Morning Star was built from Bruce Roberts Goodson's plans for the Mauritius 43 center cockpit aft cabin ketch. She was built in our backyard in the Berryessa District of San Jose over a 19.5 year period. She is 43' 9'' long, 13' beam, 5' draft and displaces approximately 30,000 lbs.
We had a marine surveyor out to survey the work at key points for documentation of the quality of work. We felt this would facilitate buying insurance and for selling her when that sad day came. Dorie says that selling her is like losing a child. Our last survey done for a new insurance company in 2006 and included rigging and an out of water survey, HAD NO FINDINGS. This means that the surveyor found nothing to comment about fixing. He said he seldom was able to make a survey with such good results.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
SAILING OFF MAINLAND MEXICO SOUTH OF PUERTO VALLARTA.
Note the teak deck. It is made of individual teak strips that are about an 1/8 of an inch thick laid in W.E.S.T.epoxy that is filled with carbon powder to make it black and resemble polydisulfide caulking used on planked teak decks. It is a W.E.S.T. design. The teak is laid over a plywood composite deck covered with two ounce fiberglass cloth. The top layer of ply is 3/8 inch thick which covers a one inch honeycone core on top of a 1/4 inch 5 ply birch plywood which becomes the cabin ceiling. This sandwich construction makes a VERY strong and stiff deck that is LIGHT and offers sound and thermal insulation.
Note the teak deck. It is made of individual teak strips that are about an 1/8 of an inch thick laid in W.E.S.T.epoxy that is filled with carbon powder to make it black and resemble polydisulfide caulking used on planked teak decks. It is a W.E.S.T. design. The teak is laid over a plywood composite deck covered with two ounce fiberglass cloth. The top layer of ply is 3/8 inch thick which covers a one inch honeycone core on top of a 1/4 inch 5 ply birch plywood which becomes the cabin ceiling. This sandwich construction makes a VERY strong and stiff deck that is LIGHT and offers sound and thermal insulation.
ANCHORED IN CALETA PARTIDA ON ESPIRITU SANTO ISLAND NEAR LA PAZ.
Note the radar antenna mounted on the mizzen mast on a gimbaled mount. It is a 40 mile range Raytheon model 40XX. The boat is also equipped with a single side band/ham radio with an automatic antenna tuner. using an insulated backstay as an antenna. The main mast is stayed with two backstays and oversized rigging throughout.
BUILDING OF MORNING STAR
The hull was built on a male mold planked with C-Flex fiberglass planks then laid up with mat and woven roving fiberglass. When we turned the hull over we removed the mold and laid up more mat and woven roving on the inside of the hull. Solid vertical floors were built equally spaced below the floor. Top hat stringers were laid up parallel to the water line with about 18 inch spacing from the floor to the gunnel. Our surveyor noted that with the preformed fiberglass rods in the C-flex running longitudinally, along with the top hat stringers, the boat was very stiff fore to aft.
The bulkheads are mahogany plywood and are set against a lateral stringer along the hull surface so that the ply never touches the hull to create a hard spot. The bulkheads are glassed to the hull then through bolted through the glass lay up. The surveyor called it belt and suspenders, but very strong. Much stronger than his boat.
The cabin floors are mahogany ply with a overlay of random formed teak tiles.There are three integral water tanks built into the boat amidships, under the floor, 55 gallons each, plus a stainless steel tank in the engine room that holds 70 gallons, for a total of 165 gallons of water capacity. We have a water maker by Crystal Springs, but have never had to put sea water in it because of our water capacity.
The bulkheads are mahogany plywood and are set against a lateral stringer along the hull surface so that the ply never touches the hull to create a hard spot. The bulkheads are glassed to the hull then through bolted through the glass lay up. The surveyor called it belt and suspenders, but very strong. Much stronger than his boat.
The cabin floors are mahogany ply with a overlay of random formed teak tiles.There are three integral water tanks built into the boat amidships, under the floor, 55 gallons each, plus a stainless steel tank in the engine room that holds 70 gallons, for a total of 165 gallons of water capacity. We have a water maker by Crystal Springs, but have never had to put sea water in it because of our water capacity.
There are two heads. The main head has a Sea Land Vacuflush toilet that uses fresh water for flushing, thereby eliminating sea water odor. The second head is in the walk through to the aft cabin and has never been used. It is a standard sea water flush toilet. The main head can be valved to dump into the 50 gallon holding tank or overboard. The second head is direct to the holding tank. The holding tank can be valved to pump overboard through a Sea Land macerator pump or pumped out via a deck fitting. The shower is in the main head and drains into a sump which is pumped overboard by an electric pump. There is a high speed exhaust vent blower in the head.
