https://wiki.tjhowse.com/ 2026-04-18T10:38:04+00:00 https://wiki.tjhowse.com/ https://wiki.tjhowse.com/_media/wiki:logo.png text/html 2024-02-12T04:41:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:1_new_boat Sailing! I have fond memories of boating as a kid. We owned a centre-console aluminium dinghy, and we went out fishing with friends of the family regularly. We went on trips on bigger boats out to Fitzroy Lagoon, or other spots on the Great Barrier Reef. We rode the car ferry over to text/html 2024-01-12T00:05:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:2_spending Financial stuff The “Bring Out Another Thousand” acronym is a well worn warning about the hidden costs of owning a boat. There's always something to improve or fix, so it's easy to spend more than you expect or intend. Our caper cat was in good nick when we bought it, but there were a few things that needed to be done before we could take her out. text/html 2024-02-12T04:53:22+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:3_first_outing Our First Outing Soon after picking up the boat I enlisted Michelle's help in “stepping” (standing upright) the mast onto the boat on dry land for testing and practice. Neither of us fancied working out how to do this at a boat ramp with an audience. The mast has a pointy bit on the bottom that rests in a cupped divot on the middle lateral aluminium bar. The mast is held in place by three stainless steel wire text/html 2024-02-01T03:45:44+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:4_second_outing Getting the hang of this thing In addition to fixing¹ the leak in the left pontoon there were some other things I wanted to sort out before going sailing again. The leading edge (luff) of the jib was loose. Loose sails make you sail bad so I added a couple of ties to the top and bottom to hold it taut along the stainless wire. The mast has a float at the top to prevent the boat flipping completely upside down when you capsize. It got bonked on the ground when we dropped the mast earlier, so I p… text/html 2024-01-19T06:02:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:5_beach_picnic Picnic time We've sailed past the Colmslie Beach Reserve a few times now, and our boat is specifically designed to be sailed up onto a beach, so we decided our next trip would involve a beach picnic. We packed an esky with some vegemite and peanut butter sandwiches, apples, a thermos of ice coffee, a blender bottle of local soylent analogue, and museli bars then buried it all in text/html 2024-01-13T13:21:36+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:6_hinged_mast_step Boat work philosophy My initial work on the boat was fixing things that prevented us sailing. The exclusive goal was to enable sailing. An unintended side effect of this is that the work doesn't look very nice. It's functional, but it's obviously not the work of a professional. Initially this didn't bother me too much but then I made a classic error: I started thinking about it. text/html 2024-02-01T04:04:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:7_moreton_bay Moreton Bay We live in Brisbane, which is right next to Moreton Bay, on the eastern-most part of Australia. It's a part of the Pacific Ocean, or the Coral Sea if you're a tiresome pedant stickler for accuracy. The bay is protected by islands and is known to sailing dorks as a good place to sail. It's where Michelle and I did our keelboat lessons, out of the Manly Boat Harbour. text/html 2024-01-28T01:15:49+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:8_more_river Brisbane River We went for another couple of sails on the Brisbane river from the Colmslie recreation reserve. 2024-01-14 Mum and Dad We've managed to avoid any serious sailing mishaps, growing our confidence in our boat and our abilities. I invited my parents to come out with us on a day with some gentle wind. At the ramp I talked my Dad through helping me raise the mast. With him, Alex and Sam onboard we headed upriver a short way and checked out text/html 2025-02-11T07:26:39+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:9_wivenhoe Winter (??) Sailing It's starting to get a bit cooler here in Brisbane. By which I mean it gets below 20°C at night. Spare us your scorn, we know we deserve it. 2024-05-06 The river [A screenshot of a map showing our sailing path down the river and back again.] Another trip out onto the Brisbane river from the Colmslie recreation reserve. Not much to report on this one. We had a bit of trouble launching due to dock congestion, but we got out and had a good time. I lectured the kids on the lo… text/html 2024-09-09T04:03:44+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:10_river Spring 2024 Winter's over! Sailing season is here again! We had a brief attack of 35°C weather, then it dropped by 10°C, then it warmed up a bit again. 2024-09-01 Father's day On Australian father's day I invited my Dad out on the river with the boys and me. This time I decided to take us upriver to check out Newstead. We'd be sailing past text/html 2025-02-07T05:29:11+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.tjhowse.com/projects:sailing:blog:11_river Summer 2024-2025 In a gap between two surgeries we rushed out for a quick afternoon sail. 2025-02-01 [A photo of Sam on the trampoline of the boat at home] This was our first outing with the new halyards and the gopro. The forecast was for 10-13 knots. It was gusting to about 18-20 when we got there, with a light drizzle. We got out into the water without too much hassle. Michelle narrowly avoided throwing the car keys into the river. I succeeded in throwing my sunglasses into the river, but…