Bought a Never splashed Colvic Countess 33 on eBay, Looking for infos

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Nah, not buying it. That's not a scale drawing of anything relating to your boat. The radii at the hull/keel are way too tight. I thought they probably were, but you pictures confirm it.

And I was getting really excited - I thought this was going to one of the 'power walls'. Kevlar grid with home grown Lithium crystals in the mesh, positive on one Aluminium skin, negative on the other.

 

[GregOddity]

Nah, not buying it. That's not a scale drawing of anything relating to your boat. The radii at the hull/keel are way too tight. I thought they probably were, but you pictures confirm it.

And I was getting really excited - I thought this was going to one of the 'power walls'. Kevlar grid with home grown Lithium crystals in the mesh, positive on one Aluminium skin, negative on the other.

Lol, Sorry to disappoint you, we're all out of Crystals due to Brexit fears as they come from a supplier in Europe. Did you not read the part which said that it would be a waste of time trying to get scale out of a scaled to fit drawing? And me thinking you actually wanted to know about how it was made. Well you baited me good. Not really sure what you’re after but by all means take the bicycle but leave the pedals.

I’ve been Trolled.

PS.- But I’m a fast learner!

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Now you're trying to tell me that you've somehow randomly re-scaled it? Compressed some bits and stretched others? Mate, I play with cad most days of the week and have all sorts of ways of stretching drawings, but even AutoCad can't do that.

I don't care how much you stretch it horizontally or vertically, that was never a scale drawing of any bulkhead for a Countess 33. The clues are the tight radius at the keel and the fact that the onward extension of the hull section is vertical, and Countesses don't do that.

Troll? Dunno, but I did get you to admit that maybe Hybrid Drive just might not be more efficient than an ornery engine.

 

[obmij]

This is a forum for people interested in the practical aspects of boat building, restoration and maintenance - so it is quite reasonable that when you post plans, they attract comments and questions.

If you were fitting out your hull in a simple and traditional way, you would still attract a lot of attention because it is an interesting subject.

But you're not - you're going way off piste, so questions regarding the hows and whys are to be expected.

 

[GregOddity]

Now you're trying to tell me that you've somehow randomly re-scaled it? Compressed some bits and stretched others? Mate, I play with cad most days of the week and have all sorts of ways of stretching drawings, but even AutoCad can't do that.

I don't care how much you stretch it horizontally or vertically, that was never a scale drawing of any bulkhead for a Countess 33. The clues are the tight radius at the keel and the fact that the onward extension of the hull section is vertical, and Countesses don't do that.

Troll? Dunno, but I did get you to admit that maybe Hybrid Drive just might not be more efficient than an ornery engine.

I’m not sure what to say… you got me? I “randomly” scaled a RECTANGLE drawing by dragging one side to the centre to make it fit a front page of a job sheet for our own use.
It’s not for me to doubt you but if I may call your attention to my videos on YouTube, you will see me drawing in 3D using a 2 D platform Corel Draw 2018. I did learn how to draw 3D by hand as a very young man. I don’t use CAD and that’s pretty much common knowledge. So far, I was able to design pretty much anything that I wanted in 3D Easy peasy when you know.
I can see you don’t know Corel Draw or what happens to drawings that are scaled sideways. Especially if all objects in a group of layers are not grouped. Good luck measuring that radius when a circle becomes an Oval. I can post 2 pics of the same object here if you wish, so you can see for yourself. I did not do that out of respect for you because I have no wish or gain any pleasure in demonstrating the obvious to someone that should know. Maybe you could also accord me that kindness?

You misunderstand my politeness on the Hybrid drive discussion. There is no point selling water in the desert, it would be a perfect place to sell it but sadly... there's no one there. That discussion had no interest in it for me or US or even anyone at large. There's no point trying to talk to someone sure of his convictions. WE are not learning from it, it’s not helping us doing the drive and no one is learning anything. I'll admit anything you want to stop that discussion. I asked for info on Props.

We're good, and as I said quite a few times before you’re very welcome to continue trying to pick holes in anything we say or do. You're always welcome here. Meanwhile we build it all and sail away into the blue yonder (that's about 3m42" out of berth when we sink)

 

[GregOddity]

This is a forum for people interested in the practical aspects of boat building, restoration and maintenance - so it is quite reasonable that when you post plans, they attract comments and questions.

If you were fitting out your hull in a simple and traditional way, you would still attract a lot of attention because it is an interesting subject.

But you're not - you're going way off piste, so questions regarding the hows and whys are to be expected.

Well I do expect that, and we're good. But there was no question there to be had. If he has CAD experience he should know better. He's not asking any question, about the construction method of the Bulkhead which is something that I'm pretty sure he never once saw or knows how it’s made, which would be the questions to be expected but instead trying to somehow "prove " something (whatever that may be) Which generally speaking is not a very good thing and people tend to get peeved and sometimes even Miffed.

PS.- In true British tradition I'm none of the above, Miffed or Peeved, instead I put the kettle on.