The engine room is entered through a standard height teak door, (all of the doors are custom made teak)on the port side. The engine room has full standing head room and a work bench with a vice and drawers for tool storage. The starboard side of the 60HP Pisces engine is reached by double doors that can be lifted off their hinges for further access. The engine has dual sets of fuel filters that can be switched by valves while running. There is an electric fuel pump that is available for starting the engine, but is not necessary for starting, however is convenient for bleeding the fuel lines of air.
The engine drives a Borg Warner Velvet Drive transmission which in turn drives a Max Prop which is self feathering and reverses the three blades when in reverse for more reverse power. The engine exhaust is fed to a fiberglass water lift muffler in the engine room, then feeds an expansion muffler at the transom which reduces the possibility of sea water entering the engine through the exhaust system. Under the engine is a full fiberglass pan to catch oil so it can't get in the bilge. The main bilge sump is in the engine room below the prop shaft. There is a high capacity electric bilge pump with automatic water level sensing. The manual switch for the Nilson vertical hydraulic anchor windlass is just inside the engine room door for easy access. The hydraulic pump is mounted on top of the engine and belt driven. The engine room is sound proofed. The one gallon per stroke Edson manual bilge pump mounted on it's board is stored in the engine room. The quick connect hose is under the floorboards amidships. One 70 gallon aluminum diesel fuel tank is in the engine room, the other in the starboard walk through. One set of two six volt batteries is in the engine room and the other set opposite in the starboard walk through. The main electric terminal panel is in the engine room also.
The masters aft cabin has a custom made queen size firm foam mattress with three sets of custom made sheets. The 13 inch TV with built in DVD player is on a shelf above the bed. There is storage of spare parts under the bed along with the autopilot hydraulic/electric ram that controls the rudder quadrant. The quadrant is reached by lifting the foot rest/bench seat of the love seat facing the TV. We also take the TV to the saloon and watch it at the dinette. There is a sink and mirror just to the left as you enter the cabin. Just aft of the sink are two drawers hung under the deck. Over the foot of the bed are more cabinets for clothes. The hanging locker is forward across from the main head. The cabin has a bifold door and the passage way head is isolated by a second bifold door just forward of the toilet. The propane/110AC gimballed refrigerator with freezer is mounted outboard at the forward end of the walk through. There is a three burner gimballed stove with oven and broiler just forward of the refrigerator. The galley counter, cabinets and double stainless steel sinks are forward of the stove. The galley is just to starboard of the bottom of the companionway ladder. The dinette is just forward of the nav station which is just forward of the engine room door.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
APPLYING BARRIER COAT
The tenth coat of aluminum loaded W.E.S.T. epoxy as a barrier coat against blister formation.
The keel is very wide on the bottom so that the boat can stand when she is put on a grid or beach using posts on one side to stablize the boat. Then she can have the bottom cleaned and painted when the tide goes out
BOTTOM CONFIGURATION
Bottom configuration.Morning Star has a vertical Nilson hydraulic anchor windlass. She carries a 75lb CQR and a 45lb CQR on a double bow roller. The 75lb anchor is attached to 300 feet of 3/8 hi tensile chain. The 45lb anchor to 50 feet of chain then nylon rode. There is a 22lb Danforth Hi Tensile stern anchor on chain and nylon rode with a stern line roller. The huge climb in lazzerette has a sealed propane locker where the two oversize aluminum propane tanks live. The tank is vented on deck with an overboard drain vent. The paint locker is opposite the propane locker.
NEW BOTTOM PAINT AND DINGHY
Here you can see the rudder, dinghy and davits and two of the four solar panels.The 9.9hp Honda 4 stroke outboard is stored on the inboard starboard side of the pushpit, resting it's weight on deck. It has a dedicated davit next to it for lowering and raising the OB to the dinghy. The OB has battery starting. BTW the pulpit and push pit are oversize, 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Note in this picture and others, the high black anodized aluminum life line stanchions. The Bomar deck hatches and the opening cabin ports are all black anodized also.
The rudder has been extended aft four inches over the original design to improve rudder control as per Bruce Roberts.
Morning Star in slip at Marina Palmira, La Paz, BCS, Mexico(Note: we now have an awning from the mast to the forestay. Not shown are side curtains that are porous and are put on by zippers.)We also have full cockpit enclosure that is a screen, such that the cockpit can be fully enclosed, but still have air flow.
In this photo you can see the large foredeck hatch that is over the "V" berth in the forward cabin. This hatch and the one over the main saloon allow cooling breezes to flow through the boat. Each bunk has a cooling fan and a personal goose neck reading lamp. The boat is equipped with 11 teak housed florescent 12 volt lights that have two switchable intensities. The one over the nav station and galley also have a red florescent tube to preserve night vision. These 12 volt florescent lights greatly reduce the battery drain and allow our solar panels to keep the batteries charged. We have installed small floor lights like those used in airplanes to light the walkway.
