Messages

Dear Kyle,

That is great news. I sent you a private message as you requested.

Regards,

Scott

Scott Galloway

We had a large wave event in Santa Cruz, California this past winter that collapsed the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (pier) and did millions of dollars of damage to the docks and boots in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor. My dockside stern skene chock was broken by one of the waves that came rolling down the barber channel. The damaged chock was a replacement chock that a generous Pearson Ariel Association Member mailed to me after I lost the original stern chock during a Tsunami a few years back.

When I replaced the original chock, which was originally screwed into the deck by the manufacturer, I mounted the new chock with a thru-deck support system consisting off a teak and stainless steel backing plate and bolts. So this winter, instead os the chock being torn form the boat and completely lost, the force of the wave both bent the base of the chock and bent and fractured one of the ears.

If anyone has a spare (used) Marinium skene chock for a Pearson Ariel or has information on a source for new Marinium skene chocks to match the stern  chock on a Pearson Ariel, please let me know. Your assistance or advice wil be appreciated.

The two bulkheads that define the forward end of the main salon and the aft end of the V berth area on my boat (Ariel #330) are both made of plywood.  In 2004, I removed the standing rig and the original badly corroded chainplates. Over the years, leaks at the chainplate slots had caused water damage to the deck at the chainplate slots and at the top of the bulkheads and also to the bulkheads where the bolts holes penetrated the bulkheads.

I  enlarged the bolt holes in the bulkheads and augured out the bad wood between the upper and lower laminations of the deck, I then filled these areas with epoxy and or fiberglass. I also removed all soft wood in the bulkheads and repaired these areas with fiberglass. I purchased new 306 stainless steel chainplates and bolts and installed them. The new bolt holes were drilled throug the enlarged epoxy or fiberglass filled holes, so there is no plywood to bolt contact. Also, the top of those two bulkheads on my boat were not taped to the underside of the deck, so I did that as well.

With the help of a professional, the strong back beneath the mast on my boat was rebuilt at the same time. I have documented the stong back project elsewhere in this forum. Also, you can visit my webpage on that project. That web page provides photo documentation of the strong back project:  http://www.solopublications.com/sailarir.htm.

My strong back upgrade was unpopular with some contributors to this forum, but in my opinion and in the opinion fo the professional who designed and completed the project, it was the right solution for the problem that my boat was experiencing. It has been 19 years since that work was completed, and the reinforced stongback has performed very well in the Monterey Bay and Pacific Ocean environments where I sail my boat.
 
I have not experienced soft wood in the port or starboard V  berth shelves or in the port side storage cabinets, So I can't say for certain what kind of wood those shelve are made of, but I have assumed that are also mode of plywood.

By the way, I have taken photos beneath the deck of cabin sole, which demonstrate that the plywood used in that area is labeled as AC plywood and not as marine plywood. (Please see attached photo.) When I removed some of the formica covering the bulkhead at the forward end of the main salon, I discovered prominent voids in the plywood, So if the top edges of your bulkheads are not sealed in some way, water entering that area may find its way down through the voids in the plywood. This could result in more than cosmetic damage to the bulkheads.

 I also removed and re-bedded the the rub rail and re-bedded the hull desk joint in 2002 shortly after purchasing the boat. That was a major project that took a number of weeks. A prior owner had removed the original caulk and replaced it with what appeared to be silicon caulk. I had to remove that material from the seam, and then clean the joint with solvent. My hull/deck seam is now bedded with 3M 5200. The hull deck joint is gassed over with roving and mat on the inside of the boat. The joint itself was not leaking into the cabin on my boat, however, a prior owner had re-fastened the rub rail with long screws that penetrated the seam, and the roving and mat as well. The protruding screws were rusted, and rust stains ran down there inside of the hull, I filled all of those screw holes with epoxy from both the cabin side and from the outside of the hull. I then rebedded the hull deck seam with 3M 5200. I used 3M 4200 to bed the rub rail, which I also fastened with shorter screws that did not permit water intrusion.

