Dem Bones, dem bronze bones
Hey Tony,
THERE are those bronzes!
How could you not like that 'mid rail chock/cleat' fitting?
It would schmooze nicely into the new wood rail. On lit'lgull's rail there would even be some wood left UNDER the chock.
Looking at the 'Bronze G Chock' you can't miss the hard edges. Imco this applies to the herreschoff midrail.
I've not taken these but similar skene's and tried them on the transom with a natural lead from deck cleats. I could not find a fair lead through the skenes that imco didn't have chaffing problems.
I got a couple of those Panama Canal chocks from Spartan and tried them on the transom.
(Can't locate them right now in the garage - time to do a complete inventory.)
If I remember they seemed kind of GAWKEY - awkward - even though they'd be useful.*
The fitting is tall for its base. If these were mounted to the curve of our transom and the cleats were in the usual place (in the middle of the space between the locker lid and the toes rail) the lead of the line through the horns would be across two corners of the fitting. The corners are rounded sort of but not enough for me. Could mount the chocks more in line with the cleat but imco that looks wrong and becomes a fastening problem inside the lazarette. I'm still looking for the right fitting. Something more rounded and plump and easy on rope.
The fittings could be altered/rounded with files and burrs.
But then it occured to me that these fittings are tight within the designer's concept and any rounding would possibly weaken it. Had to metally discard them. Even though I really liked that midrail......snif.
We protect rope with chaffing gear. BUT chafe protection imco BEGINS with the chock or cleat.
I got some well rounded stainless chocks at a boatshow once. They kind of leaned and were extreme deco - and you could figure eight a line across the horns like a cleat if you had to.
When I got them to the boat they would barely fit on the transom rail and looked like they had been canabilized off a power boat. Couldn't stomach it.
Hope the rail scupper pix are useful. Don't remember if I took any chop and slop pics of the process. But there must be enuf clues in the verbiage.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________________
*We've just had that Japan tsumami find its way ACROSS THE PACIFIC into a couple harbors here on the California coast that made the news. Crescent City harbor was mangled pretty bad. Santa Cruz harbor, which is essentially a marina, had a sudden two foot surge that sunk twenty boats damaged hundreds more and tore docking apart. Ariels apparantly OK. (See Discussion page for videos.)
Murphey's law always applies to boats - if it can it will happen.
All lines leading to a boat should be through CLOSED CHOCKS. One wave, One twist, turn, nod of the boat can panama a rope out of an open chock.
1 Attachment(s)
Removable bilge pump assembly
Hey Bill et al,
Here, finally, are some pics - in series - showing the boat's new pump board installation.
A piece of leftover 3/8" Lexan with a shelf added to hold the high water Shurflo 1500 8Amp,
and a couple small bronze screws (can't be seen) to hold the screen clip bracket on the small Shurflo 1000 3.75 Amp.
The small pump is mounted on one side and at the very bottom with its hose pointing aft "through" a 'L' shaped hole in the pull-board.
The pump and attached hose can be lifted off and removed from the unit.
The large high water pump is fitted to the board with its hose also pointed aft and held on tightly with a nylon tie.
Assume the small pump to be replaceable - and the large expensive pump never used.
The WaterWitch digital sensors are screwed on to the board with their wires blue taped.
There is no room in the Ariel's narrow bilge/sump for traditional float switches. At least not in what litlgull has behind her ballast.
For the big pump WaterWitch has a high water alarm with a stand alone buzzer and mute fixture not shown.