Periwinkle the Puffin

[Rupert]

The job I've been putting off - rebuilding Pip's boat. I had pretty much decided she was too rotton to bother with, but seeing what Nessa has taken on, and how posessive my daughter is, I decided to save her.

[jpa_wfsc]

Oh well done! WSC would not be the same without P!

j./

[PeterV]

Did you know there used to be Open meetings for Puffins? I remember one at Thorpe Bay was called off because of very high winds. On their way back along the Southend Arterial Road several of the Puffiners found the underpass at the Chelmsford turn off was flooded so they took their Puffins off the roof and sailed them there. The police came along and took a dim view of it!

[alan williams]

Ah those Southend Police the Hornet Fleet had many a run in with them. Do you remember the drag racing along the prom Dave?
Cheers Al

[Michael Brigg]

Rupert!

Clearly a man dedicated to the task with an equally committed family.

Can I see carpeted floor and a Skirting board in that picture?? Surely not the living room!! This must be heaven on earth

[Rupert]

I carpeted the garage for a family get together last year, and never got around to taking it up...It is now covered in stripped paint, so I may regret that!
There appear to have been thousands of Puffins built. In fact, it qualifies for David H's quest for imploding classes!
I suspect they all rotted where the hundreds of nails hold the plastic sides on. Any ideas how to fit it back on without the nails, anyone? Apart from duck tape, which might not have the longevity! What I need is a sort of super double sided tape that lasts for ever and sticks anything!

[Michael Brigg]

So you are in the Garage. How disappointing.

If you find the answer fixing your decks you will be able to pass it on to that chap on the firefly site who wants to put a rondar plastic deck on a wooden hull.

[Rupert]

The plastic sides are collapsable polythene stuff, so not quite the same!

[Rupert]

Well, the decks are on and planed to size, and the new and mast gate are epoxyed in. Fingers crossed that the epoxy goes off in the chilly weather again...

[jpa_wfsc]

This is a long, cold trail! But the man who invented the Lomax sports car (a space frame / alloy panelled way to re-use a 2CV to make a 3-wheeler a bit like a vintage Morgan) - and he used a yellow, thick double-sided tape to stick the panels on. He also used this to make trailers - and a company I used to work for bought one of those trailers and used it for many years with no trouble.

Cant remember his name! But his factory was in Cam, near Stroud.

The trail is colder because I can not remember the name of the tape - but it was very good and was made by 3M. It was a pressure-sensitive adhesive and coped with wet, big temperature range, vibration, - should do the trick.

Good Luck!

[Rupert]

I've found various tapes on the internet (no, not featuring Paris Hilton) but I've not figured out how I would get the PVC on without it sticking in the wrong place as I try and lower it down. I'm sure lateral thinking will sort it once I start.

[jpa_wfsc]

Soapy water..

You coat one surface (has to be non-porous) with soapy water. Lower the other onto it, then squeeegy the soapy water out. At least - that's how we used to laminate lexan (a poly-carbonate film) onto aluminium using a double-sided tape.

Also, until you press hard, the pressure sensitive tapes do not bond.

Practice first on something else!

[Rupert]

While my varnish is failing to dry, I took the folding bit outside and took a good look at it. I think it is dead, as the PVC is worn through and getting brittle. I think I might take the oppotunity of trying a somewhat different construction of topsides while I'm about it, to make the boat nicer to sail and row, and possibly, dare I say it, prettier! On the other hand, she will no longer be an original Puffin if I do that. I'm torn.

[davidh]

Alan W.

was not me (on the prom at 'sarfend') nor did I take part in the lampost decorating thing. It was a big boy that did it, he then ran away. Come to think of it.... could that have been you??

I'm innocent and have the record to prove it! (even if they still won't let me back in the posh bar at 'throp' bay!!

D

[JimC]

I'm torn.

So's the PVC [gdr]