Designing & Building Hammerhead

[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]

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]

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]

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.

[twistedtree]

Originally Posted by 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.

Good luck on the shake down cruise!

[Salty Pelican]

Thanks TangleWood!

[Salty Pelican]

Back from a second shake-down cruise, where we visited the province of Zeeland for a few days with family.

We had ok weather. 5 Bft. on day one, 2 Bft. on day two, and 3 Bft. on day three and 4 Bft. on day four. No rain, a little sunshine every now and then. It remains almost unbelievable how stable and smooth the ride is in higher wind conditions! Very happy & impressed by that. The missus thought the 5 Bft. was more like 2 or 3!

All systems work fine. Only issues that need checking is that the oven trips the electrical system and a few lights in the salon stopped working. That'll be taken care of tomorrow.

I was able to speed up the steering assistance slightly. Manual steering is now all ok, but the autopilot is still slow to react. The manufacturer has a software update that'll be installed in about two weeks.

Here are some pictures of us having fun during the trip. We had a family meeting on the boat, with sushi, beer, and wine. We sailed to the salt waters of Zeeland, did some seal spotting and had great seafood!

Regards, Salty.

[Salty Pelican]

So, we found out that the oven is no longer in pristine working order. Probably the electrical insulation got compromised by the boat's movement. Rubbing of wires or something. Wires heating up triggered the GFCI.

Old oven (microwave, hot air oven combo, actually) is out. New one is bought and will be delivered tomorrow. To be installed next week.

Regards, Salty.

[Salty Pelican]

Saturday we sailed to Zaltbommel. Upriver, against the current, it took 2 1/2 hours. On Sunday we sailed back. Downriver and with the current. It took an hour and 15 minutes. But most importantly: everything worked fine!

We'll start a tour of the northern Netherlands this Friday. First, we'll sail via the Rotterdam harbor and via the North Sea to The Hague. Second day will see us do a 60 NM trip to Den Helder, where the Dutch navy and maritime museum reside. On Sunday, we'll do the Wadden Sea and sail towards Friesland. From there onwards, in smaller stints, we'll work our way back.

A total journey of 285 NM that we'll do in 7 to 8 days. Here's a Google Earth picture of the trip.

Regards, Salty.

[Salty Pelican]

This morning, from 8 am till 10h30 am we crossed the IJsselmeer from Urk to Enkhuizen. 22 kilometers of shallow water over the former Zuiderzee or "South Sea" (as opposed to "North Sea").

Depth? 2.5 to 4 meters. Wind force? 6 Bft. Wave height? 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet), but with a 1.2 second period. And that short period and the associated very steep waves, well, it was quite the challenge. Nothing scary or crazy, but about where "pleasure" is close to be taken out of "pleasure boating".

Anyhow, "Moonshine" did great and so did the crew (save one), and the MagnusMaster stabilizers allowed us to steer a course up to 90 degrees to the wind and wave angle, where another ship, that tried to come our way, had to abort the port course and had to keep beating into the wind, and find another harbor, more in line with the wind direction.

I never thought about how roll-damping helps out by creating more degrees of freedom on course selection. But I like the extra opportunities it creates. That and the overall extra comfort, of course.

I think the video does not do justice to the heavy and frequent beating we had to endure for 2 1/2 hours, but here it is anyhow.

Tomorrow? A day of sight-seeing in Enkhuizen. The day after, I expect the new software for the power steering to be installed. We'll probably sail to Friesland right after that.

Okay, cannot upload the video, because it is a MP4 format. So a picture of Veronika showing off our new "Moonshine" caps.

Regards, Salty.

[Salty Pelican]

Haha, here's the video via Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/10000912956...59909516267519

Regards, Salty.

[Salty Pelican]

Yesterday we visited the beautiful city of Enkhuizen. Over half a millennium of history in just a few pictures. And of course a picture of "Moonshine" at the Enkhuizen docks ...

Regards, Salty.