Didi mini transat cruise drop keel painting

This section is the same as the Didi 26,just a little shorter,it uses the same 400kgs of hot pour lead ballast we also supply.The core of the keel is solid laminated Iroko wood,with five layers on each side of uni directional glass and epoxy,this one will ship to England,we have shipped similar keel foils to the USA and Australia in the past.The paint is a special formula high build twin pack etch primer,we have sprayed two coats on at this stage,after a light sanding another two coats will be applied,it will then be ready for packing and shipment with the rest of the clients order.

Bombaloza Scull plans are ready

The plans are some twenty pages long,with very detailed set up and building instructions,plans are from Dave at  http://www.hartwanger.co.za/  and the kits from kits@comlumber.com you can ring me at work on Cape Town 021 510-7206 for prices .

Message just in from Dave.


Hi Roy,


I've finally finished a DIY guide for building the Bombaloza sculling boat. I'm making this freely available so there is no restriction on distribution. Also, it doesn't go into too much detail as I feel the Bombaloza is a fairly easy build.

Let me know if you feel there are any modifications required to the doc, otherwise feel free to pass it on to potential builders.

Thanks

Dave


David Hartwanger

Tel: +27 (0)43 748 5518

http://www.hartwanger.co.za/

Yamaha P320 turntable belt and stylus

The Yamaha turntable, Sony radio amplifier and Akai tape deck were all good products when bought by me new, will they work now?

The album, On Every Street from September 1991,was Dire Straights last album,which may be when my turntable was working last?

Calling Elvis, anybody there?

The opening words off an old 33 rpm vinyl record I have from a Dire Straights album were heard once more, Roy had decided to hunt down a new drive belt that broke at least a decade back. That album is called On Every Street, its a great one too, distributed by Vertigo code # STARL 5836,on CD its STARCD5836. We have a great many LPs (long players) as the old style records were called, some go back to the mid sixties, music that can not be found on CDs.

Finding a new drive belt and stylus was never going to be easy, not in Cape Town, or so I thought, looking on Google I found the belt was type FNB 23.6, which are how many inches long it is, the belt is 3/16" wide.In metric the belt is around 583mm long and 4mm wide?

I found a belt for sale easy enough in the USA, its a common one used on many brands of turntable,with a price of U$7.50, plus another 6.50 to postage we were looking at Rands 105, not out of order but out of the country, whats local I thought?

I found a used record shop in Rheede Street, Gardens,Cape Town,
Mabu Vinyl - The Cape Town Music Store, 2 Rheede Street Gardens , Cape Town 8001. Contact: Stephen ... The Cape Town Music Store. Mabu Vinyl is the record, CD, DVD, cassette, book, ...
www.mabuvinyl.co.za/ -

they advised I try a well established audio shop in Maitland, on Voortrekker Road, named Radio Discotheque, its been there close on forty years I hear? they used to supply a night club named Blaises, on the top of what was then Sanlam Center, twenty two floors up, in the mid seventies when I worked there some nights as a DJ.

www.radiodisco.co.za/

try Ian or Vanessa on phone 021 511 4559 she emailed me back to say they had lots of belts and stylus and would I take the turntable in for matching with new ones?  I took the turntable in early on Saturday morning and spoke to Ian, the new drive belt was fitted for me, tested and the stylus arm was balanced too, with a new stylus the price was a very modest R200, or about U$27, no problems with that at all, it was great service from a shop that really does know hi-fi, give them a call if you need anything. Of course we now have a huge range of music to listen to again and guess what, vinyl audio sound is actually better than CD, its got a lot to do with the depth of the pressing track and the type and quality of the stylus you use. Next I have to see what music Mabu Vinyl have waiting for me?

Jessica Watson arrives back home

Jessica made it yesterday afternoon,her time,she has certainally shown what a young girl can acheive but there was wonderfull organisation behind the scenes here,well planed and thought through from the time she began,well done Jessica,whats next?

