Jump to content

The thoughts of Chairman Q


TheQ
 Share

Recommended Posts

89 boats are confirmed for the race,  little down on Numbers. With 8 days 23 hours and a bit till the start, the webcames are begining to come to life and one appears to be live feed for the first time instead of 15second stills. click on the black screen to see it..

https://horning-sailing.club/webcams.php

And today being Thursday they are getting the sailing club ready for the sailing school, up to 80 kids will turn up later to learn to sail in ever decreasing circles.

Edited by TheQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get them into boats young. I learned  in Toppers, Mirrors, Optimus' then wayfarers and enterpise before learning to capsize regularly in lasers. Fantastic fun! We have hobicats on board here but I have not plucked up the courage to take one for a run when we are at anchor. Too fast for me!

cheers

mark

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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..

Edited by TheQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

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.. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

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..

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.. 

 

IMG_20200612_192645_2.jpg

 A corner board. 

IMG_20200409_191742.jpg

Edited by TheQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.. IMG_20190525_171119.thumb.jpg.6226765df4b6dc5bb9e8d3d4a33038b2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

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...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/09/2020 at 19:59, TheQ said:

Still nothing happening on the garden railway.....

That's the recurring story for many outdoor modellers. We seem to make progress in little phases with long breaks in between. I wonder if it's the same for those who model indoors?

They always say that a model railway is never finished and that's never been so true as it is with a garden layout. You have to be in it for the long slog!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

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..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

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,20210123_135246533.thumb.jpeg.9186a16a1c52679f19f543e680602bb6.thumb.jpg.bac2c353daac7cb87a35efb4665f13c1.jpg

 

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.

Edited by TheQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

Well, it's some time since I posted on here.. So here goes..

It looks like there will be no chance of the garden railway being built till after I retire.. and the commencement  time for that, is about now next year..😁

So most weekends I've been working on the sailing boat.

The steering gear was a bit of a bar steward, it took several attempts to get it right. It's not yet finished as it needs tweeking, but it does work.

The Jib club has been built over the last few weekends.. How's this for a piece of recycling?.. It's made from the hand rail of a delicatessen counter in Tesco's

The marquee covers were taken down before the recent gales and the poles last weekend.

This weekend is the big one.. Lifting the boat onto the trailer.. There's no or little wind forecast, which is good because she'll be hanging on the hoist for some time with the weight just landing on the trailer, as I fit the steadying arms..

Once this is done, then the mast goes on temporarily so I can lead ropes from it and do the basic setting up.. 

After that there's the seat to varnish, which I can take out and do in the workshop.

Then the anti fouling needs doing.. Oh Joy, first mark up the hull to the waterline, then sand the hull below that with with 300 grit paper, then paint it with VC17M. That's a Teflon copper mix paint, which has the advantage is it's very thin, you can repaint over it any time.. and for British temperatures it sets in a hour @ 5 C!!

I got boosted last weekend and finally at last my parents during the week,, The home visit booster programme  has been a complete cockup, every one passing on responsibility.

Even getting booked in myself was difficult, the online system was offering Sheffield, Kings Lynn or Ipswich

The closest of any of those was 65 miles away!!!

 

The N gauge Show railway "Tiree" has been proceeding slowly and the last sub board is under construction.

This is a scenic board with a sea scene, including a ferry. This board is 14 inches deep and 4 ft long.. Tonight at the MRC I'm hooking it on and making the supports for it... If I get further than that, it's doing the rocky edges that will hide the board joins.

Our annual big MRC show is now dead... The Hall we used has been taken out of use, and as yet we haven't found one suitable that we can afford to hire..

So hopefully we're hoping to have a couple of small shows using village halls, though our favoured one is in use at the moment for booster jabs..

 

 

Edited by TheQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 17/12/2021 at 11:30, TheQ said:

Well, it's some time since I posted on here.. So here goes..

No worries - It's the same with most of us! And the bonus being that by the time of your next post you should have made a start on your garden railway!

Have to admit that the vaccine/booster program in my area has been first class. The vaccine centre was within walking distance, online booking was faultless, and the actual process was painless (thankfully!) and over in a matter of minutes.

