Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It was around this time that I was called up to do army duties for three months, and the boat
was more or less put on hold. While I was away, Judi did paint the entire hull and deck with
a form of gelcoat. She sent me photos while I was stationed up in the southwest African
border, and I was absolutely thrilled and amazed that this cute, little, blonde girl, waiting
sweetly for me at home, had so competently painted our boat.
Apart from Judi's eternal patience with me and her constant friendship, love, and enthusi-
asm, I had another form of help in this sometimes impossible project. Yes, I was a hell-bent
and a very determined young man, but I had voices in my head helping me with the associ-
ated building and designing problems. I did not refer again to the hull plans after that stage
had been completed. I had rearranged the architect's position of the engine from the center
of the boat to the cockpit and a lot of the internal layout, so the plans were useless at this
stage, and I had quite a few problems to figure out myself.
The voices in my head came to my rescue, and it was as though I was channeling or using
somebody else's mind to figure these problems out. When I was confounded by a problem
that nobody could assist me with, I would get behind the wheel of my little truck and drive
to my various job sites where I worked building tennis courts. The sometimes long jour-
neys provided an excellent opportunity to think these problems and their answers through,
and by the time I had arrived at a site invariably I had my answers.
It was at this point in our lives that we had a situation arise with our farm landlords in
which we had no choice but to move Déjà vu to a farm a couple of miles down the road.
Untold destruction and damage ensued during the arrival of Déjà vu to the new hosting
farm, or small holding, while she sat happily atop of a huge eighteen wheeler truck. Luck-
ily, the owner was a broadminded, Dutch immigrant who loved yachts and forgave me and
my beautiful partner in crime!
It was here that Déjà vu took her final shape, and many months were spent happily work-
ing on the boat in the sunshine on the highveld on the outskirts of Johannesburg. All
the woodwork in the cabin was attached, shaped, sanded, varnished, and painted. All the
plumbing and electrical wiring were painstakingly installed along with the ten horsepower
diesel engine that took weeks of figuring out and installing. Oh, what a happy day when
I turned the key, and the little motor sprang into life! Never did a puttering diesel engine
sound so sweet.
I commissioned a reputable German woodworker to build us a wooden mast, and I spent
countless hours cutting and drilling all the stainless steel plates, tangs, and halyard blocks
associated with the mast and all the standing and running rigging. I made all the sheet
blocks from lovely teak and stainless steel (contrary to warnings from professionals who
said that I should
buy these important items from a reputable marine chandler), but I
