A QSL card from A Silent Key,PY1ZAK

Peters Ham Radio Net was on this frequency and times:
1130 21.325 South Atlantic Roundtable D
SATL tfc, also 2330Z PY1ZAK


I have only seen this picture once before today (22/01/2009) and that was in Peters own cottage on Ilha Grande.

Ocean Planet,an Endurance 37,a design by Peter Ibold,with the island of Ilha Grande in the background.

The Peter Ibold designed,Endurance 37,Ocean Planet (tal gal) at anchor at Peters place,Ilha Grande,Brasil.


A tranquil anchorage.


Alan Butler,Peter Thurridl,Roy McBride,probably a rare picture of PY1ZAK Peter?
Left click on the picture to view full size.



A message card from Peter,it is not dated but was back in 1978?,so thirty years past.

I am assuming that Peter is no longer with us,if he is he will be getting on a bit now,I have searched for him on the internet and found nothing this far.This blog may put that part right,I had the pleasure to meet Peter on a number of occasions,the first time was when my good friend Alan Butler joined me on a voyage from Rio's Marina Gloria on a sail down south to Isla Grand,a distance of around 60 sea miles,which is ok in one trip,very little breeze exists on that stretch of the Brasilian coast line,so good use of the BMW/Hatz D35 diesel engine took place,as you enter the sheltered waters of Ilha Grand,Peters place is (was) second beach on the left hand side.

Peter actually owned the parcel of land in the picture,his home was the cottage at the right rear of the plot,you can just view it if you look closely,the land stretched all the way across that nek of the island of Ilha Grande and right across the the long beach on the South Atlantic side.Peter ran his ham radio twice a day,due to the nature and position of his cottage,it was very low down and in a hollow,he had his Ham Shack high up on an open hill to the right of the picture,he would drive up in his VW Beetle Jeep,plug in to a small bank of 12 volts batteries,switch on and broadcast world wide,we were fortunate to accompany him once or twice.The QSL card he gave me is now a collectors item,I am told I need to frame it,so its time to make a frame in and display it in Peters memory.

This was sent to me as a link from Mark of the OCC,I have in turn sent the link
to PY1ZAK to VU2ZAP


Sez ZD7CW Julian of Peter

I was sorry to hear about Peter. It appears that he was quite a fellow in more ways than one. I was told he had a pet Monkey and lived on a Prison Island. The story I was told by some yachties went on that he was a fearsome six foot eight tall and if you arrived uninvited he was likely to greet you on the beach in shorts and waving a Luger absently in your general direction, would ask who you were, where from and offering to put an end to all your worries unless you returned thence 'expiditio'. He had at last succumbed to the womanly wiles, all the ladies said he was a handsome devil. I heard a lot of this when I was helping with the Durban Maritime Mobile Net and evidently if you were a radio ham and called at his island he was a really gracious and intelligent host. The gun was put away and mucho drinko flowed down ones gullet and tall stories were exchanged with much laughter well into the night.

May folks like us remember him fondly and that with our thoughts and wishes he goes to his rest in peace!

If you have a photo of Peter please email it to me. If you would like to add to this please email mailto:ggrk@vsnl.com Raj VU2ZAP

Link to Bowdidge Marine Design

The Sportz 16,our first kit boat in strip plank/epoxy construction.

The link will be placed on our main web site pages in the coming weeks,we will do a major change on how the pages look,updates etc and show moving panel construction taken from Mark Bowdidge Marine site,here is some up to date news from Mark.

With the first 4 small boats designs now out there, overall it was a great response. We had a lot of calls and emails regarding the Bosun's mate 23 with a number of plans already sold and are now under construction. The Mushulu 14 is now being built in both South Australia and New Zealand. Enquires regarding the Sportz 16 came from Darwin to Melbourne and even overseas in England and the USA with 2 under construction in NSW and Canada. And on top of this, we've had phone calls and emails asking "When will the SportzMaster 19 centre console and the Breezin' 22 trailer sailor plans be finished".
Of the many enquires, many asked "Are the designs available in kit form?" Realizing that many people may not have the time or the desire to build from scratch, we began phoning around the world looking for the right people to produce our boat kits.

With this now organized, it was time to get the designs ready for CNC cutting. This naturally takes time, but in the end for the client, it's worth it. In kit form, the designs will be much quicker and easier for them to build.
Already in its first few days, CKD boats have had an enquiry, regarding the Sportz 16, as a kit and also as a professional build!

You have a good one
Regards
Mark Bowdidge (ARINA)
BOWDIDGE MARINE DESIGNS

Posted by Mark Bowdidge at 1:46 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, December 5, 2008
CapeBoatworks are now offering the Mushulu 14 by Bowdidge Marine Designs as a kit

With the CNC files complete for the Mushulu 14, CKD Boats are now able to offer the Mushulu 14 as a boat kit. The Mushulu 12 will soon be available.

