Enjoy!
Robert's book - doesn't it look fantastic (copyright Robert Ditterich)
Steve
10 years ago
Friday, 26 November 2010
Robert's Navigator book
....................is on it's way. This has been an extraordinary labour of love by a very talented man. I'm really excited at getting my hands on a copy. Robert tells the story more at his excellent blog which can be found here http://middlething.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
new video film
Dave has posted an excellent short video for the Akaroa wooden boat festival 2010. I love this film - it is well shot, full of atmosphere and shows how much fun sailing with others can be. A classic - well done Dave and thanks - its brightened up a very nasty, snow and down right freezing winter night here in the UK. You can see some lovely boats and a number of navigators.....and then there is that stunning scenery as well
Find the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVW9rTlHUnE
Steve
Find the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVW9rTlHUnE
Steve
Saturday, 20 November 2010
finally at last.........
Angharad got her launch. This afternoon she was put onto the car rack and driven over to Oreston slip - a tiny little launch ramp on the side of the Plym. It's a lovely little place overlooking the old docks. Angharad slipped into the water for her first test float. Given I have no paddles yet I didn't get to canoe....but it was enough to see she floated level......and didn't sink. Here are the photographs.
Angharad strapped to the roof of old faithful
getting the painter ready
And she's launched - Angharad takes to the water for the first time
Lordy me....she floats horizontal she does!
Celtic Cross on foredeck
and now its back to the car and home again
Steve
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Here is a video of Kevin with the last sail of his season on board his navigator Slip Jig. He's sailing on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland and wow doesn't it look great. I have always liked the videos of Slip Jig - interesting camera angles - well thought out.
He woke up with frost on the windshield and a forecast that was clear skies high of 60 degrees F, small craft advisories, wind NE 15 knots with gusts to 20. What really happened was 10-12 from the SE and the wind shifted to the S in early afternoon to less than 5, temp on the water was mid 50's in the afternoon.
enjoy the video which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McBMPcfXhvs
I'm still waiting for my last sail of the season - like Kevin - I'm waiting for the right forecast!!!!!
Steve
He woke up with frost on the windshield and a forecast that was clear skies high of 60 degrees F, small craft advisories, wind NE 15 knots with gusts to 20. What really happened was 10-12 from the SE and the wind shifted to the S in early afternoon to less than 5, temp on the water was mid 50's in the afternoon.
enjoy the video which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McBMPcfXhvs
I'm still waiting for my last sail of the season - like Kevin - I'm waiting for the right forecast!!!!!
Steve
Friday, 12 November 2010
we did promise not to....but.......
We did promise not to mix scooters and sailing but hey, here is a quick update. The weather has been miserable - we can't get out in Arwen; we haven't been able to do a maiden launch of Angharad. We have made progress on the 1965 motovespa scooter though and secretly we are rather please with ourselves because neither Sam or I know anything about engineering (although he's just started a GCSE in it - so I'm playing catchup........again!). So with apologies to all my boat purists...here are some shots of the stripped down scooter.
the top of the steering column with the handle bars and the front steering fork removed
The circular metal bit at the top of the column is a very stubborn bottom half of a ball bearing cage
which refuses to shift.......I bet for some of you wooden boat purists this is striking fear in your hearts.........or down right revulsion......I still feel that swapping to scooters from wooden boats is something naughty to be done privately behind closed doors!
This is a small frame chassis for the uninitiated. Everything has been taken off it and we now need to find a grit blaster who is sensitive enough to gently blast off the paint back to bare steel. We'll then etch prime it and two tone pack paint it
some rust areas to sort out especially where the floor panel joins the central raised area
this is the front wheel hub assembly known as the fork. you are looking at the back plate of the brake drum and the grey bit is the lower end of the front shock absorber. sadly we are having some problems with this - some idiot tried to force the back plate off with a screwdriver and the nut on the other side has jammed!
the offending castellated nut - i think it will a blow torch job to heat the nut slightly so that it expands....at least I think that is the theory!
This is the carburettor and my mad son wants to take it apart - I applaud curiosity...but this feels one step too far!
before we took the front steering assembly apart
original light, horn, badge - 45 years old and it still worked having been stored in a barn for 30 years unloved - amazing!
