41. The saddest news
The saddest news is the death of our lovely dog, Wagner. He was just short of 14 years old and very arthritic. A few weeks into the summer he showed the first signs of getting wobbly, then he would fall over. It was the saddest thing to see, because although his body was fine, his legs just could not support him any longer and he did not understand what was happening. Shelley and I took the worst decision we have ever had to make and we put him to sleep. He was my constant companion for 13 years and wherever I went so did he. We had four glorious years with him in New Zealand when he loved nothing more than to swim for hours at Onetangi, entertaining the beach. I miss him terribly. RIP my lovely Wags.
Albeit I have spent a lot of time with Wags, I have been doing quite well with the boat (he was very patient). There has been a lot of painting the interior with an epoxy based paint so everything is waterproofed. I have made the two front seats, cut out the rear bench seat and made some compartments under them for the battery and master switch and a 100mm air intake for the engine bay ventilation. The battery has been inset into the floor as it was just a bit too high for the seat bases. The seat back has been divided into three with the centre section able to be removed to get to the engine.
The frame has been made for the engine hatch doors although the doors are not yet made the timber is prepared and ready for ‘construction day’. I have also rewired the boat. I did most of it a few weeks back but was not happy with the trunking so I found some conduit with fittings that I liked better.
Then I started the deck timbers. This is the most complicated bit as it is more five dimensional than three! I ended up steaming a 25mm x 250mm x 1200mm piece of sapele which took hours, but I did manage to get a certain amount of bend into, then with some ‘stripes’ cut in the underside and some less than polite language, I got it to fit. I have done the bow sections and the second 1200mm sections are in place. Now hopefully I can get the rest done before our return to NZ for the winter. If not, it will await our return in April, when I will be spending weeks sanding, long-boarding and fairing to the required shape, such fun!
I have also found the trailer I will have made, so I shall commission that when I get back as well as the interior upholstery. Then it will be just a small matter of the decks to build.
I am taking bets on the launch date!!!!! Meanwhile, enjoy the pix. This will probably be the last post before this year’s NZ trip, so Happy Christmas everyone and see you in 2019.
