Hout Bay Yacht Club, the friendly one

They are  not my words but those of passing yachtsmen and their crews, ladies included! Why is this I ask myself? Well it may well start as a new boat arrives, we had another just yesteday, a very special one too.

Leonotis, a Lion clas yacht built in 1953 and restored over  a thirteen year period.
Designed by Arthur C Robb in 1950, the Lion design was a top class racer in her day, winning several major races, I read that one yacht twice winning the Sydney to Hobart. Lions were built in many yards.

I was busy doing a small job on the deck of my boat when I saw the new boat arrive, it was clear the skipper was looking for a place to berth, next thing the marina staff were there to assist in tying up on a vacant marina finger.

Harry adjusts his dock line, he has seen it made off by the HBYC staff to the marina spine. I guess the HBYC good reputation starts right here? How many other yacht clubs offer such a sterling service!

Good news is hard to find!

Leonotis was always a FBYC boat, around the time I restored Astra, the 1934 Tumlaren I received a phone call about restoring her. The call came to nothing but I do remember my saying he will need a lot of money. Speaking to Harry he told me what he spent on the boat I was right!

With his boat secure Harry is asking Where do I get a beer?

All pictures by R McBride

Harry says the restoration started in 1999, he has done a super job and can be proud of the quality of the work. If you want to see the boat you had better be quick, he leaves in three days time for the big blue ocean and places far away.

Roy

Christmas Day 2015,

This news has just come in.

Good day Roy

I contacted you 3 years ago when you wrote a blog on Leonotis.
I'm not sure if you have heard but Harald sadly passed away in September in Curacao.

Kind regards
Lynne 

Sailing on a sailing boat

This one is a new one to me, Athol is rigging his new found dinghy to try some saling while his engine is being installed.

There he was luffing a bit to see how the peak of the sail works.

Athol has been short of sailing practice while his William Garden designed yacht was going through a major refit, seems hes ready to go now.

 

Captain Athol in comand.

We can offer the Dixi Dinghy and Argie 10 for home construction, you can make your own mast and sails from the plans we supply.

How good is that!

Roy

The Ford Fiesta brake disc to Hillman Imp job

The after market Ford Fiesta/Escort front discs were sourced at a Midas outlet, they got them in for me as a special order and at a cost of about R278 for two, that low price is a good reason for buying Ford?

The carton they are packed in says they are the best quality, so why buy other, I can agree with that!

The Imps front wheel hub is not new, its a spare, bead blasted and around 48 years old? Rootes Scotland really did produce quality in their cars.

Note, when installed the hub fits from the other side.

The Ford type disc is metric while the Imps wheel hub is Imperial and with stud holes at 4" PCD, we have to have the disc machined with new stud holes and also to clear the center of the hub.

Ford Fiesta brake caliper and 239mm diameter solid front brake disc set, they are an easy fit when machined.

Soon to be a matched set, the reguired 6mm thick special link plate will come from the UK, next week I hope.

The Imp front wheel hub and special mount plate I fitted on another car earlier this year.
The longer wheel studs (escort) were to fit on Supalite alloy rims.

This is what it will look like when assembled.
The spare holes in the disc are the original Ford Fiesta stud holes.

Its a half hour job to fit each side once your set up, stripping and bleeding will turn it into a half day job?

Working on the car when its inverted is recomended!

To be continued........................

The discs and center front wheel hub sample are now with my engineer, he will machine those next week and
I can then look to a dry fit assembly with some spare wheel uprights I have.

Roy

More from Miles and Hurricane Sandy

Miles sent me the message below.

A bit of leather and electrical tape that prevented this line from chafing through. I am now a believer in the wonders of electrical tape.  I was taking waves over the stern as I wrapped the tape around a spare piece of leather.  Unprotected for just a few minutes and the line was chafing badly. The tape and leather stopped the chafe and held up well during the worst 4 hours  of the storm, which was gusting over 80 mph even in the protected cove. Shot the morning after.

 

 

This is a lesson to us all, if you have a boat carry some decent chafe protection leather and binding tape.

 

 Miles had Brio on a very nice looking twin line but stern mooring, I expect he could not pick up on his own from the bow?

 

 

 Drama in the boat yard that Miles uses, all pictures supplied by Miles.

 

Roy

An Erickson 35 Mk2 rides Hurricane Sandy

Miles is in the USA, he recently placed an order with us and paid via Pay Pal for a new hard dodger for his sail boat, we are busy processing his order right now.

This mail came in from Miles last night!

Roy,

I was worried that I wouldn't have a boat to put the hard dodger on. I spent the last 48 hours on Brio.  For four hours, yesterday and last night, I  had to battle to save the boat. My hurricane strategy was disrupted when a railroad bridge refused to open so I grabbed a mooring and rode it out  stern to the mooring in a small cove. My depth finder showed 13 ft but the storm surge brought it to 20. I was taking waves over the stern and had a hell of a time getting the mooring lines off my stern cleats and extending them with my dock lines. 

