INFORMATION FROM CLYDE A. PHILLIPS

[bob mitchell]

Clyde A. Phillips was a foreman at the Newporter boatyard in New Jersy. His knowledge and understanding of Newporter 40's, as well as his willingness to share with everyone, is an invaluable resource for us all.
Any information from Clyde, regardless of where else it might appear on the site, will also appear on the "Information from Clyde Phillips" BLOG, readily available to everyone. The blog format was chosen because it is easiest to organize and to add accumulating information.
If anyone has additional Clyde Phillips information, you can put it in a FORUM, and I will copy, without disturbing your forum, and put the copy in the Clyde information blog as well.
Thanks for the help on this important documentation.

CONTENTS:

Masts (emails, and diagrams, Mast Construction Paper)
Bilge Drainage (email)
Mast Step, Rake of Masts, Keelson Repair (emails and diagrams)
"Drawings of Sails" Forum Comment
General Comments on Construction Sequence, Boatyard Experiences, and Accessing Floor Bolts (Email)
DISCUSSION BETWEEN BOB AND CLYDE CONCERNING MAST STEP AREA REBUILDING
Finger Joint in Chine Area Diagram
Insight into deck/cabin side junction
Historic and Technical Comments on Newporter Boatyards
Stem/keelson intersection
Propeller Shaft Dimensions
Furling Hooks and Eyes on Booms
Mizzen Sail Rigging

Ballast Keel Configurations (email)

Chine and planking information

Clyde Discusses Lightening Protection on Newporters
Frame Sawing, and a Little History
MASTS:

Mast Construction

Wood:
1-1/8 inches thick Sitka spruce, vertical grain
3-1/2 inches wide for side staves
5-1/2 inches wide for forward and aft staves

Unless you can get pieces forty feet long you will need to join enough pieces by scarfing. We used a scarf ratio of 12:1, giving a 13.5 inch scarf. Ack always insisted on keeping scarf joins separated (though even with urea formaldehyde glue I found that the joints were stronger than the wood).

You will not have the convenience of having several hundred lineal feet of spruce to choose from, so figure your joint placement before you order (if you can, find out from a supplier what lengths you can get). Ack also insisted on the top of the joint be inside the mast. I think that was to allow water to run down the mast without going up into the joint (two layers of fiberglass should take care of that). Your choice. Mine would be to follow Ack, but that’s the tradition (that started when such was necessary). Remember, keep it all straight at the joints. But curved wood can be straightened during glue-up and clamping (and so can joints that set up not quite straight).

After joining all the scarfs you should have four pieces 40 feet long, two 3.5 and two 5.5 inches wide. Next step (not counting fixing up a glue-up jig which will be discussed later) is to taper each piece. Only the top 8 feet are tapered. If the
side to side width is not given on your copy of the mast plan, one of you can take a trip to the main mast head for some measurements, or, if you have it, measure the old mizzen head fitting. The diagram illustrates two (old and new) shapes we
used. I think the new shape was to prevent the halyard wearing away the fiberglass under the slot (it exposes more of the sheave). After the mast is glued up the head area was customized for the head fitting that would be used on it. (Did I say somewhere that most of our fittings were made ‘in house?’) The head fittings were made of steel straps bent to shape, welded, and then galvanized. It’s the galvanizing that made us fit the head to the fitting rather than the fitting to
the head. It’s an art, not a science, because the wood had to be shaped before it was fiberglassed, so we had to guess how much glass to allow for (and some other gent would be putting the glass on!).
The taper on the forward and after pieces is toward the centerline. On the side pieces all the taper come off the forward edge. The after piece is the only one that is straight from step to top—for the sail track.

Now, let’s step back and take a breath. We should now have four pieces a little over 38 feet long, each are tapered. Next step is making the rabbets on the forward and aft pieces. First, draw a line parallel to, and 1-1/8th inches from, each edge, full length, on the inner surfaces (remember the scarf glue line runs down the mast from inside out, high, to the outside, low). This guides you in putting down the glue and placing the plywood. Ack was the only boat builder I’ve run into that uses this method of rabbeting. But it works and is easier. If you prefer real rabbets and cut them in at a quarter in depth your side pieces need to be four inches wide.

Take a sheet of quarter inch plywood and cut ten 8 foot strips no wider than 3-¼ inches wide. They could be narrower, but not by much—just a wee bit (if you don’t know by how much, relax. I never did either. If you are a little hesitant, go for 3-¼ inches). I liked to allow the forward and after pieces be a little full proud of the side pieces (this is done with the slightly narrower plywood). It’s easier to sand down the edges (total of 2-1/4 inches) than to sand down the 3-1/2 inches of the side pieces.

Take a couple of these plywood strip and temporarily brad them to the very top of the pieces (in the area of taper). Using whatever marking guide you used to mark the guide lines, mark the plywood and cut the tapers. Now you can glue the plywood to the spruce. Keep glue off the areas where glue will go later when you assemble the mast.

