Evening star., 1960-07-10

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The man is James R. !
Arlington. His substantial brick
home is part way down hill
side overlooking the Potomac
near Little Falls.
Dwarfing the home, though.
is the ocean-going sailboat
which he is building himself.
inch by inch, in back of the
house.
Moore has been working on
1t since 1855 and launching now
has been set for next spring.
Resting on a heavy truck axle
with four pneumatic tires at
the bow and a cradle at the
stern, it represents a tremen-
dous dead weight which must
be moved up the hillside.
The builder plans to jack
the stern onto a heavy trailer
and then winch it up the hill.
There a truck will take over to
haul it to the Potomac. With
bridges to cross, this must be
done at night when traffic is
least.
MastS. spars, rigging and
everything else removable will
be transported separately to
tighten the load. Nevertheless,
Moore plans to have his ketch
as complete as possible before
launching so that he can begin
to learn to handle it.
Sailing Experience Scant
An electronics engineer and
radar expert with the Navy
Bureau of Aeronautics, Moore
has had little experience as a
sailor. Biggest boat he has
handled was a 14-footer in
Jersey. Helpful, though, will be
the courses he has been taking
from the Potomac River Power
Squadron.
After retirement, no too long
in the future. Moore plans to
take his wife and two sons,
William, IL, a junior high
pupil in Arlington, and James,
jr., %, George Washington
Medical School junior, on the
world cruise.
A year and two months ago
when we first visited the pro-
ject, Moore had only the hull
completed and the big Cater
pillar diesel auxiliary dropped
into place.
Since then, with blowtorch
to cut the holes in the solid
steel and welding tools to in
stall the frames, he has added
cabin windows and portfolios. |
He also has installed rudder,
bowsprit, davitS, anchor winch,
steps for maSts and is finish
ing off the interior.
Aluminium Pipe for Masts
Nearby is several hundred
feet of aluminium pipe from
Baltimore which will be made
into masts, boems and spread
ers. Also on hand is 1000
square feet of 9-ounce dacron,
obtained in Boston, which will
be made into sails. +
The boat was designed by
Charles w. WITHHOLD, Silver
Spring naval architect, from
an original plan by the late
j. Murray Watts.
The hull was built of 3/l6-
inch steel plates. Three-quarter-
inch plates were used for the
keel and 5/16-inch for the rud-
der. Moore had some help from
a professional in assembling the
hull, but since then has been
doing all the welding himself.
How did he learn? From dab
bling a bit in his electronics
work, then in building his own
house. Most of the supports are
of steel which he welded him
self.
Tubes in keel box will cir
culate fresh water to cool the
diesel engine. This water will
come from a 450-gallon tank.
Water for cabin use is provided
by two 50-gallon tanks. A 1,5OO-
gallon fuel tank will give the
diesel long cruising range while
a l00-gallon tank has been pro-
vided for gasoline.
Moore's engine room is almost
complete. The 60-horse diesel
which is expected to propel the
boat at 6 or 612 knots has been
installed. There also is a Fair
banks-MorSe 51a horse power
diesel for lights and refrigera-
tion and a johnson gasoline
powered pump. Another gaso-
line engine will be used to start
the big diesel.
The bridge will be over the
engine room and forward is a
salon which could sleep several
persons in addition to the eight