Hi All,

Remember me? I was the potential apprentice in the Tampa Bay area looking
for someone who would take me on and teach me boat building *without* going
the quick way and just working from a synthetic boat hull casting.

Well, I'm building my first trimaran. (Decided I'd rather build that than a
proa, instead.) So far, I've got the first layer of skin over the main
hull, and over one of the side hulls. (Sorry, I was asked by a member on
the group to post when I started it.) I'm halfway through putting the first
layer of skin over the hull of the other side hull on the other side. My
apologies if I'm not useing exact nautical terms correctly, but at least I'm
doing it, whether by my name for a part or not.

Since I used the 'Building the New Instant Boats' book as a guide, plus
looking over modern shots of various stages of building a proa, and there
were no plans available, I drew my own and am building from them. Don't
laugh. I already put the main hull in the water when I finished the first
layering, and although it tipped (it apparently needs the smaller side
hulls, or 'amas' for stability,) it still floated very well, drawing
virtually no water. Although the book recommends not taking your first boat
out on the ocean, I'm going to dare it. I've got a Bay right here where I
can sail and test it for everything sufficiently. Slathering it in
fiberglass should help.

For the nay-sayers who were revolted by the thought of 'natural' epoxy, yes,
I did get an inquiry as to whether I'd found a natural hardener for resin,
tar, whatever. Sorry I couldn't oblidge them, but it seems that
authenticly, tree sap combined with sheep hair or tree fibers was used as a
sealant. However, I am useing conventional epoxy for the first layers of
'skin' put over the hull frame.

I admit that it's not as narrow as I wanted, and I probably wound up
designing something for ocean-going, but it's still a major step for me and
a first. I can always make narrower hulls if I want, now that I've got the
idea. The advantage to this model is that the outlying hulls, or 'amas',
can be used for quite a bit of storage due to their volume. Yes, I'm going
to add a partial deck on part of it for getting around and providing room
for sleeping on deck if desired, so it appears that there is going to be
plenty of room for carrying goods and moving around once it's finished.

It still have to finish putting the rest of the skin on the 2nd, outlying
'ama' (third hull,) and put fiberglass over the whole thing. Plus, there's
the mast, the 'crab-claw' shape of the sail, the rigging, hand-carving the
rudders and adding them (No, I will not accept rudders other than what I
make, probably two given the mass of the hulls...)

So yes, I am on my way... I'm not a nautical engineer. I just thought
about what I wanted and started drawing. It's hand built and certainly not
perfect, but it's a start. AFTER I have finished it and put it to the Bay
and Gulf, I'm open to someone looking over what I did and drawing real
plans. I'm sure, given the first test, that it will take the waves of both
the Gulf and the Bay absolutely the way I want it too.

You know? During this process, it's occured to me what a miracle of
engineering on the water that the trimaran and other Polynesian boats are.
Conceptually, it as though someone stumbled on the concept of breaking up
the hull over a greater area, thus allowing for greater carrying capacity,
yet at the same time it draws less water than conventionally! It seems to
defy logic...

I'll annouce when my trimaran is finished, in the water, and provide a
photograph if possible. I'd like to see Polynesian boats such as I'm
building introduced to the south Florida waters and the Carribean, and I'd
like to be a part of that process...

Thank You to All who have encouraged me to pursue my dreams,

Sandra

--
"There are many intelligent species in the
universe. They are all owned by cats"

"Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped
as Gods. They have never forgotten this."

Gee, cats are usefull on a boat to get rid of the rats and pests. As much
as they hate water, they can swim, though I would never subject my little
baby girl (kitty) to that. She's frightened just by the *sight* of unending
water.

(This sentiment coming from a _woman_ who will do a _man's_ job!)

"Zyana ~ Beu Ribe" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi All,

Remember me? I was the potential apprentice in the Tampa Bay area looking
for someone who would take me on and teach me boat building *without*
going
the quick way and just working from a synthetic boat hull casting.

Great to see you again! Happy new year, by the way. :-)

What materials did you use for the hulls? The skins? I thought about you
the other night while I was watching Nova on PBS. They had a show on
Shackleton, and I thought about you as they were talking about
"seaworthying" the lifeboat for a major ocean crossing. They mixed
something with seal's blood to fill the seams to make it somewhat more
secure. Forgot the other ingredient. Of course you probably wouldn't be
anywhere near the south pole, but I always keep my eyes and ears open for
concepts that might help your efforts/education. Not exactly sure the
seal's blood mixture would be all that much help, however, as the lifeboat
while remaining on the surface was still a leaky watertrap not even halfway
through their crossing.

