Plans Arrive

I got an email today from Gary that he'd sent the plans and CD a couple of days ago and that they normally arrive within a day of each other. Well as luck would have it they arrived together one in the post the other on the courier. Unfortunatly I'd just come home myself (from a day on the beach with Nico) and left the gate open. So the poor couriers' daughter got the fright of her life as she was charged by our Dalmation Loki, who while having a very good temperment, also has a very loud bark.

Back to the plans, they come in two parts, a CD with instructions and tips on boat building and drawings for each of the hull frame stations. Its all quite exciting and daunting, I feel like kid with a huge model kitset.

Off now to do some reading.....

The Duckling is Sold!

Wow that was fast. As is typical of me it appears I may have undersold it. My thinking was that its an old hull, on an old trailer there wouldn't be much value in it. It was one of the reasons I didn't sell it earlier, too much hassle, and I thought I would be lucky to recover the money I spent on refurbishing the trailer least year.

Turns out I was wrong. I had suggested to Cecile a listing of $1,500 she said that was too low so I made it $2,000. First thing Monday morning I had two people phoning me for more information and photos (didn't put them on the listing), plus an email wanting confirmation from Cecile that she had my permission as the boat was being offered at half its value!

To cut it short the, first caller asked for first rights on the boat at the listed price, pending photographs. On Tuesday I took the promised photos and sent them off. By Wednesday morning the duckling is sold.

I arranged with the buyer that we would meet in Tauranga after I re-newed the registration and got a warrent of fitness for the trailer.

Your Cheque is in the mail

Posted payment for the Ulua plans to Gary today, he should get it in the next couple of days.

The Ugly Duckling Must go!

Well I've told my master plan to the boss (Cecile) who is, as expected less than impressed. Part of the problem with the Whiting is that Cecile does not like the water and she does not like boats unless they are large and fast! So the idea that I was going to build one while I still have another in storage does not make any sense to her.

However Cecile is a fast one and seeing her opportunity, she went in for the kill. While she dislikes the idea, she can see the bonding opportunity for Nicolas and myself so she gave me her qualified support, that is she's ok with it on the condition I sell the Whiting 16.

Now this isn't actually as bad as it seems and it gives me the motivation to get off my backside as sell her (the Whiting, not Cecile) since at this stage she is only costing me money. So before I could change my mind, Cecile logged into TradeMe and posted an add.

Slow Starts

Ordered Gary Dierkings' book "Building Outrigger Canoes" from Amazon.com and sent Gary some questions to help me choose between the Ulua or the Wa'apa. Based on his advice I will build a 21' Ulua. It will take a bit longer, but who said this was going to be easy :)

Outriggers

So I'll be first to admit to being a bit chauvinistic towards outrigger canoes, viewing them as stone age technology. However the response is a typical one born of ignorance when you consider that I was busy looking at kayak / canoe options, both vessles themselves as old as mankind with kayaks used by the Inuit to hunt whales!

On reflection it made sense, you get the carrying capability of a canoe with the extra stability of the outrigger (ama) which provided I don't act like an idiot will go a long way towards preventing a nasty dump on the kids.

So off to the internet for research I went (isn't it wonderful, being old enough to remember time before the internet I still marvel at it). The more I searched the more I kept coming back to a NZ boat builder / designer living in the Corromandel; Gary Dierking. In particular his Ulua design was especially appealing to me.

Other readings and videos on Youtube of Hawaiian racing canoes really impressed me with both the size and speed of these boats. One site that really impressed me was that of Tim Anderson and his trip on the Hauraki Gulf in a Ulua. To sail from the Corromandel to Auckland and then on to Kawai Island is no small feet and drove home the capabilities of this craft.

An introduction - Boats

I like boats, I like the ocean. I've been fortunate to grow up in New Zealand, a country with plenty of both. On top of that when I was growing up we spent a lot of time camping close to water and later on we had a Bach at Snells Beach, Warkworth where we had a Haines Hunter fizz boat and a Fryan aluminium dingy (his and hers' boats for Mum and Dad).

As it turned out my brother and I had free use of both and theres plenty of places to explore with either.

Following my university studies and my parents divorce the Haines Hunter got sold followed by the Fryan a couple of years later. So to get my boating fix I started crewing on yacht (Lotus 1280) in the Summer and Winter series. After a few years of that I purchased my own sail boat a Whiting 16 trailer sailer. If gave me a low maintenance and safe day sailer with lots of capacity. I got a couple of good summers sailing out of it before my use started tapering off. The problem is that with even a modest trailer sailer you still need a minimum of two crew making it difficult to spontaneously go out for a sail.

Another problem with the Whiting was that it took up space, since we have a townhouse on a sub-divided section; lawn and driveway space is at a premium and the boat was claiming too much of it. Early this summer I moved the boat to a storage yard hoping that I would find the time to use it so I could justify the cost... It never happened.

Around the same time I was looking into other options for a portable boat that didn't need a trailer, could be used as a day sailer with a bit of cargo capacity and could be solo sailed, or sailed with my son and daughter as they grew up. At first I was tempted by catamarans both moored and trailered but they both incur ongoing costs so then I toyed with the idea of a Kayak or Canadian canoe but I'm worried that one nasty dump and Nicolas or Eloise will be put off boating forever..... Then my internet wanderings came across outrigger canoes.