No pretty pictures this time, as Jado looks no different.  However, some good work has been done.  All paint is now stripped and am currently reefing out the old caulk, some of which is a breeze and some of which is very slow.  Generally the seams higher up - near the sheer - are still quite tight, the ones below the waterline you could push $2 coins through.  In quite a lot of places the cotton has been driven into the face of the planking rather than into the seam by someone who was a bit hasty with the caulking iron/wheel.  I can scoff now, but I'm sure to learn all about that shortly!
   Also bought a plunge router to deal with some of the cracks in the keel, Herbert's suggestion.  The method he described sounded so simple, which is always the case with Herbert's advice!   Next purchase will need to be a shop vacuum, my trusty Philips is no more, and need to get those seams hygienic....

Claim 77359628

Re: Claim # 77359628

To Whom It May Concern,
                                         regarding the claim above which is still in progress I have managed to recover a number of items that I found advertised on Trade Me.  Henderson Police returned them to me yesterday and so I now wish to withdraw this claim.
 
   This claim which was originally filed on August 6th.  I completed the forms online as I was told over the phone that this was the quickest way to proceed - so much faster than the old-fashioned paper forms -  and faxed the relevant receipts etc.  I was contacted very smartly by a caller who, having cast an eye over my submission, suggested that my tools with a total replacement value of over $3000 might not be worth claiming at all.  When asked if replacement value was not what my policy entitled me to, he waffled something about having not checked my policy yet, and would look into it once a privacy release document was signed.

   This was duly posted out to me along with a claim form to fill in, identical to the one I had completed online over two weeks prior, apparently in the interest of immediacy!  To these I attached copies of receipts for most of my items, photos of owners manuals and packaging left behind, plus written quotes for replacement items from two major hardware stores. This was bundled off to Tower in late August.  Following this up with a phone call I mentioned that my policy had "New for old option: Selected" on it.  This I took to mean that if someone stole, for example, my TV, then it could be replaced with a new model of equivalent size and brand. The helpful operator pointed out, however, that this "new for old option" only applied only to a specific list of items.  He read me the list of items covered, tools were not on it. Therefore I was only entitled to a present day value to be determined by Tower. I can find no wording on my policy detailing any inclusions or exclusions relating to the "new for old option" I had "selected".

Having not heard anything for some weeks I phoned on approximately September 17th and was told someone would call me within 24hrs to discuss the status of my claim.  This they did, and they acknowledged that my bundle had been received, and that what they were waiting for was a copy of the police report, which could take up to five weeks!  So I waited...

  When several items were recovered and finally returned to me on October 11th (nearly ten weeks after my online claim was submitted) I mentioned to the detective in charge of my case that Tower Insurance were waiting for the police report.  Imagine my disappointment when he told me one had not yet been requested.

Regards, Kerrin Worsfold

The Naked Boat

Finished stripping the hull - port side only, but still a milestone.  JD painted her in 2-pack in the nineties, so it all had to come off.  Also happy to find the original waterline as scribed in the planking during the original build.  It had been painted nearly an inch lower at the stern, but was more or less right by the time it arrived at the stem.  Will probably batten this off and re-scribe it just to make sure it doesn't vanish again under coats of primer.

Back from the Dead.

Not dead, just a bit sore!  My ongoing episode of renal colic which began before Xmas has discouraged me from doing...anything, including working on Jado this year.  Towards the end of a four week spell of working 7 day weeks I found that thieves had broken into our basement and stolen all my tools, power and otherwise, that I've acquired over the last couple of years, which was devastating.  Devastating too was the insurance company pleb who recommended I not claim the loss - a work in progress as I write!

On a happier note, having earned two days off (in a row!) I re-clad the carport in fresh tarps to replace the ones shredded by the winter winds, repaired the basement door, and bought a few tools to begin again.  Have done some scraping of the port bilges this year but need to tackle this in earnest next.  Was also happy to find a nice vintage bilge pump of the type described to me by Jim Donald.  It mounts on the port stringer, just ahead of the for'ard thwart.  It is pictured as it arrived today, but will get stripped, dipped and renovated shortly.

Also bought another bronze bollard a few weeks ago, to replace the "original" one Bill Carter dug out for me.  I'm positive it wasn't from Jado, aside from the material evidence of marks left on the damaged deck king plank, it looks more rounded than earlier photos indicate.  The latest one is definitely not original either, but does look a better match for what was put there by P Vos Ltd in 1958.

Lots of Wood!

Well, as outlined previously I managed to score a substantial amount of fresh (not recycled) kauri, rough sawn, 150 x 50 and 200 x 50's, mostly in lengths of 5.2m, a few were shorter but all were over 4m. 

After some consultation with project manager and guardian angel Herbert Krumm-Gartner (of Classic Boats NZ) I did the deal and he was kind enough to give me a crash course in timber appraising - closeness and straightness of grain, colouring, checks, shakes, bows, knots and other factors to be taken into account.  He also offered to store them in his timber racks in exchange for some planks, which is brilliant, and there's much more than I need anyway.  As a further bonus the Taupo seller offered to bring the sixteen planks up to Hamilton for me to collect, so yesterday I borrowed a truck from work and headed south.

Forgot half the things Herbert had told me to look for when I saw the wood, but when unloading it at his workshop he seemed happy with the quality (and quantity!) of what I'd bought.  Only the colour seemed greyer than expected, but this is only an appearance issue, not really a fault.  When varnishing I might have to experiment with staining pieces first.  Now once the hull is done this will be used for the stringers, seats, motor box, coaming veneer and other details.

More Bits

Well, had some downtime in the lead up to and following the birth of our third boy, Reuben Ria Worsfold.  Still not really in a position to focus on Jado, but haven't neglected her totally.  On November 1st Jim and Gina stopped in to bestow on me Jado's original tiller (see earlier post for pics).  This is a lovely gesture of Jim's, as he  had retained this one souvenir of his family's launch since she was converted to wheel steering in the mid-70's.

Bought a pair of nice shiny new bronze fuel fillers, and a bronze intake strainer.  Also, having looked for kauri in any useful sizes for months, just bought 0.75 cube of the stuff at a bargain price.  Hope to be collecting in on Monday.  Will update soon....

Engineering



Savage heat exchanger



Re-modelled input shaft

Gave the gearbox input shaft to R A Cottrell in Avondale along with a drawing and they had this remade within a couple of days.  It's a thing of beauty.  This means I could finally mount the gearbox to the Ford, which I think you'll agree looks very sexy, and check the alignment of all the bolts into the bellhousing.  Fortunately most of them are pretty sweet, but I'll make a ply pattern and re-drill the gearbox where necessary.

Miss Ford - meet Mr Parsons!