They are on their way Bruce
Well after four glorious days of wall to wall sunshine Friday saw a complete change in the weather and it just 'persisted' down with rain all day.
..... And night
..........And into Saturday
But a 'dates a date' so off we went. The rain stopped - just about long enough and spirits were high and not dampened.
The boat performed well, last minute thoughts of how it would sit in the water - too high and wallow - too low and bloody sink - proved unfounded. With full water tanks and the boiler at the right level it was just slightly down on what was hoped for. A check on the images in the original article showed it much the same. It sat slightly bow down but some lead in the aft compartment should cure that.
Two small leaks - one on the whistle due to someone forgetting the pipe sealant
the other on the 1/4 turn gauge glass blowdown valve due. The off position was far too critical. I'll change this out for a conventional valve I think.
The gas system worked well but the flame still does not have enough air as the carbon was right at the top of the funnel. Not quite sure how I can overcome this as there is little room for secondary air - possibly a smaller jet may help.
Anyway I'm sure you want to see the pics ..........
Steam was raised by an external tank the switching to the onboard for sailing. Note the overflow from the leaky gauge glass valve
It's going well but Brian Jakob seems a bit concerned.
The buntings on - we're nearly ready to go but hang on a minute....
We've got to get dressed for the part remember
I think this sums it up
Time to go - careful now Sue, now is not the time to drop it.
And finally, after three years, it gets it's bottom wet
Can I let it go yet ?
Eve, 'bunting maker extraordinaire' is doing the posh voice "ey neme this boat" bit at this point - she make great cheese straws too guys.
Am I allowed a little self 'chuffedness' ?
And its away on it's first journey
The happy couple .....
....... and the happy gang. Members of the yachting section who all turned out on a particularly grotty non racing day to have some fun. Thanks for the support 'guys'
That's it 'boys and girls' - time for the bubbly and the cucumber sandwiches
And that was it folks, short but very sweet. I hope these pics, a tad off the mainstream I know, will convey however what a great day it turned out to be. We had hoped for an outside buffet but due to the weather the ladies had prepped the food and bubbly in the set up room and it did not take long to get into the swing of things. Sadly, I'm afraid due to the intense activity, we forgot to take any pics
. And if that wasn't enough, once that was done and dusted we retired up to the club room to celebrate two birthdays - Sues and Brian Ralphs. Tea (what else?), cheese straws, sausage rolls and lovely home made cakes courtesy of Pauline and Angela. I think you can say we really enjoyed the occasion.
That really is the end of the line - ah you say - what about the video? Well, Sue did take some on a second steaming but unfortunately it really isn't worth pursuing - it's turned out rather out of focus I'm afraid so you'll just have to let the pics tell the tale.
So guys, to coin a phrase, 'That's it Folks' - you really have had it all now. I truly hope you've enjoyed the journey.
My Regards - Ramon
POSTSCRIPT
There's always a postscript !
When I set out to make this boat in 1972 I had no idea what a lathe looked like let alone how to use one. This project set me off into the world of model engineering which all too soon became an over-riding passion. Some eight years later I walked away from a great career as a diver in the offshore industry to retrain as a milling machinist. I really loved the diving but not as much as machining and never ever regretted that decision. I spent the remaining years working in a machine shop environment and enjoyed every single minute turning, grinding or milling (my order of preference!). That all consuming passion for machining however has diminished at an alarming rate over the past few years and there is less and less desire to continue so not only is this the end of the line for the project but, I feel, the beginning of the end for my involvement in ME. You all know I have a deep interest in plastic modelling and given I'm heading toward my last years instead of setting out as I did on this at 27 I am going to take that road from here on. That is not to say that I will not make anything in the future just that there is nothing planned for the foreseeable one.
I wish you all well in you model engine endeavours - I have enjoyed my time posting over the years but now it's time to venture down a different path - well for a while at least
'Au revoir' then - Ramon