Solo sailor Jessica Watson, 16, completes globe-circling feat


Watson sails into Sydney Harbor after her seven-month voyage, and is feted by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who calls her 'Australia's newest hero.'

Watson with her mother during a reception with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Sydney, Australia. (Dan Himbrechts / EPA)

Jessica Watson nears Sydney Harbour and 50,000 fans

The S&S (Sparkman and Stephens) 34, a classic design from the famous Sparkman & Stephens, it is known firstly for its seaworthiness, toughness and track record. It is a boat capable of consistent speeds and one that Jessica can easily handle.
Big hello planned for Jess Watson by Glenis Green From: The Courier-Mail May 11, 2010

ELLAS PINK LADY: Jessica Watson. Picture: AFP Source: Herald Sun

THE Sunshine Coast will blush pink in a joyful homecoming celebration for around-the-world solo sailor Jessica Watson.

While Sydney is planning a $1 million extravaganza - on par with its New Year's Eve bash - for the moment the teen officially completes her circumnavigation this Saturday, her home port of Mooloolaba also wants to do its famous daughter proud.

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council has offered to host a civic reception, but an informal community celebration could reflect the thrill supporters and family feel about the 16-year-old's remarkable achievement.

"The intention is for the whole of the Sunshine Coast to acknowledge what a wonderful job Jessica has done and welcome her home," said Mooloolaba boating identity Vicki Brown yesterday. A tentative date of June 6 has been set for the welcome

"We're going to get her to sail Ella's Pink Lady through the rock wall at Mooloolaba (harbour) and we're hoping to have both sides of the rock wall lined with as many people as possible wearing pink or waving pink flags," Mrs Brown said.

Accompanied by a flotilla of local boaties and a water police escort, Jessica would then sail to the Mooloolaba Yacht Club for an official welcome.

Metal boats in sea water

The only way to solve this boats paint woes was to start again,grit blasting is highly controled now due to the mess and health risck,the option to used UHP (ultra high pressure) was the only route in this case,its was fast and when the water dried away,very clean,the Sigma etch prima was applied within a half hour of the steel plate drying.This is the only sure way to isolate your boat from the shore power as far as galvanic currents are concerned.

Note: UHP has the ability to remove the paints but importantly does not 'polish' the original grit blast surface off the steel.

The pictures show a steel box keel being UHP water blasted clean,thats totally clean of all paints applied over an eleven year period,from the original Intergard primer to its tie coat and antifouls over the period.Its easy to see the paint degrade on the side of the keel but why was this happening,it was fine when last hauled but I think the alarm bells were ringing then.

There was never any doubt about the manufacturing process of the steel work itself and having the etch primer applied after grit blasting by proffessionals,ensured that side was ok too,so what happened? My thoughts work around two possibles,both may be connected too,does Hout Bay Harbour have a high electric charge in its water and as the bottom of the keel could never be inspected,what was going on down there,basically we do not know,the problem with a slip on rails being you sit on blocks of wood,often quite close together,the boat had only ever been hauled on that type of slip,if rust had of started we would not know and if this is the case,that will be the start of the degrade in the paints as can be seen?

A boat that was steel built and kept on the HBYC Marina and left untouched for five years was eventually slipped,the owner and builder told me he was both happy and amazed that the annodes were still working and no degrade in the hull was to be found.He repainted,changed the annodes and went back to the marina,nine months later the boat,they were living on it,was found to be leaking so badly it was in danger of sinking and had to be craned out and taken to the hard,it needed a lot of new metal welding in.Why,what was going on? I have to assume some sort of galvanic process was taking place,the extension to the harbour wall was in progess then,lots of heavy welding was taking place in the ,did they have earth straps into the sea water? the other points are the possbles of being grounded to a shore supply,never ground the boat at all,the shore supply can be the only earth you need and when you do use a battery charger,which will ground the boats 12v supply and engine,use a Galvanic Isolator,your boat could become the main annode on the marina otherwise?

