch open and the rain-water creating a large block of ice inside the hull. This boat is too new to end up like this, what a waste. This design later became the Pearson 25.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...eer-StbdBw.jpg
Let's see if this works. 109's hanging closet solid-teak door and one of the small doors opposite are badly cupped (warped). On the table saw I made a bunch of kerf-cuts on the backs of the doors, clamped them flat and then filled them with epoxy. Now I wait.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1556.jpg
It actually makes for a good look on the door also.
Seems to work. This door had a cup about 3/16" deep before. I'll have to do the two remaining teak cabinet doors now.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1557.jpg
PURE genius!
....Now that I understand that the macho clamping pic (#55) showed the closed side of the door!
But I did think the 'wainscot' look was unique and looked pretty good on the 'show' side.
The even spacing is very classy indeed! Very nice!
How deep did you make the kerfs?
Are you going to put cross cleats across the back - or do they seem unnecessary?
Thanks for sharing this great tip!
Thanks.
The kerf-cuts are 3/8" deep. About half the thickness of the door. I'm going to skip the cleats and hope that maintaining a generous oil finish will keep the doors straight. Ha, we'll see! The proper cleat here would be one that would move with the door as it expands and contracts and affixed by sliding dovetails or screws with over-sized holes. But these doors aren't that wide. And I hope after my deck is fixed things will settle down below.
To get nice even spacing I use luck and an equal spacing divider.
I've been told that the neglected run-away Bayliner Buccaneer is docked next to my Ariel thanks to the NYPD Harbor Patrol. There goes the neighborhood! And the sunken cabin-cruiser is still on the bottom.
Ben
Advice about flatting the teak doors with kerf cuts.
Take the doors off the boat and let them dry out. Uneven moisture content between the inside and outside is what caused the cupping.
Sand the backs to remove excess epoxy soon after un-clamping. You want both sides of the door to absorbed moisture evenly so everything stays flat.
Make sure you finish (oil / varnish) both sides of the doors.
My doors are still flat.
Ben
Installed the new tiller and coamings on 109 this blustery sunny afternoon. Cleaned and greased the old Merriman winches before reinstalling, they feel like new.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1577.jpg
Just cast an eye
In her direction
Oh me Oh my,
Ain't that perfection!
I got to sail Ariel 109 today for the first time. Amazing, what a beautiful day that I'll long remember as one of my best. My friend Hans and I pushed off the dock at City island, raised the mainsail, unfurled the jib and sailed out of the harbor. We had ideal conditions for sailing without the motor, which isn't in the boat yet anyhow. Off past Hart's Island and it's famous "Potter's Field" and into the beginnings of Long Island Sound. She sailed like a dream in the blustery winds out to Execution Rocks Lighthouse where we turned around and headed back. The wind picked up on the return trip and white caps appeared. We furled the jib in a bit and made it back to City Island lickety split. A nice soft landing at the dock and off to the City Island Diner for a late lunch.
My first time sailing an Ariel, what fun!
Ben
is what keeps me motivated and moving forward with my own project.
Glad you had a really good day of it and here is to many more just like it. :)
Thanks Jerry
Here I am at the helm of 109 yesterday. In desperate need of a haircut. I've loads of work still to do on the boat but she sailed nice. These boats can really point high.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSC00004.jpg
Now where did that come from.:D:D
Hello All
I couldn't find bow chocks to match the holes of the broken existing ones on 109. I had two pairs of skene chocks in my ever increasing collection of old boat hardware and junk. Very close in design to the originals but not long enough. After a little fabrication I adapted them to fit the boat. Didn't take too long to do, maybe two hours. Now 109 will be ready for the mooring.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1689.jpg
You do nice work. So I assume the two in the front are the modified ones?
Returning from a nice morning sail.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1722.jpg
My word! Must be nice to have a dock to yourself in such a big city! She looks great, Ben. Keep up the good work, I'd like to free-load in your shop and keep posting photos!
