Yellowtail

Da Deed's bin Done and Da Paint's bin Daubed :shock: Here she is all her all her glory ... well, without things like rowlocks and inspection ports and I'm not even thinking about the sailing rig Cheers Richard

For those of you not in the know, years ago, Gav Atkins designed a small, cheap boat called the Mouse Boat. Most are paddled, but last year, I asked him to produce a rowing version. Enter, the Rowing Mouse. My lad and I built the first one and launched her last year. I've just put together an Image Station album of the building of Scrat - the Rowing Mouse. The link is here: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2129062050 You have to be a member of Image Station to view it (I think) but it is free and I've never had a hassle with them. And as a teaser, here's two of the 40 piccies in the album. Cheers

Hey, I got my camera to talk to my computer (don't laugh, it's a sad story). Here's the wee beastie. Bright blue will be added to the gunwale but ... just the outside? gunwale and inwale? gunwale, inwale, knees and that curved doubler on the rear transom? dip the whole thing in a vat of purple and make my daughter happy? Thanks for the feedback boys. Cheers Richard

My Tender Behind - snub nose pram at bit under 8' long - has just been painted. She is now a lovely, overall beige (looks good despite the conotations of the term 'beige'. Now, the colour (which will be done tomorrow - not wanting to rush you). I plan to do the gunwales in blue ... not the purple my daughter wants. The inwale is offset inside the boat - from above, you see 20mm inwale, 20mm spaces and blocks, 20mm hull and gunwale. Question - how much of this do I paint blue? All the inwale (top, sides, spacer blocks, etc), or just the gunwale and top of the hull, leaving the spacers beige? I've been searching for photos for inspiration but am not having a lot of luck at the moment. Some suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers Richard

While it is good for the soul to finish painting your boat, then settle back in a comfy chair and just look ... and drool ... and think wonderful things about your craft ... ... I advise that you do NOT do this before cleaning the brush! :shock: %$^&*grrrr runs @#$#@!grrrrr dry spots *&^%grrrrrrr Richard

Don't overlook tilting trailers. We've loaded big, heavy, f/glass runabouts of the beach in water they were no longer floating in. Sure, the big winch helped but so did the tilting trailer. Richard

Use a heat gun and be prepared to be sickened by how easy it is to get the glass off - that's been my experience, though with much older fibreglass than yours. However, when a coating starts to lift like that, usually you'll find that only enough of it will stick to make the whole job a pain in the moaning chair squasher. If she were mine, I'd get as much of the fibreglass off as possible without going stupid, then sit back and have a look ... and a beer ... and a sook. The amount of glass left will tell you whether to re-glass it or take the lot off. If you do choose to reglass, think of it as very tough paint. You've had five years sailing on it so far ... that's better than a coat or two of enamel would have done down there. And if there is no rot, you're still ahead of the game. Cheers Richard

Over due eh? Redback was supposed to be a 6 mth project. She's now over eighteen months ... and she's only an 8' dink! Richard

**Sob** No-one knows what me boat is. I've just finished taking the paint off the hull. Scary job. This old girl's got a history - repairs, rot, more repairs, plugs. And I've renewed my hate affair with sanding. Richard

Gee, it's in the thirties here too ... only that's Centigrade so it's lovely and warm and the sun's shining and the birds are singing and I'm playing with my boat coz it's perfect boating weater and ... have I rubbed it in enough yet? Cheers Richard

I thought that the approved method was to use words your mother wouldn't approve of, stomp inside and have a therapeutic ale or three. Standing back the next day and asking yourself how big a problem this really is helps. Many a non-perfect finish has been un-noticeable in the real world and sometimes (though not often enough sadly), the imperfections are an improvement. Hint - I don't know where the dust has landed on your boat but if it's a deck, think about the first time catch a squid and the rotten thing inks everywhere. Richard

Thanks for that Barry. I'm searching through their data base at the moment and I've sent an email off to the admin of the site. Perhaps ... Of course, the rotten thing might be a one off design by a backyard butcher. It might be rare and valuable. It might be a pain in the neck. But to me, it's just Henry. My boat. Richard

AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH Two hundred viewings and not even a whiff of sympathy. Help. I admit, I realised that this was a long shot but was hoping for something. Please, someone suggest a design, even if it's the Battleship Tirpitz. Seriously (pause for hysterical laughter), does anyone know of another site I might try? Perhaps a dinghy racing site or a website with a range of classes listed? The only UK dinghy forum I'm aware of has next door to no traffic and most sites listing classes are just for those used at a particular club. An historic racing site would be the go. I used to have a link for one but can't find it now. As a side note, when I rejoined the ranks of single parenthood earlier this year, I renamed this boat - Henry VIII, after a bloke with a good attitude to ex-wives. Richard