1 week till move.........

Paul and I did not accomplish as much as we had hoped on Kabuki this weekend, Saturday was a bloody washout ( rained most of the day). Sunday was bloody beautiful so we did get some work done. We installed lazy jacks on the mainsail ( they make bringing the main sail down, easier). Paul painted some skin fittings to protect them from UV's. We installed some drawers in the head ( Toilet), Washed the spreaders on the mast, etc, etc.
We will move onto Kabuki on Saturday ( all going to plan) I am working on the Library Bus until 1pm, but we do not have a great deal to move really. It is more the packing up of our stuff in the house. Unfortunately Kabuki will still be on the hardstand when we move on, but hopefully it will not be for long.

Guess What I bought??????

Yes........ today I got myself a Bodhran (Bow run), or frame drum. I have wanted one of these for ever, and today was the day. I am hoping that over the next 6 months I will be able to learn how to play both the Bodhran and the Tin Whistle (Penny Whistle). It has been in my mind for some time to get into busking. I love singing and have developed a fondness for singing balads, this is now also encompassing a small amount of folk music. Celtic music is a favourite of mine, so I am leaning towards that sort of thing.

Anyway it is going to be fun experimenting with these new instruments. Hopefully they will fit on the boat along with my guitar and my craft stuff. I think I will more likely drive Paul up the wall with all of my drumming and whistling.
Check this young man out, He basically taught himself. I think He is great.

Cheers For now

The scupper drain blue's

Paul and I have been working on Kabuki's scupper drains. We are removing the existing bronze pipe fitting, and sealing the scupper hole with a fibreglass tube that Paul is epoxying in. We are going to put the old bronze scupper pipes back in the holes as we like the look of them.
Paul feels that doing this will add structural integrity to the two walls of the fibreglass bulwarks ( sounds like I know what I am talking about eh!)
So these are some photo's of the scuppers, the left one Paul has already added the fibreglass tube inside and epoxied it in. The right one is what we were faced with when we removed the bronze pipes. It is hard to see, but Westsails have two walls of fibreglass on the bulwarks. Below is a photo of the starboard side of the boat. These scuppers were easier to remove and not as messy.

Anyway things are going slowly because we are back at work again, but the weekend is coming and hopefully it will be fine weather so we can get some more work done.

Catch Ya

What is Kabuki?

Many people ask me that question. Kabuki is a Japanese performing art, generally involving music, dance and acting. The costumes are extravagant, the sets are beautiful. Generally the performances are by men (I think). Kabuki was first created by a woman , but eventually only men could perform in Kabuki.
I have added a you tube video of a Kabuki dance, this is narrated so you understand what is going on in the story.
It is quite a long video, but it gives you an idea of what Kabuki is about.

Down at the boat

I have been very fortunate to have today off work. So I spent part of the morning doing the Mum thing with my lovely Son Xavier, then we went down to the Norsand yard to do some work on Kabuki.
We are starting to go through all of the lockers on the boat and remove stuff that is not really required. Paul is having a hard time coming to grips with this concept, but after some gentle and not so gentle persuasion over the last couple of months, I think we have come to an understanding............. that Paul's way is right (where have I gone wrong). I am sure we will work this out as two sane, mature, reasonable adults........yeah right..... I wonder if it will come to a wrestling match? oh goody! How long do I have to hold him down?

Seriously, Kabuki was sailed from America a few years ago, and onboard is a lot of stuff that is not relevant for our situation or is old and American( 110v power). We have already pulled off about two boxes worth and that was only in the forward cabin. We will continue through the weekend with other projects, so we will definitely be kept out of trouble.

On the work front Sue the Childrens Librarian has planned an awesome school holiday programme for the end of the month. I will be running some sessions with the 5 - 8 year olds, and Sue will run sessions for the 9- 12 year olds. It is all about growing gardens. This is very appropriate for the tough times we are going through. It should be fun doing the programme, I really enjoy working with the younger children. The programme is based on a book written by Helen Cook called "Get Growing" it is a non-fiction book for children on how to grow their own garden.
http://www.randomhouse.co.nz/data/media/documents/press%20releases/april_09/Get_Growing_PR.pdf

Anyway that's all for now.

Hi di ho

The learning continues

Well this afternoon I have spent the last 2 hours playing around with my blog. It took me a while but I managed to get a slideshow of photo's going. This web thing can be quite frustrating at times, but when you achieve the end result it is all good. So I hope you enjoy the result.
Anyway Paul has just come home from a hard days slog, so I'd best up and play mother.

New blog

Well I have been having a bit of trouble so far, but this is going to be my new blog superseding my Sailblog.com blog. Blogger appears to have a lot more features and it is linked with my email account, and my new Picasa Web album.

We have been encouraged at work to look into all of this blogging, twittering and widgeting stuff. After viewing Sue's blog I was impressed with what blogger had to offer. So here I am.

The photo is our little family, Paul (my beloved), Xavier (my son), the old girl (me) and Poppy (our piddle of a poodle). I hope you enjoy my new blog, and the change-over happens seamlessly.

Cheers