Splashin into the 4th decade

Here we go: The next, the 4th. decade is starting for me, as of today! I'm looking confidently forward to it, and will splash in, head first.

I feel better than ever. All systems and functions working smoothly. "Mens sana in corpore sano". At least that is what I say... Others have doubted at times. Let's hope it stays exactly like that.

Getting another perspective

I'm saying goodbye to my 30-ies. Will I see life from another perspective now?

Parrots Shining Brightly

Getting a perfect finish is a very high ambition for an amateur boatbuilder. A decent finish takes time, dedication and technique. And it is too easy to get lost and loose momentum. Well, at least that is what I think.

Which is why I have never gone down that route. My approach, from the beginning, has been "pragmatic". And that is exactly what I'm getting - a pragmatic finish. It all looks fine, even nice on pictures. But one can see the shortcuts when looking from close. But I don't mind. I see the big picture.

However, despite this general approach, I do take some pride in achieving a more than pragmatic finish in some key elements. I have pleasure working slowly on them. One is the navigation table, in the forward part of the cabin. The other is the window, in the rear. And here mainly the wedges, that will be used to block the window in position.

One neat thing about it, is that the wedges came out looking like two little parrots! Which fits nicely, considering that my first boat, or canoe rather, was named Arara. The two parrots will sit in their window nests watching over Arpex.


All these wooden parts are beeing protected with 3 coats of epoxi and then covered with marine varnish from International - Solgard. It contains double UV protection. A key detail, since epoxi is sensible to UV rays.

São Jorge

São Jorge, or Sankt George plays an important part in the imaginarium of Cariocas. The saint is venerated by many people. Which is why we have a local holiday today.

Oceans

Oceans take up 70.8% of our globe. They are a vast, rich, and to great parts still unknown resource. Oceans are also marvelously beautyfull. Unfortunaltely we have been abusing of them, in all thinkeable ways. Our seas are under a great threat, which could exterminate millions of species. Acidation due to increasing CO2 emissions, litter, garbage, industial and human effluents, all are dumped into them. If we don't act now, we will losse this wonderfull playground. And more than that, we might loose the very basis that sustains the life of billions of people.

I have therefore joined Thomas Armstrong, from 70.8% blog, in putting forward the Top Five Earthday Actions. From this list anyone can find something he can do to help preserve.

Top Five Earth Day Actions:

1. Use reusable bags; hundreds of thousands of marine animals die every year from ingesting plastic bags.

2.Eat sustainbly; you eat fish even when you don't, 38 % of worldfiheries catch is used to feed farm animals.

3.Green your gardning; plant native species, they take lessfertilizer which can seep into oceans!

4. Adopt a coral reef; 70% of Earth's coral reefs will be destroyed by 2050-act Now!

5. See oceans, Save oceans; See 'OCEANS'

http://earthday.nature.org/http://bit.ly/aPZPWY

See also: http://www.earthday.ca/pub/resources/top10.php

Satisfaction

Believe me, when I say that the experience of designing and building my own boat has been intensively satisfying. Anyone looking twice into this blog will recognize that. From my point of view, that validates a notorious sailor's wisedom, which goes: There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats - By Kenneth Grahame"

But take care; don't take that praise too litteraly. I assure I could think of one or two exceptions.

Be it how ever. I enjoy it, despite the frequent occurance of doubt, frustration, agony and pain. It is truly a labor of love, blood, sweat and tears. Very much worthwhile, if you ask me.

And all this includes tha fact, that I am very much aware of, that the "proof of the pudding is in the eating". That the performance of the boat on the water, is an unkown yet. The boat will have to proof whether it is seaworthy, manageable, fun to sail on,... all the performance requirements it was designed to achieve. And I think that is a high bill. Up to now, I'm still confident it will.

And sice we're validating smartass phrases:

"No risk, No fun."

Arpex Beach at night

Last Saturday I took my girl, Adriana, Mrs. Arpex, out for a fine dinner. On the way out we walked by Arpex Beach. It reminded me of our night swimming on a hot summer night, this January. The water looked inviting, and I wished, I had my shorts on.

Small steps

Weekend has brought little in terms of visible progress. But there was progress, even if only in small steps.

Botafogo Campeão!