Nice set of head sails on trip to Barra.
All of the sails are roller furling. The main can be rolled out, in or reefed VERY quickly. All of the sails can be controlled from the cockpit, so there is seldom a need to go on deck. We have a storm trysail with twin slides on the main mast. The staysail is small enough for a storm jib. We also have a nylon drifter with a sock as well as a nylon mizzen staysail. They are both yellow and green horizontally striped. The mizzen staysail has never been used.
There is a heavy stainless steel arch over the aft end of the cockpit to which the main sheets are attached. It also anchors the aft end of the bimini and acts as the main boom crutch.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Morning Star at anchor in Calida Partida, near La Paz. We now have full awnings all the way to the bow.
Notice the heavy duty chain plates mounted on the hull to give a wider base of support and to eliminate leakage.
Morning Star is equipped with: a 6 man life raft in a hard cannister; a commercial parachute anchor sized for the boat with all the lines to operate, (18 foot diameter if I remember correctly); a Jordan series drogue.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
RISING OF THE MORNING STAR
This article written by Jim Trotter, was on the front page of the November 2, 1995 San Jose Mercury News:
THE RISING OF THE
MORNING STAR
After almost 20 years in the backyard, couples dream project becomes a reality.
The rising of the Morning Star took place on Agua Vista Drive in East San Jose on Wednesday, and a beautiful moment it was. She sailed over the rooftop and through the trees, a dream of almost 20 years turned to reality, as 200 neighbors sipped champagne and cheered. Many wiped at tears.
Seldom is joy so unabashed.
"It's been so long in coming it's hard to believe it's really happening," said Dorie Pittsey, with tear-streaked cheeks, as she hugged husband Rene.
"It's just incredible," agreed Rene. "I'm so excited."
The Morning Star is a beautiful 44-foot sailing yacht built entirely by the Pittseys, entirely by hand, entirely in their backyard. When they first purchased plans for the boat that they hope to sail around the world, they were told that a husband and wife team had built a similar model in two years. That sounded optimistic, so they allotted five years for construction.
Wednesday morning, when a 140 ton crane lifted lifted the Morning Star off the cradle, 191/2 years had elapsed since the Pittseys first began laying fiberglass.
"I'm sure some people thought we wouldn't make it, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment," Rene said.
Said Dorie, "I wanted to call it Pittseys' Perseverance."
Indeed, the neighborhood was awash in sentiment and pride at what the Pittseys had managed to accomplish. Many had moved to this street as young families 27 years ago. This was a culmination, a sublime triumph. And who knew when such a thing might be seen again?
"We've watched them build over the last 19 years," said neighbor Ray Orozco, as he recorded the event with a video camera.
"We had a big party after two years when we helped them turn the hull.. We've had many parties, inspecting how they we're doing, year to year. This is a lot of history for us.
The lifting went flawlessly, and the Morning Star was set aboard a flat-bed trailer for transport to an Alameda shipyard, where she will be fitted out for sea trials on San Francisco Bay.
When I first heard of the Pittseys' project, I wondered how it could have taken so long. But, when I climbed with Rene up the wood stairs to the scaffolding and went aboard Monday afternoon, I began to understand. The Morning Star is a ketch with impeccable craftsmanship. The joiner work, hand laminated teak, is exquisite. She filled the backyard like a whale in a bathtub.
Rene estimated they spent about $6,000 per year on construction. He listed the boat's value at $180,000 with the DMV.
"It's been a long time coming," said family friend Dave Walb, "but they are very deserving."
From the very beginning. the Pittseys' posed their children with the boat in progress for the family's annual Christmas card. Kathleen was 8 the first year and Scott 7. Now they're both graduates of San Jose State University, with children of their own.
"The boat not being there is going to be weird," said Scott now 27. "It has been there all my life, it seems. But, I'm very proud of what my parents have accomplished. A lot of people want to do something special with their lives, and they have."
During the years, the Pittseys say, they never looked toward completion. It was too far away. Instead, they took each project as it came along and celebrated its conclusion.
"We must have a strong marriage," said Dorie on Monday. "I feel like I've been pregnant for 191/2 years, and I'm looking forward to delivery.
Rene, 57, is a manager for Ion Implant Services, a semiconductor firm. He began sailing as a boy with the Sea Scouts. Dorie works in research and development at the San Jose Police Department. They were giddy as they rushed toward completion on Monday. But by Wednesday's rising their emotions were running deeper.
"I'm kind of a nervous wreck," Dorie acknowledged.
