Designing & Building Hammerhead

[Salty Pelican]

Pictures above from top to bottom:
1. The box that will house the airconditioning;
2. A completely new electrical installation in the making;
3. One of the two 16 inch Raymarine Plotters;
4. Dashboard sees a major overhaul;
5. Underwatership looks just fine with new antifauling;
6. New radar and solar pannels.

 

[Hippocampus]

Curious as to anchor chain length. On this side of the pond 200’ is considered minimal by many. Lots of folks carry a lot more. We carry what’s considered a modest amount at 250’. Those numbers are on the all chain side. On the chain and rode side even more length is very common.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Thanks for sharing. In Europe - where we intend to cruise for the next few years - 30 meters is almost standard yet 50 meters a nice upgrade. I guess we could link 'm together and get 80 meters or 250+ feet ...



Regards, Edwin.

 

[Pascall]

Hello Edwin,
I don't know if the ship is equipped with a day tank?
If not, a day tank is an option, this significantly increases the ace radius plus that the supply of diesel oil is optimized.
Changing fuel filters is also very easy.

If it is the first time to Scandinavia, if you want I can give some tips, for example about sights, now we hope to sail to the north of Europe for the sixteenth time this summer.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Thanks, Pascal! Please share.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Another update on the refitting of "Moonshine"

Here is another update with some pictures.

The airconditioning (16,000 btu) is being build in as we speak.

The yard made a nice wooden grid to help cool the two new plotters that'll be installed in the dashboard next week.

The anchor locker lid is being rebuild.

Cheers!
Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

More pictures of "Moonshine's" extensive upgrade!

Here are more pictures of the upgrades we are doing.

A picture of the (nearly) finished new dashboard with new 16 inch plotters, etc.

A picture of the new upholstery on the steering seat

A new pump-out station of better design that allows for easy cleaning

The battery management system to our new 29 kW Li-Ion house bank

The new set of engine start batteries as well as the batteries to the stern thruster

The boat will be back in the water in about two weeks from now for extensive testing and finishing touches! Exciting times ahead!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Engine service "Moonshine"

Our boat's engine just got serviced. New oil and oil filters. New coolant. New engine fuel filters (2) and new Racor filters (2). The old impeller also got replaced with a new one. Turned out the previous impeller, before that, left some parts behind, that needed to be cleaned out, so the oil heat exchanger had to be disassembled, just so the mechanic could reach 'm. See picture. Glad we had it done and could now clean out everything.

What is interesting about the Vetus Deutz engine is that it uses diesel to cool the engine injectors. There are a few benefits. First, the diesel gets warmed up a bit. Secondly, a lot of diesel is pumped through the engine (about 55 gallon / 200 liters per hour, if I remember correctly), and so through the filters, resulting in the diesel being cleaned often. Added info: fuel pump return line can handle up to 540 liters per hour, indicating that my 200 liter per hour of fuel cleaning might be a low guess.

There might also be a drawback, and that's infected diesel that you do NOT want in your injectors. Hence, very fine engine/fuel filters and additional Racors. And we added the diesel dipper to also constantly clean out the tank.

An update from the shipyard? Moonshine will be in the water again between March 6 and 10. We'll take delivery of her three weeks later.

Regards, Edwin & Veronika

 

[Pascall]

The biggest disadvantage with cooling the injectors with diesel oil is that the diesel in the fuel tank is heated up considerably, this costs power, bacteria get more chance to develop and running the system with a day tank becomes a challenge.

Mvg,

Pascal.

 

[Salty Pelican]

No day tank & diesel dipper!

Regards, Edwin.

 

[twistedtree]

The biggest disadvantage with cooling the injectors with diesel oil is that the diesel in the fuel tank is heated up considerably, this costs power, bacteria get more chance to develop and running the system with a day tank becomes a challenge.

Mvg,

Pascal.

I believe all diesels do this to some extent or another. The circulating diesel both cools and lubricates the fuel injection components.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Yeah, exactly. And the additional filtration and prevention of water build-up in the tank helps prevent bacterial growth.

 

[Pascall]

True, but here it is something else.
There is an external fuel pump on the engine that is driven by a v belt, hence the large capacity.

 

[twistedtree]

True, but here it is something else.
There is an external fuel pump on the engine that is driven by a v belt, hence the large capacity.

Interesting. I haven't seen that before. Is it specific to the Vetus/Deutz?

 

[Salty Pelican]

I think it is, actually.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

D/L and S/L Ratio's for Moonshine and the LM65h

So I did some math on the D/L and S/L ratio's of both our current ship, "Moonshine", and the boat we are designing. Wanted to figure out, with a little help from Excel, what the D/L and S/L ratio's are.