Even with a sound and well sealed hull to deck joint, you may and probably will experience some puddling of rain water on the V Berth shelves near the chainplates. The key to stopping that problem (at least temporarily) is an annual or semiannual re-bedding of the chain plate covers to prevent rain water from entering the chainplate slots. I use a polysulfide caulk for this purpose.

As far as removing the shelves in the V Berth area, I do not know whether those shelves are designed to stiffen the hull, but they probably do provide some structural reinforcement. You might write to Ebb. Ebb has done seem extensive redesign and rebuilding of the interior of his Ariel, which is well documented on this forum.

SOLD: I had a set of Pineapple sails for sale. They were built by Pineapple Sails for a Pearson Ariel owner who later sold off his excess sail inventory before selling his boat. I purchased the main and jib and had Pineapple Sails look them over. These sails have been lightly used and are in very good condition.There are very stiff racing sails. They need to be rolled when stored. I have sail bags for both sails. I will take the best offer that I receive for the main and jib sold together as a set. THESE SAILS WERE SOLF TO ANOTHER ARIEL OWNER ON JUNE 18, 2022.

Scott

Scott Galloway
Ariel 330

Ebb,

I saw a product a few years back at a boat show. The inventor had combined a 12 hp Honda outboard with a Sail Drive lower unit that necessarily included a gasket to block water entrance. The height and over all size of the unit made it look like it might just fit into an Ariel Lazarette locker. Perhaps that installation might have required raising the hatch somewhat, but not to the degree that construction of a "hutch" would be required. The Honda 12 horse OB motor would drive the Ariel at hull speed for sure, but the device would have placed a lot of weight at the aft end of the boat. I don't know if the device ever went into production, but I never saw another one after the first one I saw at that boat show. It seemed like it might work though to keep the water out of the OB well, and with a device of that sort, one would not have to worry about pulling and flushing the OB after using the boat in salt water. Anyway, I thought it had some potential. No reason someone could not do that with an electric motor was well I suppose. By the way, my motor is a Nissan 6 hp and it weights 60 lbs. It drives away boat at 4+ knots in flat water. I use a modified Garhauer lifting davit (as per Myron Spaulding's design as presented in the Ariel Manual.) to lift and lower the motor into and out of the well and to remove the motor from the boat for  servicing.

Ebb,

Actually I did make some videos of my self steering system, which feature studio narration and background music, I cannot post those on-line for various reasons. I have used two of them in some for the classes that I teach. I could potentially share one or more of those videos with you in a Zoom session.

However I built a web page devoted to the subject. The URL for that page is:  http://www.solopublications.com/sailariq.htm
The photos are small to preserve band width, but the narrative explains how to build such a system. If you would like, I can send larger versions of some of the photos to you by e-mail.

Back to rudders, I understand your point. I merely wished to say thatI have not felt a need to alter the original location and/or design of tiller.

My motor is clamped on the riser (motor mount) in the lazarette, but the handle does not protrude forward through the small front hatch aft of the tiller post. By the way, I installed a permanent louvered vent in that hatch to promote air flow in the engine compartment. You can see the bottom edge of that vent in the photo that I posted earlier on this thread. Instead, the motor handle protrudes upward and slightly forward of the large to lazarette hatch. It does not interfere with the traveler or with the tiller in that position. If I choose to do so, I can close the hatch to rest open the end of the motor handle, but I usually don't. Of course I cannot close the hatch fully with the motor running. After I shut the motor down, I just fold the handle back and then close the hatch.

Ebb,

I really don't have any problem with the existing rudder post position or tiller configuration. I do not feel that I need to extend the rudder shaft or use a modified tiller. I steer the boat with my outboard handle protruding forward through the open lazarette hatch while motoring with the lazarette hatch wide open. I get more fresh air to the outboard that way anyway.  

The tiller on my boat is most likely the original 1965 stock tiller. The tiller design works well when I am steering by hand or when either my main sheet or jib sheet self-steering gears are steering the boat. I have the self-steering gears engaged most of the time that I am sailing. The boat will steer a steady course in relation to the wind for miles and miles. I only use the motor to get in and out of the harbor and of course at times when there is no wind....unless of course I am rowing the boat.

