Where Video Meets Boats

With the smooth white on deck completed and the interior ready for systems it is time to start the bottom.  Then we will do the Kiwi Grip non-skid, install some hardware and be out the door and install all the systems, yeeha.

Winch platform white

New glassed in wash board to sheer

Cockpit white

Interlux shine

For our bottom job, Waterline Systems, LLC has a bottom crew that works their butts off and produce some of the best race bottoms in the business.

Bottom Crew Having Fun

At first I was thinking it would be a sand, spray, and wet sand to a glass finish.  But once we inspected it closely we could see there were areas that had chipped and were flaking off.  Last year I had a different shop sand and spray on Baltaplate and that paint was coming off.  So underneath there is a problem that we had to solve.  With a major rebuild this is no time to cut it short.  Kincora will be doing a lot of miles and she will also be the star of her own movie so of course she has to have a Hollywood bottom.

Stripping the bottom

After taking time with Randy the boss and getting Josh (bottom man extraordinaire) opinion I decided to have them strip off the bottom paint to find out what was there.   Am I glad we checked!  The boat was build with nothing between the outer skin and the bottom paint so no wonder it was chipping and flaking.  Now they will put Interprotect 2000 on prior to Baltaplate.  This way you do not have to worry and she will be right for the long haul.

Hard at work

Down to the glass

Waterline Systems, LLC

Interprotect 2000

Ok, Get-er Done!

Below is painted white and the sole with Kiwi Grip non-skid.  We are very pleased with the results.  Once this was completed we taped off the interior and went to work on the deck.

Aft Cabin Painted

Main Cabin Prepped

Jim finishing up final white below

Main Cabin Painted

Aft Cabin Non-Skid

The new seahood is now installed and ready for non-skid.  Deck is prepped and first coat of smooth white has been painted.  This week we will do two more coats of white, then a major job painting the non-skid with grey Kiwi Grip which we think is a great product.

Start on the Deck

Cockpit Prepped for Smooth White

For applying the Kiwi Grip we tried trowling on then working out the air with the Kiwi Grip rollers.  This worked OK, but not was well as painting on with a 3” or 4” brush.  With a brush you are able to smooth out the Kiwi Grip then rolling the non-skid in ½ the time.  Also with this method the Kiwi Grip is even and not wasted when put on with a brush.  I would not recommend using a trowel.

New Seahood Installed

Deck Prepped for smooth white

First coat of smooth white

This week Waterline is doing the bottom with Baltaplate sanding and buffing to a glass finish.  Before the end of the month we will be going out the door to finish off systems once we have the deck hardware installed.  Getting close.

Yeeha the painting below has begun.

Aft lockers are painted, and inside the water ballast tanks.  Now there was a fun job climbing inside the ballast tanks prepping and painting.  The forward section can only be accessed through a 4” port but viewed from further aft.  So for painting I poured in the gel coat then reached in with 4 ½” brush and kept picking up more gel at the bottom and moved it around till everything felt smooth.  Went back and viewed the progress and looked for holidays and back at it.  With four tries each side the tanks are now sealed.

Fwd cabin was a lot easier and is ready for non-skid.  Aft Cabin was a bit more of a challenge and Jim did the tough prep job.  As you can see both fwd cabin and aft cabin have the non-skid area left alone for now.  Main cabin overhead was easy prep and smooth finish.

Next post will show a white interior and Kiwi Grip nonskid sole throughout.

Yeeeha white in the tanks

New water ballast vent ready for hose.

Aft cabin painted

Aft cabin with new ballast tank inspection hole

Fwd cabin looking forward

Fwd cabin looking aft

Main cabin overhead painted

Enough of that go Get’er Done!

Just about ready for paint below with just a couple of ticks left on the list, nice to be on schedule.

As you can see the aft cabin is DA sanded and ready for paint as is the forepeak.  Note in the aft cabin picture in the bottom right there is two water ballast fills.  This is an idea I picked up from friend and competitor Tristan Mouligne (Quest 30 Samba) who did this for last years Bermuda 1-2.  We handled the fill/drain differently by running a glass tube from the forward section inside the aft tank to run out in the aft cabin.  This keeps all the water ballast piping out of the main cabin and centrally located behind the companionway ring frame.

