A Personal Note to Paul that all may read!

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Paul,

I just want to let you know that your keeping us up to date on your whereabouts and your progress on your boat has really caught my attention.  You know by now that I am a fan especially of the "original" Newporter.  It has been my first reaction to dislike anything that was not a "standard" Newporter.  I have found that "standard" seems to mean the Newporter as it was built to Ack's standards in regard to his design.  Therefore if I bought a Newporter built before "my time" as a builder I would want to upgrade it to those standards.  If I bought any, regardless of when or where it was built, and things were changed by the various owners, I would change things back to the Ack design.  Boy, was I narrow minded.  In my defense, the long friendship Ack and I developed during our years of our employer/employee relationship and then on that friendship has surely been the foundation of my way of looking at all Newporters.  Now to the meat of this note:

I have become a real fan of your schooner.  I even like your bowsprit, which is far removed from being "standard," but is more in the tradition of old time schooners.  Also in my favor, I have long ago come to appreciate what changes owners have done to their boats.  I have always believed that the owner owns the boat and is free to do to it as he sees fit.  I was the master builder when Lee Paterson had his boat built, and it left our yard brand new with a much changed interior.  He redesigned the galley and made changes in other places down below, all of which I heartily agreed with.  To his credit he also did a lot of the original changes himself, showing himself to be quite a carpenter.  He did an awful lot of changes through the years and he must have really liked what he did.  I didn't, and if I had that boat now I would hasten to retrofit to the original in those areas.  But it was his boat.

In these past months in which you have brought your boat to my attention you have succeeded in building in me a great appreciation of your boat.  I really like it.  Maybe not to the degree you like it, but the growing change of my idea about your boat has been positive and I thank you for helping me to see the "errors of my ways."  You have almost become my hero among owners.  Not because you have done anything the other owners didn't do, but, I think, because you have the Newporter I wish I could sail.  I've sailed a lot of the ketch rigged Newporters and I rigged a lot of the ketches.  I have sailed on schooners, I have sailed sloops, and I have come to believe that the ketch rig is to best to have because of its ease of handling, especially if short handed (I've sailed many of them alone).  But I find that your rig, as a stays'l schooner, draws out my 'what to do' feelings for a sail.  Though I think your boat may need more hands than my arms have I'm thinking that she would be an easy rig to sail, and a great joy to be aboard.

Again, thanks for getting through my thick head; I'm enjoying the change.

Peace,

       Clyde

[bob mitchell]

Well, I am just excited that you read it - I figured everyone would pass it by. If you would like a basic introduction into the units of energy so you can do your own energy calculations I would be glad to do it. By the way, I am just a simple carpenter as well, but I did teach physics for 23 years (until 2000). That damn educational box just got smaller and smaller, and I am a rebellious, and love my freedom - so I left teaching and became a craftsman, or crapsman, depending on your perspective! Anyway, Thanks for the read.....and thank Jan again for the great photos. I especially like the two atolls in the turquoise green sea. Surfs up!

[paul ~ sv; pink cloud]

Dear Bob,
you a smart guy about solar/ electrics id say! Wow, id also say! We run 37 hp perkins 107. But i get your point. The manager at my yard in mexico said in broken english.." If it was easy and a good idea id be converting every sailboat that comes thru this yard (18000) in 25 yrs, including my own." Its expensive and performance for cruising is not there yet"
But i say, " What about the sloar boat that just went around the world, and the solar plane did the same. There must be more effecient technology out there is what im thinking". He says gringo- keep ur perkins , smiles and walks off.
Bob , Thanks for the quick lesson. I thought jewels are what i had to sell (or not purchase) to own a sailboat??!
But im a simple carpenter With an inquisitive mind ... Hmm, Maybe we just convert to burn bio diesel and french fry oil. And here in the isles they make bio diesel from algae/ sea weed. Cool, but it cost a buck more than the 5 buck diesel ( fuel oil #2) that requires far less refine process than gas.. So what gives with that Mr Exxon? Ps , try pay some
US corp taxes. Grin

[Clyde A. Phillips]

REPOWER WITH ELECTRIC

Here is my Repower with Electric page on my BlogSpot site:

The following is in response to questions asked on  Newporter 40 Together.  The ultimate question is "Where can you direct me for information?"  The following three links will take you to three different sites on electric propulsion for boats.  Read them and enjoy.

http://www.propulsionmarine.com/electric

http://www.advancedmarineelectricpropulsion.com

 http://www.elcomotoryachts.com/products/elco-ep-motor.shtml

 

Charts of real interest are found on the Elco site.  (I suggest you (if you can) right click on each link and have the link come up on a new tab.  That way you can have several pages constantly handy.) Click on the chart name that you want and go directly there from here:

Electric Motor Sizing Chart

Electric Motor Performance Chart

 

These sites should give you some food for thought.

