Garboard and washout

 

To adapt John Lennon's great insight, life is what happens when you are trying to build a SCAMP.  I have made some progress in between outings other commitments though. I put in all the cleats that the seats and cockpit sole will attach to, drilled out and epoxied in the centreboard case bushings, added the mini bulkhead for the footwell and finished off most of the fillets. All of which is almost invisible and not particularly morale boosting. 

Yesterday I drew and then planned the bevels on the garboard planks and got them more or less in position. Jim at the Dinghy Shop who cut my cnc kit couldn't do the bevels, and I have been wondering how it would go. Turned out it's pretty easy to plot and plane them and i can fine tune when plank 2 goes on. 

Good old stitch and glue. The cnc cut planks fitted way better than the panels I cut from plans on my last build, and the Skerry turned out OK,  so despite the odd chink of daylight, I tightened up and clamped as best I could and proceeded to tack fillet today. It is so cold I am not sure the glue will set enough to risk taking the wires out tomorrow. I think I might leave it for tomorrow and maybe start on the rudder. It looks like every pair of planks will take me about 4 -5  days: dry fit 1, tack weld 2, setting day 3, fillet and glass 4, epoxy coat 5. 3 sets of pairs of planks ... I  guess that's the next two weeks lined up.

I took the Skerry up to Yarrawonga last week for a planned trip with some WBA members down to Tocumwal, but a lot of rain upriver saw the river levels rising, Parks were advising groups not to head down, and the weather was pretty bleak. We settled for a day's rowing on Lake Mulwala.

There are channels marked through the forests of dead trees. Coming back, Jim from the WBA and I tried the acquatic equivalent of bush bashing, and picked our way directly home past submerged and barely submerged stumps.  I managed not to hit any, Jim was not so lucky and got stuck on a few. The larger trees make great nesting spots for sulphur crested cockatoos. As you row past, pairs of proprietorial heads pop out to watch you closely till you are out of range. 

Gavan had engine problems, dinner at the pub disagreed with me, it was bloody cold and it rained a lot. It was all a learning experience. I think I will focus on the SCAMP till the weather warms up a bit.