Part 7 – What’s the holdup?

25th of May, 2021

So, you may have noticed it’s been a while since I posted anything.

Why?

In a word, funding.

Just as I was thinking to myself that I could really use a cash injection to get things moving along, a work opportunity came up. One that I can’t really say much about. All I’m allowed to tell you is that it’s (sort of) a government project, and it pays reasonably well, and that I can’t talk about about it. Yep.. really. I mean, I could tell you, but then I’d….

be in trouble. (Hah! bet you thought I was going to say “then I’d have to kill you!”)

As for the specifics, all I’m supposed to tell people is that it involves the packing and distribution of booklets and pamphlets. Which is kind of true. But not exactly. And it leaves a lot unsaid. It is, however, pretty decent work, and I get to hang out with a lot of really cool people, and some great bosses. And work my arse off. At one point, I did three weeks of 10-hour days, without a single day off. And I’m not quite finished yet.. there’s probably another week or two to go. Oh yeah, and it’s in the city. Almost 200km away from home. So for the last 2 months or so, I’ve been temporarily living down in the city again.

The job did, however, also provide me with the funds to order virtually everything I need to complete the dinghy. Epoxy, fibreglass cloth, dynel cloth, peel ply, thickening and fairing additives for the epoxy, timber, and an amazingly long list of bits and pieces, tools, consumables and other assorted junk I’d need to get the job done.

So all that stuff has now been delivered to my home.. but I’m not there. I’m back in the city, still working on this top-secret job.

So once I get home and buy a few more items I’ll need, like a workshop vacuum, more tools, and some other odds and ends, work on the dinghy will get underway again.

In other news, the plans I’d ordered for the 37’6″ (11.43m) Benford Sailing Dory arrived just before I left for the aforementioned job. (This is the reason I was short of money.. these plans cost a bundle, and then there’s the shipping and insurance from the US to Australia on top of it!) Something like 50 or more really big sheets of heavy paper. Had to have been well over 5kg, I think. Very exciting!

So here’s a glimpse at one of the sheets, that will give you some idea of what it’ll look like, both inside and out. Of course, I plan on making some modifications to it, to better fit my intended use. But more on that another time…

See ya soon!

Next: Progress? What progress?