The Cradle

In the two weeks that have passed since the turning, I have cleaned out the inside of the hull, removing all the cobwebs and epoxy that had squeezed through when filling the holes. The next step here will be to fill all the joins and do fillets where necessary and then the fitting out can start.

In the meantime I have also constructed the cradle and layed concrete blocks for it to stand on.

AWESOME!!!!!!

That is how Saturday was. The turning went better than I could have hoped for and a great time was had by all who attended the Turning and the after party. Thanks to all those who came and made it such a great day. It is sometimes unwise to thank people individually in case you leave someone out who might feel hurt, but there are a few people who need special mention. First and foremost my Father who taught me all I know and Maureen for support and encouragement along the way. The diggers, Theo, Brendon and Skatie who pitched in and dug out the ground as she was turning. Patrick for steadying the ship as she went over and all those who assisted in turning. All the ladies who assisted with food and salad preperations and Skatie (once again) who took it upon himself to organise the fires and braai the meat. Christine and Roy for taking pictures to capture the moment (attached pictures by Roy).

More pictures of the turning coming soon.

TIDIDI has a list.

Work has been going on at a frantic pace over the past few weeks, getting everything ready for the turning. Phineas spent the past two weekends digging a hole under the boat to allow it to turn. Fortunately the ground is soft and apart from having to dig through some Wattle roots it went quite smoothly.

This past weekend I removed the last of the supports which the boat was still resting on and she settled onto the A-frames perfectly. I was able to swing her slightly with very little effort by hand, which made it easier to dig the last of the ground out. If the way she turns on the pinions is anything to go by, then turning on the 5th should go without any hitches. If the balance is right all we will need is one block just to stop her from turning too quickly and if everything were perfect we would probably not even need that.