Bryan G Brookes,racing driver

I met Bryan this week in the harbour at Hout Bay,I was parking outside the HBYC.

Bryan was really keen to look at the 1967 Singer Chamois I was parking,then I found out why,he had raced a Hillman Imp while he was living and working in Trinidad,this was mid sixties.

Bryan was working at one of Trinidads oil refineries,they more than doubled production he told me.

How hard can that be,ask Bryan!

R McB

Our missing Henry?

Henry flew off about two months back and we have not seen him since.
He had gone off before,once for three days,on his return he looked worn out that time.
Its been a loss to us and not knowing where he was always comes to mind.

Check his right leg,you can just see the white band on it.

Guess what,it seems our Henry is still alive,Dianne from next door says he has tapped at their window and even found him in their kitchen.Jean asked How do you know its he? Dianne says he has a white band on his leg does he not? This is great news but whay does he not come back here?

Please contact me if you see him.

021 790-3859 Hout Bay


Roy

Amazed!

NSRI Station 9 Jack Riley in full flight

This is a perfect example of what the Capes nasty weather can dish out.

Station 9 is Gordons Bay and on the far side of False Bay and Simonstown.
When we get white water like this its sixty knots (60) and more.

A trully fantastic picture and taken by Alex Weaver dated July 28th 2011.

The boat is the deap sea rescue vessel named the Jack Riley,well done guys!

Nandi on her first sailing day in Hout Bay

Nandie is a Didi 34,we supplied Nick the builder,owner and skipper,all the materials as a kit (not the engineering parts) Nandi was built in a really fast time,just two years.Impressive!

The picture shows ex HBYC Commodore Justin at the helm on her first sail,Gavin Cosgrove from MV Dolphin took the picture.

My thanks to Justin and Gavin for the sailing  picture.

Seen here when she was launched in Hout Bay Harbour.

 Owner builder (customer) Nick stands proudly on Nandi,the boat he built in around two years.The yacht had just been launched.

Picture by R McBride using a Sony Cybershot digital camera.

The Cape Jaguar Club

 This should enlarge if you click on it?

Photo taken at the annual Cars in the Bay Classic Car meet,held each year around October,November but not as I recall in 2011? The place was the Kronendal Primary School and the car is a very early Jaguar.

Taken about five or six years back and possibly by myself (no credit shown) using a Sony Cybershot digital camera. I was a member of the Cape Jaguar Drivers Club for twenty nine (29) years.None members will be welcome but please pre book.

R McB

Landrover suspension spring for sale

This one will not fit my grand childrens Series Two Toylander,so is now for sale.

the centers between the shackle pins is 845mm I have no idea which Landrover it fits,it may not even be off a Landrover?

Its brand new and for sale at R500 ex Hout Bay,Cape Town.

021 790-3859 phone and fax.

Shakes in timber

Not a normal topic but one that is mentioned in some designers timber lists,such as

Clean wood,free of shakes,splits or other faults,Meranti,Mahogany or similar,etc etc.

Clean wood and splits is easy to understand but how do we identify shakes?

The tell tale zig zag line of a shake,this has been re asembled,so in practice the line will be tighter.The wood is Meranti,shakes can not be seen in a clean sawn plank,only when final machine work has taken place can you detect the fault.

Once detected,I placed this 44 x 22mm timber in a vice,gave it a firm but not hard pull and it broke with ease.

Click on the picture for more detail,this shake goes clean through the wood,not always the case but most often.This is not a problem once detected,as the wood can be scarphed and glued back together.A scarph ratio of 1 : 7 is an accepted norm.

Not all timber species suffer from shakes,which is thought to be caused by lightening?
teak,oak,beech and poplar do not normally show such a defect.We moved our timber selection to american poplar (cotton wood) for this reason.

All timber sold by CKD Boats cc is inspected for such defects,we reject those timbers when found.

R McB 

That Mulholland hand plane

It amazes me the pure quality of some old hand tools,made long before we had such things as an electric drill or belt sander.Experts were forging bi metal steel blades,then matching them to castings which defy belief when we look closer.

Made in Belfast by J . Mulholland.

This small plane is the exact tool required to trim down a teak trim off a yachts opening hatch.The plane was made in Belfast,thats Northern Ireland,Great Britain,it will date back over 100 years and probably came to South Africa on a sailing ship with one of those who followed the Voortrekers,I wonder?

This was quite a delicate job,I had a think about what other tools and machines were available to me? Realising that a machine could well wreck the teak combing and its only glued up,I chose to do the job by hand. The required 5mm that needed taking off so the scribed frame will fit the opening took just a half hour.

How hard can this be?

It is stamped Belfast and has many makers marks,the same marks can be found on other parts of the tool,meaning this was a hand made and high quality item.

The number 245 was this planes identity,each part was crafted so that when assembled they would stay together,they were not just a pile of similar parts junked together.
The wedge or push handle is very expensive Lignum Vitae.

I love holding and using this plane,size wise you can use it with one or two hands,it works either way.The ultra low blade angle means it will cut super fine and long and cross grains are not an issue,just what this job required.

Progress,what happened?

Roy

A big red boat arrives

When I say big,I mean BIG!

I have no idea what the boats name is or where she has gone,as its not at anchor here this morning,looks like its set up for use in the ice to me?

Seen here in Hout Bay on a calm evening,with a light North Wester blowing off the beach, it was a good overnight stop choice.

 Picture by R McBride using a Canon G11 on a tele lens setting.

Check the running backstays,its nice to see the use of old style Baggy Wrinkles still being used.

Let me know how to make them,I can post them on the blog if anyone needs to know?

Henry gets ahead again

I hope we all do for 2012,so all the best for the New Year starting today.

Regards

Roy

Henry meets Justin for the first time and decides he is family.