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Author Topic:   Wikipedia Article on HICKMAN

Yiddil posted 07-21-2009 03:12 PM ET (US)
[Quoted without attribution an article about Albert Hickman from WIKIPEDIA.ORG, and then invited discussion.]
Buckda posted 07-21-2009 03:20 PM ET (US)
Henry,
Read http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/13/originalHullDesign.html
Nota bene:

quote:
Back in the 1920's a Nova Scotian named Hickman had designed a novel boat called the Sea Sled. Unlike traditional boats, the Sea Sled had two widely separated hulls or "runners" and was blunt bowed. In Hunt's view, the Sea Sled had never been properly exploited. So his initial design for Fisher was very similar to a Sea Sled.
Using epoxy and styrofoam, Fisher soon built a prototype of Hunt's design. "It had two keels," said Fisher, "one inverted V [between the runners] and an anti-skid, anti-trip chine." Powering it with a 15-hp outboard, Fisher ran the boat all summer, thinking it "the greatest thing ever."
When rougher weather came in the fall, a flaw in the new design was revealed. When under heavy load and plowing along below planning speeds, the middle cavity in the hull forced air into the water as it rushed into the propeller. This lead to partial cavitation and rough running for the motor.
Fisher took his problem to the originator of the Sea Sled, Hickman himself, but this consultation held little hope for improvement. Hickman was certain the Sea Sled was the way to go and offered no modifications.
Fisher decided that they'd have to "put some stuff on the bottom to move that airy water out the there." Development took place at his home, located on a tidal marsh. "We'd take the boat down and put fiberglass things on the bottom at nine o'clock in the morning. Then we would wait until the fiberglass cured and run the boat and find out it didn't work and bring it back and start over again. We'd get maybe three experiments done in one day."
As his experiments evolved, the prototype boat began to have a growing appendage down the center, filling the space between the two runners until it dropped down aft to become a slightly veed bottom. At some point, Fisher called Hunt to come over and see the modified prototype.
Hunt went back to the drawing board, and produced a new design which would ultimately evolve into the 13-foot Whaler. The new hull had a third element between the two runners, projecting down and ending with a nine-inch flat bottom sole in the middle. Fisher, confident that they were on the right track, built a second prototype, this one finished well enough that it could serve as the plug for a production mold.

jimh posted 07-21-2009 08:32 PM ET (US)
I suspect the article on WIKIPEDIA.ORG drew from my article about the origins of the Boston Whaler boat and the influence of the HICKMAN SEA SLED.
Dave--Thank you for directing Yiddil to the REFERENCE section article about the influence of the Hickman Sea Sled on the design of a BOSTON WHALER.
Also, the HICKMAN SEA SLED is mentioned in my interview in WHALER RADIO with JAMIE MILLS of the Wm. J. Mills & Co. canvas suppliers. See:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/radio/
I believe that all of these articles here on CONTINUOUSWAVE predate the publication of the WIKIPEDIA article which was recently found by Yiddil.
jimh posted 07-21-2009 08:50 PM ET (US)
ASIDE: I suggest listening to the whole interview with Jamie MIlls. I interviewed him via telephone many years ago and recorded it. I then edited it, and published it on the website in what was then the astonishingly new format of MP3 compressed audio files. At the time I did not realize it, but I was inventing the PODCAST. Of course, the Apple iPod had not been invented, and no one was publishing radio-like audio broadcasts on the internet at that time. WHALER RADIO preceded the podcast by several years.
The funny thing is that these interviews were so far ahead of their time that I remember having to explain at length to the people I was calling what I was going to do with the interview. Most of them had never heard of anything remotely like audio content on the internet. Some of them, I am sure, thought I was a nut.
After publishing these audio interviews, I found that many people lacked the resources in their computers to actually play and listen to the interviews. Most computers, especially PC computers, were seriously lacking in the ability to play audio or process the files. Of course, now, nine years later, everyone had an iPod and everyone has heard of MP3. But in 2000, it was very cutting edge.
On thing I learned: producing these interviews was a tremendous amount of work. That's why there has not been more of them! I had to brainstorm all the questions ahead of time. I also had to do a lot of editing to enhance the interviews. I did all of this on a computer with a processor that had a speed of 20-MHz. Yes, 20-MHz! And the computer had about 128-KB of RAM. It seems positively archaic by today's standards of dual 3-GHz processors and 4-GB of RAM.
