New Boat Build Project - (Totally Rebuilding An Older Boat)

[jamesmusslewhite]

Hey Gunny,

 

You're right about your FaceBook.  Great project and thoroughly documented!  How's the seas look like for your first at sea trials?  But I guess you need to haul Arthur I with a carabao?  That final step to the ocean will be awesome.  I hope the carabao doesn't crap all over your new boat.....he, he.

 

Great topic James!

 

Sea looks good right now, though lots of rain (it is thundering even as I write this post) the winds are not blowing too hard so the water is not too choppy. We got the boat pulled down to the little mangrove river inlet which is perhaps 1/4 of a kilometer from our farm. We had to try to finish the boat while all the neighboring rice fields are waiting to be plowed for the next planting. We did this this morning just in time as all the lower rice fields will be plowed and re-planted over the next couple of weeks. Once plowed and planted we would have to wait months until the rice was harvested before we could move the boat to the river. I will add some photos of that spectacle once I have run all the photos through the editing program.

 

Funny you should mention the carabao dumping on the boat. We actually found extra-long poles so the carabao would have sufficient distance between his butt and the boat for just that reason. It proved to have been a wise choice or the carabao would have added an extra brown layer coat to the bow. 

[jamesmusslewhite]

The bamboo flooring frames have been built and put in place. The bamboo chosen is a medium thick-wall variety known for its strenght and duribility and often used for flooring in the bamboo homes here on Dinagat Island. The floor frames are made of 'lawa-an' wood and the bamboo strips nailed with brass nails, and should handle even the weight of my fat ass bouncing about the boat like a giddy school kid. 

 

 

These will help keep both passengers, supplies are cargo from sitting or standing directly on the wooden hull board which can become damp or wet due to rain or splash water. They will also soften the glare of the full sun off the white interior of the boat. It is best to design them were they can be easily put in or removed from the boat as needed. They also increase the width of the floor space. We will later be designing removable plywood storage boxes which will be used as seats for passengers, These boxes can hold items like life preservers, rain gear or dry goods while being comfortable seating that can be easily removed or added as needed. The top of these seat boxes will have vinyl foam-filled cushions and will be hinged to allow easy access to items being stored under the seats, and two or three people can sit comfortably on each box. This boat will also be used for pleasure, family outings and trips down to the city so these plywood boxes will be very practical.

[jamesmusslewhite]

Well we got up early and the weather was sunny with scattered showers. We pulled the propeller shaft out of the boat and started lashing three boards on the top of the boat to be used to carry the boat down to the neighbors rice patty. One of the things which was having to rush the completion of the boat was the need to get it pulled to the river inlet, which is about 1/4 of a kilometer from the farm, before the neighbors had to start re-plowing their rice field to re-plant their rice crops. Now the soils are fairly compact and all the rice fields are perfect for pulling the boat. Once the plowing and replanting starts we would have to wait for months until the crops are harvested and the soil is solid enough to pull a 34 foot boat on skids with a carabao. The weather was right, the timing was right, the boat was ready and we were organized and ready to go..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the boat was carried down to the neighbors rice field were it would be setup with a back skid and then for a pole yoke

[jamesmusslewhite]

One would think that a task to pull a 34 foot boat across open rice fields, over a concrete 2-lane road and then down to more rice fields for a distance no less than 1/4 of a kilometer using a carabao would require a very complex and rather heavy sled. Look just how simple this task can be.

 

The back skid frame.

 

 

 

The front pole yoke skid for connecting the carabao.

 

 

They carried down the bamboo outriggers and buoyant wings and put them in the boat.

 

 

and in less than 30 minutes after setting the boat down in the rice patty they are finished and ready to connect the carabao to the pole yoke.

[jamesmusslewhite]

In comes the 'Visayan tractor' ready to be connected to the pole yoke.

 

 

 

 

and were off.

 

and at this point the Arthur 1 is heading to the water for the first time with a 1 CP (Carabao Power) engine.

First big obstacle was going up and over the 2-lane concrete roadway.

 

then down the other side

 

 

and then off to the long stretch of rice patties leading to the waterway which cuts through the mangroves.

 

and now the final leg through the rice fields. I should not that all our neighbors have been waiting to plow their fields so we could pull the boat to the waterway. That is what I like about farmers as they tend to work together with their neighbors to help cover each others back.

