March 30, 2003 4:17 am CST Ahoy Y'all, Here's the latest major design tweaks for SEDATION 4: A common "generic" geometry for the 3 roof sections now exists.  The PilotHouse and Salon roofs are different lengths but the same width while the Bedroom roof is a trimmed trapezoid shape sharing the same profile geometry.  It seems that building one common mold to create these major components would be more efficient and probably cost effective.  In this view the front deck also shares the common geometry:  Another benefit of molding the roofs is the ease of adding drip-channels near the edges of the top surfaces by placing half-round stock appropriately in the mold before the respective part's lay-up.

Notice the Mast Tube is integral with the main 2" bulkhead and the PilotHouse roof is notched to clear the mast.  Garry Hoyt estimates a maximum diameter of Ø10" for the mast.  Forespar has an engineer currently working on the project and also expects the mast to be less than Ø10".  I expect more details from them this week.  It's possible that the substantial increase in above-deck structure and square transom configuration could move the effective center-of-effort (CE) which would dictate moving the mast fore/aft for optimum efficiency. Since the loads imposed by the un-stayed mast are enormous, I've increased the bulkhead thickness to 2" for the forward (including closet bulkheads in the hulls) and main "mast" bulkheads (including bedroom door bulkheads in the hulls) plus the center wall which separates the bedrooms and other centerline beams.  The framework is highlighted in the ghosted image below:

 

The bedroom roof should transmit a substantial portion of the mast loads to the forward bulkhead.  The mast-support tube is affixed at the Bridgedeck floor, PilotHouse floor, Main Bulkhead and Windshield frame.  Additional interior features like the settee base, helm floor struts and even the steps contribute to load-distribution.  I've modeled the PilotHouse side walls at 1" thickness with 180" exterior width therefore both respective roofs have large unsupported spans.  To add strength I've extended the 10" wide reinforced center panel of the windshield frame aft through the roofs and rear PilotHouse Window wall.  This also provides a handy run for wiring and a through-roof mounted winch to handle the single control sheet of the Hoyt Balanced Rig. Here's another view showing the aft deck steps and a better view  of the center 2" beam which extends from the forward bulkhead to the bow:

 

Common portholes have a 15° drain spigot in the frames so I've changed the slope of the outer deck-extensions to 10° to provide an effective 5° drain angle.  The tops of the new extended-decks are level within the 180" width of the salon but slope outward at 3° toward the deck's edge.  To enhance ventilation on stormy days, 4 large portholes are placed high on the bedrooms' forward walls, protected by the overhanging extension of the sloped (5°) roof.  The outer windows on the salon's aft bulkhead are double-hung vertically so the upper glass can be opened slightly for exhaust while inhibiting ingress of rain.  The PilotHouse aft windows do not open; their frames help transmit loads from roof-to-roof instead.  All of the sidewall windows slide fore-aft with screens for great ventilation during nice weather.  The windshields are top-hinged and can open to a fully horizontal position.  They also have full screens.  I'm still awaiting details from American Marine about the sliding door configuration. This view has the mast-tube highlighted.  Notice the steps from the foredeck to the new raised decks.  These are located above the bedrooms' closets so the change in ceiling height will be inconspicuous.  It seemed silly to have 80" headroom in the closets and rope lockers and lowering the foredeck (to Kit-Cat OEM height) reduces forward windage.

I'm still concerned about the influence of hanging an ~1000 lb dinghy assembly (boat, engine, battery, 23 gallons of diesel fuel and 15 gallons water) aft on the boat's pitching moment so a major weight-reduction program is underway.  I've trimmed nearly 400 lbs off the gross weight of  amenities, systems and provisions and re-distributed movable masses like the batteries .  The integral water tanks now occupy only the forward bilge sections under the bedrooms.  Integral holding tanks are adjacent aft.  The shower sumps are located slightly aft of these with a short "utility" span between to facilitate plumbing and electrical runs to the hulls' outer walls.  The diesel tanks are still located in the lower 1/3rd of the bows, beneath the rope lockers' floors.  There's a substantial amount of available bilge space available in the vessel's aft half which could be used for auxiliary water tanks during calm-sea cruises. Testing and evaluation of numerous components continues.  After extensive testing of 4 samples, I've ordered a dozen brushless DC fans which are VERY quiet and only draw .25 Amps each.  Efficient fluorescent lights have arrived (1.8 Amps each) and lighter/smaller lab instruments are ordered.  I'm investigating use of copper-clad aluminum wiring, instead of ordinary copper battery cable, for the high-current runs between the generator, inverter, anchor winches, distribution panels and (5) batteries.  Almost 40 lbs could be saved in battery cable alone!