Sailing photo of the day - Greek Trireme, Olympias

If one likes classic, wooden boats, one must just love the replica of a greek Trireme. I mean; it just doesn't get much more classic and wooden than this, does it? This is Olympias, operated by the Greek Navy. Really cool. I love the bow spike (wavepiercing) and the eyes!

And if you look at it, it has got side pods, just like Arpex!

This is a "me too post", inspired by Joe, from the Horse's Mouth. Check it out.

Lively colors

Living colors

Closing up

The deck and cabin will receive a sandwch of plywood and poliestirene foam. This is mainly for insulation reasons. Sitting underneath a sheet of plywood with blazing tropical sun burining on it, is not very confortable. But the additional stiffnes given by the sandwich is welcome also. The additional work not much.

It is taking a while to shape and glue the poliestirene. Constant rainy wheather is hindering me from gluing.

João has cut the first layer of ply for the decks. It is the first time I see the interior fully enclosed. Quite tight.

I prefer the view towards the bow. The cabin makes the view towards the stern quite boxy. But never mind. As soon as all is painted and windows inserted this will lighten up a bit too.

Equilibre - Proa in Martinique

The proa Equilibre, built and sailed by Jerry Fisher, in Martinique, has already been shown here in this blog. Jerry's boat was inspirational to the development of Arpex - and still is. I wanted something pretty similar, only in a tacking version. However, this is not the only difference, since Equilibre is a 40ft. boat, while Arpex measures only 30ft.

High visit

On Monday, a religious holiday in Brazil, Arpex has received high visit. I am happy to note, that Mrs. Arpex was pleased by her "cabin to be".

Bed with a view

Little preview of how the cabin will look like. The bed will be extendable. The left part will be there for normal day use. The right segment will only be extended for sleeping of two.

Mrs. Arpex - E(x/s)posed

My girlfriend, wife and partner, Adri Miranda, also known as "Mrs. Arpex", is an actress. I have mentioned this before, here on this blog, where she appears regularly.

It is fascinating to live with an actress. Being educted in a family of north european culture, my ability to talk about and deal with feelings is not very well developed. In contrast, the human nature, the origin and the expression of feelings, is the main tool of an artist, specially actors.

This contrast makes for an interesting mixture. And life never gets boring. Sometimes it get explosive, but most of times we learn peacefully from each other. Adriana learns from me the more cartesian, analytical view of the world, based on facts and figures. And I learn to look for and understand the emotions that guide our behavour. And thus I "grow as a human being".

But that is not my point. My point is, that actors love to be on the stage. And this blog is a stage. And Mrs. Arpex demands to get her share of exposure on the Arpex Theater!

My male instincts actually tell me that I would prefer to keep my beautiful wife under a weil. But since I'm learning and growing as a human being, I know that there is no point in doing so. And that is why I'm proud of presenting Mrs. Arpex, Adri Miranda, on the stage of the Arpex Theater. ... every now and then. And frankly, I think she deserves it too.

Rainy day in Rio

The rain just won't stop. Heavy rain. Flurry rain. Pissing, consistent and permanent rain. Gluing was just not an option today.

Rain makes me lazy, drains my motivation. So I thought, that since there is no gluing to do, I might just as well stay home, there would be "nothing to do" anyway.

What a stupid thought. There is allways something to do on a boat, specially it it is being built...

So I went to the shead, and used the time to do some housekeeping. I managed to clean up the mess inside the boat and around it.

I also sanded the polyestirene sheets, which will be glued on the cabin top. I did so following good advice from the fellas of the proa_file discussion group. The foam sheets use to come with a thin film of oil or plastic. The film inhibits the epoxi from bonding. I was not aware of this. So I sanded it off. It worked much better than I thought.

All this made a good day of work. Despite the rain.

Aratu - Maragogipe

My friend Monica Sofiatti has send me great pictures from a very special regatta, held in the tropical waters of the Baia de Todos os Santos, near Salvador/Bahia. It is the regatta Ataru – Maragogipe, which every year attracts hundreds of boats in various classes, including traditional workboats.

Monica did the regatta, or maybe it is rather a rally, on one of the traditional Saveiros. She was invited by the Associação Viva Saveiros, which does a great job in preserving these capable vessels. The saveiros which you see on this picture still earn their keep, by transporting construction material, such as sand and others. For the regatta they try to shovel the sand out though.

These boats are built heavily, business style out of local woods. The mast is generally a more or less straight tree trunk, and carries a long gaff, but no boom. In that sense quite similar to the Wharram Softwing sail, which I am considering for Arpex (unless Bernd comes up with a cool Gunter Sail).

