Off the face of the earth…not quite…!!!

Gee, been busy, very busy, with lots of things except the boat. Have not been able to get near it for a while. The last time I got to do anything was when I started to fit the internal bulkheads/seat uprights and BANG…they didn’t fit…!!! So I know what I get back to it there will eb a fari bit of working out. I figured out why they dont fit. The cut-out sizes are spot on ot the plans but I did not follow what Dudley said regarding epoxy and now I am paying for it. Will fill you in with some photos when I unbury the boat from under my daughters house stuff.
Also, its been cold and miserable here in Melbourne the last few weeks and the motivation to go to teh shed is low…!!!
OK, will post as soon as I can again…
Mick

at last…the dinghy moves

After a delay of a few months the new workshop is built and the boat has moved into its new home. not as spacious as the old spot but nevertheless is a roof over our heads.
Looking forward to getting back into the build.

mick

The boat move

Wow…apologies for the long interval between posts…

Sorry for being so long getting back on to the blog…been a surreal few months. As you probably know I finished work last month and am having a break until after Christmas and to go with the break theme…I broke my ankle in a sailing accident!! And it doesn’t rain but it pours…Tracey my wife went into hospital for a major op and was bed ridden for 4 weeks. And now it’s Christmas! Yahoo…I love this time of year.
I have been able to do little bits and pieces on the Argie and will update the dinghy page just after Christmas.
On a different note some people I know tat are building a beautiful cat called Binary ( checkout the scrumble project) are about to be visited by a cyclone as well as Santa so spare. Thought or prayer that they and others will be safe. Good luck Tom and Judy.
See you all again soon…
Mick

Stormy weather…as the song goes!

Well what a beaut of a storm last night and the night before. And I have found out that my garage is not delugue proof!! I had stacked all the nicely prepared dinghy parts post cutout sanding and smooting against a wall and hey presto that is exactly where the garage leaked. it is marine ply so no swelling etc issues just now need to dry them out before epoxying them. Hopefully will be ready by saturday to start…

All in all not a major drama and I hope everyone in this area that got damage are all at least safe and sound. My daughters kitechen roof looks like my belly after a good feed!!! It will have to come down. Somethign else to use my DIY skills on…hehe!

Keep well all…
Mick

Dinghy markup and cutting has started…

Over in the dinghy page I have updated the build…have a look see…!

The Dinghy Plans arrived…

The Dudley Dix Argie 15 plans have arrived and I have bought the 6 sheets of ply required. This weekend I will start the lofting, well its not really lofting from a table, its more copying ddimensions off a drawing. Dudley has made a very clear set of plans and I am looking forward to getting my hands dirty with wood.

Will post pictures int he Dinghy page when I have them.

Mick

Looking for a job…

Well this job hunting is hard work!! Writuing my Resume was never my strong point adn I haven’t used one for a long long time. Anyway just another challenge to be met and surmounted.

In the meantime the model has been slowed down due to the complexity of the stern shape. Its been a bugger to do without drawings and I have put it to one side and got on with other bits. The model tab up the top will show you the progress.

So long until next post.

Mick

How did that happen…!!!

The Thread below on design is an old post that has somehow jumped up to teh front. I was tidying the blog yesterday and I think I pressed something!! anyway, its an old one and is as relevant anymore.

Gee…technology…dont you love the idiot behind the steering wheel 😉

Mick

PS. Feeling fairly good at the moment getting some job nibbles but trying to get a job between November when I finish here and the new year will be hard.

Bob Oram…

So now you understand why I chose to build rather than buy…well I hope one of us does ;))

My adventure continued with me researching the various building methods and designers out there. And this is where I met Bob Oram. Before I speak about Bob I think its well worth mentioning the SCRUMBLE PROJECT. This is a fantastic cat build blog that shows in excuisite detail the creation of a catamaran through using Duflex panels. This is probably the blog that has most affected me in terms of choices in building. Well done Judy and Tom.

Now back to Bob Oram. After I researched a whole lot of boat designers I seemed to settle on Bob. I found more info on his designes and people who built with im than any of the other designers. There are many many nice designs out there but Bob’s stood out when I looked into them more and more. One of the critical factors was that everyone that I spoke to about Bob and his boats (people who built themselves, people who owned one, builders who built them) they all had a good word to say about Bob. You cant buy that kind of feedback. And then I started an email conversation with him. Talk about co-operative and patience! He slowly worked with me sketch after sketch until I understood the key factors with design and specifically the design of his boats. If anyone is considering Bob’s designs I strongly recommend you understand Bob’s minimalist pholosophy. This pervades his design and he is true to this philosophy throughout.
Ultimately Bob’s designs do exactly what he says, they sail very well, relatively fast, things are kept to a minimum and functional.
And this is where it came off the rails a bit for me. When I started to really understand the boats in design I started to realise that Bob designed the “off road camper” of the cat world, just my way of expressing it. His boats were solid but did not have any fluffy bits because they are not useful when it came to the function this boat was designed for. Minimise weight by using less materials, less flooring panels for example. When I examined my wants, I want a bit of flounce!! Terrible word but I am trying to think of a better word. Flounce for me is that extra bt of comfort level that means having some things that are not functional but comfortable. No…Bob Orams are not uncomfortable…thats not what I am trying to say, they are just minimalist.
In the last post I inserted some sketches which give you an idea of what I was doing with the 48C catamaran design. its a lovely boat, from my calcs allow about $00k to $50k to get to the on the water stage.

So that was my flirt with Bob Oram’s design…wonderful designs, wonderful person. You neven know on this journey, I might be back around again to work on a compromise design.

Right now I am looking at the Malcolm Tennant VEGA design.

See you next blog.