Solo Ventures

A lot of boat work in the week leading up; the boat is secure on its trailer,  the trailer lights are working & the light bar quick to remove,  the furler is improved & finally the rowing blocks & cleats are secure & sealed.  S c ome the weekend we are really keen to get wet.   As usual,  the decision of where to sail was made on the hop, & with the heart. I have been very keen to ensure that once the Lurgurina is up to scratch,  & we trust one another,  that we would return to Moon Lakes.  Her builder George who died in 2019 aged 97, had lived right by the river at Tea Growers & had been an active member, indeed office bearer,  of the Moon Boat Club. I wanted to honor him & his lifestyle buy returning Lurgy here under sail .   The boating facilities at Kooks Larding had changed since I was here last. Free range access to the shore had been corralled into one ramp.  It's natural I suppose to...

 The Distance Walking podcast provided,  Chris Howard onspontaneous goal setting & setting off,  in order to build confidence eg 3 weeks from conception to setting off for an 11 000 mile round Britain coastal walk.  Here's his list of smaller projects:- Then "Chase Mountain" mentioned Piriformis causing sciatica.  Did some Googling & found some remedies.  What damage can gentle repetitive stretching do? List includes; neck rolls, hammy stretching ( on my back legs pulled up, standing leg on chair & crouching,  hip twists while on back,  back extensions from tummy position.    

  Hardtack is survival food & may be kept aboard for years.  The fixings for Hardtack are; 2 cups Flour 3/4 cup Water 1 1/2 tsp Salt. Mix & knead with a rolling pin.  Form 3" squares, perforate & bake for a half-hour each side.  When cool,  store airtight. Soak to soften, in stew, soup or similar, for 5 to 10 minutes before eating or you'll become a gummy old pirate.  

  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...