The very highly sought after rear tyre holder - very rare and difficult to get hold of apparently
and we are hoping to take it from this...................
to something similar to this.....well that's the plan
The reality might be a tad different!
(apologies because we are unsure where we got this lovely scooter photo from and so cannot acknowledge the excellent restoration workmanship)
Anyway we just thought we'd let yoou know how we were getting on - hopefully the next post will be boat based!
Steve
Sunday, 31 October 2010
The horror and Heroism below decks
There was a very interesting piece in the Daily Mail this week. It isn’t a paper I read – too politically biased and Tory for my tastes; but someone drew my attention to a lovely piece by Bernard Cornwell. He is the author of historical novels and the ‘Sharpe’ series. His books are excellent reads and I recommend them to all. Anyway, I share with you the highlights of this article which focused on ‘the horror and heroism below decks at Trafalgar’.
Cornwell starts with a summary about how Victory wreathed in smoke seems doomed to be destroyed by the French ship Redoubtable. Nelson lies dying below deck from a sharp-shooter’s well aimed bullet and the Redoubtable crew are about to throw a bridge across to Victory for a boarding assault. But all is not yet lost, for HMS Temeraire sails across Redoubtable’s stern and delivers a broadside that rips through oak beams and decking and destroys one-third of the best trained crew in the French navy. Cannonballs and 68lb carronades rip into crowded upper decks and when redoubtable finally surrenders, only 156 of her 643 crew have survived the onslaught.
However, a new account, a letter from Robert Hope, a 28 yr old Kentish sailmaker aboard HMS Temeraire, sheds new light on the events of Trafalgar and it has been released by the National Maritime Museum. Robert, writing to his brother John, two weeks after the battle, shows how proud the whole navy are of their victory that day. It also shares some interesting facts about life onboard a Royal navy ship in the early 1800’s.
I was surprised to learn that only about 10% of injuries and deaths on board such ships were blamed on enemy action. Most were due to drowning, sickness and accidents. Sickness? Well, whilst high ranking officers had space and luxury, with expensive furnishings, the majority of crew were crammed into damp, dark and stale air decks below. Midshipmen had quarters not much bigger than dog kennels; ordinary crew had a hammock space 18” wide. Here, these crew worked 4 hr watches – 4 hrs on and 4 hrs off.
Food was an issue – diet was poor. With 2lbs of peas each week, each man would also get 4lb of beef; 2lb of pork – both heavily salted, stringy and as tough as leather; 120z of cheese was infested with red worms and the ‘hard tack’ biscuits were infested with weevils. Allocated half a pint of rum diluted with three-parts water to make a grog – it was often replaced with a pint of beer instead. Lemon juice stopped scurvy but other diseases such as dysentery were common. The stinking smell of hundreds of unwashed men, combined with smells of tobacco, tar, sewage and rot must have been overwhelming and unbearable.
The worst off were top-men. Climbing the rigging in near gale force conditions, most were blown to their deaths. On the bowsprit, known as the widow-maker, men who fell were sucked below the hull, never to be seen again.
Robert Hope, a sailmaker, would have seen all of this at first hand. Another sailmakers responsibility was, of course, disposer of the dead. Whilst officers coffins were the wooden cots they slept in, ordinary sailors were simply sewn into their hammocks, with the last stitch being sown through the deceased’s nose....a sort of final check before a burial at sea!
Sailors spent many months at sea on blockade or picket duties. Prostitutes were smuggled onboard for light relief during the non-stop training drills. This practice was vital and so it was the Royal navy could discharge and reload a gun at one round every two minutes – two or even three times the speed of their French counter-parts. I hadn’t realised, but the British Navy was the only one equipped with the deadly carronades – lightweight guns nicknamed ‘smashers’ because of their close range destructive capabilities.
During engagement, life below decks was horrendous. Temporary operating theatres were set up on orlop decks with coiled ropes acting as mattresses for those waiting the surgeons skills – or lack of them in some cases. On many ships, orlop walls were painted red – it hid blood splatters! Good surgeon’s prided themselves on removing a man’s leg in a minute or less – extraordinary pain when your only relief was a grog of rum. Above, sand on decks helped bare footed gunners get a grip as the blood flowed across decks. Stripped to the waist because of the heat below decks, men wrapped scarves around their heads to reduce the ear damage from pounding guns. Many went prematurely deaf.
