Robin

We stopped at Goodchilds last season, a good setup, very good service but a little expensive at £30 for a pump out, Fuel price was about average. Robin

Hi Mouldy We had the same issue on Kingfisher as it has a 200liter tank, the carbon filter helped however the easiest and best solution is the add about a liter of blue loo concentrate every time you have a pump out. we have not had any smells since doing this. ( just add to the loo for the first flush) Boatyards only add enough for a small holding tank and some yards water that down.

On board in Loddon basin, I have never even had a phone signal before, Now have full 4g on O2. Robin

On the subject of bridges at Gt Yarmouth i notice the new bridge has buttresses protruding into the river on both sides which seems to reduced the width of the river by about 25% . Yarmouth has always been fast flowing so will this reduction in width make it a bit like shooting the rapids at certain times ? and will this bottleneck affect river levels?

Hi Roy Her Broads number is L87 Built by Hippersons at Beccles. She is on the list to be restored however the list is a bit long, it includes an Elysian 27, a 32ft wooden broads cruiser, a 37ft Golden light, and a mk1 Cortina estate, as well as the wooden boat we currently use called Kingfisher an ex Golden light. My wife thinks i suffer with multiple project syndrome. but at-least she knows where i am most of the time. Robin

Strangely it is very quiet in the workshop today. so we managed to get all the pellets in the rubbing strakes trimmed off and sanded flush. Chris is now applying the first coat of varnish. And took some pictures with a camera. Robin

With the capping section complete its now time for the rubbing strake. The strakes on the sides are 45mm high and are a half round in section, we will match this. To make it look uniform this will also be laminated over the same former however to match the 45mm height would require 13 strips at 3.5mm. I don't have any photos of the laminating process probably because it was a bit stressful, trying to hold 13 strips of timber glued on both sides, getting them round the former and keeping them all in line took some doing. but it came out ok in the end. Because we needed this complicated shape to be a complete half round section i could not use a router cutter to form the exact shape as the guide wheel would have been below the edge of the timber. the only option was to raise the router cutter and shape the remainder by hand. I make a template of the shape required. using a spokeshave (one of my favorite tools) i work my way along the rail until i am happy with the shape. you can clearly see the layers in this picture. The completed piece sanded and ready for fitting. And installed on the transom. More varnish The finished article The transom will now receive at least six more coats of varnish.

With the glue on the capping set, the next operation is to cut an angle and bevel the edge to match the slope of the transom. This is now offered up to the transom, which is then marked and cut out. The capping is now clamped in position and fettled in. So far so good With the cutout in the transom matched to the shape of the capping, i now have to rebuild the framing on the inside. 75mm x50mm oak at the base. Mahogany up the side sections. These will need to be beveled at the top edge to form a level base. I know the locker tops are level when she is in the water so i use these as my datum to get the frame level. The framework complete the capping can now be fitted. It is installed on a bed of none setting butyl rubber. Screwed down and the holes plugged. The transom has now been sanded back to bare wood to get rid of the shading where her name was removed Hetty seems impressed. The varnishing department now starts to build up the layers.

We have been using Kingfisher for a while now and have enjoyed every minute however we have been planning a couple of upgrades. 1. Window frames to the rear of the sliding canopy instead of the canvas sheet. I started this last winter and and managed to make and fit the frames but didn't complete it. 2. A cutout in the transom to make access easier when moored stern on. The current transom is a bit high and we aren't getting any younger. I will start with the transom, the first picture is as she was. You can see a joint line between the two slightly different colors Mahogany boards, this will be the base line of the cutout. I use masking tape to mark out the proposed cutout. Happy with the size and shape, I transfer the dimensions to the workbench and make any adjustments. I like the shape of the slopes but don't really like the look of the angular corners top and bottom , the joints to the capping pieces will also be susceptible to water ingress. I add in curves to the corners and want to make the entire capping section in one piece. The double lines are the proposed shape of the capping approximately 30mm thick. the radius of the corners is only 170mm so steam bending a capping is impossible. 900mm would be the minimum radius for 30mm mahogany and only if you had some very straight grain timber. The only other option is to Laminate. First job is to make a former, this will need to be 150mm wide to give me a wide enough capping to accommodate the slope of the transom. The next problem is the thickness of the laminates. To bend around the tight corners they would have to be about 3mm thick, I want to use 6mm laminates so i will steam them first to give me a fighting chance of getting them to bend round however epoxy doesn't adhere very well to wet wood. I will have to let them dry before i glue them together, they will still hold the rough shape. Another issue is the internal corners. when bending timber around a former it is a lot easier bending timber round an external radius ( stretching the fibers)rather than trying to compress timber into an internal corner. Steam box Laminates after they have cooled and been removed from the former. Now for some fun with glue, and cramps. And hey presto the capping is formed.

Hi The weekend you have chosen is the world OSY championship and is held over two days, the start jetty will be adjacent to the park just in front of the yacht station which would be a good place to enjoy the racing. if you moor in the Yacht station you can walk through the park to the pits and have a close look at the boats. they are a very friendly bunch.

Hi Tom Unfortunately the former i made for Andy's Bourne 35 bow section has been binned, i have repaired many a Bourne bow section over the years and they all differ slightly, A heads up regarding the keel on a Bourne 35! The keel its self is only constructed from the same thickness fiberglass as the hull, and is very prone to splitting on the bottom corners if not supported evenly along its length. Over the years i have had the pleasure of repairing at least six keels on Bourne's because of damage caused by uneven supporting blocks. I look forward to seeing pictures of your progress. Robin

Hi Guys You may be interested to know boat building timbers are still available if you know where to look. there are a couple of companies who still provide crooks, one in Yorkshire whose name escapes me at the moment and one in Wales. The boat building timber supplies co in Monmothshire, who's web site shows grown Crooks. you will have to do a web search as i cant work out how to do a link. Robin

Hi Andrew How long is a piece of string? If they are well maintained ( i know these will be) and you can keep the water out from between the hull and the rubbing strakes they will last indefinitely.these rubbing strakes are painted on the back and are bed on with a none setting Butyl rubber selant. Apart from collision damage most of the rubbing strakes i replace are due to them rotting from behind where water has got in and you don't see it until it is to late.

Thanks Grendel As i did such a good job, i get to do it all again next week on Lovejoy Robin

Hi Griff Sorry, but i don't let anyone play with my machines anymore however I'm happy to machine your timber and you or one of your team can help. Regarding the length of timber. you should specify long lengths when ordering or you could end up with 10fts which would make for a lot of joints. the longer they are the easier it is to bend round. I'm currently bending rubbing strakes round a Bourne hull and can advise the bow will need laminating about 1m from the tip then the front section to midships will need steaming, with the aft section going straight on. You need to allow 150mm overlaps for all the scarf joints. You will have your work cutout to complete all this in your time frame so if you can get it machined before you arrive all the better. Happy to meet at the wet shed when you are next down. Robin