test rig up

Before I launched the boat on water, I did a test rig-up, on my front lawn, of the mast, sails and rudder just to make sure that everything is there.

I stepped the rudder and checked all the control lines on it.

Next I raised the jib.

Hobie 16 (May 2015)

Hobie cat

I sold the Noelex 22 in April 2015. In May, I bought a Hobie 16 which has been on my bucket list for 35 years. I first saw this boat in the early 80's; wanted it but could not afford it at that time.

The owner Chris Knight advertised it in the Salam for MYR13,000. He was the MD of SSB. I was a lowly COE working in the Production department.

1. Sunfish (1979)

My very first sail boat in 1979 was nothing much but a piece of plank with a sail on it. It was a Sunfish. There was a centre board, rudder, a mast and one sail. It was even too small to be called a dinghy. The hull was made of fibre glass and it was small, meant for one person only. I first launched the Sunfish in the river near the Lutong bridge.

2. Optimist (1980)

The next sail boat I bought in 1980 was an Optimist from Peter Hammer for 1000 ringgit. He was overjoyed to have found a sucker buyer at last! That lousy pakeha (expatriate) did not tell me that the boat was suitable for kids only! It was very slow; but it cannot capsize because it was as wide as it was long and had three flotation chambers built into the plastic hull under the seats. Even if it fills completely with water, it cannot sink. So, it is an excellent boat for a beginner learning to sail. Thanks Peter. You were right, I did not capsize, not even once.

3. Yamaha Sea-hopper (1981)

The Seahopper was built by Yamaha in Japan to similar dimensions as the Laser. It actually looked very much like a Laser. It cost me 2000 ringgit; but it was worth every cent because this sail boat some times forgot that it had no engine! At about 15 knot cross wind, it would plane and consequently, the speed would increase suddenly with most of the hull out of the water, behaving like a speed boat!

4. 470 (1985)

The Panaga boat club was buying a whole new fleet of 470’s and they were selling their old boats in 1985 by auction. I entered a bid for 3 boats and was successful! All in all, including trucking, the 470’s cost me 2000 ringgit, a very reasonable price indeed.

5. Laser (1988)

My most worthwhile purchase was a Laser dinghy for 650 ringgit! The expatriate owner came from Oman and he packed this dinghy inside his 20 ft. container together with all his furniture. On arrival he discovered Piasau boat club which has 14 brand new Lasers and six 470’s! All of them were available for his use, as he was entitled to free memberships to all the three expats social clubs! I was the only person interested to buy his boat. It turned out to be an excellent boat, still in very good condition. I had many enjoyable sailing hours on it on my days off from the oil rig.

6. Kestrel (1997)

The first boat I bought in New Zealand was a 19 ft. trailer yacht, a Kestrel. I drove to Raglan to see the boat. The owner had the sails all rigged up waiting for me to inspect the boat. I walked around the boat twice and informed him that I would buy it for 2.8K if he would throw in the 2hp Yamaha! All I was interested in, at the time was whether the hull was sound and water tight. I did not even go inside the cabin to check it out!

7. Noelex 22 (1999)

This is the ideal one man boat for all the lakes in the north island. At 22 ft., it has a cabin large enough for a small family and therefore is very spacious for a single hander. It is like a floating caravan, completely self contained with a small galley and a porta loo. I have used it to explore lake Rotorua, Rotoiti, Tarawera and parts of Taupo near Kinloch. Each trip, I stay one or two nights on board. I have written the launching sequence for a trailer yacht in the previous entry. It is easy for one man to launch or recover this small yacht. On my trailer I have installed a 10:1 hand winch which can haul the boat up the trailer with very little effort.
More technical info on the Noelex 22 is available on their web site:
http://www.noelex22.org/specs.html

Nanook's action photos

Because I am a single hander, sailing mostly alone, it was difficult for me to take photos of myself on my boat. Here are a few rare photos:

This photo was taken by Ross Wrenn

Usually when there is not enough wind for sailing, I played my flute.

There is just enough room for three people on a Noelex 22.

This photo was taken by Alex Chow at Lake Tarawera.

At 10 knots wind, the Noelex performs very well. I call this washing the windows. Mabel Chiew thought that I was using soap!

This was taken at Hamilton, lake Rotoroa.

I like this photo so much that I am using this as my profile photo on Facebook and on my blogs. This one photo captured the essence of three of my favourite hobbies: flute, sailing and photography.