New Dinghy - OddJob

Woo Hoo - looking good

The new dinghy is here.  The new dinghy is here.  The new dinghy is here.

A-OK

For you land people, that is our car.....so.....The new car is here.  The new car is here.

Nice!

Tom has never had a new car.  In the past, I always got the new car since I was roaming around various states with my sales job.  Additionally, we usually drive our cars until the wheels come off so to speak.  Tom's jeep had approx 475,000 miles on it when he sold it.

weeeeee

Sidenote - As long as we were getting new, we got the flying dinghy model.  Just kidding.  This is OddJob flying out of the sailloft.

Still weird - boats should not fly

It seems we are no different when it comes to dinghies.  Nick Nack (our old dinghy) was 18 years old.  That is really old and quite frankly, amazing down here in the Caribbean with the harsh conditions.  But he was/is well built.  He has served us well.  But he was getting tired, so tired.  I have shared with you some of our efforts to get "just one more year" service out of Nick Nack.  The dinghy cover.  The dinghy paint.  Patches and 5200.  Besides being old and tired, Nick Nack is also very, very heavy.  He is a double hulled fiberglass dinghy.  He weighs 150 lbs alone by himself.  Now add an outboard motor, fuel tank, and passengers.  Plus some water that leaks in through the bottom hull.  Heavy dude.

The dinghy fleet.  We are currently trying to sell Nick Nack to a good home

So we knew we needed to get a new dinghy.  Better to get one now in a place with selection and pricing options vs someplace in the middle of nowhere.

New chaps - notice the yellow reflective ribbon?  

That is the main reason we came to Martinique.

Woman who made OddJob's new dinghy chaps.  FYI - French don't call them chaps.

We shopped.  We made our choice.  They (Clipper Ship) were out of our choice.  "Shipment is coming in."  Turns out even though this is France, it is also the Caribbean and so "island time, mon" .

But it arrived - finally.  And it is wonderful.

Christing - OddJob

Meet OddJob.  An AB 9.5 ft aluminum (al-you-min-ee-um for your Brits).  He weighs a mere 95 lbs.  Why OddJob?  James Bond of course!  Oddjob was the lethal hat throwing henchman that worked for Auric Goldfinger in the 1959 book / 1964 movie "Goldfinger."

OddJob, James Bond and Auric Goldfinger

Al-you-min-ee-um - powerd coated

We have witnessed first hand the power of dinghy chaps.  Attempting to make dinghy chaps for a new, bigger, different dinghy while it was in the water seemed like a complicated project that I just wasn't up for.  I made Nick Nack's cover while he was on the hard in Trinidad and I had plenty of room at Coral Cove Marina to lay out the fabric at the covered pool area.  Not so much here.  So we decided to have Incidence Voile sail loft here in Martinique make dinghy chaps.  They did a terrific job.

A SEAT!  I have never had a seat.  I must practise my princess wave

The price for chaps was reasonable at $725E (duty free).  I spent $250US on material alone on Nick Nack's chaps + beer.  I have had for some time reflective ribbon, two sections - one orange and one neon yellow.  I put the orange on Nick Nack's chaps.  Even today, despite the fact that the orange ribbon is very worn, it still reflects when hit with a flashlight at night.  I dug out the unused neon yellow reflective ribbon and the sail loft put it on.  They had never seen anything like that.

Do you see the bow design?  Oddjob's bow is curved up much higher.  When we dinghied back to sv Honey Ryder in Sainte Anne from the sail loft in le Marin (no small distance!) I didn't get splashed once.  Not once, I tell you!  Not once!!  For comparison, if we had been in Nick Nack, I would have been soaking wet on one side from waves.  Dry I tell you!!!

New stainless steel bling to protect Oddjob

We are busy adding all the personal things that make a dinghy yours like you would a car....only it is dinghy things - chain, chafe gear, new painter, lifting mechanism, lights, anchor, storage, floor matting etc...

Tom heading out - look at those chaps!

Thank you Nick Nack for all your service and for taking care of us.  Hello OddJob, we look forward to many adventures and exploration with you.

Jeremie - new owner of Nick Nack

Update - Nick Nack still had some life left in him.  We put the word out - "old but good dinghy for sale - cheap."   A young French couple that live on their boat with two small school age kids bought Nick Nack.  They work ashore and the kids go to school ashore as well.  They were trying to juggle all that with just one dinghy.  This was the perfect new home for Nick Nack.