The album of Ariel #422

[frank durant]

George....LOOKIN GOOOOD!!!! Nice dodger/bimini !! I have my new one in a bag..will find out soon how it turned out (I made the pattern for them=scary)I hope it looks 1/2 as good as yours.Every thing looks 'proper'...great work.I must say ya managed a great dolphin pic to boot.They never seem to come up in the same place and only surface where your camera is'nt.That boat IS a exellent example of 'the breed' Enjoy!!.. one FINE lil yacht !!

[frank durant]

I just looked back at your previous posts..what a beauty !! Just in remarkable shape for an ole gal !! You are so lucky to find such an obviously 'loved' boat and she was so lucky you found her to carry on that pride of ownership !!

[george copeland]

Thanks all for the compliments--Ebb: the water line is where it is as a function of the previous owner's decisions. I just let it stand. I suppose it is a bit high, but the boat has made well-laden trips to Louisiana, all over the Texas coast, and at least one long haul to Belize. I have never gotten her loaded-up enough to settle that extra 2 inches or so.
Mr. Durant--if ye like varnish, ye might have more soulful satisfaction to come. Just finished a total rework of the interior, but haven't put the photos in. All interior teak has a mirror finish--just so the Executive Officer could avoid the trouble of finding a mirror in the morning.

[mbd]

Hey George, I'm anxious to see your pictures, and you've a most excellent boat as well, but I think you may be posting on Kurt's Gallery thread (Ariel 422) instead of yours???

[CapnK]

Hey George, I'm anxious to see your pictures, and you've a most excellent boat as well, but I think you may be posting on Kurt's Gallery thread (Ariel 422) instead of yours???

No problem with me, either way! She *is* a fine looking vessel! Katie Marie also has a higher-than-usual waterline, but it is working well at keeping stains off of the hull.

[CapnK]

Ebb -

As I type, my laptop is sitting on the starboard side shelf I erected over the big storage bins. This shelf sits 24" over the original berth height (and/or 36" above the sole), is 48" long (going aft from the hanging locker) and is, I've found, a comfortable height when standing to cook from, use the laptop, etc. However, I will be, when I build in the final version (this being a working prototype), making a top that is 2" lower. Reason for that being that will give me 10" storage up against the hull, under the side deck.

Having the big shelf and stowage under it doesn't seem to have taken away from the roomy feeling of the cabin (which does seem roomy, to me at least, my previous boat having been much tighter belowdecks). It may do so a bit more with a dinette table to port. However, I do intend to make the dinette table drop-able, so that I can convert it to a berth much like what we have from the factory.

My working prototype countertop does not extend all the way to the after bulkhead - being experimental, I went with a piece of ply that I already had on hand which was only 48" in length. Where my icebox was, the countertop height remains original for now at least. Actually, that stepped-down area is working out nicely, and might be seen in some form when I finish. At some point in time, I will raise it to line it up with the rest, and see how that "feels" before making a decision. One object of my living aboard is to make sure that I have modifications optimized *before* I build them in. I am too lazy to have to do something twice. That lower area may suffice as a place to sit while underway and still be able to see out of the deadlights, but it would need to be a bit convertable as I intend to have the icebox under there. It would not be a fore/aft aligned seat, but bracing for movement of the boat would be quite easy. Starboard tack, your feet would be about level with your head, though, and on port, it might be too much like standing up.

One idea that keeps coming back to me in different shapes and form is an old one: the hammock. Have you seen hammock chairs? Something like that could be designed to be slung in the cabin, secured at four corners so that the person sitting there did not get bashed against the boat whenever a wave rolled under. Oddball thinking, yes, but there just may be a way to implement it so that it would work, and work well. It would be extremely stowable, too.

One other oddball thing that I have been thinking may lend itself to what you are thinking, as regards a companionway ladder: I'm considering using a fold-down, telescoping ladder of the transom mount type up under the bridgedeck. It could be collapsed and stowed out of the way when belowdecks, and would provide for a higher top step (which would be good for when washboards were in at sea), as well as closer spacing between steps than the original steps offer. Nothing about the idea seems bad to me, though I am still considering it. For you and your plans, it might make access to the pilot berth a little more handy.

I'm interested to hear any feedback on my "oddball" ideas.

[mbd]

Neat idea with the folding ladder, Kurt. FWIW, I love my companionway ladder for ease of use (the kids can scramble up and down it) and would design an interior around it in a heartbeat. A great PO mod.



Also, just curious if any of you modification mavens have considered an athwartship convertable dinnette? Working areas and shelves could be fore or aft (or both) of the dinnette, you could still have double settees to either side when not "deployed", and the table could be used up in the cockpit as well...

[CapnK]

Mike - Good thinking! Your idea has several advantages to it. Sitting here this morning looking at what I have so far, trying to think about how your ideas might fit in.

Looking at the ladder picture (thx for the link - so many pictures here it's hard to keep track of them ), I think that's one of the ones I saw which got me thinking about the steps. Looks nicely done, and not overly intrusive, if at all. I've measured a line from the bridgedeck (interior front edge) and it's right at 4'. Since there are several different readily-available, collapsible transom ladders that size, and although it probably won't look as nice as yours, it should be an easy project.

Also in that picture, it looks like there is a cut-out in the aft bulkhead, at the foot of the port berth. What was that for? I'm going to empty that locker this weekend and make some measurements for the foot-end of a sea berth. I'm wondering if I will be able to size it so that a moveable bin/drawer that would fit there would also fit into my under-counter area.

[mbd]

Thanks Kurt! Now GIMP it! I'm dying to see a layout.

My batteries are stored in the forward end of the port cockpit locker. That cutout is for access to the forward most battery. Day light to the right, battery to the left under the counter...

The ladder is not intrusive in the slightest. Did I say I really really like it? If you're interested, I can take some pics and measurements and email 'em to you off-line.

[CapnK]

Mike - Thx for the offer to measure, but I can get a good idea from looking at your pic, and measuring the same space here, so there's no need for you to "work" on my behalf. Or did you just need an excuse to go to your boat?

I'll GIMP something up on the athwartship dinette idea once I think about it a little more. I was flipping through my (recently rediscovered) copy of Ferenc Mate's "Finely Fitted Yacht", and saw an idea that might have some uses. It was a settee which turns into a pull-out double berth. I'll try to describe it:

The seat part of the settee (where your butt goes) is a series of slats all side by side, like piano keys. Even-numbered slats are fixed/don't move, odd-numbered slats can slide out from the fixed slats, and are attached to the bunks edge board. When you pull the edge board, the movable slats slide out, creating a surface twice as large as it had been. Folding or removeable legs are used to support the outer edge of the berth. Does this make sense? I'll look up the page number and post it later.

This would be a great way to implement an athwartships berth, there would be no board to have to stow/unstow when setting up the berth - for sleeping mode, just pull it out like a sliding shelf, put the cushion in place, and rack out, and do the reverse to go back to working mode. This might also make a good way to implement a seat also. A pull-out table is also suggested by this idea.

Lots of possibilities.