Solid blocking goes at the foot, the head, at the “partner” bolted to the doghouse top, and at the thru bolted tangs for the lower shrouds (as I remember it). The blocking is the same width as the plywood forming the ‘rabbets’ and as high (the mast is now laying down on its after face) as the width of the side pieces minus the plywood and glue. The lengths are as given on the mast plan. The tops of the blocking below the head are cut at an angle to shed water (if any gets in) to the front of the mast. A channel for wiring (and drainage) is cut on the forward face down the center of each block all the way to the end. Pure guess time: this channel is ½ x ¾ inch, wide and deep—check the plan. We painted the tops of the blocks and the channels (after the blocks were glued down and before the wire was put in) with Quigley’s #9 black paint. Ack’s choice. It is (was?) for painting metal, light weight so it seeped in good, messy, and a slow, very slow, in drying.

Assembly of the mast begins with gluing the blocks to the after piece. We would toenail (with small nails) the ends to prevent sliding on the glue, and clamping them in place to dry. Keep them centered on the plywood (edges flush). After the glue sets install the wiring. What wiring? Whatever you want. Antenna lead-in for one. Any lights that you may want, horn on forward face, etc. Design your wiring harness to accommodate your needs and figure where you want each wire to exit the mast. If you plan for all wires to exit the after face you can do all the wiring before you start gluing. Keep in mind all fasteners and bolts used in completing the rigging as you plan the wiring. Drill holes of the size that will allow the wire to pass through but tight enough to hold the wire until you dig it out. The wire ends should be flush with the outside surface of the mast. The lower ends of the wires exit the forward piece at a point just below the cockpit sole (my memory again, I think that is above the bottom solid block, check it out). The upper ends exit where you need them. But remember, have enough wire at the ends to pull them out and be long enough to reach whatever they are powering. They need to be laid out so that they will not tangle as you pull them out. You may want to staple the wire (using bronze (or stainless steel if they are made) staples) though I don’t remember stapling except in the block channels. I vaguely remember leaving the wires tight but swinging loose between the blocks, not a smart way of doing it. If (and I recommend it) you staple the wires to the after piece between the blocks you will need extra wire. Make sure the wiring harness is not too big for the channel.

Now the fun begins. You may need help, even a lot of help, for this step. You are now going to glue up the whole mast. You will need to know the working time of the glue you are using and you have to get it all done before the glue sets up.

Our mast press was set up with a narrow table just outside the press proper. I’ll go through this as if you have something similar. (I will draw up the press as we had it, and give an idea of how you can do it without that one.) Put the after piece, with the solid blocking glued in place and with the wiring where it should be, on this table. You will be putting on the side piece that is “on the other side of the mast” first. Glue the sides of the blocks and the mating parts (per glue instructions) full length and put the side piece on. Line up the two pieces at the head, letting the foot fall were it will (all four pieces should be longer than you need so that after the glue sets and you have shaped the head and sanded the mast you can cut it the right length as you make the step tenon). I nail it in place to hold it together until its in the press (one nail to a block placed where they will not be in the way of the press). Don’t drive the nails home (they come out after the glue sets). Do the same with the near side piece. Last is the top (forward) piece, you shouldn’t need nails here. As you put on each piece the wires that exit through that piece are stuck through pre-drilled holes. Since we used a urea-formaldehyde glue we put the glue on only one surface and that reduced the possibility of getting into the already spread glue as we held the piece up and put the wire in the hole. Slide this assembly into the press and press until set.

The next step is the part I enjoyed most. I spent an entire work day sharpening my chisels and planes, because here’s where you carve out the mast. Pull the mast out of the press, put it on your mast work table, and sand it down. Here’s where you sand the proud parts flush and sand off the glue Two pieces of spruce are now glued to the head (see diagram below). These extend the head fore and aft and provide additional support for the mast head fitting.

I had a one horsepower router with a one inch radius “bull nose” bit (quarter round) to ‘nose over’ the corners from the foot to where the taper begins (8 feet from the top). Then with plane and chisel I would carve out a tapering bull nose to the top. Wind up with about a 3/8th inch (or slightly smaller) radius at the top. The small radius must be large enough for fiberglass to lay on the wood properly. Hand sand this unless you like power tools. I liked the hand work, and I was getting paid by the hour. The first set of masts I built I did all the bull nosing with plane and chisels. It doesn’t take all that long and is a joy to do.

A slot is now made fore and aft through the head for the halyard sheave. The bottom of this is shaped to shed water (see diagram). This is centered on the middle thru bolt hole in the head fitting

The mast now gets two layers of fiberglass. You may need another way to do this, but we first fiberglass the head down to below the head fitting. The fitting is now installed. We had fittings to attached to the head and foot that allowed the mast to be suspended so that the entire mast was clear to apply the ‘glass (see diagram). The rest of the mast was now given the two layers of fiberglass. It was then sanded smooth and (if I remember correctly) was given a layer of clear resin. After that cured the mast was varnished. It always amazed me that the finished product looked like varnished wood with no fiberglass.

Now go fishing. Fish out all the wires and pull out all the slack. You have to cut off from over the wire holes. Needle nose pliers are useful here. You will chew up a little of the wood in doing this—there’s no other way. Use a silicon seal to waterproof each hole.

The fiberglassing process covered the halyard sheave slot, so cut out all the glass that is not attached to the wood and sand the edge of the glass smooth. You now have bare wood inside the slot. We applied a layer of silicon seal on the wood to waterproof it. Keep it as smooth as possible, remembering that the sheave has to be able to turn freely.

