I’m off to Fish Expo today. Fortified myself with sardine lunch. They have upscaled the name to Pacific Marine Expo, http://www.pacificmarineexpo.com/10/public/enter.aspx but we still know it as Fish Expo. Its a serious boat show, especially for Alaska fishermen. I ran into Steve Sheidler there once and he put it perfectly. He said “If these guys have equipment failure, people die.”

How strong is glass compared to plywood? Here is a table comparing strengths with out of plane loads (like water pressure).

Plywood/Glass Thickness Conversion comparing bending strength. (Assumed 60,000 psi bending strength for glass and 10,000 for plywood)
Assumed that triaxial amount is on both sides of a core

Ply thickness Triaxial thickness Core

3mm ply equals     (12 oz)  400 gsm w/12 mm core

4mm ply equals     (17 oz) 600 gsm w/12 mm core

6mm ply equals      (22 oz ) 750 gsm w/12 mm core

9mm ply equals      (34 oz)   1150 gsm w/19 mm core

12mm ply equals   (2) (22 oz ) 1500 gsm w/19 mm core

I just got this link from Craig Riley of Composites West in Incline, NV.
See http://www.actionwatersportsinclinevillage.com/sierra_cloud.html

This plywood/epoxy CM catamaran has been carrying passengers for more than 20 years there on Lake Tahoe. It was always one of my favorites.  And its a demountable boat.

I understand that the USCG stability rules are catching up with the increasing girth of Americans. The official passenger weight for COI boats is to go up from 160 lbs to 180 lbs as I understand it. For monohulls, that can be a crisis. For catamarans, it will not actually change the stability at all. I expect that everybody will need to revise their stabilty calculations and stability letters. I have spreadsheets ready and can do that for everyone who needs it.
Related, I can’t believe that with all the budget cuts, a plans submittal and inspections for a COI vessel is still free. Where else can you get a building permit for free? I can’t imagine it will be free for long. Submit those COI plans soon.

The first Earthwise ferry is nearing launch at Lake Victoria. See http://ewventures.wordpress.com/
I worry about the weight and crossarm revisions, but its almost wet.  It is cylinder molded plywood/epoxy vacuum bag design, though KHSD is never noted as designer.

The KHSD 63′ catamaran Profligate led the start of the 17th annual Baja Ha Ha race.
See http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2010-10-25&dayid=496
Profligate is the official cruising boat of Latitude 38 magazine and belongs to Richard Spindler. As an aside Latitude 38 magazine is far and away the best sailing magazine there is. Most issues are keepers.

I got to go sailing with Barry and Karen, the owners of Sarabi earlier this month. Sarabi is a KHSD 56 catamaran with an Aerorig. See http://www.multihulldesigns.com/designs_other/56aerocat.htm for more pictures. Its a fast, safe cruising machine. I enjoyed their stories about sailing in “aquarium mode” through green waves, or closing on monohull friends so fast at night that they were mistaken for pirates. She looked great for having done most of a lap around the Pacific.  Thanks you two. It was a fun sail.

CSR Marine on Northlake Ave here in Seattle will be gone by the first of November. CSR has been a fixture there for some 25 years. They were not only the best, but they hauled out multihulls. And they owned the legendary trimaran CHAAK. Its almost like the space needle moving.  They will have their two smaller locations near the locks and at Des Moines.
I have heard from several sources that the Puget Sound Waterkeepers threatened them and many other waterfront businesses with ongoing lawsuits unless they left. Or, I heard, they could pay protection money and stay. I will be finding out the other side later thi

s week.
I have worked in and with many boatyards over the years. I have never seen a more contentious boatyard with the environment.
I support the Greenpeace and all, but this seems wrong to me. I will get to bottom of this soon.  CHAAK's last haulout below.

I got a bit behind on this blog when the computer went down then I got hit with serious deadlines. I'm back and there is a lot going on.
First, I got another great youtube video from those wildmen in Italy with my 24'  trimaran Muffalo. See

Wow!

I just got Makita 2.5 hp compressor (MAC2400). It keeps up with my volume spray painting and is quiet. Odd thing is I bought its evil twin a few years ago. A Master Power MPAC521, which looks almost the same. It was frighteningly loud, could not really keep up, and filled the garage with smoke. After only about 30 hours of work over the last 3 years, it finally could only produce about 20 psi.
What a relief it is to have the Makita.