I admit to being a lousy football fan - or should I say soccer? Never the less, as every good carioca, I was very happy to see my team winning the local contest, with a 2x1 lead over arch-rival Flamengo. Botafogo is the campion of 2010!

The same fortune occured in 2008. Which makes me believe, that this boatbuilding project, Arpex, is attracting good vibes.

April Events

April is the month of important personal events. On the 13th., my girl and I celebrate the anniversary of our first meeting. On the 17th., is the mark of the anniversary of my dear Adriana, Mrs. Arpex. And on the 29th. is the day where I saw the first daylight. This year is special, since 40 years have passed since then.

Images of a Boat Construction

During the construction of Arpex, I spend a significant amount of time and effort on photographic documentation of the project. That means, that I spend up to 20 to 30 minutes taking pictures. By now I have accumulated a great volume of images of every single step of this adventure. Only very few make it to this blog, actually. They are all stored by date, so I can retrace the construction step-by-step, if I'd like to. And sometimes I do.

Why is that? Why would I spend so much time clicking, if I could be building instead? The main reason is, that I have great fun doing it. I have allways enjoyed photography, be that for documentation of a voyage or for simple pleasure during photo safaris at home. If a particular object interests me, I will eventually take pictures of it. The creative process of finding different angles, light conditions for an object stimulates me. It couldn't be different with the boat I'm building.

But further than that, the images taken help me greatly to develop the boat during the week, when I'm far from the building site. I test proportions, angles, and let them mature over the week, before actually work on the piece in question. I use the images for simulations, that I draw on PowerPoint. That way, I usually know quite exactly what I want to do, when I'm on the site, and don't need to waste time thinking much. Which is why I think, that I use my time fairly efficiently on my build days.

Building a boat is a very personal experience. There is a lot to be learned about one's own self. Which is why I also try to portrait myself during the different stages of construction. One day I'll edit them, and put them together in a picture book, maybe with a text or two from this blog. I am sure; I will later be grateful for the time spent.

And of course, there is the obsession also. The pictures help me get over the craving, over the longing for more time in the boatshed, to get this baby to the water.

Rear view simulation

I've played around with PowerPoint on this picture, to see what better painting sheme would fit the cabin. I'll paint it all white below the "waistline" .

Rear window

Slowly the rear window is getting its shape. I have already produced the window support, and one of two wedges. The wedge can be seen nicely in the picture below. The pieces now need a second coat of epoxi, and must then be glued in place.

Rear window arrangement

The rear window of Arpex will follow an arrangement which I have picked up in a sailing magazine. I think it was in Cruising World.

I have never seen it in real, but it seems like a simple practical way of making an openable hatch. Since I didn't have my car awailable today, I took the time to draw it up, and think about how to actually build it. Click on the picture to have a better view.

Running Dog

I love dogs. They give you friendship, keep you moving, and every now and then they make you have a good laugh! And what can be healthier than that?

If you like a good laugh too, watch this video. It dissipated my rather gloomy Saturday morning mood.

Bad start into Saturday

My car is in maintenance. It is actually getting a new coat of paint. It will shine and look brand new, just like Schummi's new Merz. However, unfortunately, the workshop guys did not deliver my car yesterday evenening, as they had promised. Even though I had made clear that I had important business to care for, on Saturday morning. I didn't tell them I had to go build my boat, because they wouldn't get it anyway, but the degree of importance to have the car on Friday was made clear. Still, they didn't deliver, and I'm stuck until 1 pm.. Buggers!

I suppose I'll have to take it easy. Rio, and all those who live here, have had a difficult week. So, I'll have to "cut them some slack". That is the easy part. The hard part is getting over my anxiety to be out there, checking for rain damage and building.

Anyway, I'll still drive out later today, at least to check whether any material has been lost. That is, provided they do deliver my car!

View backwards

The view form inside the cabin forward is the prime view. For a change, here is the view towards the back. As you see, much has to be done still, in terms of finishing. One more floorboard will have to be prepared. The rest will stay without one, as the areas are not intended to be used, except for the odd sailbag or other lightweight item.

Rain in Rio

Throughout the night and morning rain has continued to punish Rio. I'm starting to worry about the situation in my boatshed. I suppose that the boat will be allright, but my box is subject to infiltration, and thus material might be damaged by the water. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do at the moment. I'll have to wait and check on the weekend. The good thing is that the rain seems to abate now. Forecast for the night is not good, though.