TheQ

Two tablets on wifi, main computer wired to router, and that's it. We could quite easily do without it.. SWMBO mostly uses hers for Art tutorials, Me for sailing or boat design research. it would be go back to buying more books and videos if we didn't have it. Not really a problem..

Well Mojo (I said MoJo Not Bojo), has wandered off and disappeared absolutely nothing done on indoor or outdoor model railways for a couple of months. Instead I've Built a keel for the sailing boat, Someone else wanted to be in the picture. That keel weighs 188KG that bottom bulge is 150KG of lead.. I've started started building a vast amount of shelving. The old library (spare bedroom) will become SWMBO's craft room, The living room will become the library, the front room will eventually become the living room. Bojo (I said Bojo not Mojo) has said that outdoor sports can start March 29th, my sailing clubs normal opening for the summer event?...March 28th It looks like the MRC can start in a limited way on May 17th I hope Mojo (I said MoJo Not Bojo) has returned by then. On 5/6th Jun is the 3 Rivers Race so it looks like that can go ahead, and regatta week 31st July-5th August looks fairly certain.. So my target for getting that keel united to the boat and launched is 31st July.. I'm currently butchering the flatbed that sits on the trailer, to fit the new boat layout, ear defenders, gloves, goggles, face mask, overalls.. angle grinder cutting away.. The boat weighs 244KG, the Keel 188kg, so that leaves me 318KG maximum for the unbraked trailer including the new smaller flatbed and props for the boat.. I hope this weekend to weight the trailer the new flatbed and the other bits to see where I am with it all.. If I've got it wrong and have to convert it to a braked trailer, that'll cost around 500 Modelling tokens.. To do on boat, fit keel and rudder, fit steering gear, finish hatch covers.. and fit various jammers for ropes.

The same applies to sailing on the Norfolk Broads, motorboats have to stick to the 4 /5 /6 mph limits but sailing boats do not.. That makes it difficult driving a rescue boat as you can't break the limit until they need rescuing.. But they are busy sailing away from you and you can't keep up! They may not have to obey the limit on Bicycles but I do in the land rover... You can of course, on a bicycle be prosecuted for riding Furiously... Any local council can pass a bylaw with speed limits for bicycles, which I've seen done on a road, that is access only for those that live on it, but is mostly used by wandering tourists who think it's a big foot path.. (10mph for cars or bikes). The Dirty looks I get driving my land rover down it...

The N gauge railway seems to go nowhere for ages , then take a sudden spurt forwards.. For instance I spent several modelling sessions making hundreds of fence posts from 0.6mm Square wire, equivalent to plain 4 inch square wooden posts and painting them brown. Then another hundred more from 1mm square wire with the bent top and painting them grey to imitate concrete secure fencing posts.. I reckon in all there will be over 2000 fence posts to be made and installed.. So nothing seemed to happen for ages, then last Friday night I was fence post planting and then gluing mesh onto the concrete posts and suddenly it appears to have made a big leap forward. The winter sailing club got one big event away with the Tri-icicle race, normally a race of about 4 hours covering 20 miles on the rivers. However the club was supposed ti hold the Yeoman nationals this this Sunday and that got cancelled due to high winds, it was rescheduled for next week But.... Pictures of the race and other events... https://www.facebook.com/SnowflakesSailingClub I have to visit the layout at the MRC one day this week and retrieve the "wooden " posts and a section of layout so I can continue for the next month at home..

Still nothing happening on the garden railway, except I have to redesign the Area. The future plans for the garden have had a bit of a place revolution. it means the run will be slightly shorter, but I have a bigger area to use. As yet I haven't even started placing pen to paper on designing that.. The MRC restarted last Friday, in six person bubbles, I got my requested Friday evening, there are now six person groups Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and my Friday is not yet a full group. That's not all the members So I guess some are still not coming out to play yet.. Any way I've started moving the parts of the above layout I'm working on back to the club. It's lucky our club has it's own premises Meanwhile as part of the revolution I've moved and rebuilt the BBQ area, which is at the mobile home.. It's now conveniently outside the door of the model railway shed and backing onto what is the area allocated for the garden railway. As for the boat I've stripped the deck and stern and given three coats of varnish to the decks and 4 to the stern. The stern now has to be sign written with her name Blue Moon, under that is القمر الأزرق, which Blue Moon in Arabic since I built her originally in Saudi, And below that 1260A which is her newly allocated Registration Number for the broads.. Then there will be another couple of coats of varnish. Registration Number? yep if it floats on the broads it has to be registered, taxed and insured, although I don't have to pay till she's launched, it will be around sixty quid for next year. Even if it's a inflatable canoe they'll have 35 off of you... The Sailing club restarted about a month ago, only 30 allowed on the island at a time, sailing only on Black horse broad, others who arrive from their own moorings, can join in there. So since I'm not sailing but working on the boat, I've stayed away so more can sail...

At our club open day last year. Boards 1 to 4 on their trolleys, you can see the bare corner board on the right, with an inherited sub board branchline station resting on top. Further to the right and back is trolley 3, which now has the previous branchline station and radar on it now..

Boards 1and 2 with viaduct

The road down to the harbour, a war memorial will go on the top at the back.

