What to do next ?

What to do next in terms of what boat project to start on ?

Is it time to do something different entirely. ?

It’s almost the end of winter here although very difficult to define when our grey and damp winter turns into a grey and damp spring, except perhaps that I only need one extra sweater to work in and ever so slightly lighter for some of the day. Most readers will be aware that I made the unusual decision to work on a boat project right through the winter although to say work on really only means a couple of hours out of an average working day. While I was dreading the winter because of the various effects of my series of strokes it’s been the boat project that has kept me (mostly) sane as the level of small problem solving and manual work is about the right level of work for me.

Most readers will also be aware that my current boat project is a fairly quick and dirty turnaround of an already built CLC Skerry and that most of the work done has been in way of my conversion of the basically well built hull into what I refer to as my ‘bushcraft’ boat for my new project which I call ‘Sail, Oar & Canvas as I intend it to be a combination of sailing, rowing and campcraft (bushcraft), thus travelling on the water but making my bivouac on the foreshore.

At time of writing (late January) the Skerry is about a month away from being ready to launch – iv’e done most of the boatbuilding jobs that I intended, have only found one new job that needs doing and am just about to start on the exterior paint work. In the meantime i’m giving some attention to the campcraft side and intend to do a short series of videos about that side of the project although probably nowhere near a foreshore site – the nearest available place being the site of an abandoned inland Cornish mine.

At the same time i’m giving thought to what project to start at the end of the year and what I have in mind is another boatbuilding project but a more complete build than the quick conversion style project that iv’e done this winter. One of the main questions that idea creates is of course what boat or which design and designer to go with. In many ways i’m back to having to make the same series of decisions which led me to start work on my long Pathfinder project : right now for example i’m trying to set out the parameters and function to work to. In brief, for this post, it’s likely to be another multi purpose cruising dinghy but more like a rowing/sailing boat rather than the ‘maximum build’ that I attempted with the big Pathfinder build.

I can say, at the moment, that whatever I build would have to be a far lighter boat than the Pathfinder but also a more capable sea-going expedition boat than the CLC Skerry ; as with my Pathfinder build my filter is once again boats that have successfully completed the Everglades Challenge as that seems to be a good test of sea keeping ability and sailing speed over expedition length voyages. Currently at the top of my list is either another of John Welsford’s designs (Walkabout) and in second place right now is another of John Harris’s Dory form designs (the Northeaster). These of course are very different styles of boat and I perceive Walkabout as the more rugged and perhaps capable craft. I suspect, but don’t actually know, that Walkbout would be a heavier and more complex build but that wouldn’t matter so much if I kept the little Skerry in commission at the same time.

The answer – this week and month at least.

This month I had a serious try at selling the big Pathfinder and it almost got to the point of striking a deal when the buyer decided he had to pull out because of the 20% import charge that would be levied on it : this despite the fact that iv’e paid VAT on every part and all the materials that went into the build. Instead this month I started work on the next actual project that urgently needs attention : in fact, has needed attention for the last ten years – my cold and damp workshop.

So far…..Iv’e been doing a ‘grand purge’ of everything that iv’e stored away out of sight against the day when I might need it…..so far I have about 20 bin bags of stuff all ready to go the tip. It does also mean that I don’t have a workshop just when I really need one !