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

Wednesday 1 January 2020

January 1st 2020

Joining us throughout today have been some fat squirrels which I suspect we need to put on a diet and two new visitors - a young stag and doe. All taken through our kitchen window just after first light this morning but they are still here now in the late afternoon.

Happy New Year everyone from our woodland garden.







4 comments:

Bursledon Blogger said...

Steve, we have a similar "wildlife obesity" problem, Mrs BB likes to feed the assembled birds, squirrels, the injured fox plus the local deer have free range grazing of our acorns.

steve said...

happy New Year Max - hope family are well.
we have several deer - these are a new couple on the block - grazing new shoots of ferns and lord knows what else that is starting to grow up the garden. Our next door neighbour feeds the birds - we feed the squirrels - somehow birds and squirrels have agreed to this without us having to discuss it with them or train them :)
we have the toads and frogs - next door has the newts and hedgehogs. the fox rarely visits nowadays. we have the owl in one of our trees; the buzzard resides next door but uses one of our tree stumps as its dining table. we have lots of mice. Caligula the rat prefers next door fortunately; the wild cats like stalking our lawns

Our local wildlife has is all sussed out

James Vibert said...

I have enjoyed your posts on John's pages and have been enticed by your standing rigging. My mind went to your work on Arwen as I look out of my Kansas window at 2 plus inches of snow accumulating on the ground. I am in process of completing a Welsford Pathfinder in my shop. I have modified the boat with a shoal draft lead keel and cabin (of sorts) for a head. As I am 4 months away from my 80th birthday I am focusing on ease of handling (and convenience) of the boat. This is a along way around to my questions on your rigging. The last boat I build for a customer had deadeyes (owner's request) on the side stays. While attractive they were a time consumer for the owner. Since, in our neck of the woods, we trailer sail, speed of rigging is a plus. I intend on using Amsteel instead of stainless steel and your adjustment system is quite interesting to me. While I have turnbuckles in my inventory I am considering using lashings with thimbles. Do you find that your adjusting system is of value while underway? I'm sure it requires a double check of the line cleating a must. When you get a chance. Thanks

steve said...

Hi James. I think you may have just become one of my number one inspirational heroes. i hope i am still building boats in my late seventies sir. i got rid of my blocks on the side shrouds some time ago. they were there when the kids were young and enjoyed pulling them taut. they served no real purpose really.
my current system is as you say thimbles and lashings. i rarely ever adjust them the lashings when under way so i am probably not the man to advise you. However, I think steve early could help here. he has a very successful blog - the log of spartina - well worth following if you havent come across it yet.