The branch line station being worked on

Let's see if I can get a few pictures of the N gauge future exhibition railway on show.. The latest project a Type 84 radar.. A corner board.

Another year has passed and another year of no progress on the garden railway. The N gauge exhibition railway has progressed so I might show a few pictures later.. I was furloughed for 9 weeks but am now back at work trying to catch up with the backlog. My Sailing compatriot came off his motorcycle last August into the front of a tractor, fractured skull, right wrist, pelvis, and thigh. Neither his nor the tractors fault, but the local council failing to fix a pot hole they knew about. He was actually out with a ROSPA group so he wasn't doing anything stupid. He was in hospital for about 3 months but then released, while still unable to walk unaided, he was due to go back into hospital for an operation on his thigh, but corona virus put paid to that. So we have had no sailing for over a year now.. and unlikely for 3 months after the next operation, whenever that will be.. During furlough I've been making a new keel for my sailing boat, the lead melting for ballast should complete this weekend all 150KG of it. then it will be on to varnishing the decks while we still have some good weather. The boat being in a small marquee in the garden. Also refurbishing the garage into part workshop, first job was stripping off the ivy off the corrugated asbestos roof.. That took many hours. I then discovered it had been built with second hand sheets some 50 years ago. So I spent a considerable time up there with pieces of flashing tape recovering all the old holes whose sealant had failed.. There are still a couple of leaks but that's being blown up between sheets.. A workbench has been built and that's got the lead melting equipment on it and the keel, the fun will be getting the keel off onto a trolley to transport 50 ft to the boat.... Sailing of course was Lockdowned off this year. You can now go out with your "bubble" on board, day time only, no overnight stays, but there is no racing, the club house is shut and no public toilets... Most clubs have now cancelled for the summer Season, the 60th 3 Rivers Race was cancelled till next year. My club has cancelled till each virtual committee meeting, every month. Our Annual regatta should start First of August that's our next big one, if anything changes.. The 3 RR couldn't be rescheduled this year as it's a carefully chosen date, after the latest easter,, not on a bank Holiday, before the start of the fishing season, before hoards of Hireboats would normally take to the water, but as near Mid summers day as possible for maximum light.. Also cancelled is my MRC open day in May, and our Show in October, I was very much against cancelling the show when we still had 5 months before the event, but I was out voted. I still think there's a chance by then, it could have been held..

No progress see personal journal

Is it really nearly a year since I posted here? Life has got in the way, a family funeral, and too much to do and not enough time to do it. Very shortly I'll be heading out Into the cold to finish building a new shed, not for railways but gardening equipment . That means I can clear half the garage, so that I can use it as a workshop. That then means I can clear the alleyway between the mobile home and model railway shed which was my workshop, as SWMBO has highjacked it for use as a wool treatment room for preparing wool for weaving. It does mean the new workshop is nearer where I need it. This summer I will be still continuing with my boat rebuild, which I hoping to complete this summer, no garden railway work will be going on for some time, my plans haven't changed, just delayed.. My indoor model railway work only continues at the MRC, the N gauge layout https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38780.0 Progresses well but slowly, there are 4 original boards and one sub-board, I'm finishing board three and working mostly on board 4. Soon I should start on new boards 5 and 6 where the sub-board will now sit. It will however go on display on the 26th May, 10:30-15:30 at Hoveton village hall, where we, the Broadland model railway club are having a club open day, we'll have to charge £3.50 at the door due to hall hire costs. We'll have about a dozen club or club members layouts will be there, most will be running . Hall costs are a problem, one of the local shows has had to close due the increasing cost of halls. Our own full show in early October can only continue with sponsorship which pays the £500 hall costs.. Right time to finish the coffee and get wrapped up warm to venture outside..

They can, join our sailing school at the age of 8, which is the youngest the Broads authority allows anyone to helm on the Norfolk Broads. ( But they do teach adults as well), If anyone lives nearby, then you are advised to visit the year before. to get information and you name on the list such is the waiting list... Horning sailing club is one of the cheapest on the broads, with club membership being roughly £120 a year for a family. There are additional small fees for the sailing school, we are a self help club, the only paid staff is the cleaner once a week.. I was PAT testing the Club in Saturday. I've spent many times upside down in Lasers and Enterprises. Just once crewed a hobbie cat out in Saudi Arabia. These days I mostly sail a Yeoman.. http://www.yeomankinsman.org.uk/yeoman/yeoman.shtm if you can see Yeoman 103 in the main picture I'm the red blob under the sail. I do helm as well .. The picture is taken from the front of the sailing club. I'm also restoring a minature keelboat I built in Saudi, when rebuilt it will be 16ft long, sit in facing forward., steer with your feet, control the jib and main with your hands.. A sort of Norfolk Broads International 2.4 in operation, but not style of boat. As for the race, yesterday they were forecasting a northerly 3mph for the start of the race race today they are forecasting a North Easterly a 9mph north easterly. We need more wind as the race is spending the first 4 hours against the tide... More webcams have come on ready for the race, you can see the boats are starting to arrive ready for Saturday, If you click on the black screen you get Potter Heigham bridge, the hole in the wall all the boats have to go through twice..

They've had grass land fires, on Arthurs Seat, the hill behind Edinburgh!! Oh Norfolks just had a yellow warning issued for heavy rain, thunder and lightening.