Aluminum irrigation pipe for masts

  • 20 Oct 2019 05:07
    Reply # 8066651 on 8064413

    I don't think I would want to climb such a mast but for the size and weight, unstepping might be quite a reasonable way to repair anything at the masthead anyway. Looks great.

  • 19 Oct 2019 17:01
    Reply # 8065614 on 8064413

    Arne,

    Thanks for your rudder ideas and photos.  Minimus II, if she works out as we hope, will be an offshore voyaging boat, so the rudders will seldom need to be raised unless we hit something.  Your weak link idea may be the solution.  

      

  • 19 Oct 2019 08:50
    Reply # 8065286 on 8064413
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    David,

    that was a fine documentary you have made! Bags of practical details.

    As for rudder blade uphaul and downhaul; my last boat with a swing-up rudder had both of these lines terminated to cleats on the tiller. I soon found it was wise to haul the blade fully down and forward to avoid heavy tiller forces.

    As can be seen below, I also added a simple weak link of twine to the downhaul line. I never ran aground so the link didn’t break, and it never broke in normal use either, which was good.

    Good luck with the test sails, next spring!

    Arne


    Last modified: 19 Oct 2019 08:57 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 19 Oct 2019 02:12
    Reply # 8065096 on 8064413

    Hi Graeme,

    Thanks so much for your kind words.  I'll try to add a few more photos of our rudder construction on the blog.  I was intrigued by rudder lashings, but we came across used pintles at a good price so decided to go that route.  I made the gudgeons from stainless steel angle, which was fairly easy--mostly a matter of drilling holes.    

  • 18 Oct 2019 22:17
    Reply # 8064854 on 8064413
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    I went to your website to have a look at how you made the sails, just out of idle curiosity - and very soon after that found myself compelled to stop everything and devour the entire blog "Building Minimus ll". It is a well-written and well-illustrated explanation of a number of very interesting design and construction details, all worked out to make the job faster and easier.

    Two things especially interest me right now. One is the way you built your masts. I never would have thought multi-skin tube was a DIY proposition - that indeed should interest many JRA members. And your mast-head fittings - that's a new one!

    The other thing is the rudders. I would rather like to see a bit more detail on the rudder construction as I think swing-up rudders are a must for shallow draft, but it is difficult to find a simple way of making them strong enough for a boat that size, and I can't quite see how you have done it. Also I am guessing you have made a deliberate decision to use metal fittings (gudgeon and pintle?) rather than lashings. Not having experience with lashings for rudders, I was interested in giving it a try and would be interested in your reasons for not doing so.

    Well done and thanks for the link to your most interesting website.


    Last modified: 19 Oct 2019 05:36 | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • 18 Oct 2019 17:16
    Message # 8064413

    I just posted a link to my blog page about how I made the junk sails for our new catamaran.  I enjoy trying new techniques and thought folks might also be interested in the somewhat novel way we made our masts.

    We won't be able to test them until next spring, but are encouraged by our experience so far.  

    Here's the link:

    http://omick.net/adventure/minimus_ii/building/junk_rig_masts.html 

    Thanks, David

       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
                                                               - the Chinese Water Rat

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