 

[GregOddity]

Now you're trying to tell me that you've somehow randomly re-scaled it? Compressed some bits and stretched others? Mate, I play with cad most days of the week and have all sorts of ways of stretching drawings, but even AutoCad can't do that.

I don't care how much you stretch it horizontally or vertically, that was never a scale drawing of any bulkhead for a Countess 33. The clues are the tight radius at the keel and the fact that the onward extension of the hull section is vertical, and Countesses don't do that.

Troll? Dunno, but I did get you to admit that maybe Hybrid Drive just might not be more efficient than an ornery engine.

Normally, I don’t point out the obvious...
Your knowledge of the Colvic Countess is lacking. A thing patently obvious to any owner. To your other claims you’re entitled to your opinion, nevertheless if you can, I would appreciate the same politeness I demonstrate to you.

I prepared these pics for you, so you can see how “right” you are in your “opinion”. I could post ALL of them but I think you get the point.

The design I posted is from the stern bulkhead. The stringers are getting a makeover and all the Bulkheads as well.

Sadly, they got nothing in common with your comments.

Both sides end vertical, sorry. And they were so designed by Ian Anderson.

 

[Spyro]

If I understand this correctly you are making an aluminium sheathed bulkhead that will go right into the bilge where it will potentially sit in salt water. Is that a good idea?

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

I’m not sure what to say… you got me? I “randomly” scaled a RECTANGLE drawing by dragging one side to the centre to make it fit a front page of a job sheet for our own use.
It’s not for me to doubt you but if I may call your attention to my videos on YouTube, you will see me drawing in 3D using a 2 D platform Corel Draw 2018. I did learn how to draw 3D by hand as a very young man. I don’t use CAD and that’s pretty much common knowledge. So far, I was able to design pretty much anything that I wanted in 3D Easy peasy when you know.
I can see you don’t know Corel Draw or what happens to drawings that are scaled sideways. Especially if all objects in a group of layers are not grouped. Good luck measuring that radius when a circle becomes an Oval. I can post 2 pics of the same object here if you wish, so you can see for yourself. I did not do that out of respect for you because I have no wish or gain any pleasure in demonstrating the obvious to someone that should know. Maybe you could also accord me that kindness?

You misunderstand my politeness on the Hybrid drive discussion. There is no point selling water in the desert, it would be a perfect place to sell it but sadly... there's no one there. That discussion had no interest in it for me or US or even anyone at large. There's no point trying to talk to someone sure of his convictions. WE are not learning from it, it’s not helping us doing the drive and no one is learning anything. I'll admit anything you want to stop that discussion. I asked for info on Props.

We're good, and as I said quite a few times before you’re very welcome to continue trying to pick holes in anything we say or do. You're always welcome here. Meanwhile we build it all and sail away into the blue yonder (that's about 3m42" out of berth when we sink)

Just show me the original when you've got the laptop fired up - and while you're there, you said that you have the kW figures for Oddity on it, so perhaps you could refresh your memory on that for us?

 

[pvb]

If I understand this correctly you are making an aluminium sheathed bulkhead that will go right into the bilge where it will potentially sit in salt water. Is that a good idea?

Detail, mere detail.

 

[GregOddity]

If I understand this correctly you are making an aluminium sheathed bulkhead that will go right into the bilge where it will potentially sit in salt water. Is that a good idea?

Yes, pretty fair to assume that water will be in the bilges at some time or other. It's how it's constructed that makes the difference. The aluminium is sealed inside fibre weave in layers. The "exterior" sheet is covered with 3 layers of weave. I don't anticipate water on the bilges for any prolonged periods of time. But in any case, a last layer of VE should do the trick.

However, should the last layer allow for capillarity and osmosis to penetrate the “skin” and come in contact with the first layer of Aluminium, it would still have to go through that layer and the next layer of weave to come in contact with the second layer of Aluminium, and again the same for the third layer. Before it could come in contact with the core of Kevlar honeycomb.

That process would certainly demand a good amount of pressure to express itself into osmosis on the bulkhead and that is only likely if the boat is sinking and by then not our most pressing concern.

That concern, when compared to the impact the same quantity of water would have on a plywood bulkhead, is far of the scale. We all see boats repairing plywood bulkheads.
We bought ours to build according to our own philosophy of as little wood as possible on a Plastic sailboat.

 

[GregOddity]

Just show me the original when you've got the laptop fired up - and while you're there, you said that you have the kW figures for Oddity on it, so perhaps you could refresh your memory on that for us?

Gimme a couple of days, I’ve asked my bank for all my statements going back 10 years and HMRC for my life long paperwork for your perusal and approval.

Bowing gracefully is an Art, or so I’m told.

 

[GregOddity]

Detail, mere detail.

It's an uninformed detail in this case. New materials often suffer from that.

