Rosie Lee
was ‘officially’
named with, as
appropriate to her
name, a cup of
tea!
A few at a time the
guests were taken
for a trip round the
inlet then we all
had rosie lee (or
coffee for some)
and all sorts of
goodies to eat.
‘the
outback
marina’
In the early days
of the build I
had arranged to
keep Rosie Lee
in the creek at
the bottom of a
friends property
near Yungarburra.
However, due to
three poor wet
seasons in a row,
Lake Tinaroo is
only about 44%
full. One of the
empty places is
my prospective
mooring! A number of other sailors have the same
problem but at the other end of the lake there is still a
sheltered gully with water in it. Rosie Lee is now there
in company with a number of other craft, its as much
like a ‘marina’ as I want! I can sit at my breakfast table
and watch wallabies and water fowl and be at peace.
how does rosie lee perform?
She does everything Jane wanted and more!
You can walk straight on from the shore, sit on the
benches of the foredeck or enter the cabin down two
small steps. There you won’t have to worry about the
ceiling unless you are a giant and the berths are just
the right height to be easy to sit on and get up from.
Walking around is little different to the shore unless
some wake from a ski boat comes along but even
then the motion is no more than in a bus or train – so
stable and so different from a round bottomed boat. It
feels so different standing to cook at the stove and not
have to be bent at all! And the toilet smells slightly of
coffee!
It was these sorts of things that we planned from the
start and which would have made boating a pleasure
for Jane.
but what of
the motor and
electrics?
They too are better than
expected.
I have done one longish trip
10-12km.
I checked the power
consumption with the solar
array turned off, just the
draw from the batteries, and
measured the speed with a
hand held GPS. At the first
notch (slowest speed) we did
4-4.5km/hr at 34amps; at top
notch it was 6.3km at 62amp.
4.5km/hr seems quite fast
enough to me!
Over the journey of about
three hours I used 25% of the
battery and by the following
afternoon the battery was
back to 100% and in lightly
overcast conditions. So
my aim of being able to
go 12-15km, spend time in
something like watching the
wildlife or painting and return
a day or so later will work
just fine. Lots of short moves
will be possible over several
days.she’s in the water
but i still think of things to do!
The first night on the water I could ‘see’ a fold-down
desk on the port side opposite the control area. That
was quickly made and is used for all sorts. It’s a good
breakfast spot, a place to write or use as a chart
table; it can fold down out of the way.
I have worked out how to change the motors’ clamps
so they can be screwed from the outside removing
the contortion of turning them from inside the motor
wells.
Things for the future – I really need a reading light
at the head of the berth if I read in bed. On the topic
of lights; all the cabin lights I bought have built in
switches, with the cabin ceiling above the berth at 6 ft.
you can’t reach the switch without getting out of bed!
Then it would be good to have some sort of fender
rail across the stern, out board from the motors, to
prevent damage to them or a vessel if one gets too
close!So it goes on! Who would want it otherwise?
That is the next phase of the journey.toP: Rosie Lee as Jane last saw her.
above: Nice and snug inside.