Journal Entries

October 2007

3 October - As I posted last month I restored a nice old Schatz ship's clock. I finally got the movement back into the case and mounted it on the saloon bulkhead. I actually ended up with 2 clocks in the end. Below is the original as shown in last months journal entry.

and the finished product mounted on the right with the copper ring. These clocks have an 8 day movement and a 4 hour watch keeping chime sequence which creates quite a shippy atmosphere onboard. I've been running them for the past couple of days and they maintain perfect time. I'm not sure what I will do with the second clock but I may end up selling it or trying to trade it for a matching barometer. Anyone interested?

4 October - I really love having Cutty onboard and we are developing a good understanding of each other. Her latest game when we play in the park is to have me tell her to "go hide" and in response she runs to the nearby garden bed which has tall reedy type grass. She actually lays down silently and hides. I then walk around saying, "where's Cutty?" then she makes a noise and I act like I've just spotted her and she takes off on a lap of the park with me in hot pursuit. Then we do the whole thing again. Yes I know it sounds stupid but this is my substitute child.

She gets a good run three times a day and is exhausted when we get back to the boat. Here she is crashed out on her bed after playing.

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7 October - This has been a fairly productive weekend. Yesterday I scrubbed the waterline and started to go through all the lockers to see what I could get rid of. I was up till 1am emptying lockers and cleaning as there was lots of sawdust left over from the recent interior upgrades. There is a boating market later this month and I want to take a load of stuff to sell. It's amazing how easy it is to accumulate stuff. I thought I had got past the consumer mentaility but it appears I still have way more than I need.

Another job I did today was to file the edges of the solar panels. I should have researched whether it would affect the anodizing but it had to be done as it's an accident waiting to happen. As you can see from the photo below the edges are razor sharp and I have actually cut myself a couple of times walking past. It's also a hazard for the mainsail when I drop it.

I was surprised at the difference just a quick file did. These edges would have previously sliced your skin open. I wonder if anyone makes plastic corners for them.

This morning Cutty and I did the normal Sunday market routine. One of the stall owners has a little King Charles Spaniel named Reuben. Each Sunday Cutty and Reuben love to say hello and have a quick play. They both know each other and it's become part of the Sunday routine for Cutty.

It's getting hot in Brisbane and today was around 30 degrees. Cutty is starting to feel the heat so I took her to Southbank for a walk and a swim. Here she is in part of the water channel which runs through Southbank.

She loves the water. Here is an underwater shot.

She even looks gorgeous wet.

Of course we couldn't have an afternoon at Southbank without an icecream. I'm very conscious of Cutty's diet but thought it would be a nice rare treat. Here she is with her very first icecream which she loved.