Work on the “Kate” has been ongoing since we hauled her out on 24th November, making best use of the white tent, for which we are very grateful to the Boating Club.
The rot behind the stem was serious as expected, also around the rudder, but all is now repaired with a fine new pohutukawa stem piece, and at the stern the new planks extended to form a basis for re-building the stern.
There were some daunting days when we discovered more deterioration between the two layers of planking, posing some challenging repair jobs, but Tom and Joe soldiered on, with constructive suggestions on how to tackle the repairs.
This means the the projected 2 months haul-out has turned into 3 months, and we are now very low on money! Also the planking is drying out and shrinking, so it’s high time to put her back in the water. All the rot that we could find has been repaired, and the decks made watertight so the rain can’t get in.
So, you are invited to the RE-LAUNCH PARTY on Saturday 28th Feb. The “Kate” will be trundled out of the tent and down the launching ramp starting at 10am. High tide is around 4, we expect her to float off about 2, The sausage sizzle will start about 11.30, then festivities start about 1.30 with sea shanties, afternoon tea, and cakes, home-made ginger beer and BYO something stronger.
Once she floats we’ll warp her in to the beach nearby, and you’re invited to come aboard by dinghy, look around and if necessary help to pump her out! We’re expecting some leaking, which should ‘take up’ over a few days as the planks swell.
To FUNDRAISING – money, the essential ingredient we hope you can supply to enable re-building the stern to its original beautiful shape, the new bulwarks, onwards and upwards…The donations box will be there for cash or cheques, or you can use your credit card via our website wws.onewaiheke.org. Our account is 38-9014-0889139-00 for direct credits.
We are a registered charity, so please email wws@onewaiheke.org for a receipt for a tax refund.
So far most of our funding has come from private donations of all sizes from $2 upwards, and we appreciate this as the idea is for the whole Island to own this little ship, in service to the community. Several people have committed to monthly Automatic Payments ranging from $10 to $30, and this is greatly appreciated, perhaps something you could consider?
We have formed a fund-raising committee to share the work of applying to the various donor organizations, and hope to take this to a professional level soon.
I hold fast to the vision of this handsome cutter working her way into the inlet under sail, responding to every puff of wind, her crew a bunch of youngsters handling her expertly using their new-found skills, high on life after the adventure of a lifetime. We’re about 20% of the way there.
Cheers, Bernard.