The cockpit is really taking shape now. Look at the beautiful shape of the conical coaming in front of the cockpit. This is not easy to make, but the result is fantastic.

A few more pictures. The basic shape of the cockpit is in place. It’s a nice big one, with plenty of space to sit comfortably.

All the winches will be positioned so they can be operated from the cockpit. Also all lines like halyards, sheets, furler lines, reef lines, etc. will be brought back here, so the operation of ‘Waratah’ will be safe and comfortable.

A few more pictures of the construction of the deck of S/V ‘Waratah’. The last picture with the 7 year old son of Fanie the grinderman standing next to the rudder skeg, gives a good idea of the size of this beautiful hull.

Yesterday was the big day. The hull of ‘Waratah’ had to be turned. And turned she was. It had to be done by using only chain block tackle, because a crane could not have accessed the building. On top of that the roof trusses were not strong enough to lift from, so the total of 7 chain blocks had to be attached to the upright columns.

Once the whole setup was rigged and prepared, Wynand and his team turned her in 1,5 hours! Another milestone achieved.

On one of the forums I frequent, somebody posted this today. And I kid you not, it is true.

For all us non DIY people, the following information may prove useful in the event of an emergency. I have compiled these solutions from first hand experience today at my house. I have it on good authority that they are completely safe and will last for years to come:

Dry rot in the kitchen… (and I mean bad dry rot, so that the skirting boards are falling off and disintegrating): cover the rotting board with a thin glued-on layer of veneer.

Faulty light in the bathroom: repair by connecting faulty wires with sellotape. Be sure to turn off the switch first, otherwise it might not be safe!

Cracks in wall of lounge: cover cracks with masking tape, and paint. This gives a wonderful texture and ‘abstract’ effect - people will admire it for years.

Missing drain cover outside: no worries if this is a problem with blocking, just walk around your house until you can find an identical one that fits, and use that to replace the missing one. Why buy a new one?

Kitchen cupboard handle broken: take a trip to your local B&Q and buy any random handle to replace the broken one. After all who wants matching cupboard handles?

Waste plumbing from bathroom basin leaking. Remove complete section of pipe without telling anyone, throw it away, after all you don’t really need it. If someone uses the basin all the waste will just drain conveniently into the cupboard below.

Moulds on bedroom walls - just splash a coat of paint over it, no-one will notice it. Just be sure to keep that paint can handy under the bed in case it re-appears in a few days time.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I have these wonderful workmen coming back to complete some more work. If anyone would like their contact numbers, then I’m sure I could get them for you.

Be sure to buy some air freshener though because they were working so hard, that their diddy little feet in those lovely cutie little socks got a little whiffy!

I was alerted by a good friend to the following article about the Chinese boating market. As far as I am concerned it is one of the best examples how you can use statistic information to create utter bullshit. Let’s have a look at the article first:

China has over 90,000 lakes, 6,500 islands, and about 20,000 kilometers of waterfront coastline.
source: Chinese National Statistics Bureau

With a GDP of USD $1.3 billion, China can expect to have a boat demand reaching 550,000 units with the following breakdown:

• 78,000 in Guangdong
• 73,000 in Jiangsu
• 37,000 in Shanghai

There are 56 marinas planned or currently under construction in China. China had approximately 150 boat yards in China in 2006. More than 50 of these are export boat production capable.

China is currently the third largest market in the world for big ticket items. Annual sales are roughly 10% of global market share worth approximately USD $2 billion. The target market for big ticket items includes about 160 million Chinese people, about 13 million of which are active shoppers frequently seeking big ticket items. By 2015, this market will reach $11.5 billion USD taking a global market share of 29%.
source: Ernst & Young

The standard Chinese labor rate is $0.70 per hour, which is about 1/16th that of the American labor rate. China has 1 million rural citizens who could be moved to cities every year to keep the general labor cost at a fraction of the U.S. labor cost.
source: Chinese Department of Labor

Ok, now let’s take this apart one by one.

1) Let’s assume for a moment that the figures about lakes, islands, and coastline are true (personally I think they are doubtful at least). What the article does not mention is the fact that the regime in China is still extremely nervous about people cruising around in their private boats along their coast. That is reflected in their system of boating licenses, which are only for certain limited areas. Of course, those people who have enough money in China to buy a decent size yacht, are usually the same people that can afford the right ‘incentives’ to obtain all the licenses they need.

2) With in fact only something like 10 marina’s (which are more expensive than Japanese golf club memberships) in place, the planned 56 ones (a figure that is still the same as 5 years ago) will hardly be enough to facilitate 550,000 boats. Let alone that taking a GDP figure, and deduct from that the boat demand, is at least a bit doubtful. What’s the GDP of Nepal again?

3) Don’t get me started on the quality of the 150 or so boat yards. Apart from a few foreign owned/managed ones, the majority is definitely not up to international standard, let alone export standard (Except maybe to Birma).

4) For a labour rate of USD 0.70 per hour, you won’t get anybody to sweep the floor anymore, let alone build high quality boats. In my company a starting mechanic is being paid 5 times that amount. Secondly, labour rates don’t say anything about production costs in a place where you need 5 - 6 times the people to do the same job like in most western countries. Add the costs due to production losses because of poor workmanship, frequent power outages, corruption in all levels of society, and a decreasing competitiveness caused by the strengthening of the RMB versus the dollar, and an inflation which was 7.1% year-on-year last month.

It’s ‘wishful thinking’ articles like the one above, that give a totally wrong idea what the real situation here is like. Yes, there will be a growing interest in boating and sailing in China, with a steadily growing middle class. But by far not to the extent as this article tries to make us believe.

My report on the building of S/V ‘Waratah’ would not be complete without putting the people that build her, under the leadership and supervision of Wynand, in the spot light. Here is the team that made it happen so far:

From left to right:

Tall bearded fellow - Pieter, Boilermaker assistant, tea boy, girl Friday
Red Cap - Joseph, general helper
Thumb up - Fanie, grinder man and general helper
Center with red shirt - Wynand
Springbok jersey - Rudie, our CO2 welder
Far right - Tony, boilermaker and pal