Supposed to be as strong as steel at a fraction of the weight. They don’t say what it is nor how they do it.
They seem to know what they are doing.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180207151829.htm

Where can I get some? I’m guessing I won’t be able to buy it next year at Eidensaw.

I see that a particular catamaran cabin dodge has become very popular.

Square assed catamaran cabins are disguised behind a swoop more and more lately. Like the fins on a 59 Chevy, a well placed swoosh makes the cabin not only look bigger, but not look frumpy, not boxy.  People, it is boxy behind the make-up.  And small.
I have done it before. On a 60’ dinner catamaran in the early 90s. I felt guilty for years, and virtually every dinner cruise cat now does it. What if I caused it?

I admit that the swoosh looks good, but it is a fraud. And actually a hazard. Imagine you are slugging to windward at night in a blow. And you have to go up to the mast and fix a kink. At least once you will trip over that port and starboard style peninsula. You will.
I know it’s popular, but so was a 59 Chevy. A brilliant stylist like Michael Schacht could come up with a half dozen non-swoosh options in very little time. I’m agitating for honesty in design; not hiding behind swooshes.

I now have a wonderfully fast Win 10 laptop with office 16 on it. That started some 3 weeks ago or so. The old computer probably has virus, even though I paid to prevent that, and CPU slams up to 100% as soon as it starts, and stays there forever. I keep it offline now, just to pull files off of. Eset is not interested anymore in virus killing on it.
To reply to emails, I have the new one open, while I look at email addresses to reply to on the old one. Diabolical.
I did back up the email folder, but worry it would muck up the new email if I try to load it.
Short answer, if you sent me something and didn’t get reply, please hit me again.

Some great guy on Face posted this few section cuts of a real live composite chainplate. I teased him that I could never afford to do this kind of surgery for illustration. I forget his name, but it was over a month ago and I have been awash in memory scrubbing anesthetics in the last week…
I’m happy to include if someone chimes in.

What great visuals of what a proper composite chain plate should be like.

My friend and long time customer Richard Spindler, formerly editor of Latitude 38 mgazine, will be speaking tomorrow, Sunday the 28th at the Seattle Boat Show. 4 PM, I assume down near the stadium. I will try to make it, but am still recovering. Topic will be cruising Mexico/HaHa.

Richard built his catamaran that I designed for him, in the early 90s and has sailed it for tens or hundreds of thousands of miles since.  T They don’t make any better clients.  See http://www.profligate.com/

Sorry guys. I’ve been in the hospital from Thursday until late Saturday. Am hobbling around like an old coot now.
Wednesday night I had a very good workout at the gym.
Midafternoon Thursday I was suddenly vomiting and had probably worst stomach pain that I have ever had.
Went to ER. 3 days in hospital found nothing. Only theory was drug interaction between warfarin and the rare time that I took Advil.
Point is I’m still not even 50% back. trying to. This is why some projects might feel neglected. Soon as I can.

I’m coming up with a few options for rotating wingmast hounds.
First with padeyes for the shrouds. First run at 200 degree (100 degrees each way) wing mast solution, with Colligo fork fittings. Lime green is toggles and blue is SS padeyes.
Composite foundations (yellow). Basically the whole lot stays in one place, and the mast swings like a door behind it.
It should have much less wear and chafe on the composite stays.

Now with tangs instead of padeyes on the rotating bit.  I do have great respect for the opinions of the experienced sea dogs on the last post.  I have also have been working this for a few decades. Keep in mind, 99% of all rigging out there is terminated with toggles.  We shouldn’t just abandon toggles for purity. In my experience, toggles are pretty good at aligning to the load. The old batwings would chew up toggles, I admit. Pure synthetic would be wonderful, but not quite there. I do have one possible idea on that. Soon as I can model it. Too many deadlines here.

I should explain why the two Lake Victoria Ferries look so different. They had the same stock plan set and are the same beam overall.
They look so different.
First, I had hoped that they would be built in Uganda. That didn’t happen. They were to be sent over in containers. For the second boat, I streamlined the process by lowering the freeboard so that the hulls could fit in the containers without more surgery. Amani needed 7 containers; Bluebird, 4.
Again the beam overall is the same.  Amani is open ocean and Lake Victoria is a lake.

Video but is only Facebookable.

https://www.facebook.com/nick.delgiorgio/videos/10216121228843335/