Flash--Some Complete LNVT 41's Were Shipped to Japan (Tuggers Vol 62)

Tommy Chen said that he made two or three LNVT 41's that were sold to buyers in Japan.  One of these was featured in the Tokyo Boat Show.  Instead of being called LNVTs they were renamed to appeal to the Japanese market.  The boats were built at South Coast Marine (SCM).  The Japanese market subsequently dried up when the Japanese government ruled that boats were no longer eligible for long term financing.

Meet Yvonne Bates and Randy Miller

Yvonne and Randy make their home in Seattle, WA.  They are currently looking to buy an LNVT.

Test for a Leaking Head Gasket

Trouble shooting coolant loss includes running the engine until warm with the radiator cap off and looking for bubbles which would indicate a head gasket leak.  Bubbles will be quite noticeable—almost as if the fluid had soap in it.  I guess anti-freeze is a surfactant.

John Niccolls, Knock Off #66

Sold: Sea Turtle #14

We sold sea turtle last week to a younger man from ft Lauderdale.  I will ask the broker to contact him re his info to you.  Looking at motorhomes for my wife comfort and safety.   Sale was a sad day for me but will have good memories of our time with sea turtle.  Regards, thanks for your concerns,  Bob and Birdie

LNVT Towing Bitt Dimensions

Photo is from LNVT 49 "Polar Mist"

41' Lord Nelson Victory Tug

Sampson Post Dimensions

Post

Height: 38 ¼ inches

Diameter: 4 inches

Cross-Bar

Length: 12 ½ inches

Diameter: 1¼ inches

Note – From the top of the post to the center of the cross-bar is: 4 ½ inches

Base

Width: 10 inches

Depth: 8 inches

Thickness: ½" or less

Material is believed to be 316 Stainless Steel

Top of post and end of crossbar has a smooth cap, believed (per Tommy) to be a stainless ring, approximately ½ inches larger in diameter than associated tubing/pipe.  Then filled with stainless plate, all of which is ground smooth and polished after welding.  

Meet Peter LeBeau (Tuggers Vol.61)

Dickerson sistership

... we keep out Dickerson 41 at the top of Buzzards Bay in the town of Marion. We cruise the bay, the Cape, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket and new England in general. We are former live aboards 80-83 and then again on the D41 in 97. Took our three children out of school, home schooled and sailed throughout the Bahamas, West coast of Fla., the Ditch and back to Cape Cod. 13 month trip. Time well spent.

Now we are empty nesters. House and the D41 are on the market. The boat is more demanding so we have put her on the market and are actively looking for a LNVT 37. Always had a love affair with tugs. Even was part owner of a 90' old girl in Boston in the 70's. Oh well. Old history.

Peter LeBeau
USCG Master Aux Sail/Steam

The Mysterious Case of the Half-Opening Pilothouse Window (Tuggers Vol. 63)

On Thursday, September 18, 2014, Phil de l'Etoile <pdeli3@gmail.com> wrote:

At the Olympia Rendezvous I asked Tommy Chen why the starboard pilothouse windows only partially opened.  After Tommy put the back of his hand on my forehead to check my temperature, did I find out that this issue was specific to Brave Duck (maybe), and that probably some foreign item was down in the window well.  Sure enough, with my eyeball pressed tightly against the closed window pane, I could see something down in the well, and the fishing expedition began.

A Plexiglas sign was wedged in the bottom of the well. I tried with no luck to dislodge it with a 3' steel rod. A better tool turned out to be a flyswatter with some sticky-side-out duct tape attached to it.  With this contraption, and after many tries, I finally was able to slowly raise the obstruction out.  It was a broker's "For Sale" sign that apparently had been taped to the inside of the window, fallen off, and remained there since Tom Black (the original owner) sold the boat.  I don't know when Tom Black actually sold, what was then, Josh Anne, but let's say it was maybe 1990. That means that for 24 years both the previous owner and I assumed that the starboard window only opened half way.

An interesting aside, since as the third owners we bought the boat here in the SF Bay area, this has to be the sign that the second owners saw when they bought the Josh Anne in Seattle.

And that, as they say, is the rest of the story...

Phil

Is the LNVT's a Built Down or Skeg Type Hull?

The following explanation of 'built down' versus 'skeg' was taken from: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/please-explain-built-down-hull-2530.html

Built Down (left) and Skeg Hull (right)

In a "built-down" hull (pictured on left) the planking forms the "tuck" in the transition from the hull to the skeg. Internally this forms a well that the shaft runs and allows a short bore-hole through the sternpost. In a "skeg" hull (pictured on right), the planking follows the hull buttock lines in a flowing line to the transom, and the skeg is built up of deadwoods and bolted through the keel. This is easier to build, but requires a long shaft bore-hole. 

There are very vocal camps on both sides of the question of which method is best. Please be aware that I grew up in "built-down" country, so I may be biased. The pro - con arguments (assuming traditional plank-on-frame wooden construction) run like this:

a built-down hull is stronger
a built-down hull is more prone to garboard rot
a skeg hull is faster because of less wetted surface
a skeg hull is prone to becoming loose due to working of the keelbolts
a skeg hull is easier to build
a built-down hull is more seaworthy
and on and on and on ....

The terms 'built down hull' and 'skeg' hull are more appropriate for wood hulls, but what's being described certainly applies to fiberglass hulls too.  Tommy Chen hadn't heard the term 'built down hull' before.  After seeing a picture of a 'built down hull' he said that was how they made the wood CT ketches (this was around 1967--incidentally, his pay in the boat yard at the time was TW$60/day or US$1.50/day).   As the photo above shows, an LNVT hull is more like a 'skeg' hull.  However, rather than a right angle transition between the hull and skeg that would be found on a wood hull, fiberglass building techniques require a radiused transition.  An LNVT's radius is approximately 4".