Wading through treacle

 

I am chipping away at the long list of small jobs. It feels a bit like wading through treacle. 

The first round of painting more or less done. I can go back and polish up down the track, but I am happy with a work boat finish. I am drilling filling and drilling all holes exposed to the outside or to water. Takes about 4 times as long as just drill and add a dab of sikaflex or epoxy but it should help the boat outlast my future neglect.

Anne doesn't think much of my colour scheme, and she could be right, but it will have to do for now.

On the jobs list are tasks that are easy/enjoyable, and jobs that are more difficult/challenging. The temptation is to do all the easy jobs but the danger is I will wind up with a nasty pile of things left which could be demoralising. 

The centreboard is definitely one of the nasty jobs. I am a bit worried I have stuffed it up somehow - shape too much out, bearing off centre? - tho I won't know till I install it. Hopefully I can get some extra pairs of hands to get it installed - it is a heavy little number, made from laminated hardwood  with a chunk of lead set in the lower half. I would not want to drop it on my foot.

Here it is, with its little tail in case the boat turtles and the centreboard retracts. You use the bit of yellow rope to get the board out again, which gives enough leverage to get the boat back upright. I am also putting in a downhaul with a quick release cleat, on the belt and braces principle. Something about black and heavy makes me want to move on to a more pleasant job like the rowlocks. Rebate plate, drill and fill and drill, it has taken quite a few hours to get them on, but I have enjoyed that job. Looking forward to finding out how the SCAMP actually rows soon. The hole is to allow the escape of any water that might find its way into the rowlock socket.

I also sent off the registration form to Vic roads, so hopefully I can use an engine at Paynesville if I can get there. The trailer probably won't arrive in time so I will have to adapt Skerry's trailer for the duration. I think I know how that might work. The most critical bit of the puzzle still outstanding is the rudder pintle. Jim only had one of the beefier 4 bolt hole kind. He has ordered another, but it seems it has to come from Jupiter and the space shuttle has been delayed. Gavan has some that would fit though would need different spaced holes. I will hold off for another week. 

Main jobs outstanding apart from the above include: finish mast step and epoxy mast foot in, install uphaul/downhaul hardware, non slip paint in appropriate spots, finish tiller extension, drill fill drill and bolt/screw on all hardware, sikafex on hatches and portholes ... I am sure there is plenty more I just can't think of what they are at the moment.  About 17 more sleeps before we need to be on the road down to Paynesville, 17 more days work, but my productivity goes right down (along with my iq) when the days are hot, and we have a heat wave into mid next week. 

We had a family getaway long weekend down at Walkerville last weekend. Swimming a couple of times every day, hiking up and down the hill from house to beach and back, sitting on the deck with a vista of the Prom and the Glennie group across the water, big sky, lots of feasting, my favourite people ... it was time out of the build, but I have come back energised. 

Onwards though the treacle!

Sail bending

 

Chris and Gerard came round midweek to help me bend on the sails. It's very handy to have some extra pairs of hands for that job.  We wheeled the SCAMP out from under the carport, and of course being Melbourne it started to rain. Chris got to try out the cuddy as shelter. 

It seemed to work OK. 

Work has stopped for a few days as we're down at Walkerville South for our traditional family getaway to celebrate our daughter Jess's birthday. We've rented the same place for a few years now. It is not too fancy, has fantastic views, and a nice walk down to the beach. 

I dropped in on Jim after delivering poor Maggie to the cattery next door. He had not chased up trailer. It turns out 3 to 4 weeks delivery, then registration, and insuring ... I don't think that trailer will be in the time for the Paynesville gig on 1 March... 

Still a long list of jobs to finish as well. 🤔 We have booked accommodation so we are going, but I will really have to get cracking if the boat is going to come too.

The race is on

 

I have put a coat of undercoat on nearly all the boat. Still a few bits under the coaming and on top of centreboard case missed. I think I will spring for a new pot of undercoat tomorrow and give it all a good second coat. 

