Argie 15 kit building in Switzerland

This has come in from Basil in Zurich.

Hi Roy

I have just glued the seat riser and set the first cleats,

Regards,

Basil

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Basil has a very nice workshop, lots of light and a good build table to work off.

The workmanship looks neat and clean, this is a good way to process any build, clean up as you proceed.

The inside joints have been supported with epoxy fillets, we supply the micro balloons and fumed silica powders with each kit we sell (optional) when required.

The Argie 15 kit set from CKD Boats cc is a very popular choice.

Roy

Which way up do the Perkins 4108 diesel injector yokes go?

This question requires an answer, as so far I have not been able to find any mention of it?

The injectors on the Perkins 4108 are not in the Perkins manual for the engine, well excepting an image showing one under test but nothing otherwise in the two manuals I have.

One manual shows an image on page 32?

Images are taken from Parts 4 Engines, my thanks.

Check the way the yoke sits high and under the neck of the main injector body.

I had my injectors fitted with new nozzles, they came back to me with the yoke reversed and a large gap where that joint is.

This meant that I could not tighten the injector into the head tight enough as the yoke was fouling the cylinder head and the copper washer was not sealing the injector to cylinder head correctly.

Note the recess, this yoke is the right way up, lets call it the 'Catch Water ' position?

My four injectors were returned to me with the yoke upside down and the depth of that recess was then short on the depth I could tighten the injector nuts up to.

Click on the image above ( its my own) the gaps around the injectors can be seen clearly?

This is how the head was suppliied to me, the valves had been fully serviced, the injectors still required the same so the yokes were in the original and correct position.

I hope this information is of help to someone?

Roy

The Optimist kit by CKD Boats cc

This kit was developed from an order from a local yacht club for five kits, as we were developing the kit, three more orders from the same club came in.

Since then we have sold them into many places, sometimes with larger boat kit orders or to parents who just want to get their children onto the water.

This kit build is the first one of three kits we exported to a sailing school in the USA late last year.

The kids will build the boat, then learn how to sail them as well.

Guidence from an adult will be required.

We supply a very detailed builders guide with each kit we supply, it has some 14 pages and is filled with instructions and pictures.

There is also a Builders Jig, that is required for each build, more than one Optimist can be built on the same jig if the builders are careful.

With this order we also supplied the North Sail and a Harken deck package.

Roy

Basils Argie 15 kit building

Basil bought an Optimist kit from us last year, he made a great job of building and finishing that kit.

He then ordered two more Optimist kits and also an Argie 15 design by Dudley Dix who is in the USA. We supply the plans under licence from www.dixdesign.com .

The panels when freed off from the okoume marine plywood sheets, we leave them tagged in for ease of packing.

The plans also include printed build instructions to guide the builder as the assembly takes place.

The Argie 15 is a fine craft, it can be used as a sailing camper also if you fit a canopy over the boom?

Basil calls this a 'Dry Assmbley ' that is a great idea and allows the builder to better understand the panel assembly .

The basic hull is formed, next the seats and dagger board casing will be fitted.

This kit went to Switzerland, such orders are not uncommon for us, we handle the packing and shipping, the customer then handles the inbound costs when the package arrives.

http://sayachts.blogspot.co.za/2014/06/argie-15.html

For a lot more on this great design please view the SA Yacht Blog by Justin Phillips.



Roy

Inside the Rootes Car Company, Linwood, Scotland, factory

There are very few really good pictures of the inside of the Linwood factory that I have seen, excepting those in books about the Hillman Imp like Apex by Robert Allan.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

This picture was posted as a header on a social media site connected to The Imp Club.

http://www.theimpclub.co.uk/

With members World wide The Imp Club is well worth knowing about.

Why not go on line now and become a member!

The Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined saloon car that was m...anufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group (later Chrysler Europe) from 1963 to 1976

Imp variants:

The Hillman Husky estate car was based on the Imp

Hillman Imp
Hillman Imp Mark I
Hillman Imp de Luxe Mark I & Mark II
Hillman Super Imp
Hillman GT [10] (developed by Chrysler Australia from the Singer Chamois Sport and released in April 1967, it was never badged nor officially referred to as the Hillman Imp GT)[11]
Hillman Imp Californian (coupé / fastback saloon version)
Hillman Husky (estate version of the Imp from 1967)
Commer Imp Van (from November 1965)
Hillman Imp Van
Singer Chamois Mark I, Mark II, Sport, & Coupé (upmarket, luxury versions of the Imp)
Sunbeam Imp Sport
Sunbeam Sport
Sunbeam Chamois & Chamois Coupé (luxury version of the Imp)
Sunbeam Stiletto
Sunbeam Californian
Sunbeam Imp Basic (North America)
Sunbeam Imp De Luxe Mark I & Mark II (North America)

My own red Hillman Imp Californian came down that same production line on the 3rd of February 1967. The car was painted in the Rootes paint code 108, which was white,with a pale blue interior. It was a fully built up car that was an export order to Mozambique.

roy

Hillman Imp engines

This has been a fascination of mine from the age of seventeen when I got my very first car, it was a Balmoral Grey 1963 Hillman Imp.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Since those early days I have built so many Imp engines that the numbers are lost to me.

