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Back to Bling
I'm working on finishing the decks before moving on to bilgeboards and so on. Laying teak in the cockpit was the final job before I could sign if off as finished. At the moment, I climb on and off the...
View ArticlePoor Australia
I was about to write a nice, cheerful blog and wish everyone a Happy New Year, but I have had to switch on the lights, 4 hours before sunset. The sky is a dirty orange; all the white boats in the yard...
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The cockpit and around the companionway
I do realise that it is ages and ages since I posted. Blame it on Christmas, New Year, Tall Ships (and the depression caused by seeing the world going up in flames and Our Masters reckoning The...
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The bilgeboards
In spite of being described by no lesser authority than Wikipedia, my choice of bilgeboards seems to have caused immense confusion among both visitors and correspondents. So let me clarify what they...
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Blogging in the time of Coronavirus
Well, it looks like Gaia has finally lost patience with us and forced us to accept the fact that, actually, we are not in charge of this planet. Blogging about something as frivolous as building a...
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Catching up
As I think I may have mentioned, I broke my computer screen some time back. Shirley gave me a tablet which is great for most things, but not brilliant for blogging. However, I have managed to get my...
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Some shiny paint and rubbing strakes
Covid 19 rumbles on, but this country appears to have got off lightly insofar as illness and deaths are concerned. The economy, of course, has taken a hit, but then so it has in countries that have...
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The Devil is in the Detail
I had been worrying about the rubbing strakes for a long time, knowing that I couldn't follow the good advice of boat building books, to mark them out and then stand back to check that they looked...
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Tornado, bilgeboards, preparing for painting
Yes, you did read that correctly. Just over 2 weeks ago, a tornado swept through the boatyard leaving a trail of chaos and destruction. It was pitch dark at the time and I had just knocked off for...
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Multitasking
Supposedly, women are very good at multitasking, but there are exceptions to every rule. In some cases I am on par with the best of my sex, but when it comes to building a boat, I find multitasking...
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More on bilgeboards, rudders and now ... self steering. Plus a bit of paint.
I concluded my last post with the less-than-welcome discovery that the bilgeboards could not be rigged as planned. Obviously a Plan B was required. If you look carefully at the photo, you can see what...
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A Painted Lady
In my last post, I mentioned that I had started painting the boat, and this has kept me occupied for much of the time since. While paint is drying, I have got on with other jobs, large and small.It...
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Building a topmast and making a yard
 Well, these two jobs have occupied most of October. Before I really got into them, however, I finished fitting the hoop.Gluing it in place was a fiddly business. Ideally, I would have attached it to...
View ArticleA video of Fanshi
For those who enjoy such things, David Tyler has published a video of Fanshi on his YouTube channel. It was taken a couple of mnths ago and, I warn you, is very long, but you can always skip the bits...
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Out she comes!
 Well, we've finally made it out of the shed. Those of you who are impatient can scroll down to look. Otherwise, bear with me while I finish off the mast.I have had more than my share of fatiguing,...
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A nice story for Christmas
 You may remember many moons ago, I wrote about acquiring a copper kettle and how the helpful people at Newey & Bloomer (purveyors of fine kettles) were going to find a whistling lid for me. The...
View ArticleA video of FanShi
 Happy New Year! Some time ago, a group of German sailors asked if they could come and have a look at FanShi and take a video of her. Knowing that there are those who seem to prefer watching a video...
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At Last!
 The moment we've all been waiting for. But first, let's get the boat finished, should we? Not long now ...I had decided that I wouldn't move on to the boat until I had the cushions covered, to...
View ArticleVideos
On my last post, I forgot to mention two new videos on my YouTube channel. The first is of the launch itself; the second is of the launch and the first sail in company with other juks. This has video...
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However did I find time to build a boat?
 It's hard to believe that FanShi has been afloat for two months. I seem to have been busy, and ave nothing to show for the time, apart from a good suntan and a happy smile. Several of my friends...
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Living Slowly in Northland
I've spent the last couple of months pottering around in the Bay of Islands, but a few days ago, I finally got sufficient energy to abandon my lotus eating and venture out down the coast once more....
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Windy, wintry wanderings.
Before I go any further, I must apologise for the formatting in this post. I normally compose as I go, but this time did a lot of copying and pasting having typed in advance from entries in my...
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FanShi is one year old today
FanShi and I are celebrating her first birthday, in a beautifully sheltered spot in the Bay of Islands, called Hauparua Inlet. It's pretty shallow - we are in about 1.5m at LW, but has land all around...
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Change of Pace: Change of Blog
For some time, now, I've been considering abandoning blogging altogether ... but I suppose that it's a case of once a writer, always a writer and I find blogging much more satisfactory than trying to...
View ArticleOne or two people have commented that I haven't updated my blog recently.
The reason that I haven't updated this blog recently, is because some time ago, I started a new one. To catch up with FanShi and me, please go to FanShi: Wandering and Wondering
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