Wish you luck with your trimaran! Keep us updated.

Probably seal blubber. Rendered seal oil,was the number one source of tar,
to seal seams and generally waterproof ships.

What materials did you use for the hulls? The skins? I thought about you
the other night while I was watching Nova on PBS. They had a show on
Shackleton, and I thought about you as they were talking about
"seaworthying" the lifeboat for a major ocean crossing. They mixed
something with seal's blood to fill the seams to make it somewhat more
secure. Forgot the other ingredient. Of course you probably wouldn't be
anywhere near the south pole, but I always keep my eyes and ears open for
concepts that might help your efforts/education. Not exactly sure the
seal's blood mixture would be all that much help, however, as the lifeboat
while remaining on the surface was still a leaky watertrap not even
halfway
through their crossing.

Wish you luck with your trimaran! Keep us updated.

"Yan Stambouli" wrote in message
...
Probably seal blubber. Rendered seal oil,was the number one source of tar,
to seal seams and generally waterproof ships.

Probably. I wasn't paying attention so much to the words as to the imagery,
then I heard seal's blood and it was too late. ;-)

You have to admire the man, though. Almost dying once before, then having
another go at it, then dying a third try. That's a man of adventure.

What materials did you use for the hulls? The skins?

The first layer of skin is composed of plywood and epoxy. After that, and
sanding and making sure the shape is as right as it can be, I'll be putting
fiberglass over it.

I thought about you
the other night while I was watching Nova on PBS. They had a show on
Shackleton, and I thought about you as they were talking about
"seaworthying" the lifeboat for a major ocean crossing.

I saw part of that. Tough trip! I think I changed channels before getting
to the part you're talking about.

They mixed
something with seal's blood to fill the seams to make it somewhat more
secure. Forgot the other ingredient.

I still wish I could find a hardener for natural resins....

Wish you luck with your trimaran! Keep us updated.

Will do! =)

Sandra

"Zyana ~ Beu Ribe" wrote in message
link.net...
The first layer of skin is composed of plywood and epoxy. After that, and
sanding and making sure the shape is as right as it can be, I'll be
putting
fiberglass over it.

Sounds good! =)

I thought about you
the other night while I was watching Nova on PBS. They had a show on
Shackleton, and I thought about you as they were talking about
"seaworthying" the lifeboat for a major ocean crossing.

I saw part of that. Tough trip! I think I changed channels before
getting
to the part you're talking about.

I find myself doing that alot. I'll be watching tv, then get up or switch
channels, only to have someone tell me I missed something profoundly
helpful, often a mere moment or two after I lost interest. :-)

They mixed
something with seal's blood to fill the seams to make it somewhat more
secure. Forgot the other ingredient.

I still wish I could find a hardener for natural resins....

Hmmm...I'll see what I can do.

What is the length of your boat?


Zyana ~ Beu Ribe wrote:
Hi All,

Remember me? I was the potential apprentice in the Tampa Bay area looking
for someone who would take me on and teach me boat building *without* going
the quick way and just working from a synthetic boat hull casting.

Well, I'm building my first trimaran. (Decided I'd rather build that than a
proa, instead.) So far, I've got the first layer of skin over the main
hull, and over one of the side hulls. (Sorry, I was asked by a member on
the group to post when I started it.) I'm halfway through putting the first
layer of skin over the hull of the other side hull on the other side. My
apologies if I'm not useing exact nautical terms correctly, but at least I'm
doing it, whether by my name for a part or not.

Since I used the 'Building the New Instant Boats' book as a guide, plus
looking over modern shots of various stages of building a proa, and there
were no plans available, I drew my own and am building from them. Don't
laugh. I already put the main hull in the water when I finished the first
layering, and although it tipped (it apparently needs the smaller side
hulls, or 'amas' for stability,) it still floated very well, drawing
virtually no water. Although the book recommends not taking your first boat
out on the ocean, I'm going to dare it. I've got a Bay right here where I
can sail and test it for everything sufficiently. Slathering it in
fiberglass should help.

For the nay-sayers who were revolted by the thought of 'natural' epoxy, yes,
I did get an inquiry as to whether I'd found a natural hardener for resin,
tar, whatever. Sorry I couldn't oblidge them, but it seems that
authenticly, tree sap combined with sheep hair or tree fibers was used as a
sealant. However, I am useing conventional epoxy for the first layers of
'skin' put over the hull frame.

