Hout Bays weather today

Not only today but the last week, this picture was taken yesterday and with lots of NW wind and rain in the air, it stops, it dries it rains and we all get wet once more.

Inside and looking out, we are looking towards the back of Table Mountain and Cape Town, click on the picture for better detail. The camera was the Canon G11 and set to auto.

https://www.google.co.za/webhp?source=search_app&gws_rd=cr#bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&fp=a2c9040fb7cb7e06&q=weather+cape+town

We are about to get three days with the posibility of rain and wind to 51kms per hour, about 32mph?

Roy

News flash, wind speeds are now expected to be higher!

Plus the rain was so heavy last night that the beach road in Camps Bay was flooded, some cars look to me a meter deep in water?

Top British engineering gets to the last 30 cars of CCOTY

This is a bit of an eye opener, now and after fifty years of the Hillman Imp, the car is chosen out of many others to be in the last thirty cars, a final five will now be chosen to make the entry at the NEC in Birmingham, England.

CCOTY stands for Classic Car of The Year

http://www.ccoty.co.uk/bgbt_showcase.php?page=40

The link above shows us some of the cars in the 2013 line up.

The JoLon Imp and after a 14,000 km drive from Johannesburg to Coventry.

Left to right, Richard, Terence, Geoff, Graham (club chairman)

Signed and numbered pictures by artist David Shepherd were presented at the breakfast meeting on the last day of the Imp Club event in Coventry .

From Terence Tracey, the guy behind the JoLon Imp

Guess what Geoff, Roy, Roger, Geoff, Graham, Alan et al? We’ve done it!

The Imp has been selected as one of Britain’s Classic Car of the Year finalists for 2013!s

A huge thanks to Roy and Roger for helping Geoff and i to get the car to Coventry and a big thanks to Alan and Graham whose helped us to get the car into the competition in the first place.

Now let’s pull out all the stops to get selected as the NUMBER 1 classic of the year and show the World what a great little car the Imp actually is!

I can’t sleep tonight with the excitement!! So i better just go to the garage and build one of my other Imp engines!

Terence


Subject: Congratulations You have made the TOP 30 for Classic Car of the Year!

Dear Entrant,

I am pleased to be able to email you to let you know you have been chosen by our panel of experts to appear in the TOP 30 cars for the Classic Car of the Year competition.

What does this mean for you? Your car will be uploaded to http://www.ccoty.co.uk on the 21st August on which day Voting opens so tell you friends, family, neighbours and clubs to visit the site and get voting for your car to appear in the TOP 5 at the NEC Birmingham on the 14-17th November 2013.

Our PR lady Andrea may contact you for some details about your car/story if you have any reservations about this please let me know by calling the number below.

Please can I take this opportunity to remind you of the competition rules:

It is a condition of entry that your car needs to be available to go on display at the NEC Classic Car show 15th -17th November 2013 at your own expense. Cars need to be on display before 5pm on 14th November and removed after 6.30pm on the 17th November. Each finalist will be provided with 2 tickets to the show, 15th, 16th & 17th November and overnight accommodation, on bed and breakfast basis, for 14th, 15th & 16th November 2013.
For full terms and conditions please visit http://www.ccoty.co.uk

If you have any further questions or concerns please call me.

Finally congratulations on getting this far in the competition.

Kind Regards
Nikki

Hillman Imp export car

In this case the Scottish built 1966 Singer Chamois Sport (Hillman Imp) was re exported and back to Scotland but after a lot of work had gone into the car to make it into a Hill Climb and Sprint car.

Arrival in Scotland and in the cars own 20ft container, shipping is handled here by our regular forwarders.

Out of the container and at the port in Scotland where the offloading took place.

Now in the owners garage.

The blue and white Imp was prepared here in the greater Cape Town area, then shipped by sea back to Scotland. We have one late model 1972/3 Hillman Imp shell we can either do the same to or turn into an near new road car.

We can build and badge it as a Hillman Imp, Singer Chamois or Sunbeam Sport, with an engine to suit either model.

The Singer Sport shell on its side was taken apart, painted and then rebuilt, mainly with new parts and in the case of the front brakes we fitted discs. The Singer is our own car which we have owned for around twenty years, with some forty nine years of knowing Imps the experience helps.

No its not cheap but how else can one rebuild a car to this standard when the hours are not put in. Even so local labour is still far less than some countries.

 

The jig to turn the car over on was made specially to take the Imp, the car was refitted in various stages and angles like this, what a pleasure!

