dennis ts 500

I have just aquired this boat so here is some info on it

platypus info

All platypus sightings and info from now is on platypus-australia.blogspot.com Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
	The Platypus The platypus is found in eastern Australia. They live aside freshwater rivers or lakes, and create burrows for shelter and protection. They are active mainly at nighttime hours, and use their webbed feet for swimming. When swimming the platypus has its eyes shut. They swim underwater for 2 minutes, before returning to the surface for oxygen. They can however stay underwater for up to 10 minutes, and due to their natural buoyancy, they need to be underneath another object to do this. The Platypus has a wooly furred coat and range from 30cm to 45cms in length and the tail about 10 to 15 cms. The wooly furred coat actually has three different layers. The first layer keeps the animal warm, by trapping air, the second layer which provides an insulating coat for the animal, and lastly the third layer of long flat hairs to detect objects close by. These creatures weight on average between 1 to 2.4 kilograms. They have an average lifespan of 12 years. This lifespan may be shortly diminished, as the platypuses biggest threats are snakes, goannas, rats and foxes. Another big threat to the platypus is man, via waterway pollution or land clearing.		Platypuses feed on insect larvae, worms or other freshwater insects. They do so mainly at night, by the use of their bill. They turn up mud on the bottom of the lake or river, and with the help of their electroreceptors located on the bill, find many insects and freshwater insects. They store their findings in special pouches behind their bill, and are consumed upon returning to the surface. Amazing Fact: Platypuses can consume their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period! Male platypus are larger than the female. They reproduct by mating which occurs once a year, between June - October. The female lays between 2 - 4 eggs and incubates these for a two week period. When a young platypus is born, they feed from milk from the mother. The mother secretes this milk from large glands under the skin, the young platypus feed from this milk which ends up on the mothers fur. If you thought this was a cute and cuddly Australian animal, well, you are only half correct. The male platypi have a hollow spur about 15 milimetres in length on the inside of both hind legs. This in turn is connected to a venom gland, and the platypus uses this spur to defend itself against predators.  Amazing Fact: The male platypus has venom strong enough to can kill a small dog, or cause excruciating pain among humans. Since only the male platypus has this venomous spur, and the gland peaks during mating season, many suggest it is normally used in aggressive encounters between other male platypus. A baby platypus is not called a puggle, which seems to be a common misconception. There is no official name for a baby platypus, but a common suggested name is "platypup".

dead Platypus

Two dead platypus found in a fish trap about 100 meters downstream from the cleared river bank.

This is the river bank cleared of vegetation this was done in the breeding season.

I was going to put the photo up of the platypus that had been mauled to death by domestic dogs but it was just too graphic to display even for me.

Going to let this go I'm not.

 

second thoughts here it is. The photo doesn't show the teeth marks and the entrails and the dismembered legs 

click the photo to enlarge

Pegging the dollar

Pegging the dollar to the price of gold or the us dollar is questionable as 10,000 dollars of gold can be smuggled and the same goes for the dollars. It doesn't rot or deteriorate and can be stored indefinitely. Now if Australia would link its currency to wheat .... Try smuggling 10,000 dollars worth of wheat into a country and it lands on the docks and it can be left to rot there. Not worth it is it!!!!! Then there is the problem of theft its hard to put all that wheat into a bank vault. Its not worth stealing and the speculators now have a job to move the stuff . If you were a small pacific country then your dollars would be linked to coconuts. Middle eastern economies would link there currency to oil..
.Now if all the people where on the rock and roll (dole) that would do away with Centre Link and the people who manage the system and the need to see who is getting more than there share.This would do away with half of the government non workers and state governments. Then people would work to better them selves not to survive....I thank one of my family for this post and its ideas.

Boat restorer

http://www.shortypen.com/boats/pocket/
This is a good site

Recycled boat part 32

Put the boat back on the trailer and the keel is straight so its back to the water for more trials.

This photo is looking along the keel the rough stuff is grass cutting stuck to a wet bottom.

These are two catamarans being built near here. 

   

I got a comment yesterday and I feel that a reply is important to the sender so here is my reply I must say that my son Bradley and his wife wrote the reply and I thank them.

??的?金?犬，

??你的?美?。

我的儿媳?自中?，她?我做了翻?。

It is nice to think that some one is reading and to know where they are reading from in this case China...



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Recycled boat part 31

Having to remove the paint from the bottom of the hull for the fiberglass to stick I bought one of these wheels and they work fantastic.
This photo shows the keels being  prepared and glassed on. There is bolts going threw the hull and timbers on the inside to stop the bottom bending.

 

 

The bilge keels I think will trap air and stop it being spilled out the sides, the boat could ride on a cushion of air and give it more speed with the little engine. They will stop it being twitchy at rest.