Keeping the kids interested

So far we have just been making short trips on our new boat chortle. The kids and mum and dad are growng again there sea legs along with confidence of the new boat. Fergus has always show some interest with navigation but now the iPad is involved he loves it, and already knows more of our navigation apps features than the skipper. Freyja having been on a dingy sailing coarse has just found a new level of confidence on the helm and loves it, out showing her mum who still has to think about which way to push the tiller.

more dolphins

this weekend saw more dolphins and cheered the tired and not over enthusiastic crew up no end.

dolphins

well seeing these creatures does something to us all, so obviously intelligent and basically coming to see us and say hello, i am sure they are just checking out chortle's new shiny propeller.

Only left overs to sell

After doing all the work to chortle the whole family is absolutely at there whits end. Perhaps i have pushed them to hard only hard work all summer boat renovating and no holiday to speak of. Not a great start. Anyway finally the workshop is free to start the backlog of work. Oh the joys. Below is the huge pill of 45 parcels to leave after a massive ebay sale of all the unwanted items from chortle.

autohelm 1000

this gadget is amazing and so old but it still works. It took some TLC to fix it up but it has some life in it yet, handled the boat well in calm seas not sure it will be up to the job in the rough we will find out.

Most satisfactory

After some very tricky, fraught and messy experiences attending to big business afloat on our last boat with only one cabin and a bucket, i can report with confidence that chortles facilities are most satisfactory under passage.

Admaralty approval

Thankfully jenny did smile eventually after suffering the most horrendously un-relaxing holiday of her life. They do say holidays are forms of alternative stress therapy. So jen will much more appreciate her boring landlubber existence now.

Happy in her new birth

It was hard for the skipper to leave her unattended yesterday having only just put her in the water. I think he will be back before next weekend!

Perfect

Thankfully sailing conditions were perfect on sunday.

Finally a sail

So after all the effort from the whole family in refurbishing chortle, it has been a great relief and joyous occasion to sail her out of eyemouth for the first time. Unfortunately we have had only two days sailing for our summer hols. Which has not gone down well with the admiralty (jenny my wife) who has gone back to work today, boring.

Dog happy in the cockpit

The Dogs birth

Beatrice our salty sea dog loves her new bed in the pilot birth. She is a bit put out that she is not between mum and dads legs at night, which was the case onboard chuckle our old folkboat. Come the winter this arrangement might return. However with the portability and non slip bottom of her new bed she loves it in the cockpit too.

Signal guest

Post entertaining

Freyja in the Rigging

Well fergus and freyja went up the mast today to fix the jobs daddy did not get right while the crane was hear. The mast head navigation light was on back to front the wind vane out of line and the lazy jacks (more rigging) had not been attached 3/4 up the mast. Freyja went up and down three times with different jobs and tools on strings. Go freyja, picture below is of her giving a big thumbs up from aloft, wow! What a girl.

Back in eyemouth

Its so good to be afloat again and in what had become our home from home with chuckle our first boat. Freyja said this evening 'i feel so at home hear in eyemouth its just like home'.

As far as staying aboard our new boat chortle its like nothing we could imagine. There are two closed doors between is and the children, this helps. The heater is on and the cabin in which you can actually stand up in is toast and there is a choice of births to lounge on. Wow we love it.

Dr Thomas Hawson
Hundalee Mill Farm
Jedburgh
TD8 6PA
01835 869931
07801 653830
tom@thomashawson.com
www.thomashawson.com

Rigging and vitelling to go

Chortle launch

Steps and bulk head

New step treads in teak and a navigation birth bulkhead in today. Not much left to do now.

Moving in

Well moved out tools and in cushions today big change and brewed our first cup of tea aboard. Fergus and freyja loved putting all the cushions in the right places.

Shiny top sides!

Can not quite believe we have time to indulge chortles top sides with a shinning. But wow its a great improvement.

Prop

The new prop was lots of fun putting together with the kids. They loved it and sanded and fitted the zinc anodes.

Sola panels on and doing a fine job

Rebuilt rudder and tiller

So satisfying to put it all back together. Todays progress has been very fast with whole family on it and our helper.

Jenny's birthday

Well was'nt jenny lucky. For her birthday she was dedicated the unveiling of chortles new copper-bottom. Oh my!

Coppercoat dawn shift

Coppercoat

Absolute hell! Fortunately i had a very patient helper yesterday and all night until 6 this morning! The goo was not going on very well at a humidity level below the on tin recommendation. So we built our selves a little play den round the boat in the late afternoon so we work in to the damp cold night. This we heated with two halogen heaters three 1000w site lights and a fan heater, what fun. This below water anti foiling has to got on coat on just dry coat so it cures chemically as one. Well it looks fantastic now after some serious effort. I did a 24hr shift yestarday from 6 am to 6 am this morning. But the jobs are done in lime with the schedule and the launch date of 9 aug. The joys of having booked the hiab lorry!

Hull base coat

Finally after a grinding of the keels experience i will not forget or physically recover from in any short time, the below water hull is epoxy base coated only two more layer to go then copper coat on Thursday. Painting is going to feel like a holiday after the keels grinding job.

Every bit of help

Every bit of help is appreciated and here is hoping the crew lending hands to chortles refurbishment will share the joy and pride of here launch.

New rudder foot pintal and bush