South African Sailing C.O.F safety check

The annual S.A.S check was done yesterday, to save the survey guy time all safety gear was hauled out and placed on display, just look at all the gear we have to have.

Keith the surveyor asked the questions.

I was informed that class C which covers a vessel to fifteen miles offshore now needs a life raft for sailing at night! Seems we pay but get more restrictions than we ever had before?

Roy

Taylors 30 stove top and brass fiddle for sale

January 30th, 2015, its now sold and has been boxed and will ship by courier soon.

We have one here, plus the  rest of the stove which includes the double glazed oven door.

R3000 for it as it is, the stove was cut down some to make it smaller but the parts are still with the stove.

There are no burners or pipes but I have a pair of new burners at R1400 each, plus restored ones at R800 each, so you can make a plan? You will need to supply your own pressure pump and paraffin supply line.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We have sent a Taylors 30L to Australia and in two cartons due to the weight, this one is smaller and lighter so can go as one carton.

Roy

Happy Christmas

Where ever you are, have a great festive season!

Yanmar 1 GM10 servicing

I am not going to tell you how to change the oil and filter, just highlight what other items you need to check.

Compliments of the season!

I serviced my Yanmar yesterday and found the normal house of horrors in the raw water cooling system, so if yours is raw water have a look at my blog in a day or so?

I took this picture to show me at what sector the drive peg was at so that refitting will be easier.

It is far simpler to remove the entire pump rather than just the impellor.

The impellor area had become salt bound, it was still turning but the in and out pipes in the pump were near blocked.

The anode had gone, changed a year back I need to check my log bookon the date?

The thermostadt was also blocked with crap from the salt build up and while it works it does not quite close and I need a new one.

Running the engine after salt water with a three way valve and bringing in freash water will solve all of this.

A friend asked about a rev counter, I asked Jamie at IMS about how they worked?

There are two pick up types, one is from a mark on the flywheel, the other is a sender unit that fits in the block someplace I think ?

So you may need to check which rev counter you find uses which pick up and what is on your motor now?

Roy

A none slip paint finish that works

This was dreamed up by me around sixteen years or so back, given the test of time I can advise the system works and probably better than any other I have seen?

Click on the images to view them full size.

The main part of the system is selected and graded teak saw dust, the other is International Paints 990 Interthane top coats.

I did this cockpit in about four hours and working on a surface already prepared with three coats of Intergard epoxy primer, then two coats of Interthane 990 top coat polyurethane top coat paints.

With this process we start with the correct sanding of the base that will be painted, 816 epoxy  as a minimum coating, two coats, then three coats of Intergard etch primer, yes thats two days gone already.

The Intergard primer then received two coats of Interthane 990 PU top coats, only then were we able to mask out and apply the none slip effect.

Once masked, another coating of Intergard 990 top coat is applied,then while still wet the teak sawdust is applied and as full coat,  when the paint is dry the excess is brushed off and two more coats of Interthane top coats are applied,in this case we used white 990 and a dash of black to give the pale grey shade.

As you can see this is no quick fix, it needs care and the time to do the work , which will be better done out of  direct sunlight as the paints will dry faster then required then, the eight coats give a very tough and long lasting surface.

The metal mesh sieve is important, the plastic ones seem to all have a mesh thats too large to apply in the correct ratio.

Only the graded teak dust will work, we stock that and can sell you it in 500 grams packs, postage to most places will be possible.

Roy

Father Christmas is in Hout Bay, South Africa.

Father Christmas is in Hout Bay.

Yes I saw and spoke to him this morning, I also gave him a small donation and wished him well on his trip around the world delivering his toys starting tomorrow night 

What a happy and jolly man, the entrance ticket vendor to the harbour joined in the picture.

Have a Happy Christmas folks!

Roy

Cape Henry 21 kit build in Seattle

This was made from a kit we exported to Fred in Seattle, nice progress and a nice work space I see.

We packed the CNC cut kit in a steel strapped wooden crate made from 16mm chipboard and also loaded the boats steel drop keel on top of the ply's before closing off the order.

Shipping was very cost effective!

Roy

Bombaloza scull progress by Myles

A week back these boat parts were just laid out, now we see a boat!

Hi Roy,

I'm working in a very narrow restricted space so can't get many good pics.

Cheers Myles

As we are now closed for the 2014 year if you want to order one of these sculls, it would be supplied from January 12th 2015 and on through next year.

Roy

Seasons Greetings!

Yes, folks and where ever you may be all the best from us here at www.ckdboats.com which is sunny Hout Bay in South Africa.