 

It is one of the reasons I love living here on Dinagat Island. Of course my wife's family has been here over 40 years.

[jamesmusslewhite]

Now this is a scene you do not see to often

 

And the boss (my wife) is supervising while also being there to assist pulling me out of the muck if I were to fall down while taking these photos.

 

And finally we get Arthur 1 to the edge of the waterway.

 

And end the end it was as simple as that. How much time did it take from when we first picked up the boat to carry it down to the rice patties, construct the skids and rigs and then pull it over 1/4 of a kilometer to here? Less than one and a half hours.

[jamesmusslewhite]

We are at extremely low tide when we get to the waterway. This time of the year the sea water pulls back from the shores in the morning, this means the water level here in the mangroves literally drops 4- 6 feet almost drying the bed of the river with exception of the freshwater trickling in from the runoff of the rice patties.

 

Remove all the lashings and disassemble the skid and pole yoke.

 

While the carabao and I enjoys washing down in the cool fresh water after playing in the muck..

 

 

 

The timing is perfect as we can pull the boat down to the dry river bed. Then re-connect the prop shaft and rudder and then start lashing on the outriggers with #120 nylon. Then once the tide starts coming in the water will rise and the boat will start to float and the buoyant water wings will be lashed to the outriggers. This can easily be done as we can simply walk around the boat in the brackish water while it is still shallow and easily align everything. Tomorrow we mount the motor, gas her up and the 'Arthur 1' will take the first of what I hope will be many adventures to come. I will add more photos tomorrow if we do not drown.

Edited November 16, 2015 by jamesmusslewhite

[Jake]

Bravo Zulu Gunny!  You organized your own Marines to get the job done.

 

 

And now, your journey just started.  Great story and great photos!

[jamesmusslewhite]

Well yesterday we took the boat out for her fist trial run. We tied the outriggers onto the boat the day before after she was pulled down to the shore of the small river inlet using a carabao. Well here is the Arthur 1 fully dressed with the bamboo outriggers and I may be a little bit bias but I think she is a rather smart looking young lady. 

 

 

 

We have the boat sitting on the bank of a small river inlet that cuts through the mangroves close to the back of our property and is only about a 15 minute walk from the farm. I have to admit that I am particularly fond of the mangroves which was where we built our first small lobster hut. There is a certain peace and tranquility in the thick groves and when we would stay out on the lobster hut at nights it was some of the most peaceful sleeps. There is a certain distinctive musk smell in the brackish waters of the mangroves which reminds me of my youthful days spent out on our old bay-house on Chocolate Bay between Angelton and Galveston Island or those treasured times spent in the deep back bayous of Southern Louisiana fishing with family friends for reds and flounders, hunting tasty gators and gigging some fat frogs usually all on the same nights. Some of those nights led to some of the best meals I ever eaten as true Cajuns sure can cook. The waters off this end of Dinagat Island is a mangrove sanctuary and have vast fields spanning hundreds of acres along the coastline. They are a maze of thousands of little inlets and dense clusters of mangroves like small little islands and one can easily get lost and turned around if you choose to venture into the natural maze.

 

Our boat just barely fits through some spots on the inlet up closest to where we have the boat moored so it must be pulled by hand so it can carefully guided through so the outriggers do not get entangled in the dense mangrove roots and trunks of the nepa palms which heavenly line the banks of the inlet. Once the boat is pulled into the deeper inlet the propeller shaft and the rudder are then connected so we can motor-on from there. You can see now why we use sand to speckle the surface of the deck boards, It allows a firm footing for anyone standing up on the front or back decks, in the shallows someone must often sit or stand there to guild boats through the shallows or keep watch for boulders and coral just under the water surface.

 

 

being a designated mangrove sanctuary it is illegal to even trim the mangrove trees and heavy fines are imposed. 

 

The tide waters are starting to work their way up into the inlet. It is around 3:30pm.

[jamesmusslewhite]

For members who have never been in the mangroves before I am adding a few photos so you can see the raw beauty of the groves. This will also let you appreciate their significance to nature as they serve as a natural nursery for small fish and are key to the fish numbers, diversity of varieties and the vitality of the waters around here. So many areas in the Philippines they have allowed them to be chopped for firewood and charcoal production seriously depleting the natural breeding/nursery grounds contributing to diminishing fish stocks.

 

 

 

 

 

and we break free of the groves and start out into the open water.