09/23/2008

(Second time I write this post... Note to self: Copy and paste post text as the site times out before I can finish the post.)

When we first bought the boat I wrote a worklist to get an overview of everything we had to do and the list was long and daunting. We had little overview and no intention of working down a list at all. A long time and a lot of work later I have written a new list that I think better represent reality and I have decided to keep this list confidential as it's too depressing and soo different from the original list that it only proves how lost we were in the beginning. But the new list has less critical items on it and realy do give a good picture of the way ahead and how we will get from here to May 2010 and departure.

Arriving as this new stage of confidence is a result of a summer of work and a great vacation sailing in Croatia with friends. We have lifted the 1 tonne engine to paint the mounts and bilges, the complete heating system has been cleaned up, the complete electical system has been redesigned and most of it replaced and areas of the outside shell have been replainted. All these taskes where stumling blocks and lead on to many smaller taskes with more visible results. The plan is to get to a stage where we can move onboard for periodes this winter to testdrive and with the current momentum this looks possible. Next summer the focus should move from living arrangements and boat systems to safety and sailing arrangements. We will be ready in time!

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Superb
06/09/2008

Today a substantial piece of kit arrived after having been outsourced for some skilled labour. Late last summer I converted the pcv tubing mock-up of an equipment gantry to spot welded stainless steel pipe and it handed the 100kg over to the local marina for some proper welding work and polishing. I should have be capable of doing this myself, but the marina has a better welding machine and since the gantry needs to hold a significant weight in the worst possible weather I decided to pay the cost. But now it's arrived and bolted to the hull. See the shiny steel thing on the back of the boat!?!

Now I'll go ahead and make bolt-on davits for the dingy, mounting poles for the windmills, brackets for the solar panels, hooks for the hamock, foundation for the satellite phone, rig for the tv dish and somewhere to hang the solar shower. Did I mention the weight this thing have the hold?...

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06/02/2008

We are finally out of the paper maze that is yacht registration and can now sail away at any time if we so wish. Last week we had a visiting surveyor from the Isle of Man to measure our boat for tonnage, which was the remaining missing step in the registration process, and today I received the registration papers by email.

A lot has happened since last time. Going back from today I connected the old depth sounder to the new instrument with success, something that caused me a sleepless ,night the previous day. Concerning last week I spent some time digitally modelling the hull and used some fancy software to figure out the displacement of the boat, also giving me the weight, at about 22 tonnes. The local crane can only take 20 tonnes and it's a blessing that the I got the echo sounder to work so we don't absolutely have to take the boat out to get a new one in.

The cockpit is covered over the open engine room and today I received a chainblock from ebay that I can use to lift the engine. I'm going to strip as much of the engine off as possible to clean and repaint, the same job will apply to the bilges later on.

And the last bit of progress is a complete set of five new white radiators for the heating system. The heater itself has been lifted out of it's corner ready for service and once that is done the heating system should be ready for years of keeping us nice and toasty in the cold Norwegian winters.

Summer is here and motivation is on top. Lets see how far we can get before it gets dark again. The target is sailing ready for the end of the season, but that may be a little too optimistic. Besides we are going to Croatia for a week to sail with friends and we'll be the only 'competent' sailors. Practice makes perfect.

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05/13/2008

I, the wife's captain, have taken on the task of revarnishing the outside wood. I tackled the tiller last week and after successful sanding and a first layer of varnish I messed up the entire project by overloading the second coat. It lead to bubbles and drips and I can only restart it all from scratch.

I have now learn the RIGHT procedure though not applied it yet and will share it with you. It is LONG and is not for the faint-hearted but it should mean we will be required to ONLY apply 2 coats of varnish every year for the next 10 years:):

1) Sand old layers down (paper 80) until bare wood
2) Sand (120) then (240)
3) Clean up dark spots on wood, presence of root, with Oxalic Acid
4) Remove dust with a wet sponge
5) Use teinted water if required ''Clear Oak''
6) Sand (240)
7) Remove dust
8) Apply first layer of Polyurethane bi-composant varnish
9) Sand (400)
10) Apply 2 layers of Polyurethane bi-composant varnish
11) sand (400)
12) Apply 2 layers of Polyurethane bi-composant varnish
13) sand (400)
14) Apply 2 layers of Polyurethane bi-composant varnish
15) sand (400)
16)Apply 2 layers of Polyurethane bi-composant varnish

Finished. Your boat is ready for 10 years of long lasting beautiful shine!!!!