Many have been the standard 875cc some have been the larger 998cc, one of which I raced here at the Killarney Circuit just outside  Cape Town.

Roy

Car restorations in Hout Bay, South Africa

I am able to restore cars such as the Imp to any standard, including sprint and race plus engine rebuilds.

My main speciality is the 1963 to 1973 Hillman Imp and its cousins.

Cli.ck on the images to enlarge them.

This red 1967 Hillman Imp Californian coupe is my own car, it has been in progress now just short of two years and while other works were happening.

The car is now a daily driver and can be driven if required.

Imp 875cc engine rebuilds are a special part of what is on offer.

Many parts are ex stock, others are Imported from my many suppliers.

Imp front disc brakes are also possible.

Engine rebuilds, the one on the left is a 998cc block.

Cylinder heads are ex stock.

Total body works can also be done.

Roy

Building our Optimist kit in the USA

We recently sent three Optimist kits to a sailing school in America.

It looks like they are off to a very good start with reading our detailed builders manual!

Roy

Genuine Bruce anchors for sale

I have two real Bruce anchors for sale, both used but undamaged.

One is the 20 kg size  and suitable for quite a large vessel, the other is a 5kg size and would suit a small to medium sized boat.

The price is R8000 for the larger one and R2500 for the smaller one.

Please beware of imitations of which there are many.

I have used a Bruce anchor on all my yacht cruises and never had an issue with dragging once.

The anchor is possibly the most important part of your safety equipment when cruising.

Contact me for further details.

Roy

Basils Optimist kit building

This second one will go faster than the first one we supplied, Basil has a third to do as well.

https://youtu.be/a6F-zWTDAoM

More on the finishing when we have it.

Roy

Optimist dinghy sail for sale

This one was made by North Sails and  has been used a few times, I was told in an international regatta.

It can be purchased for R1500 ( about U$100)  and is supplied complete with its North Sails bag.

The picture shows a similar sail and on an Optimist that was built from one of our CNC kits..

The sail is in Hout Bay, South Africa and can be posted to most places?

Roy

Wood / Epoxy as a boat building material?

This issue gets kicked around from time to time and often falls finally on the boats resale value and worth?

The problem is that we never really know the truth until we try and sell the boat?

Recently a Dix 43 that was built in a plywood/epoxy method was placed on the market, it took a number of months, then the prospective buyers arrived.

Some may have been  interested in the boat due to its condition, as even after sixteen years in the water the boat still looks as you can see in the picture above.

 

The boat found two possible buyers and within the same week, the first to place his deposit became the buyer.

 

One guy flew down from Richards Bay at his own expense, he was totally knocked out by the design and the quality of build.

 

 

Of the four main possible buyers not one questioned the fact that the boat was built from a wood/epoxy system, not one made a lower offer and the boat sold at its full asking price.

 

So the next time I am asked about the resale of a similar construction built boat, I will suggest that it is not the material the boat is made from but how it has been  built and then maintained?

 

The buyer was recommended to have a survey, one of the capes well known boat builders did the job.

The in the water survey showed that there was no area with a moisture content higher than eight percent. The surveyor later did a Skype call to the buyer and recommended that the boat be purchased.

 

Roy

 

Picture a gaggle of British Seagulls

If such a thing exists that gaggle may look like the picture.

 

Some are quite alive and some are sleeping and waiting for parts.

 

 

We recommend a new Villiers type coil, this one is some sixty year old now and even if it supplies a spark to start with it can fail at any time?

Allow about R1900, plus 20% Duty and 14% Vat?

Restoration and labour charges are available on request, supply the engine number and some pictures of your motor please.

Roy

 

 
 

Philips AP Mk8 GPS display

This works fine, the remote antenna does not.

So either the display is for sale or I am wanting a replacement antenna?

Contact me for details.

An update and many years later, as I first posted on this subject way back in 2016!

As a way of a test I set the GPS up and tried what was once a faulty antenna out, to my amazement the set started to work and has been running for around six months now.

I assume that the small antenna had a moisture ingress and that stopped the unit from functioning, then left in my office for a few years its dried out?

Note, I have some B&G Network repeaters and a GPS Plus connected to it, the best reading on there goes as low as 1.0 right now it reads 1.4.

Looking at ten sats, using five so good enough for a 2D fix

The date is out permanently and cannot be entered into the GPS. Right now the B&G GPS shows me Wed, 14th April 04, when the actual date is Wednesday 29th 2023.

So the Leica Mk8 is no longer for sale!

Roy
 

B&G ACP1 autopilot for sale

Simply the best when it came out I have an ACP1 autopilot control and a Network Pilot to control it with.

 

 

I also have the more powerfull ACP2 PCB (circuit board) if the upgrade is needed?

 

There are a number of the daisy chain wires and end plugs to suit, plus a HRF (heading reference unit) to indicate the rudder angle.

 

 

 

 

Contact me for prices etc.

 

Roy