Technical aside: I also designed an built the telephone hybrid coupler that I used to record the telephone conversations. That was an interesting project in electronic design, too. It was a passive hybrid that used three transformers. The trans-hybrid balance was excellent.
Also, I called all the interviewees on the telephone, which was a traditional AT&T wired telephone. I also paid full long-distance rates to make these calls during prime time, so in some cases I got a telephone bill for a $20 call. Everyone calls for free anywhere in the domestic USA now, but not then.
Several years ago WOODEN BOAT magazine had a great article on Albert Hickman and the SEA SLED. I ordered six copies of the magazine. I gave out copies of the magazine to several of the prime contributors to the website in its early and formative days. If you really want to learn about Albert Hickman and the SEA SLED, get a copy of that back issue.
Sorry to rant here, but it really got under my skin when Yiddil pointed to another website for information about Boston Whaler and the Sea Sled. We knew about the Sea Sled nine years ago, before WIKIPEDIA even existed.
dscew posted 07-21-2009 09:15 PM ET (US)
I remember your radio interviews; you interviewed me back then about Excelisor Bay Wood Company (the early days, probably 1999 or 2000?). I thought that was very cutting edge at the time--I'd never heard of radio on the internet.
jimh posted 07-21-2009 11:07 PM ET (US)
Dennis--You may have been the very first person on WHALER RADIO.
dscew posted 07-21-2009 11:17 PM ET (US)
And if that's so, it's an honor to have been the first of your interviews.
jimh posted 07-21-2009 11:25 PM ET (US)
Thank you!
Back to HICKMAN. If you wish to learn about Hickman and his Sea Sled, obtain a back issue of WOODEN BOAT with the article. It was many pages long and profusely illustrated with pictures from the 1920's.
The article on Hickman was published in WOODEN BOAT magazine for MAY/JUNE 1991, page 46. It is written by David Seidman, and its title is "Damed by Faint Praise, the life and hard times of Albert Hickman." The article runs about a dozen pages in the magazine. There is also a companion article by the same author on a new boat built from the Sea Sled design, and this article is also well illustrated and runs two pages.
Ritzyrags posted 07-22-2009 12:34 AM ET (US)
As mentioned before: William Albert Hickman.
http://jhowell.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I3302&tree=1
And also:
http://ivb-boats.netfirms.com/Other.html
That's a hot subject that will be brought back time and time again for many generations to come.

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Author	Topic: Wikipedia Article on HICKMAN
Yiddil	posted 07-21-2009 03:12 PM ET (US) [Quoted without attribution an article about Albert Hickman from WIKIPEDIA.ORG, and then invited discussion.]
Buckda	posted 07-21-2009 03:20 PM ET (US) Henry, Read http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/13/originalHullDesign.html Nota bene: quote: Back in the 1920's a Nova Scotian named Hickman had designed a novel boat called the Sea Sled. Unlike traditional boats, the Sea Sled had two widely separated hulls or "runners" and was blunt bowed. In Hunt's view, the Sea Sled had never been properly exploited. So his initial design for Fisher was very similar to a Sea Sled. Using epoxy and styrofoam, Fisher soon built a prototype of Hunt's design. "It had two keels," said Fisher, "one inverted V [between the runners] and an anti-skid, anti-trip chine." Powering it with a 15-hp outboard, Fisher ran the boat all summer, thinking it "the greatest thing ever." When rougher weather came in the fall, a flaw in the new design was revealed. When under heavy load and plowing along below planning speeds, the middle cavity in the hull forced air into the water as it rushed into the propeller. This lead to partial cavitation and rough running for the motor. Fisher took his problem to the originator of the Sea Sled, Hickman himself, but this consultation held little hope for improvement. Hickman was certain the Sea Sled was the way to go and offered no modifications. Fisher decided that they'd have to "put some stuff on the bottom to move that airy water out the there." Development took place at his home, located on a tidal marsh. "We'd take the boat down and put fiberglass things on the bottom at nine o'clock in the morning. Then we would wait until the fiberglass cured and run the boat and find out it didn't work and bring it back and start over again. We'd get maybe three experiments done in one day." As his experiments evolved, the prototype boat began to have a growing appendage down the center, filling the space between the two runners until it dropped down aft to become a slightly veed bottom. At some point, Fisher called Hunt to come over and see the modified prototype. Hunt went back to the drawing board, and produced a new design which would ultimately evolve into the 13-foot Whaler. The new hull had a third element between the two runners, projecting down and ending with a nine-inch flat bottom sole in the middle. Fisher, confident that they were on the right track, built a second prototype, this one finished well enough that it could serve as the plug for a production mold.