Roy

PV Solar Panels for Africa

Yes and what an array!

This is one of a number of electrical solar panel farms being built in South Africa and Namibia, the deal is that a commercial offer is made to the local government, to buy in the power as its generated. I assume the cost is borne by the contractor?

This site is near Kimberly.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

I think this is a 50 megawatt installation, its the way to go and its a win win situation for all concerned.

News from a prospective boat kit client is below.

We are currently busy with 2 X 50.2 Mega Watt sites up here (1 square

kilometer)  2 X 10 Mega Watt sites along the West Coast plus 2 more near Uppington.

How nice is that.

Roy

The compass deviation card, 24th June 1981

The subject came up on our local marina yesterday, a skipper preparing his yacht to go offshore asked what they looked like and how to make one?  The guy had an idea he could make one up while still on his marina berth, I suggested he could not and needed to be out in the bay so as to swing the compass and in a 360 turn.

I have this old card, dated back 32 years ago, done by Captain Robert (bob) Deacon and a past friend of mine, Bob would take you and your boat out early morning from the RCYC in Cape Town, even while going down the Duncan Dock, Bob  was taking bearings and making notes.

Click on the image for a larger view.

A quick trip into the bay, turn around and head back to moorings and it was all done. Of course Bob never told you what his marks were but for sure some tall buildings and spires must have been some of them. By the time we were tied up Bob had filled in the standard deviation card and for the charge of R65 as the service fee would hand you your card, thanks Bob!

I have suggested the skipper needs to make his own card, then take his boat into the bay, Hout Bay is a bit tight, so rather Chapmans Bay further outside, then as we now have GPS and using his handheld GPS he can swing his compass and make notes the the compass card against the GPS heading.

How easy is that!

Roy

Tilley Lamp glass cover wanted.

The famous paraffin burner the Tilley Lamp, you would be amazed at the candle power output they can give out.

I sourced this model type X.246. Tilley Lamp new and in its box in England, I was able to bring it in as inspected hand luggage as it had never had paraffin in it.

Check the cracks, the glass is a Pyrex type and still holds itself together but for how long?

The part number from Tilley is # 171 does anyone have one, two would be better!

I have used it in the winter to light up braai's and that kind of thing, those nights when Eskom switch the power off are turned into daylight with this lamp.

They are easy to work with and lighting them is quite straight forward, at some stage the delicate white mantle was holed, this allowed a flame to escape and fracture the glass cover.

So I need a new one!

Roy

Note, this has been unused for a while but even so the lamp lit at the first attempt. There was a low hand pump pressure, this was fixed by removal of the pump piston, apply a coat of clean paraffin to the leather washer, open the washer out some, then replace the piston.

The control knob just visible on the lower left of the picture started to leak paraffin, I used a pair of pliers and gave the knurled cover a small turn, the leak stopped right away.

I have a brand new Coleman paraffin lamp glass cover to swop?

Hout Bays yacht club summer for a day brings a pot luck fest!

I say summer, well that was yesterday and we now have five days with rain predicted, some places inland last night saw temperatures drop to minus seven degrees!

Anna did a cook up of some black mussels, if you walked past you were invited to try them.

As you can see, it was just like summer in Hout Bay yesterday but today we have the start of a week of rain and the clouds have filled in that nice blue sky of yesterday.

A new drop keel idea for a Cape Cutter 19

This one came from Jorgen , a customer in Sweden, the drop keel would normally be made from a sheet of 18mm steel, expensive and so heavy that two can just lift it.

Look what this one was made from!

Click on the picture to see more detail and how the point at the bottom was formed by cutting the 3mm   316 stainless steel plate.

This I like!  more on the subject just now.

Jorgen, thanks on sharing this idea with us, its a great idea and one that may well be copied.

Hello Roy,

I am working on, the centerboard box is now placed and also the stem.

I read about a CH 21 with a different centerboard made of lead, plywood and epoxi.
That article inspired me so I have begin to build my centerboard of two
halves of 3mm stainless sheet metal instead.

So the case (around the lead and the inner frame made by stainless flat steel) is
3mm stainless sheet metal. So instead of milling I bend!
And to get the centerboard heavy enough is no problem with lead.
Probably I can leave the centerboard top "empty" inside for good weight distribution.

Careful weld and plug weld will close the construction.

Regards from Jorgen

 The stainless steel sections are being test fitted to the plywood dagger board case, when that's proven to work the case will be bonded into the boat.

