Amateur Yacht Research Society Zoom meetings

[John P]

Hi, the Amateur Yacht Research Society (AYRS) has started to hols meetings using the Zoom video conferencing system.  I just thought I would mention this here since the subject matter of some of the meetings my be of interest and these meetings are open to all who are interested in new developments in sailing technology and in boat designing/building/sailing generally.

We held our first Zoom meeting the other week and I think it worked well, with an attendence of about 15.  For this first meeting AYRS member Kim Fisher presented a project he is carrying out in collaboration with Chris Watson, this project is to develop a 'Rescue Float' for use by beach lifeguards. We are seeing ever more beach lifeguards on UK and European beaches these days (but not perhaps this summer!) and they often use either a surf board or a RIB.  The Rescue Float is intended to be somewhere between these options being better able to carry a casualty than a surf board but a lot less expensive and easier to launch than a RIB or Jet-Ski - an interesting project.

Anyway, for the next meeting I am due to give an account of the design and construction of the sliding seat rowing boat that Josephine and myself took down the Thames to Beale park with the HBBR fleet in 2017.  There will be of opportunity for questions and discussion.

I am hoping that the AYRS can keep these meetings going on at least a fortnightly basis through the 'lockdown' period since they do provide a way that we can meet up and chat, almost in the same way that we do in a pub on the Saturday evening of a DCA rally, or I guess an Old Gaffers rally.  However, to do this we will be needing more people willing to give presentations to make a focus for these meetings and, needless to say, the boat building projects that people are talking about on this forum would be eminently suitable!

Anyway, here is the announcement for the next AYRS Zoom meeting:
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The next AYRS Zoom meeting will be next Saturday, 25 April at 16:00  (London time)

For this meeting John Perry will give a presentation about the design and construction of a sliding seat rowing boat, this followed by questions and discussion.

The link to join the meeting is: https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/9161080000

This link is also included in the event announcement on the AYRS website.

This rowing boat was first launched May 2017 and since then has had frequent use on the estuaries of Devon and Cornwall and also camping trips on rivers in the UK and France.  These are some of the features:

       -- Designed for a single rower with or without a passenger, this required two rowing positions to  maintain longitudinal balance.
        --Folding outriggers allow coming alongside quays and lock walls.
        --Storage space for camping equipment.
        --Detachable wheels for launch/recovery and for portaging.
        --Arrangements for easy loading onto a car roof rack.
        --3mm plywood construction with external glass epoxy sheathing



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For those who are not familiar with Zoom:

To join the meeting wait until a few minutes before the start time then click the link provided at the top of this page, or as given on the AYRS website at https://www.ayrs.org/event/zoom-meeting-2/  (it's under 'website' at the bottom of that page)

If you already have Zoom software installed on your computer or other internet device then you should be directed to Zoom when you click the link to the meeting and you can then join the meeting. If you click the link to the meeting but you don’t have the Zoom software installed then I think you will be prompted to download and install the software before you can join the meeting so it is probably best to already have the software installed before you try to join Zoom meetings. You can get the free Zoom software at www.zoom.us/download – the software you need  for a Windows or Apple computer is the top button in the list, it is labelled ‘Zoom Client for Meetings’.  If you want to use Zoom on a smartphone or Android tablet there are Zoom apps available for Apple and Android.    Zoom can be used with almost any device capable of accessing the internet but it probably does work best on a computer since a larger screen will give you a view of everyone present.

Being in a Zoom meeting you can almost forget that you are not in the same room as the other participants.  You see the other participants and can talk to them.  The ‘mute’ facility is quite important, when you are not speaking to the meeting is a good idea to mute yourself so that background noise from your environment is not transmitted to the meeting but remember to unmute yourself if it is you who are speaking to the meeting!  When a presentation is being given the host may choose to mute everyone except the person giving the presentation.

[John P]

Decided to make the construction of the boat a second part which will be at 19:30 tomorrow, 2nd May.
We will try to keep these meetings going on a weekly basis through the current situation, maybe also at a reduced frequency thereafter.  Boat building projects would make suitable topics so if anyone here can offer something let me know.   Doesnt have to be a formal PowerPoint presentation or the like, a few photos followed by group discussion would make one of these meetings.

[John P]

At the AYRS Zoom meeting tomorrow, Saturday 9 May, HBBR 'member' Alastair Law will talk about building and sailing his Paradox design 14 foot cruising boat.   As many of you know, Alastair has completed the HBBR Thames trip a few times but he mostly sails the Paradox 'little Jim' on saltwater, on the estuaries and coat southern UK.
 
https://plymouth.zoom.us/j/9161080000
John

[Paul H (admin)]

John,

I see 7.30 to 8.30 in the event calendar for Al's talk. Please confirm.

Paul

[John P]

Start 7:30 pm  (BST) tomorrow, all being well and no technical hitches.  Duration varies a bit, depending how long people want to chat.   I need to remember to include the BST, we have one or two people attending from very far away places.

[John P]

Thank you Alastair for a fine presentation yesterday evening. You made a very good case for us all to build ourselves Paradoxes, at least those of us who sail single handed which seems to be a big proportion of HBBR and DCA folk. Lots of good discussion following your talk too.  

These meetings are probably best attended as they happen, but if anyone would like to view a recording one should become available soon at www.ayrs.org - look under 'Meeting Reports'.