I have attached a photo of the top end of the rudder shaft with the tiller removed. This photo was taken in 2010. The photo shows the top of the original bronze shaft on my boat (Hull 330). At the time that this photo was taken, I had just replaced the plastic bushing and lubed the top end of the shaft. As you can see in the photo, the shaft extends some distance above the fiberglass shaft tube.

Reply to Hull 376

I measured the length of the bronze shaft on what I presume to be the original mahogany rudder on my 1965 Pearson Ariel (Hull #330) today, Nov 30, 2020.  I removed and replaced that rudder in 2018.  I have not removed the shaft from the rudder. I have been storing the rudder intact in my shed since it was replaced in 2018.

My boat is an outboard model. As you are aware, the rudder shafts on both the inboard and outboard models were manufactured in two parts, so the overall length of the shafts would be dependent on the actual dimensions of the wood rudder to which the shaft is attached.

I suppose there could have been some longitudinal shrinkage of the wood, which could have reduced the length of the shaft overall, but I can’t think of any reason why the shaft would be longer today than it was on the day it was removed from the boat.

In any case, the shaft that I measured today was just over 70 inches (between 70 inches and 70 1/16 inches, but it was closer to 70 inches than it was to 70 1/16 inches). My measurement was made with a metal tape measure stretched from the top of the shaft to the bottom including the boss at the bottom. So that would make it longer than the 69 1/4 inches that you came up with from the drawing and Ebb's measurement of the new shaft length on his boat. Our boats were built in different years.  There could have been some variation between years and perhaps even between individual boats manufactured during the same year.f

Scott, You mentioned in your October 31, 2018 post that you purchased a new custom professionally built rudder for your Ariel.  Can you tell me who/where you purchased it from? Joe Starck (Commander Hull #43)

Joe,

Sorry for the delay. I missed you post earlier. My new rudder was custom designed and built for my boat by Lighthall Marine on Santa Cruz, CA.

Question asked: "How is your weather helm? Did it increase with the added surface area of the new rudder?"

My Answer: The profile (surface area) of the rudder is larger. The leading edge of the rudder is necessarily the same width due to the shaft width, but the rudder tapers to the trailing edge, as can be seen in some of the photos in my earlier post. The final 1/2 inch of the trailing edge is epoxy. If you look closely at the photo of the fir rudder blade that was taken prior to the application of fiberglass, you will see a dashed black line. That line shows the profile of the original rudder. The line should help you visualize the areas where the profile of the rudder was enlarged.

Yes, the weather helm has been reduced as a result of the new design. While at sea if I am sailing alone, I generally use sheet-to-tiller self steering system to steer the boat, so that I am free to handle the sails, navigate and serve as look-out.  I am still tweaking the settings on that system to adjust for the decreased pressure on the new rudder due to the reduction in weather helm. As far the boat speed goes, my Ariel seems to be running faster to weather. This would be expected due to an improved, more aerodynamic rudder design.

Below is a photo of the old rudder taken during my recent haul-out in July showing damage to the mahogany rudder blade due to erosion resulting from alkaline conditions produced by the rudder zinc that had been installed on the rudder. Whether this damage was accelerated by the broken copper strap that once connected that zinc to one of the bolts tying the rudder blade to the shaft, I do not know, but I suspect from my research on this topic that placing a zinc on a wood rudder is not a good idea regardless of whether or not that zinc is connected to the bronze or steel rudder support structure.

I promised a reply, but felt that the reply belonged on the "Rudder Discussion" thread on the technical forum. You will find my reply, a brief technical description of the project and photos there. I did install a new custom redesigned rudder on my boat. While waiting for the rudder to be manufactured, I repaired and resurfaced the nonskid area of the decks and some of he gelcoat areas as well,, so the boat is looking good. The original rudder lasted 53 years in salt water. It was still functioning  at the time that I replaced it, but the amount of corrosion in the shaft in the area of the top rudder bolt was substantial. I saved the old rudder and shaft so that I can do some forensic research on the shaft.

