Arwen's meanderings

Hi everyone and welcome to my dinghy cruising blog about my John Welsford designed 'navigator' named Arwen. Built over three years, Arwen was launched in August 2007. She is a standing lug yawl 14' 6" in length. This blog records our dinghy cruising voyages together around the coastal waters of SW England.
Arwen has an associated YouTube channel so visit www.YouTube.com/c/plymouthwelshboy to find our most recent cruises and click subscribe.
On this blog you will find posts about dinghy cruising locations, accounts of our voyages, maintenance tips and 'How to's' ranging from rigging standing lug sails and building galley boxes to using 'anchor buddies' and creating 'pilotage notes'. I hope you find something that inspires you to get out on the water in your boat. Drop us a comment and happy sailing.
Steve and Arwen

Saturday 6 October 2012

It's sad but I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion

even if it is an uneducated one! I guess that is the price of freedom of speech. I mean will you have a look at this

http://modernvespa.com/forum/topic105842

I mean I don't mind about the comments on the vespa but the insults to Arwen. Shameful! How could they? How mortally offensive. I think I need a lie down!

As usual the guys on the smallframe proboards forum and the vespa club of Gt. Britain forums have been stars - patient and forgiving and immensely good humoured. The mechanic we gave the scoot to for the last few bits and pieces did botch up the gears and got them the wrong way round. Easily fixed.  The engine number and frame number show a 1966/67 model but it didn't get registered and used until around 1971 according to the original documents we have so that explains the number plate as well. And yes lets face it we've made mistakes but then we knew diddy d about vespas but at least we gave it a go and we know heaps more now than we did a year ago.  Same with building Arwen.

Sadly I think that lot above on that forum (apart from the second person who was fair and kind - thank you sir)  come from across the pond. A pity they don't have the manners, intelligence, good humour, wit and kindness of their boat building brethren over there who have never ceased to amaze me with their creativity, knowledge, manners and enthusiasm for all things nautical, however they may look. Maybe they could take lessons from Wayne, Joel and Steve!

In the meantime we'll go back to our two heaps of junk and continue working on them, gaining immense pleasure as we do so. The best kind of learning is from making mistakes and frankly as long as we are happy with what we have produced and as long as we make it safe  and we use it wisely so that we cause no harm to others then who cares about the opinions of some unenlightened people.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Arwen will have her first refit after five years sailing - new sealant on masts and spars; a new paint inside and out. Some new wooden ash blocks as well. Stacey the motovespa will get her gears and numbering sorted; she'll have the big hole in the legshield sorted out and we will have rescued her engine and restored it from the awful state it was in. We'll keep them both and derive much pleasure form them. When son has finished with the vespa I will strip her down again and rebuild her perfectly with help from our forum members who really know their stuff.

Steve



 

3 comments:

Joel Bergen said...

Steve,
I just spent about an hour looking around on the Modern Vespa forums. The derogatory treatment that you experienced appears to be widespread throughout the forums on that site. This strikes me as very odd, and in stark contrast to the helpful,courteous boat building forums that we have grown accustom to. The Modern Vespa posting guidelines ban "personal attacks, even minor ones", insulting behavior, and other similar behavior, and warn members not to be a "Dick". The Moderators (if there are any) are not doing a very good job because I saw plenty of Dickish behavior. Modern Vespa has the potential to be a helpful and useful website, but it appears to be just a worthless haven for Dicks to me. Hopefully the moderators will take action before it gets any worse. The insulting behavior of their members is completely uncalled for and they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

robert.ditterich said...

You really don't deserve that.
I have trouble understanding people who are so 'superior' and so negative. I guess they think that belittling other people somehow makes them seem more grand or capable, but negativity like that always reflects poorly on the poster.
I admire people who undertake challenges, particularly when it brings people together with a shared interest. In this instance these guys have completely missed the point of your efforts and the reasons for sharing them. I'm with you Steve.
Rob

steve said...

hey guys - thanks. Rob, good to hear from you - hope you are well.

I'm with you both - they missed the point of why we did these things. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a brilliant craftsman in any way, shape or form. That's my Dad; that was my wife's Dad, her brother and her brother in law.

We did it for fun and to learn new things. I'm not too worried by these comments from the forum. I'm used to people like you both. I have a pretty thick skin being a teacher and an ex schools inspector.
Thanks for the support and good to hear from youo both.