mitchell

G,day Phil,Johno here from Bittern Victoria in Aus. I have to apologise first for getting you mixed up with Frank Hagan,dont ask how cause I dont know.I thought that he had made wooden blocks for his weekender when in fact it was your good self instead.I wanted to make some for my weekender which I hope to be launching this summer (southern hemisphere).They seem to be the finishing touch to the traditional look of the weekender,besides the fact that I dont like having always buy chandlery I know I can make.I was on a building site 3 days ago,when to my delight the site boss let me have several lengths of the tightest grained Jarrah I have ever seen,perfect for block making.However I have no idear how to make the rope strop or how to get it tight around the eye,could you please give some pointers as to how its done and what you used. regards Johno

G,day Frank, Johno here from down under,mate I'me a computer twit so you may have not got my last attempt to contact you re the wooden blocks you have on your weekender.Every time I look at the pictures I drool.How do you make them? particularly how do you do that rope strop around them?I would love to make some for my weekender,I reckon they give a truly authentic look to an already beautiful boat(slight bias)My weekender is now almost ready to turn over for bottom work,I'me carving a figurehead of a dolphin,still not quite right,will post photos soon as I can get the missus to help.I hope to get Whisky Echo Tango in the water by summer and hopefully get some good sailing time over autumn,magic time of the year at this end of the world.Look foward to hear from you regards Johno

Hi Jim Johno here from down under,mate I have been giggleing for a good half hour with an image of your missus cutting up frozen fish on the radial arm ,did she switch on the dust extractor lol? I suppose the band saw is more dignified,one day you might find her using your router to mix a cake,get a photo if she does lol!

Hi Howard Johno here from down under.I found your rot test interesting,I did a similar test with Meranti marine ply that I used for my weekender.I started the test 12 mths ago and had a similar result to you,Meranti always worries me as I dont regard it as a durable timber,same for Oregan Pine,if not protected with paint they suffer the affects of rot ,some times surprisingly rapid.This has been my experience over the last 25 years repairing boats and houses,and the culprit is always freshwater gaining accsses some how.I still think that the proven rot preventative is linseed oil cut 50 50 with kerosene then oil based paint thinned with kerosene not turps and then oil based paint.This of course does't work with using fiberglass on timber,which I think is wrong anyway,any timber that does duty outside cries out for oil,particularly in boats.This I know will be regarded as heresy by many,wait till they have a decent impact with their boat say having to come alongside a jetty in squally conditions,the fiberglass gets cracked ,even minutely,water seeps between the ply and the fibreglass,and so begins the end of a boat,and I have seen it OFTEN! The up side is that the weekender is usually built by the owner so his or her maintaince will likely prevent such an outcome,however I think that fibrglass is best used as a solid hull not as a component in a timber hull. Something else about Oregan,it's become noticable that timber that came from the Mt St Helens area ,after the event,is very prone to decay,something to do with the age or the condtion of the trees after being partly cooked by a volcano,just a point of interest on what affects timber

I can't belive how many kiwis have weekenders,I think I might move there from Aus

Hi Greg ,I had a pleasant suprise yesterday.I happened to be reading the latest copy of AABB when lo and behold there's an article on the constuction ofa Mill Creek 13 kayak by none other than a bloke named Greg Spies,who lives in Grafton ,using my awsome powers of deduction I concluded it can be none other than the soon to be owner of a weekender,well I was gobsmacked ,here I am talking to a published boat-builder,thats a first for me.I was wondering if you got your keel timber yet.Thats the first thing I made a mistake on.I found the plan a bit misleading,I needed to leave more length on the centre lamination to allow for the stern block,it seems that what you loft on the plan goes up to the stern block but does'nt include it.Anyway after sorting that out the keel ended up1 inch longer than it should be,which inturn changes the dimensions for the bottom panel and the deck panel and side panels.The other thing that I struggled with was bending and screwing in the front cabin panel,I busted 3 before I finally got 1 in.I made sort of a spainish windlass with a bit of rope around the panel that held the curve while screwing it in,that worked.The broken ones ended up as porthole rings so nothing was wasted.Finally got the seats in and will now fit steering gear.

G,day Andrew Sawdust,I had a look at your profile,says you are in Canberra,thats a lot closer to me than Greg Spies, who is in Grafton.That means the only weekender builder in aus that I know on the east coast that would be with in a reachable distance of my good self is you.When my boat is finished ,which should not be to much longer,I am keen to get some kind of club together,what do reckon, regards Johno

Hi Steve thanks for the conscience prod I was wondering who was watching.maybe Bagneaux(how the christ do you pronounce that?,is it like Bordeaux with a bag lol ?)can send Stevensons the money with an explaination.Are you a weekender builder as well?

G,day Bagneaux,Johno from Bittern Australia.I,ve got weekender plans,will email them to you as soon as I can get the scanner to work,I am a real computer twit.I have almost completed my hull,have to wait for warmer weather to start painting,it gets cold down here at the bottom of Aus,plus we are right on the edge of the roaring 40s.Hope to get plans to you ASAP.Hope Stevenson dont crack it .

G,day to Phil Gowans this is Johno Mitchell from Bittern ,Victoria in Australia ,Mate I've been looking at your Weekender pictures and find myself drooling at what looks like home made wooden blocks on your mainsheet how do you make them,and especially how do you do that rope strop around the block itself ? I,ve been working on my Weekender since June and I would like to have wooden blocks on mine.I have the hull nearly complete only seats to install,so its all starting to feel like launch isn,t far off.Actually the other thing that I'me stuck on is carving the figure head,an arching dolphin. Stay in touch regards Johno

hi greg this is Johno, I like your choice of keel timber, merbau is very durable though i dont know about the red juice it seeps wether it affects fiberglass or not .Myself I used Radiata pine,its available in wide boards,is strong for its weight,will be well protected,and isn't heavy.I could't help but wonder how much ply you had left over after building that nice looking kayak?As far as ply goes I used marine ply from AWS ph0387878688 their imported Meranti marine ply I thought was quite good the price on12mm ply is $20.58 a sq met just under $60 a sheet 6mm goes for$10.86 a sq about$32.00 a sheet It has the bs 1088 stamp and seems a quality product,give them a ring and check it out even with delivery it should be cheaper than what you quoted.I was going to work on Whisky Echo today,but its 4 deg out in the workshop and I just can't pull myself away from the woodheater.Maybe next weekend! seeya later Johno

Hi Greg ,this is Johno re aussie Weekender builders . I started in June this year even though I got plans 2006.So far I have almost completed the hull only seats to install,working like a blue arsed fly to get them done today,wheel was the first thing I did then rudder box,hatch coaming,hatch all the bitts,bowsprit etc.I plan to have Whisky Echo Tango in the water by December.I live at Bittern Vic on Westernport Bay.How are you going with youre boat?Where are You? please stay in touch regards Johno