France

Just got back from my honeymoon in the South of France. It was outstanding!
I have never met so many truly nice, friendly, happy and helpful people. My wife and I were so impressed. I'll add a section for photos elsewhere and try to keep the main page for Gath Mor.

Sitting on the sea wall between the old city and marina in Nice.

Back to work tomorrow! I'll get some work done on the boat as well once the jet lag from 26 hours flying has gone.

Base Cut

Rolfe and I scarfed the 12mm sheets yesterday so this morning my daughter Cassie and I moved the nearly 5m sheet to the unfinished building jig.
I spent the day marking out and cutting the bottom profile (which still needs final finishing to the line) and then set it up so that Bronwyn could see the final length of our boat.
Very exciting to get so far.
Between packing for France at the end of the week I will complete and level the building jig and get it braced to Rolfe's exacting standards.

Cutting out the profile 

I jury rigged a few pieces so that Bronwyn and the girls could see what I am up to.

I will finish the building frame this week and pack everything away until we return from France.
At least now I feel we are making progress!

A new beginning!

Only three weeks from major spinal surgery and I'm back on track with the Gath Mor build.

My best mate Rolfe came over today, actually we used the excuse to go for a ride as it was such an excellent day, and we scarfed the 12mm sheets for the base and made an excellent start on building the strong-back frame.
I will complete the build in stages, front to back as far as the frames are concerned. Rolfe will keep me on track as far as micro-tolerances are concerned. He is VERY good at detail. I tend to be better at the macro-build aspects. A great team and a really good friend.

The sheets, finally scarfed and awaiting sanding and marking. 

Not the best photo. Rolfe and I discussed and devised a jig to cut each sheet accurately.
Rolfe is very precise in his methodology, I'm more chaotic, but we worked well together. 

Work progresses on the building frame. It will be ready for action when my
beautiful wife and I return from our long-awaited honeymoon in the south of France next week.
Rolfe devised a way of ensuring the frame is properly braced using both timber cross braces and steel strapping that I have laying around. I'll run all the cross pieces through the thicknesser to ensure continuity and then I will borrow a friends laser to set up the supports for the base.

We got a lot done today. Besides having an awesome ride, we managed to get much further than I had hoped with building the frame and scarfing the 12mm ply.

There will be a bit of a break now as I need to concentrate on the final arrangements and packing for our honeymoon in Nice and Barjac in France. Really looking forward to that!!!!!!

Back to work...yeeha!

I got the all clear to go back to work tomorrow. Just as well really as it's report time and this little distraction; combined with a three day power failure, has put me a week behind at least.
Well a small consolation is that I won't be bored anymore.

Thank you to all those wonderful people in the Welsford building "family" for your kind support. I will now be able to continue my journey and share with you my building experiences; rather than my health ones!

Thought I'd add some small clips of my neck...for those who are not squeamish. I won't add the youtube clip of a similar operation on one disc. I made the mistake of watching that...Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!

Looking left. My shoulder blocks the view of C7 vertebra.

Cool scar hey! The kids at school will love it!
Amazing that they go through the front and move windpipe and carotid artery out of the way! 

As a post-script I'd like to publicly state my admiration for (Professor) Mr Gabriel Lee (neurosurgeon), Dr David Law (anaesthetist) and the outstanding staff at St John of God Hospital, Subiaco, Western Australia. In particular I'd like to mention Aafke, Sneha, Sidi and Emily; the nurses who looked after me pre and post operation with such care, concern and professionalism.

Mr Lee must be one of Australia's best neurosurgeons. He and his team made this whole episode a comfortable, secure and reassuring experience.
I can't praise them highly enough. My recovery in only a week is astounding and I am completely out of pain for the first time since I can remember.
Thank you all so very much.

All over

My surgery went well. I'll be home tomorrow after only three days in hospital. It will be a bit more than three weeks before I can work on the boat though. It will take seven weeks to heal and I can't even drive for at least three weeks. Oh well.

Really not as bad as I'd expected.

