We are finally at that point where we’ve done the sanding, done the test coats and now we have to do the first coat. Being honest we were quite nervous as we’ve never worked with AWLWood before and not worked with wood in a very long time. But The time was upon us to walk the walk. Preparation Proper, Preparation, … Read More
Classic I14 – Test varnishing the hull
Because we’ve never used AWLWood and we aren’t going down to bare wood, if we can avoid it, this is all a bit of an experiment. So we decided to a couple of test runs on different parts of the hull to make sure that everything works as expected. For AWLWood going over existing varnish you have to sand down … Read More
Classic I14 – Stage 1 – Sanding the hull
The first stage, as ever, involves a lot of sanding, the boat has been varnished on a regular basis so in order to put the new AWLWood on it we need make sure we have a solid foundation. It is also an opportunity to fair the hull and work the deeper dents out. Because the boat is wooden and we … Read More
Classic I14 – Stage 1 and the plan
We’ve started work on “Freebooter” while we are going to modernise the boat, we also want to retain its provenance. Overall the hull is in great condition and has been well looked after, having been regularly varnished. This means that we can focus on fairing and revarnishing the hull. In terms of fittings, they all work and in on the … Read More
Classic International 14 – Our new project
Our last three projects have all been relatively modern boats, ranging from our all carbon fibre modern I14 to the polyester/glass Wildcat F18. In the back of our minds there has always been the memory of a plot we had with Nick Harvey when the National Maritime Museum was auctioning off its collection of classic/historic dinghies. Nick was keen to … Read More
RS600 – Sailing on the 17th of October
It was a very gusty day at Swords, wind ranging from sat on the side, too flat out wiring and back again. Usually quick rapidly. Here is a short video. Top speed for the day was 14.2 knots.
RS600 – Sail Comparison very old vs brand new
Our shiny new sail arrived today, many thanks to a good friend who brought it over for us. Obviously the first thing we wanted to do was compare it with our existing crisp packet… sorry sail. So we decided to share what we saw. To be clear, our old sail is very old, so it has shrunk over the years, … Read More