I just got word of the passing of Henk Bijl. Cancer claimed him April 21. Henk and Joke lived their dream. They built one of my 45′ cruising cats in 1999, I think it was, and have been offering clothing optional ocean cruises in the Caribbean ever since. I never met them, but they were delightful to work with. Zeevonk is for sale, with Allan Veth of Evecom. www.multihull.nl
It looks like a couple more days of good epoxy weather here in Seattle. I will update all the comments here in a couple of days when the rain comes back. The parts are too big already to fit in the shed so I’m working outside. Materials are stored in shed.
The work on the 75′ trimaran moves along. I does keep getting updated and refined as each stage better informs possible options.
Friend Steve Vogel retired from CSR Marine last Tuesday. I realized its end of an era. I first met Steve when we both were livaboards at Kelly’s Landing some 33 years ago. Our two boats couldn’t have been more different. He had a very traditional single hull wooden cruiser. I had the lightweight trimaran. He was often game (or crazy enough) to do races with me on my old tri Smoholla the Shaman. More than once he found himself crewing with me at Point No Point, after midnight, with a gale shrieking, as the boat is fully out of the water slugging to windward.
Or the day he ran me up my mast in a late December evening snowstorm, went back to his warm boat, and forgot about me. NPR was riveting. the mast was covered with ice and it was getting darker. I really had no options. I tried yelling. The snowfall got so heavy, all sound was absorbed. He remembered an hour later. He still laughs about that.
He will be cycling in France. Have good one Steve.
I had a great lunch yesterday with Scott MacIndoe of Fiberlay (and 5 other composites companies) yesterday. While he appears to be a regular businessman, I discovered that he really is a crazed inventor/chemist. The best kind.
His mind is seething with new inventions. Ones I could use include a new polyurethane fire proof coating and 2 part vinylester, of two equal parts. There must have been a dozen more that I have to remember.
Then there is the tunnel boring machine that also makes its own composite tunnel behind itself…
Still going through all the emails and orders from when I was gone. a little behind, but they will all go out this week.
Northwest fixture Fisheries Supply is no longer carrying knitted glass fabrics at its store, nor online. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/
They tell me to go to Fiberlay, “Since that’s where we got it anyway.” www.fiberlay.com
Basic Composite & Mold Making Training Classes!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
9am – 3pm
Fiberlay – Seattle
24 South Idaho Street, Seattle, WA 98134
Please see the attached PDF for more information:
http://www.fiberlay.com/emailblast/TrainingClasses-5-4-13.pdf
Fiberlay, Inc.
24 S Idaho. St, Seattle, WA 98134
1-800-942-0660
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OK I will admit it. I was apparently the only person out there who had no idea that AIS (vessel tracking) is available to everybody. And will come up on my Droid. How cool is that?
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
In St. Maarten is saw one of my charter cats that I had forgotten about, go by. It was the old Mambo Cat under a new name. I also made a new boat friend. Surprise on St. Maarten. The beachfront tourist help guy, sporting long dreads, builds epoxy/carbon radio controlled power cats. Electric powered with LI batteries. Vacuum bagged. He had video of 125 mph. New boat friend. I will get video.