Surgery

It turns out that my neck problem was worse than I'd thought.
On Tuesday I have two discs removed and replaced with carbon spacers; and the C5/C6/C7 Vertebrae bolted together with titanium plates. Not fun
I have been blessed with one of the best neurosurgeons in the country in Professor Gabriel Lee. I'm also in an outstanding hospital whose professionalism pre-admission has already made me a lot more comfortable with the whole idea. Adding to all that is my hospital cover which will cover all but a couple of sundry items.
At least it means life will return to normal(ish) afterward. I should be able to get going on Gath Mor in about three weeks or so.

MRI

It appears that the problem I thought was in my shoulder was actually in my neck. The C5/C6 disc has degenerated and I have bone spurs growing into the gap the nerve needs for my right arm. So I'm off to have an MRI and then a meeting with a surgeon.
Hopefully it will be an easy fix.
Until then I won't be able to work on Gath Mor. It has to be fixed soon though as My wife and I are going to France for our honeymoon.
Nice is very nice in July and so is Avignon.
It will be a welcome change from the cooler weather we are getting here at the moment.
I'll try to get something done before we go. I certainly don't want the project to get too far behind.

Trapped Nerve

Nothing to report for now. I've pinched a radial nerve in my right shoulder and it's taking its toll on progress.
Lots of painkillers and physiotherapy don't seem to be doing a lot.
Wasted most of the holidays I had and now I'm back to work.
At least the bike is nearly ready to get back on the road (just in time for winter!).

A few more parts

I managed to get the pieces for frame #2 cut. That means I now have the stem, Frame #1, Frame #2 and the transom cut out, but not planed to final size yet.
The next two weeks will be filled with parent interviews at work so their won't be a lot more progress until they are done.

The stack of parts is growing!

I will focus on trying to get the centreboard sorted out. The length of Blackbutt will need to be augmented with something else as it's not quite thick enough. The leading edge may end up being a piece of Tuart I have been promised.

Norflex

My back is shot in three places (from not looking after it when I was younger) and has been playing up lately.
My doctor decided to give me some Norflex skeletal muscle relaxant instead of a short course of diazapam.

Baaaaaaaaad idea!

I've spent the last three days in bed unable to think straight. I don't like feeling as if I'm running someone else's body. Won't be taking them again!

Obviously there has been no more progress with Gath Mor. It would have been a very unusual boat had I tried to cut frames in that state!

Tool Time

Yep, it was hot here yesterday. The official forecast was 39 C but it hit 40C+ in parts. Today will be even worse.

We ended up taking my youngest daughter to Perth so she could shop with her friends. Not fun in the heat, but we did get to go to Carbatec and buy a few odds and ends.

Our favourite shop!

Fire and Rain

The Eastern states are all under water at the moment. Meanwhile, we in the West are about to go through the eighth official heatwave since December.
That means the shed will reach about ten trillion degrees Kelvin...again! Monday wasn't as much fun as it could have been as I went through about 4 litres of water just to stay hydrated, and I have a vent and fan in the shed to keep things at least bearable.

I think spending the weekend in the pool may be a good idea

The upshot is that I will probably do very little until the temperature calms down a bit.

Centreboard

Here is one find I like.
My mate gave me some wood he'd salvaged and asked me to clean it up with the thicknesser. He wants to make a coffee table.
The deal is that I use my machine to clean it up and I get to keep some in exchange.
Turns out the first piece I ran through the machine was solid, well seasoned and rock hard Blackbutt.

I'll use it to make the centreboard.

Stem and Frame #1

I managed to get the stem cut out and the doublers laminated either side.

While it was curing I marked and cut out frame one.

It's beginning to look positive.

I'll clean it up tomorrow, and maybe mark out frame two.

At last, a start!

The sheets of ply have finally made it to the shed.
I spent a few hours pouring over the plans and decided that I would start by marking out  the stem on a sheet of cheap ply. I'll use that as a pattern. Better that I made any errors on that than wreck a very expensive bit of Gaboon.

I'll cut out the stem and doublers in the morning and hopefully have something better to post tomorrow evening.

A few loose ends...

Before I can start there are a few jobs that I need to finish.

We moved last year and I've been converting one room into a library/retreat. We have a lot of books! I ran out of time, and enthusiam, over the summer break but it's a job that needs to be completed before I start on the boat.

An ongoing project. Sorry about the poor photo quality.

Stopping...a new experience and one that I hope I'll like.

The other task is to replace the screws on the FJ's carburettors with the stainless hex head kit I ordered. At least I got the brake upgrade done.