This will be typed and read faster than it can be done: install all fittings and rigging and step the mast. Now you can sail a ketch rigged Newporter.

RIGGING DIAGRAMS

March 3, 2009


Bob,

Got your email and will spend my spare time working to get things compiled. I'll send them to you with my permission to make them available on your site.

Some notes: In my days with the NP's, two layers (one wrapped twice around) of fiberglass were put on the masts. The "plywood rabbets" were installed under all the solid blocking. We used urea formaldehyde (Weldwood) glue (I think I'd go for epoxy now). I sealed the tops of the solid blocking and the wireruns with Quigley's #9 which is (was?) a steel primer, black, slow drying, and it really soaked in. I noticed that your solid blocking seemed to be layered. We used one piece blocking. The upper surface was angle down maybe 10 degrees to the wire groove. I agree wholeheartedly about the abrupt change in sectional area. Robert M. Steward in his book (Boatbuilding Manual, highly recommended) calls it the "Rhodes" type block. It calls for a double V cut into the ends (set 90 degrees to each other) rather deep. We called it a squid cut. It will require a third more or so of blocking material. Is it needed? I've never heard of a mast breaking at the end of the blocking, but I'd rather not hear of it, so I recommend the squids cuts.

By the way, I don't consider that what I say is the final word. The builder using my "instructions" should use his own judgment. A friend in Canada needed a new bowsprit and I gave him what I had, including all my "good advice." He made it his way and he turned out a beautiful job. As boat yard foreman I always allowed the workers to do it their way. Their way every bit as good (if not better) than mine, and faster than having them learn my way. I just told them what I wanted to see when the job was done.

Good sailing,

Clyde

March 6, 2009

Bob,

I am now in the process of getting all the info needed to build new masts for the Newporter. I have the 'blue' prints for the mizzen and a friend has them for main and mizzen. We both are trying to get things up on a blog so they will be available to all. I worked for Ackerman in New Jersey and building the masts was one of my jobs. They are easy to build and anyone with some woodworking experience should have no problems. Let me know your needs. I will spend some time to gather what I have already written about this kind of project for you if you are still in the need.

Peace,

Clyde

BILGE DRAINAGE

March 29, 2009


Bob,



First, no payment wanted (fouls up my income tax). Second, helping out on someone else's boat for the insight it will give you is a very good idea. Go to it. Now to the 'good' stuff.



The only route for water to get to that bilge water sump is as you describe—from its source down the bottom to the keelson through all those limber holes to the sump. That’s if all else is well. But if your hull is compromised in some way, like a crack in the glass at the garboard where it would leak directly to the sump area—but that would be, to quote me, from its source. That’s not likely if you only have water in the bilge because of rain.



But these boats where designed to have NO water in the bilge and I wouldn’t settle for less than that. Find out where that water is coming from and keep your boat dry. Ack advertised with a picture of a girl putting food stuffs, including flour, in the bilge.



Concerning the size of the sump: You can find that by measuring the inside diameter of the sump and its depth. As I remember, the sump was made of a plastic tube (hopefully with a plastic bottom) that slid into a hole drilled through the apron (or keelson, I use both terms) into the keel. I’m sure this was waterproofed somehow (this was before the day of the epoxies) to protect the apron. After the sump was positioned in the keel the apron was drilled from both sides through the plastic sump and those holes were lined with plastic tubes, bonded to the sump. The enclosed picture (“Pumps Number1.bmp”) shows this arrangement. A bilge pump was install in the sump.



Some notes about the enclosed pictures: They are drawn from my forty year plus memory. There is no scale so there is no positive comparison from part to part; therefore the depth of the sump may be much greater than it looks in the picture.



Notes on construction: reference the picture “Framing Details 2.bmp” – the external keel was made up of a nominal 8 inch “core” covered with a layer of ¾ inch marine plywood on both sides. A molded keelson was fastened to the keel (I’m not sure how, and the ‘how’ may have changed through the years). The bottom and side planks (only four, two bottom and two side) were glued and boat nailed to the frames. The bottom planks (and possibly the keel itself) was fastened to the apron using Dolphinite Bedding Compound, not glued. We used a urea formaldehyde (Weldwood type) glue. The boat nails and bolts were galvanized. Bronze bolts were used through the ballast keel (which basically was iron on the west coast and lead on the east; possible exceptions to this), through the keel, and through the apron. The boats built at Leesburg, NJ used wire nails for the planking on most, if not all of their boats. Ack was no longer involved, so he couldn’t argue. Leesburg’s idea was that the nails were only being used to hold the planking until the glue dried. Ack idea was that if the nails gave way the glue would hold and if the glue gave way the nails would hold. All of this was high tech then, or at least acceptable practice. I do remember that the planking at the chine has only glue. While being glued, clamping pressure was applied with a lot of short (1 ½” ) lag screws. After glue set up these were removed , the holes drilled to a standard size, and wooden plug were driven in and glued. This was done so that a sweeping curve could be sanded into the chine to soften it somewhat. See the “Framing Details 2” picture. There are other details that I can give later, but this, I hope, covers the current question.



It’s late and sending this off now with no promise that all you need is in it. I’ll check it later and make need corrections if I find any. If you have other questions, just ask.



