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June 2, 1999

Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #31

Day 30. Wednesday, 2 June 1999 0322 GMT
Wind ENE 3-4. Heading 195M.
Latitude: 11deg 55.414N
Longitude: 170deg 36.126W

Contrary to the forecast, a NE wind never made it to this ocean region today. However, as if to make up, the current has started dipping south signaling an advantageous time to get sweating again.

For the second morning in a row, I deliberated whether or not to go over the side and rid Moksha's hull of gooseneck barnacles. One the one hand I risked re-infecting myself with being in the seawater. On the other, the barnacles in more that one sense of the word were becoming a real drag, and as I was going to have to get to them at some point in the next week, I might as well do it while still on antibiotics. I decided on the latter, taking the added precautions of sealing my more open sores with lithium grease to minimize water contamination (thanks Kirsty!) and rinsing myself thoroughly with fresh water afterwards (ah - the luxury of an automatic desalinator!).

What I thought initially would only take 15mins, ended up as a 1.5hr ordeal. After a month of barnacle bonanza, the underside was a thick forest of the things, some as long as 1.5", many clustered together in groups of up to 5 or 6. None showed any interested in being budged though. However, after eventually succumbing to persistent efforts on my part aided by an absolutely useless device botched together from a bit of PVC, they gently spiraled down like a plume of descending snowflakes into the light blue turquoise abyss characteristic of deep ocean water. All that is except for 2 sq. ft of them that I have kept as a habitat for the evolving ecosystem we have growing under Moksha. We now have 5 black and white striped Pilot fish that consider the underbelly of the Good Ship very much their own domain, and reminded me so by making little intimidatory lunges at me while I was working, a strange black fish 4" long with a flat head that reminded me of the kind of fishes you see attached to side of sharks and whales, and 4-5 brown coloured crabs, each an inch in diameter, that scuttled behind and around tufts of barnacles using them as camouflage. Quite a family on the Good Ship now to say the least.

The difference in Moksha's performance without the barnacles is impressive. Instead of driving a tractor with a plough behind it, I now feel like I'm holding onto the reins of a turbo-charged racing snake! According to the GPS we have gained between .75 and a knot. A huge asset over the days and weeks to come. So, in the words of the band 'Hot Chocolate' whose songs I use to groove the cranks along with at night, "Everyone's a winner": the pilot fish still have their territory, the barnacles have 2 sq. ft of preserved virgin barnacle forest, Moksha's into Hyper-space and best of all, we get to keep the crabs...

CLASSROOM: - Blistering Barnacles!!

ACTIVITIES: SIMPLE MACHINES:

A: BARNACLE SCRAPER

In a couple of weeks - and especially for the next voyage - I'm going to want to scrap the barnacles from the hull again. However, next time I'm going to want to use a better tool. Can you sketch out a design on paper, and/or make a model in 3D, an efficient a barnacle scraper as you can devise. Please specify:

1.The material it is made of (the scraper needs to be strong enough to free the barnacles but bendy so it keeps flush to Moksha's hull).
2.The handgrip: it needs to be used with only one hand, and protecting the hand from the barnacle's shells that can be sharp.

Please send copies of your ideas to:
April, PO Box 788, Rye, CO 81069, USA

Or reply by way of THE REGISTRY

B: MOKSHA'S RUDDER

Moksha's rudder works as a very simple machine: a rope from the top of one side of the top of the rudder runs forward 15ft, enters the hull just forward of the pedal seat and double backs 180 degrees on itself, around the back of the pedal seat using the same devices that are used on entry through the hull, back out of the hull on the opposite side to where it entered, double backing 180 degrees to run 15ft down to where it is attached on the other side of the top of the rudder.

1.What are the devices that are used for making the rope double back 180 degrees and used behind the pedal seat for making the rope turn 90 degrees?
2.Draw a picture of what this device is.
3.Discuss in class how this device works.
4.Also, think of three other machines used in everyday life that use this device in their operation.

Jason Lewis,
The Moksha motor

Posted on June 2, 1999 3:11 AM