"Not all those who wander are lost."

J R R Tolkien

HOME...................................................EMAIL: joel.delorme@btopenworld.com............................................. MY WEBSITE

7 October 2012

New endings, new beginnings...

Time passes quickly & things change. My wife is having her 3rd chemo-therapy session this Thursday. Tests have shown the cancer is reducing, and even so, surgery is likely in a few weeks.

I have changed my blog a bit, added some colour to it, as it seemed a bit drab and lacking in cheerfulness. It's probably me though, and the blog only reflected my own recent lack of cheerfulness...

For years, my wife and I have wanted to live on the water. Circumstances,children and the idea that we were young with plenty of time in front of us, meant that it just didn't happen. Our preference would  be a dutch barge, but that's out of reach. So we have decided to build ourselves a boat ASAP. It's going to be a simple river boat, made in the Square Boat Fashion, out of marine ply, epoxy and very simple construction.

It's going to be  a cross between George Buelher's River Walker and this sternwheeler.



It will have the hull of the stern wheeler, with the superstructures being  a cross with  RiverWalker's cabin and wheelhouse. I think I'll end up having the stern wheel too! If you're going to be seen as an excentric, you might just as well go the whole hog: not many sternwheelers to be seen on the Norfolk Broads!

And, as George Buelhers puts it, she can offer a lot of pleasure:  ...as long as you don't get carried away and start building her like she was some sort of classic racing yacht. She ain't. She's a plywood box.

Indeed, she is a plywood box, I won't get carried away , I just want her built quickly!



8 comments:

  1. Go for it! (Said a prayer for you both.)

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  2. Looks like a great boat. I pray for your wife's complete and speedy recovery.

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  3. Gorges, Phillip. Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers. Much appreciated.
    I think it will be a great live-on-board boat. I am going to build her a bit larger than those plans and I intend to make it as self sufficient as possible.

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  4. Joel, it is great to see you both have dreams still, and they might as well keep your wife going! My thoughts - and drui´s, too- are with you, and we look forward to see the ship built.

    If you need any help we can give, do not hesitate to contact us.

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    1. Thank you Markus. Yes, we still have dreams and this time we are going to follow it, as well we can.

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  5. never too old to dream eh? or better yet go after it...
    cheers mate. ~rico and beth

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    Replies
    1. No indeed never too old. Going after probably will be hard work, but it's worth it!

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  6. First of all, I want to wish your wife a speedy recovery.

    Hi Joel. I had to check out that boat project of yours. I love it! Huge capacity, shallow draft, and simple build. What's not to like? Keep us posted on the progress. A big old wood cookstove would not be out of place on one of those.

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