The photos below show the old damaged rudder blade in the area of the rudder zinc and the old rudder in 2004 during a previous haul out.

During a haul out in late July 2018, we discovered that the mahogany rudder blade on my Pearson Ariel was eroded due to alkaline conditions produced by the rudder zinc that had been installed on the rudder. The zinc was in very good condition after more than a full year in the water. The copper strap connecting zinc to the rudder bolt within the body of the rudder blade had been broken (likely due to metal fatigue incurred when a diver was cleaning the rudder blade while installing a new zinc). We considered repairing the rudder blade with epoxy, but upon examining the upper bronze rudder shaft, we decided to replace the rudder. The bronze rudder shaft was badly eroded in the vicinity of the top rudder blade bolt. Since other Ariel rudders have failed in this same location, and in light of the evident corrosion, we decided to replace the rudder.

The rudder was removed on August 1, 2018 in the slings just before the boat was splashed. The rear part of the keel was cleaned with scraping tools and sand paper to clean it and open it up in preparation for the new fiberglass over wood rudder, which was to be constructed of a wood and fiberglass using a stainless steel shaft and blade support structure.

While waiting for the new custom professionally built rudder, I repaired the decks repairs a few gelcoat gouges, and resurfaced the non-skid areas using Interlux Brightside one-part polyurethane.  

We hauled the boat again on September 26, 2018. The boat remained in slings while the new rudder was fitted to the keel. The new rudder was built on a shaft made by
of 304 tight tolerance stainless steel rod welded to 1/2 inch all-thread stainless steel rods that run through and support the rudder blade.

The rudder blade was built of Kiln Dried Douglas Fir 2X6 and 2X4 boards secured to the shaft by nuts secured to the 1/2 inch all-thread stainless steel rods. The kiln dried fir boards that compose the rudder core were glued together with and all voids were filled with West Systems Epoxy. The boards were then shaped by sanding to an improved more aerodynamic shape with a larger blade that tapers to the trailing edge as shown in the attached photos. The last 1/2 inch of the trailing edge was built of epoxy resin. The rudder, including the stainless steel shaft where it abutted the rudder blade, was then wrapped with 6 oz fiberglass cloth saturated with E West Systems epoxy, sanded to fair and then coated with Interlux 2000 Barrier Coat. The stainless steel shaft was wrapped with one layer of cloth. Two layers of cloth were applied to the rudder blade. Finally, while the second barrier coat layer was still wet, Petit Trinidad bottom paint was applied. This layer was followed by two additional layers of Petit Trinidad.

The rudder was installed in the slings.  The original bronze rudder shaft was bent, and the shaft had wobbled about in the rudder tube until the bushing was set into & tiller head in its place at the top rim of the rudder tube. A shim as used with the old bronze shaft. The new stainless steel rudder shaft is straight. When installed, it initially pressed hard against the aft rim of the rudder tube. The bushing was installed around the new rudder shaft by manually pulling the top the shaft forward, inserting the bushing, and then tapping it down into position using a wood block driven by plastic mallet. No shim is required with the new shaft.

The new rudder was tested on the day of installation by sailing a distance of approximately 10 nm in winds ranging from five to fifteen knots with seas of approximately two feet. The rudder performed well. Top speed was over 7 knots. Speeds of 6 knots were sustained while beating and close reaching based on GPS speed with 10 to 15 knots of wind.

The dotted line on the photo below of the rudder (shown before application of fiberglass) is an outline of the old (original) rudder profile. The new rudder is shown in other photos after application of fiberglass, after application of Interlux 2000 Barrier Coat, after application Petit Trinidad bottom paint, and as mounted on the boat in the slings just before splashing the boat. Additional photos of the old rudder are include din the follow-up post.

I don't know anything about this Ariel for sale on Craig's List in Berkeley CA, but it is currently listed on Craig's List:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/d/pierson-ariel-500-off/6703955324.html

...or just search for Pearson Ariel on Craig's List for San Francisco Bay area.