The aft cabin is now open to the rudderstock so we have access to the NKE gyro pilot that will be installed in April.  The pilots do not like to be in the weather and this will be the same setup as the Figaro II boats.  Rudder is about to come out and go to Jeff Kent Composite Solutions for a custom carbon tiller for the pilot.

Added an older picture of the installed mast frame.  This is a very different shape from the stock boat with more area, and not a bad spot to be stiffer for the small weight addition.

There was some core at the mast base that needed replacing.

Repaired the post and top of the keel box.

Aft cabin ready for pain, with two tank fills

Forepeak ready for paint

Auto pilot locker

Mast step area core removal

Feb picture of mast frame installed

Top of keel box fix

Enough of that go Get’er Done!

Feels good to have the jobs starting to drop off the list.  Only a few weeks left below then on to the deck.

I took a few pictures of my buddy Doug Jensen from Vortex Media filming an interview with me on Kincora.  This is for my upcoming documentary that will be released after the 2013 Bermuda 1-2.  Stay tuned for short snippets over the coming season on this blog.

A couple of shots of the new nav station that is very comfortable.  This added some weight to the boat as did our additional structure but with the inboard out we think the pounds are worth it.  Also note the new stanchion supports that are bonded to the hull/deck joint at each stanchion base below.  Three stanchions on each side only needed one since they are next to bulkheads.  This has made a huge improvement to the stanchion stiffness.

Doug Jensen filming on Kincora foredeck

Note the lighting, I was sitting at the main hatch.

Nav station prior to fairing and top installed

With top dry fit

Stanchion knees and aft stringer ready to install

Stanchion knees installed in fwd cabin

Enough of that go Get’er Done!

Hard to believe it is late Feb.  Were did the winter go?  Oh yea, below in Kincora.

Replaced the last wet plywood bulkhead all the way aft with core cell and biaxial glass bagged with epoxy.  We did this in two section keeping the CL portion of the bulkhead in place while both sides where replaced.  The bulkhead is only 34” from the transom but better to support the cockpit and deck and not have any movement.  Stay tuned for more from the aft cabin area in next week’s blog.

Now the small jobs are starting to pop up and get picked off one by one.

Lots of progress

Removing aft bulkhead

Jim tabbing aft bulkhead

Lightning fast Jim at work

Port aft bulkhead installed

Enough of that go Get’er Done!

Anchor Locker Floor Installed

Crash bulkhead installed

Reinforced upper bulkhead and finished

Great progress, she now has the following new and updated structure:

1.  Fwd crash bulkhead with anchor locker floor

2.  New mast frame with a more pleasing shape and better structure.

New and Old Mast frames

Cutting out the old mast fame

Bagging the new mast frame

3.  New Ring frame at the companionway with knee supporting the cockpit floor

New ring frame at companionway

4.  Nav station 90% completed where there was empty space

Moc up #3 on Nav station

Patterns

Nav panels made and cut

Nav station 40% done

5.  Olson 30 style seats Port and STB at companionway

6.  New structure where the  old ¼ berth was with an unsupported hull panel.

7.  New battery platform that carries the CL Hat Frame to the ring frame where the motor was.

We have added more structure then the original boat, which was desperately needed.  One owner told me on the last Bermuda 1-2 he felt the boat twisting around him while sitting in the settee.  Then he could see the galley (which was not bonded together) moving. The additional weight is a small price to pay for a stiffer boat.  So we are fixing this by tying it all together.

Port side Olson 30 style seat

Companionway final moc up

Next on the list is to finish off:

Mast frame details

Install the new companionway ladder with proper steps

Finish off the nav station

Remove the last rotten plywood bulkhead aft

Remove the rotten plywood under the mast step

Stiffen each stanchion base below with knees and proper back up plates

Finish work below

Refinish the deck

Enjoy the pics:  Hey John look forward to our season of Trekking!

“Get’er Done!”

Remember:

“Have Fun Every Day!”