Hout Bay beach!

Our 1967 Hillman Californian Imp, out on its first drive since I bought it back mid July this year.
The car is special in that it came off the Rootes Car Co production line on February 3rd 1967.
The new production line was in Linwood, Scotland, UK.

The Vin plate and matching engine number show the letters RCO meaning it was a right hand drive coupe export car. The car was found in a Johannesburg police pound with Mozambique plates on it, which confirms the export,as does the speedometer marked in kilometers, the only one I have ever seen.


All the best for 2015.

Regards

Roy

The Dix 43' Flying Cloud is for sale

The boat is now placed with a well known broker and also on Gumtree, requests for the boats inventory are starting to come in.

This is a real no nonsense cruising yacht, safe to travel to international waters and in comfort with the right kind of speed you will appreciate.

The price is R1.300,000 which is around U$111,100 right now, delivery can be arranged at whatever it may cost as an extra.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Note the new mainsail stack pack and while I was cleaning the boat how wide the side decks are, with the top life line being higher than normal this is a safe yacht to move around on. There are boarding gates port and starboard for ease of access.

The center cockpit is large and safe, with the steering position close to the main and sheet winches, the helmsman can tend the main sheet and port and starboard winches easily.

The hard dodger gives perfect vision with its toughened clear glass windows and seated behind it you are protected from the elements, in port there is an overhead cover.

Contact me for the inventory.

http://www.ckdboats.com/contact.html

Roy

Dry boats made with epoxy and plywood?

How dry is your boat I ask, is the bilge free of water may be one test but another and you need to be honest here is what happens to the interior fabrics and fittings over time?

I spent a year on a 38ft carvel planked double ender, great boat but brass screws soon went red from moisture.

I then owned two GRP Endurance 37s, they were better but moisture was still there, if less so than the traditional carvel planked boat.

Check the picture, it will enlarge if you click on it.

These fire extinguishers have been on this epoxy/ply built boat nearly fifteen years, they are rust and corrosion free just like the rest of the fittings inside the boat!

Epoxy, saving you time,saving you money.

Roy

Hillman Imp Californian classic car rstoration project

The return of our 1967 Imp Californain in miid July was a shock and a surprise, also a whole new work program and enough to keep me busy when I have spare time.

The car is licenced and is a runner, it has had the engine and transaxle removed for a check out, the engine is the original matching numbers RCO export one that Rootes shipped the car out on,it came off the production line February 3rd 1967.

What a nice holiday project I have!

Roy

A foggy day in Hout Bay Harbour

This happens after a heat wave, which may be caused by a cold front moving down from the North, the front pushes the hot airs off the land mass down to the cape, we then find its windless and hot, the front then arrives and the fog does too.

Even with the lens scratches caused by the opening and shutting of the automatic lens cover on the Canon G11 digital, the camera seems to handle this low light situation well.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Roy

2014 weekending Friday 12th closing for the holidays

With just the one week left of the 2104 working year before closing for the annual holidays, we may still take orders depending on what you want?

This  could well be Eskom dependent, as since Friday and after they announced there will be no December power downs to save the demand on the electricity grid, they have shut us down three times or was that four?

We are then down to using the Honda 20i 2 kva generator!

Its worth knowing that Honda designed this generator with a second outlet, the idea being that you can daisy chain a number of similar gen sets and increase the power output, I have seen a film crews road trailer with four units, all connected so 8kw supply.

Roy

Mirror Dinghy foils ex stock

These are here now and for sale to any Mirror Dinghy sailor who needs them.  We can normally CNC a set to order in the same week we  receive payment.

With the Mirror Worlds due here in the cape January 2015 we will then have some precut stocks of both foils and rudders with delivery either same day or over night by our couriers.

Roy

Mirror Dinghy plaque number boards are ready

We have nine Dinghy Mirror kits pre sold but but availiable for purchase from the buyer. Today weprepared the obeche wood transom plaque number boards.

Click on the image for a larger image.

Time to prepare more for the 2014 season has run out, more will be available next year.

Roy

Ship scrapping in the water?

These pictures ask a question, at which point does the team find it has no place to stand before the ship sinks????

Seen here and in the Hout Bay Harbour an ex SA Navy patrol ship meets her end, click on the picture for a larger image to understand whats being done.

The boat is being cut down, how far is down I ask, as each kilo of steel that is removed will raise the boat by a similar amount?? Check the waterline and see how much the boat has risen this far!

Check the sparks, someone is inside and using a torch to cut the decks off.

