Sunday, 18 August 2013

Snarleyow Resurgam

Snarleyow, my Chippendale Sprite sliding seat skiff, has changed colour again. The maroon has been replaced by Oxford Blue, chosen mainly because Homebase has a pathetic selection of water-based exterior paint - all the alternatives were shades of grey or olive drab.
The gunwales  had come adrift in various places and have been epoxied back. All the varnish has been sanded back and re-coated and she is looking very smart.
I even took the oars back to the wood, painted the blades a rather fetching cherry red and put no fewer than four coats of varnish on the shafts, ready for the critical eye of the sailors at the Dinghy Cruising Association and Home Built Boat Rally week of boating at Cobnor, a lovely estate on Chichester Harbour.
It was not until I got the boat on the water and put the oars in the swivels that I realised that something was horribly, horribly wrong. Can you guess what it was?
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11 comments:

  1. Bursledon Blogger18 August 2013 at 18:53

    you'd forgotten that you went to Cambridge?

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  2. Patrick Hay18 August 2013 at 20:30

    Looks like you'll have to row backwards.

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  3. Tillerman18 August 2013 at 20:30

    Well, I notice you have green and red rings on the oars so presumably the starboard and port side oars are different (although I don't know how). My guess is that you removed these to varnish the oars and put them back on the wrong oars?

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  4. Graham Neil18 August 2013 at 20:30

    You were facing backwards! (Again).

    I'll be joining you all tomorrow save me a good pitch.

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  5. Chris Partridge18 August 2013 at 22:33

    Didn't go to Cambridge either, Max. Polytechnic, me.
    Tillerman, the problem is indeed with the oars but not with the port'n'starboard.
    And Patrick and Graham, yes, backwards is how it is done. Well spotted...
    I won't be there tomorrow but there is plenty of room. Dr Waite, Wayne, Phil and most of the gang are already ensconced.

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  6. Tillerman19 August 2013 at 00:04

    You put the white thingies in the wrong position on the oars?

    You put the green and red thingies in the wrong position on the white thingies?

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  7. Tillerman19 August 2013 at 11:45

    You put the blades on the wrong end of the oars?

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  8. Tillerman19 August 2013 at 11:46

    You thought the Dinghy Cruising Association was for rowers but everyone else had a sailing boat?

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  9. Steve-the-Wargamer19 August 2013 at 13:04

    You forgot to take the wheels off... :D

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  10. topher31 August 2013 at 19:35

    Hi Chris,

    I notice in Frontrower's Gallery a picture of Snarleyow with a Frontrower setup. What was it like? I see you are back to rowing backwards like the rest of us.

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  11. Chris Partridge1 September 2013 at 17:07

    Hi Topher, that's not Snarleyow on the Frontrower page, in fact I don't think it is even a Sprite - it looks like the American knock-off version. I do admire the Frontrower but it is a bit pricey for me (compared with a second hand pair of oars for £30, anyway).

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