Ariel #1

[iceman]

Hey Capt Walbert
The association gave me grief for incorrect insignia on my brandy new sails that came with the boat

Fix it sail it

[frank durant]

How's progress on #1 ??? Any new pics ?? news ???

[walberts]

John hurt his back about 8 weeks ago and Kestrel has not had any more done to her. But, a lot was done since I took the pictures I posted, so I'll ask him if I can take a few more as updates.

I know he re-did the hull deck joint and probably much else as well. The mast and the cockpit are painted ... but the finish varnish work is not done. All the wood on the interior is cherry and poplar from his farm.

[walberts]

I haven't gotten back down to John G's farm to take any more pics yet. I will post more as soon as I can.

[walberts]

An old campaigner is about to make a come-back. Kestrel, Ariel #1, is just about ready to go. After a nearly 5-year long re-build, her owner plans to launch her in early September. Plans are to take her down the Inland Waterway to Florida and to the West Indies this winter.

Pictures and a story to follow.

[mbd]

Fantastic! Lots of pictures please!

[CapnK]

Seconded!

[frank durant]

PICTURES...we NEED pictures ...can't wait to see #1

[walberts]

This past weekend, Kestrel was moved from her barn and into position for bottom painting and fitting out before launch.

[walberts]

Cabin interior. Strong back. LED lighting in V-berth. Means of hauling out of barn.

[bill@ariel231]

Great to see ariel #1 on the way back to the water.. one question.. what is the welded stainless bracket aft of the tiller going to be used for????

[ebb]

Great pics!
Ditto on the bracket(s) behind the tiller head......? quadrant steering to come?

I find the extreme fender washers on the tiller bolt most fascinatin!

Can still hear Bill telling me to lower the tiller or I'll strain the tiller head.

Wonder if there is enough added from the 'washers' to support the tiller (in terms of strain on the tiller bolt.)?

Once threatened to weld some ears on the old tiller head so that you wouldn't strain something with the tiller up while sitting on the coaming. You'd have continuous wide area of surface bearing on the head no matter what angle the tiller. Jowls might be a more appropriate body part name - they would be short extensions added to hinge underneath just forward of the bolt. But, be messing with the temper. Wouldn't weld to an old bronze casting. Nope.
The big washers give support to the tiller hinge in any postion:
Straight Up Vertical, like some tie their tillers when they leave the boat.
Good idea! Simple.
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A 5/16" tillerhead bolt isn't a hell of a lot of insurance. Mine came with a bolt with threads running to the head. Got a longer american threaded bolt that has an unthreaded 'shoulder'. (Jamestown Dist) So that just the nut has threads, NOT any part going thru the knuckles. All moving parts now bear on smooth metal.
Too bad they didn't leave enough meat for a rebore in a 3/8"s bolt. That would be perfect.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
About this tillerhead we have.
{The moving part of the tillerhead is a channel. Very simple casting. A wood model could be made that was
slightly lighter in section,
had rounded corners,
was a bit deeper (Little Gull's is 1 1/8" - could be redesigned to 1 1/2") to hold the wood tiller better and allow a better spread of the bolts.
Also more metal could be left around the hinge bolt hole so that a larger bolt could be used to hinge the tiller.
Even simpler: you could keep the same channel width that the tiller is bolted to on the head so you could have a wider tiller end for strength. My fitting gets narrower in way of the tiller wood for some dumb reason.
It is 1 3/16" wide where the tiller goes. At the hinge-bolt it's 1 11/16" wide. Not a hell of a lot more. This tillerhead was designed for a metal tiller! Tell me I'm wrong. We should make a wider one.
And take the pattern to a foundry, have em make us some.
Don't suppose anybody is interested in this esoterica. Right?

I'll do a model of this part of the tillerhead that attaches to the tiller - to approval - if anyone is interested in replacing....}
Could be fabricated of welded s.bronze also.

[joe]

The bracket seems to be a pair of rudder stops. The old square-riggers mostly had short double-spliced lines that were attached to the rudder and the transom. Some very old wooden boats that I have seen had arrangements similar to Kestrel's, usually in wood but some also in bronze.

[joe]

Used to keep the rudder from jamming hard over

[ebb]

Oh!
Hence the cheek pieces on the tiller head....
Clever!

Dang, what a bang!
need some rubber nips on those tips.