socks – an update
A couple of years ago I briefly reported on advances
in sock technology noting that ‘all day’ brands had
been introduced indicating that the lucky wearer could
indeed now be safely socked from dawn to dusk.
Remarkable. On building the new Shimmy I found a
new use for the handy hose – the photos show used
but still serviceable (kindly donated in a bag of rags)
socks used to cushion a shaped fairing block for
coving and as pads for temporary legs – socks, where
would you be without them?
an ikea adventure
Yes, we went to Ikea to buy a new office chair for the
office manager and a couple of units for storing boat
drawings and for the TV to sit on. Now Ikea is one
Swedish thing we all know about – kit furniture with
quirky names like ‘Slattern’ and ‘Groening’. Annette’s
new chair is a sturdy steel job called Roberget.
Annette is happy sitting on Roberget whereas I am
not. After several hours we managed to find our way
out, others weren’t so lucky I hear, ending up as
stateless shoppers in a sinister Scandinavian time
warp, forced to eat iced herring smorgasbord in a
sterilised cupboard for eternity. I’m not going back
there without a pocket GPS.mods to modernise
Had an enquiry about modifying an old Scruffie 16
a few weeks back and I thought I’d comment on
modifications to our boats. They are different to
almost all others and follow a different set of rules.
Little ships rather than big dinghies with low aspect
lugsail or gaff rigs and fixed keels.
Now the earlier 16’s – and I’m going back 20-25
years – had shallower keels and simple rudders
which meant they weren’t too efficient to windward.
The shallow draught hull was easy to beach and the
single lugsail fast and fool-proof to rig but I’ve never
been one to stand still so keels became deeper,
rudders NACA foiled and fitted right up close to
the keel to reduce turbulence to a minimum. More
lead was poured in the keels, the lugs were peaked
up, battened and roached. The bowsprits were
standardised as was a furling genoa. Add a host of
minor tweaks and by the late 90’s the 16 had evolved
as far as it could without unacceptable compromises.
Almost all the earlier models have now been
upgraded and refurbished but there’s still one or two
original spec boats out there, I’m sure.
Of course you wouldn’t expect a 20-year old Holden
to perform like a new Toyota would you? So when
I’m asked about fitting lee boards or centreboards,
or lifting rudders I say don’t do it. Two or three old
Scruffies and Stornaways have had different rigs
fitted too. The last one I knew of was a Stornaway,
acquired by Jono of the Blue Peter Sailing School. He
runs a couple of Siennas, three or four Stornaways
and a few assorted centre boarders and the ‘modified’
Stornaway was ‘left for dead’ by the rest of the fleet.Support hose.
Sockcessful sanding.