There are still lots of small and some not so small tasks outstanding and i am struggling to stay on top of the details. Today, I needed a couple of pieces of wood on which  to mount the cleats on the cabin top. I found a nice bit of Oregon, sliced it, then remembered I was saving that bit for the top of the centreboard case. Dammit. Not the end of the world, I will have to rip another piece out of another bit I have been saving for ... what exactly I don't know.  I've bought a bunch of rope and nuts and bolts and blocks from Jim  at the Dinghy Shop, who has been incredibly helpful and generous with his time. And he is an agent for Dunbier and is sussing out availability for a trailer as well, another task i need to tackle asap.

I bit the bullet and drilled holes for the outboard bracket. I dare to hope that it might work.

But an engine means registration so I better get cracking on that as well. 

I would really like to get the boat ready for the Paynesville Classic Boat Rally from 1 March if humanly possible. Not too many sleeps till then, and we are going to Walkerville for about 5 days next week, so no more slacking!

First time

 

Carl, a SCAMP fan and future builder, got in touch via Josh at SCA. He and family, Sarah and Isabelle, came to have a look at progress on Friday.  It was really nice to see the boat through their eyes. The smile says it all!

Sounds like it might be a while before Carl starts to build, but he has been thinking a lot about it and has some interesting thoughts on furling and cabin layout.

Meanwhile, glacial progress continues. I have been fiddling with the mast step and partners. 

Also the oarlock/hiking out seat arrangement, amazing how long you can stuff around on such a minor detail!

 I am waiting on some bits at the Williamstown Chandlers, then I will buy more undercoat and get stuck into painting.  I even ordered some sail numbers. Better get the letters for the name to stick on.  And if I can line up a time with Jim at the Dinghy Shop, I can make a start on rigging. Then there is just the conundrum of getting a trailer ... and rego ... The list still seems endless.

Last week was a reminder that the boat build has a dimension outside just me. A lot of people are interested in progress. Yet another pot of epoxy went off while I was talking to a walk in visitor - but it's nice. I think I will have a long list of people to take out for a sail when "Anjevi" is a going concern.

Shingled out

 On Saturday, we were getting ready for a family get together to make up for the Christmas we missed thanks to Covid.  I was feeling distinctly off colour, and had an afternoon nap, something I seldom do.  I woke up about 4, and decided to have a shower to try and wake up and get moving. As I was drying off, I realised I had a nice pattern of bright purple blisters across my lower back, in an unmistakeable pattern. Shingles, dammit. As a key member of the party is expecting, and as I now had a good explanation for why I was feeling so out of it, we cancelled the dinner, yet again.  I will spare the blog a graphic photo of the rash.  The good news is I managed to get started early on treatment, which seems to have contained the severity of the outbreak.  But it is not an experience I can recommend to anyone.  My congratulations to everyone over 50 who has been organized enough to get the vaccine, and my strong advice to anyone who hasn't had the vaccine yet, make an appointment with  your GP without delay!

Progress on the boat has been difficult to see.  I have been chipping away at various jobs that need doing - getting all the bushings in and lined up seemed to take me a very long time, but that is done.  The contortions required to get under the boat in its upside down state was acting as a strong disincentive to doing anything I realised, so today I cobbled up a very basic trolley with some castors from Bunnings, hooked up an elaborate series of ropes and straps, and without too much fuss or drama, managed to turn the boat back right side up by myself.  Took about 45 minutes all up, going very slowly and carefully, as I seriously did not want to drop the boat on the concrete. 

Now the boat is back upright, I can see what a rough job I have done.  Curse my past, sloppy self.  And I can see a fair bit of sanding in my future.  But it is lovely to have it upright again, it is like getting the boat back.

The Shingles episode has made me slow down a bit and relax a bit. If I just keep chipping away we will get this boat on the water.  I am soooo looking forward to some SCAMPing. 

Meanwhile, speaking of boats on the water, there was a nice pic in the Paynesville facebook page, of Kirsty Ann under new management, on the Clyde River near BatemansBay.  Such a beautiful boat, so good to see the her out there and being used. 

Maggie is very pleased to have her favourite snooze spot back.

Tea for the Tillerman

 

We had a weird Covid overshadowed Christmas that gave me some time for thinking, and I realised I have been dodging a number of jobs that need doing. I gave myself a good talking to, and started in on the tiller for the Scamp.  It's a really important part of the build, the key interface between human and boat and the magical forces that enable you to sail. 

