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Boatbuilding is a good thing to do when its raining.
Its springtime here, but spring here is usually changeable weather, the “all four seasons in one day “kind of changeable. It means that on average the air temperatures are climbing but there is so...
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Long Steps, other builders and a small victory.
Blog 14 oct 17Long Steps is making progress, or I am with the build or somesuch. I’ve two planks to fit on the starboard side, leaving those two off while fitting the ‘offcentrecase” was a good trick,...
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Boatbuilding, and indeed drawing boats is a part time thing here in my world. The days are just not long enough, or there are too few of them or something, the things to do don’t seem to fit in the...
View ArticleHot meals aboard require some thinking in advance.
Cooking on board Long StepsI expect to be heating food rather than being a chef afloat, but hot food no matter how simple can be a lifesaver when the weather is bad and the body is wet and cold. So...
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The summer of the paintbrush is upon us.
It’s a busy day up there. A few minutes ago there was a vintage De Havilland Chipmunk outward bound to somewhere, her Gypsy engine sounding quite different from the usual Lycoming or Continental flat...
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Getting back in the routine.
Its comforting in a way, relaxing and feeling somewhat in control. I find I like it, adventures of any kind are generally uncomfortable things, and lifes dealt me a few lately.Today was a good start....
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‘Tis full summer here, we’re getting unusually hot weather, dry and often windy. It was 30 deg C a couple of days ago, that’s about 85 F, much hotter than we’re used to.But the beaches are crowded,...
View ArticleBest wishes to all.
For some its Christmas Eve here in New Zealand, for others its midwinter and the beginning of the rise to springtime, for us here its full summer of course, but in any case it’s the festive season...
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It will be new years eve here tomorrow, so here's a progress report on Long...
All the very best wishes to everyone for 2018, may good fortune and happiness be yours wherever you are.Christmas time is busy here, engineering customers wanting to get orders out the door needing...
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Time to get back to work.
Christmas and New Year are been and gone, done and dusted, but the year is still young and full of possibilities. Weather being one of the things that affect us, this year started off with a serious...
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Progress on Long Steps, work on the ship and grumbles about the weather of late.
In the last few days I’ve had time to do a bit of work up there in the shed , Long Steps is all planked up now, if you were to toss her in the tide she’d not only float ( being made of wood) she’d...
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Working on the tiller
Its autumn here, but still unusually warm for this time of year. Like summer would normally be, not that I'm complaining, its very nice weather and just about perfect for getting out in the smaller...
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Starting to put in the fiddly bits that can make all the difference.
Inside my little shelter, cuddy, dodger or whatever it might be called there is enough width to sit across the boat, feet on one side, back against the other, tucked in under the “veranda” out of the...
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Morning on the river.
Morning. 14 July. 2018.He snores, my little dog, as he lies sleeping on his rug. Dawn is still an hour away so he’s entitled to sleep, but I’m sitting up in my bunk looking out over the water,...
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Springtime, it brings hope and opportunity here on the river.
Blog for 6 Dec. So, in theory at least its the 6th day of summer here, but the weather is its normal unsettled self for this time of year, warmer than usual so at times the weather is more extreme. Its...
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Summertime, and the consequences of not doing the maintenance while the...
Being summertime here, I’m pining for the Fiords . Oops, not quite. Monty Python has a lot to answer for. Really though I’m wanting to go sailing, cruising in a boat that has enough space in its...
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I had a great summer sailing in Spook.
I'll get back with a more comprehensive report, but in the meantime here is a pic taken by Jon Tucker while sailing in the Bay of Islands. The pic pretty much says it all.
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Back at work on Long Steps.
Giving the blog a kick. I’ve been trying different social media, have concentrated on Facebook for the last while, but it’s a mixed blessing and many people don’t like it. So, I’ve got the Yahoo...
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Dolphins, while they're wonderful, they dont fare well up here in the river.
We had a little adventure yesterday, Mark from the boat across the river, his daughter Bree, and I. He rang me up fairly early in the morning to tell me that there were dolphins in the river just...
View ArticleWinter blues, well thats the colour of the paint these last few days. Blue.
Its wintertime, a bit cold and damp even for much in the way of maintenance work so I've been gradually painting the after cockpit area of Kairos, the launch I live on. Pale blue, sand off until the...
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