Odd, Old, Obscure or Mysterious Nautical Things and Boats

[El Pinguino]

... and elegant simplicity.

The owner ( US flag yacht in NZ ) said it was an early Aires but I don't think it is.....

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Well, the radium dials in several of my old watches hasn't killed me yet..... and they were worn on the body for years.

The danger is overplayed, old Military aircraft instruments all used radium paint and because of this the overhaul and or disposal of them when I was in the Military was almost like transporting an Atomic bomb.

However way back when the Women that did the painting of the watch dials every day for a living, many did develop lip Cancer, seems they were licking the brushes and pulling it through their lips to get a sharp point. Do that every day for years and then of course it is dampngerous

[a64pilot]

I dislike this IPad app, I can't correct dangerous with it, the post is too long.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I thought this a thing of rare beauty...

Looks like it was designed by M. C. Escher.

Or, as a drawing I can imagine it would make for a cool piece of art for those with an engineering sort of mind.

It looks complicated and must have required some thought to make it work as a concept and in reality. I get that sense when I look at the engine space of a large ship, where the miles of pipes and valves and gears and other stuff are mind boggling or awesome or beautiful, depending upon how one sees those complex systems and designs.

[Steadman Uhlich]

The Radium Problem.

"The Radium Girls" is a famous case of workplace health risks and corporate greed and lack of care for the worker. You can find out about it via wikipedia or books and movies and even plays about the issue.

The ingestion of the radium from when the "girls" used their lips to make a point on their paint brushes (something even watercolorists do today) caused several of them to develop horrible cancers and disease. It even caused them to GLOW in the dark (not kidding)!

It sounds incredible but like the Matchstick Girls in the UK (exposed to phosphorous), it was a real case of toxic chemicals in a workplace causing horrible disfiguration ("Fossy Jaw" caused the bones of the jaw to dissolve, teeth to fall out, and the soft tissue of the face to die, leading to gaping huge holes in the side of the face) and deaths. VERY bad stuff!

This became a landmark legal case and part of what lead to OSHA eventually. Occupational safety used to be a laughing matter, or simply ignored.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Looks like it was designed by M. C. Escher.

Or, as a drawing I can imagine it would make for a cool piece of art for those with an engineering sort of mind.

It looks complicated and must have required some thought to make it work as a concept and in reality. I get that sense when I look at the engine space of a large ship, where the miles of pipes and valves and gears and other stuff are mind boggling or awesome or beautiful, depending upon how one sees those complex systems and designs.

It looks close to the Hydrovane in principle.... between my one and the hydrovane on the evolutionary scale.
I can't tell if it operates independent of the main rudder as the Hydrovane does or not....

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

... and elegant simplicity.

The owner ( US flag yacht in NZ ) said it was an early Aires but I don't think it is.....

well...shows how old I am.. I immediately said "I know that, yes Aries... then I couldn't find an image! Did I dream it? Thank God I still have a few brain cells... turns out yes, Aries, from the 60s
here's a site with one on a Fuji
Automate the windvane

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Don C L

well...shows how old I am.. I immediately said "I know that, yes Aries... then I couldn't find an image! Did I dream it? Thank God I still have a few brain cells... turns out yes, Aries, from the 60s
here's a site with one on a Fuji
Automate the windvane

Strange and stranger yet.... yes that looks like the same unit ( may even be the same boat.... was a double ender of the american style is all I can remember).

However there is nothing here History of Aries Vane Gears to suggest there was ever a UK Aires that looked remotely like that.

Was there a rare US Aires?

Ping the Perplexed

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Strange and stranger yet.... yes that looks like the same unit ( may even be the same boat.... was a double ender of the american style is all I can remember).

However there is nothing here History of Aries Vane Gears to suggest there was ever a UK Aires that looked remotely like that.

Was there a rare US Aires?

Ping the Perplexed

Well, I'll be hornswoggled... I see your point! Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me.. I am thinking maybe we all called them "Aries" as a generic term like "Kleenex." It's an old something... I'm on a hunt
oh, probably not the same boat, Fuji's not a double-ender

[topmast]

The old auto pilot compass was a searching type. Preset limits on each side of chosen course and compass held steady while vessel wandered to and fro. In the Wood Freeman models the brushes triggered solenoids from a Ford starter which controled a rewired Ford generator acting as a motor. Engagement was a real neat bronze cone clutch to motorcycle type chain on to shaft or cable steering. Most vessels here on the coast had one but power needs limited it to when the engine was running .Rube Goldburg they weren't and always worked .(except in the Beaufort where the verticalness of magnetic lines could confuse it)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Well, the radium dials in several of my old watches hasn't killed me yet..... and they were worn on the body for years.

There's a lot more radium on a compass dial that on a watch face.
And the danger is when you open one and are exposed to the fluid.

Here's the gen, direct from people who repair compasses for a living.

" I NO LONGER REPAIR SERVICE COMPASSES CONTAINING URANIUM
...
These compasses should not be opened by non-qualified personnel as the fluid, which will have been in contact with the Radium for many decades, will be as radioactive as the Radium itself. If the Radium paint, dust from the paint, or fluid that has been in contact with the Radium is ingested, inhaled or enters the body through a cut or scratch on the skin then it would be wise to seek urgent medical assistance, taking the compass and parts with you, sealed in a suitable container. "

[a64pilot]

A huge issue with them whether there is a significant amount of radium in the fluid or not, you now have radioactive hazardous waste to dispose of, how easy do you think that is?
I'd bet that more than anything else is why no professional would service one, not the possible radiological contamination.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

... and elegant simplicity.

The owner ( US flag yacht in NZ ) said it was an early Aires but I don't think it is.....

I saw what appears to be this same unit for sale at Longship chandlery. Paulsbo.wa. The owner said it was an Aries also. nice condition, those things are massive!

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by uncle stinkybob

I saw what appears to be this same unit for sale at Longship chandlery. Paulsbo.wa. The owner said it was an Aries also. nice condition, those things are massive!

I think they are relics from the bronze age.

So.... 3 sightings.. all US boats or chandlery.... definately not a British Aires.

I can't see anyone turning a profit on those things.... I think small production run back whenever... maybe even called Aires just by chance... made on the Pacific coast of the US.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I think they are relics from the bronze age.

So.... 3 sightings.. all US boats or chandlery.... definately not a British Aires.

I can't see anyone turning a profit on those things.... I think small production run back whenever... maybe even called Aires just by chance... made on the Pacific coast of the US.

LOL, bronze age indeed. All big bronze fittings and gears and really big stainless steel tubing. I didn't notice the price but will take another look, maybe take a pic or two and post it here. I bet it's very heavy.