realworkingsailor

The diagram makes sense. It’s basically a derivative Stephenson’s valve gear, but by moving the radius rod at the same time (and opposite direction) as the link, the same valve action is effected in something like half the space. Andy

Very nice machine work! What manner of valve gear did the locomotive use? Given your valve location between the frames, I’m guessing Stephenson’s? Andy

Yup, that’s the Whitefish Bay. I’m not sure what happened to the model after all the uncertainty with the museum, I only hope that it survived. Incidentally, you can see the model of the Thunder Bay on display above the airport baggage carousel at its namesake city. Andy

While I was out walking the dog, yesterday evening, we encountered this “little” guy hiding in a large basswood tree at the back of my property: A good sized (around 3ft long) Fisher. I’m pretty sure I’d seen tracks in the snow last winter, now I’m certain. Bad news for porcupines (which is good news for me, as any rural dog owner can attest)! After taking a few low quality cell phone photos, I was happy to leave him be, but it’s nice to know that there’s interesting wildlife around! Andy

Maybe this might help. In the book “Fighting Ships 1850-1950” by Sam Willis there’s an excellent broadside cutaway illustration of the Marlborough. (Those are just a couple of quick cellphone camera snaps, it’s a coffee table book that’s, well, literally a coffee table)

I’ve been wondering if they’re not modified gun ports for a slide-carriage gun. I had a look at Wikipedia and it claims that later in its career, the ship was fitted with one 7” 110lb Armstrong breech loader. Perhaps it was mounted forward and required wider ports in order to allow it to be traversed, from a central position, either port or starboard. Andy

Oh summer, where art thou? Anyone living in southern Ontario can attest, this has been one of the cooler and wetter springs in a few years. Good weather for the growing grass.... The time has come for me to get a new toy... er.... lawnmower.

If you read Ian McLaughlan’s book “The Sloop of War, 1650-1763”, he describes the origin of the term Brigantine, and that in the eighteenth century it referred more to the role of the vessel, rather than the rig. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century, when the rig was changed to what we are familiar with today, that the term came to mean the rig, rather than the role. Andy

A small update on the maple syrup progress so far. Still busy boiling away when the weather is favourable. And the haul so far, less four medium sized (500mL) bottles that I’ve already given away to family and friends. My kitchen is nearing a state of semi-permanent stickiness... Andy

I would suggest opting for the slightly more expensive Chopper II. Instead of the MDF base, if uses a replaceable cutting mat in a much sturdier cast metal base. Andy

Thanks! My furry friend is named Freyja, she’s 11 months old, and still a very energetic and entertaining puppy (and being a shepherd, she’s often stuck to me like Velcro). Sadly for the wallpaper people, I have an ample supply firewood that only cost me a couple of litres of gas and a few afternoons of work last spring. Andy

Hi Jerry, It’s a little wintry up here too. Actually, it’s a nice break, but looking at the forecast for this week, things are likely to pick up steam again (literally!). Andy

For anyone paying attention at home, it's been almost two years since I had to give up my sailing career. It has not been an easy transition to a shore career, but at long last I've settled on a course of action and now am pursuing a little more education to help me get there. Back in August 2017 I moved up to a wonderful 80 acre parcel of gently rolling forest adjacent to my grandparent's farm. One of the assets at my disposal is a sizeable section of hardwood forest (about 20 acres in size), containing a large number of my favourite type of tree.... the sugar maple. Now that winter has begun to loosen it's icy grip, I've decided to take advantage of the situation and try my hand at making my own, home made, maple syrup. Yummy! I began a couple of weeks ago gathering the supplies that I needed to get started, spiles and buckets, and I set out with my furry friend into the woods. For a first timer, it is suggested to tap between 5 and 10 trees (I tapped 7). Each spile will yield roughly a gallon of sap a day when the weather conditions are optimal (below freezing at night, and mild during the day). A few days after I tapped my trees, the weather decided to co-operate and things started to run. My furry friend is a great help when checking the buckets I'm out every afternoon emptying buckets, and since the bush trails are impassable by any vehicle that I own, it generally means hauling out the sap on foot (with toboggan assistance). Six gallons of sap ready to go. This morning I began the initial boiling. This is always best done outside over an open fire (you can use a propane burner, but you'll run through a lot of gas!). If you try to do this inside.... say goodby to your wallpaper, it takes roughly 40 parts sap to make one part maple syrup, which means A LOT of steam. For my first run, I boiled down about 6 gallons at one shot. After a good day's boiling (about 6 hours at a steady rolling boil), the concentrated sap was filtered (there's always little twigs and things that fall into the buckets and the big pot), and brought inside for finishing. This is the tricky part where you have to watch the temperature carefully, and make sure the syrup doesn't boil over.... or burn. Finally after an hour on the stove.... my first bottle of maple syrup, it's a little cloudy because it needs to be filtered once more to remove the nitre (also known as sugar sand, which is a result of the natural minerals in the sap precipitating out), but it's still good enough for a first attempt......bring on the pancakes!! Andy PS, I've got another 10 gallons of sap waiting in the shed.... and more on the way.... I think I'm going to be busy.....

See, I knew that you knew what you were doing, it was all just a test to see who was paying attention in class 😁 Andy

Hi Mike, Very nice metal work on the lantern, although I hope the lenses aren’t glued in yet.... Andy