Dodger Suspense
I know you are all anxiously waiting for the next dodger installment and I have been lax. I forget how addictive these HBO serirs are and my responsibilities to my audience. So here you are. What you have all been waiting for.
Francois seeing to the details
After completion of the basic wood structure the unit had to be prepared for fiberglassing which takes a lot of work making coved corners and preparing the surface structute. Here the inside has been glassed and thecoutside has been glassed and received the first coating of fairing compound. The fairing compound is actually an easily sandable paint which is applied in several layers before the final paint coatings are applied.
Outside still needs paint but it’s getting close.
A quick trip to downtown Cape Town
A quick trip to down-town Cape Town allowed for a few photos. These photos were all taken on one of the main streets of down-town Cape Town and show a little of what used to be. Glad to see some buildings saved. This is now repeated in the industrial areas where buildings are being converted rather than torn down.
Doesn’t quite have the supplies of Amsterdam but…
Does it make you feel like someone is watching
A great selection of African music
A great bar with over 90 different beers
Love the balconies
Meanwhile back at the Marina
Umm, the first major winter season storm. We clocking winds at upwards of 53 knots from the north-west. The outer docking is at a 25 degree list to leeward, boats are rocking around, some boats are chewing away at the docks while others are struggling with lines to limit damage.
It’s all a bit wild. Sage lies in the inner sections of the harbour and is well protected from the brunt of the storm yet fine tuning is needed to keep her well positioned. In a few hours we should see the maximum winds abate and the wind turn more to the west which means williwas screaming down from the 500m cliffs above us. However the seas should abate a little as they move to come off the land. Apparently seas offshore are to rich as high as 15m! No place to be in a small boat so hope everyone is safely in harbour.
The video below is not great but I have saved you from a long viewing keeping it to about 20 seconds!
Dodger – Part 6
Just to make things even more exciting (!!!!) here is a short video
Dodger – Part 5
More pics
I know lots of boring pictures but I am excited. At least the two below show some good progress. All the glueing/epoxying is mostly done and the fairing compounds are going on. Unfortunately today and tomorrow we are in the midst of a storm with rain and 55 knot winds so work has come to a halt.
Dodger – Part 4
Moving along and looking good.
Have to go to town today to choose paint colour. Seems things are all on schedule which is great.
Dodger Part 3
The dodger is assembled in layers buildi g up in most areas to a thickness of 9mm. Each layer is epoxy saturated and eventually one has the basic unit without windows and othe fittings.
Here are a few more pictures:
Dodger – Part 2
Okay, the materials and cut files were handed over the the CnC cutter late Tuesday. By late Thursday the puzzle pieces were cut and roughly assembled. Here are some photos.
Okay, next steps….
What are we doing?
As mentioned previously we are doing a lot of work on preparing Sage for wherever we end up going in the Atlantic Ocean. We are also enjoying the wine, the food, the hikes, the sea and whatever special events are on offer.
The biggest task though is getting Sage spruced up after a number of years of hard use. One of the projects has me very excited as, for me, it’s a new way in which boats, or boat parts, are constructed.
We are working with a CAD expert and designer here on making a new dodger for Sage. The old dodger is showing its age by leaking in the rain, zippers giving out due to sun damage, staining and wearing of the material and just general wear and tear.
The design process is interesting. It all starts with making very precise measurements and using a Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD) program all the information is put into a computer. From there the design down to the finest detail is worked out. We are able to see the design in all its dimensions and in the finest detail.
The design is finalized with signatures and the cut files then sent to the cutter. We went to purchase the materials yesterday and took the pieces of wood and the plexiglass to the person with the laser cutter. Once the files are put into the laser cutter’s computer and the button pushed that’s it.
The dodger is now ready to assemble.It’s very exciting to see this working and we hope we are very happy with the end result.
Here is the signed off drawing as it went to laser cutter. Note the embedded solar panel under which lies the water collection trough. Not shown is the opening centre window which folds up into the inside.
CAD of Sage’s new dodger
The Ludic Behaviour Of Sage and Her Crew
Protea
The ludic behaviour of Sage and her crew is coming to and end for a period of time. We have wandered through the Indian Ocean for the last year having visited some amazing places, met wonderful people and eating lots of tropical delights. No matter how wonderful it all looks and sounds we are quite tired.
We need a break from the constant moving, the worries of maintaining a boat in good nick in remote locations and if truth be told the southern Indian Ocean has thrown us for a loop with the constant weather concerns related to making safe passages along a coastline with few natural harbours. The old adage of it being safer far out to sea could not be more applicable to the South African coastline. I would much rather be 500 miles out at sea than to have the constant worry of how far it is to the next safe port.
So, we are setting the anchor down for a while to spend some time on bolstering Sage’s seaworthiness and taking a break from thinking where the next anchorage will be. We are looking forward to taking in more land based adventures be it walking through the fynbos of Table Mountain or perhaps a trip to the theatre or enjoying the Cape Town jazz festival.
We celebrated our arrival in the Atlantic Ocean with Lop To and Strider along with several bottles of champagne. We are all looking forward to one of the most classic sailing passages i.e. The South Atlantic passage from Cape Town to St. Helena, Ascencion and beyond. It’s a hurricane free zone and reading the blogs of the numerous 2016 Indian Ocean crossing alumni it looks pretty nice. However, our crossing is not going to take place for a while.
We have new sails to purchase. One has been waiting here in Simon’s Town since December, another has been ordered and is due to arrive late next week and another, the genoa, is to be measured up sometime soon. There is to be a new dodger and a new dinghy. All this takes time and so we are doing lots of small jobs between now and departure such as repairing the windlass, painting out the galley and cockpit, repairing the broken electronic steering, getting replacement parts for the wind-driven self steering and replacing all sorts of lines.
The electronic self steering which broke at the same time as the wind-driven self steering
There was only one way to fix this offshore – duct tape. What a marvelous invention.
One more thing to fix – we lost the boom vang and here we are in Simon’s Town taking it up to the shop for repair
We hope that by the time we leave Sage will feel like a new ship that’s ready to put on a few miles and we will have had a relaxing break and an improved attitude to putting many miles under the keel as we make our way north through the South Atlantic. We have many options as to places to go be it Brazil, the Caribbean, the Azores, Cape Horn or…Our imaginations run wild with possibilities and already we are thinking of exotic and far away places to anchor and explore.
Prolific Proteas
Stay tuned for a few land travel stories and then a foray into the South Atlantic.
Our hometown for a while – Simons Town
Sage on sail 