If you want any further infoamtion regarding the kit,please contact,Roy at CDK Boats.
Talking with Roy Mcbride of CDK boats-South Africa, Kits for the Mushulu 14 and Sportz 16 are now available.

LATEST NEWS
At present, we have a company who are looking at the Sportz 16 to build. The kits will be CNC cut by CDK boats, then the company ( still in consultation) will then build and complete the boats, offering them for sale.
http://www.ckdboats.com/

We will be supplying Paulownia strip plank timbers for both power and sail craft by Bowdidge Marine Designs. we can supply all your strip plank needs for either Kit boats or boats built solely from plans. They can supply strip plank timber for designs as small as a Dinghy, to as big as a 18m monohulls/multihulls.
What's even better, we can also ship worldwide.

As far as the material properties is concerned, ask for the specifications sheet in this regard.
The timber, at the request by Bowdidge Marine Designs, was recently tested by the the Structural Testing Services- QLD, for use in the marine field and for its's application to Society Classification rules such as ABS, Lloyds.

CKD boats in South Africa, will soon be supplying kits in both power and sail craft by Bowdidge Marine Designs.
CKD Boats specialise in developing Kit boats and supply CNC cut designs from as small as a Dinghy to as big as a 43ft yacht and larger to 18 countries around the world. The kits consist of either the basic materials to assemble just the hull and deck or a full package from the building materials right through to the mast, rigging and sails etc.

For more information contact Roy Mc Bride at : http://www.ckdboats.com/
Posted by Mark Bowdidge at 5:51 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: CDKboats will soon be offering boat kits for Bowdidge Marine Designs
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Bowdidge Marine Designs new SportzMaster 19 Centre Console coming soon

The plans for the SportzMaster 19 are still under construction. The power boat is designed for serious offshore fishing, with most of the layout based on game fishing boat requirements. Her construction will be strip plank composite with plywood bulkheads/floors.
Click image for a larger view.
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For more information regarding this design, please visit our website
http://www.bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/

Posted by Mark Bowdidge at 7:49 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Bowdidge Marine Designs: The Mushulu 14 plywood power boat design

With the overall success and, amount of enquirys regarding the Mushulu 12, the most common question asked was, could the design be made larger to create a larger sister to around 14ft or 4.26m length overall. So after careful re-designing taking into consideration for simplicity in construction, stability and more importantly- seaworthiness, Welcome to the Mushulu 14.
Design Brief:
The brief for the Mushulu 14, (a composite/ plywood design) was it had to be based on the Mushulu 12, only larger. It had to be lightweight for its size, easily handled by 2 people and quick and simple in it's construction. It was decided to increase the length overall to 14 ft or 4.26m, as this would keep the overall design simple.
With this in mind, the overall beam was increased to 6 ft (1.82m) and the freeboard raised to 1ft-8in (508mm). Overall, the Mushulu 14 had to be tough and rugged, yet simple in it's design and construction without the added "toys" to complicate the design.
Most importantly, you had to feel secure when out and about, whether it be fishing or just plain exploring. But overall, it had to be simple.
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For more information regarding this design, please contact
http://www.bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/


Posted by Mark Bowdidge at 7:42 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Bowdidge Marine Designs: Mushulu 12 power boat dinghy Design by Mark Bowdidge



A few years back, whilst still living aboard our 42 ft catamaran, we were approached by a couple asking could we design and build a new plywood composite tender/ fishing boat for their yacht. With their inflatable tender seemingly always in a state of repair, could the design be similar to the one we designed and built for ourselves. After much discussion and taking note of their requirements and wants, the Mushulu 12 (named after their trimaran) was designed and built. Year's later and after moving back on shore, we decided to build the Mushulu design again. Launching her at the local boat ramp, the Mushulu 12 design received a lot of compliments and interest, which in the end, resulted in many orders for the design. Overall, this design proved to be a very popular. So, with this in mind, we have decided to bring out the design again. Welcome to the MUSHULU 12
Design Brief:
The brief for the Mushulu 12, (a composite/ plywood design) had to be lightweight, easily carried or handled by 1 to 2 people, quick and simple in it's construction and without costing an arm and a leg to build.
Initially designed as a Yacht tender, this also meant it had to be a performer. Not only in recreational use, whether it be fishing or just plain exploring, but also as a tough and rugged yacht tender. With higher than normal topsides of 457mm (18") instead of the typical 300mm (12"), it had to be designed to be used as a carrier of people and stores, water and fuel runs, or just plain recreational fishing.
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For more information regarding this design, please visit our website at
http://www.bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/
Posted by Mark Bowdidge at 7:35 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Bowdidge Marine Designs: Sportz 16 sailing boat by Mark Bowdidge

WHY is it when we spot another yacht or boat on the water, it always turns's into a race? Primal instinct, that's why, and it's within us all. We have to win, or to be first. Whether we race our car to work, play football or just out climbing cliffs. It's the thrill, or driving passion within us all - to win. To be first! To test our skills against nature or, even against ourselves. And yes, we're all guilty of it. Nowadays however, an outlet we have to satisfy our Primal Instinct, we call SPORTS.
Welcome to the SPORTZ 16.