I'm not into sailing but this past year especially, we've walked miles up and down the Leeds & Liverpool canal close to where we have our holiday home. We've also begun watching several Youtube channels related to narrowboats and living on the waterways. While it initially appealed, the more we've seen the less likely we would be to go down that route ourselves but it's still interesting viewing and doesn't detract from our frequent walks along the canal. It's great to be able to be close to the canal but have somewhere 'on grid' to be able to retreat to.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Afternoon..

The boat lift went well and it's been residing on the trailer for several weeks now.. It seems a long way down when you're on top..

The hull paint was a disaster for some reason it never set, so I've had to strip the lot, and have repainted with top quality paints, I reckon the paint bill will be about £250.. Just the top coat to go on now.. Waiting for good weather..

I've just moved my wood lathe into the workshop, i need to make a couple of sheaves for the boat,  as it's a very old mast, the original parts aren't available anymore..

I'm likely to be being Chairman Q again, this time not sailing but from Apr 2024 I'm in the frame for our MRC.. Not sure how that happened.. I think they noticed this was about to happen...

196 working days to my intended retirement date, though I might extend that a few days to make it a Christmas present to myself, saying that I'm now working 4 days a week. However still working the 37.5 hours, So that's 20% less days at work or About 158 working days left..

Each year I put up a Model Railway Show information list , on a local Norfolk Broads website.., Normally by now there would be a dozen or more on the list ..  So far... 4.   At least 3 of the regulars are permanently gone..

So I hope you all have a happy Burns Night, our sailing clubs was cancelled, I miss that... I'll have to make do with Haggis and Whisky at home..

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Afternoon All,

still nothing done on the garden railway, but with just 114 working days to go it's getting closer.

The N gauge exhibition railway, has been proceeding slowly I'm working on the last sub board. The sea with pier and ferry.. 

6067-090422192054.jpeg

The Sea and pier can be lifted out so I can do the sea Bed.. the white sand was setting that day so I worked on the wooden part of the pier instead.

And Blue Moon is afloat, I've now competed in 6 races.. and so from rebuilding it's now on to development AKA fettling.. This weekend I'm moving the seat back to get the fore and aft balance better. This unfortunately means lots of controls have to be moved...

A picture Below of her at rest with a tatty old set of sails bought for £50, for the development period. when I've sorted that out then a new set £1000 ish will be bought...

IMG_20220327_084503_1.jpg

IMG_20220327_104219.jpg

And a video of our sailing area.. The clubhouse is on the left of the play arrow..

Blue moon when moored up will be in the pens this side of the river. But on the video?

3 minutes in we are aground with the rescue boat in attendance. The rest of the fleet are off up river somewhere

I've got to learn where all the muddy shallows have moved to in the river!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh Horning Boat show is on on the 30th April 2022 10:00-16:00 free to attend .

http://horningboatshow.com/

I'll be on car park duty at the sailing club (exhibitors only in that one).

The Sailing club is doing 20-30 minute sailing trips out on our boats £5 per adult free for accompanied children. (we need the money to pay for the insurance etc) Our Tea Bar is also open with cakes!! sit on the river frontage and watch what's going on.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Well, it's one of my rare visits, but one bit of garden railway news is I have approval from the "Authorities " to start clearing the area for the outdoor section of railway this winter.. it however has shrunk since my original plans and partly changed position.. So plans need remaking before I start.

In Other news I will work outside on my N gauge railway.. namely putting it into a trailer and taking it to our club show / open day.

This is our first post Covid Show, we've lost the use of the big hall in Aylsham we used to use, as they've withdrawn it from any outside use (its a church hall) So we've decided to have two smaller shows each year as we are limited in the halls we can get to use.

This time it heavily relies on our own club and members layouts, but in the future we'll we'll have more guest layouts.

So, the details...

Broadland Model railway club Open day / Show .

Sunday 28th Aug 2022

10:30-16:00 At the Stalham Poppy Centre, (AKA the community Gym)

 Recreation road, Stalham, NR12 9DE

Admission £3 for adults accompanied children free..

6 working layouts, 3 under construction, two second hand stalls .

refreshments available (they sound good too) 

Free parking, disabled access, children's play area outside.

 Hope I might see some of you , I'll be the one working on "Tiree"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...