This 316 stainless steel drop keel may well become an addition to our stainless kit package.

There are quite a number of benafits, extra weight and a lower price being two of them, more on this in another blog to follow.

Roy



What will the internal weight be and how will it be made?

Jorgen and the Cape Cutter 19 designer Dudley Dix have been discussing the idea.

Hi Jorgen,

Yes, casting the lead to the right thickness outside the construction is what I meant by slab form. That way you are not adding more heat to the plates.

If you have round dowels sticking up from the bottom of your mould then the slab castings will have round holes in them. Weld round bar to the side plate in the same positions as the holes then drop the lead slabs over the round bars. The bars will hold the lead and also reinforce the side plates when you plug weld them to the 2nd side.

Regards,

DD

For sale, a Taylors 030L three burner paraffin stove

I grew up with the family using paraffin stoves and lamps, so I do have an understanding of what makes them work (or not) clean fuel is the prime suspect when the burner does not burn clean, also worn jets and leaks on the pressure side.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

This stove type is known to me by its fame on cruisers yachts using it world wide, made in Great Britain, its a top class product.

The stove is the full works, two top burners, plus a cast iron plate that covers the top when the grill section is required, the oven is large enough to make bread and a small roast.

Taylors stoves are marked with the series and serial numbers, with this known I contacted Jackie in the UK of Sea-Sure the agents for Taylors stoves, she tells me this stove was new in August 2003. As I know its not been used for two or three years, the stove has seen only seven years light use.

This is the later model and follows the changes made in July 1998 and as mentioned in page 29 of the user manual (supplied)

Has this oven ever been used, it does not look like it.

Just about spotless inside this oven, the burner shows no sign of being used.

The fuel supply tank comes with a hand pressure pump, gauge, also a fuel filter and bowl.

The tank takes around 8 ltrs and will supply the stove running on all burners for as much as eight hours.

Paraffin is the heating fuel and methylated spirit the burner warmer to start the stove with.

A spare burner but of another type to what is in the stove, the internals are the same though.

Note the small metal section with grooves on one side, that is the control valve and should have a

thin metal pricker on the right hand end, its missing.

Signs of too much force when using the valve control can easily be seen.

The top burners require service kits, they have an internal needle valve that is controlled by

a rack and pinion system, the point of the shaft being the fuel flow restrictor, I will install those , clean the stove, test all three burners are working  and we are ready for a new owner!

Roy

Update, we have located two new and complete burners, they will be installed and not a spares pack.

The Taylors 30L paraffin stove revisited

Why the Taylors stove?

The fact that they are very well made and long lived must come to the fore here, plus with paraffin burners like Primus having been around for a very long time, Its going to be fairly easy to find spare parts.

You can fix them yourself, to be honest they just need to have clean fuel and thats about it burner wise. If a jet blocks its a very simple job to remove it with a small spanner, clean with a jet pricker (where are mine?) then replace the jet. The stove in the picture has internal jet prickers, they self clean by turning the control knobs to the left.

After a very long time the leather pump washer may start to need more pumps than was normal but again removing the old washer and fitting a new one will be found to be simple enough.

This is the Taylors 30L Paraffin stove we will have on offer quite soon.

So we have proven reliability but we also have safety, Paraffin does of course burn but compared to the option of LPG (liquid petroleum gas) the flash point is quite high.

Methylated Spirit (alcohol)  is used to pre heat the burners but a very small amount is used, the flash point of Meths, is of course low but with so little needing on each light up the danger is small.

Note, its important to fill the Meths bowl and allow it to nearly burn out before opening the knob to the presurised Paraffin, the reason is the pre heating may not be hot enough and the result will be the Paraffin flares up some. After a few attempts to light the burners you will soon get the idea.

The other issue is that Paraffin can be found just about any place, while LPG may not be so easily found, it may also be true that in colder weather Paraffin heats better than LPG which I have seen gives a reduced heat output as the temperature falls.

Whats the drawback? well it may be said that Paraffin can smell, so does LPG when not controled but for sure split Paraffin is far safer than LPG!

I will add to this subject as the used Taylors 30L stove is stripped and cleaned , then re assembled and lit up, sort of a Taylors stove user manual on line?

Today I discovered the fault with one burner, stripped and rebuilt it and in the morning we will do a test light up and boil some hot water to may some coffee!

New jet cleaners and related parts are being ordered, they will ensure that this ten year old Taylors 030L stove burns clean and as it should. This is one of the later series of stoves, so the most up to date?