Since the LM65h is designed from aluminium, she is much lighter (relatively) than the all steel (well, except the roof) Moonshine. For both ships I estimated half load conditions. LM65h is designed to sail at 10 knots continuously, while "Moonshine" is cruises nicely (and very economically: 2.9 Nm per gallon) at 7 knots.

Summary Moonshine:
- D/L ratio = 246
- S/L ratio = 1.01 (at 7 knots)

Summary LM65h:
- D/L ratio = 111
- S/L ratio = 1.236 (at 10 knots)

Numbers in the table underneath!

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Moonshine back in the water!

Moonshine is back in the water. All (new) electrical systems will be started up and tested next week. Very exciting times & underneath some pictures. I got "creative" and tried to explain my Hungarian family in law, that will sail with us in just 4 weeks from now, how everything on/near the dashboard works, and what it is for. Have fun!

...

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Another (short) update on Moonshine!

Here are two more pictures. The first one is of the new ... BMS? Yeah, that (and more) is what it is. Manages loads (between the 4 main LiIon batteries), etc. Pretty impressive kit. And I like how thick the wires are.

The second picture is of the bow thruster. The thrusters are (now) 7 year old, oversized, and electric. They just got completely overhauled. This one here sits under the bed in the VIP. The stern thruster is located aft, in the lazarette.

With a 10 kW generator adding weight to the port side of the ship, we consider moving the (100 kg) washer/dryer (yeah, Miele) from port to starboard. That way we'll need less balast to balance the ship out.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Pascall]

It all looks good, well equipped!
Ready for the trip north and hopefully you have good weather then we might have it too, have a good trip!

 

[Salty Pelican]

Thanks Pascal! Sailing north yourself coming spring?

Yeah, it really does depend on the weather window. If we have a good one, we'll exit to the North Sea via Rotterdam and sail up to the Limfjord in one go. Probably a total trip of 52-ish hours. We'll have a crew of four, by the way.

Is the weather not yet favorable, then we'll use inland waterways to sail "Moonshine" to the island of Vlieland and launch towards northern Denmark from there. A 34-ish hour trip, where the 2 to 3 day trips inside the Netherlands - to reach Vlieland - will help us find a better weather window.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Pascall]

The plan is to head north this summer.
We are still unsure about the destination, southern Norway or Stockholm followed by Godland.
Do you sail nonstop or are you looking for a port to spend the night?

 

[Pascall]

, I see it already, nonstop.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Woot, woot, Moonshine is almost ready. Shipyard will test sail her coming Monday and Tuesday. Raymarine & Dockmate will work their magic on Wednesday. We'll take the boat over from the yard a few days later.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Test-sailing "Moonshine"!

Back from two days of test-sailing the all-but-new, or at least vastly improved "Moonshine"! We were at the shipyard last Thursday (yesterday) at around 10:30 AM and spent the better part of two hours on board, talking to the mechanic, the electrician, and the yard manager, in order to familiarize ourselves with all the upgrades and the new start-up and shut-down procedures.

After that, we performed a 40 kilometer test-sail through the Biesbosch, then via the Amer River, and - finally - the Hollands Diep to the town of Willemstad, one of our favorite destinations. Everything went fine. Well, apart from the weather. We faced strong head winds of 6 and even 7 Bft. The waves at the Hollands Diep were a meter and a half to sometimes 2 meters high.

"Moonshine" is a Category-A, ocean going ship, and we were happy to see she coped with these difficult conditions. To the extend that it didn't seem to bother her nor us, her crew. We didn't even turn the stabilizers on (apart from some testing to see how the new electrical system kept up).

All systems worked well. The additional 110 amp/24 volt alternator does a great job at keeping the 29 kWh Li-Ion battery bank topped up. Even with most electric appliances turned on. The generator is only needed to soft-start the airconditioning (and does so automatically), and even then only when basically all other power consumers (cook stoves, stabs, washing machine, etc.) are on. Should the housebank drop below 30%, the generator kicks in automatically, unless it is night time, when she'll not start as long as 15% of juice remains.

Yeah, we went for a slightly over-engineered new electrical system. But given our plans to use "Moonshine" for extensive, even off-continent cruising, it's better to be safe than sorry, right?

I checked the DieselDipper, a device that separates out the water from the bottom of our tank and the diesel looked completely free of any contaminants or water. There are advantages to the engine's oversized fuel pump, that basically passes 200 to 300 liters of fuel through the fuel filters each hour (with the engine consuming like 9 liters per hour, while the rest is filtered and then returned to the tank)!

