Sigma Coatings epoxy etch primer coats the Hard Dodger

Note the two loop teak grab rails,these can be supplied as an extra,I am considering either painting them white or coating with a twin pack polyacrethane clear coating to try and remove the maintainace factor,single loop grab rails will be fitted on the back edge of the side panels.


Sigma Coatings etch primer,this is just one coat,more need to be applied,its a great surface to sand and does not clog the finishing paper at all.


This is a pre laminated five segment beam,once glued and screwed in place and epoxy fillet is applied all round,this adds some detail finish but also stiffens the aft edge of the roof as well,looks good too.

Its amazing what a nice spray job does to your plywood/epoxy works,as long as you did the preperation ok,not a great deal more is required prior to the top coats,which in this case will be International Paints 990 Interthane,a paint we have stayed with for over a decade now.

The addition of the rear laminated beam has done two things,its a great hand hold right across the cockpit,it will stop water dripping down too but it has also stiffened the entire roof up to the extent that its quite solid when you walk on it,this was always the idea of course.

Exhaust manifolds for Hillman Imps,now ex stock

We continue to enjoy requests to supply our fabricated Imp steel inlet and exhaust manifolds,one was posted off to Denmark yesterday,with another still on its way to the USA,we now have one full inlet and exhaust in stock for despatch right away,priced at R5100 or around Pounds 370 and less for Euros,its a well priced item,note,surface delivery can take a long time when posting by air should be within ten days?

Building a traditional boat

Build whats in the picture below and you will sail like this,it will take you a while though?


A traditional construction by Luke Powel.

Having done one close resemblence to this construction I can highly recomend that you never try it,its a serious way of working yourself into the ground!Our kits are designed to be strong and fast to build,your sailing so much faster with far less outlay.

One size fits all

Our customers come in all sizes,some have barely a doller to spare,some have a little more,this customer bought one of our Optimist kits,I can just imagine it hanging off the back of her mother ship,now in the Mediterainian,the Optimist will be built in Cape Town!

Ians Cape Cutter 19 build progress.

The picture in the previous blog of the Didi 38 build in North Africa came in on saturday,this came in today (tuesday) but from the opposite direction,being Picton on South Island,New Zealand,I have suspected for some years now that Cape Town is really the center of the world,this helps proove my theory?

Some words from Ian himself:

Hi Guys,
Just a couple of piccies to prove that there is some progress, despite chipping away for only a while in the evenings. We could sit in the workshop and brew a cuppa or some soup on the single burner camping gas stove with its single ring too! No electrical circuits and batteries etc for me, I don't think, just kerosene - especially now that you get the stuff that doesn't smell or taint your beer!
Cheers,
Ian

Didi 38 kit build shows good progress

This kit went by sea to North Africa,given the area has little by way of yachting equipment,we sent a lot more than the basic boat hull and deck kit,we sent lots of fittings,even the Yanmar diesel engine.The regions cold winter slowed things down,it snows there too!it looks as if thats behind them now and the next stage will be the laminated keel support frames followed by the hull skin panels.

The history of Yaesu Musen Co

Left click on the picture to read full size.

Yaesu FRG 9600 Comunications receiver

Click on both of these Yaesu receiver sheets to view full size.

This set I never did get to own,when it came out around twenty years back,such a broadband receiver was quite ilegal to own in South Africa,the powers that be just did not want you to be snooping on them and so they made it unavailable to the general public,has anyone got one for me now?
Note,with a better review on the set than some I have just read!

Yaesu FRG 8800 Communications receiver

This set does of course carry on from the various other Yaesu receivers,now quite old sets but still great value for money if your ever given the chance to buy one.

Adjusting your Max-Prop under water

Douglas Bernon,wrote in his monthly Cruising World blog (back page) that when in Belize,he and two other helpers changed the pitch on his Max-Prop,having done this job a number of times in dry and fresh air,I am still in awe at what they did as a 'free dive',no air supply,they worked each persons task out in the cockpit,then got into the water and carried them out,amazing!

Cockpit hard dodger kit is ready

Having just fitted the laminated aft top cross beam,glued and screwed side
rails etc,I am now about to move to a painting stage.Materials and CNC work
look like costing R11,414 thats a complete kit (about U$1180),screws,epoxy roof builders jig,all plys,CNC work etc.

Windows are extras,6mm toughened glass will be what I will fit,the cost to
that and the correct sealant will be an extra.We can also pre laminate and machine to profile the top laminated cross beam,plus supply two double loop and two single loop teak grab rails,these will fit on the top and the back edges of the dodger,the size 30 Lewmar opening hatch is an option,price to these items and a full materials list will be posted later.



Note the strips of 6mm (1/4") plys cut and glass taped to the lower half of the frame works,once this is dry,removal of this jig will give us an exact copy of the frame work we can take to the boat and scribe it to a perfect fit,which will be a lot easier than taking the entire structure to the boat.


This laminated beam will stiffen the roof up,provide a very usefull hand hold and also stop driving water dripping into the cockpit.



Note the strips of 6mm (1/4") plys cut and glass taped to the lower half of the frame works,once this is dry,removal of this jig will give us an exact copy of the frame work we can take to the boat and scribe it to a perfect fit,which will be a lot easier than taking the entire structure to the boat.


