Designing & Building Hammerhead

[Salty Pelican]

My brother in law flew in from Hungary. We are exploring London and enjoying it. Great weather, interesting architecture, surprising ales.

Black water discharge pump broke, so showers ashore instead of on the boat. Probably the membrane, our engineer says. Any chance it might be blocked? Mind you, the hoses (and pump) are wrist-thick ...

Regards, Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

Tower Bridge ...

After three amazing days in London, the trip back home has started. Out of the port we turned starboard out, in order to take some nice pictures of Salty Pelican and the Tower Bridge.

Enjoy!
Edwin & Veronika.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Salty Pelican

Tower Bridge ...

After three amazing days in London, the trip back home has started. Out of the port we turned starboard out, in order to take some nice pictures of Salty Pelican and the Tower Bridge.

Enjoy!
Edwin & Veronika.

Three days is not enough time in London.

At least you missed spending time ***in*** The Tower of London!

Later,
Dan

[Salty Pelican]

We are in Ramsgate at the moment. A city in decline. Glory of a century past. Sad to see. Even in the harbor, the heart of the city, the facilities are bad or broken.

Good news? The black water discharge pump works again! We had the black water tank pumped empty via a shore station in London and that took care of the the blockage, it seems. Back to showers onboard, and that is lovely.

Today, our flotilla sails across the English Channel to Nieuwpoort, Belgium. A 70 NM journey. Skies are gray. It drizzles. Wind will be 2 to 3 Beaufort, so light conditions.

So far, for the journey, we used about 550 liters of our 1200 liters (310 gallon) diesel fuel capacity. We travelled for 51 hours, at higher cruising speeds than we normally do (2000 - 2200 rpm instead of 1800-1900 rpm). Also, the generator saw almost continuous use, since we need it to charge the stabilizer, and the heating system has been on 24/7 since it's cold. I like those numbers!

Regards, Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

We are back in the Netherlands. Had to fix the shower drain pump. The filter that protects the pump is really, really small and needed cleaning. Easy fix. Tomorrow we'll sail back to our home port in Vianen. Tonight we'll celebrate mothers day with (some of) the kids in Gorcum.

Have a nice weekend y'all!

Regards, Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

Here's an exciting update on the design and build of our new boat. We think we found the yard that's gonna build our ship. If all goes well, she could be ready in about 15 months from now!

More info in a few weeks. For now? Well, lots of detailing going on with the design.

One of the things we added, is a gangway. To help with (especially) Mediterranean mooring.

Here's a picture.

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Salty Pelican

Here's an exciting update on the design and build of our new boat. We think we found the yard that's gonna build our ship. If all goes well, she could be ready in about 15 months from now!

More info in a few weeks. For now? Well, lots of detailing going on with the design.

One of the things we added, is a gangway. To help with (especially) Mediterranean mooring.

Here's a picture.

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

Make sure you can deploy the dive ladders from the water.

I read an account where a guy was solo sailing in Scotland and he fell overboard at anchor. He had a very difficult time getting back on board and failed numerous attempts. He had enough energy for one more attempt and made it aboard by wedging his foot into the the gap between the hull and the top of the rudder.

If he had not gotten back on board with that last attempt, he would have died. He was so worn out that he laid down on a bunk and passed out. He did not even remove his wet clothes even though he was hypothermic.

If the boat had a ladder that could be deployed or used, from the water, he would have had not issues. Someone with cold, useless hands should be able to deploy the ladder.

Later,
Dan

[Salty Pelican]

Yeah, that's sound advise, Dan!

Regards, Edwin.

[twistedtree]

Originally Posted by dannc

Make sure you can deploy the dive ladders from the water.

I read an account where a guy was solo sailing in Scotland and he fell overboard at anchor. He had a very difficult time getting back on board and failed numerous attempts. He had enough energy for one more attempt and made it aboard by wedging his foot into the the gap between the hull and the top of the rudder.

If he had not gotten back on board with that last attempt, he would have died. He was so worn out that he laid down on a bunk and passed out. He did not even remove his wet clothes even though he was hypothermic.

If the boat had a ladder that could be deployed or used, from the water, he would have had not issues. Someone with cold, useless hands should be able to deploy the ladder.

Later,
Dan

That's required by ABYC, and I expect CE as well.

[Salty Pelican]

Yes.

Here's a picture of the general plan of the LM65h:

Regards, Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

Here's a close-up of the black water extraction points, fresh water and diesel tank filling points, and then some.

