Great big holes

 I wanted a hatch, so that I could access the space under the fore deck. I figured out the size I needed and then spent about a week trying to work up the courage to cut the hole.

I drilled 2 holes through from underneath, right beside the each of the two beams so that I knew exactly where to cut.

I marked out the 300mm square, twice. And then set to work with my jigsaw.

I reinforced the sides of the hole that were not over beams with offcuts of sapele, epoxied underneath, and then bolted the hatch in place with a bit of silicon sealant.

Island hopping

It's been a while since TLC has been out sailing. But on a trip down to Kerry we were staying on Valentia island. It has a beautiful sheltered harbour at Knightstown. There is a little island about 1 mile away. That short journey isn't quite as sheltered. Luckily my daughter was on the Sea camp and she made a new friend whose father was a keen sailor. He was delighted to come and join me on TLC to sail out to the island and back. After tacking about a little under the shelter of the harbour, we headed across to Beaginis. We landed in a small Sandy cove and wandered up to the top of a small hill. This is the first time that I've sailed to somewhere. Up till now it's always been starting somewhere sailing around and returning. Here's a picture of Knightstown from Beaginis.