Hout Bay Harbour and a 1967 Hillman Imp Californian

The harbour and the HBYC marina and the boats on it really make for a fine back drop for this now hard to find Hillman Californian.

Click on the image to enlarge and see full size.

The car was part of the family for a decade and a half, then sold to make space, then bought back to set about the cars restoration I had never really done.

A 1971 Hillman Imp Deluxe was being restored, so this coupe had to wait its turn, the job is mainly done but still not complete.

Some nice rostyle steel wheel rims are at the engineers right now, will they be ready this year and for the annual December close I wonder?

This picture was taken about fifteen years back, check the rostyle wheel rims, they do look a lot nicer?

Roy

The TBA meets again

The TBA which stands for Traditional Boat Association was disbanded a few years back, the ex members still exist in the cape and now and again we meet up with each other.

Yesterday and on the yacht Flying Cloud, a wood epoxy built Dix 43 by Dix Design,
we were pleased to meet up with Tim and Rob and welcome them aboard.

Tim is in the dark shirt and Rob in the light shirt, its Rob who was a TBA member, we have not seen each other for over a decade.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Rob knew nothing about the TBA publication written and published by Colin Davies, I issued him one and received the standard R120  donation to Hout Bay's Station 8 NSRI (sea rescue) the TBA lives on it seems?

I have about five copies of the TBA book left, please contact me to arrange your copy with postage if you cannot collect?

Roy

I sent Rob the above pictures later that same day, his reply is below.


I am much impressed - TBA seems still alive, if not formally

Appropriately now incorporated as a fata morgana.

Basil builds his Optimist kit

This Optimist kit was flown out to Zurich, Switzerland about three weeks back, Basil has sorted the plans out and has got his shell part built already.

Each kit we supply has a fourteen page builders guide and fourteen more with the Optimist class plans and dimensions on them.

Hi Roy

I managed to figure out my questions, studying the plan. It was good advice from you!
Thank you for your patience.

From Basil.

How to build our Optimist dinghy kit

The weaker exchange rate of the Rand currency we use seems to be promoting new export sales?

We have recently shipped an Optimist kit out to Switzerland and only this week we received confirmation of a three boat Optimist kit set for a sailing school in the USA.

Building our Optimist kit?

The pictures will give you most of the information you need?

Did Stuart also take up a shares option with Record, just look at all those G clamps!


Note, you can make a decent clamp with a scrap of ply a wedge.



Our Optimist kit comes with the measuring dimensions, plus a fourteen page builders guide, which includes pictures of the various build stages. One tip is not to remove the internal and temporary ply spacers which fit fore and aft, across the width of the boat and midway of the dagger board slot. They are missing in this picture, so there is a danger that the curve of the laminated meranti may make the boat a tad narrow midships, so please leave the spacers we supply in place until both hull rails are glued in place and the glue has set.

Roy

The Bombaloza scull kit internal parts

These rather substantial 18mm WBP Pine plywood panels support the rower and also the sides of the Bombaloza scull 4mm hull skin.

Click on the image to make it larger.

The design is becoming well known now and more plans have been sold.

Roy

British Seagull parts and restoration

This is done in Hout Bay near Cape town.

These parts are never cheap, just what is in the picture cost a net R2200 before shipping, duty and vat.

The parts do  fit and they are from the  British Seagull parts suppliers.

Parts are either in stock or imported for each new engine restoration.

A Forty Plus which is rated 2 to 3hp, it dates back to 1974?

Part of the stock motors I keep and will be sold as a restored motor only.

As it is now it has many new parts on it.

This engine was a virtual wreck when it arrived, the work took a year, even the replacement petrol tank was in the post from my UK suppliers for over a month.

The motor in the picture above cost around R12,000 to restore, materials and labour. The cost always depends on do you have your own British Seagull that needs restoration or do I supply you one?

There are only two motors available right now,both are sort shafts, I can make them longer?

One is a 3.5hp and the other the 2hp Forty Plus.

Roy

Cape Towns TBA, the way it was

This was all of twenty plus years back, the Traditional Boat Association was very much alive and well.

The place is the V&A Waterfront and we were hosted there for Easter.
 That is Lynn and Larry Pardey's  boat next to Sonnet.