[bob mitchell]

        A lot of people confuse sophistication and complication as progress, but I always considered it stupidity.  While I can see that under normal circumstances "throwing money" at a problem can often result in a solution, I would hate to go to sea or be living on a boat that I was totally clueless about - i.e. the Beanute next to you. But that is the way the world is evolving - total dependency on the system - which is an awesome strategy to create helpless consumers.

          One thing about the electrical propulsion - just a basic perspective. Let's just consider that a 50 horsepower diesel is adequate for your propulsion needs. A horsepower equals 746 Watts, (both horsepower and watts being a unit of POWER or ENERGY CONSUMPTION OR PRODUCTION PER UNIT TIME)

        So 50 horsepower is equal to 37,300 watts. To create that amount of power in real time, straight from 100 watt panels, would require 373    100 watt panels. But of course, that's why you have batteries - to store the energy produced over a long period of time by low power solar, and then have it available for use at high power for a short period of time.

Power x Time = energy   (consumed or produced)   

A "Watt" is a Joule/sec, Joule being the standard unit of energy.

so a 100 "amp hour" battery (which is assumed in our culture to be a 12 volt battery, but they don't state that)

can, ( considering that Energy = volts x amps (current) x time,  which is the Power = energy/'time formula manipulated to solve for energy) hold, ideally, 

                                                                         12 volts x 100 amps x 3600sec  = 4,320,000 joules of energy...... and since, for 50 horsepower, you need 37300 joules per second, your battery will last 116 seconds, or about 2 minutes. AND THAT IS ASSUMING IDEALLY, NOT WORRYING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF HEAT PRODUCED BY THAT HUGE CURRENT. HMMMMMM....TEN 100 AMP BATTERIES WILL GIVE YOU 20 MINUTES AT 50 HORSEPOWER.

       Yes, there are all kinds of ways to cut your consumption, and improve your performance, but these calculations give you some realistic idea of what you are up against.

      One last calculation - you are stuck in the doldrums, but gosh that sun is beating down on you, and your two 100watt solar panels, producing maximum charging for your batteries at 200 watts, or 200 joules of energy per second. to charge one 100 "amp hour" (I put it in quotes because it is a bastard or incomplete unit) battery, which contains, ideally, 4,320,000Joules, will take 6 hours     (or 360 min. or 21600 sec).  AND THAT, MY FRIEND, WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER 2 MINUTES OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION AT 50 HORSEPOWER!!!!!!

So maybe that wasn't quite the last calculation..... as a ball park assume the sun can produce 500 watts per square meter of solar collector.  To get the required 37300 watts (50 hp) in real time would require 75 square meters of collectors, so you might need a barge.  Of course, all of these calculations can be applied to your sailing shaft energy production as well.

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Paul,

Your opinion ought to be everyone’s rule of thumb.  My brother-in-law use to say “It’s a poor set of feet that stands around and lets the body suffer”.  And you are right about the ability, even of the experts, to predict the coming path of a hurricane is sadly lacking.  Last October as Sandy was coming up the coast it was predicted to go scooting up the coast a comfortable distance off shore.  Then a couple days before getting to our area the forecasters were saying it will turn 90 degrees or so and head straight in to the Jersey coast and straight across the state into Pennsylvania and then continue west through PA and then north and then northeast and away.  The last predictions gave the center of the storm as passing within 7 miles south of us. That was about four hours before its leading edge would hit us.  Then, as I looked for the next hourly report it was not to be found.  We had some wind, 60-65 mph and gusts over 75, but no hurricane.  I found out the next day that it got to about 50 miles offshore heading straight toward us than it blew itself apart and was no longer a hurricane; it became a post tropical storm and changed directions to northerly (with no predictions) and riddled the northern shore area of NJ and into NY.  You take your life into your own hands when you blatantly disregard storms.

NOW, TO YOUR ELECTRIC BOAT PROPULSION QUESTIONS:  I have put another page in my Blogspot site a bunch of links to give you a start.  I got my start by searching for “electric propulsion for boats” or something like that.  That turned up a lot of info.  What I listed on my site has power enough for a Newporter.  Elco seems to have diesel/electric rigs available with a diesel powered generator that can both charge your batteries or run the electric motor (while charging, I think).  Their chart, the last link I give, will be most informative.  Now, with all that, I did not find my link to another site that I liked, but their largest motor is listed for boats a little smaller than Newporters.  Elco speaks of vessels quite a bit bigger than Newporters.  Do your research and enjoy the results thereof.   

