Sunday, June 28, 2009

New Names

My son and I felt that the boat should have a different name, here is what we came up with:Possible New Names for boat

Ipo Kai: Lover (of) Sea

Kahakai: sea shore/coast

Mahi kai: Strength, Sea

Pono: righteousness

Pono: kai righteous sea

Akamai:

‘Ino kai Wind sea?

Mahi Pono: Strenth (and) righteousness

Mahi a Pono: Strength and righteousness

Pono Kai: righteous Sea

Polu Kai: Blue Sea

Ohana Kai: Family Sea

Mono Kai: Sea Shark

Holokai: Voyage

Hana ka kai: work the sea

Richard

Friday, June 26, 2009

Wayne Iwamoto says the mast is aluminum. He doesn’t think the mast is why the boat capsized. He thinks the carbon mast is about 1/3 the weight of the aluminum mast, which would be perhaps 500 lbs lighter. Reducing the boat’s weight makes it faster and reducing weight aloft reduces the boats movement in light air.

I asked him about fairing the front cross piece. He said don’t bother. However, he will look for an aluminum tube remnant at a cheap price that we might could replace it with which will lighten the weight at the bow, which improves performance.

He didn’t think we should remove the nar-pole, if that is the pole going up the middle of the tramp.

Mike
Rich:

Engine Mount, etc. Ipo Kai's engine housing has a nacelle to protect the engine which juts down from the fly bridge. It's like the Makai had before Bruce modified it. It wasn't a problem before the modification. The engine would pivot up to 90 degrees into a long horizontal box in the cockpit. Ipo Kai has a similar set up. In the Makai renovation the motor nacelle got much larger and a hoist was added. The nacelle hit lots of waves, as did the motor, which could only pivot to about 45 degrees. The box in the cockpit had gotten higher and shorter, which made more cockpit room, but a lesser ability to raise the engine out of the way of the waves. Therefore, I think the current set up will be fine and I don't plan to change it except to customize it for whatever engine goes there.

Similarly, I told him to retain the raised hatches, which keep the hulls much drier, even though they stub toes.

We also won't lower the rear crosspiece to catch waves either.

Wayne is checking on the necessary shaft length. We know where the mount is and where the waterline is, so he will measure from that. Most engines from 8 to 50 hp come in 15 or 20 inch lengths. I believe our Yamaha 50 was a 20", which was too short. Our 25" 9.9hp motor worked much better, even though we could only go 75% to 80% as fast. Our fuel economy was about 4 times better which greatly increased our range.

Wayne did say the plastic on the hull windows were weathered an degraded and should be replaced. It thought it was somewhat of a safety issue, since they can be below wave level. I have approved that as of now.

Everyone should feel free to look for a propane cooktop/oven and four stroke motors for sale somewhere. Same with instruments, etc. Savings on the trampolines would help too.

Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Rich
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 6:02 AM

Good call on not modifying the cabin just for a larger tank. I believe this will mostly be a coastal sailer and day sailor. How will we know how long the shaft should be without getting it in the water. I don't want them to do what they did last time with the motor....don't let them create a big transom that catches waves and knocks the boat speed off every time a wave hits it. Much better to have a longer shaft or a float controlled transom or a lowerable transom so at least the motor is only in the way under power.

Rich

Thursday, June 25, 2009

More on Discussions with Wayne:

Wayne cut a hole near the port rudder to inspect its installation by a previous owner. He wanted to make sure the repair is good.

He needs to add a chain plate mast support and verify that the new daggerboard sheaths are water tight. I told him to go ahead.

He was going to spray the boat, but he talked with the paint distributor who told him that because of pollution regulations, they have developed new paint that can be brushed on that looks the same as sprayed-on paint.

Since the boat has optional 120V wiring and sockets in the cabin, I suggested that we leave it and just rewire it along with the 12V wiring. He said he would make an interface for a small generator we could bring on board. This could supplement the 12 volt system for microwaves, blenders, etc. I don't think it is crucial, but a previous owner thought it desirable. Any thoughts?

I have suggested we replace the missing propane oven/stove with another. The tank is in the cockpit, along with the gasoline tanks, which are also heavier than air. (Stuff you don't want to fill the hulls with). The tank has a safety shut-off. I think propane warning devices in the hulls would also be a good idea.

I also suggest automatice electric bilge pumps and alarms for water in the hulls, along with some hefty manual bilge pumps.


Previous Suggestions posted again here:

Wayne suggested "deck lights", which are like skylights, to give more light in the hulls during the day.

Five Single Berths. We can put a single berth with a light in the front of each hull for adults. They would be pipe berths that swing away during the day. There could also be two youth size berths with lights in the same compartments, but horizontally in the fly bridge. However, I just planned to put the large water tank in one of those areas. Each rear hull also has a place for padded berths. That will make five singles inside.

Three Double Berths. The cabin has two double berths and a third is made from the table and the two dining benches.

Sleeping on Deck Under the Stars or Under Custom Tarp Tents. Many people like to sleep outside. I told Wayne to creat inserts we can add to the cockpit seats to make them into two nice single berths. I suggested additional sleeping pads to spread out on the deck, but which are stored in the hulls normally. However, Wayne thought inflateable mattresses would work as well and take up lots less space. We can make some nice tarps to go over the boom and turn the whole deck and trampolines into a large tent.

Controls and Instruments. A Steering wheel and post has been added . The old tiller steering system like the Makai’s is also available though. The steering post has throttle and forward/reverse controls.

I told Wayne we want to add a nice seat or two for the helmsman like the Makai had when we first started sailing her.

For instruments, we want to add a VHF radio, GPS (which will show speed), wind direction and speed, and a knot meter. CD/stereo system would also be nice.

