Beervana

I went to the beer festival, I was looking for the dogfish head guy, he seems to have the best job in the world, but he wasn't there. I did manage to chat to a couple of the brewers. One in particular only revealed himself as the brewer after I had described his  "Rex Attitude" beer  (Yeastie Boys brewery)  as "Like mud on a hospital floor, a combination of peat and disinfectant." I was surprised to find that this was the effect they were aiming for.

Anyway, none of this is getting our boat built.


It is however an opportunity to describe to our faithful readers (thanks to both of our Dads) what other projects inhabit my garage.


Being a good father, I have helped my sons in their various academic endeavours - in particular Jack's design tech projects. One of which was a re-cycling project. What better project than a recycled fridge a light bulb and a thermostat - the perfect environment for brewing beer. Jack built it, I took photo's of him working and he got a merit at school - the fact that he was 16 and making a brewery didn't seem to bother his design tech teacher. 

Anyone who brews beer knows that the worst part is bottling. There's a similarity between boat building and bottling - if you don't clean up immediately after yourself, the gunk, be it glue or sediment, it dries and its a bastard to clean. So, I discovered the concept of the kegorator, to use the vernacular. Instead of bottling you keg, and then you force CO2 into the keg at 4 degrees Centigrade for 48 hours and you have carbonated beer. For this you need a keg, or two, some tubes, a CO2 bottle, some CO2, a tap and an old fridge - here's one I prepared earlier.

Nice Kegs, shame about the face.

This is the 20ltr keg in the donor fridge, I picked this up from a really nice guy on Trademe for $40. The reconditioned Kegs you can pick up for about $80. The real expense is the bloody CO2 bottle, that little feller is a reconditioned unit from Porirua, a mere $220. Although it does come with 2 and a half litres of CO2. The regulator, tap and pipes weren't that cheap either.

"Kegarator"

So, here's the finished article,we have extracted 20 ltrs of Redwood Ale and 20 ltrs of Wheat beer from that tap so far. You will note I have improvised by using the floor as a drip tray.


If you look above the fridge you'll see a complicated nest of wires, an amplifier, an Airport express, an outdoor speaker (one of a pair) and a speaker switch. From my iPod, I can pipe music from here to the garage, outside on the deck or downstairs into the spa. Or any combination of the three. More on that another day. If you look closely in the foreground - there's a tub of Vaseline. Answers on a postcard....

Meanwhile, up North

It has got a bit nippy here in Wellington: they say it's the worst weather for 35 years. It is certainly unusual - I have never seen snow here in the 7 years since I arrived. Of course, much of the disruption it causes is simply because people are so unused to it.

Brooklyn in the snow

One effect of this is that it has not been possible for Joe and me to crack on with the task of scraping and sanding excess glue from the inside of the hull: I had to abandon my car this afternoon and Joe has no beer left, so it's too much to ask for him to go into his garage to face the desolate sight of an empty beer fridge.

In the meantime, Jock and his chums (see one of the earlier blogs) are making great progress towards the Magnetic North Pole.

Jock (centre, front) appears to have got his leg stuck in the ice.

Have a look at their website: it's exciting stuff: www.rowtothepole.com

Turnover Part Two

While Calico Joe was lounging under the boat, I was organising the hired help to do the important stuff: lifting the boat, carrying it out of the garage , turning it over and settling it onto the handmade cradles.



I was amazed at how light it was, even with half the moulds still in place: of course we need to fit decks, thwarts (seats) and foot stretchers, but even so, the challenge of the portages on the Great Journey down the Mighty Waikato might be a little more manageable than anticipated.

The moment when I saw the inside of the boat properly for the first time was quite special: I had steeled myself to seeing a mess of epoxy stalagmites, but it was surprisingly neat and the confluence of the planking on the inside of the boat was very beautiful.

We've kept the moulds in place to ensure the hull retains the correct shape until we are able to fit the remaining bracing components, though they do have the advantage of enabling us to have separate cabins in case we argue...

Just in passing, I note that everyone who came to the party urged us NOT to paint the hull. I'm just saying, that's all.

Photo Blog - Turnover part one.

This entry will be largely dominated by photo's of the big turnover, cos we took a lot.

The garage has never been so tidy.

Here she is, covered in epoxy. The garage is clean and for those who have been following the blog, you'll recognise Harry's bike in the foreground.







Below is a last look at her upside down. Note the classic wine glass shape of the transom.

Chris and I spent the penultimate evening cleaning the garage and unscrewing the molds from the Strongback. Oh, and we built some supports for when she was the right way up. The big day was a busy one as Chris prepared food and Harry and I cleaned the bbq. Oh, and I went to get some sponge and calico (I'll explain later). We had invited the masters rowers, and anyone who was paying attention to the blog.

"Hands on!"

As you can see, Chris is talking and although you can't see it, I am under the boat working. No surprises there. The moment of truth was captured on video, but I think Chris has it, so you'll have to wait.

Click on the link - its a time-lapse gif (two seconds a frame).

Keel Over Party - Saturday

Party Party.

I heard a story of an Australian kid who posted a party on t'internet and 1/2 the town turned up, him and his sister had a great time.

A similar story about a kid in the UK posting her party on Facebook resulting in 250,000 pounds worth of damage, nobody actually turned up, she just happens to live in Hackney.

Anyway, the outside is done, we have sealed it with epoxy, sanded it, sealed it again and there are no more excuses, we're going to have to turn it over and see how much of the very expensive glue there is on the inside of the hull.

Is is traditional to invite your friends to the turning over ceremony - if only to lend us a hand.

If you know where I live, you are welcome to come and help us turn the boat over on Saturday afternoon "slash" evening, I'll try to knock something up on the bbq and will have a keg of "ale" that I have brewed. It needs tasting.

If you don't know where I live - get in touch - via the blog (leave a message and I'll get in touch).

Saturday from 4 pm bring a bottle or a glass. I'll make some burgers to feed the workers.