This morning I motored a mile and a half up to my own mooring.  A large sailboat had been tossed onto the shore but  nearby on its mooring a beautiful Hinckley B-40 was unscathed.  The dock at my friend's marina was ripped apart. A large trimaran that had been hauled before the storm went airborn and was holed.  A 30 ft Catalina on stands moved a foot inland from wind alone leaving its waterside poppets behind. Luckily, my friend saw that the boat was unsupported on its waterside and readjusted the leeward stands.

Like an eartquake, the damage from this hurricane was  random.

Home now, a huge tree has fallen in my yard. The tree was sick and I had planned on felling it, so no loss.

All is fine but I sure am tired.

Miles

Sent from my iPad

Sister ship, this is not Miles boat but one of the same design class.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-live-updates-2/

British Seagull forty Plus

This came in today for an inspection and quote to see whats wrong with it?

The main parts are mostly there but the fuel lines and carburator needs parts.

This is around a 2.5hp model and dated 1974 but age is of little concern when a Seagull motor is concerned. The compression is fine and there is a nice blue spark on the NGK spark plug, so a good motor.

In this case I think the motor will be taken in as stock, serviced then part restored and waiting for a new owner.

Looking rather tatty right now but with a decent clean up, bead blasting session and some new paints, this nice motor will look rather nice.

 Our courier service can deliver to most places!

Now in stock and will be for sale soon.

Good news hey!

The Seagull motor is now in parts, bead blasted clean and ready to reassemble, the solid brass tank is clean of all its old paint and will be repainted with spray coats of gloss black Hammerite metal paint. A new British Seagull transfer is is stock, so thats an option too. Gold Hammerite hammer finish paint will be applied to the flywheel for good measure.

Roy

Hillman Imp front discs, the process begins

After some weeks looking for Ford Fiesta front brake calipers I found some  in Durban and a 1000 miles away. The issue was always what were they like? what would they be like in the flesh was my concern?

Note, we can buy new discs off the shelf easy enough and at about R175 each are quite cheap, its the actual caliper that can be hard to find. In the case of the Imp, Ford Fiesta or KA are the ones to find.

This is a picture of the caliper I was sent on my request.

Buying from a reply to an advert placed on Gumtree can have its problems, as in what would I receive?

I need not have worried, in fact the company had supplied the parts had degreased and washed them clean, they were still wet with clean water! Plus wrapped in a cling film to keep them together.

There were two makes of brake pads, so off two cars? these pads are part number

ATE AG745, they could serve as spares?

Taken apart to inspect the parts.

My next task was to clean them more and then bead blast them clean in the blasting cabinet.

Here they have been acid etched and spray painted with a special twin pack metal paint we use.

This etch primer really is  special, its also  good for work on epoxy glass work on rudders and foils.

With a special slow drying black top coat spray finish, we will be ready for the servicing of the piston and its seals in a day or so.

The brake pads from the Ford Fiesta front brake calipers.

To be continued as progress continues.

Assembly is really a nice job when the parts are looking like new.

New brake pads by Ferodo were off the shelf at a Midas store.

The new pads cost more than the new discs!

 

Roy

K9 gets a clean up

Its been some years in coming but at last the dirt and grime is being bead blasted off the Killeen 9 race car.

Check here for more info on the process.  http://tardis.dl.ac.uk/Mercia/K9/blasting.html

I have seen this car and with all its panels on, Imp engined originally and made for the Le Mans race.

 http://ckdboats.blogspot.com/2011/01/ultimate-hillman-imp.html

Check my previous blog on the car with the story as and why it used to be.

As seen in Bob Allans garage about ten years back.

Janet and Bob with K9

The last two pictures are by R McBride

Roy

Building Freds Cape Henry 21 kit

This does make sense when we are about to build a full size boat, while your waiting for the actual kit to arrive, you build yourself a smaller version!

Fred says thats a rock set up in the center,its holding the drop keel box side panels in place.

This sure looks like the real thing!

Roy

Fred makes a model of his Cape Henry 21

Fred looks like he has been busy, check all the stations and bulkhead shapes have been cut from what looks like balsa wood? ( fred tells me its thin birch ply)

Is there any interest for the 1/8 scale kit? We can cut it using our Superform 3mm plywood, thats frames, hull & deck skins,coachroof, plus the cockpit, you can then fit your own radio control unit.

I can see that the building stocks have also been set up, we should see the stations mounted soon.

Back to the real kit!

In Freds case we were able to source some French marine plywood, thats 36 sheets per kit. Not all are CNC cut, around four are left uncut so that the interior can be fitted out.

Check the lable on the lower right hand corner.

Part of the 36 sheets of 9mm marine plys in this kit.

The crate was purpose made for this order.

This kit was sent by sea to the customer and is now in Seattle, USA.

Roy