Jeff wrote in
:
* wrote, On 6/10/2007 10:42 PM:
.... Yours never got 200 miles
from home, and is now a yellow smudge on the ocean bottom.
???
The world-renowned Kneel-mobile, with it's customized spars &
titanium bimini, sank? When was this? I'd have thought it was
impossible for it to float in the first place.
There is no verification of the rumor. However, the has been no
comment on the matter from the good captain (or his evil twin) in the
last year or or so.
Capt. Neal's boat can't sink. He copied the Mac26M and made it
unsinkable with foam.
This is what it says on his website which is still up and running. Seems
to me if it sunk he'd take the site down unless he sunk with it.
"The interior of my fine vessel has been customized by an expert--yours
truly. I used the experience gained working a year for a boat builder in
Clearwater, Florida to good advantage; particularly some of the skills
the carpenters used for fitting bulkheads and trimming them with teak. I
used 1/2" marine plywood to which I bonded glossy Formica specially
ordered to match the color of the glossy gelcoat interior surfaces. The
furniture is screwed together and can be completely disassembled if
necessary. The bulkhead is a little more permanant because I fitted it
using 3M 5200 but used no mechanical fasteners being loath to drill any
unnecessary holes in the vessel. What you will see in the photos are the
result of my efforts. Keep in mind that there is much you cannot see
under the surface; things such as two-part urethane foam carefully
poured a little at a time in the spaces between the liner (component)
and the hull. This foam is for flotation as well as for insulation and
strength. I have also refitted the cast iron keel, rewired, and cured
some small leaks in the overhead by rebedding all the fittings. Still to
do is a final watertight bulkhead aft of the companionway steps to
separate the cockpit and below cockpit storage from the accommodation.
Also I need to pour a block of foam in the area near the transom/rudder
tube for added flotation and leak protection in the unlikely event of
damage to the rudder post. When the modifications are complete, my
vessel will have positive flotation which is only sensible when going
offshore."
I bet he's off world cruising somewhere.
--
Cheerio,
Ed Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/egordon873/index.htm