DC-3 Fundraising Flight, Christchurch, 10:30am, Sunday, 26th-July-09

Awesome scenic flight in a Classic Aircraft. Departs Christchurch Airport overflying Christchurch City - Lyttelton Harbour - Sumner Beach - New Brighton Beach - Waimakiriri River Mouth - Christchurch Airport. Plenty of opportunities to visit the flight-deck and take photos.

$120 Adult, $ 60 Child 12 years and under.

Proceeds to help our son Patrick 'Mad Dog' Haybittle, NZ's top 11 year old Optimist Sailor on his voyage with the NZ Development Team to the Noumea Optimist Nationals in November. Plenty of opportunities to visit the flight-deck and take photos. The aircraft has modern seating and "viewmaster" windows, and the scenery is astonishing. The flight takes you over the partly submerged giant volcanic cone of Banks Peninsula, around over the Pacific Ocean and over the Canterbury plains in full view of the snow clad Southern Alps ( the aircraft has a heated cabin) The Waimakariri is one of the best examples of a braided shingle river anywhere in the world and its full beauty cannot be seen from ground level.

(This is the reason I bought a jet-rib. So I can follow our kids out sailing on the Harbour)

PM us or call 0800 406 447
021 112 9556

Cheers
Brian and Kelly

http://www.maddogsailing.com/Mad_Dog_Sailing/DC-3_Flight.html
http://www.southerndc3.co.nz/home

Mad Dog Sailing....

Hi Guys.

Still haven't been building much as have been busy building fundraising web site for my son. Check out www.maddogsailing.com 

Patrick will be representing NZ at his first international regatta. He is a development squad of 10-12 youg sailors aged 11-12 years old. They are travelling to Noumea to race in National Optimist Nationals in November. He is really looking forward to it. Please feel free to help out. You go in the draw to win a cool gear bag every month.

Cheers

Brian

Sailors and Racers

The main reason I haven't been Pathfinder building is because we have been sailing! I also put my hand up to help coach sailing this year. It has been awesome taking 11 young sailors to the Opti Nationals at Worser Bay.

We have had a great couple of summers. When I started building this boat one of the ideas was to teach my family to sail in the Pathfinder. I had the good fortune instead to take my son to 'Have a go day' at Kiwi Sailing School. This rapidly escalated into a week long learn to sail course and membership at the Waimakariri Sailing club. On joining the club we were given the Canterbury Yachting Handbook which had all the sailing dates for the 2007-08 season. At the end was the Optimist Nationals. A few inquiries later it was obvious that it would be possible for my son to enter the beginner 'Green Fleet'. So after the months of training at the Naval Point Club he enters and WIN's out of the fleet of 40. He is a great sailor who is prepared to put in the training.

It was enough motivation for me to buy a Finn so I could race too. Even my wife wanted to rekindle her youth so she got a Europe.

So this season it was his sister's turn. She joined Learn to Sail and very quickly was involved in a Learn to Race program too. It wasn't long before she was doing well. She won the South Island 'Green Fleet' in a fleet of 40.

Both kids went to the 2009 Optimist Nationals and did extremely well. There were 189 in the open fleet and about 60 in the Green Fleet. Both won their age groups. Patrick top 11 year old and beat all the NZ 12 year olds and Carmen was top 9 year old too. 

So the moral of the story. I think they will be teaching me to sail. As you can see my Finn Sailing at my National's didn't go quite so well. It was still a ton of fun and the competition was great. Spend a lot of time up side down in the 25-30 knot gusts. I was spinning out just like a P class and a few death rolls to windward too.

Carmen and Kelly at the beginning of the season. Europe and Opti
Patrick keeping the bow up...

Finn Nat's 2009. A lot of boat's ahead of me after capsizing

10 square metres of sail and no keel or reefing points. I'm 6'2" tall!  

Oop's. Upside down again. It was a blustery 17-25 kt SW day in Lyttelton. 

Last pics from April 2008...

These are photos taken last April. So time to clear up garage, get some room on the bench and get back into it!!! Tomorrow aye!

Looking from transom forward.
A skeloton.... Just needs skin now
Other stringers added in one night. Test MDF clamped to lower stringers to look at twist in bow.
Top Rail Clamped and screwed

More pics from April 2008

Top Stringer
Floor board template
Floor board template
Rear half frames
Lots of filleting

More pics from August '07

Transom held in position


Adding filler
Sawing Frame two slot

Is it really that long ago I worked on the boat!

Pictures explain the actions we were doing. Three generations working on it at one stage.

Late update from August 2007

OOps

Bit slack updating pics. Anyway here are a few of finally putting centrecase and centre frames in place. Dad and wife on deck to help.

Finally an update.

These photos were taken in November. My dad had come to help and pics taken on his Camera. I have only just recieved them. Here is the Centreboard going together. 27 kgs of lead bolted with stainless rod. Will glass whole assembly latter.

Bottom panel

Pete came around for a nosey and was soon put to work marking and cutting out the bottom panel. Finaly getting some shape. Have also put some tissue glass on the bottom half of the centre board to protect the wood when we take a mould for the jelly tip.

Srarfed 13mm sheet for bottom panel

Tucked into the 13mm panel using power plane and then belt sander. Used an 8:1 scarf. Wetted out joints with raw epoxy for about 5 minutes so some epoxy could soak into end grain and then applied thickened epoxy. I used a bowed bit of Kahikatea plus some epoxy to apply even pressue to the join.

Centreboard Tip

Decided to glue and shape a foam tip the centreboard and then cover in tissue glass. Then I will cover the whole board in tissue glass so I can take a mould for the lead keel

Little jobs

Coated all the frames with epoxy before assembly. Also put 1 layer of glass on the transom. I made a guide to check the airfoil shape on the centreboard. It has come out pretty cool. Just a bit of filling and sanding to be done. Then I will glass and take a mould for the lead.