After spending the night at the city harbor of Willemstad - with a great dinner at Michelin star restaurant "Vista" - we sailed "Moonshine" back to her harbor. From Willemstad via the Hollands Diep, the Nieuwe Merwede, the Boven Merwede to Sleeuwijk. The wind blew with 5 Bft. from the side. We had a counter-current of 4 to 5 clicks. The autopilot seemed to struggle a bit more. Something that might have been caused by the combination of wind and current. A bit more testing in calmer conditions will generate more clarity.

Next weekend we'll sail with family to the province of Zeeland. Oysters, mussels, lobsters, and salt water. We'll keep you posted!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

 

[Mako]

Mr. Salty, whatever happened to your Hammerhead new-build project?

 

[Salty Pelican]

Hi Mako,

It is currently on hold. First, health issues in our immediate environment helped us refocus our time and energy on the now instead of the future. Making memories today, rather than a few years down the road. And the state of the economy isn't helping either.

So, out went "Salty Pelican", an inland and coastal, B-category, smaller steel water displacement yacht, suited for 3 seasons sailing. And in came "Moonshine", which can sail all year around and is suited for longer and more challenging trips off-shore. A 50 feet steel Cat-A water displacer.

The LM65h/Hammerhead design is ready and we found a shipyard that'll build her. On the back-foot, we keep on updating the design (new electro-motor for example, that replaces the "old" one as well as the thrust bearing, and is stronger as well). And when/if health issues are solved and the economy does better, we'll start building her. Not this year, though, I expect.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

Wanna see Moonshine's new dashboard?

Here's a video impression on how the dashboard of "Moonshine" looked and how it got upgraded at the shipyard. Also a picture of her being towed out of the maintenance hall, back to the boat lift and the water.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=710602380812559

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Mako]

"... refocus our time and energy on the now instead of the future" There's good wisdom in that sentence.

I like the short video on the nav station. BTW, what is the flooring in your saloon?

 

[Salty Pelican]

What's on the floor, "Moonshine"?

Hi Mako e.a.,

You are looking at some kind of ... vinyl I think the word is. It looks like tiles, but it is a vinyl glued to the floor. Very practical and easy to clean.

If you enter "Moonshine" from the stern, there is faux-teak dekking on the swimming platform and stairs and cockpit area. If you move forward - outside - painted anti-skid takes over. When you enter the salon from the cockpit, it is the vinyl discussed above.

If you go forwards and downwards towards the sleeping quarters and bath rooms, the vinyl continues. The sleeping rooms have actual carpet. This way anything dirty probably stays far away from those carpets.

The interior walls are wood with beige leather accents running horizontally as a returning theme.

Picture of the stern & faux-teak dekking and the tent-covered cockpit. Notice the 40 mm thick rails ...

The tent is insulated and basically extends the salon in spring and autumn. In summer, the tent walls go up or are replaced with anti-mosquito screens for extra air & ventilation. Current set-up is like we do it in winter. As the tent is heavily build and pretty well insulated, it keeps a lot of warmth in. The roof is a hardtop part of the ship's overall roof. It has three windows in it that look up. The middle one, above the cockpit, can be taken out, so that we can lower the mast for transversing the French canals. She then measures 3 meters and 45 centimeters instead of 5 meters and 45 centimeters.

The black scuttle (if that's the right word) to the right is an extra access point to the lazarette.

Regards, Edwin.

 

[Salty Pelican]

On the steering and autopilot, that are reacting a bit too slow to my liking: solutions are in sight. I spoke to both the shipyard and the manufacturer of the (hydraulic) steering system.

First, I'll check the potentiometer. It can be turned up and down, and turning it up will speed up the rudder's response time, as I understand it. Secondly, there is a sorta valve that can be opened (for manual tiller operation) or closed (for the hydraulic steering to work). If that's (partially) loose, that might also cause the slower than normal reaction time of the steering.

Since nothing actually changed to the steering system, at the shipyard, those two checks and potentially changes should bring the steering back to normal (which was very good, exact, and precise). If not (or if only partially so), then there's a software patch that can be installed to (further) improve the communication and reaction speed.

So, Thursday I'll know more. I'll be at the boat to prep and check her before departing on a long weekend cruise to Zeeland province. And if the first two interventions, mentioned above, don't do it, then I'll have the new software patch installed next month, on my way north, when we basically pass the steering system manufacturer's site.

Regards, Salty.