Van Rouge and Christmas Cheer.

Distraction Distractions, always Distractions

When I was a wee laddie I liked to build model airplanes.

  The plastic ones with the kind of glue which could frazzle your brain cells. 

Ah such innocent times.

I had a collection of little pilots, which should have been seated in the cockpit,

 but which due to a complete lack of patience on my part and a refusal to read the instructions

 meant they were forever locked outside the glued halves of the fuselage.   

Some habits die hard but I'm trying to be a bit more careful in my old age.

 So I am reading the instructions supplied by M. Vivier

 and carefully naming each part as I cut it out. 

And blimey this kit is comprehensive. 

Every plywood part is included, which for this boat includes the transom, centreboard, rudder and stock, buoyancy tanks etc. 

So I got cracking as best I could, but then I had to go cycling with the Muddy Boys the weather being somewhat benign.

We looked at some boats and then stared out to sea. 

Then I spent half a day not selling my Volvo to a bloke who after agreeing a price decided that he couldn't afford it after all.

Then on Friday The Tooth Fairy and I had to go and collect the new wheels. 

I have been very excited. 

The eagle eyed will notice the bike rack and the tow bar, you won't notice the swivel front seats. There are lots more modifications to come. 

I told The Tooth Fairy that if I got the van she could have a little run-around. 

So of course we had to take it for a drive to the seaside. 

A Beautiful Day, but not many people down at their Beach Huts. 

This looks like a sail training ship, but I don't know which one. 

There was a gentle breeze from the north but they seemed in a hurry to get somewhere. 

So back to the shed on Monday, and a bit of progress made. 

So many parts! 

The kit certainly saves an enormous amount of time.

 It probably took about five hours in total to cut out all the plywood parts. 

I've even managed to start pre-assembling the stem and transom. 

Yes I did read the instructions.  

The Transom is two layers of ply and the stem is made up from five layers.

 They are temporarily bolted together through pre drilled guide holes to ensure they are properly aligned while the epoxy is going off. 

I nipped down to B&Q to get some 8mm bolts, and this is what greeted me as I walked in. 

So let me be the first to wish you...…………….

Francois Vivier Morbic 12

As October begins a man's attention naturally turns to his shed.

 Not for him the hyped up clap-alongy-tempo of "Strictly" or the tasteless innuendo of "The Bake Off" (Oh nice buns missus). Its time to get cracking with the next build. 

And so it was that Alec Jordan of jordanboats.co.uk arrived on Monday with a newly cut kit for the Morbic 12 designed by Francois Vivier. 

Just like the balsa wood glider kits of my childhood all the plywood parts are laid out on the 8x4 sheets ready to be cut out. 

I have admired the Morbic 12 for quite a long time and seen a few built examples.

At 12ft long with a balanced lug sail on an un-stayed mast this little clinker boat is the epitome of traditional style, but is in fact very modern, designed on CAD, cut on a CNC router and meeting the requirements of the dreaded EU Recreational Craft Directive.

And Why Not? 

This example, built by Adrian Donovan is featured on

Francois' web site

I'll do my best to meet his high standards.

Watch this space.