Wayne will help us assemble a leak repair kit to keep on board to avoid the problem we had with the Makai. We have an autopilot from the Makai that might work. We would want a solar panel to keep the batteries charged too.

The boat still has an anchor chain, and I think we may have kept an anchor and some chain and anchor rode from the Makai. We need to have a good place to raise and lower and maybe keep the anchor and chain.

Sail Equipment. The boat has a spinnaker pole and some headsails. We want to install a roller-furling jib. We likely need a new mainsail, although Wayne said we might be able to find a used one that would work. He would try to help us with that.

Engine. The boat has a 30 hp tohatsu. Wayne thought we might want to overhaul it and keep it as a spare and get a new 4 stroke which is quieter. It should have an alternator with extra charging power for the batteries. Wayne likes the Honda and Yamaha 9.9 hp four strokes that we had.

Storage. I suggest we will design a specific place for everything that needs to be stored, and then some additional storage for gear and sleeping bags. That should keep the boat neat under sail.

Galley. The boat has a double sink. Often they have a dual salt water/freshwater setup, with an electric pump for salt water and a hand pump for fresh water. The boat already has a freshwater pump, so I told Wayne we would like a pump and plumbing for salt water also. I assume we want to install an ice chest compartment (possibly under the other galley seat, so it would be near the galley, and perhaps another in the cockpit for soft drinks).

We should buy some custom utensils and cookware, along with plates and cups, etc. that will store neatly and work well on a boat. I think we would also like a propane barbecue outside to cook steaks (or fish for me) while cruising the harbor.

Swim Ladder We should install a good swim ladder.

Weather Gear. It would be nice if we could get a volume discount on some good weather gear for everyone. Can Todd or Susie help with that? Kristofer got a great free weather jacket when he went with a friend to the Power Automotive Group's special Disneyland activity. Some Catamaran crews have matching Hawaiian shirts. Dad always thought we should have had "Makai" shirts to give to business contacts that we had taken for a cruise.

We also need spare life jacket storage. They make bags that can be strapped down on deck.
Correspondence with Frank Russell, whose father commissioned the Ipo Kai and who is also restoring a 27' CSK Catamaran

Frank,

Thank you so much for that information. I met with Wayne this morning to go over a lot of the plans. I will ask him about fairing the forward cross piece. I've been assuming a lot of what is on the boat is tried and true, and have been telling Wayne I don't want to "fix what isn't broken", and so to mostly restore what is already there. So, can you tell me any more about the upsides and downsides of removing the Nar-pole. Makai didn't have one. Please tell me more about your tiller thoughts. When we used to sail the Makai passed the Ipo Kai, my brother was always envious of its wheel.

Do you know what Ipo Kai means? Do you have plans for it or Imi Loa or Imua, or any other information like that?

We are trying to figure out fresh water capacity. Any thoughts?

Do you think and electric pump head would be worth it to a family over the manual pump head it now has?

Wayne thought we might save some on the cost of the front trampoline by using mesh, instead of the sewn together webbing. However, I remember a lot of water coming through the tramp when sailing upwind in a nice breeze, so I wasn't sure that was the place to save.

Wayne has also located a discounted carbon-fiber wing mast he is recommending to reduce the weight aloft. However, it is not cheap. Do you have any thoughts?

-----Original Message-----

> Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:35:48 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Frank Russell
> Subject: Re: Ipo Kai
> To: Brown
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> Yes, Ipo Kai was built for my father in 1969 -1970. Rudy and my dad went
back and forth between an Imi Loa or Imua design and Ipo Kai was what came
of it all. 38ft x 16.5ft. I am one of 7 kids, so my parents were adamant
about cabin to hull access and not thru the deck hatches. The big boxy
forward crossbeam was installed after Ipo Kai took a large wave head on
during the Newport-Bermuda Race and was quickly installed and never rounded
and faired. It is solid spruce (4- 6 laminations) and can be carved to an
oval shape. We always wondered after she was sold, why the new owners never
did that after they spent fortunes on other modifications. Speaking of
which.... I'd remove the center nar-pole up the middle of the forward net,
too much weight. Also, on a boat this size, I'd prefer tillers over
wheel.... just my preference.
>
> I have to run, but would certainly welcome a call!!
>
> Aloha!,
> Frank Russell

An Update From Mike

I thought you might want to add some of this to the blog.

Richard doesn't think we need to spend money on the electric head. He thinks the manual will be fine and its an extra thing that could break.

I met with Wayne Iwamoto yesterday morning to arrange work plans. Wayne thinks we should think about engines soon, if we are going to replace the Tohatsu. He needs to run cables and get the engine housing right. I think we are looking for a 4-stroke, from 15 to 50 hp, with at least a 25" transom height shaft. Wayne is looking into this as well, but help is welcome. Honda makes a 15hp and 50 hp motor with a 25" shaft. The smaller is around 110 pounds and the larger is about 100 lbs more.

Kris and a friend worked on cleaning up the boat yesterday. They removed stuff from the interior and stacked it below to make room to work. Two men we use at the apartments sometimes are sanding on the boat today.

Gil was raising one cockpit seat to put in a larger water tank. Then we would need to rebuild the other seat and modify the table to make everything work again. I said I had a smaller water tank from the Makai. We agreed to put the smaller tank in so the dining area would not require modification.
We'll put the larger water tank in the storage area just forward of the cabin as a backup for longer voyages.
We're continuing discussions on making the head as people friendly as possible.

The Beginning

This new web log has been created to document the life and adventures of the IPO KAI. We'll be posting updates and news as we refit the IPO KAI and get her ready to be ocean worthy once again. Here are some photos of her current condition.














































...To many years of sailing the open seas on the IPO KAI!!!