Notopala Sublineata an Interesting tail

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Melanie Ray
6 years ago
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Months later Dave: Let s get started. Chris: on what?

1 Notopala Sublineata an Interesting tail Most of you know the early part of the story. Fancy houseboat with mates. Top deck late at night. Dave and I with a bottle of Jamieson s stolen from Tony: Dave: Chris, we should build a raft and float down the Murray Chris: Yeah. Right. (and promptly forgot the event). Months later Dave: Let s get started. Chris: on what? Oh OK I came up with 2 alternatives Six 44 gallon drums with some planks lashed across, or PVC pipe and glue from Bunnings, Albury, with lots of polystyrene offcuts from an Albury packing house. Dave: It might take 2 years to drift down. Chris: I ll make time. Dave: You have some irritating habits. I d strangle you in less than 2 months. Chris: OK, I ll bring my canoe paddle. One day to get the materials and build the boat. Then down the river. Dave: It s 1987 km Chris: Oh. Maybe a Hobie Mirage drive thing, or one of those springy hydrofoil gizmos where we both have to jump vigorously all the way down the river or we ll sink. I relegated the whole idea to a suitable place, but Dave got on with boat design. After much deliberation he came up with wait for it a rectangle!! Nice work Dave! KISS. Months pass Emy: Chris, let s go to Adelaide. The show will be on in September. We can see Ray s Carnie mates, and Dave and Sue. Dave cornered me in a café and showed me his rectangle. Chris: Oh OK. Let s build that, put a little outboard on it, and Robert s our relative, and we can get the thing over. Dave: Oh no Chris. We must be environmentally sensitive. Chris: OK. Batteries and a little electric outboard, plus a detailed list of places with power sockets.

Dave: Insufficient degree of difficulty. Let s use solar panels.

standing on our heads and juggling chainsaws.

For tradition s sake we ll have to make it a paddle-wheeler.

Dave: Not really, if we build 2 side-wheels, and drive them with washing

We went to Bunnings (several actually, in South Australia not Albury),

glue and got to work on the rectangular egg crate.

enchanting (by comparison with the alternative focus of attention).

2 Dave: Insufficient degree of difficulty. Let s use solar panels. Chris: and connect them to our electric outboard but do the whole trip standing on our heads and juggling chainsaws. Dave: Well, maybe, but it s the Murray. For tradition s sake we ll have to make it a paddle-wheeler. Chris: What, with a huge wheel out the back. That ll take a lot of power! Dave: Not really, if we build 2 side-wheels, and drive them with washing machine motors Chris: Eeeeeaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!&*! September We went to Bunnings (several actually, in South Australia not Albury), bought lots of cheap ply (meant for concrete formwork) and a staple gun and glue and got to work on the rectangular egg crate. At Dave and Sue s Finniss bush block where little tweety birds become quite enchanting (by comparison with the alternative focus of attention). Nice bookshelf Dave. Charmingly irregular. Why is it curved like that? And why are the corners so complicated? Degree of difficulty, Chris. Dave spent a couple of months thinking up more complications. Then, in December 2017

Making and painting paddles Painting the hull and preparing it for an attempted drop on Chris

immersed himself in figuring out how to operate and control those damned complicated

He also decided that after travelling down the Murray on this thing, we should arrive at

trailer which Sue had purpose-built, floating down the river and making the grand entry at

3 Making and painting paddles Painting the hull and preparing it for an attempted drop on Chris toes. Then Dave and Sue s friend Aid from WA helped build paddle wheel covers, while Dave immersed himself in figuring out how to operate and control those damned complicated new-fangled millionpole washing machine motors. Some of you will be excited by the next photo. He also decided that after travelling down the Murray on this thing, we should arrive at Goolwa in time for the biennial Wooden Boat Festival in April. And it was already Christmas. Riiiiiiiiggght. At the end of March I went back south for final touches, sea trials, mounting the thing on the trailer which Sue had purpose-built, floating down the river and making the grand entry at Goolwa. When I arrived I got an inkling of what final touches means, and the first engine was still on the test bench, occasionally twitching feebly and uncontrollably. I finished up the same way.

Need to get the hull on the trailer and down to the insurance guy at

What got us over the line was the fact that Dave based his hull shape on

We ll say it s a Bryan Lowe design. Yep, it s a rectangle.

where you have Clayton s sea trials. Will it float?

4 Chris doing stuff while Dave prays. For the boat show we need $10 million liability cover. Need to get the hull on the trailer and down to the insurance guy at Goolwa. Dave, did you give the trailer manufacturer the right dimensions? We got it down the hill. The insurance guys had a good laugh, but mostly with us, not at us. What got us over the line was the fact that Dave based his hull shape on something Bryan Lowe did. The insurance guys grabbed onto that. We ll say it s a Bryan Lowe design. Yep, it s a rectangle. Back up the hill Lots more to do, and we still did not have the motors working. But a few days later we loaded it up again and headed for Clayton s bay where you have Clayton s sea trials. Will it float? Yes Rigorous trial program Takes a few hours to fit the paddle wheels paddle wheels, sponsons (great word. It means kind of side-deck thingys) motors, solar panels etc. I only have video of this (no stills - but the support crew took some) and am not yet set up to make the links. But it all worked IT ALL WORKED! apart from a couple of problems with reversing. Minor really, though potentially deadly like if we could not back away from a waterfall.

Sea Trial Crew: Chris, Dave, Di, Ann and Neil

lend a hand A few more hectic days including

to Wombat Rest, for rebuild and launch tomorrow.

5 Sea Trial Crew: Chris, Dave, Di, Ann and Neil Back up the hill so the Fixit Crew could do its thing. And Amy from far Western climes came o er to lend a hand A few more hectic days including shopping trips for Chris so Dave could focus on the motors. Back on the trailer (another few hours), and off to Wombat Rest, for rebuild and launch tomorrow. It all still works! On a reasonable day we can go all day at about 5 km/h and put enough in the battery for some hours at night. Yeah!

6 The paddles go round at Wood s Flat Dry and snug on a rainy evening Followed by lagoon sunrise And Yuloh practice Dress uniform day Now about that festival. Break it down again. Put it on the trailer again. Drive to Goolwa in a big storm. Take everything apart and dry our all the gear from the hatches where the rain got in (that s all of the hatches) Tart up the livery with snail theme by Carolina and golden ratio spiral

7 Back on the trailer. Down to the water. Back off the trailer. Few hours of assembly... and we re off to the boat festival supervised by the Financial Constraints Officer Photos from a couple of the sail-past parades. Best one was the paddle-wheelers parade. The Oscar W and 2 other giant and venerable vessels and Notopala second shot curtesy of Paddle Boat News Capn Chris All at Sea (well, not quite) And, after 2 beautiful days, we sail away next morning in the rain. Now, about that paperwork!

8 Done until we float down the river next summer

The Micro Camper Cruiser by Ken Simpson

9/10/2016 The Micro Camper Cruiser by Ken Simpson The following is a record of the design, build and use of the newest ship in my portfolio, the MICRO CAMPER CRUISER. Although similar to the larger sister