'Now, as politicians destroy the Royal navy with economic cuts, it is good to rediscover Robert Hope’s letter, a reminder of the Temeraire’s glory days – and a time when Whitehall understood that Britain is an island, and an island needs a navy’.
Given the debacle over the fact that we are building two new Aircraft carriers which won’t actually have planes to put on them.....I think he makes an excellent point!
On a different note – Angharad is finished and as soon as the inclement weather has passed, I’ll launch her and post some pictures.
Steve
Artwork above by the following artists:
Geoff Hunt
Auguste Etienne Francois Mayer
Montague Dawson
Cornwell starts with a summary about how Victory wreathed in smoke seems doomed to be destroyed by the French ship Redoubtable. Nelson lies dying below deck from a sharp-shooter’s well aimed bullet and the Redoubtable crew are about to throw a bridge across to Victory for a boarding assault. But all is not yet lost, for HMS Temeraire sails across Redoubtable’s stern and delivers a broadside that rips through oak beams and decking and destroys one-third of the best trained crew in the French navy. Cannonballs and 68lb carronades rip into crowded upper decks and when redoubtable finally surrenders, only 156 of her 643 crew have survived the onslaught.
Nelson lies dying below deck on Victory
However, a new account, a letter from Robert Hope, a 28 yr old Kentish sailmaker aboard HMS Temeraire, sheds new light on the events of Trafalgar and it has been released by the National Maritime Museum. Robert, writing to his brother John, two weeks after the battle, shows how proud the whole navy are of their victory that day. It also shares some interesting facts about life onboard a Royal navy ship in the early 1800’s.
I was surprised to learn that only about 10% of injuries and deaths on board such ships were blamed on enemy action. Most were due to drowning, sickness and accidents. Sickness? Well, whilst high ranking officers had space and luxury, with expensive furnishings, the majority of crew were crammed into damp, dark and stale air decks below. Midshipmen had quarters not much bigger than dog kennels; ordinary crew had a hammock space 18” wide. Here, these crew worked 4 hr watches – 4 hrs on and 4 hrs off.
Victory and Temeraire race for the enemy
Food was an issue – diet was poor. With 2lbs of peas each week, each man would also get 4lb of beef; 2lb of pork – both heavily salted, stringy and as tough as leather; 120z of cheese was infested with red worms and the ‘hard tack’ biscuits were infested with weevils. Allocated half a pint of rum diluted with three-parts water to make a grog – it was often replaced with a pint of beer instead. Lemon juice stopped scurvy but other diseases such as dysentery were common. The stinking smell of hundreds of unwashed men, combined with smells of tobacco, tar, sewage and rot must have been overwhelming and unbearable.
The worst off were top-men. Climbing the rigging in near gale force conditions, most were blown to their deaths. On the bowsprit, known as the widow-maker, men who fell were sucked below the hull, never to be seen again.
Robert Hope, a sailmaker, would have seen all of this at first hand. Another sailmakers responsibility was, of course, disposer of the dead. Whilst officers coffins were the wooden cots they slept in, ordinary sailors were simply sewn into their hammocks, with the last stitch being sown through the deceased’s nose....a sort of final check before a burial at sea!
Height of battle at Trafalgar
Sailors spent many months at sea on blockade or picket duties. Prostitutes were smuggled onboard for light relief during the non-stop training drills. This practice was vital and so it was the Royal navy could discharge and reload a gun at one round every two minutes – two or even three times the speed of their French counter-parts. I hadn’t realised, but the British Navy was the only one equipped with the deadly carronades – lightweight guns nicknamed ‘smashers’ because of their close range destructive capabilities.
During engagement, life below decks was horrendous. Temporary operating theatres were set up on orlop decks with coiled ropes acting as mattresses for those waiting the surgeons skills – or lack of them in some cases. On many ships, orlop walls were painted red – it hid blood splatters! Good surgeon’s prided themselves on removing a man’s leg in a minute or less – extraordinary pain when your only relief was a grog of rum. Above, sand on decks helped bare footed gunners get a grip as the blood flowed across decks. Stripped to the waist because of the heat below decks, men wrapped scarves around their heads to reduce the ear damage from pounding guns. Many went prematurely deaf.
