March 22, 2005 -- DRAGON UNORTHODOXIES
by Michel & Jane DeRidder

	Dorades & poles.

"If only we'd blend in a little better," I used to say, embarrassed by the controversy our boat created. Inspired by the 50s book SOPRANINO extolling the ping-pong ball theory of yacht design--the concept of the boat as a lightly ballasted, strongly built surfing machine dependent on form stability rather than ballast--MAGIC DRAGON appalled the sailors of the mid-sixties with her reverse sheer, high freeboard, shoal draught hull. She continues to insult the sensibilities of many. We love the comfort these departures from the norm give us.

To begin with, the reverse sheer, a bit of a sixties shocker, means that there's headroom where it's needed most, not easy to achieve in a flush decker. The bow, without the soaring sheer of its day, offers better visibility, and also has the advantage of allowing muddy anchor tackle water to wash forward instead of having it course down the length of the boat.

A do-it-yourselfer, always one to do things his way, Michel fashioned our super-light mast from 8 1/2 inch x 1/8 inch wall aluminum irrigation pipe. The mad builder squashed the pipe repeatedly into a 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 oval between hand operated wooden rollers. The original mast is still in place. The spinnaker poles are made from 4 inch x 1/16 inch irrigation pipe aluminum. He cut vee slivers from the pole ends so the pipe could be tapered, taped and glassed, and then screwed on spinnaker fittings intended for wooden poles. In those days, costly aluminum masts were new on the market and fittings for aluminum poles were rare or very expensive. The original spinnaker poles and fittings are also still in use.

Our sturdy hatch construction has been adopted on several boats also treasured for their longevity and soundness. They seal on the principle of flat rubber gaskets dogged down onto convex coamings. We originally used the old-fashioned quarter-inch wet suit rubber that we could buy in 2-inch-wide rolls, no longer available without fabric lining.

Even the 2-by-3 fore-and-aft deck beams puzzle those who are accustomed to standard athwartship ones that take so long to loft and fashion one by one. (Our beam is 13 feet at deck level, whereas the bulkheads are only 7 feet apart, so it made sense to install them the short way). Michel had ours on in a day, the pre-spliced lengths, glued and fastened into bulkhead notches.

Then there are our seven 7-inch home-brew dorade vents, made of fiberglass cast into moulds. We used to lend those molds to other boat builders. The through deck tubes have sliding sleeves for air flow adjustment and PVC plumbing screw on interior caps to seal them tight.

Trim tab extension arms.

The windvane, an integral part of the boat when she was launched, has undergone interesting developmental modifications over the years and is now on its Mark IV rebirth, a frighteningly powerful version. I won't go into it here, except to say that the same trim tab which had always been on long extension arms behind the trailing edge of the auxiliary rudder is now on the leading edge. Taming it was the interesting part. I named it 'Cujo' after the mad dog in one of Stephen King's horror books after it escaped its temporary tether and nearly threw us both over the side by making a 180 degree turn in the boat's length while we were having its first test run.

A gimbaled fridge has been part of our furnishings almost since the beginning. It soon wore out the casters that supported its weight on the bulkhead, after which a shock absorber from an Austen A40 dampened its swing. Now we content ourselves with 'tacking the fridge' when we go about, adjusting its heel should the wind freshen or die. The first fridge (LPG) lasted thirty-seven years before we took it to the 'tip'. The latest three-way version (LPG, 12 volt, 240 volt) now mounted on the same gimbals had to be brought aboard naked to have its cladding applied once we'd coaxed it through the oh-too-narrow entrance.

Early on, a small aircraft surplus compressor was adapted to fill SCUBA tanks. The list goes on and on. Ingenious one-off gizmos that are part of MAGIC DRAGON's persona never cease to erupt from the drawing board of the resident designer/builder/gungineer.

For instance, when MAGIC DRAGON was not much more than ten years old, we raised the coaming and the wind shield, and devised removable pilot seats facing forwards, adjustable for angle of heel, which with backs folded are handy tables for cockpit dining. They fold upwards when we want them out of the way. While we were at it, we hinged the windshield for folding it down, marvelous in the tropics.

Then came a solar panel mounted between our double backstays so as to be able to orient it toward the sun. At anchor it's usually safest to leave it level when wind and current are vying for ascendancy, but when we are holding a steady course it increases its efficacy to tilt it toward the sun.

Our roller furling sails, both jib and main, are home-brew, extensively tested on ocean passages in the past twenty and fifteen years respectively.

Among the latest unorthodoxies that work for us is a wee generator on our stern fashioned from a 3 1/2hp Briggs Stratton gasoline engine driving a spare 12-volt alternator, on which hangs many a tale of silencing, testing, chopping and changing and going back to the drawing board, but it's acceptable now. Bruce lives in his doghouse on the stern deck, ready to be called upon when needed if the sun should fail us. Our electrical needs are much greater today than in the past.

Head and holding tank.

Then came a holding tank long put off until a simple solution could be devised. We never, ever thought we could live happily with a sewage storage unit, so reviled and so appallingly ghastly when they fail. The 100-liter holding tank made (locally, to Michel's drawings) of 10mm thick molded polyethylene, fits under the head cupboard. It is above the waterline and it empties by gravity through the same pipes that come from the head. We can check the level of the tank with a flashlight at night--the polyethylene is sufficiently translucent. We can also see if the tank holds any residue. Salt water from the salt water pressure system is piped into the tank for rinsing while emptying. The total hose length on this toilet-holding tank black water circulation is four and a half inches (excluding the 4'6" black alkathene suction pipe to the deck). The ball valves have copper pipe extension levers so they can be turned easily. One shuts off the through hull, the other the holding tank. The old bronze head has a manual pump with a big double acting piston that uses the same leather seals as the ancient reciprocating water well pumps. (We call it the bow thruster). Michel replaced the original shaft packing with a turned bronze lip-seal holder, held in place with a piece of hose and hose clamps. It wasn't as easy to design and install as a bucket, but it works just fine. So far, so sweet.

"If the time ever comes when we have to sell MAGIC DRAGON, we'll be able to advertise her as a new boat never sold by the builders, one that has undergone extensive sea trials," said Michel the other day, talking about the steady evolution of dragon-ness.