A Didi Mini Transat deck engineering kit

This is one of our regular orders,not just to buyers of our CNC kits but to those who may have built from plans also.

A Didi Mini Transat.

This is Kyrills boat now being built in Switzerland,we will ship his deck engineering tohim when its ready.

We use the drawings as supplied by Dix Design,so you know you will get the right product.
Pulpit in alloy
Pushpits in alloy x 2
Stantions in alloy x 4 (our design)
Chain plates x 316 stainless steel x 4
Forward Base plate
Rudder assembly Mk 2 option
Rudder links,316 stainless and rubber connectors

Contact me for pricing

Roy

WSR or West Somerset Railway

One of my regular Hillman Imp suppliers has just mentioned he can not pack any parts for me from next monday when I will be in the Liverpool area for one week,when he gave me the following link I knew why!

http://www.wsr.org.uk/ssg2011.htm

Celebrating 35 years of the West Somerset Railway... The West Somerset Railway Spring Steam Gala has established itself as one of the heritage railway events of the year, visited by several thousand people each year. The 2011 event promises to live up to the very high quality successful Steam Galas held over recent years, and this year will be staged over two long weekends – six days in total. If you have never sampled a WSR Spring Steam Gala you just don’t know what you’re missing! The Spring Steam Gala 2011 celebrates 35 years of the West Somerset Railway operating over the former Taunton to Minehead Branch of British Rail. The ever popular Spring Gala this year will see the return of some of the locomotive types associated with the Minehead branch over the last thirty five years as well as new types not seen before on the line.

I will not be able to attened as its in the South and I will be further North,my blog may be a little static for a week but should be back in action from around the 28th of March?

Roy

Servicing the Autohelm 4000 drive unit

The user manual tells us they are lubricated for life,what that life was expected to be I can not guess but a decade and more on,we need to at least clean it out and lubricate with a light oil,Fluid Film comes to mind and thats what I am using.

The later model had an Autohelm logo on the drive case,the end cap was changed too.

The back face,which in practice points forwards,if you fit this face to the rear there is a simple switch on the control unit to reverse.

When opened this is whats inside,there is no way this lot is service free,I would open it and clean it out at least once per season,a light oiling on the moving parts must be a good idea but not on the drive belt or drive gear cog.

This is the drive gear,the setting of which is fixed,its the round wheels that provide adjustment,this is said not to be easy on the early units?

Roy

Inside the Hout Bay Yacht Club

Recently refurbished,the clubs upper bar deck really is first class these days.

With good service from established staff and a discount on bar purchases for club members,this is a fine place to have a sundowner,there is also a large function room below this floor,named as The Chart Room,its a nice place to hire for meetings and functions.

Seen in the HBYC club room,Notty,Fredy and Jendo,having a beer and a good laugh.

Winchcombe in winter

This is real but it looks like a Christmas Box scene,sent to me by my old mate Ken who lives right there,I will see him and some others for a chat and jar or two quite soon.

left click toview in a larger size.

Pictures supplied by Ken Galletly,many thanks Ken.

Attached another one from December when we had -20C with 1 meter long icicles,

The Didi Mini Transat Cruise from CKD Boats cc

This boat was to be the Mark 2 race option,the owner builder changed the deck layout to a Didi Mini Cruise when he re thought his sailing program,its looking really nice this far.

The boat is in KZN South Africa,we can ship world wide of course.

South African Hillman Imp roll cage

Seen at the panel shop,now in various states of primer,I am hoping the car will be painted and a finished shell on my return from the UK in two weeks time,the car will be blue over white and in the Fraser Race Team colours.

Note,anyone wanting Hillman Imp tuning parts should contact me now,as I will be bringing back various other special tuning parts from various  specialists.

Also part of the same build program is a 998cc engine conversion with a full race fabricated inlet and exhaust manifold.

The British Classic Car race scene

Brands Hatch. Maybe the Brands race meeting was on the Sunday after the cancelled RAC Saturday start. 26 November? Ray Calcutt.

source: Thomas Lundevall @ forums.autosport.com (Aug 20 2008); Lars Helmer private collection

Many thanks for the use of this picture,Roy
 
The scene was mid sixties but the photo can be taken again most weekends even today,such is the size of the classic car racing scene world wide. I will be assembling a look a like Fraser Hillman Imp quite soon,check the car on the left with the white cross on its roof.
 
