a growing sense of frustration tempered by lovely boat pictures

Will it never stop raining in this country? This is supposed to be our summer and look what we are getting http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18639312

Can you believe this is June in the UK? The jet streams have come so far south that weather you would expect to get in the Faeroes (no disrespect to people up there) is now the mainstay of our weather pattern! In fact as I watch the BBc news now, they have just said that this is the wettest June on record (since records began). I watch in disbelief as someone is canoeing in his back garden so deep is the flood water in Tyneside. One thousand lightening strikes in a five minute period and a tornado as well. This is weather at its very freakiest!

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Any hopes of going sailing this weekend look remote (again)!  Having a vespa in the garage means I cannot dry out sails if they get wet….so………nuff said really!

So I content myself by admiring Richard’s new navigator. It is such an elegant boat and joins the ranks of ‘Slip Jig’; ‘Annie’; ‘Ellie’ and ‘Yuko’ in is well crafted looks and beauty. Maybe Arwen is in need of a make-over as she approaches her fifth birthday. Maybe some wood decking strips, new hull paint perhaps?

Anyway I can’t post any sailing reports so please make do with these excellent images of Richard’s boat and his commentary beneath. Thanks Richard for letting me share this with others. Appreciated.

Although not obvious I fitted an outer stem of two pieces of 4 mill hardwood laminated together. Quite tricky, one snapped on first attempt. I steamed them on separately but it gives an excellent look to the bow. The 19mill brass half round strip just finishes it off.

I extended the stem by 10 centimetres to accommodate the bowsprit which slots into the Samson post and neatly over the stem. Also seen is the front end of the coaming which is a separate piece and follows the deck stringer to bring it in front of the mast, like Pathfinder.

I continued the hardwood trimming on the fore deck as on the transom deck. Here also is shown the Samson post, the bottom of which is bolted right down on to the stem, and also the bowsprit which fits over the stem.

When stepping the mast the end tends to bash against bulkhead 2 so I mounted a hardwood pad to protect it. I have yet to fit the locker doors in B/head 2

I knew that I would have a problem lifting that main mast into its hole in the deck and so resolved to make it so I could walk the mast up. I made a sub deck, strengthened everything underneath, put the hole in the deck and king plank as per the plans and then cut the slot out. Voila! Stepping the mast is no problem and the belaying pins are very handy.

This is a Duckworks deck block on its slide for the jib sheet. This is a nice combination and worked well.

I stopped the seating at bulkhead 5 giving lots of space in the front.

The hardwood rowlock mounting was a reasonable success but would have better further out to give more leverage. I am very happy with jib sheet clam cleat mountings but will probably buy swivel clam cleats

I took the coaming down to the deck and I think it looks really good and gives fantastic storage space.

I filled in bulkhead 7 which gives a nice locker accessed by the trap.

I put a rubbing strake on the transom. Doesn’t really serve any purpose but looks pretty. You can also see the hardwood up stand for the main sheet pulley and a bit of hardwood trimming. The upstanding pulley is a waste of time as it needs to be a double!

I really like the thought and attention which went into the creation of this boat. There are some clever adaptations from the plans. Well done Richard, a splendid boat.

Steve