Still Here!

Wow! I can’t believe it’s over two months since I posted here and that during that time I’ve passed the 1000 day mark. It’s incredible how fast the time has gone and I apologise for my absence. I’m itching to tell you all what I’ve been up to but I need to hold back for just a little while yet. Suffice it to say that I haven’t been idle and although work on ‘Gleda’ stopped dead, work on ‘The Gleda Project’ didn’t. In fact I’ve made some real progress that has bought my target closer. Sorry to be vague but I’m sure that you all appreciate my reasons.

I’ve so immersed myself in other things that I’ve not had time to keep in touch with my many Wharram friends around the world, again I apologise, I’ve taken steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

It was particularly encouraging to hear from Beat on Aluna and Dave on Dragon from Hawai and Huahine, Society Islands respectively. I can’t tell you how much of a boost it is to hear from guys that built T38’s from scratch and are now out there doing it. Any niggly doubts about what’s possible are well and truly blown away…. Thanks guys, fair winds.

Also great to see and hear from other T38 builders. Adrian Hall is making a great start and Martin Hivon has got the end in sight. Warren Matthews’ blog has been particularly interesting not least because of the disaster that befell Creed’s T38 and the subsequent discovery of serious defects in his own T38. I’ve been silent for many months since the original firestorm around Creed’s refusal to accept delivery from Raoul Bianchetti but I would encourage anyone who has any interest to head over to Warrens blog and read the whole story. It should act as a dire warning to anyone considering a ‘professional build’ to restrict themselves to those reputable builders out there with a good track record and a real understanding of Wharram boats.  I pity anyone out on the water relying on a vessel from RB’s yard. If these two T38’s are anything to go by God knows what defects are hidden away on other boats he’s produced. Warren and Creed are switched on, knowledgeable guys which just serves to illustrate what a class act Mr Bianchetti must be as they still got fleeced. History shows though that even the best con men get caught eventually, I hope that justice catches up with this particularly nasty piece of work soon.

Anyway I fought through the cobwebs and ventured into the barn today to re-acquaint myself with a sorely neglected Tiki 38. I’m a ways off making any real progress with the build yet but I’ve set myself the task of getting everything ready to roll when I can. The place is a tip and desperately in need of a mega clear out and re-organise, so that’s what I started today. My epoxy tent was in a sorry state due to the ravages of recent strong winds so I emptied it out and started re-building it, this time with a solid timber wall on the most exposed side. I spent a good 4 hours on this and will continue as and when I can.

Thanks again for your patience, please keep visiting. I promise more regular updates and some exciting news soon.  Cheers