"I woke at 3:45 and at 4 I gave him a hug."
Said Rene, "My stomach is in knots."
The moment soon melded into celebration. Neighbors planned a daylong street party.
Rene retires in the spring of '97. In November of that year, the couple plan to set sail for the South Pacific.
"In the Navy," said Rene's 81 year-old, Salvatore, as he looked on with pride, "perfect is 4.0. I would give Rene a 3.9."
As we walked Monday through the Pittseys' garage, which has served as the boat shop, Rene pointed out a poster on the wall. The words were from Thoreau. "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to lead a life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in ordinary dreams."
On Wednesday, at long last the Morning Star rose. She was not an ordinary dream.
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THE RISING OF THE
MORNING STAR
After almost 20 years in the backyard, couples dream project becomes a reality.
The rising of the Morning Star took place on Agua Vista Drive in East San Jose on Wednesday, and a beautiful moment it was. She sailed over the rooftop and through the trees, a dream of almost 20 years turned to reality, as 200 neighbors sipped champagne and cheered. Many wiped at tears.
Seldom is joy so unabashed.
"It's been so long in coming it's hard to believe it's really happening," said Dorie Pittsey, with tear-streaked cheeks, as she hugged husband Rene.
"It's just incredible," agreed Rene. "I'm so excited."
The Morning Star is a beautiful 44-foot sailing yacht built entirely by the Pittseys, entirely by hand, entirely in their backyard. When they first purchased plans for the boat that they hope to sail around the world, they were told that a husband and wife team had built a similar model in two years. That sounded optimistic, so they allotted five years for construction.
Wednesday morning, when a 140 ton crane lifted lifted the Morning Star off the cradle, 191/2 years had elapsed since the Pittseys first began laying fiberglass.
"I'm sure some people thought we wouldn't make it, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment," Rene said.
Said Dorie, "I wanted to call it Pittseys' Perseverance."
Indeed, the neighborhood was awash in sentiment and pride at what the Pittseys had managed to accomplish. Many had moved to this street as young families 27 years ago. This was a culmination, a sublime triumph. And who knew when such a thing might be seen again?
"We've watched them build over the last 19 years," said neighbor Ray Orozco, as he recorded the event with a video camera.
"We had a big party after two years when we helped them turn the hull.. We've had many parties, inspecting how they we're doing, year to year. This is a lot of history for us.
The lifting went flawlessly, and the Morning Star was set aboard a flat-bed trailer for transport to an Alameda shipyard, where she will be fitted out for sea trials on San Francisco Bay.
When I first heard of the Pittseys' project, I wondered how it could have taken so long. But, when I climbed with Rene up the wood stairs to the scaffolding and went aboard Monday afternoon, I began to understand. The Morning Star is a ketch with impeccable craftsmanship. The joiner work, hand laminated teak, is exquisite. She filled the backyard like a whale in a bathtub.
Rene estimated they spent about $6,000 per year on construction. He listed the boat's value at $180,000 with the DMV.
"It's been a long time coming," said family friend Dave Walb, "but they are very deserving."
From the very beginning. the Pittseys' posed their children with the boat in progress for the family's annual Christmas card. Kathleen was 8 the first year and Scott 7. Now they're both graduates of San Jose State University, with children of their own.
"The boat not being there is going to be weird," said Scott now 27. "It has been there all my life, it seems. But, I'm very proud of what my parents have accomplished. A lot of people want to do something special with their lives, and they have."
During the years, the Pittseys say, they never looked toward completion. It was too far away. Instead, they took each project as it came along and celebrated its conclusion.
"We must have a strong marriage," said Dorie on Monday. "I feel like I've been pregnant for 191/2 years, and I'm looking forward to delivery.
Rene, 57, is a manager for Ion Implant Services, a semiconductor firm. He began sailing as a boy with the Sea Scouts. Dorie works in research and development at the San Jose Police Department. They were giddy as they rushed toward completion on Monday. But by Wednesday's rising their emotions were running deeper.
"I'm kind of a nervous wreck," Dorie acknowledged.
"I woke at 3:45 and at 4 I gave him a hug."
Said Rene, "My stomach is in knots."
The moment soon melded into celebration. Neighbors planned a daylong street party.
Rene retires in the spring of '97. In November of that year, the couple plan to set sail for the South Pacific.
"In the Navy," said Rene's 81 year-old, Salvatore, as he looked on with pride, "perfect is 4.0. I would give Rene a 3.9."
As we walked Monday through the Pittseys' garage, which has served as the boat shop, Rene pointed out a poster on the wall. The words were from Thoreau. "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to lead a life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in ordinary dreams."
On Wednesday, at long last the Morning Star rose. She was not an ordinary dream.
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