Peace,



Clyde

MAST STEP, MAST RAKE, KEELSON REPAIR

April 6, 2009


Bob,

First, think about using oak to relaminate the keelson--oak will "come and go" with humidity at a different pace than plywood. This could cause problems in the future. I'd route out the bad back to good wood (plywood) in steps, each step smaller as you go down, and use 3/4 inch marine plywood for the repair. I would go against my philosophy of making repairs the same as the original and use epoxy because perfect fits are not necessary and gluing pressure doesn't have to be as great.

Concerning the mast and its step (from memory, but will check later today and get back to you): I think the step is parallel to the water (level) in the prints, and the step covers three floor timbers. If yours is still intact measure the position of the mortise in the step as to its relation to the frame it crosses (memory again; it may not cross a frame--if not, record its position keyed on the frames forward and aft of the mortise). I always wedged the mast to the center of the partner (the galvanized fitting bolted to the housetop). There is a slight rake aft to the mast. Look at every picture you can find on the web or in your collection of Newporters and you will see this. Note in so doing that the mizzen seems to be vertical in most the boats. I have noted that some of the boats have the mizzen partner (the fitting at the aft end of the doghouse top) slightly off center, which causes it to be out of vertical when viewed from astern. The combination of rake in the main and a vertical mizzen (viewed from the side) is counter to the tradition in the "old timers" to have greater rake in the after mast than the forward mast or equal rake in both.

I'll be getting back to you later with a completion of an email I started some time ago, and with confirmation of the step construction from the drawings I have.

Peace,

Clyde

April 6, 2009

Bob,

I've looked for that drawing I still think I have, but I had no success in finding it. So, here is a drawing I just made with Paint (that draws best on the square--very poor for drawing boats). Basically this shows my poor old memory again. The mortise must center on the keelson, with its fore and aft position being maintained at its present position. If every thing is sound around the step you will have no need to worry about measurements, but if you must replace the step get good measurements. The plane where the floor meets the frame is the frame station. Forward of the widest part of the boat the frame is forward the station, the floor is aft. Aft of the widest part, the frame is aft of the statiion with the floor forward. (That's my memory without checking. What ever you find is what it is.) Without the sole you should find this relationship with no problem. If a frame is about where I show it, measure fore and aft of that frame's station. Otherwise use the nearest frame and take two measurements, one for each end of the mortise, from the station being careful to list exactly how those measurements relate to the frame.

By the way, in my career as a rigger I was requested many times to place a coin under the mainmast on the step. (Some old sailor's tradition from somewhere.) The owners provided the coins and I put them all in. The biggest were twenty dollar gold pieces. Many silver dollars were use, and several other between the two. One owner requested that the coin be driven into the end grain of the bottom of the mast. I just put them in as the owners' requested but never even thought of making a record of the coin or the boat number in which it was set.

About using a plumb bob: you could drop a bob down to locate the mortise but unless the boat is level in relation both fore & aft and athwartship the bob will only tell you "something is out of plumb." Your sails can tell you about the rake of the masts. Rake to me is beautiful, plumb masts always look as if they are leaning forward. This comes from my Chesapeake heritage and I make no apologies for that. Regardless, all booms, when the sail is amidships, should be horizonal. If the sail is 90 degrees between the mast and boom the mast should be vertical. If less than 90 degrees, the difference should equal the rake. Rake can be changed on a boat by the thickness of the wedges at the partners, or at the step. One inch different at the partners will make about 8 inches difference at the head. Something to think about, and this can be done after the masts are stepped. If you find to your satisfaction that you might want to move the foot ahead after the masts are stepped, you may want to lengthen the mortise before the stepping. Just in case I haven't mentioned it before, I always wedged the main at the partners dead center. After so doing I found that the main lined up well with the stem. Luckily I always had a place at the shipyard where I'd put the boat so that I could see her from a good distance to check this. A plumb bob would work well here, and if the wind keeps it swinging use the old salts' trick of a bucket of oil in which to submerge the bob to stablize it.

I'll still be looking for that drawing. Even if it's late for you it may be of interest to others. For this question about the step I'll photocopy both of the steps and make them available.

Peace,

Clyde

April 7, 2009

Bob,

Your picture shows the step, the flat piece about as wide as the apron and spans three floors (the vertical piece that crosses the apron and is bolted to the bottom frames on each side of the apron). It was installed as one piece but split some time later. It looks to me as if the after end of the mortise (if this is for the main mast) is right at the after face of the floor timber--a good mark for placing the mortise in a new step.

Some confusion seems to exist in our communications. That's not good, maybe this will may things clearer. The "after mortise" (I think I used that term) is under the mizzen mast (the "after" - meaning the one toward the stern - mast) and the forward mortise is under the main mast; both are the slots in the steps into which the mast tenons are put in order to hold the masts in place. I think the picture is of the main mast step, which puts it 20 or so feet ahead of the "after mortise." Hopefully this is clear if you haven't acquired the maritime lingo; if you have, forgive the ranting.

Pictures--keep the size pictures you have now. The resolution you used for the step is just right. I have no trouble downloading that size, and most importantly it allows me to see details that would not be visible with small pictures--I may need to look at something that at the time you aren't interested in, but may prove invaluable to me to see what has happened. (Don't show that sentence to my retired English teacher wife!)

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the work ahead of you. It makes me feel that your boat fell into good hands and she'll be sailing again in Bristol fashion.

