Solo Ventures

  As if bluewater sailors don't have enough navigational hazards to avoid. Now they have unidentified drones, on or under the water! Apparently the military have been using them for surveillance, pirates load them with explosives to attack ships and criminals load them with drugs (and probably arms), for export. You would have to ask where these pirates and traffickers get their funds.  To have engineers design and construct such a craft in secret,  would cost a lot.   At a time when left-leaning economists is reporting a 50 year old chasm between wages and corporate profits, it's obvious that crime will at least pay. It's working for politicians and the corporate types. Apology: Nothing in this post is aimed at feeding any myth that life at sea is dangerous.    -   +   ×   ÷   =   /   _   €   £   ¥ Type one word and let Auto Correct complete the sentence: "Flower...

 Oh it's a foggy morning just now.  I've bought some lengths of doweling to plus old screw holes,  but with such damp air drilling and glueing quality will be compromised.  The wood will tear and the epoxy may go milky. Hope it fines up.   I could bring the mast to the house and replace all the rivets.    By Winslow Homer,  of human resilience.  Shamed by whinging about a bit of fog,  while studying the painting above,  I got to work.   Mast: drilled out rivets and refitted stainless steel rivets. Hull: drilled out old headsail track screw holes to accept 5mm dowel and epoxy glued this in.  Same procedure followed fort various old holes in the transom as well as two sets of pintles that I removed.  Once the epoxy is dry,  the dowels wil be cut down and sanded flush,  then oiled and varnished.  A good day. 

 When first I laid eyes on the Jacaranda her boxy cùddy cabin made me wince. That amount of we windage would surely not be tolerated? But, then I thought of the benefits of having a space of relative comfort in a blow.  Somewhere to go,  somewhere to store.  Very practical in a double-decker way. Perhaps it may stay?

 As a mostly fiberglass boats sailor, buying a serious timber boat called for some re-education. I've been studying this book:  It is mostly Scandi', written in 2011 and based on traditional timber boat building methods.   The author makes it very clear,  that sealing wood to prevent freshwater ingress and careful air circulation,, are paramount.  After constructing a soft shelter, I checked for any problem areas. I didn't have to look far,  a headsail fairlead track with no less that eight screws ie: holes, per side.  These were removed and linseed oil dribbled into the cavities.  Later,  these will be drilled and plugged.  Several bollards were a bit thin on varnish and their fixing bolts looked like they had cracked through normal expansion and contraction.  These were dowsed in linseed oil.  They will be wiped dry,  lightly sanded and given several coats of thinned varnish.   The little bowsprit showed s...

 Jacaranda's wooden build is emerging as something of significance greater than I had considered.   During my first quiet familiarization session I worried over the cùddy cabin.  So many joins,  shady corners and areas of the hull interior that were inaccessible.  While I would enjoy having somewhere dry to store gear, the hidden corners seemed to haunt me.     I was already considering removing the cuddy cabin because it looks a bit ugly.  So last night I e-mailed they local chapter of the Wooden Boat Association to ask if they could offer guidance on how I might get this job done. Obviously attacking the structure with a saw would be simple,  my concerns relate to the need to reinforce the remaining hull,  especially the mast base which would then be hull mounted   I was delighted to get a response from the secretary within 48 hours offering assistance.  

 "The Big Book of Wooden Boat Restoration " by Thomas Larrs:- Fresh water,  or water from above is the greatest enemy of wooden boats. Water may be prevented from building up or drained via a plug in the bilge.  Efforts must be made to stop fresh water entering by separate canopy,  deck cover allowing air circulation etc.  Water can enter the structure close by joints and fittings; these should be adequately sealed. The bilge must be keep clean and ventilated to prevent growth of mold or fungi.  The bilge must be kept varnished or painted.    Varnish ages and cracks and must be replied annually.  Sunlight can split varnish,  allowing moisture which can heat causing steam which further cracks or splits varnish and timber.   Keep varnish from direct sunlight as possible to limit aging the varnish, and then  expansion and contraction which compromises the seal.  

 A vast expanse of saline and brackish waters  a veritable inland sea, complete with two separate river systems,  and vast shallow lake,  surrounded by national park-lands, more than a day's sail north. Ancient waters geologically and socially,  where native inhabitants of various nations met to feast and conduct rituals in the shadows of volcanic sentinels.  Fortunately free of the black rape which plagues the areas to the south amd west.  Where tracts of earth are disgourged into ocean going leviathons to benefit the dense population centres of the sub- continent ... and a handful of local barons.  However , their reach is broad and meteorological changes bought on by the burning of their "black gold" are wreaking havoc, eroding shorelines, ignoring forests and confusing traditional cycles in nature.  Yet,  we, the adventurous must continue to go forth. In tiny timber boats,  we meander the edges, sip tea and inwardly weep tears o...