Tony, I think the marina just lets me keep my boat there for providing some atmoshere.
I finally had to move off to the mooring. The dock and dine pier I was staying at all this winter and spring is now needed for the summer boating season. It's just a short row out in the dingy from the old dock to this mooring. And the City Island Bridge isn't as close as these pictures make it seem. Kind of relaxing out there on the mooring.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1725.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1727.jpg
Ben - she looks l great out there! Moorings are better for showing off our shapely Albergs hulls anyway.
It's pretty amazing how many Alberg designed boats are moored about City Island. I know of six Tritons and three Cape Dory 25d sailboats within a quarter mile of my Ariel. And I'm sure more will appear as the yards empty out. Easy to confuse the Tritons for Ariels from a distance.
Went up to the boat this afternoon to work on some little projects on 109. Took this shot of the label on my spinnaker bag. These guys made sails for many famous yachts and I think began making sails on City Island around 1900. I think they lasted on the little island off the Bronx until the eighties. I'm not ready to fly this sail yet. But I might be the first to do so when I do. It looks unused.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1763.jpg
Making a new rudder post bearing on my old South Bend lathe. Notice the new flat belt driving my old machine (ca. 1934). I was able to get this new one made recently at the gear and transmission company that's across the street from my shop. All the tooling to make the belt was at least one hundred years old. The guys at the company were so proud they could help me.
Ben
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1809.jpg
Installed the new rudder post bearing yesterday afternoon and went sailing. Even though my boat's original bearing was still in place, getting rid of the slight slop in the steering has made sailing Ariel 109 more "pleasurable".
Much messing around with trying to get the old South Coast wire halyard winch to stop slipping. I happy to report that I've seem to have fix the the problem. I think what did the trick was using 320 sandpaper to lightly sand off the oxidation and crud on the clutch band. The clutch seemed to be engaging the winch drum in only two small areas before I did this. Mainsail didn't slip at all yesterday and we had some nice strong winds and a wonderful sail. Something about sailing on a weekday late afternoon.
Ben
GOOD ON YA, Ben!
For those of us who don't have access to an antique Atlas lathe,:cool:
our Ariel Association here has ready made black delrin sleeve bearings for sale at cost.
The delrin sleeve comes with two O-rings that are integral to the bearing*
One O-ring is in a groove on the inside of the sleeve and bears against the bronze rudder post.
The second is in a groove on the outside of the sleeve - it bears against the fiberglass tube.
Not only will the rudder post loose its slop but the new sleeve will keep water from getting into the cockpit through the tube.
Pleasurable sialing!
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*Believe that bearings and O-rings can be gotten separately from the Association. Old bearings can be worn and/or broken as lit'lgull's was. The O'rings supplied with the new delrins are neopreen, I believe. I can mail free to anybody a double set of EPDM O-rings that fit the original and, of course, the new one.
I believe they will last longer and will not flatten out as readily and want replacement as the regular rings.
Thanks Ebb
I didn't use any O-rings on my delrin bearing. The fit on the shaft came out so nice I don't think any real amount of water could push through. And I like the small level of fiction / dampening on the tiller I ended up getting. I wonder if the purpose of the internal O-ring is to provide some resistance on the rudder shaft. Kind of like a motorcycle steering dampener.
Here's a better picture of my old South Bend nine inch lathe. Most of these were made for industrial art classes. That was back when this country believed it's people should be skilled in something other than shoving stuff into shopping carts. (Help, I beginning to sound like my father.)
Lathes are very relaxing to operate, almost hypnotic. Still you need to be careful.
There's this great picture of L. Francis Herreshoff with his lathe. I can't find on the internet. But I'll try and scan it when I get a chance. He was well known for making small working model naval cannons with his. I don't know how that would go over today.
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Old Francis working on his Hjorth bench lathe.
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Picked up this faded beauty from Trader John's antique shop yesterday before going out sailing. Fits the threads of 3" deck flange up in the bow of 109. Hope to pull out my body hammers and dollies and get rid of the dents. Then solder up the small cracks in the wire bead around the opening. I like the "aged" patina so I'm going to keep as is.