Note, there is a user manual to be found on line, it covers all of the stoves under models 028, 029, 030, 030L which is larger of all the range?

Find it under Blakes Lavac Taylor

Roy

An update from Alec Jordan on the Ayles skiff

This came in yesterday and after I had posted on the Ayles skiff the day before, so please now read Alecs updated story. The pictures are from the Skiff World Championships at Ullapool 2013.

Roy

Hi Roy

Thanks for putting this up.

First point – the pic at the top of the two man boat is the Wemyss Skiff.  Attached are a couple of new pics from Skiffy Worlds to replace it.

The text below is now slightly dated – please replace with what is below.

Click on the pictures to view in a larger size.

 

Photo credit, by Steven Gourlay Photography, taken 10th July 2013, at 9.54 am.

 

Ullapool Harbour, Scotland.

Thank you for showing an interest in the St Ayles skiff. Your life may be about to change, hopefully for the better, as you discover the joys of boat building and being on the water as part of a community.

Those of us who were involved in 2009, at the start of what was then the “Scottish Coastal Rowing Project”, under the auspices of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, had a pretty good idea that building and rowing the newly designed St Ayles Skiff would be a very rewarding and sociable experience. We knew friends in our own community and some in neighbouring areas might well catch on and get an enthusiasm for the concept too. However, we have been somewhat taken aback by the speed at which the fever spread, not just around the Firth of Forth, which we might have expected, but initially along the coasts of Scotland, then down into some lovely parts of England, and then around the world.

Therefore, it is worthwhile trying to look at what is so special about this boat, and the way it brings communities together.

Perhaps most importantly, the St Ayles is not something you just buy off the shelf. It is supplied in a kit form, which means that the basic hull shape and dimensions will be the same for each boat. However, a great deal of work goes into transforming sheets of precut plywood parts into the graceful shape of a St Ayles skiff. It’s that work which is enormously rewarding, and can be done by you, in your community, with your friends, some of whom you will know already and some of
whom you have yet to meet, but all of whom you will have a special bond with. You and your community will be very proud of what you create, and it will have touches which make it unique.

Then you and others will start to row your community skiff. Many of the rowers will have lived beside the sea for years, but never looked at their community from seaward before. Just as you discovered the rewards of teamwork when building the boat, rowers will discover the joys of teamwork in making the boat sweep gracefully through the water, and making her ride purposefully over the waves. During the build some experienced woodworkers will have shared their knowledge with learners, a rewarding experience for both. Now on the water the same thing will happen, with experienced rowers and mariners sharing their experience with newcomers. Some of those newcomers will be youngsters, some will be pensioners, but all are discovering that joy of working together with others to achieve a goal.

Photo credit, by Steven Gourlay Photography, taken 10th July 2013,
Loch Broom, Scotland.

Apart from being pleasing on the eye, the St Ayles has proved time and again to be a superb seaboat.  They have been raced in everything up to Force 6  winds, and in three years of regattas, there have been no capsizes or injuries.  Their stability has been a big factor in bringing hundreds of people who have never enjoyed water based recreation into the sport, and while racing is a big part of rowing the St Ayles, there are a very large number of rowers who partake simply for the exercise and camaraderie of working closely together.

Coastal rowing is a very accessible sport. You do not need huge resources or specialist knowledge to become involved. All the rowers have a contribution to make to the propulsion of the boat, and all share the same rewards.

We recently welcomed 800 St Ayles skiff rowers from the USA, Australia, Netherlands, England and Scotland to the first St Ayles World Championships in Ullapool in Scotland’s Northwest Highlands.  The Worlds has attracted further interest from around the world as well as from Scotland; when the next Worlds is held in 3 or 4 years time, there will be many more countries represented – we hope that crews from Southern Africa will have discovered the joys of coastal rowing and will be present for it.

Alec Jordan & Robbie Wightman

Bravo, bravo to this idea, Hout Bay harbour and Hout Bay itself would be the perfect setting for a South African event!

Roy
 

For more information, please go to www.scottishcoastalrowing.org, or download the St Ayles brochure  from http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/files/2013/06/PDF-Final-Full.pdf.

Kits for Southern Africa will be available from CKD Boats cc .

Roy

Navik wind vane pilot for sale

Know as one of the better small craft pilots, suitable for craft to about 32 feet long, we have an offer of a complete Navik pilot.