One last point is the pro diver I employ to check and service the prop shaft and its annode ,tells me its not uncommon for him when leaving the water and reaching up to the marina and its steel works,to recieve a shock,in this he is becoming a ground strap from the water to the marina,which has shore power and floats on plastic containers.

I was recently asked about the UHP metal keel blasting we did on a Dix 43 recently,the main question was why it was required? Why indeed,this is a wood/epoxy construction but the keel is a steel casing some 4.40mtrs long and 1.1mtrs tall,it has five tones of lead in it and weighs six tones in all.

The boat has been haulded three times before this time,the last time it had been in the water was a period of three years since the time before,at each hauling the keel annode was checked and changed as a matter of course,after three years the large pear shaped annode was hardly touched.

The reason for this should be simple to explain but some other outside element may have been creeping in and unseen,I had the keel made proffesionally by S Products,I then had Nautilus Marine collect the keel (empty) and take it to their premises to be grit blasted and etch primed coated with International Paints Intergard Red Primer.Tim of International Paints had recomended this as the correct process.Later a tie coat,also by International Paints was applied prior to the application of antifouls.

In the next three years the boat was hauled either at Grainger Bay or at the RCYC,both places haul you on a railway type slip,which gives good access  to all but the very bottom of the keel,this may later be an issue? at each removal from the water,anti fouls,annodes and the keel were checked closely,new antifoul being replaced on one haul.With new paints and annodes to both the keel and propellor shaft the boat was to be hauled next some three years later and at RCYC.

This was for antifouls,new annodes and as normal stripping and regrease of all bronze through hull fittings with water proof grease.This time it was noted that a small patch of paint had rusted to the steel just aft and above of the keel annode which is low down on the port side of the keel,it was also to be noted that some large patches of tie coats and antifouls were quite loose and could easily be scrapped off,leaving the Intergard primer looking like it was brand new.

This I think may have been noted more fully,why and after six years was there surface rust and patches of paint faling off down to the Intergard primer? The boat was fitted with a new keel annode and new antifouls,as before using International Paints products.It was to be some four years later after a diver told me my keel annode was none existant that we hauled again,I had always had the propellor annode serviced but with so little damage happening to the keel one,had not even considered that as a source of trouble.

To be continued:

Roy

Nedbank,its raining fish TV advert

I was reading a newspaper story about this film clip,what a well done advert,the place was Picketberg,the reasoning was some see their chance to improove when others run for cover.

http://www.nedbank.co.za/website/content/extraordinary-times/index.asp?gclid=CPvqlfn3xKECFUgz3wodRS0m_w

Hout Bay Marina about 1990

This was before the marina managers office was moved to the position on the left where the small yacht is at the bottom of the walkway.The Endurance 37 in front is Ocean Cloud,she had just done a return delivery trip from Trinidad with Simone and Nigel as crew.The boat to her right is Magic Minnie,she was about 46ft long and may be a Ron Holland or Bruce Far design,the moulds to her were laying at the head of the Ben Schoeman Dock in Cape Town for years,unsused and free.

Mosquito wooden air planes

Wooden Mosquito Airplane Manufacturing in Australia -1944 de Havilland DH98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cVvYdLeek

Of course all these years later we realise that the construction in wood will produce a 'Stealth' cover that today is so highly required in modern war planes and boats.

Roy (thanks for telling me notty)
These planes were made in joinery shops for a ten year period,over 7000 were made,

de Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito


The classic DH 98 Mosquito nightfighter found few challengers in World War 2.

By Staff Writer

Few can find much fault in the de Havilland design of its Mosquito series of nightfighters featured so prominently in the Battle of Britain and throughout the entire World War Two campaigns across Europe. The twin-engine nightfighter offered up a level of protection unseen before and would solidify its place in the Pantheon of military aviation history with stellar sortie ratios and performance handling.

