Sailing the Proteus 106 catamaran

Rick lived on his Proteus 106 (extended) yacht for some nine years, it was sold recently and is now used in the charter trade.

Here is what Rick Daniel, the Thai boat owner says:

Photo's of my sail boat in Koh Chang, Koh Mac, Koh Kood Islands,  Thailand I still have poor fitting second hand sails and need more work, but having fun with the boat.

I Recently sailed to windward in 35 plus knots gusts of head wind and full steady wind of 25 knots with 2nd reef and 2 meter  waves.  Had some waves over the cabin top and really tested the boat build.

I was very happy with the boat and it pointed very well to weather. It was not a enjoyable beat to weather, it was only about 4 hours. But the boat got a good test.

Proof enough that this Proteus 106 design has room to spare.

Kits can be purchased from www.ckdboats.com we can ship world wide.

Roy

A birthday for the Hillman Imp

The red Hillman Imp Californian coupe left the Rootes Car Co, production line on February 3rd 1967, meaning the car is fifty years old today!

I have contact with a member of the ARCC group in the UK ( asscociation of rootes car clubs) it was he who serched the records and files to track down the Vin plate production date for this car.

The car does not look like its fifty years old and if you drove it you would find that the performance is far better than expected also?

So here we are, a fifty year old Hillman Imp with many years of motoring pleasure to look forwards to.

How hard can that be?

Roy

Its birthday time!

Look in tomorrow to see what this birthday is all about.

Out and about in a 1967 Hillman Imp Californian

The place is Hout Bay, 7806 in South Africa, which is a super place to be driving any kind of Hillman Imp.

The images should enlarge when you click on them.

The Chapmans Peak Drive toll road is a great place to be driving on, the views are World famous.

Note the Sport ventilate engine cover, that was hand made to convert this car to suit the sport engine under the cover.

Living and working here is, well, a pleasure!

The beach and the  sea is a big draw card to visitors to Hout Bay.

This car is now driven on a regular basis,

How easy can this be? well not to bad really.

The Imp may have been first produced in 1963 but it was way ahead of its time even then.



Roy

Restoration of a 1967 Hillman Imp Californian

The same car in year two of the total rebuild looks a lot better now?

The body was taken right down to a base where the rust and rot was removed, then repainted in the best quality twin pack paints we can buy.

This car has front disc brakes and competion road springs fitted.

We used only 50% of the possible wheel camber that the lower road springs offer.

The interior was removed and re trimmed by experts.

The engine was removed and the entire engine bay was stripped, re painted and when all parts were serviced and themselves repainted the engine was fitted back again. Many upgrades were also done, Rootes Car Co parts, that had to be hand made to the fatory drawings we have on file.

How long does a Hillman Imp restoration take?

That will depend an any amount of factors, the state of the car will of course be the deciding factor.

This 1967 Hillman Imp Californian has just been restored, a period of over two years was taken.

The car is thought to have been parked outside in the elements for a period of four years, South Africa has a very harsh climate for such treatment.

The interior was trashed by the UV from the African sun.

The Sport specification engine was all there but the car had been rammed from behind, many parts were smashed, that included the two forward transaxle mounts which we found had been welded back on to the transaxle casing.

The car when it was in the early stages of re construction and about two and a half years ago.

Roy

A racing Hillman Imp for Scotland

That is where we exported this car, more a sprint car than a full race as while it has stiffer and lower suspensions, no anti roll bars were installed.

The picture shows the car when we took it to the Police Clearance Depot in Bellville, they in turn contacted Pretoria head office for permission to release the car.

This car is now in Scotland.

Roy

The Hillman Imp as a racing car?

Due to my own racing years in the Hillman Imp I know a fair amount about building such cars.

The place was the Killarney Race Circuit just outside Cape Town, the date was around 1972/73.
Clive was my spanner man, I later sold the car to Clive and I became his spanner man.

The engine was a 998cc wet liner conversion, with an R20 racing camshaft, all parts were supplied by the Rootes Competitions department.

A rare picture of the early Mk1 Imp engine that I converted to the 998cc size. Set up on a rolling road I was told it put out some 87bhp.

With my many contacts for both standard a competition parts such cars can be prepared again if required.

How hard can this be? well finding the car here will be one issue, I know of two suitable Hillman Imps in South Africa that will be suitable.

Roy

Hillman Imp car restoration

I have been involved in the Hillman Imp since I was seventeen years old, as my first car was a Balmoral Grey Hillman Imp Mk1.

That set me on the track I am still on today, for sure there have been some stops along the way but over the years the Imp has always been in my mind.

My first Imp and on a holiday in Austria, circa 1966 I would guess?

A 1971 Hillman Imp Deluxe which I restored back in 2013 to a very high standard.

The car was basically taken apart, serviced, re painted and re assembled.

This car still had its original engine in it, I converted it to a 998cc sized engine using imported liners and pistons.

This kind of work can be undertaken to the owners own requirements, contact me for further information please. Exporting has already been done, so that is an understood process.

Roy

Sailing on the Proteus 106 catamaran

One picture that says it all?

Rick had his Proteus 106 built for him, he is a professional sailor and knew what he wanted and expected. The reports that came back from Rick on the sailing ability o/f the Proteus 106 were good.

Roy

The Proteus 106 design as posted on the SA Yacht Blog

Justin started his South African yacht blog just a few years back, since then he has added many yachts and related stories.

http://sayachts.blogspot.co.za/2013/09/proteus-106.html

This one is on the Proteus 106 design.

My thanks to Justin.

Roy

Deck space on the Proteus 106 cat

As boats are finished and they start to sail some pictures are starting to come in.

There is a very full study pack that we can have the yachts designer mail you, please contact me and I shall arrange the file is sent to you.

The space on this 35ft cat is remarkable!

Roy

News on the Proteus 106 sailing catamaran

We see an increase in people asking for more information on the Proteus 106 design by Angelo Lavranos.

The Thai cat is a bit different inside,   That was not built from the kit , A Lavranos.

Please note that the basics are the same, this boat was just made longer and with inboard rudders.

The build time will have been very much longer by working from plans and not our kit.

Roy

Mercury 2.5hp outboard motor for sale

This motor has very few hours on it, in fact the propellor is unmarked.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

The price is just R6500, so only U$480 (exchange rate at this time)

The inside of the motor looks like new?

The black on the tank is from the foam cushion inside the cover.

There is a genuine (as new) user manual for the 2.2hp model, they will be close?

Also a printed version for the 2.5hp model.

You can collect the motor in Hout Bay, 7806, South Africa or we can ship to you by courier?



Roy

Cruising boat dingies, the Argie 10 as a kit boat build

Not just a cruising boat of course but also a fun kind of knock about family dinghy you can use on your local protected waters.

This one has been in our family for around three decades, it has since been sold to the family that bought our yacht as it fits the transom lifting gear so well.

Our next dinghy may well be the Argie 10 by Dudley Dix, we have the plans for sale and kits are available to your order.

http://dixdesign.com/dinghies.htm

The smaller Dixi dinghy may also be a good choice, that dinghy uses just two sheets of plywood only.

Roy

Cruising in Venezuela, circa 1989

Those days were good, not perfect as some locals did resist outsiders entering their country, this is nothing new and on the whole we were very happy to be there and spent many months cruising the islands and meeting nice people.

Click on the image, it should become larger. I took the photo with my Canon FT film camera using Kodaks Echtachrome slide film. Kodak are gone now? I still have that camera.

The place we are entering is Punta Pargo, Venezuela, there are no roads on the land side, so there are no tourists, just the locals.

We anchored for the night and then sailed to Port of Spain in Trinidad the next day.