As you can see in the pictures the mast top can display quite peculiar twists and turns. But that doesn`t seem to influence the saveiros` performance much. According to Monica, they do pick up an impressive pace, providing you don`t tack them too often. Apparently they do have an annoying tendency to stop dead when tacking. Much to the discontent of another illustrious passenger of Monicas` saveiro. Torben Grael, “Turbina”, Monicas` brother in law, was also on board. He was manning the sheets of the diminutive jib, and desperately trying to optimize the performance. It must have been a rather entertaining task.

The regatta takes the participants through an amazing tropical scenery. After crossing the gracious Baia de Todos os Santos, the boats enter a wide river, which is lined by pictoresque colonial fortifications and small villages. The margins are covered by lush tropical vegetation over rolling hills, and sprinkled with occasional rock formations.

Definetly, participating on this regatta, on one of these saveiros is on my “100 things to do…” list. Enjoy the images.

Confession

I have to make a confession; It is regarding my addiction. Yes, I am addicted. Don't be shocked - I've been living with this condition for years now. But it impacts on my everyday life. Not to speak of the financial impact, which is not insignificant. Thankfully I earn enough to support my vice. But I need to do something against it, and going public is a first step.

I am addicted to nautical magazines. And since I have indulged for years now, my tolerance has risen, and the national ones won't give me the kick any more. I buy them only when I'm on cold turkey. I have got to have the shiny, lasciviously expensive ones. It is nerve wrecking... every few weeks I fever for the next edition to come out. I get a really bad humour when they take longer than usual to get to the dealer (which is frequent).

Happyness is my name when I get hold of a new "Wooden Boat" edition. But I get really extatic when I get hold of a "Classic Boat" with my dealer. I get sweaty hands and head home quickly to give me my kick. Once home, I let myself drift off into dreamland, and I'm of no use to my wife for the next few hours. She'll talk and talk and I just won't answer... And that does not make her too happy. Believe me. I need to change that.

Well, now it is out. Public. I hope to have the strenght and moral structure to fight against my addiction. I'll need lots of support from my family and friends. But I'll get there, one day. Maybe.

BTW: The image in this post is from Vice Magazine - http://vice.typepad.com/

Boat with a view

Big windows rather than portlights - that's what I want.

Rio 2016 - How and where?

See this stunning video which gives an overview about how and where the Olimpic Games will be organized. A breath-taking aerial view.

Trapped inside Arpex

Yesterday I had a good day of hard work on the boat. Today every limb is aching. Feels good.

By gluing on the roof top of the cabin, the cabin is now fully enclosed. It seems rather dumb, but it guarantees that all pannels are well aligned and straight. And they are. The drawback is, that it is a pain to get inside the cabin. At least there is not much to do inside at this stage. But, of course, I can't hold back to crawl inside and get a grasp of the look and feel of the cabin space.

The other drawback is that finishing the inside will be more cumbersome inside an enclosed room. Not to speak of the epoxi fumes... :-/ My mask and Tyvek suit will come to good use again. I allways use the mask anyway, but I drop the suit one and then since I work on a well ventilated area.

But never mind; pretty soon I will have glued on the foam and second layer of plywood, and therefore finished the roof. Then João will cutt in the large entrance. And, as soon as I have decided on the portlighs I will cutt them out too. This will make working inside manageable.

aedificium edificium arpex est non martyrium

Thanks for the greetings from Rome.

My mother sent me a beautiful postcard showing an elaborate mosaic of Petrus, with the words "Agios Petrus". Petrus holds some paper in his hands, which could well be boatplans. Why, boatplans??!!

Now follow me;

The mosaic adorns the "Basilica di San Clemente", in Rome. Interestingly, San Clementes' symbol of martirdom is an anchor. In the basilica the indication is reinforced by the image of a boat and two dolphins... Two dolphins are the symbol for Rio de Janeiro... Get it...?

But note, Motter; San Clemente's martyrdom was not achieved by building a boat. He was actually executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.

...and now I'm leaving, to the boatshed, my own, private penitation... Penitation, maybe. But not martyrium... A significant difference.

;-) ;-) ;-)

Deu Rio!!!

Rio is a happy city today!!!

Rio de Janeiro - Host of the Olimpic Games 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the Olimpic Games in 2016!!! For the first time the Games will come to Latin America! Great news for our beloved city -great news for all the guests, from all over the world, which will be welcomed for memorable experience.

Rio fevering

Fifteen thousand people are gathering on Copacabana Beach, following the decision of the IOC, regarding the venue for the Olimpic Games in 2016. Chicago and Tokyo are out of the game. Now it is between Rio and Madrid... We will know more in a couple of minutes... Go Rio!!!