British Seagull engine servicing in South Africa

We have done a good few British Seagull services and even full restorations.

Parts are sometimes in stock, otherwise our suppliers in the UK send them to us.

This one is a five HP one and dated August 1978, its quite new despite its years.

When it came in it was very much a none runner and needed an acid clean of the petrol tank, plus a stop cock service kit which was ex stock. Its ready to be collected now and can run a few decades more!

This is the two jet Amel carburetor which comes as standard to the 25:1 petrol oil mix, some Seagulls can be re jetted to use this mix but not all of them.

The engine was given some fuel, I allowed some to go free through the black pipe to make sure all was clean.

I then  reconnected the pipe, tickled the petrol cap button  on the fuel bowl , pulled on the starting rope and the motor fired up first time!

Roy

We have British Seagulls for sale, 5hp long shaft, 5hp short shaft and a 2 hp short shaft. They can be sold as runners and also as a fully restored motor, ask for details and prices.

Below is a quite old 5hp motor that had the full restoration works done to it, check the chrome!

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Many chromed and nickle plated parts are kept in stock.

The Navigator by John Weslford

Yesterday I was brought a British Seagull for a strip down and service. That means an acid clean of the steel petrol tank, drain the gearbox and fill with the correct 140 grade of Castrol gear oil.
Check the plug and also the points in the flywheel. The carburetor was blocked solid from rust in the petrol tank, there is a drain plug and I will advise the owner to drain the tank on a regular basis.

Cape Towns Table Mountain as seen from the MAC sailing waters .

As it turned out the outboard will be used on a John Welsford Navigator that was made from a kit we supplied , we have the plans also.

Blustery conditions to which the Navigator is well suited.

This boat looks good from any angle.

Plans, kit and sails are available, we can ship World wide.

My thanks to Steve for the pictures.

Roy

An Optimist kit to the Med,

We have sent our Optimist kits to many countries.

When the order includes the meranti wood, North Sail and Harken deck package we crate as per the picture.

The crate is screwed and glued together, then with the lid on its steel band strapped for security.

Each Optimist is supplied with a fourteen page builders guide.

Hillman Imp piston rings by Repco

New boxed sets of Repco 0.030" sized piston rings for sale.

The piston is there just for scale.

We have crank bearings, thrust washers, crank bearings and also valves.

Postage World wide.

Roy

Ferodo VG95 racing brake shoes

Two sets sold this week, so four linings left and as one set.

We have about three sets of four shoes per set left.

Friday, 20th October 2017.

Correction, two sets were sold to New York in the USA today, with two more sets sold to Germany a while back there is just the one set left.

Who wants it?

The Rootes, Ford  and BMC competitions departments will all have used these shoes at one time?

They will fit either 7" or 8" brake drums.

This is the lining when clamped to the 8" diameter  Hillman Imp brake shoe and brake drum.

Only Pounds 11.00 per shoe each, plus postage World wide.

Suitable for the Hillman Imp and Sunbeam Stiletto, the width is 37mm and length 178mm (aprox)

When they are gone they will be gone!

Roy

Jigsaw joints from Dix Design

Dudley Dix introduced the plywood jig saw joints some time back.

These joints are used to connect flat ply panels such and bulkheads, hull and decks skins plus the decks.

From Dudleys blog.

Joining Plywood - Jigsaw or Puzzle Joints

I apologise for my long gap between posts, life has been very full for awhile.

Jigsaw joints have become a popular method for joining 8ft plywood lengths into the long panels needed for building most boats. It is an easy process for those who are building from a kit but it is impractical for most people building from scratch. If building from plans or from patterns then you will have to make every cut by hand using a jigsaw and the accuracy necessary for a close-fitting jigsaw joint is just not possible to achieve.

For those who have not seen a jigsaw joint, the form is exactly the same as the interlocking curves of a jigsaw puzzle, except that the interlocking curves are laid out in a straight line rather than in a grid pattern. This forms a very accurate and secure junction between the two parts, unable to slide apart and needing no clamps, while the glue sets.

For amateurs building bigger boats it is just not practical to assemble the panels before installation. Panels 8ft long are very convenient for one person to handle, without having to call on the wife, kids and neighbours to help with the task. I built the structures and interior of my Didi 38 "Black Cat" entirely single-handed. There was not a single piece of timber in that boat that I was not able to carry and set up without any assistance. But I made scarph joints by hand and I glued them in position.

Roy

Building the Dix Design Retro 29 here in Hout Bay

This one is in the village we live in.

Mike has the first bulkhead in place, his daughter looks as if she may be the center of attraction.

Watch this space for what I hope will be regular updates.

Below is the boat as it will become.

y

This is the okoume marine plywood kit set we supply.

MARINE PLYWOOD 1,22x2,44m (4'x8') (preferably Gaboon or Okoume plywood)
4.5mm (3/16") - 8 sheets (use 4mm if 4.5mm is not available)
6mm (1/4") - 4 sheets
9mm (3/8") - 24 sheets
12mm (1/2") - 6 sheets

CNC  cut and shipped to you World wide.

You can have a tradition gaff rig or a cut off main racing rig.

We can supply North Sails to each buyer of one of our Retro 29 ,kits either with the kit or at a later date when your ready for the sails, the option is yours?

Delivery was made from the back of an LDV

Everyone helped, these are exciting times!


From Justins SA Yacht blog

Monday, June 4, 2012

Didi 29 Retro!

