The South African Boat Building industry guide

Just out this week,trade and boat buyers,send your address for a free copy.

OCC youth sailing Bursary offer

Please left click on the above image,it will then open full size.

This has to be one of the best sailing offers I have yet to see,its a way of introducing younger people to true Blue Water Sailing,open to anyone who has the will to qualify,its a great way to start ocean sailing!

Sergeys Didi Mini Transat in New York

This is the fourth Didi mini transat launched that was built from one of our kits.We also have one that sailed from South Africa to England,another went to Spain but I think by ship,we have one in Simonstown,South Africa too.Others may be sailing but we have not been told yet,for sure we are seeing more and more sailing each year.

This boat was the second built by the owner to this design,the first he built from plans,then chose our fully prepared kit for his second boat,we shipped in two stages,stage one was the boat kit,then the following year,the sails,keel,deck stantions,push and pulpit,rudders and foil,steering and tiller.We have done a number of our kits in this manner,it gives the builder time to get on with the boat,then as he or she works along,decide what is required to complete the boat,it helps with the cash flow as well of course!

Didi 26 trailer sailer as a kit boat

Fourteen days after the start,this is where I was at,thats 14 working days and after I had the building stocks built in place,each day was never a full eight hours,as it was still up to me to reply to mails and enquiries,so only six to seven hours a day really?




You can see how the bulkheads are set in place,its not difficult at all,we cut the stringer slots as you can see,no easy task when your doing your own lofting and setting out,I would like to think this is one of the reasons our CNC cut kits have been so acceptable.


It will take you less than a day to prepare all these CNC cut bulkheads and the same again to set them up,so in practice within two days of starting,your moving on to the stringer fitting,followed by fitting the first hull panel,its really that fast with our kits.

We have sold these kits to clients in Johannesburg,RSA,Hawaai and Virginia,USA,the last one started as a kit order,then the client suggested we build the kit for him as well,so we sent the finished hull and deck unit to him,pre primed in white epoxy base coat in a 40ft container,its a close fit but we managed.

Dave and Wendys Didi Mini Transat build in Arizona

Note the Deck Stantions and Pushpit Bars,we supplied those,plus the keels Lead Ballast moulds to Dave and Wendy too.Check out their dedicated web site www.dandwboatworks.com



Turn over time,probably party time too.



Dave and Wendy campain a J22 right now,thats it on the left,just look how much larger the rig is on the Didi mini transat,which is one foot shorter!

Dave and Wendy bought one of our Dix Design Mini Transat kits a few years back,Dave works as an air frame engineer and it shows in his attention to detail in his build process,with many of his own details added in to the designers design,the use of Carbon Fibre being noticable in the Cant Keel box and Chain Plates areas.Dave tells me that not only does he have work on the project between his normal shift work but also keep an eye on local tempratures,as plus 40c is normal where he lives in the USA.

Yanmar Marine Diesel Engine,8hp single cylinder fits!

Looking from astern at the Yanmar engine subframe installation

Yanmar YM10 diesel fits a Didi Mini Transat

The Yanmars GRP Subframe fits perfectly!


We have sold Dix Design Didi Mini Transats to many countries,only one has fitted an inboard diesel motor that I am aware of it,this is Sergeys engine,in the boat he built from one of our kits in New York,as you can see its a tight fit but by using a opening waterproof hatch in the cockpit above,the Yanmar diesel,with a Z drive dropped right in!

Fluid Film really works,only U$22,thats just R180! a litre

A Harken Furler top gear,protected with one application.


The offer to stock and retail Fuid Film came at a time when having just rebuilt an alloy mast I was ultra aware of what corrosion can do,in the case of the mast just worked on it was not a factor in a big way but I had relised that given the high cost of such items,it was worth plenty to stop the natural degrade given the normal mix of disimilar metals such as alloy and stainless steel.

OCC Port Officers Flag

Port Officers Burgee as presented by Erik G.E.J Vischer ,Vice Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club

Some years back a good friend,Ken Pollard of the yacht Fast Forward asked me if I would take over his post as the port officer for our local waters,this I accepted and for the past few years I have suported OCC members as they passed through the Cape on their sailing adventures.

Didi mini transat kit build

Click on this image for a magnificent full size photo,check out the attention to detail on the paint works where the Teal side paints join the roll over to the decks,its really the way to do this job.

CKD Boats very first kit ever cut is now being readied for launch.


Every company has a start,some morph from doing what what happening before,in many ways so did we,timber and boat works,mast building and new boat builds at times too.Then came a phone call from a local yacht designer,Dudley Dix www.dixdesign.com would I like to supply a set of CNC cut bulkheads to one of his new designs and for Malcolm who had requested the design,I was into a new direction of course and soon we cut a Didi 26 ,then two more Didi Mini Transats,then another,followed by designs from others and a name change from Commercial Lumber cc to CKD Boats cc,due in the main to timber sales being fast taken over by plywood and CNC kit related sales,it has not changed since then.

