Quiet Times and Reflections

HMS Wee Rose. A Bolger Nymph done up to the nines by Rick Cambell. If a Nymph can do it, why not a Teal?

It's been quiet on the physical front but certainly not quiet on the mental one. One of the ideas forwarded to me about the S/V Blue Flower by it's former owner and co-builder Andrew Linn was that I should turn her into a show boat. That is make this Teal and example of the breed for wooden boat shows across the Pacific Northwest. And that is the route I've decided to take. This will require a bit of work over the coming fall and winter. The list is quite long and growing but for prosperity's sake I figured I'd throw it up here. And here it is in no particular order.

1. Take the gunnels down to bare paint and brightwork them.
2. Remove all spars and brightwork them.
3. Rework rigging as required to achieve the proper look
4. Repaint deck in Royal Blue
5. Touch up interior as needed
6. Brightwork the seat, rudder and lee board.
7. Rework the seat to make it removable and stowable
8. Make duckboards for the floor
9. Repaint the Hull
10. Get a proper cover the boat itself
11. Figure out a proper anchor set up
12. Make and brightwork a boom crutch
13. Design and make a boom tent.
14. Get new sails built and/or ordered
15. Install deck cleats fore and aft

The idea again is to make a windjammer in miniature. It'll be a longer process then I was thinking and a bit more expensive but I think the end result will be worth it. A very unique vessel with a strong pedigree that will with luck get more people into building and sailing their own boat. The goal is to have all this done by the CWB's Home Built Boats weekend 2012 where the S/V Blue Flower will make her full debut.
  I downloaded and watched a delightful multi-part BBC documentary called The Boats That Built Britain hosted by master mariner Tom Cunliffe. It was a wonderful look at some of the vessels that grew the mighty British empire and should not be missed by any true sailing or boating aficionado. As an outgrowth of my interest in Mr  Cunliffe I ran across one of this books Hand, Reef, and Steer: Traditional Sailing Skills for Classic Boats. This is an amazing in depth look at setting up and sailing the gaff rig. From handling your vessel under sail in a harbor to rigging a forestay this is a must have for those who sail this classic rig. It is a bit dense for those of us with a hobby knowledge of the rig but the wonderful illustrations and photos help guide one along and all those new words and actions start to make sense.
  Tom answers all his own email and I am tickled pink that he's graciously put a signature in the post for me. Technology is truly amazing when a new gaff rig owner in the high mountain dessert of Montana can correspond with one of the worlds greatest gaff rig sailors halfway across the globe.
  What of the PDGoose you may ask? Well it's also in the list of things to get done this autumn, at least to the point I can in good conscious leave it over the winter, ready for spring. A name has been tentatively given and the S/V Flying Fox should make a grand sight on the inland waters of Montana.

A Plan Forms

I would like to state publicly my goal if sailing the Texas 200 within 5 years in a box boat.A friend I've not seen in years breezed into town and we talked a bit about doing things down the line. He's most impressed I built a boat and has mentioned in passing that sailing is something he'd like to do. And that's all it took to get me thinking. That this whole build a boat sail the world thing I've started has done just that, started. And to keep up momentum on this grand adventure more challenges will need to be found. So the grandaddy of small boat adventuring is a very alluring goal. Five days in the middle of nowhere fighting bad weather and yourself to simply say you've done it. It will take training and study. Preparation above all else. A boat will have to be built and tested and a whole host of other odds and ends. But I'd like to think I can and think I will.
On other fronts I'm waiting for a payment to come in so I can purchase my Ocean Explorer Plans. I spoke to the designer on Facebook and cleared up a few issues on the build. It's in metric but I can buy a metric ruler easy enough. I've figured that total of $550 should get me the boat and trailer seaworthy. Not done, but ready for the water. There is a contingency plan to get the build started if the winter continues in it's current fashion come spring. I understand it's all La Nina or El Nino related and it's been a stiff winter.
Myself and the other members of the Western Montana Home Built Boat Association are pleased to announce our Spring Messabout to be held at at Finley Point State Park on the shores of the mighty Flathead Lake. The date will be June 24th to 26th. You can find out more on our Facebook Page, a link to which is on this blog.