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing!
I wonder if musicians can appreciate written music before they have heard it played? I guess they probably can otherwise how would they write it? Anyway - this is the first boat review I am prompted to do on a boat that has not actually been built yet. Its also the first one for which I have been prompted to include an exclamation mark in the name! You'll see what I mean . . . there will be more to come when we see it on the water.

This is an extraordinarily interesting design from a number of perspectives. When I first saw the outlines on Roy McBride's blog I responded with a short email commenting on the design which he immediately published, and the interest in this design has been immense.

 http://sayachts.blogspot.co.za/2012/06/dix-29-retro.html

Roy

Proteus 106 in the water

One of our Proteus 106 cat kits was built by one man and a helper, its based on the Kowie River, Port Alfred  on the East coast of South Africa.

Seen here and just launched, there is still the mast to step which will level out the waterline.

http://sayachts.blogspot.co.za/2013/09/proteus-106.html   lots of info and pictures to be found at this link.

My thanks to Justin for placing the Proteus 106 design on his SA Yacht Blog.

The plywood kit set was priced at under R180,000 this year, plus vat if your a South African resident.
As a U$ price it will be around U$13185, it will depend on the R.O.E?

Plans are NZ$4500 and direct from Angelo Lavranos the designer, he supplies a very detailed info package for prospective builders.

The marine plywood pricing and with the removable bulkhead stations in WBP pine ply follows:

 Marine plywoods, 

4mm x 10 sheets

6mm x 6 sheets

9mm x 78 sheets

12mm x 16 sheets

WBP Pine ply

12mm x 10 sheets ( removable stations)

CNC work on all of the above excepting the 4mm plys, sheet numbers cut are 110 sheets that are CNC cut.

This is about four cubic meters of okoume marine plywood stamped as BS1088 grade.

You can collect or we can ship nationally or World wide.

We have a professional boat builder in the Cape Town area who has recently costed the build cost out,

Contact me for info.

Roy

Hard spray dodger for a yacht

It could well be a power or even a canal boat as well?

Sized originally for a Dix 43 center cockpit yacht, it can be made smaller or larger,

http://ckdboats.blogspot.co.za/2012/12/a-boats-hard-spray-dodger-as-mini-kit.html

We designed this when an owner was faced with almost as much cost to replace his aging canvas spray dodger, since then we have done more, two were exported, one the New Zealand and the other to the USA.

The kit includes the roof and also the tempered 6mm thick glass panels and sealing caulk.

A detailed builders guide is also supplied with each kit.

The Dix 43 rudder

This one was made as what they term 'Balanced Rudder ' note the section at the bottom that leads forwards.

The forward section aids the balance and feel of the helm.

The place is the RCYC  in Cape Town.

The entire boat was in laminated marine plywood and epoxy.

A new Holiday 23 rudder

This one at least came with an idea of shape and size.

The original rudder was made with a GRP skin and with a foam core, they broke.

We asked the designer Angelo Lavranos for the design and what would be required if we laminated a new rudder from wood.

We can offer rudders and foils to many yacht designs, shipping in South Africa or World wide should not be a problem.

Didi Mini transat Mk3 kit to Holland

How much will the shipping cost?

A price just in shows that it is only R6300 and that includes the insurance as well.

If we add say R2000 to the packing crate and steel band strapping we are then at R8300/

Which is only Euros 520 or so, the R.0.E will affect the actual cost when an order is received?

The pack is 1.65 cubic meters.

The top crate holds one Didi Mini Transat plywood kit.

Seen here there is still enough place to include rudders and a foil, or North Sails and a Harken deck package as well?

Yacht rudders

Also on file is the rudder shape for an Irwin 54 we supplied, then there is the Holiday 23, a Dix 43 and a few more from the Dix Deign Didi range.

The pictures are for the Irwin 54 yacht.

When the yacht arrived in Hout Bay the lower heel fitting had broken, the shaft then bent and the local NSRI had to go and supply a tow.

We re designed the rudder at the heel fitting end so that it could be swung over to one side and the rudder removed for later inspection.

The boat was an entrant in that years ARC around the World rally, the last we heard it was off again and was by then in the South Pacific again.

Sadler 26 rudder supply

We were asked to supply a Sadler 26 rudder, this was for a new boat that had never been launched.

There were no plans and the Sadler 26 group in the UK had none either!

This is the okoume marine plywood blank that has been computer profiled to show the required shape.

Shaping the timber blank is done by power planer then hand tools.

The correct phenolic glue was used to do the lamination with, the picture shows the dark brown resin and with the powder cure additive and prior to mixing.

The foil blank is laminated marine plywood which has had the profile cut into it with the CNC machine.

The black paint shows the depth of the cutter more clearly.

We used a Sadler 26 existing rudder as a source of size, made a CNC cut file and shaped the rudder up, it was supplied in International Pains twin pack epoxy primer.

Foils and Rudder construction

Many kit orders have also become orders to supply the CNC shaped foils, either the drop keel on a Didi 26 or the foil on a Didi Mini Transat.

Part shaped and starting to look good.

Shaped in kiln dried Iroko hardwood.

The design calls for an application of some uni directional glass cloth which is applied with laminating epoxy.

kit.

This is the drop keel from a Didi 26, it has been painted with a twin pack primer...

Shipped with the plywood kit to the actual boat such items will normally ship for free when packed with the