Regards, Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

Here's a view from the stern of the LM65h.

Greetings from Milano, Italy, where we are for a distilling exhibition. 31 degrees , great food and drinks, and a lot of sales opportunities for our still manufacturing operation!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Salty Pelican

...

Greetings from Milano, Italy, where we are for a distilling exhibition. 31 degrees , great food and drinks, and a lot of sales opportunities for our still manufacturing operation!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

I am sure the still that was on our land before we were the owners, did not look like the one in the image.

Before we bought the place, I was walking around and found where a still had been in use many decades ago. There was the rusted out remains of a can of kerosene for starting the fire and the top of a broken clay jug. If one has ever seen an episode of The Andy Griffith Show with the Darling's, the clay jug looks just like the one that Mr. Darling was playing.

Moonshining still happens in my county. But that is another story or two.

Later,
Dan

[Salty Pelican]

Yeah, our tech is like the new revolution in the distilling industry. We sell many of 'm. You can save at least 1 fte in workforce and 75% on energy costs, while producing drinks in a far more controlled manner. Based on conquering many countries all around the globe, in the last 9 years, after just two days in Italy, I can say: Italy will fall our way. Probably up to 40% market penetration in 2 to 3 years from now ...

In short: a great expo.

Regards to you all!

Edwin.

[Salty Pelican]

Dual function: side door and ladder.

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

[Salty Pelican]

Had a great talk today, finalizing the build specs of our new ship! Insulation will be a combination of armaflex, rockwool, and 'drip plates'. Hope that's the right word. Long story short: pretty great acoustic insulation numbers as well as good thermal insulation as well.

We also discussed the size of the Li-ion battery bank. 30 kWh it will be.

For night / intraread vision, we'll use the Raymarine Flir 300 system. With an additional augmented reality camera, and full integration with radar and AIS, to create an enhanced 360 degree surround vision.

We have secured the services of the Netherlands' best aluminium hull builder to build our hull #1. Expected build time will be 6 to 7 months. The shipyard will then fit the interior and technical installations in another 6 to 7 months.

As it looks now, LM65h #1 could be in the water by summer 2023. After that we have capacity to build up to two boats a year, with a throughput time per order of around 1 year (first installment to delivery).

More to come soon. We'll have a final decision meeting (go/no-go) in a week from now. Exciting times, since we have found a way forward (in these crazy, material-expensive, and component-shortage times) to not just build the boat, but do so in a manner that allows for a business case to build and sell more.

More info soon!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

[Salty Pelican]

The lower deck consists of three main "bodies". The engine room sits at the center. Together with the centrally placed fuel tanks (3), this results in a nice central pivot point for the boat. Also, this set-up creates a neutral trim in all diesel and water load conditions. No need to pump stuff around for trimming purposes.

The second main "body' is the master bedroom, which is spacious and comfortable, with a kingsize bed and its own toilet and shower. To insulate this sleeping room from the engine room, the main tank (3 m3) and toilet and shower are placed between the ER and master bedroom. The master bedroom is situated aft, since that's basically the most comfortable place, movement-wise, for sleeping.

The third main body are the guest accommodations, that sit forward of the engine room. The guest quarters are set-up for a couple or a couple with young kids. It sleeps 4 with a couch, turning this cabin almost in a mini-apartment. Or the couch can be turned into two additional bunks (pullman), one situated above the other. The guest cabin also has its own toilet and shower, that also serves as a day head. The toilet and shower sit between ER and guest room for additional insulation.

The space, opposite to the forward shower and toilet, going downstairs and forward to the guest area, also houses an additional freezer and a washer/dryer combo.

The sleeping quarters are not situated at the forward and aft extremities of the ship. Instead, that's where the steering (aft) and additional storage is placed (both aft and forward). By not having the sleeping rooms at the extremities, pitch will be less of a concern. We expect that to result in more and better sleep comfort.

The engine room has a wide and spacious lay-out. The idea is that all serviceable parts should be reachable with ease. The easier that is, the less efforts it takes to check, and the better these procedures will be upheld. That's the idea!

Regards, Edwin & Veronika.

[Salty Pelican]

Here's a picture of our ship's center line. It shows, well, the section at the center line.

A few things I like to highlight, concern the underwater ship design. First, the bow has a negative angle to it in order to reduce the pitch movement and optimize for length over water.