The initial design foray for Mosquito production resulted in three similar takes on the same premise - to produce a fighter / bomber capable of flying high enough and fast enough that no defensive weapon could threaten it (a common formula for much of the Cold War-era jet bomber designs). The three models became the Mosquito in dayfighter, bomber and fighter-bomber variants. Production proceeded on the bomber variant while designs for the fighter and a specialized photo-reconnaissance variant was drawn up.

A new drop keel foil for a Didi Cruise Mini Transat

We have exported two others of these keel foils,one is in the USA and for a Didi 26,the other is in Australia and for a Didi Mini Cruise,the length is longer on the Didi 26,this one is going to England.

Lewmar self tailing winches for sale

There are two Lewmar Chrome self tailing winches available,both have had very light use,one is the Lewmar cst 16:1,the other is a Lewmar cst 30,both are in excellent condition.

contact roy@ckdboats.com for further information. November 2010 they have been sold.

A Cape Cutter 19 kit nears the finish line

Ian tells me the interior is finished and as soon as his road trailer arrives he will take the boat to a pro paint shop for the application of the boats top coats on the outside,not a bad idea when a top quality finish adds a fair amount of value.

Ian in New Zealand, ordered our last Cape Cutter 19 kit,plus the mast,boom and deck package in 316 stainless steel,he also took our drop keel which was milled to shape and had its cable pin fitted.He has made a really fine job of his build,we are looking forwards to some sailing pics next.

Petr Muzik,delivery skipper

Peter arrived with some friends and the boats owner,Nick Taylor to do an over night sail Port Owen YC marina,where Nicks boat,Kalimba will soon be berthed.

The clients who commissioned this power yacht design are a retired couple in the Chesapeake Bay area of the U.S.A. They live aboard their boat and cruise the Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway on the East Coast.

The style of the hull is traditional eliptical stern tug above the waterline combined with a trawler-yacht underbody of much lighter displacement than would be found on a working tug. The superstructure is a blend of a traditional tug pilothouse with a deckhouse needed for the accommodation.

Hull and deck construction is steel using a radiused single chine hull form while the superstructure is aluminum. The junction between the two metals is either bolted, with isolation material, or welded, with a bi-metallic bonding strip. Both the hull and superstructure are longitudinally framed, i.e. the shell plating is supported by longitudinal stringers which are in turn supported by widely spaced frames. This permits simpler construction than transverse framing and presents less fairing problems.

As from July 2008, we now also have drawings to build this design from wood throughout. The hull is bead and cove strip plank western red cedar, with plywood decks and superstructure.

Taffy and Shirley arrive in the Galapagos Islands

Hi one and all, Hout Bay YC members and good friends of ours have sent news of their arrival,normally a windless trip from the Panama Canal area but not for them ,the boat is a Lavranos 39 named The Road (royal order of achient druids) they set off to go cruising about ten years back,their crew is a grey parrot named Rubbish!

As immediate family will already be aware (we hope) we arrived safely at Santa Cruz Island in the Archipelago of Galapagos Ecuador early Friday afternoon the 23rd April 2010, after 9 days of beating into head on South Westerly winds of strengths up to 25 knots.

Such was our angle of heel at times, that Shirley was torn between the options of leaving the boat and walking the rest of the way; or having one leg shortened by about a metre to even her up a bit (then I suppose her name would have to change to Ilean when we got to land); but in the end she stoically decided to make the best of things, and simply resort to nagging me to “do something about the strength and or the direction of the wind”. So if it is miracles you require, just ask and I will wave my Druid’s crook and there you go.

Despite entering into protracted e-mail correspondence with the obligatory Ecuadorian clearance agent whilst in Panama, (The port authorities in Galapagos refuse to deal directly with individual yacht skippers), and eventually receiving a written quotation for all costs, so far we have paid in excess of 180% of the quoted figure, and we still have the dubious pleasure of having to pay a fee for checking out of the country. Ah well c’est la vie, as they say on the south side of the English Channel . There goes another month’s budget spent in 7 days. Just as well the next leg is a long one, where we have nothing to spend it on.