You are most welcomed to share and ask what you will. It's a real joy to be of use to someone.

Peace,

Clyde

added in July 2009, from email

Blueprints: we built with patterns and each man had his own little book of notes to give him directions. But they are around. The only problem being the ones I have are in poor shape (some areas faded into nothingness).

"DRAWING OF SAILS" FORUM COMMENT

"Louis Larson was the sailmaker for the Newporters in the 60's and 70's. They ran for about a $1 a square foot back then."

COMMENTS ON CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE, BOATYARD EXPERIENCES, FLOOR BOLTS
APRIL 14, 2009

Bob,
As a part of the "commercial gang" (shipyard hands doing repair on workboats and an occasion yacht) I had some re-rigging to do to a large sightseeing sloop that had a slack rig with the turnbuckles bolt to bolt. When we hauled her out we found out why: the mast was being pushed right out through the bottom! Not a good way to go. Seems the skipper was a stink-potter and had no understanding of a sailing rig.

The Newporters’ frames were made on a steel "framing table" on which all the critical lines were scribed for all the frames and on which all the wood parts (bottom frame, side frame, deck beams, chine knees, floors, and one chine on each side gusset were glued and fastened. After the frames were unclamped from the table it was flipped over and the other chine gussets were glued and fastened. The side and bottom frame pieces were "finger joined" at the chine and glued. You are correct about the frames being bolted to the keelson from below, long before the bottom planking was put on. To get that bolt up as far as you did seems to indicate that you pulled the head all the way through the keelson (which would indicate something other than good wood in the keelson).

Another war story: I was taking the upper guard off an oyster boat and was able to get most of the bolts out with no more than expected troubles, except for three rather large ones (which had 'washers' of about 3-4 inch diameter). Two of them would not move, the other I was able to get out about a couple of feet(!) when I decided to check inside to see what was happening. All three were not the normal bolts, they were tie rods, went all the way through the boat from side to side, twenty-two or so feet. I had pulled that large washer through the opposite side--guard, outside clamp, frame, inside shelf and all. Talk about a lot of soft wood.

In thinking about your problems I thought about what I would do if I had a Newporter with similar problems. Recognizing, as you did, the importance of sound frames at three stations at each mast, I think I would take the plywood off from the garboard (the seam between the bottom planking and the keel) far enough toward the chine to expose about a foot of good sound frame wood (for scarphing on new wood), sawing the forward and after kerfs in the planking in the middle of the bays (the space between two adjacent frames) forward and aft of the three frames on which the step sits. Do all this only if poking around the keelson and frames shows unsound areas needing replacing (that one with the partly removed bolt certainly needs something done). This would be a good idea for all frames where you find questionable wood. The scarph should be the hook scarph and I think I would put in two or three bolts. See ‘scarph’ in Robert M. Steward’s Boat Building Manual for a good description.

Since this is a discussion about renewing the area involved with the masts we can’t forget the chainplates and their adjacent wood. If the sealant around the chainplates in the holes of the cap rail has deteriorated (probably the first step in the rotting of this area) or the bulwarks seem less than good around the chainplates, replacing the bulwarks may not be the only thing needed. There is solid blocking below the deck against the side planking that may be showing signs of rot. The chainplates have their lower ends bent 90 degrees to form a hook that wraps under the blocking. The attached picture gives you a good view of this.

donaldmarine.com/1967newporter.html has some good pictures of repair being done. Click on each picture to get it full size, right click on that picture to “save picture as” and save each of them to a file. I don’t think I’d put them on the blog without permission from Donald Marine, but a link to them might work just as well. There are other sites out there that give pictures of what some people have done to make repairs, and they all can be helpful. Googling “Newporter40” may not get them all, but googling just “Newporter” gives you thousands of sites of no interest to us that must be gone through to find the good stuff.

Back to the practical, your idea of lagging frame to keel into the “oak:” (NOTE - THE "OAK" IS NOT THERE- IT IS DOUGLAS FIR - THAT'S WHY THE OAK IS IN QUOTATIONS IN THIS EMAIL, Clyde had corrected my misconception of oak in an earlier one comment email.)Somewhere in that area there are several large diameter bronze bolts holding the lead ballast keel off the bottom of the sea. Best not to compromise them. I do not know the number, size, or placement of these, but they are confined to the lead. According to a sketch I just got off the internet the lead goes from just ahead the main mast back to just aft the engine. But if you wind up replacing the bottom planking then bolting up from the bottom should be no problem and you won't have to worry about the lags.



I hope this gives you something to work with.



Peace,

DISCUSSION BETWEEN BOB AND CLYDE CONCERNING MAST STEP AREA REBUILDING

----- Original Message -----
From: [e-mail]
To: Clyde A. PHILLIPS
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: mast step


Boy - I think I know how you feel facing my questions at all hours. You opened a can of worms I have been dying to talk about but didn't want to put anybody off. As far as I can tell nobody really thinks about this stuff anyway,except you and me. Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

OK, the fundamental problems are the floor to keelson bolts in my boat clearly are suspect, the bottoms of many frames are rotten, a lot of the frame/floor galvanized 3/8" bolts need to be replaced, and the keelson needs whatever increased tenacity that I can, within reason, give it. My idea of a boat has nothing to do with how "cosmetic" it is, although every chance I get to capitalize on "form follows function" I will (like mast step). I just could not start anywhere but with the keelson/frame system..