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04/24/2008

Pressure is now on! Having come out of the winter with little to nothing done when the plan was for some significant progress, we have decided to take most of our vacation this summer on the boat. I finished an intense part of my work in mid april only to come out in the first of this years summer weather with a week holiday. Couln't be better.

Over the winter months we have purchased some components and this week I'm getting to it. The paint has come out and a new stereo is installed. Late last year I nested up a stainless steel gantry for the aft of the boat and last week my order for wind turbines arrived. Shocking that I can pay less for two in the US then one would cost here in Europe!

Having decided that we need to get on with business. The plan is to get the boat ready to sail this summer with the first trip sometime in August. Out of the lock and up the river to the first island:BORKUM, is enough. It'll take us the weekend due to tide planning. This target will require some input over the summer, as a lot of the work so far and still ongoing is house improvements and not sailing stuff.

So I took the sails outside yesterday to take a look. Most of them are in good shape and I don't think we will have a problem there. Even the ropes looks grotty but fine. My main concern is the engine as I'm no expert and it's not a small machine. I have installed a new extra diesel filter and changed the oil. My engine book by my boat maintenance guru states: 'CLEANLINESSis next to godliness' and I have therefore done my best towards the wellbeing of our engine.

On the way to get the boat sail ready there are two huge budget posts that need to be spent : navigation electronics and safety equipment. As I'm a sucker for quality I rarely buy just good enough and normally get closer to the top range or when I can be convinced more expensive is just for show. But to sail this summer we'll have to get started and I have ordered some of the electronics and will get some safety stuff later.
Problem is that electronics gets cheaper and better with time and safety gear have to be regularly checked and maintained even if it's not in use so better leave it as late as possible.
The wind instrument is going in this week and a new speedlog and echo sounder will be installed when the boat goes out of the water. Top range lifejackets and harnesses and we should be ready for coastal sailing.

Long text this, but as you may understand we are getting stresssed about progress and also very much looking forward to the big day where we can set of and stay away for some time. Wish us luck!

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03/18/2008, Weener, Germany

Let me start saying that I dread having to choose a name for our first child. At least a boat you can rename should you want to. Anyway...

The boat was named "Dwarsloper" from the previous owner, which is the name of a beach crab and means 'walk diagonally' (gå på tvers). The name is suitable for a big heavy cruising yacht, but not really reflecting anything about what we want our yacht to be. And "Dwarsloper" is local German dialect and makes me think of dwarfs for some reason... We need a name with a better sound and meaning.

I started the process with a suggestion from Norse mythology using the name of the snake that reaches all the way round the globe drawing parallels to a grand sea creature and the circumnavigation of the globe. As far as I could find at that time this mythological creature has no name other then the Midgaards wyrm. I later found that the wyrm is named Jormungand, one of Loki's three children and a completely unsuitable name for the boat.

One of Estelle's first suggestions was that of the boy, Atreyu, from the "Never Ending Story", a fantasy story that rests comfortably on the childhood memory of most of our generation. I had to reject this as Atreyu is a buy and we walked past a yacht with this name during our search for a boat to buy.

Another natural choice for the boat would be Moby Dick as it's a big heavy white boat and Moby Dick is a big heavy white ocean creature (whale). But there is already one Moby Dick in the marina where we stay and it's a far to cheesy name regardless.

The next suggestion was that of the little plump Hawaiian girl, "Lilo" with her unruly alien friend Stitch as the dingy. The following decoration with big turquoise blue flowers on the side of the hull and the blue Stitch galleon figure at the front was too funny to ignore, and this stayed the choice for some time until we decided the joke was getting a old very fast (no offence to Disney).

Then we decided that "Firefly" after the SF series with that name would be a nice name. The space ship in the series travel free through space surviving on various jobs and experiences as life brings. The idea is pleasant and the font for the logo is nice, but for some strange reason we got very bored of this name suggestion very quickly...

Circumstances forced us to make a decision as we had run out of time to apply for insurance with the new name. The previous owners insurance was running out. We spend a whole day in the car driving from Paris to Germany brainstorming a whole lot of reasonable to ridiculous name suggestions. I'm glad I have forgotten most of them, but Estelle suggested "Auryn" which after some consideration ended up as our best choice and I tell you why.

