Row

 Kayaking, standup paddle boarding and rowing for exercise have been designated as permissible activities, and today was such a beautiful day, and the forecast for the rest of the week so dire, that I got the Mirror out and Oz and I went for a row.

 We rowed down to the mouth of Kororiot Creek. The tide was falling and we got a bit further than last time but still ran aground.

We rowed back to the dog beach so Oz could have a run, and a red heeler cross was there who Oz particularly liked. They had a great time.

It was great to get back on the water, and rowing was nice. It is a lot simpler than sailing, quicker to get on the water, and very meditative once I get in the rhythm.

I tackled the fillets on the boat project in the afternoon.  I tried mixing sawdust in to get the color for varnishing,  but I  think I needed fine grained sawdust. I will see if I can sieve finer if these fillets wont sand smooth. I suspect I will have to paint rather than varnish.

Glue

Yesterday, I squirted epoxy into the gaps along the planks. I switched to a different,  slow cure epoxy midway, got confused, and lined one seam with a mix way short on hardner. Luckily I twigged what I had done, scraped it out, refilled with a correct mix, and today everything is set hard. I did not tighten all the wires as much as I should have, and epoxy dribbled inside in a couple of spots, but it could have been worse.

I left the epoxy to set hard today, and spent some time rounding  and sanding the rockers, and trying to persuade the floor to fit. A lot more rasping will be required for the floor I suspect. Could be the bulk heads are ever so slightly trapeziodal rather than a perfect rectangle.

Plenty still to do.

Stitch

The "stitch" phase of the cradle boat project is done. It actually came together better than I feared it might. A few whoopses, but epoxy is wonderful stuff. This has been a nice scale project, good for my confidence. And it has been good fun. So far.

I am not sure if the interior is varnishable. I will be as careful as I can be and see how we go.

Now for the "glue" phase.

Getting on

My bruises, scapes and bumps from the car-dooring are slowly healing up.  I still have a very sore elbow and hip.  Hey ho, hopefully in another month it will all be a faint memory and a few scars.

Boating continues to be prohibited.  The inconsistencies and lack of logic could be annoying.  Surfing is permitted, but if one stands up on a surf board with a paddle, then one has become a recreational craft and use is not permitted.  It is not ok to catch a fish, but, apparently, it is ok to shoot a duck. One is not necessary, the other apparently is necessary.  I don't really understand, but I try to keep my head down and not get trampled or run over by the crowds of people jogging, cycling, meandering along the pathway by the foreshore.

To fill in the next few months, I have begun a building a cradle boat, from plans supplied by CLC.  I am exploring new frontiers in home delivery - two sheets of plywood turned up today, a box with epoxy and other bits and pieces is hopefully on its way from Whitworths, and the router bit I need is coming from the charmingly named Total Tools. If only I could get a nice bit of mahogany over the internet, I would have everything I need.

I started this afternoon, transferring the outlines of the side panels and bottom onto one sheet of ply.  It is nice to be boat building again, even if it is a boat that will never see water. 

The cradle boat is a 50% scale model of the Eastport pram dinghy, which I see can be constructed as a nesting dinghy.  Now there is an interesting idea. 

Heading out

I wish I was heading out, but apparently there is a $1600 fine for anything considered "unnecessary". Here is a scan of another photo Sandra's neighbour took of Oz and I heading out on our last sailing day.

Sandra dropped the prints from her neighbour off, very kindly.  I found them pushed under the door.  Our new social distancing regime prohibits social visiting.  I would love to get hold of a digital print of this and the previous photo Colin took.  When all this is over I will see if I can get him out for a sail and ask.

I am seriously missing sailing.   The boaty projects continue very very slowly.  Perhaps this may be a good time to replace the tape on Peregrina which is cracking along most visible seams.  I try not to think about the seams I cannot see.

Here is a scan of the other photo, not sure it is much better than the photo of the photo taken by Sandra's camera.  I like the image though.

Small world

I got a sms today from Sandra, one of my Sabre sailing buddies.  Her next door neighbour, Colin, showed her one of his photos, of a boat he really liked the look of.

I hope I can get a good copy of it one day as it is both a great photo of Kirsty Ann, and it somehow encapsulates the times. 

From the anchored cruise ship on the horizon behind the mizzen, the photo was taken the last sailing day.  I am holding the anchor in my left hand, bag over shoulder, about to push the boat off for our last sail for who knows how long.

I also like it as it is a reminder that our lives don't have super hard boundaries.  It is nice to think that someone found the boat and the scene somehow significant too.

Life without sailing is strange.  I have a list of boaty projects, which I am working through at an extraordinarily slow pace.  But I feel that I am rediscovering the capacity to make things and fix things with my hands.  I try not to think how long it might be until I can get back on the water.