Caltex extended life coolant

This is a dark subject that any owner of a fluid cooled engine should know about?

After seven years but with low mileage a 3.8ltr Jaguars alloy cylinder head required welding on all of the fluid transfer ports where the face of the head mates to the steel engine block, the welding repair cost was R2600 and that does not include parts and labour.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

My thanks to the filling station attendant Nommiselo Mzukisi for the LRP fuel he  put in the cars petrol tank and also to Druma for looking after the drivers seat.

Why did this happen? for sure the lack of road miles will have been a  cause but given that the engine had the best antifreeze coolant that the suppliers I use stocked, I would really not expect such damage.

Those of you who know about what happens when two metals of different ends of the corrosion chain will understand that the alloy head and steel engine block were the main cause.

This 1967 Singer Chamios has the Rootes Imp all alloy engine, thats the head and the block, I have now removed all of the green antifreeze and replaced it with Caltex extended life coolant.

Its pink in colour and when spilt onto a cement floor turned green, so much so I thought it was antifreeze.

The coolant is pre mixed,it weighs twice that of normal tap water, if you need to top up the fluid for any reason and have no more Caltex extended life coolant you can use distilled water.

The coolant raises the boiling point by 8 degrees C , thats quite an advantage,it will also handle tempratures down to minus 40C.

The life of the coolant is five years or 200,000 kms.

The 5ltr pack was sourced for me by Clive of Killarney Auto Service in Montegue Gardens, the instructions on the pack clearly say you should not water the mix down. Contact with Caltex in Johannesburg told me that adding distilled water is allowed, this will affect the cold climate protection, which is not an issue in Cape Town.

My thanks for Caltex South Africa for having the Caltex filling station in Hout Bay stocked with 1 litre packs for me, talk about good service!

Roy

Didi Mini Transat Mk3 kit set

We started the name CKD Boats cc when the very first Didi Mini Transat Mk1 bulkhead kit set was cut, that was over a decade back and the design has since moved to stage three and with chines at the rear of the hull.

With another order in, we are now starting to get the plywood's together for a Didi Mini Transat Mk3, an export order and to a new country for us, making it thirty five countries this far.

The requirement on this order is to supply all the okoume marine grade plywood, this is forty four sheets in total of which we CNC cut thirty seven sheets in total.

Added to this is the timber list for the hull and deck, we are using African Mahogany (khaya) this time, as its strong, light, nice to work with and cost effective.

This will ship by sea and probably via Singapore, we can ship world wide to most destinations.


http://dixdesign.com/didiminiMk3.htm

As I have personally built two Didi Mini Transats  from our kits I can offer plenty of advice on each stage of the building process, this applies to the other radius chine designs from Dix Design as well.

Roy

 

Plywood boat kits of all sizes

This picture shows what is possible by using plans from one of the designers we are licenced to.

All of these designs are by Dudley Dix, a world expert and leader in plywood as a material for boat building.

Sizes go from 8ft to 55ft but size is rarely a limit when Dudley designs a boat, he has many stock plans and can do custom designs to special order.

http://www.dixdesign.com/plywood.htm .open the link for the full story.

Roy

Spot the GSM Duckling dinghy on Hout Bays Hobie Beach

The HBYC is reinstating the once ultra popular Hobiecat long distance beach sailing event.

The poster of what the event may have looked like also shows a Duckling dinghy.

We have owned a Duckling dinghy for at least three decades, we sell the yacht but never the Duckling dinghy!

Click on the picture to enlarge it and see more detail.

Roy

Hout Bay, todays weather as it is now

So we had a hot day on Monday but today started with fog, how nice to cool the air down.

Click the image for a larger view.

Winter is not really here but we do get plenty of days like this in winter anyway, the camera is looking North and towards the back of Table Mountain, and Cape Town.

Picture by R McBride the camera is Canon G11.

Roy

Hillman Imp sound sealing sheeting, do it yourself?

The car is a very sound Hillman Imp Deluxe and built in 1971.

Now under reconstruction, the owner asked the panel shop who are re painting the car to fit the sound seal he had purchased.

Look closely, yes the entire floor, seats and back shelf now have a flexible sound sealer in place.
Just look how well and neatly the guys have done this job.

I asked the boss about how many hours it too, his reply was ' Don't ask! '

The inside of the doors, front and rear wings and wheel arches may follow next, the idea is to upgrade the ride and silence as much road noise as possible.

Roy

Mirror Dinghy kit building, the details

Peter has spent at least as much time reading the building instructions done by the Mirror Asscociation in Canada as he has worked on the boat itself, my thanks to the guys in Canada for drafting such a detailed step by step builders guide.

The original drawings showed just one round drain hole on either side, we were advised to enlarge them as then the holes make good lifting purchases.

The skeg had the older style slot cut in it even if its no longer required now?

Hull lower panel stiffener is as per the drawings, the dagger board is a spare blank and not the Mirror spec, one.

 

We are told there should be an access hole in the forward bulkhead, two I would think, they can have screw in plastic covers? this will be added to the final CNC files. An addition to the standard drawings will be a port and starboard ply gusset to support the thwart area and take the loading to the hull, these will be fitted before the side seats are fitted and become part of our standard CNC kit.

 

 

This is Peters idea on the lower bow panel, he changed the grain direction of the way the 6mm x five ply was cut, making the required bend in the ply really easy, this may be an optional extra? For sure we are developing a few options that are making the kit more complete and easier to build.

 

Anyone wanting a new Mirror Dinghy building and in the Cape Town area, is welcome to view this build, contact me for the address and Peters phone number so you can arrange a time that suits both parties.

 

Roy