It should be noted that in earlier numbered boats the hull thickness may have been greater than in the later numbered boats.
It should be noted that in earlier numbered boats the hull thickness may have been greater than in the later numbered boats.
There you go Frank.
Very very good quality polyester obviously was used by Pearson in the '60s.
Grinded a whole lot on the laminate and it is real tough stuff. The resin to glass schedule to my amatuer eye looks right every accessable surface inside the hull. I've seen no puddling or starving. The only real problem with saturation (and fit) was at the lazarette bulkhead - everyelse the laminate is good and strong.
Along with the stringer and its tabbing it is probable that the tabbing used by the factory to hold the cabin sole and settees and bulkheads in adds significant stiffness and strength to the hull. Guess the schedule for the hull laminate totaled out at 3/8s with tabbing and overlaps adding 1/8" or more in places.
Navy did tests a decade ago on old frp barges they had. (Have to assume the polyester was similar to Pearson's.) No deterioration in overall strength was found. Would think the more active hull of an old sailboat would be a good indicator. In itself the laminate is as strong as the material can get, imco.
On the right reef, or picked up and thrown at a piling by a comber, I would call on the luck of 'The Way' and a pinch or two of 'Ave Maria' to save our butts.
Last edited by ebb; 03-25-2005 at 09:56 AM.
hull thickness
Bill , Ebb I'm sittin here thinking and when I drilled for a new head discharge the hull was 3/8. What I found was VERY inconsistant thickness's. Forward 3/8 just below the waterline ,forward high on the topsides,my anchor locker drain hole 3/8 , aft 5/8 below waterline at the turn or the bilge ,side of keel 3/8-7/16 , and the 1 1/8 at the forward base.???????But back to the original question.....at low speed I still doubt much damage other than paint.
Frank, it's a nissan NS5B. 5hp long shaft 2stroke, weighs 44 lbs.Through the prop exhaust, no problem with the lid closed yesterday. Very little exhaust at all noticable.
I think where she ran up on the rock is a pretty solid and tough area.(the boat! rock too for that matter!)
I remember drilling drain holes around the keel while on the trailer, but couldn't get to the VERY bottom. You know, what she sits on. I can imagine it being pretty darn thick under that lead, having an idea of the mold, glass, resin...building process. .and the overlap you speak of. It supports the whole weight of her on the hard, so can't imagine it doing much in the water where the majority of the boat is still afloat. But we are talking HARD basalt rock here. And maybe 1/2 knot. 5 knots? Yeah, i can imagine some damage.
How hard is coral?
If i did hole her, the ballast cavity would fill up first, right? Guess if she's still afloat when i go down tomorrow, i'll feel better. Sure a sick feeling hearing and feeling her hit. I can't imagine being the skipper of a 90' schooner, 30 yrds. off the beach and having it happen. Churn churn.
I see they got her off last night.
Last edited by willie; 03-25-2005 at 10:33 AM.
wet willieave maria
My Grandad Said;
"There are two kinds of sailors, those who have run aground and liars !"
Welcome to the club!
If you haven't run aground , you haven't done enough sailing.
Frank, A frp sailboat should gradually get thicker from the sheer on down. 338 is not much more than 1/8" at the seam. But seemingly only getting to 3/8" down in the keel. That is what is so disconcerting, 338 seems to be very conservatively layered, if you can call it that. Even the transom is barely 5/16 in the center, fattening out in the corners and the tabbing across the top.
The hull/deck seam is thickened by the mat tabbing. (On 338 the toerail molding is now filled flush to the inside of the deck.) A test hole thru the topside in a chainplate area yeilded 3/16"
There is considerable factory tabbing of the cabin decks, bulkheads, settees, stringers, although the tabs seldom go further than 4-5" from a joint, which may accouint for varying thicknesses of the hull in proximity. The old cockpit drain holes showed the hull to be around 3/8s.
I feel a little better that the keel cavity is filled with epoxy and there is now a built-in watertite tank running the length of the cabin over the ballast in the turn of the bilge. 338's (supposedly) lightly built hull will have all its furniture tabbed in and probably a layer of 20oz xmatt (about 1/16" thickness) most areas below the waterline. Insurance???
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Maybe somebody knows just how hard or sharp coral calcium is? Probably harder and sharper in the tropics! What will it do to the hull of an A/C? Has anybody seriously run onto rocks? What damage occured? Pictures? More than curious, would like to hear and see what the A/C hull can take!!!
Last edited by ebb; 03-26-2005 at 07:26 AM.
My dad was initiated into the "I grounded her" club in the late 70's off of Johnson Island near Marblehead in Lake Erie. Wacked our Ariel really hard on a limestone boulder. Minimal damage to the keel, but the rudder was another matter.
Kent
Going aground is part of a day's work, and the Ariel takes it well. On the St. Mary's River going into Lake Superior we went aground at full speed on an uncharted rock (granite up there, none of this soft limestone or coral) hard enough to send my wife to the hospital (she doesn't sail any more for some reason).
I don't run aground intentionally, but because of the Ariel keel, and the way the boat is built, I take her places others, with their fin keels and spade rudders, wouldn't dare go. Just, when you touch, try to touch softly, when there are no seas.
But I do have to recount the story of when #82 was pulled off the beach by the Coast Guard, after been pushed up there by a passing ferry, and the Coast Guard whatever said "Any boat that has been grounded should be put into the dumpster" So here I am 30 years later. But I can empathiize with your reaction
Don't worry about it. It doesn't make any differenc anyway if the keel fills up with water - unless you are a racer and don' t want the extra weight. And if you have a hole in the keel shell, that will drain the water automatically when the boat is pulled for the winter.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote