Didi Mini Transat build pictures

We mark each kit with its series record number, this way a kit or boat can be recognised at a later stage.

This is the forward bulkhead and marked CLK 2106 www.comlumber.com its a kit we shipped to California in the USA some time back.

Note, that web site address has since changed to http://www.ckdboats.com/ as its now the main site address.

Click on the pictures, they should enlarge.

RD was the original buyer of this kit, he had help with the build from his friend Andy who eventually took over the project from RD.

Roy

Wall anchors are not all equal

Some checking around confirmed that some wall anchors are way better than others, its a get what we pay for thing I expect?  I have also noticed that a wall anchor in brickwork is not recomended sized over 12mm in its bolt size, thats  a 18mm masonary drill size, so just as well.

Use a smaller masonary drill start the hole, you will find it more acurate and faster in the long run, I used two sizes before the last masonary drill which was a 16mm size.

Two types you can choose from, the one on the left is an 8mm Sleeve Anchor, this is quite a low cost item and will be suitable for lighter works such as bolting a timber stud to a wall.

Next are heavy duty 10mm anchors, the first after the Sleeve Anchor is a genuine Rawl brand anchor, then a Hub brand and a Eureka packed but not branded anchor, that has a DS logo on it.

As we can see there are many ways of doing a job.

A simple fabricated metal support bracket that will hold a laminated 68mmx 228mm treated pine cross beam, has been firmly bolted to a brick wall. In this case all loads are down, so the four 10mm bolts are in shear.

Note, when it is required to remove one plate so that a cross beam can be inserted, the sockets will remain in the wall, they will be nice and tight after you have taken the slack up in the first fixing. When refitting and by mistake you push the treaded socket off the back of the wall anchor, used a threaded rod the same size at the bolt, feed it in slowly, then when the thread insert is reached, turn the threaded rod untill you can pull the thread insert back into the outer socket. You can then remove the threaded rod and fit the bolt proper.

Some brands in the USA can cause costs and related bothers, there the brand known as Rawl, is an Imperial size and the masonary drill bits are quite low cost but if they use a brand name called Hilti (german?) the drill bits are sized in metric and are really costly to purchase in the USA, so check the numbers out before you buy!


Roy

Teak and Holly interior flooring

This is being made in various flexible sheet types.

Made as a full size sheet sized 2440mm x 1220mm x 0.6mm the sheet is a twin ply and flexible, so can go around corners.

For a flat surface such as a cabin sole on a yacht, you would require a veneer pressing company to bond it to your plywood base.

Various designer specials are being tested. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Real stone as a flexible sheet form is also possible, Imagine a stone floor in a pleasure yacht!

http://www.ckdboats.com/

Roy

Adrians new Argie 15 kit build

This boat was put together by a well known Cape Town sailing personality, he moved his cars from the garage at home and built his boat inside  instead!

Hi Roy

Hope you are well. I finished the Argie 15 ages ago and finally took it for a sail in May. Photo attached.

Cheers

Adrian

A4 files space saver storage racks

This came about to try and make more space in an office, the demo unit was made with odds and bods of scrap material, this second one has now moved to be a trial unit we can offer as a self assemble shelf rack?

The outer case is made from 16mm MDF (supawood) it screws together and has a stop rail at back to stop files moving backwards. This size of rack has eight shelves, they sit on white plastic pegs you fit into pre drilled holes set every 60mm apart from each other.

This is a nice do it yourself assembly project, you could lacquer or paint the MDF but why bother, it looks fine like this. The shelves shown  are 6mm thick, they can also go down to as thin as 4mm if required.

Roy

Dragon boat days

This Dragon class yacht is being serviced in what is our mid winter, the weather is not kind for this task but the guys on the job are making a decent wind and water proof cover to help them continue.

The Hout Bay Yacht Club has a very decent boat park, space can be rented on a limited period basis. Smaller keel boats on trailers may also find the facility of use, with a slip on the other side of the harbour launch and retrieval is possible.

For more information on rates and membership view www.hbyc.co.za

Roy

HBYC club Up Market sign for the market days

This has been running over a year now, its really worked well over the time.

This is not a members only event, you are invited to pay the set up fee and display your wares from your own stall.

Vendors and buyers are made welcome at the club which serves snacks, tea and coffee while the market is open.

Nice.

Roy

Boat fridge compressors

A fridge or freezer on a small boat used to be both a big issue and a big deal, this is less so now they make the dome or motor side of the compressor that much smaller.

This one is made by Waeco and was installed in just a few hours about ten years back. As you can see its fitted in a nice dry place and is also well ventilated. Most of the year it runs 24/7 and powered via the boats batteries which are charged by just one 60 watt solar panel, recomended!

A new oak faced bar counter using Flexiveneer

We rarely get to see shopfittings done with our bending plys and flexible veneers but in the case of a new bar being built in Green Point near Cape Town the shopfitters supplied some really fine pictures.

The twin ply flexible veneer has been applied using contact adhesive made by Genkem, we advised one application as a primer and a second application as the bonding surface.

The corner was laid up first, then the flat sides applied later.

They used our american white oak twin ply flexiveneer, over 8mm Superform bending plywood, we suggested the best way to apply the glues.

Hi Roy


Attached are some pics of the veneer you supplied us.

The application method u suggested worked first time and very well ! We used a roller, used in the printing industry, and rolled it on. We used Genkem glue and made sure we used 1litre tins as we applied each coat so as to keep the glue fresh and easier to apply.

First, of course we applied bend ply to the bar wall – x2 layers of 8mm and then the veneer.

Hope this is of some help to new users.

The counters standard of finish is just tops.

Proof once more that top quality materials and shop fitters are to be found in Cape Town, South Africa.

Hi Roy

We manufactured the entire bar counter , mouldings etc. as well as all the other shop fitting/joinery. You may gladly add our company details – thank you

My company name is Olympia Decorators and we are based in Paarden Eiland

Laki

082 456 3434



CKD Boats cc have stocks in Cape Town right now, the species are as listed.

White Oak, Pink Beech, American Walnut, African Mahogany, Maple, Cherry, etc.

Roy

The Davis mark five plastic sextant

This was one of a few that Craigs Cabin brought in many years back, as with now the alloy yachting sextants were really expensive, Craig sold me this one for around R97 which as a good buy at the time.

On the last trip from Cape Town to Salvador, Bahia, Brasil, we had this one but also a near new alloy yachting type with a wooden handle. We asked Notty to try both out doing his daily sun sights, after a week he decided to use the Davis plastic sextant in preference to the alloy one. The accuracy of both was just as good and the lighter weight of the plastic sextant was more to his liking.

That stop watch is quite special, originally used for timing at a swiming pool, it became a handy time piece on the boat, one minute takes two sweeps of the dial, so its very accurate.

Roy

The hole in the wall anchorage, Thailand

Hout Bay Yacht Club sailing members are there right now, looks nice and safe in a blow.

Shirley and Taffy sent this picture last week, taken I assume from their yacht The Road.

To see more on our cruising members go to www.hbyc.co.za and check out the links list.
Roy

Kenwood TS-450 s, needs receiver parts

The set was checked out by the Kenwood agents in Centurion, South Africa, the report was that the transmit side was fine but the audio side is dead, no parts are available, so we need to find a doner set with a decent audio side, that is fit,well and working ?

Can anyone supply me with a set where the receiver side is working, I can then do a swop over of the working receiver and get this set working again.

Stop Press:

Just spoke with the technical guy who checked out the set. Its not particularly good news. While the xmit is ok, and the audio amp is now fine, the receiver board is damaged – sounds like it ideally needs to be replaced. A capacitor appears to have exploded and damaged the board itself – which can include many small items and maybe some of the circuits. The usual way to tackle this is to replace the whole board – but this would be the bulk of the set, as the receiver is by far the most complex part of it all. It is not working at all well – so besides the audio problem the set is quite “deaf”. A replacement board will not be available, except by cannabilising another set, but to find another set with working receiver would normally suggest making that set the new working set. . .

Does anyone out there have a set we can use the required parts from?

The set is in Cape Town, more on the same set can be seen in the link below.

http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2012/07/kenwood-ts-450-s-for-sale.html


Roy

An Endurance 37 in the garden

Seen here and just a while after we removed the wreck of Gulliver of Knysna off the rocks at Slangkop Lighthouse, is a fine GRP hull and deck unit in for some repair. I relaunched the boat some 51 weeks after we had removed it from the rocks at Slangkop.

The  full story of the wrecking can be read at the link below.

 http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/columns/guest/mcbride2.htm

The Jaguars are of course special, the white one is a 340 quite a rare model and imported, the maroon one is a Jaguar 3.8S type, assembled in SA and in 1966.

Roy