jimh	posted 07-21-2009 08:32 PM ET (US) I suspect the article on WIKIPEDIA.ORG drew from my article about the origins of the Boston Whaler boat and the influence of the HICKMAN SEA SLED. Dave--Thank you for directing Yiddil to the REFERENCE section article about the influence of the Hickman Sea Sled on the design of a BOSTON WHALER. Also, the HICKMAN SEA SLED is mentioned in my interview in WHALER RADIO with JAMIE MILLS of the Wm. J. Mills & Co. canvas suppliers. See: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/radio/ I believe that all of these articles here on CONTINUOUSWAVE predate the publication of the WIKIPEDIA article which was recently found by Yiddil.
jimh	posted 07-21-2009 08:50 PM ET (US) ASIDE: I suggest listening to the whole interview with Jamie MIlls. I interviewed him via telephone many years ago and recorded it. I then edited it, and published it on the website in what was then the astonishingly new format of MP3 compressed audio files. At the time I did not realize it, but I was inventing the PODCAST. Of course, the Apple iPod had not been invented, and no one was publishing radio-like audio broadcasts on the internet at that time. WHALER RADIO preceded the podcast by several years. The funny thing is that these interviews were so far ahead of their time that I remember having to explain at length to the people I was calling what I was going to do with the interview. Most of them had never heard of anything remotely like audio content on the internet. Some of them, I am sure, thought I was a nut. After publishing these audio interviews, I found that many people lacked the resources in their computers to actually play and listen to the interviews. Most computers, especially PC computers, were seriously lacking in the ability to play audio or process the files. Of course, now, nine years later, everyone had an iPod and everyone has heard of MP3. But in 2000, it was very cutting edge. On thing I learned: producing these interviews was a tremendous amount of work. That's why there has not been more of them! I had to brainstorm all the questions ahead of time. I also had to do a lot of editing to enhance the interviews. I did all of this on a computer with a processor that had a speed of 20-MHz. Yes, 20-MHz! And the computer had about 128-KB of RAM. It seems positively archaic by today's standards of dual 3-GHz processors and 4-GB of RAM. Technical aside: I also designed an built the telephone hybrid coupler that I used to record the telephone conversations. That was an interesting project in electronic design, too. It was a passive hybrid that used three transformers. The trans-hybrid balance was excellent. Also, I called all the interviewees on the telephone, which was a traditional AT&T wired telephone. I also paid full long-distance rates to make these calls during prime time, so in some cases I got a telephone bill for a $20 call. Everyone calls for free anywhere in the domestic USA now, but not then. Several years ago WOODEN BOAT magazine had a great article on Albert Hickman and the SEA SLED. I ordered six copies of the magazine. I gave out copies of the magazine to several of the prime contributors to the website in its early and formative days. If you really want to learn about Albert Hickman and the SEA SLED, get a copy of that back issue. Sorry to rant here, but it really got under my skin when Yiddil pointed to another website for information about Boston Whaler and the Sea Sled. We knew about the Sea Sled nine years ago, before WIKIPEDIA even existed.
dscew	posted 07-21-2009 09:15 PM ET (US) I remember your radio interviews; you interviewed me back then about Excelisor Bay Wood Company (the early days, probably 1999 or 2000?). I thought that was very cutting edge at the time--I'd never heard of radio on the internet.
jimh	posted 07-21-2009 11:07 PM ET (US) Dennis--You may have been the very first person on WHALER RADIO.
dscew	posted 07-21-2009 11:17 PM ET (US) And if that's so, it's an honor to have been the first of your interviews.
jimh	posted 07-21-2009 11:25 PM ET (US) Thank you! Back to HICKMAN. If you wish to learn about Hickman and his Sea Sled, obtain a back issue of WOODEN BOAT with the article. It was many pages long and profusely illustrated with pictures from the 1920's. The article on Hickman was published in WOODEN BOAT magazine for MAY/JUNE 1991, page 46. It is written by David Seidman, and its title is "Damed by Faint Praise, the life and hard times of Albert Hickman." The article runs about a dozen pages in the magazine. There is also a companion article by the same author on a new boat built from the Sea Sled design, and this article is also well illustrated and runs two pages.
Ritzyrags	posted 07-22-2009 12:34 AM ET (US) As mentioned before: William Albert Hickman. http://jhowell.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I3302&tree=1 And also: http://ivb-boats.netfirms.com/Other.html That's a hot subject that will be brought back time and time again for many generations to come.