Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
And some of us also know it as 'white bronze', which is a bit closer to the truth...

You can call it what you like, as long as it can be defined, ideally to a metallurgical specification.

Steph
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
A rather brief entry last night without explanations. The Pannier was set aside mainly because the next bits to be added are rather more fiddly than usual and my hands are all bu66ered up by too much gardening. There is a good reason for the hard labour which I won’t disclose just yet, but no, it does not involve any track laying!

So I reopened the David Andrews’ Castle and tackled some very fiddly additions! There really is no logic to my loco building

However, as I have several kits open it has occurred to me that I might tackle all the back heads at the same time. This idea came about while looking for pictures on line to assist the back head layout on the Castle. Along came a photo from Masterpiece Models’s Hall so I tagged it for when I start my Finney7 Hall. But why not build all the back heads at the same time? Castle, Hall, 47xx, 51xx and 74xx? No, I won’t mix up all the castings!

Well it’s time for a midday Christmas snack. This year it’s Roast Beef at dinner time for a change! No Turkey left overs for the next 2 weeks.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Very quiet since Christmas but some progress made on the Castle and now I am focussing on two Finney7 4000 gallon Collett tenders, one in brass for the 47xx, one in nickel silver for the Hall. I had forgotten that I had started punching rivets on the Hall after I bought the kit 2019 Guildex. Anyway, this post is just to prove that something is going on. No chance of returning to France for months in my opinion, so still making up kits here in Hampshire.

One extra observation, I do prefer NS to brass! And as most would agree, WM castings simply suck! Particularly the axle box and spring hangers.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
The trouble with white metal casting is anyone thinks they can produce them. I had some experience of casting on the machines at GEM in Rhos on Sea, but it wasn't until a friend of mine in Coventry (of engraved plate fame) passed my brass patterns on to a jewelry maker that I saw what whitemetal castings should look like. Miss-latch and shrinkage were minimal and detail was pin sharp. That was in the late 1990's.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Larry

I agree with you. Jim McGeown at Connoisseur makes his own castings and they are fine. I have been known to replace WM castings with brass from Warren Shephard and Laurie Griffiths. Should they have been in the kits box? Probably yes.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
If anyone is wondering about what I actually doing on various loco and coach kits, the truth is I have become completely undisciplined. I am picking up and putting down various kits with too much regularity. So it is best not to add a short description to the Hall, the pannier, the 47xx or various coaches.

So I am busy but not really capable of adding a lot to WT until I have something to show.

But there is progress!
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Latest news on visiting the railway room is likely to be no earlier than May 17, 2021. I added the year out of sheer cynicism. No wonder my mojo ain’t workin’ too well.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Sympathies.

I hate to think what state my boat is in. Not visited since July, no dehumidifier, hopefully we can get there this July, though recent news is not encouraging.

indeed, my planned trip to the Moto Guzzi factory centenary in September is still doubtful.

at least there’s plenty to do here

atb
Simon
 

Alan

Western Thunderer
Luckily having my boat on the Norfolk Broads meant I could use it last year and will be able to use and stay on, before the end of April. Possibly for day trips even earlier.
 

Giles

Western Thunderer
'Blessed is he that hath no boat' was a saying passed down in our family...... we sold our very elderly Princess 32 about three years ago, and although we miss it very much, life is much less stressful for me!
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Yes, Giles, there is also the saying that there are only two days when one enjoys owning a boat, the day you buy it and the day you sell it! I think that saying is rarely true, just an after thought. I certainly enjoyed owning a boat when living in Singapore but the risk of weekend pirates coming over from Indonesia to kidnap and ransom families was enough for us when the motor broke down late on a Sunday afternoon. It became “buy an auxiliary Seagull get you home engine” or sell. We sold.
 

3 LINK

Western Thunderer
This is an interesting conversation, as we have been in two minds as to should we buy a boat or not ?
We live a stones throw away from a lovely beach along the south coast, and for the last few years my son and I have enjoyed kayaking out to sea and doing a bit of fishing. There is a sunken Mulberry harbour that becomes exposed as the tide recedes about a mile from shore and this makes a great fishing platform for a few hours. The paddle back to shore is fine as the tide is with you, but getting out there can be a bit of a chore as I am not getting younger and my son always ends up waiting for tail end Charlie!

So hence the interest in an easier form of propulsion. But looking at the pros and cons I will probably not bother because at least 9 months of the year the boat will be stored at the local sailing club not doing a lot but incurring storage fees, etc, etc. So it’s interesting to hear from folk like yourselves who have been there and done that.

Martyn.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
I’ve had a boat, off and on, since being 13 or 14. A heron dinghy, a laser, a Merlin rocket, a Coronet DC21, which I owned from 1983 to 2008 (loved it, rebuilt it from bottom up, re-engined it, 36kts, but just a little too small for the family) and when we came back from India we bought a Fairline 36, ideal family boat, in which the kids rapidly developed almost no interest whatsoever.

Still it forms an ideal holiday home for MrsD & I, on which we’ve explored (with or without offspring) from London to Brighton via Vlissingen, Middelburg, Nieupoort & Boulogne, whilst it lived in Dover, and since moved to Brittany via Brighton, Cherbourg & Jersey.

We’ve been as far as Brest, and when we retire, hope to make it to Spain.

There is a school of thought that says boats are “a hole in the water that you try to fill with cash”, and there’s more than a grain of truth in that view, the twin 306 Volvos we currently have are not thrifty, but in absolute terms, we probably burn less gas than a family holiday anywhere by jet, it’s much less outlay than a holiday cottage, and cheaper to run, and when we’re bored of the view, we can move.

We enjoyed the perfect crossing from Brighton to Cherbourg, 90 miles of blissfully calm sea, and only one ship! We’ve seen gannets diving, porpoises, dolphins, seals, sunrises and sunsets, and harbours, towns & villages (and restaurants & bars!) we would never have visited unless we were boating. And we’ve had the odd rough crossing, and some miserable lousy holiday weather too.

Ratty was right. I hope I’m still afloat when I’m a hundred!

Martyn,

if you do buy something, consider how you’ll use it, will you take it on holiday (tow a trailer) or go on holiday in it, or just potter around locally? Definitely have a second outboard (the “Seagull” which Paul mentioned might be a bit passé now, but I have a choice of four if you really want one!) in case of problems with the main engine, and get your vhf licence and a radio if you don’t already have one. And if you want to chew the fat about boats, drop me a note!

cheers
Simon
 
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