So looking at scarfs to replace the lower rotten members, it was obvious that a scarf cut in the vertical plane would be infinitely easier than one that slanted down towards the bottom sheathing of the boat (see diagram). In the "vertical plane" scarf you can set your saw depth and run it with no interference. I was not sure if that was strong enough, so I set up 18 "scarf tests" and ran failure tests, with the main emphasis of "vertical" versus "horizontal" orientation. Although there is some question about what role a small finish nail I used to hold them together while the epoxy dried might have played, the "vertical orientation" in every case was actually stronger than the horizontal. I have a test article written, but since no one seems really interested yet, I am holding off. But I did attach a picture of my sophisticated seat of the pants gear. I don't mind replacing a whole lower frame member (I call it a rib, but that might be wrong) but I don't want to disturb the upper end joint, and the adhesion to the plywood sheathing. At the rotten end the adhesion is not a significant issue, but higher up in the dry things look fine. Still gathering data there.

So now to the extra floor member. These do not have to be applied everwhere. But to cut scarfs and replace bolts I will have to remove some floors, and that's OK because I WANT to know what is there. I WANT to know about the keelson condition, and to have the opportunity to improve the keelson condition. I WANT to know about the keelson/floor bolts, and replace the worst ones using our plug system. Most of the floors are in great shape. So to 1) reinforce any scarf I made in the lower frame members (the extra floor sits right on top of the the scarfs), 2) to provide brand new anchor points into the keelson for the whole framing system, and 3) give me opportunities to inject epoxy into the keelson in as many places as possible, I will selectively add these extra floors - and make them look nice too. The extra floors can take many forms. The form shown in the diagram is the one for the center mast step floor, and will support the mast step as well as provide all the other mentioned advantages. Other forms could be like the "oak strap" shown on page 80 of McIntosh's book How to build a Wooden Boat. In the oak strap form a bow (as in bow and arrow) like form would cap the rib (scarfed or not) quite a ways up, AND be anchored into the keelson. Any bronze bolts, lag or machine, are $20 to $30 bucks apiece, but I picked up a bunch 1/2" up to 7" long (hex head machine) at a local going out of business for a very good price. West Systems has shown that epoxied machine bolts have great holding power. Alternatively I could use galvanized lag, and might. Hmm, now that I think about it I wonder if lags would tend to delaminate the plywood?

So I am not doing a restoration. I am rebuilding a well designed hull to make sure that it is seaworthy. The "extra floor system" seems to give a lot of design strength and application flexibility, is not obtrusive, and and will be fairly economical. I mean if I wanted to do a half ass job that would work I could just slap the extra floors everwhere and move on. But I do want to repalce some of the worst bolts and rotten members. bob

Bob,

This email of yours (to let you know which email I'll leave it attached (against my normal policy of deleting Original Messages)) sure is a can of worms (what we used to call a Fibber McGee's closet). If I don't touch on all your concerns let me know--my short term memory is , is, -- what was I saying?

First, to the stress test: How did the same weight affect a similar piece without a scarph? In other words, how does the scarphed piece compare with a not-scarphed piece? The test pictured gives a forecast of disaster; but if the two compare closely, and especially if the scarphed one is stronger, the forecast is for no disaster. Remember that the total structure was not used in the test. The plywood planking and adjacent frames will add strength. Your idea for the vertical scarph is good. I'm not sure I'd leave it without gussets are not well fastened to each side of the scarph, running well past each end of the scarph. I would want a hooked scarph instead of a straight scarph. But that would mean removing the planking. I can't figure a way to cut the hook scarph in the piece attached to the planking otherwise (without a lot of chiseling).

Next, the extra, or sister, floors: Good idea, that. My only negative though is the machine bolts. How are they tightened? I would like some kind of stud put there so that nuts can be turned down to pull things together. Maybe some all-thread bolts. I've read somewhere that epoxied in threaded rod (bolts or whatever) has good holding power, but these bolts will have to be expoxied in through the floor and once the expoxy sets to strength you can't tighten down the floor to the apron. Again, the sister floors are a good idea, they provide a new set of holes for bolts to hold the floors to the apron. But you only need the sisters where the original floor is left in. Does this floor and its bolts have any punk wood associated them? Are its bolts tight? Are you leaving in a piece that has rot? Rot is an infection in wood. Would you want your surgeon leave an infection in you and sew you up? I would say that if you have replaced a floor and epoxied in the carriage bolts with its donuts you do not need sister floors. I won't say don't, I say they are not needed. A thought on "iron" floors. The floors under the engine a made of galvanized flat bar--put that in your pipe and smoke it (if you don't know, that means "think about it").

Now to the joint at the chine. You mentioned the possibility of taking that joint apart. Do it only if absolutely necessary! That joint is full of fasteners and fingerjoints. The two frame pieces are fingerjoined (see the attached pix), two gussets are nailed with many nails (15 or so on each side) and its knee is fastened (nails, I think), and the chine is somehow mechanically attached (I'd want it so--but not sure it is).