I've been using a borrowed cast aluminum air vent from the old nearby Vanguard, quite stylish, and it has really helped keep the boat from getting too musty below.
Ben
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That should force some air below and keep her ventilated. The scoop portion looks larger than I usually see.
A bit of hammer and dollie work, some silver soldering and a patina. Now it looks "older than the hills".
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How did you do the patina Ben?
Jerry
After using the hammer and dollies to smooth out the numerous dents in the air vent the old pitted nickel plating was flaking off and shattered. So I ran over to a friend's shop and borrowed an ounce or two of a pre-mixed brown brass and bronze patina. I heated the air vent up with a propane torch and wiped on the patina mix with a natural fiber brush a few times. Salt water should finish the job. It's all kind of silly, really. But fun to reuse old hardware.
No, it adds lots of character and class, IMHO!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariel 109
Taken this morning. I finally named 109, she's called Noesis. I really like the way the word sounds. It's got that greek "mythology" thing going for it. I don't know her previous name(s). And see no trace of old lettering on the transom.
Ben
(If you want to know what Noesis means.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noesis
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Here's a shot of the air vent installed.
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Obviously we would never use a common urban expression like 'BLING'
to describe a cowl of such character and forward position.
Just checked the urdan dictionary for what irreverence they have, Looks like
'BLONG' may be a word we can take back from the street to
characterize righteous and venerable fittings such as Noesis' refurb cowl.
Another oldie but goodie are the skene chocks (in post #67)
with those beautifully molded 'come-hither' fingers to hold the line.
The two in the foreground of the photo are the most perfect NO-CHAFE chocks I've ever seen.
They'd work in the bow AND the quarters at the stern of the Ariel.
Obviously MARINIUM would love to have these beauties in BRONZE!
If I ever get around to it, it would be a gas to make models in clay for casting
almost exactly what you have there.
Gorgeous stuff!
Noesis (109) this evening at her mooring.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/DSCF1857.jpg
Gusty sail on Eastchester Bay. The main sail is rolled around the boom to about the reef point. Fun sail.
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My wife (professor of costume history) at the helm. It was her ideal to get Noesis.
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Noesis chasing Hans in the Ensign today on the Sound.
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Two shots Hans took of Noesis from the Ensign this past Sunday.
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Videos too short!!!!
Epic videos will be forthcoming!
I got a spinnaker pole! This came off an ugly, but I say, interesting Dufour 27. I cut off about 6", riveted the ends back on and ended up with a pole that matches the Ariel's "J" dimension of 114". I resized the bridle to make the rings stand off the pole about 16", which looks right. I'm slowing but surely getting ready to fly my never used vintage Ratsey spinnaker! Next year Wednesday night racing here we come.
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Fantastic! We expect to read reports of your Wednesday night "beer can" exploits in the "Sailing and Events" forum.:cool:
Paragliding around City Island I took a moment and snapped this picture.............Alright, I walked up on the City Island bridge and shot this vista surrounding Noesis. The Ensign is back, off to right.
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Neat pic! It looks like you two are moored out all by yourselves though - what's up with that?
Looks just about right for neighbors to me!
One I noticed, and it might just be the angle of the photo, does Noesis' spreaders angle downward? If it's not an optical illusion possibly the spreader sockets may be mounted to the mast upside down? If that is the case they are pushing into your mast at a less than ideal angle. But as pointed out on this forum many times already, our extrusions are incredibly 'beefy' for a boat this size so I wouldn't expect the big stick to fall overboard any time soon.
Just an observation. Hope it's nothing. ;)
Tony, the spreaders rake backward a little bit. I think that makes them look a little weird. Thanks for the concern.
Why's the boat is out there all by itself? Well it's really not, there other boats nearby but out of the picture. I guess you could say that Noesis is moored in a little unexplainable in between.
Fall is here.
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