Mirror Dinghy plaque number boards are ready

We have nine Dinghy Mirror kits pre sold but but availiable for purchase from the buyer. Today weprepared the obeche wood transom plaque number boards.

Click on the image for a larger image.

Time to prepare more for the 2014 season has run out, more will be available next year.

Roy

Ship scrapping in the water?

These pictures ask a question, at which point does the team find it has no place to stand before the ship sinks????

Seen here and in the Hout Bay Harbour an ex SA Navy patrol ship meets her end, click on the picture for a larger image to understand whats being done.

The boat is being cut down, how far is down I ask, as each kilo of steel that is removed will raise the boat by a similar amount?? Check the waterline and see how much the boat has risen this far!

Check the sparks, someone is inside and using a torch to cut the decks off.

Eventually they will have a long flat dish, each kg cut off makes the dish smaller but it will then float that much higher, when do they stop is my question!

Watch this blog for what I hope is the answer.

Roy

A week or so later and we may be seeing the answer?

Lifting the bow with a crane, more and more material can be cut away.

The boat has been reduced in length and right back to a water tight bulkhead.

Soon it will just be a small segment they can lift and remove with the crane?

Hillman Imp Californian (1967) body and paint works

This car is back with me and I have decided to give it a total rebuild, only four and a half months into the program I am already planing on spraying some pale grey body primer this week.

Applying the paint is of course the easy part!

The car was a rare exp,ort and used to carry Mozambique licence plates, the original engine is still with the car and not only that , the original pistons and bearings are still in the engine! When I rebuilt the engine about seven years back I did fit new pistons rings. The engine runs a genuine Sunbeam Sport series 180 cylinder head, sport camshaft and sport twin Stromberg 125 CD carburators.

The engine is running in this shot, check the yellow fan on the left.

Imp Sport engines all came with an oil cooler but not this type and not in this position.

The special air cleaner has two oval filters in it, one per carburetor and works well drawing its clean air from as high as possible.

The car came off the Rootes production line on February 3rd 1967, said to be one of only fifty five to sixty cars of this model known to the Imp Club in the UK, its now quite a rare car to find.

Roy

The new dinghy launch ramp at the HBYC in Hout Bay Harbour

Sometimes its the simple things that make life far easier and smooth out the way we can do things.

This very simple concrete ramp was placed by club members to assist the development sailing group.

Right away the ramp was in use and we now see the sailors move their dinghies from the HBYC club boat park with a wheeled dolly and then self launch, retrieval is team work and we have many willing helpers doing the Lotto supported program here in Hout Bay.

Progress!

Roy

Another nice day in Hout Bay

Looks like we are well into the summer weather now, normally hot and sunny but a front moving in from the North can bring mist and even rain but not for long.

Space will as normal be tight over the cruising season, so if you  need a berth, please contact the HBYC marina office soon.

Roy

Another nice day in Hout Bay Harbour

As the picture shows its really fine weather.

The cruising yachts are already arriving and we will again be meeting all sorts of interesting folk.

The now open space in the boats has been made to accept a new HBYC member and his catamaran arriving soon from Durban.

Thats always welcome.

Roy

Arnold, r.i.p

I regret to inform that I was told today that Arnold of the Kloof Street bar and grill that carries his own name was killed recently in a motor bike accident.

Arnold was one of those involved in the support of last years JoLon Imp attempt to drive from Johannesburg to Coventry in England.

My respects to all those who knew Arnold.

Roy

Lifes a beach

Hout Bay in South Africa and where I have lived for more than thirty years, once we were here there was really never any reason to leave.

For me this is a big day, after many months of working on the 1967 Hillman Imp Californian I was at last able to take it out and drive the car.

Click on the image to see it full size!

Nice car, pity about the paint job but thats next on the cars program.

The cars motor glass has already been removed, all new rubbers are either in stock or will be sourced from our suppliers overseas.

The front of the car has been refitted already, the engine and transaxle were removed, and inspected with the engine being taken apart and the head serviced with a new timing chain and re setting of tappets. With the entire engine bay being repainted and the engine refitted, the car is really a lot better under the skin than it looks right now.

This should be a nice job for the December holidays!

Roy

December 25th 2014, the car was booked in a week back for a respray at a professional auto paint shop early next year.

This now gives me the time to prepare the 1967 Singer Chamois we have owned over twenty years for its transfer to a new owner around February 2015.

