Thursday 26 January 2023 Today was another perfect day for launching a St Ayles Skiff. I was met at the shed by Ted K after I had given the new skiff a final vacuum and cleaned out the spiders and their poo. We loaded the car with the rudder and other loose bits and hitched…
Wednesday 25 January 2023 The new boat spent its first night out of the shed, like a child having its first sleepover. It was at Denmark Mobile Welding having stone guard frames put on the front of the trailer. I went to pick it up in the morning but it wasn’t ready. Later I found…
Tuesday 24 January 2023 Dan had asked me to drop the trailer and boat around at 8am this morning so I came in and hitched it up and took it around to him. He said he’d chat with Denmark Signwriters next door when they arrived. I went back to the shed and made a cup…
Monday 23 January I wasn’t expecting anyone to turn up to the shed today and I had a time consuming trip to the Denmark Shire’s office to do. I dropped in to Dan at Denmark Mobile Welding on my way in to see if he could fit the stone guards to the trailer today, which…
Friday 20 January 2023 I came in early and picked up a full set of components for one rowlock pin and took it with a couple of wrenches over to the Riverside Club to compare the set up we have in the first boat. We needed a bit more clearance between the base of the…
Thursday 19 January 2023 Sadly today could be the wind up of the boat building project which has been a wonderful experience for me and, I hope, all those who have participated. I arrived late after seeing the physio for some neck and back pains which have inevitably been exacerbated by leaning into the boat…
Wednesday 18 January 2023 Back in the shed early to get another couple of coats on the varnish work. I started with a very cursory sand with 1000 grit wet and dry used dry. It helps to be able to see where the new varnish brushstrokes end and provides a microscopic key for the new…
Monday 17 January 2023 Today was a good day to start varnishing as it was a bit overcast and cooler and the wind wasn’t stirring up the dust. The first thing I did was to have a big clean up and a vacuum around the shed with JP’s wonderfully powerful machine. I cleared all the…
Monday 16 January 2023 Paul W was already in the shed when I turned up wondering if he should continue with his oar catchers. Having now used St John we could see that an extra impediment to climbing into and out of the boat was not going to be welcome or helpful. We also rarely…
Saturday 14 January 2023 It needed doing in a quiet moment, honest! I snuck in on Saturday lunchtime to paint the two lower planks with deck paint. I had bought the only blue available at the time in Albany which was the Norglass slip resistant deck paint in Horizon Blue. A more vivid blue than…
Thursday 12 January 2023 Lots of sleepless hours had gone into thinking about how to drill the rowlock pin holes in the gunwales and not just my sleep. JD and Peter K had been tinkering with this problem for several weeks. They both joined me in the shed today along with John I and Adrian….
Tuesday 10th January Expecting the day to warm up quickly to a forecast 32 C, I came in early to sand yesterday’s first coat of cream paint. A light sand with old 240 grit orbital sander paper dulled the surface to give traction for the second coat. Peter K then joined me having cycled in…
Monday 9th January 2023 Just me today plodding on with the painting of the inside of the second St Ayles Skiff. I had picked up JP’s sander and vacuum cleaner on the way in and started by giving the white primer a quick light sand to create a key for the gloss paint. Geoff B…
Saturday 7th January 2023 The weather was forecast to be overcast and coolish (19 C) so JP and I headed into the shed at 8.30am to paint the two pack primer which in the past has been a bit of a nightmare in hot weather as it drys so quickly. We got straight on with…
Thursday 5 January Happy New Year everyone. I hope you have enjoyed the break as much as I have. The initial withdrawal symptoms faded as fast as the extra kilos went on despite the rowing. I’m now keen to get the second boat finished by the end of January and its not far off. Peter…