The heart of the TBA was very much the members, the boats helped too of course.

This was after Notty had sold his Thirty Square, Sonnet to Mike Daly, Sonnet was on the RCYC slip and Mike asked was the boat for sale?

The deal was done there and then, later Tommy Walker restored Sonnet in a dry shed next to the RCYC main club house.

Mike Daly on what was by then his very nice restored thirty square. The boat was locally built and was said not to quite measure to the class rules?

These were the people and times of the TBA.

Roy

Looking back on Table Mountain

Or should I be saying looking at the back of Table Mountain?

That it it in the center of the picture and with the cloud cover.

This was a Friday and with a weekend of rain expected as good a time as any to take the 1967 Hillman Imp Californian for a drive.

The car has had around eighteen months of restoration, it not finished but can be driven, its licenced and safe to drive again.

Roy

Materials to the Indian Ocean

We have sent a number of orders to the islands in the Indian Ocean.

This one was the plywoods and epoxies to build a power boat.

The plans were from Mark Bowdidge in Australia. He recomended CKD Boats cc as a supplier.

We in turn got the order together and sorted out the packing and the shipping.

This boat was built from Marks plans, we did not supply a kit but could do if required.

Roy

Dragon Boat class paddles

We made hundreds of these to the original Dragon Boat class sizes and rules.

This one is a little damaged from the heat of battle!

Made from Honduras Red Cedar (mexicana roem) they were well within the class rules weight and made to suit the overall dimensions.

Made down to a price rather than up to a super finish and top class quality, they were probably closer to the original class rule ideas?

More can be made given a suitable order.

Shipping is no problem, these can be posted too.

Roy

We have two reconditioned ones for sale, the blades have been reinforced with GRP.

How we pack our kit orders

This can be done in a number of ways but most export kits will be packed in a suitable wooden crate.

Shown here is an Optimist that will soon be on its way by air to Zurich in Switzerland, the crate just needs the lid fitting .

Many years back we invested in the top quality steel banding tools you can see in this picture, the tool closest to the camera was imported from the USA.

With the Optimist kit secure in its steel banded crate we are now ready for collection.

This Optimist was made from one of our CNC cut kits, we supplied the North Sails sail and also the air bag floats inside the boat.
Roy

British Seagull outboard restoration

This we can offer and world wide, what we can do is make the engine look as near to new again as possible.

New parts are imported from a genuine British Seagull parts seller.

Click on the images to enlarge them

This one came in today for an idea of a quote, its only here while the estimate is prepared.

What will it look like when its finished?

This came in looking very very sorry for itself, it was taken apart as far as it was possible without stripping the motor, which is also a job we can undertake.

Roy

Optimist dinghy kit

The Optimist dinghy kit needs to be understood as the later wood/epoxy design and not the very early wood design which was far more complicated to assemble.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Please note we have changed our address and phone number since we printed the flyer.

The web address remains and you will find a section for the Optimist dinghy there.

We can ship to most places, the kit in the pictures below leaves for Zurich, Switzerland in the morning.

This is our builders jig, its free when you order six kits.

The items are stacked like a deck of cards.

The wood is supplied as an extra, the fumed silica, micro balloons and glass tape are part of the kit.

The booklet is a painting guide by International Paints, that is free.

The silica and micro balloons are mixed around 50/50 to make a filler paste and bog to do fillets in the corners of the boat, we can supply the epoxy to use with the filler but only when shipped by sea.

The glass tape is the jointing tape to hold the bottom panel to the side, front and back panels.

Roy

About the Hout Bay Yacht Club

Check out the blog, it is updated quite a lot but also has many sections and information links.

http://hbycclub.blogspot.co.za/

Druma sailing in Hout Bay

A Dix 43 in wood / epoxy sailing towards Hout Bay 

The same boat on the Hout Bay Yacht Club marina.

Roy

Our wood / epoxy Optimist sailing dinghy

This started with a five boat kit order, then became an eight kit order as we progressed with the building of the first one.

Price wise we were way out in front against the very costly imported GRP boats and its said ours when fully rigged and with a North Sail as well cost half the amount other boats were costing ?

Roy