I'm Back on the Job! And I Have Stainless on the Brain...

[Geoff S.]

Okay, I'm bumping up my own thread...one last shot, anybody have a US source for stainless tube?

[anjou]

And Miss Anjou...(that's a pear, n'est ce pas?) you're a sailer, a welder, and a diesel mechanic?? And way too cute to be single?? I need to start pricing flights to Worcestershire...A pear of what? Oh I see, hahahaIts a region en Francais. Dont price flights, just get yerself on your boat and you could be here in 3 weeks.

[Geoff S.]

I'll be sure to add 52º 6.468' N, 2º 19.492' W to my list of waypoints...

[James S]

Really nice looking works Geoff.

Here in Leb. when I buy SS tubing I spec. the wall thickness in mm like 1.25 or 1.5 or 2mm IMHO 316 is the only way to go...unless you want to do some decorative acid etching...in that case 304.

This handle had to be done twice…the first time it was 316 but when I took it to the etching guy the acid wouldn’t touch it….had to re-make it in 304...its etch is almost 1mm deep.

I used wood and SS for my davits.

[Geoff S.]

Wow, James, kudos back atcha. Arctic Lady is gorgeous. And I like your davits! Is that a "sandwich" of teak around a band of stainless? What kind of weight are they made to take?

Thanks for the wall thickness spec, that's info I was hoping to get. I don't think I have any etching to do, though your name plate is quite handsome, and you may have corrupted my mind with new decorative ideas...

[James S]

Thanks

As you surmised the davits are teak on either side (up and down) of SS bar stock with cheek plates on the sides near the shoulder.

The teak on the lower side is laminated out of 8mm pieces...
look carefully and you can see the different colors.

I don’t know how much they'll hold…. I swing them around and have been standing on them individually to run cables and wiring to my radar pole....they're pretty solid.

[Geoff S.]

Did you do much custom engineering/tooling of the moving parts, or did you find hardware off the shelf? I notice something that looks like a ratchet on the sides that looks pretty one-off. Beautiful work, all of it.

[James S]

It was custom...we're lucky to have a laser cutting operation in Leb....that’s how the ratchets were cut, they're connected to a drum inside the cheek plates that will take-up a 40mm wide cargo strap that will be under the dingy and will sandwich it...or rather smash it up against the lower side of the davits to secure it once its hoisted.

The real nice piece is the center of the ratchet...I copied a winch socket and made it undercut inside so the winch handle locks in.

I have a good guy for welding the SS.....I'm no good at it.

The sprocket and winch socket were welded together then turned on a lath to give it that cast look at the connection.

I'm starting to think about my Bimini and am looking forward to seeing what you come up with….I was thinking about something rigid that looks soft…but soft is just so much easyer/cheaper/faster.

I’m amazed at the quality of your wood work…is that your trade?

[Talbot]

I feel totally inadequate looking at these pictures.

I am rather more of a chainsaw style craftsman with ambition.

[Geoff S.]

Wow, James, that's brilliant. You essentially took the web strap tie-down ratchet idea and made it into a work of functional art. I'm suddenly amazed we don't see more high-end things with that feature (say, built-in ratchets in the walls of pickup truck boxes). You should patent it quick. Beautiful execution, too. I'll bet it works like a charm, and snugs the dinghy up good n' tight.

Thanks for the kudo on Diva's woodwork, but I can only take credit for the design. The artistry is that of David Morand, proprietor of Ship's Carpenter, Ltd., and his excellent crew. If anybody wants the master's hand on your baby, though, you'd best turn her heading to SSE and get yourself to Trini pronto. David intends on retiring to the "easy" life of a slum lord in his native Ontario in about a year.

[James S]

Thanks Geoff...I don’t know if the davits even work?
I haven’t rigged them yet as the dingy has been a low priority.

Their are several things on the boat that people have said are patent worthy. the problem may be that patents themselves may not be "worthy" Takes about 3 years to get one if all goes well, and if you cant afford to defend it if the big guys step on it, then you might as well not go to the trouble of having one.
Hows your SS project designs comming?