I.O.C Member

The original certificate as issued in 1968,by which time I had emigrated to Cape Town,South Africa.



While I was made a member of the British Institute of Certified Carpenters in the late sixties,the change of name saw me become a member of the IOC in 2006.



Our Aims

We aim to:

promote and enchance the role and status of skilled craftsmen and women everywhere;
encourage the highest standards of carpentry and joinery work; and
maintain the best traditions of our historic craft.
We provide an invaluable range of support and services including:

Technical and practical information and advice
Respected qualifications from Foundation through to Fellowship level
Specialist service for members
Master Certificate Scheme

The above is an extract from the Institutes web site,based in Great Britain,many members such as myself moved to other parts of the globe but the membership continues.When I was doing my London City of Guilds trade test (forth year) in Carpentry and Joinery,I was invited to sit for The institute of Certified Carpenters Guild exam at a later date,as with the city of guilds exam I was able to graduate to the Carpenters Guild as well.

Didi 38 kit building in North Africa

The building stocks to a new build Didi 38 are looking good,we supplied the treated pine as part of our kit,this is normal with all Dix Design kits,saves the customer searching for the right timbers himself.The setting up of the bulkheads comes next,watch this blog for more pictures and news.

Its nice to get any kit order,large or small but especially so when the buyer is in some far flung part of the world and he can find no marine store of any sort at all,these place exist and it because of this we tend to get the enquiries,later the order when all our pricing has come to hand.One such customer is Tom,here is an email message from him as he starts his build.

Hi Roy

Just a quick update finished the building stocks (see photo) and started
gluing the first of the bulkheads. The phonelic resin is great stuff.
btw your packing system is brilliant I was worried that I would have to
hunt through forty odd sheets but to my pleasant surprise all the pieces
are grouped. Your attention to detail is fabulous !

cheers
Tom

CKD Boats has Fluid Film in Cape Town,stocks arrive,one ltr packs only R180 each

The first stocks have just arrived,some now being pre sold we needed to get some on our shelves,discussion with the supplier tells me application to things like nuts and bolts on out boards,spark plugs are a must,ensures that strip downs are rust free,plug outer surfaces are always clean and never rust.Fluid Film will also work perfectly on a mixture of disimilar metals such as alloy and stainless steels.We have it being used on yachts in Hout Bay Harbour Marina on stainless steel wire rigging,chrome turnbuckles,stantions,winches and waterproofing the antenna wire connection from an SSB radio to the insulated backstay too.

FLUID FILM
Fluid Film has already been "Brand Specified" by the South African Navy for exclusive use on the new Subs and Corvettes, it is used by the N.S.R.I and the Red Cross Air Mercy Service and we are making inroads into the heavy construction and excavation industry.
Fluid Film Anti-Corrosion and Lubrication Polymer, the most powerful longest lasting all round protection and lubrication polymer on the market.
Made from Androgynous Lanolin Fluid Film will protect your boat and vehicle for up to 2 years per application, THIS MEANS THAT YOU ONLY NEED TO SPRAY FLUID FILM ON YOUR MOTORS ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS, you can now throw away all your oil and grease anti-corrosion and penetration products cluttering up your garage, Fluid Film will protect and lubricate all metals, electrical systems, hinges, suspension springs and winding mechanisms better and for longer than any other product available world wide.
Fluid Film will protect your electronics, GPS, Radios, Radar circuit boards from salt water immersion for up to 2 years and more, it can be sprayed directly onto printed circuit boards.
Fluid Film will stop any existing corrosion that affects your boat and vehicle, no more sticking locks, removes sweat stains from leather upholstery, if used as a polish Fluid Film will prevent road tar from sticking to your vehicle body work, it is none toxic and will cause no environmental degradation
Because Fluid Film contains no toxic components it is safe to use on dry and chapped skin and will not cause dermatitis's like other oil and mineral based anti-corrosion products
Just one spray into your tool box every 2 years will prevent tools, spares and any other metal parts from rusting because it will not wash off, is not greasy and is salt and chemicals worst enemy.

Series Drouge as made by Susanne for her boat 'So Long'

Left Click on this picture for greater detail.

Susanne on her yacht So Long and along side Flying Cloud,the picture was taken at Hout Bays Yacht Club marina on the 6th of April,2007,Susanne was busy preparing for her next voyage,which was to Austrailia,followed by New Zealand,she made good use of her new AIS reciever I am told.


This picture of a Jordan Series Drogue on board "So Long" was taken by the skipper of Kismet - an Etap 38. They are amazing devices for steadying a vessel in large seas, and have been well proven

'So Long' in Figi and visits Minerva Reef

Honey,Susannes dog,having a welcome paddle on the reef at low tide.






One of the really fine things about living at the end of a continent like Africa,is that we do tend to meet a lot of nice people sailing past,some stay over our winter period and get jobs done or return home by air but eventually they sail off and now and again we get news letters? One such pair is the husband and wife team of Tony and Susanne,you could say they are special,as they have two yachts,Susanne sails the big one and Tony the small one!Here are some recent pictures.