Design brief:
The Sportz 16 brief was for a fast and thrilling racing yacht with excellent performance high on the priority list, but yet at the same time it had to be easy to sail, with a comfortable cockpit for weekend day sailing for the family and a competitive racer without breaking the budget. The cockpit size and deck layout had to be carefully balanced to achieve this three fold role. The result is an attractive, easily to handle, ‘club racer’ orweekend day sailor.
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For further information regarding this design, please contact us at
http://www.bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/

HMS Endurance

HMS Endurance in the Antartic

Left click on the picture for a super full size view.

Can you imagine why my contact with this survey ship would be a Hillman Imp? I will get around to telling you later,watch this space!

Optimists built in Knysna by the KYC

The heart of our Optimist kit,CNC cut ply panels


Right click the picture to view full size!

They built five and took them to the nationals,in the novice class they came in with four boats in the first five places.

Harken Optimist racing blocks in stock now

This Optimist dinghy was built from one of our kits.


Optimist dinghy sail plan by Harken


Optimist dinghy deck fittings and block plan by Harken

Try us for the special Harken racing deck package for the Optimist,including the special part number 387,you will find it on the sail plan,we can also do North Sails,floats,mast deck ring,bailers and other Optimist parts,

Flying Cloud,a Dix 43 in Wood/Epoxy

Flying Cloud,in Chapmans Bay heading home to Hout Bay and the HBYC marina.
Left click on any of these pictures to view them full size.


Flying Cloud in Chapmans Bay,Cape Town,Heritage Day,September 2003



Launch day,17th January 2000,I need to thank all my helpers,my dad Robert H McBride took the photos.


Up and away,the day after we fitted the keel,epoxied and bonded and bolted tight,so it will never leak,nine years on,its still leak proof. I must say thanks to my good friend John Holmes,thats him standing high up on the back of the boat,thanks John for the assitance you gave me over the two days we took to fit the keel and launch the boat.

This boat was different,it was the first Dix 43 built in wood/epoxy,all others having been steel,there may have been alloy ones built too? From my side I knew that building with an unfriendly material such as metal was never going to suit what I wanted to do,so after dicussion with the designer,Dudley Dix,I took over a set of steel boat plans but lofted a wood/epoxy hull instead,Dudley later re designed the keel and rudder to suit the new material.The build went well,it required extra pairs of hands to handle and raise the plywood bulkheads but once past that I built alone,its faster in some ways,you do not have to discuss what you want with a third party!The hull took me just six weeks building time,thats an eight hour day and a six day week,so 288 hours total only,I did have extra hands doing sanding and cleaning up work but never on a regular basis,just casual workers.Cost wise you can not build a boat like this in metal as low priced as managed in wood/epoxy,I followed Dudleys lead when he built his Black Cat,a Didi 38,it came in on budget,on time and did two Cape to Rio races after that.

Reaching For Kids

Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies,or BCMS for short


Left click on the pictures for full screen and better detail



This was a Dudley Dix designed Didi Mini Transat Mk1 kit that went to BCMS in the USA,they supervised our kit being constructed by a group of students from various walks of life,it looks like they made a good job of it too.

Dinghy Rowing Oars,kit sets

Our inspiration,the old style shape is good



We have just supplied an Argie 10 kit to a customer who will build it as a project with his son over the holidays,he took the sail and wants oars too,we have not made them as a kit yet but I have just made the four blanks up that we will use,the choice of wood is American Poplar,or Cotton Wood as its also named.Poplar is quite light but strong,it will be up the job just fine,we will supply the oars as four CNC shaped blanks,they will then need laminating as pairs,we will supply the wood,epoxy and glass tapes to protect the edges of the blades.The pictures show the basic design shape I have used.

Please note credits to those who took the pictures.

Roy

Main Street,Jamestown,St Helena Island

We will have quite a few yachts men and women stopping over in Jamestown this year,its a 72 hr stop for those doing the Cape Town to Salvador race in the Cruising Section this year,the race fleet just blast past,thats their loss,I have sailed to St Helena Island twice now,its a gem of an island with very friendly folk who live there.