So a week or so more and I'll be able to begin.

Plans

The plans have finally arrived. Given that they were posted on the 1st of February, it took 14 days to get them here from the US.
It can take that long to get something from the Eastern states of Australia so I shouldn't complain too much.

The plans look well constructed and logical; not too hard to read at all. In fact they are much better than I had expected so well done John Welsford!

Now I just have to clear a mounting workload at school, help to move my sister-in-law from Perth to just around the corner from us and re-organise the shed.

Can't wait to get started!

Gath Mor

We have been asked why we chose the name "Gath Mor".  I have always been interested in Celtic art and history and also have two cats. Both love the pool area, but not to swim obviously.
We came up with many possible names, some better than others, but finally settled on Gath Mor as much of the artwork I hope to incorporate into the boat will have a Celtic theme and I'd like to carve a small figurehead in the shape of a celtic-style cat's head.
Still waiting for the plans.

Why a Pathfinder?

As I get older keeping up the the pace of life in contemporary society is becoming increasingly difficult. Everything seems to be expected “right now”. That attitude seems to be reflected in everything from the speed we drive, deadlines for work, to the forms of recreation we employ.

Owning a boat in Mandurah is no different. The vast majority are powerboats and many of those are way overpowered. The idea here seems to be "Get down to the boat-ramp as fast as possible, blast out to your favourite fishing spot, do some serious reef-raping, then blast back again".  

It is not uncommon to see boats with 150hp outboards slung on the back. I've even seen boats with two 200 hp monsters weighing down the transom. Anything under 40hp seems to be considered too small.

There is a sailing club that gets people out on a regular basis in sharpies, etc, but most of the larger yachts seem to get left swinging idly at their moorings. 

I find I'm now craving a slower, healthier pace of life; one where I can actually look around and appreciate my surroundings. Taking the time to build a boat, then sail out to the good fishing spots really appeals to me.

There are a great many small boat designs out there, but John Welsford's just seem to have something special about them. Aesthetically they are sublime, with beautiful lines. Practically, they are proven designs that have withstood the test of time and use.

I went for Pathfinder over Navigator simply for the extra room. It is our intention to take  Gath Mor over to Rottnest, as well as down the coast; camping along the way. Of course going out for a fish, or a gentle motor down the river is on the cards as well. It will be an interesting build. As a teacher I always strive to take my students just beyond their comfort zone academically and into the zone of “optimal learning”. This build will take me into the same zone and I'm sure I'll be a far better woodworker at the end of it.

A new beginning......?

It's been 11 years since I moved back to Australia from England and settled in the Peel area of Western Australia.  In all that time I've only managed to get onto the water a handful of times. A bit of a waste really when one considers that this is an ideal area for aquatic recreation; sailing, surfing, skiing, diving, fishing, crabbing...the list goes on.

The South West of W.A. ...Not the greenest place in summer!
Not too many places to sail either!

When I was 5 my family moved from the UK and settled straight into a town in rural WA. In the years previous to moving my father worked for BBC Radio and was posted to South Wales.

While both of my parents are English, I was conceived and born in Bridgend and spent the first five years of my life living in a wet, verdant landscape near the coast.


 The culture shock of arriving in hot, dusty Australia was considerable and I spent much of my childhood dreaming of the infrequent occasions when we managed to get away to the coast.

I've always loved coastal regions and was pleased when, 35 years later, I finally had the opportunity to move to within "spitting distance" of a river and a short drive to the ocean. Strange then that my dreams of sailing, diving and fishing took so long to come to fruition. 10 years to be exact!

Well things have finally come together. Last year I was married for the first time (at the tender age of 45) to a wonderful lady who has encouraged me to start living the dream.

That said, and after nearly a year of research, I finally bit the bullet and ordered the plans for John Welsford's Pathfinder.

This will not be a quick build mind you. We've just bought a house together and I now have a library to fit out and a four poster bed to make for one of the wonderful daughters that I "inherited" with the marriage.
But things are looking up.  I have a shed (granted without easy access to the road), a great many tools and a garage I'm allowed to commandeer for the duration of the actual build.

And of course I have a wonderful, supportive wife who truly wants us to build this boat so we can enjoy accessing the estuary and coastline of the Peel Region.