Hi there,
Yes - well there has been a fair bit of laying about relaxing
- going on lately - but we sort of feel llike we earned it a bit - just to sit
here and enjoy it for a while.
But - we have at long last started to put the plates on the
outside of the hull - and in the last 2 days I've had a flurry of help - and
managed to get 4 x 2m plates along the starboard (right) side. It's
been difficult - and tiring - and it takes a long time to get them right and all
the bolts in and done up - and plates and bolts all cleaned up
permanently.
There are about 20 all up - so as you can see - with help -
and being able to do about 2 in a day properly - in another 8 to 10 days -
of having someone here helping - sometime - it will all get done - and then it
really should be almost as strong as it ever was going to be - and capable of
going anywhere - in any conditions.
As you can see - the plates look
pretty good - with all the flush coach-head bolts - and the plate almost looks
like it was meant to be there anyway.
We'll just call it a 'custom design feature' -
eh?
On Monday - John, Chris, Des, & his grandson Dylan - came
for the day to help out - and we got stuck right in to the middle plates and
finished 2 completely. It was a bit of a challenge on the 2nd one -
because we couldn't get the dinghy there and I had to spend a couple of hours
standing balanced on a hanging platform.
But it was a successful day - and they didn't leave
until about 630 that evening.
Then yesterday Peter Woods 
came for the day to do some more plates and with the experience
of the day before - we managed to get 2 more done to completion.
It was another long day - tiring - in the sun - in
the dinghy - and once started it's just got to be done completely until that
plate is on and sealed and completely cleaned up - forever.
Having spent all day Monday - shouting our heads
off from each side to try and get the others to hear what to do - I rigged up a
very 'high tech' communication system - on Tuesday - so that I could talk to
inside the yacht and instruct which bolts to do up or loosen for
adjustment.
2 plastic Simpson's mugs (must be Simpsons to work
correctly) - a length of hose to stick through an adjoining bolt
hole. It worked perfectly - and you could hear the other person
speaking as clearly as on the telephone.
I am thinking of patenting the idea - and setting
up a worldwide system to rival the internet.
Who would like to be first to sign up - and I'll
start running the hose out now.
So there you go - we're recuperating today - and
tomorrow we may take a run out to StMarys to get the mail and pick up some
stainless tubing from the old site to build a swim platform on the back of the
yacht.
We'll let you know.
Rodney & Penny
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 16,
2008 10:55 AM
Subject: Plates going on the
Hull at last.