It is combined with a fine water entry. Slicing through water and waves, rather than bobbing over them, that's what we are after. Will it result in a slightly wetter ride? Probably, but it will create a more comfortable movement and a shorter net route between departure and destination.

The underwater ship broadens towards the mid-section, where the beam over water is at its widest: 4m20. A narrow ship, or LDL-designed ship, which stands for low displacement to length. What the goal of LDL-design is? Primarily better efficiency. Better efficiency results in lower diesel fuel usage results in smaller needed tanks results in lower weight, which - in turn - further lowers diesel fuel usage ...

For the keel, we decided for a long and sturdy design. A shorter one would have been good enough, and would have resulted in a lower total wetted area, resulting in further efficiency gains. We decided not to go there, but embraced the larger and sturdier design. Why? First, we expect the added course and roll stability will - in real life scenario's - outweigh the benefits of focussing on "just" efficiency. Secondly, the sturdy and long, full keel helps the ship when beaching. Yes, it can beach.

The ship is 1m25 deep. Deepest at the propellor window, of course. The main tank sits just behind the engine. Two wing tanks sit next or slightly in front of the engine. In full-load situations, the ship tilts a little bit forward, reducing the shaft angle, improving efficiency. At half- or light-load conditions, it is only the main tank that's full or partially full. As it sits behind the engine, the 1 degree tilt forward is no longer there, but replaced with a 1 degree tilt backwards in order to keep the prop as low in the water as possible. Again, to optimize for fuel efficiency in half- or light-load sailing.

The aft part of the underwater ship consists of two main parts. First, the ascending part, then the descending bit near the transom. Descending transom, Why? Next paragraph. First, let's dive into the ascending aft part of the hull. We designed it to ascend at a low angle. This helps the water stick to the hull (more efficient) and allows for higher speeds through the water. As in "higher than hull speed". We find this important, not just for efficiency, but also because it helps the LM65h accelerate down waves, preventing broaching as much as possible. A "slower" ship drags and brakes when it is pushed down a wave too fast, increasing the chances of broaching. This design offers the contrary. Means the LM65h can easily speed up to 14 knots, down-wave. Please note that her cruising speed will be 10 knots and her top speed - in calm water - 11 to 11.5 knots, depending on load.

Now onwards to the descending last bit of the underwater ship, aft. It descends to help the LM65h generate lift aft. This is important because, as a ship approaches hull speed, the forward sections create lift. Since a ship sits in the water, this lift "rotates' the aft section deeper into the water. And since the aft section is wider, drag numbers "explode" and efficiency is lost. For LM65h, to achieve its high cruising speed at very economical diesel fuel usage numbers, we invented (and heavily researched) this solution and the exact execution via (amongst others) CFD. It works. It helps achieve an overall diesel consumption, at 10 knots, of 1 liter per 1 kilometer travelled. With the 7,000 liter fuel tanks, this results in a hefty action radius ...

All right, the last design that we wanted to optimize what the transom itself. It is designed to take advantage of wave energy. LM65h can surf and take advantage of following seas.

That's it for now. I hope you like the info shared!

Regards, Edwin.

[mcarthur]

Originally Posted by Salty Pelican

... For LM65h, to achieve its high cruising speed at very economical diesel fuel usage numbers, we invented (and heavily researched) this solution and the exact execution via (amongst others) CFD. It works. It helps achieve an overall diesel consumption, at 10 knots, of 1 liter per 1 kilometer travelled.

That's an insanely good consumption figure! In comparison, Domino (the very efficient 65' powercat) is really close to 1L/km at 10kn, and the Dashew FPB64 is over that at about 1.3L/km at 10kn, both in cruising trim.

[Salty Pelican]

Thanks for the feedback and numbers, Mac. It is very efficient indeed. And these numbers are with the stabs, etc. included.

When we investigated ocean-crossing expedition vessels, what felt like being overlooked by the great majority of boats was: 1. The ability to cruise at high speeds to increase weather windows and sail away from (or around) harm; 2. A focus on comfortable movement at sea vs. harbor comfort, as seems the main objective of so many of today's boat and trawler designs; 3. Economy.

If crossing an ocean feels unsafe, one won't cross. If crossing an ocean is an uncomfortable affair, one won't use the boat for its intended use case. When the costs of doing that ocean crossing are expensive to the point of prohibitive, well, then one won't pursue that goal either.

Throttling down to 8 knots gets the numbers closer to 2 kilometers (a bit over 1 NM) per liter, by the way.

Regards, Edwin.