Redoubtable at Trafalgar as Temeraire and Victory carry on the assault
The rest of the article goes on to recount the battle events which I won’t recount here but Cornwell does finish with a lovely point which I quote in full.'Now, as politicians destroy the Royal navy with economic cuts, it is good to rediscover Robert Hope’s letter, a reminder of the Temeraire’s glory days – and a time when Whitehall understood that Britain is an island, and an island needs a navy’.
Given the debacle over the fact that we are building two new Aircraft carriers which won’t actually have planes to put on them.....I think he makes an excellent point!
On a different note – Angharad is finished and as soon as the inclement weather has passed, I’ll launch her and post some pictures.
Steve
Artwork above by the following artists:
Geoff Hunt
Auguste Etienne Francois Mayer
Montague Dawson
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
new pathfinder launch
Jon has launched his new boat - it looks fantastic - great craftsmanship - well done Jon.
Chuck made a short film of the inaugural launch/sail I think and you can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDQIofGou-s
Jon's site is at
http://jonspathfinder.blogspot.com/
Enjoy.
In the meantime make sure you stay in touch with Steve and Spartina who have just returned from their last voyage of the season
Go to http://logofspartina.blogspot.com/
That's one impressive storm front Steve - look forward to hear how you coped with that one.
Half term holidays are coming up and I hopefully I can get two things done a) launch Angharad and b) go for a last sail of the season - I'm aiming to try and sail some way up the Tamar, weather and tides permitting.
Steve
Chuck made a short film of the inaugural launch/sail I think and you can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDQIofGou-s
Jon's site is at
http://jonspathfinder.blogspot.com/
Enjoy.
In the meantime make sure you stay in touch with Steve and Spartina who have just returned from their last voyage of the season
Go to http://logofspartina.blogspot.com/
That's one impressive storm front Steve - look forward to hear how you coped with that one.
Half term holidays are coming up and I hopefully I can get two things done a) launch Angharad and b) go for a last sail of the season - I'm aiming to try and sail some way up the Tamar, weather and tides permitting.
I might even call in here for a bevvy or two......the famous union pub at Saltash passage
Sunday, 17 October 2010
well didn't quite make it....but..........
I didn't quite get Angharad finished - a vespa got in the way!
I've rushed Angharad - I could have done better I know; but I've had fun and she's turned out semi ok. she'll make a fine tender to pull behind Arwen on those days I don't want to beach Arwen.
I've still got odd jobs to do - finish off the side deck rigging; sort out the painter; finish the backseat rest support......but hopefully I'll get these done so she pops in the water the week after next.
In the meantime below are some pictures of my next project - non boat related so it won't be appearing on this blog again - we may have to start another one. It is a motovespa douglas 125 super - or at least we think it is. If anyone knows better, please, please, please drop us a comment or two.
We are about to disassemble her and then restore her back to her former glory. Vespa is Italian for wasp! This is an old lady - circa 1967 and she still runs - we zipped her up and down the road before we bought her!
Apart from rust, perished tyres, a broken headlight and one wrecked shock absorber - everything else seems fine - the paintwork will need redoing - plenty of odd rust patches.
Anyway more of Angharad's progress next week and we'll let you know how we get on with the vespa periodically - probably on a different site as this one is for Arwen
Steve
I've rushed Angharad - I could have done better I know; but I've had fun and she's turned out semi ok. she'll make a fine tender to pull behind Arwen on those days I don't want to beach Arwen.
Angharad in her final colours and partly rigged on deck
I've still got odd jobs to do - finish off the side deck rigging; sort out the painter; finish the backseat rest support......but hopefully I'll get these done so she pops in the water the week after next.
Douglas fir gunwales; mahogany stems; international toplac paint 'bounty red' exterior
A little strip douglas fir floor panel - for standing and sitting on
Registered in 1972 and still going strong
We are about to disassemble her and then restore her back to her former glory. Vespa is Italian for wasp! This is an old lady - circa 1967 and she still runs - we zipped her up and down the road before we bought her!
Unusual arrangement for carrying a spare - most were put behind legshield where toolbox can be seen
Apart from rust, perished tyres, a broken headlight and one wrecked shock absorber - everything else seems fine - the paintwork will need redoing - plenty of odd rust patches.