Peace,

        Clyde

[paul ~ sv; pink cloud]

Morn clyde,
We have remnants of tropical storm Flossie today. Lots of media hype to this sailor..!
By the time the system made it to Oahu it was all but gone. However the local news had 24/7 coverage of the "hurricane" It was never a hurricane, almost for a couple says as it spun towards the big island. Impressive though! Big island and Maui and lanai and Molokai did get some wind and lightning and dumps of rain.
As a sailor it is very impressive and eye opener of how important it is to go the orher way! Dont even think about temping fate- why? My opinion.
Yet we saw 2 transpac race boats leave honolulu on sunday headed for san Diego as this storm was only 50 miles to the south of the island of Hawaii- foolish in my book. No one knows what way the storm may track! Maybe ten years sgo we had A hurricane skirted below the isle chain, then take an non predicted 90 degree north tack and it clobbered isle of Kauai. People died and much much property damage.
Oops, off subject.
Clyde you touched on someting Jan and i have been discussing and very much lesnig toward- electric motor to replace my perkins 107 diesel.
What sources would you point me too? I have read about come conversions and a friend in Mexico yard said he was on a sail craft in san Juan
Island ( strong tides) wa state , near canada. And the electric could not power agsinst the tide current and then batteries went out. They drifted and luck kept them off the rocks in the pass between isles they we attempting.
I have motored thru that pass, i asked was tide slack- the guy didnt know? Well it runs at 7 knts. And then he told me the skippers wife did wash and dry that morn and every morn .. On house battery .. Huh, thats jus plain dumb i said.
Anyway. Pinkcloud is thinking about this modification after i cross to honolulu. We have 200 watts of solar now and the prop shaft low rpm alternator that charges batt bank when we are under ssil, and it could produce as well when shaft is spun by an electric motor.
We have a bank of 3 ea 8 DA on board now.. Im
Looking at how much space that perkins engine and fuel fuel tank takes up. Thinking 6 more 8 DA and double on the solar panels. May be our direction.
We are 37 hp with a great 3 blade prop. And i do motor sail often. As the wind doest rarely give me exact what we need. So 1200 rpm and sails is the key to get 6 knots the direction we want to go. So that said, i want an electric that can do that fir several hours at a time, suplement ssil- QUIET, and no. 5 bux a gall fuel to purchase. Today for 200 gal of fuel is a thousand buxs!! Not what i want to look forward to in my cruising years ahead.
Thoughts, comments clyde, or anyone following this site. Good bad or otherwise i want to tead it all snd get a cost idea id i do much of the work myself.

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Paul,

What a testament to Ack and his Newporter.  Your report was a joy to read.  One of my favorite designers (I have many) would not have a boat smaller than 40 or 45 feet long with an engine.  He said that 95% of the problems on a boat was the engine and you use the engine less than 5% of the time.  I agree, and I'm thinking now that that I'd replace the fuel guzzler engine for an electric motor (they are available now for boats up to 16000 pounds).  You only need the engine to get away from the dock sometimes.

Your amazement of four water systems, etc., must have developed from designers from the house and car building industries who designed boats to give house like systems.  The problem is the needed mechanics for a house may live next door--you'd be hard pressed to match that half way across the ocean.  Want a good boat?  Find a designer who has sailed and who understands boats and boating.  Simple systems built to maintain is the way to go, and sailing designers know all about that.  And some owners begin to learn that the old ways are the good ways and that if you can do with less you should.  It will less trouble.  Old Francis Herreshoff knew that.  He design a 28 foot canoe yawl with oars for power and a cedar bucket for the head.  And he designed it in the 1960's after the start of the "let's make it like a house" philosophy of boat design was already showing its ugly head.

Thanks for the good read, and keep up your good work.  Good sailing.

Peace,

       Clyde

[paul ~ sv; pink cloud]

Wow. Senior Clyde. Gracias amigo. Glad i can at leat be of some amusment to you .
After 6 weeks on pink cloud and sailing and enjoying every dayfrom Oxnard ca, where we were for the winter, to present 70 miles south of san diego in Ensenada i need bow down to ack and his people that produced such craft.
Not a day goes by in the yad when a world cruiser here for bottom paint or more drops by and tells me how they love the lines and the utilitarian virtue of my boat!
Wow, pink is 57 yrs old, and to have an owner an wife of an oceanious 52 that has been around the world twice stop and tell me he would take my boat round the world. But he would not take the $600 grand beanaute 52 next to me ... Calls them "bent and tow". True that, the 52 has all kind of complicated problems. From leaking prop shaft.. I mean sink a boat leak. to the mega complex fresh water system. Ive become friends with the perplexed owner.. Who needs 4 heads on a 52 ft yacht? Dumb! It has 4 seperate water tanks., first to a centrAl manifold, then to the 4 heads plus galley . Poor Ron, the galley faucet spurts air, but the heads are fine, one 300$ pump later and its the same ., my point , i have one tank one pump. One head and one galley and i can see every inch of poly pipe and coupling in the entire ststem,
I mentioned his prop shaft leak. Volvo penta has a rubber gland that is not serviceable. If and when it leaks you buy a new one, and remove the shaft to install it. Oh by the way they tell him his shaft is pitted and really should be replaced?? Huh, this is a 600$ k boat not a dozen years old. My shaft is 57 yrsvold and fine!
So ron asks me and the oceanious 52 world cruiser. Mike tells swith go back to old style packing gland like he has and my boat has, serviceable anywhere in the world.
That is what ron is doing now, having a bolvo penta rubber boot replaced with a double bronze nut!
Back to work for me.
Out from ensenada work yard.
Paul