G'Day from Redcliffe, Qld
G'day, My name is Mark, I currently live and work in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia.
Previous projects in wood;
Next project
A bit of a jump in skill set so expect to see me on the forums quite often. I am also on the Boat Design Forums so it is safe to say I am interested in wooden boats.
I am slowly becoming aware that a 14m boat is not the ideal beginners project so it looks like a dinghy will be the first. I am also aware that there are better boats to build than junks, it is purely an aesthetic thing for me and I promise not to complain when I don't win any races in it or have to row it into the wind.
I promise that even though I might not take your advice I will still thank you for it, this does not reflect the quality of your advice, more the poor judgement on my behalf.
If I had listened to the people who said you coudn't build a guitar out of an old door I woud never have built my first frettless bass guitar, then I would never have been given the money to buy my second on the promise I would never play the first one in the house again. It may not work out how I imagined it but it usually works out.
I am planing to sail around Australia when I retire, this is a good 20 years away. For this reason I am in no hurry to complete a boat. The longer it stays in the shed, the less marina fees I will pay. If I finish it too early it will taunt me everyday it goes unsailed.
I have a plot of land at the back of a shop so soon a shed will be erected and I will fill it with tools only as I need them and the boat will take shape miraculously with no problems.
My sailing experience comes down to 12 hours on a 12m yacht. I have joined a yacht club to get experience and haven't been put off yet, this is the one hobby my wife seems keen to join in on and she is sailing wih me at weekends. We are signing up for dinghy lessons as apparently this is the best way to learn about wind and sails.
I have considered buying the boat that I want to make however I don't want to buy it now and store it until I retire and I am certainly not experienced enough to take it out by myself . So a long slow build is my first choice, however if one comes on the market in 10 years time at a reasonable price I might consider it.
I am also considering getting the hull, deck and cabin kits professionally made and shipped to Australia, this is not ideal, if it saves time then I am not interested, if these areas are really difficult to make and I am likely to make costly mistakes then I will consider it more seriously.
The main drawback from what I can gather is the cost and supply of Mahogany, Teak and Wester Red Cedar. I would like to substitute for Australian natives and locally sourced timbers but I am lead to believe that this is not as easy as it sounds.
If I can get past this hurdle then I look forward to the majestic twin sails of a Junk saiing around Moreton Bay in the next 10 to 20 years.
Other than that I am always happy to be sidetracked into discussions of Bamboo as a building material, growing your own mahogany/red cedar ( I have already bought the seeds), Japanese puzzle boxes, those chairs from "National Treasure" which turn into step ladders, and several other wood, but not boat, related topics.
Well that is me, I look forward to getting to know some of the other members in the forums, if I say anything that offends you just ignore me or let me know, it probably wasn't done purposely.
Mark
