March 26, 2018
John and I had a great time in St. Augustine sightseeing, eating, and playing mini-golf (he won), then back down the ICW to Vero Beach. Totally uneventful with stops in Daytona and Titusville and a long, but easy, 60-miler the last day so John could celebrate his birthday with our Vero friends Anne Marie, Oscar, Sebastian and Alissa. We did scrape a little paint off the prop when we got out of the channel by about a foot to let a parade of north-bounders go by, but no big deal.
Warmed up nicely in Vero (80s) so John could finally thaw out and we went to the very impressive Navy Seal Museum in Ft. Pierce. Then a really easy haulout by Matt Griffin of Absolute Marine. I hate to soak the trailer in salt water, but in Vero with minimal tides, that’s really the easiest (and least expensive) way to go.
Drove north waiting out the last miserable Nor’easter by holing up for a night south of Richmond. Tardis will come home by trailer sometime in April, but I’m not in a great hurry since the weather continues to be lousy.
Here’s the really good news: THE TRIP IDENTIFIED MANY, MANY GREAT PROJECTS LEFT TO DO ON TARDIS PRIOR TO THE SUMMER CRUISING SEASON!! These include:
— A remote oil tank.
— A power windlass.
— Finishing the dinghy (already started).
— A hefty bronze strip on the stem to keep the anchor from dinging up the topsides as it comes home.
— Bronze rubbing strips to be added to the stern quarters and the rails pretty much all the way forward. The fixed docks in the south (pilings with boards nailed to them) can really chew up the trim, so for next year’s cruise, this is a must.
— I think we need a bronze railing on the forecabin similar to the one on the deckhouse roof. This would provide something for dockhands to grab as the boat comes in and also provide security moving forward to moor or anchor.
— The head needs trimming out around the steering and power controls.
— The tiny wheel in the cockpit has to go. It is just too small and requires too many turns in maneuvering situations. I found one with sufficient “dish” to go from 11 inches to 15.5 (I think).
— Canvas work. I need to make a cockpit enclosure to keep the rain out of the bilge and a cover for the butterfly hatch, so I hopefully won’t have to varnish the beautiful but pesky thing again in my lifetime.
— Bilge blower. On hot days I’m getting a bilgy/oily smell. There are a lot of teensy, places where a little bilge water can collect, and I want to be able to blow out the smell and dry things out.
Then there’s the issue of air conditioning, but since it’s currently about 25 degrees outside, I cannot wrap my head around that one at this time.
John at Navy Seals Museum
Tardis’s older, tougher sibling — a 60-knot Navy Seal patrol boat
Paul: If I can drive Tardis, why not a 60-knot patrol boat? Tardis: You’ve got to be kidding! Look at my paint.
Matt Griffin getting ready to haul us out in Vero Beach
“So, Pat, think this guy can run that big boat up between those two little black things?” WELL, I DID
The Tardis Project 
Hey, Paul,
Contacted you before privately, but following remarks may be of interest for future builders. I am helping a fellow Dutchman Sytse to build same Olga28, and just this Easter weekend set up half of all bulkheads on the strongback -just where you were mid-October 2014. I am still supposed to do the electrical work on his Olga, but found out that my 1994 Router Hardware Certification on Cisco Routers seems to have paid off credits for not only Juniper, but also PorterCable Routers.
So here I am, sniffing sawdust and still with Salty Dog smell in my clothes, reading your blog back and forth.
I questioned the need for a bow thruster, since I had a 25′ Contest sailboat about same weight, 5200lbs with a single 10hp inboard. All 20+ years of single-handed sailing North Sea and British Channel never needed a bow thruster and could turn SY Whiter Shade in a ships-length. But seeing the Mark Smaalders drawings, I do see the difference under water 🙂 so plans are for similar design as yours. No forward battery, but bigger cables (ABYC E11 now allows for double 2/0 runs), which is cheaper than a fore battery with ventilation and maintenance needs that are often forgotten. And cables never need replacement, where batteries do.
Funny cultural thing about rubbing rails too. My boat came with 2″ teak rails, topped off with a half-round solid 3/8 Stainless Steel protection. I took the SS rails off, because it damaged neighboring boats in NL, where you wish you had some in FL.
Back to Olga, both Sytse (the builder) and I are very interested in the usability and effectiveness of your cockpit engine control solution. You seem to see possible improvements for both cabin and cockpit engine control from what you have currently implemented.
For the new build we are working on some sort of wheel hydraulic/autopilot joystick combination – which makes a second control station even from your android phone possible- seems the way to go. Clears up much desired headroom in the head too.
Enjoy the cold up North (Wikipedia shows a 1614 painting on Ice Yachting on the Hudson with a Dutch flag in top) Makes me proud, and happy to be way South of that.
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Remember that on outboard powered boat you have no rudder and on a powerboat no keel that acts as a turning axis. So the only way to get the boat to turn is by turning the engine and applying bursts of power. This can be awkward at low speeds, especially since the Olga is very light with a deckhouse that catches the wind. So I really like the bow thruster. The second control station is only necessary if you singlehand a lot. With another person to call directions and handle lines, steering from the deckhouse is fine. I think the new larger wheel will make both helms act about the same.
Are you posting pictures of the new build?
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