One thought on replacing any piece of the framing. The planking is glued and boat nailed about every three inches. Removing a piece of the frame leaves you with what? Good solid boat nails solidly attached to solid plywood? If nothing else, you will have a hole through the planking where the boat nail was. That leaves only a layer of hopefully waterproof fiberglass, or a leak every three inches if you are in the water doing this. Have I scared you yet?

A thought just passed: I expect that you are one of those people (like me) whose enjoyment of boats extends well beyond the sailing of them. Working on them is just as much fun and sailing, but the trouble is, try as you will, you can't get help with the work like you can with the sailing.

I think that's enough for now.

Peace,

Clyde

INSIGHT INTO DECK/CABIN SIDE JUNCTION

One thing about the joining of house and deck. The lags at that joint were considered by the builders to be holding the deck up, not the house down. Granted the house was installed (completely built in another shop and brought to the hull as a unit) well before the interior was built. The bottom edge of the house was planned down the correct curve fore and aft (this curve seen as you look at the side of the house horizonally--the other curve was molded in) and beveled to match what the deck would eventially be. The two bulkheads boxing in the main cabin held the house while the deck was fastened to the house. Prior to this fastening the deck sagged somewhat and the lagging held it up in place. I'm sure the interior, as it was built in after this process, supports the deck from below. Interesting work and a good job.

A warning to those of you who own late model Jersey built boats: The Leesburg boat (the last built), and I don't know on which boat this started (Ack may have started it on the boats he built at his shop after the Dorchester yard quit building), had one 3/4 inch layer and the other was smaller, I think 5/8 inch but it may have been 1/2 inch. I do not know which is what. Measure the thickness before you route it out for the overlap joint

HISTORIC AND TECHNICAL COMMENTS ON BOATYARDS

Aww, come on -- your pumping! I'll look at the stuff you mentioned and make comments, but from memory (without looking) I think the "Leesburg boat" is just my way of saying "the Newporters built in Leesburg." Here in New Jersey they were built first at the Stowman yard, later Dorchester Ship(building) (these two are really one yard with different ownerships; same builders), then Ack built a yard down the river that only built Newporters, then he sold the rights to the Leesburg yard (owned by Whitehead Brothers sandplant, run by them under the "Newporter Shipyard" title if I remember correctly) and he (Ack, remember Ack?) moved back to California and worked as a yacht broker for a friend of his.

The subject that brought up the "Leesburg" boat was the thickness of the cabin sides. It started out at Stowman's (well, really long before Stowman's) as two layers of 3/4 inch but at Leesburg it was one 3/4 inch with a thinner second piece (5/8th inch to my very poor memory). Exactly when it changed I do not know; Ack probably changed it at his shop. If your sides do not measure more than the 1-1/2 inches the two layers make without glue and fiberglass yours is a thin sided cabin. I see no trouble in that. But, maybe windows designed for the thicker sides have been place in the thinner sides and caused some leaking. I really think not. (All this reminds me, I'd like to see a list of hull numbers, year and place of build; present name and and any confirmed previous names could be helpful. This list would aid in answering some questions that come up.)

If the pictures you mentioned are from that two page spread about Newporter building, yes, I knew some of those men. My first duties where in the shop doing the scarfing work. The article was published before I started at Stowman's. A side note is that the yard was well known for building 64' (65 footers had a whole new set of laws so they were kept at 64') fishing party boats. They had watertight bulkheads made of 3/4 in marine grade plywood. I made one plank 12' X about 110' for each one built. Now that was a sheet of plywood!

Back to the first sentence in this: don't hesitate to scratch my brain. It might cause something good to pour out.


Peace,

Clyde

STEM/KEELSON INTERSECTION AND FRAMING

SORRY - I can't seem to get this blueprint to load right now, so if you want to see it go to stem/keelson FORUM for complete discussion as well as photos. bob
Clyde commented on this when he sent the blueprint. "When you get it note the forward end of the keelson on the plan view that shows the top. It shows the forward end of the keelson notched on both sides. This allows frame 7 to match frames 1- 6 for distance between the lower frame members (frames 8 – 40 span the keelson). The forefoot’s after end butts the deadwood section of the keel below the keelson and at the forward end of the ballast keel. This print does not show the joint between the forefoot and the stem. In construction these two pieces are joined first and that unit is then joined to the deadwood and keelson at the same time (the keelson is a “splint” as in joining two pieces of a broken bone). All this is bolted together, best of my knowledge, and is further strengthened by the planking. Hope this helps!"

PROPELLER SHAFT DIMENSIONS

The diameter is easily checked just forward of the stuffing box, but your question does seem to be about the length. Getting the length after the shaft is removed should not slow the work very much; all that has to be done is the cutting to length. It's the machine work of tapering to match the shaft and propeller tapers (the propeller may also have to be re-tapered) that takes the time. The taper for the propeller should be done before cutting to length to ensure having the correct length.

FURLING HOOKS AND EYES ON BOOMS

Bob,

I looked at my drawing on boom rigging and noticed that it doesn't show where to put the hooks. The eye locations are all given; they are all on the port side of the booms. The hooks are located half way between the eyes on the opposite side of the booms. The drawing shows an end view indicating the track at North, the eyes at Nor'west, and the hooks Nor'east. A length of shock cord is run through the eyes end to end, hog ringed at the ends so it doesn't pull through the end eyes (set up with a little tension at rest).