Well ready but not quite ready,we continue the interesting (long) process of finding out what comes next,we are now at prime stages eleven and twelve,being the addition of the laminated beam and the fitting jig just added to the lower frame works.The laminated beam will form a part of the kit,as will the parts for the jig to form the structure to the boat,as its easy to cut and trim in the factory rather than on the boat? In my case I want this dodger to hold the weight of a person who may want to stand on its roof,I have stood on top,with the laminated beam in place but the epoxy glue still wet,its quite good,once the lamination is taken off and machined to size it will be very platform for tending the mainsail.


Our hard spray dodger can be supplied as full kits,this will include the pale tinted and toughened window glass,Dow-Corning 813 black silicone sealant to fasten them in with,plus all the wood,epoxy and required jigs to make your dodger build a success.


The fitting of a knee,makes sure this joint stays bonded,in practice the knee is smaller than it looks in this picture,if you did not want the knee (supplied) we can supply you glass tape to replace this feature,the tape is then sanded and epoxy paste faired untill it is not visible,similar to the joints on the front of the main structure.

We have now reached the stage where the roof is bonded to the lower sub frame,stage ten of development was fitting the two classic 'knees' so common in older wooden boat construction,they just made good sense in this build too.

While this build was made for a specific 43ft sailing yacht,it can be resized to suit between say a 30ft and ad a 50ft boat,even a open sailing catamarran comes to mind.

Marine Protection,in defense of the South African fishing industry

The offshore patrol vessel SARAH BAARTMAN in Cape Town harbour. Picture IAN SHIFFMAN.

The effective deployment of the Environmental Protection Vessels (EPV's) during the past few weeks yielded significant results once again as poachers were arrested, boats seized and numerous poaching activities prevented, reports the Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism (DEAT).

During the latest voyage of the SARAH BAARTMAN, the inspectors, captain and crew of the offshore patrol vessel arrested a diver at Bird Island, scared off three superducks (rubber inflatables) thereby prevented abalone poaching, and fined three fishing vessels for contravention of fishing permit conditions.

The Sarah Baartman struck again soon afterwards this time confiscating a ski boat and arresting three suspects in the Kleinmond area for west coast rock lobster poaching. This arrest took place late at night and more than 20 crayfish traps, which were detected by the on-board equipment of the patrol boat, were also removed from the water. In a separate incident fines to the value of R13,250 were issued for contravention of fishing permit conditions in the St Helena Bay area.


A new fisheries protection vessel,the Ruth First.



Freshly caught Tuna fish

I have read that only two marine eco systems in the world exist that support such a wealth of marine life,one is in Austrailia,the other is here in South Africa.Daily I witness the evidence of this in our local Hout Bay Harbour,the Western Capes busiest by some margin? Recently the fisheries protection department have built three seriously sized vessels (Farocean built them) and we can now expect super service and top quality protection.

Dacron sails,from North Sails

The logo of North Sails as seen world wide.





Recently a couple of friends have invested in new sails,the topic can bring up a number of discusions,we may use the laminated stuff being one,I tend to think that given the boat in question is a cruising yacht,the use of laminated cloth is both more expensive,harder to handle and has more bulk,which in a main sail or roller furler just leaves you with a larger package when stowed?

Dacron as a panel fabric has gone through a long design process,decades in fact,North Sails have new types now as well,closer weaves making it stronger,plus a Nordac 4800 series for even better performance.

Tip,if you really want sails that last a lifetime,have them made in a tan colour cloth,they resist the sun and are really easy on your eyes,no glare etc.

NorDac
NorDac sailcloth is woven with the densest possible fiber content to ensure excellent shape holding and durability.© North SailsPremium NorDac
The manufacturing of exceptional quality plain (standard) weave polyester sailcloth is far more complex than the material’s appearance might indicate. Premium NorDac™ starts with high-tenacity polyester yarn woven in proprietary warp/fill combinations. Premium NorDacs have the densest possible fiber content ensuring excellent shapeholding and the longest performance life. Woven “greige goods” undergo extensive and closely monitored finishing, scouring, calendering, melamine impregnation, heat setting, coating (One Design and UV styles), slitting and final inspection/grading. Premium NorDac is offered in fill-oriented High Aspect styles (for taller, narrower sails) and balanced Low Aspect styles (lower than 2.5:1 sail height to width ratio) versions, and may be ordered in both firm and very firm finishes. The world’s best woven polyester sailcloth, Premium NorDac is available in a wide variety of styles.

Lyle Hess,yacht designer

Lyle Hess.



Yacht Teleisin sailing,she won the boat of the regatta at the TBA meeting when she was here in Cape Town.

The man passed away in July 2002,he was ninety years old (90)at the time,he left us a legacy of yachts and Teleisin is a good example of such a boat,we had the pleasure of meeting Lin and Larry Pardey and sharing a bottle of wine in their yachts saloon,I asked Larry to show me his large Luke anchor which is stowed beneath the floor boards,Lin told me the area below them was varnished as she dropped a can of varnish,so just spread it out and that was that!

The writing of Lin and Larry Pardey of their world travels aboard two Hess cutters, first SERAFFYN and now TELEISIN (above) helped bring fame to Hess's designs as capable cruisers. (photo by Bob Grieser

Lyle Hess type pilot cutter

Pictures taken by R McBride with a Canon FT 1.4/50mm lens.




I have no idea who designed this yacht,but I did get a phone call from Neil Rusch,editor at SA Yachting to suggest I go to the RCYC to take a look at it,I was not disapointed,a very nice yacht indeed.