Happy New Year

Kincora's First Day

WhiteCap Video had a great 2011 filming, directing, and editing 50 productions.  And 2012 is staring off in high gear as well with a lot of repeat customers. I guess in all of my free time (HA!) I need to update my demo reel, which is out of date.

Kincora, my short handed sailing Quest 30 sailboat, is going through a major refit to be ready for the coming racing season, and a summer of trekking around Southern New England with family and friends.

Heading Home

Winter Home

Kincora was hauled at New England Boat Works, Portsmouth RI late October, then put on her trailer for the short (200 meter) drive to Waterline Industries. She is inside and having major work performed by yours truly, with help on weekends from my team mate Jim Anderson.  Waterline Industries will put their magical touch on her bottom.  Thank you to Waterline’s staff and the owner Randy Borges, a multiple World Champion sailor and master boat builder, for making this a fun positive experience.  I highly recommend this shop for any and all repairs,

No More Sail Drive

YeeHa Yanmar GONE

Being a Naval Architect and boat builder for over 35 years I am keeping detailed records of everything.  After the 2013 Bermuda 1-2, I will be launching the documentary of the whole experience with Kincora so stay tuned.

Completed so far (which puts us about 35% of the way there for the May launch) is the following:

1.             Replaced all the bulkheads, which were wet plywood. Added new structure to fix major build problems.

2.             Stripped the deck of all hardware and began prep for new nonskid.

2.             Removed all wiring and plumbing from the boat.

3.             Removed the Yanmar 1GM10 w/ saildrive and all associated gear.  (Will be replaced by 6HP outboard.)

4.             Patched the saildrive hole.

5.             Removed the engine mount.

6.             Removed/replaced the forward bulkhead/anchor locker/crash bulkhead.

7.             Removed/replaced the main ring frame and cockpit support.

8.             Added a sit down Nav station and Olson 30 style seats on both sides.

9.             Removed the silly quarter berth that forced you to sleep athwartships.  This will be replaced with two proper quarter berths.

11.            Built battery platform where Yanmar was installed.

12.            Built proper companionway ladder.

Clearing out the previous owners crap.

Ripping out FWD bulkhead and anchor locker

Plywood not sealed

Prep and ready for new bulkhead and anchor locker done properly

Fortunately Kincora is the only ProSet Epoxy built Quest; all the others are Vinylester resin.  Kincora’s hull is dry with very low moisture content so I felt she was worth saving and making competitive again.  I consider this to be Rodger Martin’s best design.  Thank You Rodger!

Deck stripped

Patching holes

With qualifying for the 2013 Bermuda 1-2 coming up in July it was time to get her ready for her shorthanded season.  They just don’t sail the same fully crewed and with 1100 lbs of water ballast why have a crew!

Time to get back to my Sunday editing and get ready for another 85 hr workweek. “Get’er Done!”

Remember:

“Have Fun Every Day!”

Nice to receive some press for all of my hard work.  After testing Fujinon OS stabilizer on my ZA lens Fujinon did a press release.  Then I had a call from Troy Dreier from Online-Video.net who wanted to do a short atricle on my type of shooting with Fujinon products. Check it out.

Paul Cronin Capturing Lenny Rudow of the Boats.com review team in action.

Stable Video: Canon HJ15xex8.5B KRSE-V HDxs Lens Review

Canon Gyro lens

Warning: Only read this post if stable shots matter to you!

The web is loaded with video clips that not only take you for a ride, they take you for a shaky ride. The camera operator thinks the shot is cool and puts it into production.  This is just not good for the industry, since it lowers the quality that is acceptable. Shaky video drives me nuts and there is no need for it.

But that is the image overload world we live in, with all levels from the beginner to the high end pro.  The lens I will discuss in this post is for the high end pro that uses a 2/3” HD camera and has clients that appreciate and demand stable shots.

The camera I used for testing is my Sony XDCAM HD 2/3” CCD PMW-500.  This camera is a workhorse and one of the best images I have found for a pro camera that is perfect run and gun.  In my work I do not have time to fiddle with 35mm cameras and smaller sensors that just don’t have the same latitude/resolution for the extremes I shoot.

