The slow hardner epoxy has not been a great sucess for coating larger surfaces. I have ordered some West Systems and I will hold off progress on the cradle boat till it arrives. In the meantime I trial fitted the rockers. Ozzie was not particularly impressed.
Even though I have named the boat after him. I started work on a name plate.
The big news is that sailing is on again from Wednesday. Wednesday's forecast looks grim, but I am planning to get out on Thursday. Woo hoo!
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Paddle
Today's weather looked pretty good, and the epoxy on the cradle boat a bit tacky thanks to the cold, so I got up early, took Oz for his walk, then after breakfast wheeled the kayak down to the Flemmings pool ramp. I am a bit rusty with the process, and left my sandals on the shore, but they were still there where I left them when I got back.
I paddled down to the mouth of Kororiot Creek, and managed to squeak over the shallow bits to get in. Tide was about .06 above datum, still a bit to rise. Maybe a few more kayak entries and I will get the hang of it. There are a few decent rocks along the way, hull damage waiting for the unwary.
After lunch we went to the Lost Dogs home in North Melbourne to collect the newest addition to the house, Maggie the cat. She is a lovely little tabby, with a ginger patch on the back of her neck, very like Ozzie's.
While Anne was collecting Maggie, Oz and I checked out the local dog park. It was dog heaven for Oz I think, a much higher density than round here of dogs of all shapes and sizes.
I paddled down to the mouth of Kororiot Creek, and managed to squeak over the shallow bits to get in. Tide was about .06 above datum, still a bit to rise. Maybe a few more kayak entries and I will get the hang of it. There are a few decent rocks along the way, hull damage waiting for the unwary.
After lunch we went to the Lost Dogs home in North Melbourne to collect the newest addition to the house, Maggie the cat. She is a lovely little tabby, with a ginger patch on the back of her neck, very like Ozzie's.
While Anne was collecting Maggie, Oz and I checked out the local dog park. It was dog heaven for Oz I think, a much higher density than round here of dogs of all shapes and sizes.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Clamp
Last few days I have been working on the rails/gunnels of the cradle boat. I took my time ripping the wood pieces, and clamped one side on a day. A fiddly job but hopefully they will turn out ok.
The weather has turned cold, and the slow hardener epoxy is proving very slow indeed. I am carefully measuring with syringes to get exact measurement. Ozzie came out and distracted me right at a critical moment in the counting today. I am about 98 percent sure I got it right, but I will be very pleased if it sets ok tonight.
I am learning a lot from this little boat.
The weather has turned cold, and the slow hardener epoxy is proving very slow indeed. I am carefully measuring with syringes to get exact measurement. Ozzie came out and distracted me right at a critical moment in the counting today. I am about 98 percent sure I got it right, but I will be very pleased if it sets ok tonight.
I am learning a lot from this little boat.
Monday, April 27, 2020
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.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
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.
Friday, April 24, 2020
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.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
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.
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.
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