Thanks, Annie.  If I can get back to Moreton Bay, which I hope to do by April, where I can legally lie on my anchor for more than 28 days, and my health permits me to do so, then I should be able to start rebuilding the kitty.  I'll spend about 8-9 months a year on anchor then either go into a marina or up on the hard to fix things.  And save for a new junk rig! I'll just have to see how it goes.  The passage back to Qld will be risky, but with Barry Lewis on board, master jury-rigger and veteran ocean voyager, I'll be in the best hands possible. 

I have already started thinking about  the mast.  I would buy something off the shelf if I could, but do not expect to be that lucky.  I basically got the last suitable section in Australia (imported from France) for Arion.  I have found a  6m X 200mm diameter alloy tube with  6mm wall, and would put a timber topmast in it.  Just dreaming about this makes me feel a bit better, even if it is out of reach.

Thanks, David T, for your good wishes.  My major problem, apart from being unsure whether I have enough energy for another serious boat project, is that I do not have sufficient funds.  I am close to being in a situation where I am waiting for my next pension cheque, a dismal situation.  I am also struggling psychologically, having thrown away a well-sorted independent cruising lifestyle.  Luckily, some good friends are looking after me at the moment.  I will just have to take each day as it comes. 

I enjoy seeing your short vids of your catamaran zipping about the place like a water dragon.  Looks like fun.   

A short update on my H 28 project.  I took over the boat on 22 December.  In fact, if the seller, who shared a close mutual friend with me, and was, I had been advised, eminently trustworthy, had honoured his agreement to refund my money if I was not satisfied, I would not have taken over the boat.  I found he had misrepresented the condition of the vessel, and it is in need of a a refit, including rebuilding the rudder.  I find myself stuck in a city that no longer permits DIY in most boatyards, with little spare cash, tools in storage a long way away, and a boat project. 

Luckily, I have a steadfast and experienced friend here, Barry, son of the late Dr David Lewis, who was a good friend of Blondie's and fellow-competitor in the 1960 Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, who is helping me.  We plan to jury rig the rudder, do a rigging check (it is currently bermudan rigged) and try and limp up the coast to my home waters in Queensland, where I can lie on my anchor unmolested by officialdom (living aboard and anchoring for more than 28 days in any given year are forbidden in New South Wales) and work on my own boat in friendly boatyards.  My advice to impoverished sailing vagabonds: Do Not come to New South Wales, Sydney and surrounding waters in particular.

It is going to be a long time before I can afford to put a junk rig on the boat, maybe two or more years, and there is so much else to do as well, though the hull and deck are sound, plus the engine and electrical system are in first-class order.  I am regretting my rash decision to sell Blue Moon.  I should have hung on for another couple of years, then bought a bigger boat I could both afford and inspect before purchasing.  I am not at all enthusiastic, either, about the bermudan rig, with its flapping sails, high tensions and dozens of connective bits.  Especially a tired bermudan rig like this one!

As a result of my foolishness, I expect not be be very active, either on the website or in the pages of the magazine, for a couple of years or so.  I have one more article that I have initiated and want to try and finish, but cannot see beyond that for now.  I am going to miss writing for the magazine, but expect to be pre-occupied for some time sorting out this disaster.  I hope to get back to you all eventually.  In the meantime, I will try and get this boat operational, and dream of the day I can once again hoist a junk sail.  Fair winds to you all until then. 

Graham,
I'm sure I had nothing to do with that SJR H28 thread. He clearly must have borrowed one of the master sails, which is fine with me  -  that's the whole idea with it.

The fact that he "Sired" me made me smile. I can't say I am a particularly proud man, and not that proud of being a Norwegian either. Still, I am proud of this:

In Norway we don't have an operational word for Sir.

Arne

PS: Sometimes, like here, the search facility on the Member's Area didn't find that SJR H18  thread. Then I went to HOME and used the Google search at the bottom of the page. That worked.

Graham
I can't remember to have drawn any rig for a H28 on Nz. It appears that the fellow has printed out a sail from my stack of master sails and then stuck it to that boat plan. Like you, I would not have positioned the sail that low, and I would most probably have chosen a taller sail as well...

Arne