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Geoff S.

Thanks for the kudo on Diva's woodwork, but I can only take credit for the design. The artistry is that of David Morand, proprietor of Ship's Carpenter, Ltd., and his excellent crew. If anybody wants the master's hand on your baby, though, you'd best turn her heading to SSE and get yourself to Trini pronto. David intends on retiring to the "easy" life of a slum lord in his native Ontario in about a year.

I know this is an oldish thread but I've just found it and I'm totally blown away with the standard of work on Diva!
I'm fully expecting to buy something along the lines of a Formosa/Vagabond/Force50 later this year to live the cruising life for a while. A kind of retirement, although I've always found boats to be more work than work. I'll be coming over from Australia and anticipate needing to spend some time getting the usual problems fixed.
Is this level of craftmanship very costly in Trinidad?
Vic

[FloridaWriter]

Originally Posted by Geoff S.

Thanks all, great info. Boracay, I'll certainly take photos (if you've been to my photo album you'll know I'm not shy about that!) but I probably won't be able to shed much light on the how-to; I intend to let the pros do the work while I stand back grinning and writing checks. Yup, Don, that's my understanding too, that the "L" means less corrosion at the welds someday; good tip to think about where I'll need welding and where I won't.

Herr Lampe, danke shoen! Great succinct primmer on stainless; just the info I needed. Is there a different material number for 316 vs. 316L? I see in your next paragraph, you refer to "1.4401/04"...is 1.4404 the 316L? And it looks like I'll want "high gloss" as opposed to "mirror". While Diva sure seems like a Mega-Yacht to me (see check-writing reference above), I'm still one lottery ticket away from having Mega-Yacht-depth pockets.

Now...does anybody know a good reasonable source for ss tube?

I buy 316L stock from onlinemetals.com. Great folks to deal with.

Online Metal Store | Small Quantity Metal Orders | Metal Cutting, Sales & Shipping | Buy Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Stainless | Metal Product Guides at OnlineMetals.com

Good luck,

[Extemporaneous]

Originally Posted by FloridaWriter

I buy 316L stock from onlinemetals.com. Great folks to deal with.

Online Metal Store | Small Quantity Metal Orders | Metal Cutting, Sales & Shipping | Buy Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Stainless | Metal Product Guides at OnlineMetals.com

Good luck,

I can say that I have used these Guys also and that my experience has been good. That is regardless of the fact that they are on the West Coast of the US (Seattle, WA) and I'm in Ontario, Canada.
Would recommend? Yes.

Extemp.

[Geoff S.]

Thanks, David, that's exactly the kind of lead I need. I'll look into Online Metals right away.

G'day, Vic!

Sounds like we like the same kinda boats. Trini isn't the refit bargain I'm told she was 15-20 years ago, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford the workmanship I've gotten at US labor prices. Certainly, teak stock is cheaper there, as it grows native. Of course, the savings is somewhat mitigated by the "Island Time" rate of progress. My situation (7 years and counting) is probably more a function of the shallowness of my pockets and my allergy to boat loans, admittedly.

You can get all levels of workmanship down there, from rough "workboat" slap-it-together-and-paint-it, to even nicer mega-yacht work than Diva has received. The key is, particularly if you're not going to be on-site continuously, is to hire a management company. I can highly recommend Dynamite Marine, owned by former BWI airline pilot Mark Farfan. email: dynamite@tstt.net.tt, phone (868) 634-4868. They more than earn their monthly retainer by maintaining an "A" list of the best contractors, and are good at being the boat-owner's advocate re quality control and addressing problems. They've gone to bat for me over Customs hassles a dozen times.

The other benefits from Trini are (so far) being safely below the Hurricane Belt, and a fascinating culture. Trinidad has a foot each in the First and Third Worlds, and because of that you get a real indigenous experience when you're there. Trinis are joyous, generous, friendly people and I've come to regard Trinidad as my second home. I may always use Chaguaramas as my Storm Season HQ.

Let me know if you end up there, I'll buy you a beer or six!