Anyway more of Angharad's progress next week and we'll let you know how we get on with the vespa periodically - probably on a different site as this one is for Arwen
Steve
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
it could be this weekend........
'Weyhey' as they say in some parts of the UK........this weekend could be a number of firsts........first time to see Angharad finished. Her last coat of paint went on tonight. She is a resplendent bounty red (like Arwen's top plank) with white interior. She has a semi varnished deck with pyrography dragons and celtic crosses burned in. her navy blue painter has been attached and we now have to do final touch ups and attach her side deck rigging....I'm still awaiting brass screws and surface cups but the black webbing tape has arrived. So, maybe, just maybe, she may get launched this weekend......but then there is the issue of the scooter!
In a fit of madness, my teenage son persuaded me that now his sister has just started university it would be a good time for some father /son bonding and since he doesn't like boats and I hate horses - we needed something neutral to bond over....................so a vespa scooter restoration would be perfect wouldn't it Dad?
And so we will be heading off to darkest southern Cornwall to collect a 1969 vespa 125 primivera which we purchased over eBay........I must be stark raving mad! But my son, knowing what buttons to push, suggested that if I'd never ever done woodworking before and could build Arwen - a scooter restoration should be peanuts!
And I fell for it!
Rescued from a barn - it does actually go. There is some rust but with TLC and some careful restoration it should be a fantastic scooter at the end of the two years.......have I no sanity whatsoever? This is my 'doh - Homer moment' of all times!
I wonder if I googled 'how to switch on a scooter and move off on one under control?' I might get some useful tips...for yes dear readers - I have never sat on or driven a scooter or motorbike in my life.......I'm beginning to see flaws in my son's logic!
In the meantime I suffer the ignominy of my wife bursting into hysterics of laughter every time she sees me!
Steve
Ps I dimly remember her doing that when I suggested I build a boat......so maybe, just maybe.......I might just get the last laugh!
In a fit of madness, my teenage son persuaded me that now his sister has just started university it would be a good time for some father /son bonding and since he doesn't like boats and I hate horses - we needed something neutral to bond over....................so a vespa scooter restoration would be perfect wouldn't it Dad?
And so we will be heading off to darkest southern Cornwall to collect a 1969 vespa 125 primivera which we purchased over eBay........I must be stark raving mad! But my son, knowing what buttons to push, suggested that if I'd never ever done woodworking before and could build Arwen - a scooter restoration should be peanuts!
And I fell for it!
Rescued from a barn - it does actually go. There is some rust but with TLC and some careful restoration it should be a fantastic scooter at the end of the two years.......have I no sanity whatsoever? This is my 'doh - Homer moment' of all times!
I wonder if I googled 'how to switch on a scooter and move off on one under control?' I might get some useful tips...for yes dear readers - I have never sat on or driven a scooter or motorbike in my life.......I'm beginning to see flaws in my son's logic!
In the meantime I suffer the ignominy of my wife bursting into hysterics of laughter every time she sees me!
Steve
Ps I dimly remember her doing that when I suggested I build a boat......so maybe, just maybe.......I might just get the last laugh!
Monday, 4 October 2010
Page three picture boats
A fellow blogger Robert runs two blogs. One is page three picture boats found at http://pagethreeboats.blogspot.com/
There are some great pictures here - be sure to click on older posts at bottom and as as you scan down the page don't miss the picture of Arwen and a very miscreant crew!
Robert's other blog is called 'what was the middle thing?' and it well worth a read. you can find it at http://middlething.blogspot.com/. He is a fellow navigator builder...and therefore is a special person! And wait until you see what he does with Violins. Robert is one talented guy and a great philosopher....enjoy his blogs - I do!
Steve
There are some great pictures here - be sure to click on older posts at bottom and as as you scan down the page don't miss the picture of Arwen and a very miscreant crew!
Robert's other blog is called 'what was the middle thing?' and it well worth a read. you can find it at http://middlething.blogspot.com/. He is a fellow navigator builder...and therefore is a special person! And wait until you see what he does with Violins. Robert is one talented guy and a great philosopher....enjoy his blogs - I do!
Steve
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