Now, do I like them? You bet! Without them you must drape your sail stops over the booms (under the sails) and tie each one as you furl. With the shock cord furling you furl the sail and just pick up the cord between the eyes, stretch it over the sail to the hook and proceed to the next one. Much faster. I must admit that all of my experience was with new shock cork so I don't know how long the shock cord maintains its strength.

Peace,

Clyde

MIZZEN SAIL RIGGING - this is a slightly disjointed conversation about mizzen staysails because with my helmstation modification the mizzen boom will be higher than usual and go through the helmstation roof, so we are discussing the implications. The questions are mine in an email. What is given here are regular rigging details.


2—but, if the backstays connect to the davits then the mizzen boom is limited in travel ?



The backstays are used one at a time. On port tack (booms off to the starboard) the port backstay is used, therefore the boom has all the room it needs. The starboard backstay is hooked by the mizzen upper shroud chainplate. Here’s the cost of flying the mizzen stays’l: while going about, the sheet must be removed from the sail and passed to the opposite side, the tack pendant and the halyard also must change sides (in short, the sail is taken down and then reset). The process would go like this: take down the mizzen stays’l, come about and set the ‘other’ sails to suit, and then reset the stays’l. This sail sheets on the lee with tack pendant and the halyard are to the weather.



3--and does the tension of the mizzen stays'l sheet affect the mizzen sail sheet or trim?



The sheet is normally (your rig will not be normal) runs from the clew of the sail to a snatch block hanging on a boom bail (same as used on the main stays’l boom) at the outboard end of the mizzen boom, through a double block (that replaces the single block for the mizzen sheet) hanging under the gooseneck fitting fastened to the mast then down to the top action winch and cleat on the aft face of the mast. This is where I see the greatest problem for you (if you are going to rig a stays’l). The fact that the sheet runs to the outboard end of the mizzen boom tells us that some of the stress of the stays’l pull is transferred to the mizzen sheet down to the double padeye that holds the lower block to the inside of the transom. But this interference is not excessive (based on the fact that people had success in sailing that way). The stress carried by the double block, winch, and cleat do not affect the mizzen trim because these are stationary and at the pivot point of the mizzen boom. It is the turning block at the outboard end of the boom that provides all interference with the mizzen trim

BALLAST KEEL CONFIGURATIONS

CHINE AND PLANKING INFORMATION

CLYDE DISCUSSES LIGHTING PROTECTION

To help you get a handle on the ground plate: it should never be painted. It is made pithy; this is the wisdom of the plate—it is rather small but equals many square feet of copper sheet for proper grounding. It is attached to the lead keel with bronze bolts to insure electrical connection. It is one of those things that is treated like a zinc anode (no paint, make sure it’s there and sound on all haul-outs) but is not a sacrificial metal—bronze in on the high end of nobility, zinc is on the low end. Therefore, its presence is one of the reasons the zincs dissolve. I have Jamestown Distributors ( http://www.jamestowndistributors.com ) in my Favorites list for the main purpose to window-shop. Search for Dynaplate. It lists four sizes, the standard size (memory again) is what I think was used. Personally I’d go to the next size. Standard size is $77.33 and the next size is $123.73; standard equals 12 sq. feet, D8 (next size) equals 20. Prices go to over $400. Standard amounts to $6.44 a sq. foot and D8 is $6.19. The $400 one is just over $4.00.

Now to its hook-up. Going to the print “_0019.pdf” the strap is under the nut of the third bolt from the after end. This is (should be according to the print) just ahead of the number 23 frame. That frame is home for the #23 Bulkhead—the ‘wall’ between the doghouse and main cabin. The strap leads to the port side and a heavy (single strand, I think) wire goes to the lag piercing the bottom of the chainplate for the port lower mizzen shroud (going up into the bottom surface of the solid blocking acting as a mount for the chainplate). The print calls for the strap to be under the washer for the bolt. I think I’d like to have it between two washers under the nut. But the principal here is that the strap must remain stationary while tightening the nut. The top washer of two may have less friction against the bottom washer than the single washer has against the wood of the apron. I would suggest that you find the wire on the chainplate (make sure it’s there). In the boats I rigged the spring stay (between the mast heads) was used as an antenna and was therefore insulated from the rest of the rig. Radios of today do not use that type of antenna so present springstays should not be insulated. Go to my picture Ning thing ( http://newporter.ning.com/photo/photo/list ) for my working drawing for the springstay, right hand column, third row down, to see the insulators. I mention this only because with the insulators the two masts are separated electrically, so there must be a wire from one of the main chainplates to one for the mizzen. My guess is the main lower aft shroud. Come to think of it, I may be wrong on which chainplates are used: The lowers do not connect electrically with the uppers, and the uppers are the one you want to use for lightning protection. I did not do that work so I don’t know, so you may even find that all the chainplates are wired together (or at least one upper of both masts). I have been struck by lightning many times, but never in a Newporter (which may only mean I’ve never been near lightning in a Newporter). One strike did much more damage than the cost of even the most expensive Dynaplate.

FRAME SAWING, AND A LITTLE HISTORY

[Dennis Gaffney]

Bob and Clyde

I am learning a great deal from both of you. I'm heartened that there are a few people left who care about these beautiful old boats. I need all the help I can get on mine.