Use of weapons/year three.

Pathfinder project year three and sloop stage completion.

As I write it’s a dank, grey and cold November day going dark already at just after four o clock and i’m both cold and tired having spent most of the working part of the day swapping the relative positions of the boat and the build bench – the boat is now outside, next to the build shelter under a couple of tarpaulins while the bench is back under the shelter being prepped for it’s next job. Coincidentally it is the end of year 3 on my backyard boatbuilding project and iv’e just come back from the city having spent a large amount of money on a few bits and pieces for the boat ; what iv’e been trying to do though is make an accurate account of how much the project has cost me – the short answer being that the project has taken me much longer and cost far more than I planned for.

The day’s work was heavier and more awkward than I was prepared for as well because that side of the yard is even rougher and more steeply sloped than the ‘good’ side so the whole rig tried (and succeeded) in running away from me. As I look at it this morning I note that the jib either needs a long term cover or taking off completely……must add though that UV degradation isn’t exactly a problem right now.

Sloop completion.

In a post a few weeks back I talked about the whole project having several stages of completion, the first one being what I call ‘sailaway’ and ‘sloop’ completion and the last one being it’s full completion to expedition standard. I also said that the current stage of completion at that time was about 85% on parts and about 90% in terms of work left to do. Well, in the last 2 months I seem to have spent a lpt of cash with not much to show for it so now i’m at about 90% of cost/expenditure completion (stage 1 standard) as well. My budget this month should have included 7 meters of expensive Acrylic Canvas to make a first tent from but didn’t make the final list when some blocks, cordage and engine peripherals did. The motor is now the third most expensive part of the project ; the most expensive being the trailer that I was only able to buy because of a considerable contribution from my partner…..the second most costly part being the stack of plywood that pitched up in a van some three years ago.

Year 3 and the final budget.

I have made it my practice, during the three years (so far) of this project to account for the work that I have done each year although I failed consciously a bit because I didn’t keep careful track of what I spent each year. For the first two years the physical work done seemed to have a greater impact than the costs incurred in making that happen – in the first year, for example, my actual costs were quite low in that a small stack of plywood and a few lengths of Douglas fir kept me busy all year. At one point just before I started the build I did ask designer John Welsford how much he thought it would cost to build the basic boat ; his answer was that it depended a lot on the quality of finish and what parts I bought in but basically around £5.000 to build the hull.

That seems about right in retrospect because although I know I spent more than that I did also build the car port/build shelter and invested in both a table saw and a bench pillar drill plus a few extra hand tools. Year 2 is where it gets a bit sticky in my mind because I had to buy some additional plywood, lots more epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth and ultimately the new trailer because the boat had to go onto something. Expensive fittings in year 2 also included the cast Bronze hardware for the rudder, the shroud plates and far more stainless steel fasteners than I initially thought necessary. I may have used far more epoxy resin than an experienced builder would do but then the whole hull, inside and out, has had 3 coats of resin and the whole exterior also glass coated and filled. I should add that my expenditure at the end of year 2 did also include the materials for a mast and having 2 sails made – which I did get wrong so had to spend more of the budget in putting that mistake right.

Year three has been the most difficult in terms of budget because I have had to buy expensive components and fittings and at the same time allowed my running reserve to deplete almost completely. The motor and it’s accessories now comes to a final cost of over £1100 because I failed in my search to find a good secondhand one of the right size. Right now I seem to be spending ‘hand over fist’ on blocks and cordage and adding either doesn’t give me much work to do. My last main expenditure, which I hope will finance my first winter project will be the fabric and fittings to make a camping tent for the whole boat although I am already splitting 2 ways in my thoughts about that project…..right now am trending towards and ‘expedition’ stage cover and extended shelter. For those readers familiar with backpacking and camping my design for that option is more like the iconic Hilleberg ‘Akto’ tent than the simple ridged triangle that I first had in mind – the problem being that it needs a central stainless steel hoop/frame making up.

All the time now i’m planning what to do with each month’s micro budget. be it which new block and length of cordage will allow me to finish a small job. What I am mostly doing is planning my main spring project here and costing the various stages of that ; I am also starting to think about what I do next year as, for example, I move onto the actual sailing and filming side of the project – which needs a new camera set up and one new anchor. I’m even beginning to think my way into stages 2 and 3 completion which would be, at the least, a full electrical system buy and build and the aforementioned shelter.

On the bench.

It’s nearly the end of the year so there’s very little actually happening now : in years one and two I simply stopped work at this time of year because it was impossible to work with and cure epoxy resin. I could be doing a small amount of that in the form of making the end plugs for the second stage (Yawl) masts but that really needs me to acquire a lathe……and a new shed roof before that.

What is actually happening here is that iv’e just about reached the end of my ‘door’ and i’m also coming to the end of (this year) of 8 weeks outside work doing the end of year work and next year’s planting – only waiting for my last delivery of spring bulbs and we’re done.

The entertaining part of this week was the ‘brown envelope’ (ie official) letter I got from Uk Gov. inviting me to apply for my state pension. When that starts to appear in my bank account it means that I might be able to push forward another long term project idea – which is to get personally mobile again with an electric assisted recumbent trike. Given that we have no public transport at all out here on a Sunday and that the world’s top company for recumbent trikes is just down the road (in Falmouth) that project plan seems to look more viable and more compelling.

I hope to write a full post explaining that project some time during the winter and the first stage looks like being a treat day out in Falmouth with lunch included and a visit to the ICE workshop and showroom. On any nice day now (assuming we get one) i’ll whip the covers off and heave the mast up one more time to fit the new bits and pieces…..such as the ‘snotter’ tackle that completely confused the bloke in the chandlery this week.