Dale Simonson, a Canadian Scamp builder who I met on the Tawe Nunnagah earlier this year, has published a nice plan for a SCAMP tiller. John Welsford is a bit vague in the boat plans - "tiller to suit" - so nice to have something a bit more specific to work from. I ripped some Oregon and some super dense hardwood that Harald up the road gave me, and clamped the strips onto a frame made to Dale's measurements. I think it will do.

The wood in the tiller certainly looks lovely under a coat of epoxy.

Meantime, the hull is painted, looking rather like a Christmas decoration. And I sikaflexed  the hdp nose protectors onto the skegs, another one of the jobs I have been dragging the chain on. I don't know if they will work but I figure I can try something different pretty easily if they don't. 

So, a few jobs ticked off the reluctance list. Still plenty to go but getting closer. End of next month we should be pretty close with luck. Here's my to do list. Notice how often the word "Sand" appears.

Cameron, the chap I sold the Core Sound to, has just put it up for sale. Which has caused me to, once again, wonder if I actually made the right decision selling, and going down the SCAMP build path. I won't really know for sure of course till I am actually sailing, but I think I made the right call. The mast on SCAMP is about half the weight of the Core Sound, and raising it is much safer.  I never capsized the CS, but I suspect I would have had trouble getting it back and me in. By all accounts the SCAMP is less likely to capsize, and much easier to recover.  I did love the Core Sound, but it will be special to be in a boat I have built myself.

I have been sifting back through the various comments from SCAMP owners on the SCA substack. There is a common thread of agreement that the SCAMP is an easy boat to rig, launch, move around, retrieve, and generally be with.  I said to Anne today I hope I get 10 years sailing out of it.   

 Meanwhile I still enjoy the Skerry. Andrew invited me last week to head out from AYC, and Chris, after our lake wendouree adventure, very bravely agreed to come along. With luck, and if the weather holds, Anne has agreed to come out for a sail with me Friday.  Being on the water is a reminder of why I am building that boat. It is not because I love sanding.

Slacking off

 I admired Kent from Kent's Bike Blog, who, when asked his approach to the gruelling Great Divide bike race, which he completed on a fixed gear single speed bike, responded: "I start off slow, then kind of ease off." I have been emulating his approach all too well as my lack of progress shows. Summer is beginning and with it some lovely weather. I went  sailing in the Skerry, with Andrew in his Laser, on a lovely broad reach over to Williamstown and back, I 've been swimming most days, making jam, and generally pottering around. Very pleasant but my hopes that the SCAMP would somehow magically be ready for sailing this year are pretty much out the window. 

It was great to get back on the water. It was a North wind day, with flukey gusts varying in direction by up to 90 degrees. The sort of day where you could easily wind up in the water. It was a good reminder of why I am building the SCAMP: I hope it will be a bit more relaxing to sail on that sort of day than the Skerry is.

I did get the boat turned over, thanks to a gang of excellent helpers who made the operation, which I had been dreading, extremely easy. 

There is quite a bit to do once the boat is turned over, filling, fibreglassing and adding the skegs. Those darn skegs took me more than a week to laminate, fibreglass, cut gooves, attach worm shoes, epoxy onto hull and fillet. 

This week I collected a length of aluminium tube, 6060 t5 80mm 2mm wall thickness, as recommended by Dana Pike up in Canberra. I can try my hand at a birdsmouth somewhere down the track, I want to go sailing!!!!  The tube is intimidatingly big, but weighs under 5 kilos. My mast on the Core Sound weighed over 11 kilos, and I had to stand precariously on the front deck to insert it vertically into the mast box. I think the SCAMP arrangement should be much better. I've laminated some bits of Harald's Oregon to make the boom, and I will try carbon fibre wind surfer mast for the yard. So we might be able to bend on the sails soon. In between , while waiting for glue to set or just for a change, I am shaping the rudder,a few more hours rasping and sanding and that will be done too.

The SCAMP manual suggest filleting and painting interior while the boat is upside down, so that's next. A bit of a contortionist challenge to get to some areas but hey ho, we're getting there. Maybe January we might be ready to launch.