I am almost afraid to put this in writing, but the only equipment failure experienced during our trip was the bulb lighting up the Binnacle compass, well that was true until we dropped anchor, when the (yes Vetus again) main engine exhaust gas and cooling water mixing box fell to pieces so allowing copious amounts of exhaust fumes into the boat, and vast amounts of cooling water into the bilges. Fortunately the blue exhaust fumes billowing out of the companionway hatch provided a subtle hint that all was not well, so we were able to control the situation before we sank. Who said this life style was dull?

As to Galapagos itself, let it be said that if it were in a more accessible location then there are many places with more to offer nature diversification wise; South Africa for example. But of course if that were the case then Galapagos would not be the unique place it is.

The island of Santa Cruz , and the area surrounding Admiralty Bay , was a pleasant surprise for us, as the literature we had read seemed to indicate that due to it’s isolation, there would be a marked shortage of general goods and foodstuffs available. Such is not the case, as the Saturday morning local market emphasized, where there was an abundance of fruit, vegetables, fish, and meat available, all to a standard sufficient to satisfy the most discerning of palates. To supplement this, there is more than an adequate selection of businesses of all types, hardware, small supermarkets, as well as the tourist trap emporiums and more excellent restaurants than you could shake a stick at. The only control on purchasing is not the availability, but the cost thereof. But I suppose taking the isolation factor into consideration this is to be expected.

The anchorage in Admiralty bay (sea conditions wise) is without doubt the worst we have experienced to date. Due exclusively to the prevailing Pacific Ocean swell rolling straight into the South facing bay. Giving swells and even waves of 2 – 2.5m. Unfortunately due to the Port authority rules, we are forbidden to up anchor and re establish in another more suitable bay or island. So this has had a profound effect upon our deciding to cut short our stay in the Galapagos, and leave this coming Sunday.


So far we have explored (and still are) Santa Cruz itself, including the famous “Charles Darwin Research Centre” A fascinating conglomeration of research facilities established in the main by first world countries, these centres essentially involve breeding facilities for various indigenous fauna ( various sub species of Tortoise, Iguana, birds etc) and flora where the introduction of goats has caused the depletion of flora essential for the nesting of numerous species of birds.

Shirley will attempt to include a few photographs at the end of this epistle, but you will note the arid cactus predominance of the landscape, which of course made it an ideal environment for the giant Tortoise as they can go for prodigious periods without needing to drink. (I would never make a successful Tortoise). However where there is sufficient rainfall, coupled with the nutrient rich nature of the volcanic soil, agriculture can be a more than viable option for human endeavor.

Once again due to the draconian harbour authority laws, we were obliged to hire time on a boat owned and skippered by a local tourist company to visit other islands in the archipelago. The one we chose was due south of Santa Cruz called “Floreana”. Where we were able to climb up and investigate caves created by sea farers of old who used them to corral the Tortoises they had collected for transporting back on to their vessels as a source of fresh meat on the hoof. Also we were of course able to observe Giant Tortoise, Iguanas, a multitude of local sea birds, including the famous “Blue footed Booby” all in their natural environment. But the most memorable of all was when we were allowed to snorkel in an area predominated by breeding “Sea Lion”. So comfortable were these pups with human contact, that immediately they became aware of human swimmers, they would enter the water en masse to frolic and play with their new “friends” and all without the aid of any form of Chumming. Without doubt it was worth the cost of the trip to see the look of sheer delight on Shirley’s face upon returning to the boat.

However as mentioned earlier on, we anticipate weighing anchor on Sunday next the 2nd May, and with in excess of 3000 nautical miles to go before the next stop (with nothing in between) we will be out of touch for approx 25 to 30 days, dependant upon wind strength and direction. For info’n purposes our next stop is intended to be the Marquesas Islands which are part of French Polynesia . More specifically the island of Hiva Oa, which for those interested lies at 09 degrees 48 minutes South; and 139 degrees 02 minutes West with local time Greenwich meant time (or UT or Zulu) minus 9.5 hours.

Will write again when we get there.