Building a Lyle Hess Bristol Channel Cutter

Because this was a project of Doug Crane during his years after the Stove industry fell, I'm placing it in the Crane Stove as both were his achievements.

This is done at the request of some members of Hearth. and new members here PNW-Coaler who have similar ambition to show how this is a merely many small achievements that after many many years become one grand masterpiece.

One thing to remember is my dad not only completed this, he did it with VERY little money (He did thankfully have the help of my Uncle Paul who happens to own a very large Fabrication shop "Welding Craftsmen" for mainly the "rigging" for this vessel which does cost about $30,000).

This Boat Design was made famous by authors Lin & Larry Pardey who built "Taleisin" and were personal friends of Lyle Hess, both Lin & Larry came to visit my dad during the building the process when they had seminars in the Boston area and gave advise and help throughout the 10 year ordeal. Sam Morse Co. of CA. made the 28' version of this boat for the public but it cost about $500,000.00 fully loaded. It is one of the best designed heavy displacement ocean Cruisers ever made.

Most of the wood used was re-claimed when they had to replace the Duxbury Powder Point Bridge (it was wood destined for the town bone fire), nobody in Duxbury seemed to understand the value of wood that has been petrified for a 100 years by the ocean (much of it yellow pine & Black Locast).

Though I was to young & stupid at the time to save or help my dads stove company, I was smart enough to save his boat, all his plans, drawings and all his patterns for this vessel. (I'm not sure were, when or how they will be of use to someone but I know to preserve them for someone, someday...

I will try to learn how to add video content to this thread at some point and I can add photo's as needed, If anyone has questions or wants to talk about details of certain things they can always Private Message me as well, I would ask that member PNW-Coaler make his own thread here in the project section House, Gardening and DIY Projects to archive his project in this same way through the years so I can keep watching it!

The start of this was really laying the lines on huge walls that later became his shed shop, these lines are needed to make the patterns for each peice of the hull. I start with some of the early photo's when lumber and wood for the boat began...

Dad talked to some local arborists (Rob White) who was kind enough to sell him specific tree's which were cut into lumber, stacked and stickered (as you can see in this example of one of dads drying racks) One change in design dad made was to design and make solid bronze "floor timbers" & "Hanging Knees" instead of white oak (these are the parts that connect the backbone of the ship to the futtocks), these molds were then cast in Bronze at a foundry and make this particular Bristol Channel Cutter differant from all others.

We built a temporary roof structure (which wound up being perminant for over 5 years because after it was tied to the boat with strapping nothing would have taken it down )

DC

Evidence of the passion that burns in the soul of an artisan..... Wow!

Waldo

The funny thing about boat building is their are no strait, flat cuts The ribs are double sawn and even the lil' 14 inch band saw we used to cut them had to be redesigned with a double jointed table that could be moved during the cutting process because each rib not simply beveled differantly...the angle of those bevels changes throughout the length of the futtock so the moving bandsaw table had to have degree gauges built into it to know the proper changing angle as each was cut... all it takes is time and an incredible amount of patience

Ill post some more pics (hopefully Rich can fix my mistake on this first set of pics)

OK, I'm sold, off to buy one....

http://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sai ... ter/114536

Broke open the piggy bank only $7 in there and so I'm looking for coal board contributions to make up the difference.

Pouring your own 8,000lb Lead Keel...

This is one of those mini projects that in the end come together, we obtained 2 old cast iron tubs from the dump, wrapped them with insulation and put a couple lobster propane cookers under them, we them had to bury the plywood mold in the ground next to them and got some iron pipe rigged up to the drains on the tubs that would later lead the molten liquid into the buried mold (a simple ball valve was used to open the flow but obviously the ball valve was junk and this was only going to work for one turn).

after cooling we dug around the buried lead enough to get jacks under it and raise it up to ground level then rolled it over>>>> to get it under the back bone of the ship. I would suggest calling the town fire dept to make them aware your about the send up a "Nuclear Mushrrom Cloud over your town)

here is the ballast keel being made... I have video of this event and somehow I will add it here because it was pretty sketchy stuff doing this and dad clearly had b@lls of iron (not lead).
My father started saving and collecting anything lead about 5 years prior to this pouring (old tire weights, old fishing weights, etc. from friends, family, tire shops), he id have to buy some stuff thats added to make it harder (i forget whats its called) but most the lead was indeed from scrape.

I attempted to tune the rigging with a lil' help from a book by Brion Toss called "The Riggers Apprentice" (Invaluable book by the best rigger alive today).
No.. that is not me in the Bosun's Chair (hell NO! ) why is Doug Jr. always wearing Red, White & Blue

nice job. I'D go up that bosun's chair and tune it for ya! that was my passion when I lived in fla... then sail em to their limits.....

Poconoeagle wrote:nice job. I'D go up that bosun's chair and tune it for ya! that was my passion when I lived in fla... then sail em to their limits.....

I have 2 rules...I don't fly and I don't go up on bosun's chairs I did both when I was young, so im not sure what happened to me I will say watching another person go up its easy and it does not look like anything spectacular but its pretty damb sketchy when your the person in that chair 50' up (the boat starts looking very small), im not even sure how folks do that crap at sea

I was in the chair at the top during the regatta on a Morgan out island in a good blow. She was heeled hard and porpoiseing Got the problem fixed, back at the helm, finished first ! sat next to charlie morgan at the dinner that night.

my stick is 60'..13 ton disp. the first few times my knees tried to dent the mast in

building the triple layered ice chest for Block Ice to last over a week!

nice. no solar for the 12 freeze plates?
or troll behind water gen. airex.... toys

Poconoeagle wrote:nice. no solar for the 12 freeze plates?
or troll behind water gen. airex.... toys

A nice thought for sure (he did design a pro self steering machanism for it)... but remember Poco, my dad built this thing for twenty dolla' He did this when he was flat broke and crushed (having to walk away from stoves), I really think this project kept his mind working (His brain was ALWAYS turning at a pase the rest of cant understand). This was his outlet...

Ahhh. Yes. I thought you were just now making the ice chest....