Hiding from the spring weather

But its not a complete loss of time.

Its Thursday evening, I'm still house sitting my sisters house up in the bush at the top of the hill. This ia a very peaceful place, and I’ve been able to spend some time working on the drawings for both SEI and the Saturday Night Special.  I’ve written building guides for both, materials lists, and some words of general advice.

Both sets are now done, all ready to go out and help people create their dreams. They will be sent off to the print shop and I’m expecting them to be scanned and back to me in digital form about Wednesday next week.

Tomorrow though I’m onto the next one that’s the boat that I’m drawing for my own use, for a particular project / voyage / adventure I have in mind.

“Long Steps” is  if you like a slightly larger version  of Walkabout, long and slim, a reasonable rowing boat that I expect will sail well. She has though the centre area of SCAMP including the self draining cockpit floor with a water ballast tank under, a similar raised locker and veranda “cabin” which like SCAMP provides high up bouyancy to assist righting after a capsize, gives much dry storage and some shelter from the elements.

She will be cat yawl rigged, that’s two masts, a big balanced lug main and a triangular mizzen, will have the same offset centerboard that has been so successful on SCAMP, that gives space in the cockpit which is to be wide and long enough to sleep in, and I am drawing in an area aft of that with the full depth and width of the boat in which to stand and move about when sailing.

I'll be carrying a swimming pool bean bag in there so can sail in some comfort.

The boat is intended for very long range voyaging, at times in areas where there are no harbours for overnight refuge so she will be set up to lie to a sea anchor.

Im going to get this far enough along to allow me to start the new boat, I’ve got two other design projects plus a couple of small modification drawings to do as well.  I need to get them done so I can get out sailing when summer gets here.

Adventure cruising? The years keep ticking past, there are only a limited number of them and no one knows just how many each of us have, so its time I got out there and did some serious adventuring.  My philosophy is that life is what you use to build up the memories that sustain you in your old age.

I’ll have a pic of Long Steps in the next posting on this blog, the current working drawing is a work in progress, and as with all works in progress it’s a mess and wont make a lot of sense to anyone but me.

Oh yes, it will be back to sandpaper and paintbrush on SEI next week.

Watch this space.