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Page 6. MAINE COASTAL NEWS August 2012 Building a New Model


(Continued from the last Issue) By Lee S. Wilbur


With the half model of the new “Thirty- Eight” completed to Ralph’s satisfaction, it was time to move on to the next phase, so we made arrangements to meet with the folks at North End Marine in Rockland, get the lines down on paper, and fi gure out what costs would be for the various part moulds we wanted. I had it in mind that the days of building superstructures and cockpits, etc. from wood were over and to compete, virtually everything exterior should be moulded fi berglass. Secondly, the size of the 38 would lend itself to more than one model or layout. With two different tops or superstructure moulds we could build commercial lobster and fi shing boats, sportfi shermen, and cruisers as well. One full length cockpit mould could be blocked off at the desired size to accommodate whichever model was being built. We ordered two superstructure moulds, the hull, and the platform mould. Now this was in the late seventies. The cost for these four was something on the order of $55,000 dollars. Today you couldn’t buy the materials for that, and I’d hazard to say the total cost would approach the million mark. When laying out a new model from a half model there were two ways often used. One was to cut the half model into equal sections relating to an equal distance apart such as an inch equaled a foot or if the model was to be saved, to cut a piece of cardboard at each station to the hull line at that station. North End decided to cut the model into sections and it was at this point that communication between Ralph and North End failed, When Ralph had done


the half model, he had carved it to the line as was normal procedure, then added a fl at section at the shear to accept the rub-rail. Secondly, when building a wooden boat, the normal way was to start with the keel. Ralph as well as myself never gave it a thought that building a “plug” for a mould would be an entirely different operation. When North End called for us to come down and check on the progress, I called Ralph and my good friend, his son Dennis and we went on down to Rockland. Eric White greeted us, we went over a few things, then headed out to the shop fl oor. The door from the offi ces led out onto a platform which overlooked the shop fl oor. We paused on the platform to look at work in progress. Noone said anything. We walked down on to the fl oor, and Ralph and Dennis (Who’d grown up beside the Bunker and Ellis shop) walked around it and I could sense something was wrong. Ralph took me aside and quietly said, “Something isn’t quite right. This is not the hull I designed.” Again, this was my fi rst experience with a process such as this. Yet, when we fi rst looked at the plug from the platform it didn’t look right to me either, yet I didn’t want to say anything because I wasn’t sure what was wrong. The plug was being built as they were, upside down. Hard for me to correlate a two foot half model with a 38’ upside down bundle of sticks and lumber so I asked him what the problem was and he said the shear, and bow, were way off, and no keel but maybe that was to be added later. This was a major “uh-oh”. I told Eric and he replied this was what we had given him for information and we all headed back upstairs to the proverbial “back to the drawing


board” to look over the adapted drawings. A very sick niggle was settling in the pit of my stomach and pictures of George Washington were beginning to fl y overhead and away. It was quickly apparent what had transpired as the line drawings showed no keel or rub-rail fl at, thus changing the entire looks of the boat. Question was, with the plug nearing the point of applying foam and glass and schedules to be met, “What to do? Tearing it apart and beginning over was pretty much out of the question. As the shock fi nally began to wear off, Eric and Ralph began talking options and with Dennis or I popping in with an occasional thought, we pulled together a plan of action which would


still give us the right hull form and allow for a modifi ed shear, bow, and keel with the addition of the rub-rail fl at. She would be a higher sided vessel but that was okay. Maybe make for a better sea boat.


The three of us made a few more trips to Rockland over the next month or so watching the 38 take shape with the changes we’d agreed on. During the time we spent waiting for the fi rst moulded parts, I had given Dick Homer a local architect the new line drawing to do a quarter off the bow sketch. He did a great job and we had soon placed ads in some of the major boating magazines showing her off. Continued next month...


Response to Electric Shock Drowning


ANNAPOLIS, MD: The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) is offering in- formation regarding safety, standards and legislation in response to the recent electric shock drowning incidents. The ABYC has been aware of and taken steps to mitigate electric shock drowning in- cidents since 2008. The United States Coast Guard sponsored grants to ensure ABYC’s electrical document “E-11 AC & DC Elec- trical Systems On-Board Boats - 2008” included an “Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupter” device. This “interrupter” is similar in function to ground-fault outlets installed in homes. It responds to a potential fault by tripping the main circuit breaker and cutting power to the boat. The device will be mandatory for boats with alternating current systems beginning December 31, 2012. Electric shock drowning is the result of a typically low level alternating current passing through the body while immersed in


fresh water. The force is suffi cient enough to cause skeletal muscular paralysis, rendering the victim helpless and drowning. This type of fault can happen in any natural water but becomes fatal in fresh water due to lower water conductivity. Salt water has a higher conductivity.


Kevin Ritz, an ABYC certifi cation in- structor who lost his 8- year old son Lucas in 1999 to electric shock drowning, serves as an education advocate. Ritz created “Hot Docks, Hot Boats, and Electric Shock Drowning” webinar in 2011. The ABYC will be inspecting boats to ensure they are not susceptible to causing an electric shock drowning, as well as other safety issues, at the free Boating Safety Clin- ic August 25, 2012 at the Annapolis Mari- time Museum. Visit www.abycinc.org to learn more about the clinic, how an electric shock drowning can occur, and steps that can be taken to eliminate the tragic accidents.


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