Jack de Crow

There is such a paucity of dinghy cruising literature available to the enthusiast. One is compelled to return to the meagre offerings available through blogs, ebooks or real books, for inspiration.

This is often a frustrating past-time due to the content or the author's lack of engagement with the reader. Rarely does the reader find themselves transported in mind and body to drift along a peaceful river smelling blossom to the chorus of finches in the brush, but yesterday I resumed my third read of Jack de Crow and am living the good life I  between all  the drudgery and effort of being a single dad. Though yesterday my 'baby' daughter took to the roads behind the wheel of my car for the first time which  was ah, exciting. Perhaps in time I will be able to relax enough to read Jack de Crow and be transported off while being transported to?

For an unbiased review go here: http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/the-unlikely-voyage-of-jack-de-crow/2008/09/05/1220121506663.html?page=1

Phoenix?

Around the time of my last post the Paradox build got the better of me and I put her into storage. But .... well a 25 year relationship with my partner ran aground and after tidying up my "maritime assets", resuming my Paradox build is exciting me like never before. The prospect of cruising off alone akin to the blog "Jim's Times",
; launching, cruising, towing her home, is just the ticket. So drop by another time, the flame is still  burning brighter by the minute!

No Work?

Hi,
You discovered this blog and then, that it's a dead-in-the-water project. Yep, I understand your frustration, I hate that too.

Well, the issue is that while building the Paradox I had a change of heart of two or three things of great importance. One, I realised that I was getting older, 55 next month, and I wanted to not "waste time" building another boat. The other realisation I had, was that I wanted to do more blue water sailing.

I rashly bought an old Folkboat that I've since named bohemian (yes there is a blog), that I have patched together for a sail to my home port. I then hope to fit her out for offshore cruising.

The good news for Paradox lovers is that, I'm still keen to complete the build. Once I get my Folkboat sorted and get some sea miles under her keel, I will return to the Paradox build. I hope to use the Paradox as as retirement sailing boat. One I can bring home on a trailer and put under cover, but also launch easily and sail without doing monkey dancing on a heaving deck. There's a really good Paradox blog by a Brit sailor, once every while he throws stuff on board and chuffed off about the coast. Sometimes he catches up with other Paradox sailors. His name's Jim, and I want to do what he's doing except on the Australian east coast. So until then.

Transom Vent Cleat and Baffle. Sound like a mouthful?

IThis bit of the Paradox sounds like a real mouthful and I did what I could to worry over it (unduly). I read The Guide several times and still didn't 'get it' mainly because when I first looked at The Plans I was blown away by the fact that there was a gaping hole in The Transom - I came away imagining a smile-shaped cavity about as wide as The Transom. 

So I kept trying to comprehend what was Cleat, what was Vent and what was Baffle, and nowhere could I see where or when the Vent (ie: The Great Gaping Hole Across The Transom) was to be cut out. So I kept reading The Guide and I was starting to get Really Annoyed with the author's willingness to get off topic. So I started making notes "scribe an arc ... make a Template for the angle of the Baffle ....". 

About this time, on my third coffee, I was in full procrastination mode because I just did NOT know how to proceed, I decided to have a look at a video I had of the completed build of JOHANNA. (I'll stop here and get off topic; if you love the Paradox videos that abound on line and don't want to download their files every time you watch them and you have two tablets, video the video so you have your own copy.) I checked my vid. file of JOHANNA, as the builder patiently showed her from each angle inside and out, and then the penny dropped, there is no Great Gaping Hole Across The Transom at all. In fact it's a nice little hole just big enough to allow the Tiller to enter the Transom and with the pivot point being close by, the tolerances are relatively small. Phew! 

So, I needed to cut out a curved piece of ply to match The Radius, making the lower edge a 35 degree angle to mate with the upswept Baffle. Once all my ducks were in a row, everything went surprisingly well. Having no 1"/25mm plywood hanging about, as per The Plans, I made two curves out of 5/8"/15mm ply and they are currently having a meeting over a nice blob of epoxy resin.  Baffle next.    

Baffle. I've just popped out a Baffle. The most difficult part was getting hold of a nice piece of 6mm ply. That done, I clamped the centre of the ply to the centre of the Cleat, then used ratchet tie downs to induce the bow, marked off 300mm width and cut it out. It needs a sand and epoxy sealing, but basically the Cleat is glued up now, but the Baffle must wait until the Hull is assembled. 

All held together with string at the moment. In real life it's much more curves. A nice design. 

Homemade Wooden Bollards

The winter weather is majestic, crystal clear skies and although the nights are frosty the days are warm and good for working on Paradox. Once the firewood and laundry are sorted, I'm pretty well free (most days) to devote to my build. 

Over the last couple of days I've been making wooden bollards. From a cardboard template I cut out the shape with a sabre saw and then routed a 3/8" (plus or minus), radius around the edge. Then the fun bit, sanding it all down, fun because the end result is quite beautiful.  Add varnish and it just gets better. 

There is a useful article in volume 25 of Messing About in Boats emagazine (which is issued as a free on their website), but the process is all pretty logical. 

So take up a spare piece of timber, make a template and go for it. If that's not good enough for you, these bollards are natural, homemade, recyclable and unique to you and your boat ... and they're NOT PLASTIC!

Epoxy Sealing - Bulkheads & Transom are now done.

Wow! I discovered Herb Payson only last night & I really like his writing style & what he has to say about tossing if all in to go sailing, & the Western consumer society. Brilliant expression ... after buying their boat his wife "Nancy wanted to organise a party. I could see it now ... Nancy was related to everyone on Long Island. The fact that boats were for sailing was beyond her". Should be a great read, Payson's expression is similar to my favourite sailing book "Princess: of New York" which was written by a New York artist in the early 1900's. 

I started the day off reading a chapter from Sven Yrvind's book (offered free on his web site), the one he was falling about why the Paradox design, particularly the flat bottom and chine-runners, are such good things from a simple cruising sailor's point of view. I can't really summarise it but would link to the article if anyone wanted me to. 

After housework & getting the knuckled down to their schoolwork, I went out back & worked on my Paradox. I think I'm now done with the Bulkheads & Transom, without wanting to tempt the black hand of Fate, I think they're all cut out correctly, the beads & cleats are in place, & the whole is coated with three layers of epoxy. Now I can get the Side Panels going. 

I have already cut out the rear sections of each side, now I need to buy two sheets of play for the front sections. And, I be had a change of heart, I'm not going Marine Ply, I'm going with oversized construction play. I think the trick is in the doing firstly, getting the boat made & wet. The next most important thing is keeping it dry, ensuring it's all securely sealed & the bilges are checked for dry & they are properly ventilated. Now matter how good your ply be, a damp boat will compromise the integrity of the wood. 

Do I have heroes?

I began sailing at age 12 years and have carried the interest ever since. After raising babies when my sailing was limited to off the beach type craft, my interest was stirred by reading about Mingming and more recently Mingming II. Here she is, all 23 feet of her, returning from her first voyage into the Arctic Circle, junk rigged, engineless, liferaft-less, with the understated Roger D. Taylor at the helm. 

           MINGMING II

"The voyage (from Whitehills to Kong Karl's Land at 79 deg. North) was 55 days long, and noon-to-noon positions totalled 3332 nautical miles. Mingming II was a delight to sail; quick, easily handled and relatively comfortable".

MM II can be described as a 23' GRP wreck that was refurbished cheaply & in the most basic fashion, albeit to the highest standards of seaworthiness. She has a recycled lamppost as a mast.