Commander 147

[ebb]

Jerry,
Always good to have a Steve Koopman on one's side!

Dave Gerr (I bought his book last year0 probably has a formula for the downward thrust of a mast.
7000 seems more than adequate. Not being sarcastic at all.

That arch cannot be flexed, at all.

Therefor you could open up the bukhead even more. Just enough to brace the ends of the beam.
Just mentioning that.
I think what you have come up with
is very nicely proportioned indeed.
Looks and feels right.

[C38]

Jerry,
That is a beautiful beam! Really impressive, can you make two ?

I can't wait to see you get that installed, if it works out as great as it looks like it will, I may have to do the same to my commander sometime in the future.

[Commander 147]

Thanks Michael

I really appreciate the complements from you and Ebb.

I've been a woodworker all my life but I have to admit doing woodworking for a boat is a challenge that I am really enjoying. I like being forced to stretch my abilities because it makes it far more interesting than something simple like building a piece of furniture.

Our boats were built in a manner totally unlike the computerized production lines of today and every one is differant from every other one in many ways. So even though a single concept can be used on all Commanders, no two parts needed from one to the next will be exactly the same. But if you are serious about considering this for your commander and want to study the design a little closer I have attached a PDF of the design Steve did for me so you can see it better.

Like you I can't wait to get it installed myself.