A productive week and more work coming in over the coming weeks.

It has been a very productive week with the final touching being done to a long term project which will go on trials over the next few weeks. With further work to come once the trials are over.

On the Mai-Star class dinghy front the dinghy as had its first two coats of yacht primer on the inside. Over the coming weeks the hull will be finished off and the ribs will be fitted and then the gunwales and thwart stringers will be fitted.

Also the Enterprise dinghy restoration will be continuing with the floor of the dinghy being stripped back to bare wood and the anti slip paint reapplied. Before the rest of the interior gets refitted. However, the interior will have to wait a little while the deck fittings are are refitted and the rubbing strakes are fitted and the hull is finished off and glossed with International Snow White gloss. Once the glossing is done the deck will get their final coats of International Original Varnish. Then it will be ready to get the new buoyant bags and then go for its first sail in over three years.   

This Hardy Marine Boat Owners come to J-Star Boat & Marine Services for advice, As we have a vast knowledge base on their boats

This Hardy Fishing 20 owner came to J-Star Boat & Marine Services for advice on how to correct a propeller problem, with days of investigating the problem, this owner was enjoying his boat and his fishing with a boat that was now fit for purpose. So if you have a problem with Your Hardy, give Simon a call on 01255475020.

This Hardy 18 navigator owner could not get his Hardy 18 to trim out and get on the plane 

So finding out that it did not have its ballast in the bow which later Hardy 18's had fitted, it was fitted in place and now the owner can get his Hardy 18 on the plane and enjoy his fishing and his general cruising around the East coast.

I also contribute to the Hardy Owner Club magazine under the banner "Simon's Says"  

One new boat project coming to an end and another new boat project getting underway again.

It has been a busy time down at the workshop with a number of mini projects coming and going. One will be coming to an end this week for the client to take it out on trials.

 I will be getting back to working on the Mai-Star Class dinghy and get its hull finished off so that I can get the steamed oak ribs in place and then make a start on the fitting out of the hull.

A little mini project that came in over the past couple of weeks, To make a custom one-off roof rack support and holder for a Hobie Cat kayak.

Get back on with a long term new build project

At long last I have been able to get the Mai-Star Class dinghy back beside the workshop and have got it back in position to make a start on the boat again.

Just had to get the bracing back into position to ensure the dinghy was all set to again so the last four planks can get fitted and the dinghy can then get its ribs fitted and the rest of the fit out can get underway.

Getting on with some of the smaller jobs on Mai-Star II while the weather is against us working out on the Yacht

Getting the bunk back battens varnished for the first time.

They just got to have a few more coats of varnish and they will be ready to go back in place and finish off the area behind the two main cabin bunks. 

Once that job is done then the trims will be made for the tops and ends of the bulkheads around the galley and cooker areas and the edges of the bulkheads at the front end of the main cabin into the fore cabin. 

While this is being done the last of the nails in the bilge area will be fitted and the two short ribs in the cockpit will be steamed n place and the new cockpit sole will be made and fitted as well as the cockpit seats and coamings.  another job underway at the moment is the rebuilding of the rudder with new cheat pieces being made and glued to the repaired blade, when the rudder is finished it will be completely coated epoxy and then painted like the rest of the yacht. 

There is one job that keeps getting put off, but it is one that needs doing ASAP so that the weather can be kept out of the cabin. The cabin roof which as soon as I have a couple of good dry days will be done and then the rest of cabin work can be finished off.

Once the yacht's underwater planks are sorted the yacht can go back in the water and can stay there for the winter while the yacht's planking settles down and the yacht can get back some of the work that as not been done while it was out of the water.

It has been a busy week in the workshop

It has been a busy week in the workshop with a job that came in and had to be finished for yesterday morning as the client was going away to use his boat and we had to build him a cradle support for his boat in three days and so he could transport his boat without damaging.

Also we have been working on another project boat doing work on its power unit and test out theories on the way the system will work.

At the same time doing work of repairs to another client;s rudder which had seen better days and was in need of some major re-building work to get it up to being able to be used again.

One of the highlights of the week saw the team making a one off component for a boat which could lead to future work on a number of similar boats as it is designed to help the client's safeguard their boats when moving them around. 

Along with this the team are busy with other work near and far keeping our clients on the water during the boating season. As always keeping a weather eye out with the end of the season not far in the distance and our clients giving us their job lists for work over the winter.   

So next week is going to busy again with a number of phone call over the few weeks turning into new business to see the team busy for the next few months are least.

Rudder repairs to a client's yacht and making cabin trims

Starting to glue together new upper section of the rudder and once glued up will be as strong as before.

Glueing up more new sections of rudder upper sections now just have to wait for the glue to set before shaping the new sections to the original shape

Making a start on shaping up the glued together sections now the glue as set hard

Making up jigs to steam round trims for the cabin that at present are missing from the tops of the galley and cooker areas

This one is for the trim for the forward bulkhead between the main cabin and the fore cabin. 

Having a day off from boat repairs and enjoying a few hours on the river.

Working long hours and not taking time off from time to time does not do the mind a lot of good. So for a change I and my son decided to take few hours off to go down the local river and do a spot of fishing and a bit of cruising.

Getting ready to drop the anchor 

Waiting for the fish to bite a long wait, but all good fun.

the odd large vessel using the shipping lane in the river, 

a peaceful beach to explore later on after the fishing had finished and before we set off back up the river back to the marina and home.

The anchorage a little busy today, but it was a sunny Saturday afternoon, so you can not blame people for having the same idea.