It would have been nice to refit Gwalch with all new fittings. Our budget, however, doesn't run to new Harken blocks etc. so we are largely making do with what we've got. Keith and I did a fair bit of scouting around the other boats in the fleet to try to ensure we fitted the bits in the right ... read more
We had many discussions, mostly around the bar, about the final colour of the hull. Dark colours are not so good with sunlight (if we ever get any) and we wanted to be different from the many white-hulled COD's. Reds and blues are also well represented so we opted for Cream from the International ... read more
If you spend any time comparing different COD's as I do (sad, I agree!) one of the most obvious differences is in the top Rubbing Strip which runs from stem to stern at deck level. Originally, boats such as Kandahar and Gwalch had sort of twin Rubbing Strips each side of the top plank but over ... read more
So that we could get better access, the deck panels were removed (we'd only used "slave" steel screws). These panels were given a coat of primer, inside and out. At this stage, Gig Jackson brought his years of professional experience to the project together with his old clothes and a variety of ... read more
We had decided to fit the deck panels provisionally before we painted the inside of the boat. We had worked out that 4 sheets of Marine Ply would be needed and had worked out how we would cut them out to fit, rather like a large jigsaw. The plywood was bought from Huws Gray in Mochdre and very ... read more
Another trip to our friendly woodyard in Trefnant and we had the two Carlins, which are the beams which run down each side of the cockpit to support the side decks. They are jointed into the deckbeams at the front and rear of the cockpit, and when fitted should have a nice sweeping curve to ... read more
Work had stopped on the boat because the roof of the tent had blown off with the gales at New Year. Everything was covered with tarpaulins so it was a matter of waiting for the new roof panel to be made. We had ordered the new roof from Brooke's Tarpaulins in Penmaenmawr and they were really ... read more
Since we put the tent up, the big question has always been "How long will it last?". On a nice calm day we don't even think about it --- but when the wind blows, being inside feels like being at sea in a gale, head-to-wind with everything flapping! We've put in extra guy ropes, glued patches on, ... read more
All the old deck beams, bar one, needed renewing. A visit to our friendly woodyard in Trefnant had procured the necessary timber for them. Going round the yard pulling random pieces of timber worked out cheaper because some were a bit bent but still suitable for our purpose. Class rules dictate ... read more
It was time to fit the Rubbing Strips and Top Planks that we had prepared earlier. Handling was the dangerous bit. Having had one disaster through trying to bend one plank too far, Keith and I were now far more careful handling these 21ft planks! The Rubbing Strips were fairly easy as they were ... read more
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