They can be used with a small electric tiller  pilot gear with a compass, that way you can use the power of the sea water on the lower paddle to steer the boat with, this way 12 volt current drain is very low.
This size is all that is needed Raymarine ST1000 

When the electric pilot fails, you still have the Navik!

Sold as is, we can offer a shipping service by taking the vane apart, air freight may be reasonable, otherwise we would use the Post Office.

A vane steering gear is really another crew member, only it just takes a little oil and no food or space inside the boat!

The price is R8500 ex Cape Town, South Africa. (about U$850)

What a great offer!

Roy

The St Ayles skiff

I have mentioned this before, now we are further down the road and the class is even larger, maybe we can start our own class here in South Africa and have 'raids' as many other countries are doing?

 

the Wemyss Skiff 

 Ian at the front and Alec at the rear.

From  Alec Jordan:

Welcome,

Thank you for showing an interest in the St Ayles skiff. Your life may be about to change, hopefully for the better, as you
discover the joys of boat building and being on the water as part of a community.
Those of us who were involved in 2009, at the start of what was then the “Scottish Coastal Rowing Project”, under the auspices of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, had a pretty good idea that building and rowing the newly designed St Ayles skiff
would be a very rewarding and sociable experience. We knew friends in our own community and some in neighbouring
areas might well catch on and get an enthusiasm for the concept too. However, we have been somewhat taken aback by
the speed at which the fever spread, not just around the Firth of Forth, which we might have expected, but initially along
the coasts of Scotland, then down into some lovely parts of England, and then around the world.
Therefore, it is worthwhile trying to look at what is so special about this boat, and the way it brings communities together.
Perhaps most importantly, the St Ayles is not something you just buy off the shelf. It is supplied in a kit form, which means
that the basic hull shape and dimensions will be the same for each boat. However, a great deal of work goes into transforming sheets of precut plywood parts into the graceful shape of a St Ayles skiff. It’s that work which is enormously rewarding, and can be done by you, in your community, with your friends, some of whom you will know already and some of
whom you have yet to meet, but all of whom you will have a special bond with. You and your community will be very
proud of what you create, and it will have touches which make it unique.
Then you and others will start to row your community skiff. Many of the rowers will have lived beside the sea for years,
but never looked at their community from seaward before. Just as you discovered the rewards of teamwork when building
the boat, rowers will discover the joys of teamwork in making the boat sweep gracefully through the water, and making
her ride purposefully over the waves. During the build some experienced woodworkers will have shared their knowledge
with learners, a rewarding experience for both. Now on the water the same thing will happen, with experienced rowers
and mariners will share their experience with newcomers. Some of those newcomers will be youngsters, some will be pensioners, but all are discovering that joy of working together with others to achieve a goal.
Coastal rowing is a very accessible sport. You do not need huge resources or specialist knowledge to become involved. All
the rowers have a contribution to make to the forward movement of the boat, and all share the same rewards.
As I write this, I am greatly looking forward to welcoming St Ayles skiff rowers from Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia,
Netherlands, England and Scotland to the first St Ayles World Championships. This is a chance to bring together a worldwide community and I look forward to hearing all the stories of how these rowers became involved.

Open the link to read the rest of the text and view the pictures.

http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/files/2013/06/PDF-Final-Full.pdf

We can supply these boats as kits for your own construction, or as completed boats to your order.

Roy

The i550 sports yacht is in South Africa

Not only that but being built right now, with one of our kits under construction, plans ordered and for another of our kits the i500 class boat will soon be a factor of the local sailing scene.

Watershed Boats have agreed to allow CKD Boats cc to cut these boats and supply as kits.

http://www.i550sportboat.com/

Check the link  for more information.

Roy

The Dix 43 center cockpit on launch day

This was of course a big day, in many ways the day before was an even bigger day as the keel was fitted to the boat, would the 14 x 20mm keel studs line up with the holes in the boat? Would the 4 fuel tank pipes fit, lots of questions.

Thats John Holmes standing on the aft deck of the boat, John is a good friend and was crew on our trip
to Salvador,Bahia, Brasil on another boat I took over some years back. John took over the job of propping the boat up for me the day before once it was on its keel, thanks John!

Picture taken by RH McBride using a Pentax film camera. Click on the image for a larger view.

The hull of this yacht was constructed mainly by one person in a six week time span period.

Plans are available from www.dixdesign.com we can supply a bulkhead kit set. The coach roof was a custom design for this boat.

Roy