 

[GregOddity]

Today we had a glorious day “sailing”. Installing the new addition to Selkie and enjoying the bane of every sailor.
We changed the Pipes and installed our new sea toilet on the heads. A fun job if there ever is one. At last the honour was mine to wish I had 2m long arms with 3 elbows and 20 cm long fingers so I could tighten the nuts on the other end of the bolts. Luckily Selkie was made with ample availability of very confined spaces difficult to get to, so that we could show our “seamanship”. We prevailed. Another “5m” Job well done.
Still have to clean the whole thing tomorrow... :encouragement:

 

[GregOddity]

And on a very cold day outside, it’s planning and designing the new switch boards and instruments panels for both Selkie and Oddity.
As the wiring will be one of the first projects to start on Oddity, the switch board is already on the first stages of fabrication. The wiring is going to run on conduits high on the beam. Switch board and lighting will be installed for ease of work. Technical cabling run separately on the other beam. We’re leaving ample space on the conduits for installing new cabling if necessary.
And the pressure switches just arrived.

Let the fun begin!

 

[GregOddity]

Switch panel

On Selkie, this is what we have with half of the lights on the switch’s dead. The other is a fast study on how the panel is going to be installed and to see how it will look. It will essentially cover the area leaving all the wiring behind for ease of access as opposed to have to dismantle half the lining in the heads to access everything on the panel that was built there. Leaves place for the handheld VHF radio chargers to be mounted side by side.
Quite fun to fiddle about in a cold day.

really bad photo but enough to give an idea. Weird angle.

 

[GregOddity]

SV Oddity, Interiors & Materials

We’ve been asked by a couple of people about the work I did on some surfaces and as that is a theme that we’ve been very engaged with lately, I’ll post what we are going to use and why. The matter of the interior. Headlining’s and surfaces.
Perpetuating mistakes from the past not being my favourite past time, we’re not going to use foam lined vinyl headliners but instead Formica/aluminium for the ceilings and furniture.
Nothing makes a boat look as shabby as a drooping headliner, or buttons covering failing screws. For that purpose, we’re using Formica bonded to Aluminium which has the added advantage that both materials are pliable. The aluminium to every angle desired, the Formica to round shapes. Being able to round corners on certain parts of the interior is a more desirable option for us as it allows for a more organic space inside Oddity.
Looks, Feel, Maintenance, Organization and Living Space must all come together for a space that is our cosmos for weeks at a time during a crossing. Must be able to take aggressive cleaning if needed, withstand salt and fresh water, humidity and be as resilient as possible to not fail mid crossing to the Isle of Wight.
The solutions we chose are solutions from different fields but nevertheless have been on the market for a number of years and some for decades.
For almost all of our surfaces onboard, we will use Formica. Formica has a group of characteristics that make it ideal for a humid or wet environment. Very low maintenance, ease of cleaning, high resistance to water and humidity. Modern textured Formicas can add that little “je ne sais pas quoi” to any place. In our case we’re looking for affordable solutions to the high expectations we have of the boat we're doing.

Enter Formica.

This being the look and feel we’re looking for Oddity. Stainless and a somewhat light wood grain colour.
How we are making the furniture will be covered in detail but that’s for another time.
The Heads and wet spaces.

These are Formicas formulated specifically for wet areas as I'm sure all of you have seen in any public space or McDonald's. As of yet colour and grain undecided ( wife vetoed most…)

Ceilings and walls.

For the ceilings and some side panels we are going to fabricate, the mounting system is also not screwing. We aim for invisible mounting and there are a number of systems on the market that are cheap enough for a small boat.

This is but one of the many systems available on the market. Some better for some uses then others but the choice is quite vast.

Although I have used both products before, we are not sponsored by any of the brands and there are plenty of alternatives on the market.They are mentioned here simply as an example of products I have used before. Feel free to google away :encouragement:

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Re: SV Oddity, Interiors & Materials

All vey interesting Greg but I feel it will be a little harsh and bright quite out of place on an old 80s long keel sailing yacht. I owned a 34 foot long keel boat which had been a tad neglected when I bought her, I set about renewing all her deck gear winches turning blocks etc and bought the best that could be bought, over specked and in fact unnecessary it continued with all the electrical and navigational systems so much so that a long term cruising companion used to say sitting at the chart table was like being on the Starship Enterprise, you can guess what he called me. Did it make the boat go any faster, no. It did make some things easier but mot of all I enjoyed doing it and got a lot of satisfaction from it and I guess that applies in spades with you and Phil. But be warned you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear, Oddity will always be an 80s tub limited in what she can do and will indeed live up to her name. I don't mean to be disrespectful but there is only so much that you can do that is really worth while on an old boat.
But enjoy it, I fear we are in for a long narrative.:encouragement:

 

[NormanB]

Re: SV Oddity, Interiors & Materials

Greg with the Formica how do you intend to overcome hard corners that now seem to be de rigour in the ‘cheaper’ production boats.

 

[pvb]

Re: SV Oddity, Interiors & Materials

The Heads and wet spaces.

Wow! 3 heads! That's impressive, are you expecting a sudden rush once the hybrid drive system runs out of energy?