Thread: The Grey Seal Huon Seal

Yes , the sailplan on HS is unchanged , and I'm in no hurry to change it either.
But that won't stop me doing some research.
The priority now is getting the electrical work finished , so I can stay out on her all night , fishing.
Regards Rob J.

Well , most of the electrical work is finished , its looking good !.
A bit of a clean up tomorrow , look at the radio and chartplotter , and auto tiller , setting it up for Friday night sailing .
Its a bit of a tradition here , that the traditional style boats all go out on a Friday night , after work , and sail till dark.
In fact they are all gaff rigged , and for me , there is no greater sight than a group of wooden gaff rigged boats doing their thing.
I still haven't got my anchor light hooked up , its probably a week away , then I can go out and anchor for the night , and fish.
Regards Rob J.

Gidday Rob, nice to see you've been having a bit of fun. I finally got the Hartley in the water over Christmas and will head out again tomorrow on the river (weather permitting). Might even get started on the H28 soon........

Good stuff Greg !.
How is the H28 going ?.
The shed is slowly starting to gather momentum , I'll have somewhere to work on my boats , but you are already there !.
You have the great shed , and the boat in it , time to get amongst it mate !.
I'm just glad to be on the water , I can't believe how enjoyable and relaxing it is.
I've got my boat doubled up on that Cayzer again , and today the owner came down to work on his boat , and we seemed to be jumping from one boat to the other , checking out either boat.
And then the bloke that I usually sail with came down , working on his 'couta boat , and the conversation widened.
Friday we will all be out on the water , probably headed out to the rock and back , just enjoying being out on the water with a few mates .
Easily pleased , aren't we !.
But mate , an H28 would be pretty special too , I'd love to sail on one of them.
And a folk boat .
Anyway , any chance of a progress report ?.
Regards Rob J.

I've left the H28 alone for a while to get the Hartley in action and have also been finishing off the house. I'm still between contracts at the moment but might end up working in Sydney so need to get as much done on the house while I can, ('promised Kate I'd finish the house before starting the H28 - but almost there so reckon I can sneak a bit of work her soon.)

So progress is that I've ripped the coachhouse and deck off to bare deck frames ready for rebuild, next is to strip all of the interior hull paint and repaint, clean up and fair the deck beams, then strip and paint the exterior before starting to rebuild. So with a big paint stripping job to start first I haven't been that rushed to dive in to her.

Mind you, one of the guys on the WBF posted a link to his video - "come sailing with Sean" and I found that very inspirational to get started. I'll see if I can find the link for you.

Here it is Rob, I'm sure he won't mind me posting it here:

Sean wants to take you for a ride on a sailboat. on Vimeo

Thanks Greg , thats inspirational all right !.
I suspect though that getting the Hartley going has probably been an inspiration too.
And yes , you have your priorities right , work through them , and you will get the H28 in the water , and then everyone will be happy.
Let me know when you get it back in the water though , I'd like a sail !.
The next thing for HS is to get her trailer re-registered in Victoria , and we can take her much further afield , QLD ? Tassie ?.
Regards and thanks Rob J.

A good days sailing with Bob Lewis , who is building a Eun Mara , and is an experienced Heron sailer.
For quite long periods of time , 10-15 minutes , we just picked a spot on the coast , left the tiller , and sails , and sailed to that point , using body position only .
Very interesting
More sailing tomorrow .
Regards Rob Johnson

I'm quietly keeping up with your progress Rob, and it sounds wonderful.

I'd really like you to take your camera along to record some of your adventures for us.

Glad you are enjoying yourself.

BTW, off to go sailing with a couple of mates today.

Always fun, but unfortunately it's not a wooden boat.

Rufus , I'd like to be able to take some photos of the boat too , but its not really possible when I'm on it , I need to go out with another boat , and they can catch photos of us sailing.
Yesterday we sailed out to sea , and around a sheep transporter that is anchored well out to sea , that was interesting.
And sailing her by balance was interesting , but not something you can really photograph.
I've got my radio and chartplotter running now.
I did a stint in the Coastguard radio room yesterday morning , before sailing , so now I've got plenty of confidence in using it , and I can smile at others when they get it all wrong.
But that is what I wanted to do , be more than competent on the radio.
The chartplotter is a "work in progress" , but I'm getting our route plotted , and I have speed and water depth displayed.
Today I hope to go down to check out "HoleInTheWall" which is east of Narrawong , near our place.
I want to sail down there , and see what it is.
I hope you enjoy your days sailing Rufus.
Regards Rob J.

Another fun days sailing , in light winds.
She is a beautifully balanced boat , we sailed a long ways with no hand on the tiller , just using our weight to point her.
Maybe more tomorrow.
Its full moon soon , I'll spend a couple of nights on her , fishing , see how I go.
Regards Rob j.

Bloody hell Rob, you're depressing

Richard

glad to see you're enjoying her

Richard , it was a big , big , big deal for us to get HS , but we did , we spent more money getting her just right , and if I do say so myself I've worked hard to learn the skills needed to sail her at least acceptably well.
So yes , when I start to see the rewards for the time , and money , its deeply satisfying.
But I've just started the journey , I intend to get as far as I can , while I can.
Fishing , I've got a lot of work to do on the fishing under sail though mate !.
Regards Rob J.

Fishing again today , trawling for 'couta under sail.
I managed to take a couple of photos , pretty ordinary , I guess.
Regards Rob J.