New Year Resolution

This picture is my secret shame.
This lot of wood is a kit boat for a Woods Bee that Alec Jordan cut for me a loooong time ago, which I have failed to even start to build. It should be a rowing/sailing dinghy by now, looking something like this:

Progress of a sort has been made - one of the sheets of exterior grade ply that the kit came packed in were made into the washing-up bowl shaped boat in the front there. As Simbo, she has won me the title of Biggest Bloke in the Smallest Boat 2010.

So I hereby resolve that the kit will be built in 2011.
Although first I have to transform the other packing sheet into a cordless-drill-powered boat for the Water Craft competition at Beale Park (I will use another of Hannu's brilliant designs, Prism).
And then there is this, which will occupy a good deal of my time I hope >>>------->
And there is another building project looming, training for the Great River Race, and I am hoping to cash in on some invitations to go sailing this year as well.
So perhaps 2012 is a more realistic aim.....

Lego Simbo

 

I'm so proud. My one-sheet ship Simbo has been modelled in Lego. It is clearly only a matter of time before a special edition is for sale in toy shops round the world, perhaps with a marker pen so builders can create their own custom beard'n'eyebrows effects. I am particularly impressed by the realistic baldy look.

The modeller is Ben Crawshaw of The Invisible Workshop, who emails:

Hi Chris,

Some time ago while playing Lego with my son I decided to try and make a rowing boat. The result, I think, is a striking resemblance to you and Simbo. I was going to use the photo for a tongue in cheek post ('Chrisp action figure and Simbo available from Lego' or some such) but then my health dived (I'm still in hospital) and well, I haven't been up for blogging since.

I've just come across the photos again and send them on to you to use as you please.

Like the new look at Rowing for Pleasure.

All the best,

Ben 

Get well soon, Ben. We miss you a lot.

A damp lesson learned

The main modification to Simbo was a pair of rowlock brackets to take them up by about three inches. More wood from the Bracklesham Bay haul was used, nailed and glued with Balcotan. I also wanted to experiment with the thwart position so I left it loose on the brackets instead of screwing it in place.
Then it was off to Bosham to try it out. Weather was gorgeous and you can't imagine a prettier place to go boating than the old home of King Canute and Harold Godwinson.
The new rowlock position makes it much easier to row, though the oars are too thin for the rowlocks and were difficult to control.
Then one oar slipped clean out of the rowlock. The shock dislodged the thwart and I fell into the bottom of the boat to one side, dipping the gunwale and shipping a load of water before I recovered equilibrium. In the meantime I had lost hold of both oars, which slipped out into the harbour.
There I was, oarless and sitting in the bottom of the boat in an inch of water. Blast. Urgh. Damn.
I pulled my sleeves up and hand-paddled to the oars, set them in the rowlocks and rowed for the shore cursing gently and hoping none of the onlookers had videoed the event for YouTube.
Lesson learned - make sure your seat is secure before you go out.
Now I need a pair of 5ft to 6ft oars that fit my rowlocks properly. Anybody got a spare pair?

Two Launches in One Day

Yesterday saw a double launch at Pulborough on the River Arun in Sussex.
Launch one - the inaugural cruise of the Arundel Boat Club (ABC).
Launch two - the maiden voyage of my new boat, small enough for shallow, narrow streams. The design is called Simbo, the simple boat, by the incredible Hannu of Hannu's Boatyard. It is seven foot something long, and made out of just one sheet of plywood and some odd bits of timber. A construction blog will follow over the next few days.
The picture above, taken by ABC member Wendy Williams (thanks, Wendy!), shows the new boat in the water for the first time, riding high, with me considering carefully whether 5mm of ply really is strong enough for someone of average weight such as myself. Above, ABC chairman Chris Waite holds his self-designed, self-built skiff Octavia back up the very steep slipway.

Finally, I took that step into the unknown and hopped in - Wendy has caught that delicate shake of the boot intended to minimise the amount of water taken in. The boat floats with both transoms just out of the water - success!

Off I row. Unfortunately the rowlocks are too close to the thwart and too low on the water, forcing me to keep my knees down and legs straight, a very uncomfortable pose. Happily, another ABC member, John, lent me the very short oars from his boat which made life easier. Changing the position of the rowlocks will be the first modification before the boat gets another outing.

We ambled gently a mile or so upstream to Stopham Bridge where we have an all-too-short break at the White Hart for BEER.

Then a couple of miles up to Pallingham where the river changes into the disused Arun and Wey canal and is no longer navigable.
One of the advantages of a small boat is you can stuff it in the back of the car for instant boating gratification.