Eventually they will have a long flat dish, each kg cut off makes the dish smaller but it will then float that much higher, when do they stop is my question!

Watch this blog for what I hope is the answer.

Roy

A week or so later and we may be seeing the answer?

Lifting the bow with a crane, more and more material can be cut away.

The boat has been reduced in length and right back to a water tight bulkhead.

Soon it will just be a small segment they can lift and remove with the crane?

Hillman Imp Californian (1967) body and paint works

This car is back with me and I have decided to give it a total rebuild, only four and a half months into the program I am already planing on spraying some pale grey body primer this week.

Applying the paint is of course the easy part!

The car was a rare exp,ort and used to carry Mozambique licence plates, the original engine is still with the car and not only that , the original pistons and bearings are still in the engine! When I rebuilt the engine about seven years back I did fit new pistons rings. The engine runs a genuine Sunbeam Sport series 180 cylinder head, sport camshaft and sport twin Stromberg 125 CD carburators.

The engine is running in this shot, check the yellow fan on the left.

Imp Sport engines all came with an oil cooler but not this type and not in this position.

The special air cleaner has two oval filters in it, one per carburetor and works well drawing its clean air from as high as possible.

The car came off the Rootes production line on February 3rd 1967, said to be one of only fifty five to sixty cars of this model known to the Imp Club in the UK, its now quite a rare car to find.

Roy

The new dinghy launch ramp at the HBYC in Hout Bay Harbour

Sometimes its the simple things that make life far easier and smooth out the way we can do things.

This very simple concrete ramp was placed by club members to assist the development sailing group.

Right away the ramp was in use and we now see the sailors move their dinghies from the HBYC club boat park with a wheeled dolly and then self launch, retrieval is team work and we have many willing helpers doing the Lotto supported program here in Hout Bay.

Progress!

Roy

Another nice day in Hout Bay

Looks like we are well into the summer weather now, normally hot and sunny but a front moving in from the North can bring mist and even rain but not for long.

Space will as normal be tight over the cruising season, so if you  need a berth, please contact the HBYC marina office soon.

Roy

Another nice day in Hout Bay Harbour

As the picture shows its really fine weather.

The cruising yachts are already arriving and we will again be meeting all sorts of interesting folk.

The now open space in the boats has been made to accept a new HBYC member and his catamaran arriving soon from Durban.

Thats always welcome.

Roy

Arnold, r.i.p

I regret to inform that I was told today that Arnold of the Kloof Street bar and grill that carries his own name was killed recently in a motor bike accident.

Arnold was one of those involved in the support of last years JoLon Imp attempt to drive from Johannesburg to Coventry in England.

My respects to all those who knew Arnold.

Roy

Lifes a beach

Hout Bay in South Africa and where I have lived for more than thirty years, once we were here there was really never any reason to leave.

For me this is a big day, after many months of working on the 1967 Hillman Imp Californian I was at last able to take it out and drive the car.

Click on the image to see it full size!

Nice car, pity about the paint job but thats next on the cars program.

The cars motor glass has already been removed, all new rubbers are either in stock or will be sourced from our suppliers overseas.

The front of the car has been refitted already, the engine and transaxle were removed, and inspected with the engine being taken apart and the head serviced with a new timing chain and re setting of tappets. With the entire engine bay being repainted and the engine refitted, the car is really a lot better under the skin than it looks right now.

This should be a nice job for the December holidays!

Roy

December 25th 2014, the car was booked in a week back for a respray at a professional auto paint shop early next year.

This now gives me the time to prepare the 1967 Singer Chamois we have owned over twenty years for its transfer to a new owner around February 2015.

Mirror dinghy kit packing

This was an entire days work, there are so many items in the Mirror dinghy parts list that each has to be checked and ticked off, then bundled and taped as a way of keeping them together.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

There are nine Mirror Dinghy wood sets on the tressel's one long pack and one short pack per each boat, a two page packing list with the boats ISAF number is included with each set so you can check them off yourself, as each part has its number taped onto it.

How hard can this be?  well a whole lost simpler than it was for me to do!

Roy

Mirror Dinghy kits sets ready in Cape Town, South Africa

There are nine sets of wood Mirror Dinghy kit sets and CNC cut plys ready for building now, they may be sold as the person who placed the entire order is the person who will be issuing them to new buyers and we hope builders.

To see a larger image click on each picture.

The machine work was done by a qualified specialist, the cutting to size was done in house and took four days to cut to the specified lengths, some are also shaped.

We hold nine ISAF plaques and will be having the boat number CNC engraved into each transom board which is supplied in lightweight Obeche wood.

Roy