"Auryn" is the necklace given to "Atreyu" from the childlike empress in the "Never ending story" to help him in his quest to save Fantasia. The necklace makes any wish the wearer makes come true. The story is all about people not forgetting how to fantasise and dream. (Read the book for the details and a good read.) The Auryn consists of two snakes intertwined in a yin-yang like pattern, biting their own tails. It's a variation on the Ouroboros (a snake or dragon in a circle swallowing it's own tail) one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. In Norse mythology the Ouroboros is present as the serpent Jörmungandr. I think you have made the right connections by now.

While it was difficult to find a name that is both short and easy to spell for radio communication, sounds and looks good and has an appropriate and significant meaning, we are happy to have found a name that is all it should be. We have named our yacht and home "Auryn" hoping that we will remain young at heart with lots of dreams and wishes to come true during our many voyages to come.

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Avant de se mettre d'accord sur un nom qui nous plaira encore dans une dizaine d'années, nous avons eu des joutes verbales drollissimes allant de noms bizarroiforme, drôles pour un instant ou tout simplement ridicules.

Géant Vert proposa au tout début, le serpent Jörmungand de la mythologie nordique, l'un des trois enfants de Loki, qui a grandi à un point tel qu'il encercle le monde et peut saisir sa queue dans sa bouche, et maintiendrait ainsi les océans en place. Le nom étant trop long nous écartâmes cette possibilité.

J'aimais vraiment l'idée de Lilo, la petite fille hawaïenne plutôt ronde du dessin anime de Disney : « Lilo & Stitch », et nous aurions pu nommer le radeau de survie Stitch, extraterrestre hors pair se faisant passer pour son chien, mais cela nous parut trop enfantin après mure réflexion. Lilo est aussi le 5eme élément (Milla Jovovich) du film de Luc Besson, créature de rêve, élément manquant pour sauver notre planète terre. Le bateau ayant des formes voluptueuses et Lilo ressemblant à un chat noyé ; de par sa carrure, cela ne collait pas du tout.

Puis naquit un nom qui resta avec nous plusieurs semaines : Firefly, Luciole en français. Nous l'avions relevé dans une série télévisée de Science-fiction américaine du même nom. Vaisseau Spatial rebelle voyageant dans l'espace intersidéral entre l'alliance terrienne et les contrées inexplorées. L'idée resta mais nous nous lassâmes du nom rapidement.

Le contrat d'assurance (en cas d'incendie, risque majeur sur tout bateau) se devant d'être signer, nous eûmes une journée afin de décider du fameux nom. Et la, alors que nous revenions d'un week-end sur Paris, durant ces 8 heures de route enfermés dans l'univers twingonien alors que les champs hollandais défilent sous nos yeux fatigués et lasses, une révélation s'imposa. Je repensais à ce film, l'histoire sans fin et je lançais au hasard après de nombreux jeu de mots plus pourris le uns que les autres, le nom D'Auryn. Si vous avez bien suivi le fil de nos pensées nous étions revenus à l'idée de départ du Géant Vert, Jorgumand. Comme quoi on revient toujours a ses premiers amours!

Vous-vous demandez peut être, pourquoi AURYN ???

Quel est le lien entre un nom a consonance celtique et le milieu nautique ? Si vous êtes comme nous un enfant des années 80, les réminiscences d'un film pour enfant doit refaire surface. Bastien, L'enfant princesse et Atreju, forment un trio de choc dans ma mémoire. J'ai vécu et pleurées toutes les larmes de mon corps lors de leur quête dans l'ultime but de combattre le Néant qui détruisait le monde de Fantasia. Si vous ne connaissez pas je ne peux que m'affliger car vous avez manqué quelque chose de crucial a l'adolescence ; un rite de passage, un je ne sais quoi qui attise l'esprit et ravive le c?"ur. Et l'Auryn dans tout ce charabia qui pus la nostalgie enfantine ???

L'Auryn est un pendentif représentant 2 serpents enlaces qui se mordent la queue. Elle permet de réaliser tous les v?"ux que Bastien dit à voix haute. L'Auryn est le moyen, pour nous, de réaliser et de faire aboutir notre rêve, notre talisman flottant. Ce n'est pas une invention de toute pièce, l'Ouroboros, remonte à la nuit des temps, symbole de la cyclicité de la vie.

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