GALLEY CAT

GALLEY CAT
LIFE BEGINS !

Monday 24 June 2013

HUGE PROGRESS IN A WEEK!

G'day All,
What a busy week!
Mum has just jumped on the plane back to Perth and I'm taking this opor"tuna"ty to update the Blog with the happenings of the last week.
The whole week has been about repairing the Yot, with the internal damage and new hull Xtensions receiving most of our effortz.
After much cutting and removing we found the original structure of the yachts' port hull. The "small" amount of foam we found is sure to keep the Yot afloat regardless of how much the ocean tries to enter.
Just 7 inch's of solid foam is sandwiched between the fibreglass outer hull and the solid timber inner. This solid timber post will have a stainless frame bolted through it which will provide the necessary strength for the new extension.
Much discussion and thunking is going into the new design, with a big breakthrough coming at the end of last week.
 We are now planning to curve the inside wall of the pontoon to double itz strength and allow easier access to the inside from the top.
After much changing to the mock up on the Stb hull, the new design is taking shape with the necessary spacing for supportz and dinghy lifting area all seeming to fall into place. The fishing platform will be slightly narrower than B4 and will have a seat on at least one of the corners.
The dinghy will be lifted onto a cradle type assembly on the rear pontoons with a teflon slide plate to help with the lifting into the storage position.
The welded stainless interior frame will support the various strong mount points that will be required for the towing, mooring and lifting needs of the new pontoons (boots).
I see lotz of work in my future with the initial framework due 2B bolted into place this week.
As with every job on the Yot the first one will be the hardest, but once we complete the port hull we then copy the process onto the other one. SIMPLE!
That is until U see the size of the missing bitz.
Holy Crap!
As usual Kenny is the driving force with many hourz being put into this project along with 3 other project jobs in the yard. We are trying to push the work through the yard as quickly as possible in an effort to improve the backlog of boats waiting for their spot on the slipway. We have also put through a couple of boats for the owners that help out the yard, such a Vaughan (the crane man).
This means a small amount of time is allocated to each job each useable work day. However during the past week we have had the "supermoon effect" with huge tides making work time on the cradle limited.
The internal damage from the Cairns trip is still being repaired with the damaged substructure of the front bridgedeck area now repaired. This involved placing big jacks under the hull, raising the damaged area then securing the floor to the interior frameworx with angle timber and epoxy adhesive.
Mum and I spent many hours replacing the entire support boltz with new ones, both hulls now have more securing bolts than B4.
lotz of mess and chaos.
But a job well done!
The Marithyme Safety boat is now back on her jetty and from now on the refitt will be undertaken on their jetty instead of the cradle.
 It should return to the yard in around 3 weeks once the new rudders are complete. It would of been an interesting drive back without a steering wheel just motor controls for steering. We had 3 small boats along to provide assistance but this wasn't necessary as Paul drove the boat brilliantly and they stepped off onto the jetty without so much as a scratch. Still many weeks of work to do, but at least we can bring the yachts onto
the cradle now.
As predicted the contacts with regard to Cameron have immediately deteriorated with child support and lawyers all having their say this week. I'm sure this will be a long drawn out affair, and I'm also sure itz going to far get messier B4 it sortz itself out. At this stage at least I now know Cameron is alive and well, which is more than I knew three weeks ago.
Brother Andrew has been "killing it" with fish and cray's, while Brad and Miss D are busy moving their business to a more family "freindly" structure. Good Luck guy's! I'm thunking bout U lotz!
Big ash is about to set off 4 a motorcycle tour of Thailand. While mum and dad's new house now has a second concrete floor.(lotz of foto'z).
I've sent a few bottles of felixxer back to Perth with Mum, so I'm looking 4ward to a few drunken fone calls!
Mum's visit has flown bye with an endless set of tasks keeping us busy during her visit.
We did manage to get the boltz fitted throughout the hull and also organised the new grass flooring for the dinghy and the stencil for the bathroom window is now a reality.
much more was planned but, Life as usual got in the weigh!
On a good note-
A little thyme was reserved each day to re-discover the main reason 4 Galleycat, with at least one "solid" culinary meal each day.
Crab and Camembert quiche with fresh mudcrab was one highlight. scotch fillet curry with cous  cous was another unexpected surprise. Lotz of uthers were involved but!
 Taking thyme out, 4 quality thyme and quality food! during a busy schedule is the lesson that:
 I must B learnt.(not good engish)
Thymes run out 4 this entry so thatz all folx!

Captain Felix







1 comment:

  1. Greetings, CF
    Just a very quick one, to let you know mother and Felixer arrived safely back in Perth - after a 6 HOUR !!!!! flight from Brisbane. Massive head winds saw us change the usual route, which would have been VERY bumpy, to a SW route to Adelaide then across the Bite to Esperance. No longer as far as flight time would have been concerned, but far more comfortable. Hope the visits today and Thursday go well - will be in touch soon.
    Take care of yourself
    Love, Mum.

    ReplyDelete

LEAVE A MESSAGE HERE!