As far as I know Kelsall and I are the only multihull designers who are actively pushing the envelope on rapid hull construction. I have commended him for working the problem so actively. And I have criticized him in the past for ignoring global loads (he did then revise his half length panel method) and for advocating polyester resin. He does seem to mistrust materials testing and composite engineering, which is fine.
His claims of 5 hours to build a full length bagging table and KSS being “perfect, with no downsides” made me very skeptical. Especially after KSS keeps changing. Evolution is good. I do expect him to discover CM in composites soon and declare he invented it.
I have heard about KSS panels splitting open during fold-up but I was interested and surprised when I got this firsthand note from Don while I was overseas. With permission…

“I hosted his first workshop on the East Coast of the US, about 10 years ago. I can tell you it took me longer than 5 hours to build the 32′ mold table, with a continuous sheet formica 32′, without any joints. Derek arrived with 2 sheets of paper one was a sketch of the 30′ cat and the second sheet was metric offsets. I spent a week with the man 12 to 16 hours a day and I can say he held all information close to-the-vest. I spent $7,000.00 on materials. We had 12 persons at the workshop, he charged $350 or $400 per person. I provided 3 meals a day for everyone. Derek walked away with $2,800.00. I did charge him the cost of the bulk food. We ended up with 4 panels, one for each side of the 2 hulls. After all that he never provided any additional plans and I dropped the project. The table did provide very flat panels. We had trouble with the gel coat. There were sections that looked like wood with worm channels. I had a large barn that was built in 1860, the boards on the side walls, had gaps that were a 1/4″ to 1/2″ between boards. It was summer time in Pennsylvania but it would cool off by 10:00 PM. The gel coat was applied at nite. That, cool air coming through the cracks, may have caused the gel coat problem, the mold table was 3′ to 4′ from the wall. None of the 12 persons purchased plans from Derek.”

Every body must know by now that Latitude 38 is the best sailing magazine there is. Got this link from Randy on steamradio about catamarans and that geometry. Its a few pages down.
http://www.latitude38.com/eBooks/2012/L38201205-2.pdf

I just missed a chance to do the USCG certification on the bootleg Sunchaser 58 catamaran Brass Ring. As I was out of town, it saved me from confronting the dilemma.
John Shaw, again. Built 2002 I was told.

I did stumble onto an old IBEX paper by JR on In-Field Repairs. Good one. I will find out if he has has a link or a word file of it.
One gem. Wet epoxy spills will fluoresce just like body fluids. Who knew. Grab that blacklight from behind the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album…

I expect to get the proofs tomorrow. I do need to look as there have been so many changes. And wow have they gone up in printing cost! They do remind me that there are so many new pages….

The guys are moving right along on the next KHSD 65 passenger ferry for Lake Victoria at Uganda. The shop is up in Arlington, WA.

Nick Del Giorgio launched his KHSD 42 catamaran! Good stuff. He added a nice house on it to keep out of the sun.

Courtesy Sasha.

Back on the 10th.
A lot of what multihulls are about is doing much more with much less. Along that line find a very interesting event coming this June 2nd at University of Washington. http://conservationremix.org/
Actually I’m surprised they didn’t include multihulls, (and maybe even local designers who are alums?)

To register, visit: http://engage.washington.edu/site/R?i=UZKdoK5mX3D1Stjswp9tiA
Look at some of the topics:

Pamela Ronald
Genetically Modified Conservation
Pamela Ronald wants to use modern genetic techniques to create a new brand of
agriculture that slashes insecticide use, increases yield, and thrives in a warmer,
wetter world.

Yoram Bauman
A More Verdant Tax Code
Yoram Bauman, a University of Washington economist and standup comedian, thinks
we’ve got the tax system backwards. We tax things we want more of (i.e. paychecks),
not things we want less of (i.e. pollution). Doing the opposite would yield cleaner
air and
flusher bank accounts.

John Edel
Indoor Urban Agriculture
John Edel, a Chicago entrepreneur, has transformed an abandoned meatpacking facility
into the nation’s first vertical farm. His goal is to bring large-scale,
net-zero-waste food production right into the middle of the city.

Joe Roman
Invasive Species Cuisine
Joe Roman, a biologist at University of Vermont, believes we can best tackle
outbreaks of non-native species by serving them up-for dinner.

David Allen
What is a Smart Building?
David Allen, executive vice president of the engineering, construction and energy
services firm, McKinstry, designs super-efficient buildings that “know” when to
consume, shift, store-and even generate their own energy.

Brent Constantz
Cement that Absorbs Carbon Dioxide
Brent Constantz, an entrepreneurial marine geologist from Stanford, believes that by
mimicking the way marine organisms create shells, he can manufacture concrete in a
way that traps carbon rather than spews it.

Susan Mac Cormac
A New Twist on Capitalism
Susan Mac Cormac, a corporate lawyer with Morrison & Foerster, helped launch a novel
corporate form a kind of hybrid between a nonprofit and a corporation that has the
flexibility to pursue both profits and stewardship.

Sherri Ritter
Nature Inspired Engineering
Sherry Ritter, research and education specialist with the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute,
teams biologists with engineers, architects, designers, chemists, and others to
design super-efficient, ecofriendly technology based on nature’s time-tested
strategies.

I put so much time into this new new book.  So many upgrades and additions.  It will be wild.  The new cover.

Finally.  The major upgrade to the Design Book, 2012 is done.  It has been a big deal.  It will go to the printers on May 11 or soonest work day after the 10th.  I appreciate everybody’s patience.

My goal also is to have a CD version with the print design book.  It will be in color and have the hot hyperlinks.  I am using Pagemaker as I just didn’t have the 2 hours it usually takes to get my Indesign permissions taken care of on the new laptop hard drive.  So I will have to run all the Pagemaker files through Indesign when I get back to hot up the hyperlinks.

Thanks again.