Optimist kit now packing for Switzerland

Some may wonder why we have to include a packing charge when the kit you have bought is shipped by road or sea?

 in this case we used a sheet of pine 9mm ply top and bottom, the five steel bands then can be made very tight to secure the package, which probably weighs in at 80 kgs.

These pictures demonstrate the steel banding, the pack in this case is okoume marine plywood and not the Optimist kit, the images should explain the process we use?

The actual CNC cut kit will be loaded into the purpose made packing crate on monday.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

The crate is being made today.

It has a 9mm pine ply sheet top and bottom, with 6mm plys on each side and the ends, glued and nailed it will be quite secure when the 16mm steel band strapping is applied.

Pictures of the loading will be added  later.

Roy

Machining the 998cc Hillman Imp block

This was done for me by Bremco back in 1971, they used a Mk1 block with liners and pistons I sourced from the Rootes Competition Department in Coventry, England.

In more recent times I  took over a Mk2 block that a local auto engineer had converted, it looked great, its a pity it looked better than it actually was.

The new liners all had to come out, they had been installed at different hight's, so the head gasket would never seal.

Its a bit of a long story but in the end I sorted out the problem myself, Then used a general engineer who had more interest in doing the job correctly. 

He in turn knew a marine engineer with a surfacer with a magnetic deck, who faced off the top of the block and liners to perfection.

This work can now be done here in Cape Town, you need to supply your own Imp engine block though.

The engine in the pictures is now back in its original 1971 Hillman Imp, fitted with the cylinder head and a new Solex carburetor, it started first time.

Roy

Marvin Creamer and Globe Star

I mentioned meeting the man.

This was probably early in 1983?

We were both having an early morning shave,  standing at the sinks of the men's locker room at the Royal Cape Yacht Club in Cape Town.


http://www.globestar.org/photos.htm

 The GLOBE STAR completed a successful circumnavigation of the globe, skippered by Professor Marvin Creamer of New Jersey. Creamer navigated without the use of compass, sextant or electronic instruments! He eschewed even a wristwatch, but took an hourglass for changes of watch! Actually, a sextant, clock, compass and radio were sealed in a locker below deck in event of an emergency, but these remained sealed for the entire journey, which was attested to and notarized by proper inspections.

The boat was equipped with a transmitter which sent signals at regular intervals so that the Coast Guard knew of the boat's whereabouts. When it malfunctioned, the media reported the crew missing. After the Globe Star reached port, Creamer called his wife, who had more confidence in her husband's abilities than in electronics!

http://www.globestar.org/feat.htm

The route.

Cape Towns RCYC berthing back then.

The man himself.

Well done Marvin!

Roy

Hokule sailing our way to Hout Bay

They may not find space in the Hout Bay harbour?

They have Just cleared Richards Bay and may want a spot to keep their ship when in our waters?

Sailing around the world without a GPS or Sextant sounds interesting, I once met with Marvin Creamer at the RCYC, he was on a voyage with one crew around the world and using only the stars, sun, moon and planets, he made it too!

Roy

Port Officer OCC

My thanks for the use of this super quality picture, click on it to view full screen.

I have has mails from Heidi, she is part of the group that are sailing down the South African coast.

I am not sure if she is sailing on the 61 ft long sailing cat or the steel support yacht that is sailing with the cat.

Aloha (warm greetings from Hawaiʻi),

We received your contact information from some friends who are members of the Ocean Cruising Club.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) is humbled to have our traditional, double-hulled voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa continue on her first Worldwide Voyage from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, and visit some special ports in South Africa, possibly including Hout Bay. (photo of Hōkūleʻa attached) We just cleared Customs, Health and Immigration in Richards Bay on Oct. 19, and may seek to visit your port if we need to avoid weather en route to Cape Town. We would be grateful for help in, and advice about, a place that we do not yet know.

Hōkūleʻa (a double-hulled, traditional voyaging canoe) has no auxiliary power and only sails within the parameters of safety and weather, with Gershon II (a monohull motor sailor) sailing nearby only for safety and any necessary towing to get Hōkūleʻa out of weather situations. (See specification sheets, attached) Because Hōkūleʻa is completely reliant upon weather conditions for sailing, we cannot commit to dates of arrival and sail.

We are, however, planning an arrival ceremony in Cape Town on either November 14 or 21, 2015. We will be conducting educational outreach and exchange there for a week, before going into dry dock to prepare for our Atlantic crossing at the end of December to visit more like-minded, ocean-based communities before returning to the Pacific and home to Hawaiʻi in 2017.

More on this when I find out.

http://www.hokulea.com/

Roy

The Optimist Meranti wood optional offer

Some while back we stopped offering the machined wood to our kits.

We have now found a timber company who are able to cut and machine meranti so have been able to supply the client of the Optimist kit we are about to pack.

The bundle of meranti wood is well selected and has machined up really nicely.

Packing for its shipping to Switzerland  starts tomorrow!

Roy

An Optimist kit set to Switzerland

We have shipped the Optimist kit set to Switzerland before, this one should pack next week and will then be on its way.

 Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

The wood / epoxy Optimist design requires a builders jig, we developed our own to suit our kit.

The rudder and dagger board, plus the sides of the dagger board case and some foot strap mount blocks are all included.

The bottom of the wood / epoxy Optimist is 12mm thick.

All plys are okoume species veneers to the BS 1088 standard, its the lightest ply we can use within the Optimist class rules.

There is very little space wasted on each ply panel, that makes our kit as cost effective as it can be.

Not shown are the two temporary  hull spacers, the meranti wood and a carton with epoxy, glass tape, micro balloons and fumed silicas to make fillers and pastes to form corner fillets.

We also supply a detailed builders instruction book, which includes  pictures  to guide you through each step of the building process.

Recently a sailing school in the USA asked for details on the builders jig and the assembly, I sent the link below.

http://ckdboats.blogspot.co.za/2010/04/ckd-boats-optimist-jig-and-boat-in.html

With the very low exchange rate to the Rand currency, buying from South Africa has never made so much sense?

We have sent these kits to places like the USA, Greece, Switzerland and can normally ship world wide at a reasonable cost.

Roy