I admit that it's not as narrow as I wanted, and I probably wound up
designing something for ocean-going, but it's still a major step for me and
a first. I can always make narrower hulls if I want, now that I've got the
idea. The advantage to this model is that the outlying hulls, or 'amas',
can be used for quite a bit of storage due to their volume. Yes, I'm going
to add a partial deck on part of it for getting around and providing room
for sleeping on deck if desired, so it appears that there is going to be
plenty of room for carrying goods and moving around once it's finished.

It still have to finish putting the rest of the skin on the 2nd, outlying
'ama' (third hull,) and put fiberglass over the whole thing. Plus, there's
the mast, the 'crab-claw' shape of the sail, the rigging, hand-carving the
rudders and adding them (No, I will not accept rudders other than what I
make, probably two given the mass of the hulls...)

So yes, I am on my way... I'm not a nautical engineer. I just thought
about what I wanted and started drawing. It's hand built and certainly not
perfect, but it's a start. AFTER I have finished it and put it to the Bay
and Gulf, I'm open to someone looking over what I did and drawing real
plans. I'm sure, given the first test, that it will take the waves of both
the Gulf and the Bay absolutely the way I want it too.

You know? During this process, it's occured to me what a miracle of
engineering on the water that the trimaran and other Polynesian boats are.
Conceptually, it as though someone stumbled on the concept of breaking up
the hull over a greater area, thus allowing for greater carrying capacity,
yet at the same time it draws less water than conventionally! It seems to
defy logic...

I'll annouce when my trimaran is finished, in the water, and provide a
photograph if possible. I'd like to see Polynesian boats such as I'm
building introduced to the south Florida waters and the Carribean, and I'd
like to be a part of that process...

Thank You to All who have encouraged me to pursue my dreams,

Sandra

--
"There are many intelligent species in the
universe. They are all owned by cats"

"Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped
as Gods. They have never forgotten this."

Gee, cats are usefull on a boat to get rid of the rats and pests. As much
as they hate water, they can swim, though I would never subject my little
baby girl (kitty) to that. She's frightened just by the *sight* of unending
water.

(This sentiment coming from a _woman_ who will do a _man's_ job!)

Hi Steve. I sent you this email as your reply.

Let's see... Without checking actual post records, I'm
guessing that you're one of the people who was 'smart' (to
put it politely) about me showing up on rec.boats.building,
stating I wanted to learn. I think you're also the one who
made a little fun of my neolithic interests too.

I also didn't appreciate being called a troll by another
person.

For that reason, just watch my posts as I work on my boat,
don't tease me, and I'll keep things periodically updated to
and including the official launch. You'll probably even see
a picture of my boat on the rec.boats.building website when
I post that I've launched it and how it performs. (Since
this is my first prototype, I've probably made some errors
in design, and will have to go back to the drawing board for
different things.)


How long is your boat?

One reason I'll bet you ask that (in addition to trying to
get 'laugh at her' info out of me,) is because I mentioned
'Ocean Going'. The reason I mentioned that is because I
made the hulls to wide for my taste. They're the kind of
ratio-width you'd see on a big ocean-goer, though I'd go
with a catamaran design for that, not a trimaran.

But it's definitely not up to the length you should have for
that. Although it theoretically *could* cross an ocean,
since I'm making it watertight with rubber hatch-covers and
all, I wouldn't recommend it, just for the size of swells
you can get in very broad, open water like ocean crossing.
It is small enough to flip if it had to take a swell too
big. God forbid, I would never sail it into a 40-foot wave.

That'll have to hold you for now, Steve,

Sandra

Hello Zyana

Am not aware of your history, only aware of what is written in this
thread.

But I am very interested in your 1 person trimaran.

I am trying to design one with the HullForm software. I came up with a
length of 5.6m and max beam of .85m and a transom width of 0.5m. Sorry
units are in metric. Was thinking of ply but now am thinking strip
planking as easier (dont know about the cost of all that fiberglass
and epoxy though, guess will live with it).

Also there is a person called Stephen Ostlind who has built an 18 ft
tri out of ply in California, very impressive, think his beam is a
little greater than what I have, but he went to a naval architect.
Perhaps his design will just carry 2 people, hence greater beam. Also
a Gary Lepak (name from memory) built an 18ft trimaram, years ago that
he sailed to Alaska, very simple design but seaworthy.

One reason I am building so narrow is to minismise weight to aid in
getting up the beach. I would be willing to email Stephen Ostilnds
photos and a quick study plan of the desin he is building.

Dont know how you feel about it, but am sure that many of us would
like to know a lot more about your tri.

Very best of luck.

N. Peter Evans