As of next week I will be in the UK for ten days,parts will be collected from Bob Allen of the Imp Club Spares Dept and also Ron Aspinwall of Impspeed,both are in Englands North West in the Merseyside/Liverpool region.
 
Roy

Compass swinging

Swinging a compass normally requires a known heading and steering the boat on that,to see what the ships main compass tells you,then either adjust it or make a note of the heading for navigational works and adjustment on your paper chart work.

In our case this was not done in that method,we had an electronic compass that needed a 360 turn,it will then program its memory and know its headings,check the two circles on the plotter (enlarge with a left click on the picture)

Crew member Hamish gets some hands on compass instruction from his grandad Notty.

Energy Diet and Napoleon Bonaparte

Whats the link,is there a link,must be,check out http://tempestsailing.blogspot.com/ for the reason why and to see just how far our Russians have now sailed since leaving Walvis Bay,the shark in the cartoon,read the the story in Tempest Sailing blog!

Roy

My thanks to the person who did this cartoon,the comment below is from Tempest Sailing (karin)

Going back to look at this cartoon over and over - and laughing every time - I started wondering: Why does it work? What are the characteristics of a good cartoon? And I found the following answers by well-known artists:




Muhitin Koroghu

A cartoon which contains as few words as possible and be able to convey the message perfectly

More UHP in Hout Bay

Given the close nature of other boats in the boat yard,Ultra High Pressure blasting of a steel hull with clean water is the only way to do some jobs,a visiting yacht from Denmark has contracted to have their steel hull UHP plasted and primed with Sigmacover primer,the top coats of polyurethane paints will follow.

A skilled team sets up the equipment,in this case they supplied the scaffold and dust sheets to protect the rest of the yard.

Years of primers and paints are removed layer by layer untill the original steel surface is exposed,if it was grit blasted the resulting 'key' is not polished,an important factor for the Sigmacover etch primers that will soon follow the UHP work.

Still drying off,it will be then washed off with a clean application of fresh water,then Sigmacover etch primer will be applied.

The equipment is on a road trailer,we can send units country wide,contact me for rates.

Roy

021 790 3859

Working Sail,the devil is in the details

Luke Powels boats go a lot further than just a classic hull shape,just check the details on the decks.

We have also made this type of butterfly deck light hatch,the trick is to make it water proof!

More a steering postition than a cockpit,check the gear shift,it may be the throttle,or both?

Details at the front end,even the windlass is traditional.

My thanks to Luke Powel of Working Sail,Cornwall for the use of his very fine pictures!

Roy

AIS Watchmate 850 by Vesper Marine

Yesterday I was asked by a customer placing his order for the new Vesper Marines new AIS 850 Watchmate, why they should buy from CKD Boats cc when they can buy from Vesper Marine,the thinking being they are a marine store? this is not the case,Vesper Marine are the designers and manufacturers of the Watchmate range of AIS and related equipment,they are not a retail store.

My thanks to Richard Crocket,of Sailing Publications for permision to use his pictures.

News in is a four page story in Sailing magazine issue number 320 (over twenty six years of publication!) by well known marine equipment writer Ausi Bray,the four pages are dedicated to the new Watchmate AIS 850.You can buy the magazine or read most of what he says here.

Left click each picture to read the words.

Tale Teller launches today

Seen at the Hout Bay Boat Yard travel lift yesterday,Tale Teller was out for a service and bottom paint job,we supplied some Iroko wood and also the International Paints Interspeed antifoul,Tom and his guys will put it on!

Roy

Tale Teller is a Vertue 26 designed by Laurent Giles and Built in South Africa by Henry Vink,launched in 1934 I think?

Beer,make mine a Windhoek lager.

Well,Jean my wife took the Heinekens back to Spar in Hout Bay and traded them for some decent beer,check the picture,look at the head,the bubbles,the life in the glass,what a great beer!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words,left click the picture and see them all!

Roy