Quiet here?

[Eddy Matthews]

Has everyone stopped talking to each other? It's been very quiet here for the last few days, surely someone is building or researching a paddler? If so, tell us about it!!!

Please remember, these forums only work if people actually talk to each other - Logging in and browsing messages is fine, but if you don't talk the forum dies..... It's a sad fact that for every 100 users who register for a forum, only about 10 will ever post a message. The none-active ones are generally the first to complain that the forum is dead!

Also remember that the only "silly" question is the one you DON'T ask! We're ALL interested in paddlers, otherwise why would we be here? So come on guys - especially those that haven't posted a message yet - Introduce yourselves, tell us a bit about your interests, tell us about your research or your current build, basically TALK to each other! :-)

Regards
Eddy

[thewharfonline]

I have been on school camp....no comp, no internet, no paddlesteamers, yet somehow had a good time...might have been the go karts...the laser tag, the bowling or maybe the five star food...I dunno!

[mjt60a]

I've been working on my ship all week (on and off, not constantly 18 hours a day) mostly making fittings as not only do most shops I know no longer stock them but, even if they did they're unlikely to have what I need...
... update in 'construction - freshwater'  

[Khephre]

Have had my PT Reliant in dry dock the past coupla months while I've bashed together a azimuthing stern drive ship assist tug for my six yr old boy. Trouble is the ASD's so much fun to skipper that I don't think he'll ever get his sticky paws on it! (Did the club's steering competition course this weekend just gone, first round in forward, then tried a second run at it, in reverse all the way on the second run just to be contrary - total time difference between first and second rounds was 3 seconds over a six minute run! A few gate touches each time though - the graupner schottels have geared up steering and the lightest touch of overapplication of rudder sends the tug spinning like a top!)

Back to paddlers- Reliant is not far from returning to the workbench for around six mths worth of gratings, decklights, companionways & finishing touches, etc.

Then on to PS Britannia - my avatar and the paddler of my dreams. 120 ft long, double ended and made from a single kauri tree! I've made a bit of progress on drawing up lines and general arrangements and plan to lay down the keel and frames around September of this year. Like the prototype, I want to do her in kauri and have a large beam that I recovered from an old demolished workshop set aside for her.

After that? Who knows - I do like Joe's Mississippi Sternwheelers but also want to see what I can do with that horizontal steam engine I posted to Paddleducks a week ago.... I feel a Windermere-style open steam launch with side paddles coming on..... A local model engineer is going to give me a hand with Maudsley reversing and step down gears for the steam engine and I want to try my hand at a double diagonal planked hull so plenty there to think about as well - can't for the life of me get a response from Cheddar Steam to my email asking about matching a boiler to the engine so a bit grumpy about that!

And that's me for the next few years ... chained to the workbench, and wouldn't have it any other way!

Cheers
Tony
Auckland, NZ