Monday, January 2, 2017

_________________ BUSY TIMES AT SMITHS BOATYARD _________________

Being male, multitasking of course comes naturally, and no more so than at my burgeoning little boatyard.

- I gave 'Mariner' such a good scrub and clean last week that the Hatea River literally bubbulated with detergent bubbles. I then emailed Whiting Power in Auckland regarding re - powering options.

- 'Mariner's fiberglass clinker dinghy restoration / conversion has just been sanded in preparation for a final undercoat and finishing coats of paint.

- The Starling has been polished and readied for me to advertise her for sale on NZTradeMe.

- 'Slipstream' my new Zephyr has just had her central sliding track re-bolted on and awaits a few more modifications as does ......

- ....... the boat trailer.

It was a toss up. Either shorten the wheel base of the beach trolley (Too complicated and would compromise the stability of the beach trailer when rigging 'Slipstream' in high winds) or modify the road trailer; which is what I decided to do today.

Luckily I had a length of strong Iroko timber which I have bolted across the trailer effectively widening the deck of the trailer and enabling the beach trolley wheels to sit securely. I am now fitting timbers to protect the mudguards from the weight of the beach trolley and boat. There will be a slight rise in the centre of gravity of the combined weight of the beach trolley and 'Slipstream' but I figure it will all be well within any safety considerations. I will build a couple of removable ramps for the trolley wheels which will make loading and unloading the Zephyr an easy maneuver.

Another few days should see the job completed and I will be able to get 'Slipstream' down to the tide for a very first sail!!


2 comments:

Ben said...

Good start of the New Year, Alden.
Are you not sad to say good bye to the Starling after working so many hours on her?
She must almost be priceless!
Happy sailing with Slipstream.

Alden Smith said...

I have mixed feelings about the Starling. I would like to keep her (perhaps for a grandson to sail in a few years) simply because I kind of like being surrounded by boats (good for the soul) but storage is obviously a problem, and in the final analysis boats are only material things and getting too attached to 'things' can make a person a bit of a hoarder. The best outcome would be to sell her to a young local sailor and be able to watch her being sailed and looked after here in Whangarei - in fact I would like that a lot. We will see - she may not sell, which would make this skipper smile!