Mirror dinghy kit packing

This was an entire days work, there are so many items in the Mirror dinghy parts list that each has to be checked and ticked off, then bundled and taped as a way of keeping them together.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

There are nine Mirror Dinghy wood sets on the tressel's one long pack and one short pack per each boat, a two page packing list with the boats ISAF number is included with each set so you can check them off yourself, as each part has its number taped onto it.

How hard can this be?  well a whole lost simpler than it was for me to do!

Roy

Mirror Dinghy kits sets ready in Cape Town, South Africa

There are nine sets of wood Mirror Dinghy kit sets and CNC cut plys ready for building now, they may be sold as the person who placed the entire order is the person who will be issuing them to new buyers and we hope builders.

To see a larger image click on each picture.

The machine work was done by a qualified specialist, the cutting to size was done in house and took four days to cut to the specified lengths, some are also shaped.

We hold nine ISAF plaques and will be having the boat number CNC engraved into each transom board which is supplied in lightweight Obeche wood.

Roy

Jims DS 15 build progress

We have been surprised at the speed at which Jim has built the DS 15 kit we sent him a few months back,he is at the primer stage now on the hull!

http://dudleydix.blogspot.com/

Check Dudleys own blog for a view of more pictures and his words on the build.

There are jig saw joints in this boats panels, a nice way to join plywood and easily.

Check that smooth finish, the moulded radius ply was made with two layers of our 3mm thick Superform bending plywood.

We also supplied the International Paints Intergard epoxy primer.

Roy

Mirror Dinghy kit woodwork

We are cutting nine sets to a pre placed order, they will be finished tomorrow and we can then get the right time allowance per  each kit?

Click on the picture for a larger image.

That sure is a lot of timber, I wonder what it cost?

One blog viewer counted twenty nine plywood panels?

Now I know and can see a forth day of  cutting to size and doing profiles, I can now understand why a Mirror kit in the UK costs around GBP1000, which is R16,000 which is probably where our kits are going to be priced at.

We are supplying light weight Meranti and Obeche, both being selected for the job.

This was the result of our first CNC cut Mirror Dinghy , which in its self was a world first, as we were the first company since the Mirror started production to CNC cut a Mirror kit set of plywood panels.

The build measured first time!

Roy

Hillman Imp involved in a Western Cape road side rescue.

This was after the  1971 Hillman Imp, which had been under reconstruction for over a year left our care, the car was quite safe of course but was taken along for the extra ride.

Morne the driver of the rescue two truck is taking his own pictures at the center of the picture.

The owner of the blue Hillman Imp sent me this message from the crash site:

Diverted to distress call near Swellendam. German tourist couple rolled rented brand new Nissan Almera through farmer's fence and into grazing sheep. Both folk in hospital. Deposited wreck at Morne's depot in Swellendam, refuelled, now resume course for Malagas, where he picks up boat/trailer combo for Swellendam, then re-loads the Nissan wreck to deliver to Europcar rental depot at CTN airport tonight. He's covered his salary cost today for sure! Rob.

Pictures supplied by Rob, click on them for a larger view to see more detail.

About to start the rest of the journey.

The blue Hillman Imp did make it to its new home and Rob is doing some minor works prior to some electrical upgrades he fancies.

Roy

Mirror Dinghy kit wood work parts

If anyone wonders why the Mirror Dinghy kit at first look seems expensive, its because
we have to supply all the machined wood parts with each kit, this adds a lot of content and of course adds to the kit purchase price but at least you do not have to search for the wood.

This was quite a load today, note the homemade roof carriers, Armadillo who made the rear loading cover quoted me R3000 for two roof racks, these cost me time and the scraps of ply and wood in my store.

Andrew, thanks for the good idea!

These specially machined Obeche and Meranti parts were taken from selected timber stock by an expert, he then profiled and numbered each section for me. There is enough stock here to cut nine Mirror Dinghy wood parts, I start cutting to length tomorrow.

I think that these kits will soon be priced at R15,000 plus Vat of 14% if your in the RSA?

Roy

A new Hillman Imp in South Africa

The car is complete and Rob the owner will collect it with a low bed trailer tomorrow.

A years work and then some, the trip was memorable!

Whats next? I have already re started on my own 1967 Hillman Californian Coupe, work on some Mirror Dinghy kits comes first, then its a re paint of the Californians body works.

The cars are now rare, so finding one to rebuild to this standard and in South Africa was not to be missed.

How easy was this? that would be a very very long story!

Roy