The title this week is very fitting.How does life always get so complex and complicated?
Itz thyme 4 me to return to
"The core ideals of Galleycat!"
(I've gotten lost along the way)
Simple pleasures, simple lifestyle and lotz of fishing and quality foods.
Sunrises, Sunsets and Tropical Islands and Magnificent places are now moving their way up the agenda rapidly.
I'm in the unique position of making this a reality in just a few short months. With 6 months sailing through The Whitsundays during the Christmas / New year period.My demons are clearing with this "SOLID" goal now the driving force, there is of course "Lotz" of work 2 do B4 then.
Of this I have no dillusions! Other things Yes!
After all I've only got 3/4 of a Yot at the moment. But even that task has had itz back broken this week.
With the "merits of simplicity" coming back into the design /construction phase, allowing major progress.
So much so that we'll move towards closing the rear pontoon this week. At the very least we'll get the watertite bulkheads and fibreglassing started.
What is currently cardboard and "nema" sheetz will shortly become a solid hull and storage area at the rear of the Yot.
The kitchen is also on the move with the 500mm extension to the bench ready to begin 2day. This extra room will allow the microwave/ convection oven to fit under the bench instead of inside the Yot.
I asked at the beginning How life gets so complicated?, Itz because I make it so!With 5 or 6 jobs on the go at once, my brain overloads with the pressures I place on myself. I have to realise the the job will never be finished, accept this fact and enjoy the journey along the way. This is far too easy to forget!
The extension to the hull is going well with the stainless steel frameworx now completed.
We have moved our attentions to closing the pontoon with fibreglass sheeting and installing bulkheads. The necessary strength of the framework came on Thursday aftanoon when we fitted the triangle braces. This locked the otherwise floppy material into a rigid base.
We have lotz of "doubting Thomas's" around the yard with opinions flying thick and fast.But we come back to "simplicity and permanence".
We are simply making a Fibreglass boat. Just a super strong one thatz fixed to a 30 year old wooden one.
The practicality of the new design is revealing itself more and more each day, with the dinghy loading system sort of sorted, the kitchen extension sorted, the fishing platform sorted and the fishing bench now sorted as well. Lotz to do still but now we have the planning stage done itz far easier to visualize and construct it.
Itz been a busy week in the yard with each of the "projects" getting sum attention and both slips now in action again.Kenny even found thyme to build a "cannon" complete with wagon style wheels, (foto to follow) . I guess this means I'll have to fit my torpedo tubes!
Both Ken and Myself are suffering with major back issues and itz only copious amounts of painkillers that keep the work progressing.
Crouching under hulls to fibreglass and grind doesn't do the back much good at all. So itz thyme 4 back braces in an effort to support our lower backs.
The progress as guessed, is slow and steady with the first hull taking all the problem solving and thunk thyme, this should be sorted B4 we begin the uther hull. finga's crossed.Lotz of thyme is going into the main structural support points for the towing bollard,fishing platform and also the mast backstay (wire). These pointz need to handle incredible loads and pressures far exceeding the capabilities of the raw construction plastic materials. So stainless and aluminium plates will be used to strengthen the support area's similar to those used during construction of the "pergola".
Well see how the whole thing comes together over the next few weex.
The V8's have arrived in town and itz now i realise that itz been a full year since Dad and Brother mark were here. My thyme is just flying bye and I can only hope to get the whole thing ready in thyme for this Christmas's Big trip, but as stated B4 I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't get everything done.Friday lunch this week was a creamy tomato pasta bake with herbed meatballs and garlic parmasean bread, delicious!, and 2 trays vanished in record thyme. Cooking outside is still possible at the moment but only just!, with dust and grinder cast offs everywhere but with progress comes inconvenience.
Miss Mermaid has surfaced again after a month of quiet (I was about to call interpol), Brad and Dee sent through photo's of a near empty bottle of Fellixxer on a near empty warehouse floor (good job guy's).
My new TV arrived this week in thyme for the V8's and I've even purchased a new sowing machine.The TV will store inside the cabin during sailing and fit to the rear wall (as shown) during normal living.
I've managed to connect the laptop to the Tv via a HDMI cable with splitter so I can send the computer screen to either TV so I can watch the V8's inside/ outside or both.
Altough I doubt watching Nascar at 2 am will work outside as the volume would drive others to take action.
(more to follow)
As usual thyme haz run out and the story continues! So see the next entry for furtha detailz!
Captain Felix (the very busy)