The Canon HJ15ex8.5B KRSE-V HDxs Series HDTV lens (Canon HJ15x) is one of the few 2/3” HD lens options on the market that has a built-in gyro.  I have used the Fujinon 40x with a built-in gyro (Canon HJ40×10 lens and WCV summer update) but there is no way you can hand hold the Fujinon 40x.

My camera gear sales person of choice (Charles Rowe from Abel Cine Tech) and I have been talking about the Canon lens for over a year. Thanks to Charles and Patrick Breheny from Canon for working with me so I could test the Canon HJ15x.

The test was during a job filming Boats.com’s Video Boat Reviews in Smyrna Beach Florida in late May 2011. The two new Boston Whalers were the Conquest 285, which is a 28-foot family fun/fishing boat, and the Conquest 345, a 35-foot fishing machine. We filmed for two days, both on the Intercoastal Waterway and outside Smyrna inlet in the ocean.  Perfect Test Conditions.

The Canon HJ15x is about the same size as my Fujinon ZA17x (Why I picked the Fujinon ZA17×7.6BERM lens for my Sony F800?).  Installing the lens on the camera is the same as any B4 mount lens.  Back focus was a snap with my DSC Labs – CamAlign- FiddleHeads-R-SL-SRW focus chart.

Using the lens was similar to all high quality 2/3” glass.  Big rocker switch for zoom.  Switch ahead of the rocker for auto iris and manual iris, smooth iris ring.  Focus control was very sensitive and took a little getting use to.  I would have appreciated a little more range in the focus ring while nailing focus.

One hand shots

The meat of the lens is the amazing gyro switch on the gyro bulge just behind the focus ring.  One flick of the switch while you are framing the shot, and Presto! it goes stable—and I mean stable. This shot starts with the gyro off and then I switch it on (listen for the switch).  I have been shooting from helicopters for years with Kenyon Gyros, waiting 20 minutes for the gyro to get up to speed and hog power.  With the Canon HJ15x lens, one click and it is stabilizing the shot instantly.  Of course you can’t expect it to cover for poor camera movement.  But if you set yourself up properly and flick the gyro switch, you will be amazed.

I was able to go in 90% zoom and still have a stable shot filming from the deck of a moving boat while shooting another moving boat.  See example.  There is no other lens/camera combination I have ever used that would give me a shot this stable in the same situation at 2/3” CCD HD image quality while on my shoulder. Image Stabilization on some cameras helps, but it also lowers the resolution because it is in the processor.  The Canon HJ15x stabilizes prior to the image sensor in the lens and does not lower the image resolution.  This is HUGE!

I found that some of the detail shots where we normally used my tripod I could do handheld.  This was a big time saver compared to setting up a tripod all over the boat.

Saving Time

The Canon HJ15x stabilization was better then I expected and gave me shots I would not have been able to get with any other camera on my shoulder at 2/3” CCD HD image quality.  Do I like the lens?  I LOVE the lens.  Would I buy the lens? Yes, if I could afford it.

Thank you Patrick Breheny from Canon for trusting me with one of their great products.

Thank you Charles Rowe from Abel Cine Tech for being a great guy and working hard for me the customer.

Thank you John Burnham, editorial director at Boats. Com, for the still pictures and for being a fantastic producer and friend.

Pros and Cons of the Canon HJ15x :

Pros:

1. Quick easy setup with B4 mount
2. Fast easy back focus
3. Smooth accurate Iris
4. Smooth rocker switch for zoom with quick easy adjustment for speed
5. Weight very close to a standard 2/3” HD zoom lens
6. Battery usage was minimal for a gyro
7. Stable, Stable, Stable

Cons:

1. Price. At $34,000 retail this lens is not an option for most small production houses.
2. Focus ring is too sensitive and needs better range.
3. The picture is a little soft, even with the gyro off.
4. Not very wide at the wide end of the zoom.

Next post will be the Fujinon OS TS-P58A for 2/3” B4 mounts using existing Fujinon HD glass.  This unit fits between the camera and a Fujinon lens.  I will use this on a shoot this week and report back on the performance and compare to the Canon HJ15x.

Have Fun Every Day.  cmc