OCC Christmas card with a difference

The Ocean Cruising Clubs Commodore,Martin Thomas, kindly sent me a christmas card,this is because I represent the OCC and its members as what they call Port Officer for Hout Bay and Cape Town,sounds quite grand but in real terms I am in place to assist OCC members passing by our shores.The card is unusual in that the boat in the picture is the Commodores own boat,he was sailing in a regatta in Antigua,West Indies,he certainally was sailing with a bone in his teeth!

Fluid Film,data sheets

Tina Turner got it right singing Simply The Best,thats the only way to describe the performance of Fluid Film and the way it works,check out the data sheets,please read the info and see just how high it scores points over all other types tested.

Please left click on each page shown to read in a perfect full size mode.

Commercial Lumber became CKD Boats

As with many companies,a change in markets causes a change in direction,so it was for Commercial Lumber,which itself was an offspring from Commercial Contracts,which I started in 1974.The building in the picture is 34 Glynn Street,which is at the back of what was the Roeland Street Jail,its a short walk to Parliment and the City Courts,the jail is now The State Archives building.We were told it was probable that our building was used as a stables for the Cape Town Castle,which is not so far away either.

Note the tree and its message 'We sell Wood' its amazing how often a visitor would walk through our doors and say 'Do you sell wood?' (we still do) at last check we had stocks of american white ash,beech,oak and poplar,clear oregon,teak,meranti,pine,iroko,plus all our plys such as WBP,marine grade to BS1088 Ockume,Ssuperform bending,and Deluxe light plys also.

Cape Cutter 19,Ian and friends turn his kit build over

In case you missed an earlier blog,these pictures are of the same boat when Ian and his friends turned his Cape Cutter 19 kit build over.We can now offer the 10% larger boat,thats some 30% extra volume on the Cape Cutter 19,the new boat is named the Cape Henry 21.There will soon be a much larger 32ft version with full standing head room and off shore abilities.

Cape Cutter 19 progress

The kit we sent to Ian in Picton,South Island,New Zealand,has progressed to Ian fitting out the interior,this is wisely done prior to laying the decks,it gives you a lot more space and allows you to look down into the boat tocheck what things look like,here are two construction pictures Ian kindly supplied,the others are from the web.

Talasin,Lyn and Larry Pardy join in a Traditional Boat Asscociation regatta

Lyn and Larry Pardys Talasin in a very windless Table Bay,Cape Town


The was no wind and Talasin has no engine,so Larry had touse his sweep oar.


Logo of the TBA,Cape Town

Talasin is center to the picture she has the green flash on her sail,the thirty square,Sonnet is to the right of the picture,Moonchild to the left,with She,center.

That's Larry,center left, joining in at the pyrotechnics display that General Botha put on for the TBA.
We had the pleasue of Lyn and Larry Pardy stop in Cape Town a few years back,the easter regatta was on and they joined in the fun,we used Grainger Bay as an over night stop,these pictures were just two I took on the weekend.

Roy

Bacardi Rum,Brasil,Puerto Rico,Mauritius

How it all started,with a fight?



Barcardi white,with five year old in the center,the left white is made in Purto Rico but bottled in Germany,the five year old in the center is from Cuba,while the bottle on the right is made in Purto Rico but bottled in the Bahamas!


Bacardi Purto Rico

My first offshore trip was to Salvador,Bahia,Brasil,on Brer Terrapin,an Ingrid 38 designed by William Atkin,this was a trade wind trip which saw us visit St Helena and Ascension isles along the way,some thirty one (31)Blue Water sailing days and with only a few days of hard weather,it was a trip to set me up for the rest of my life as a dedicated yachtsman.We soon got to know Salvador very well,this is not possible now due to safety issues but back then we could walk the city streets at night,stopping in at local bars and having a drink,before trying the next bar,it was one of these bars I got to know of Bacardi Gold,which is the correct blend to mix with soft drinks such as Coca Cola,not the white blend,their flavours being quite different,try it and see.South Africa only retails the more normal Bacardi White,dont ask me why,there is no reason I can think of to not sell other types,even to the point that when my daughter Janet did a weeks long Bar Keepers course at Grainger Bays,General Botha training facility,she argued with the lecturer that more than one type of Bacardi existed,he just would not believe her,in the end,she took in an empty bottle I had kept,she passed her course top of the class by the way.

When I later left Salvador I eventually arrived in the american island of Puerto Rico,it was there I learnt that they have a Bacardi distillery,which was open to tourists and they even allowed to to sample the goods after the tour,a bargain,or what!I can tell you I was super impressed,the facility was spotless,more like a hospital as far as I was concerned,it was after the tour we were intoduced to other types of Barcardi,white,gold,five year superior,they even have a fifteen year old blend I seem to remember.