Category: Repairs, maintenance & DIY
-
Early birds catch the Cat I certificate
Three knocks on the hull. Have I dreamt them? Lying in bed, half awake, liters of tea drank the day before pressing on my bladder desperate to get out, is it morning yet? Quick check through the door, daylight timidly brightens the main cabin, it is. Are we expecting anyone? Then I remember: our safety […]
-
Obelix shower ceremony
Hot showers are now possible on Obelix! But, beware, far from a modern life entitlement, taking a hot shower on our boat is a well deserved reward that comes only after following a precise protocol, involving lots of steps, and a fair amount of pumping, which has, let it be said, the side benefits of […]
-
Open heart surgery (part II)
Magic happens when I’m out dancing! In the last few weeks, while I was indulging my parallel life as a dance addict (3 classes and 3 social dancing events of salsa, bachata, kizomba, tango and african dance in the last week alone), Thomas has been hard at work, coordinating and finalising the install of our […]
-
Obelix open heart surgery (part I)
Successful extraction of our inboard engine while still berthed at the marina.
-
Making our bubble great again
Free-range kids As lock-down 2.0 was announced on August 13th, Auckland schools closed, and we retreated back to our bubbles, we decided not to add any complexity to the ever changing and (sometimes) absurd rules that governed our strange world, and let our children be free-range. No virtual hui. No homework. No schedule. No pressure. […]
-
Scrapes, scratches & sliver linings
“It’s alright mum, our boat isn’t badly damaged, just a few small repairs and we’ll be off again”, wrote Zephyr on the day of our incident… (cf. Obelix on the rocks) The small repairs took three weeks, and, thankfully, no one dared tell me at the time it would take so long! Apart from the […]
-
Meeting Obelix’ two dads
It’s not a beautiful boat, but it’s a good boat! Uwe Tolks Obelix is the brain child of Uwe Tolks, former Master Mariner & Marine Construction Engineer, and Erwin Haag, Naval Architect, both German established in Whangarei, New Zealand, since the 70’s. “December 1976, he comes to my office and asks can you draw me […]