"My Happy Place": Tongue Farm Yacht Club

It started with a large pond on a farm near Matakana. A couple of retired boat builders bought Dragon Force 65 remote controlled racing yachts. Then their friends followed. Standing in a paddock in gumboots on the exposed site, I brought my portable gazebo along. It blew away. Something more substantial was necessary.

Over the next two years, I got a bit carried away. For fun, I built a scale model Bean Rock, which illuminated at night. The guys turned up on Sunday racing day and thought it was hilarious. The owner of the farm loved it. I never expected what would come next.

First, the lighthouse stayed. The owner wanted it permanent. I rebuilt it twice - strengthening it each time - as it endured several severe storms. Here are some photos of the 'full scale' Bean Rock and the model that I built:

Next, I was asked whether I could build a more permanent shelter in the same style as Bean Rock. That got me thinking. The site didn't have electricity, was exposed, and I wasn't exactly fit. Also, the district plan meant that the structure couldn't have walls or a floor to be considered a pergola. I had to design it, prefabricate it, transport it to the site at night, and get it assembled with the least amount of effort. It literally snapped together with a few custom built steel plates. The best part is that it was cost efficient, creating zero waste, and low maintenance. All beams, benches, and posts were fractions of the 6m, 4.5m and 3m lengths of wood and roofing metal:

Then, we needed a locker to store our equipment. Again, I kept the style consistent:

The jetty was next. I surveyed the jetty to align with the locker, pavilion, and the Bean Rock start line:

To launch some of the bigger remote controlled boats and service Bean Rock, I even added an elevator later, using a remote control 4WD winch and gym equipment pulleys:

Here is the elevator in operation:

To maintain the facilities, I added a storage locker for the lawn mower:

The fencing around the compound and the entrance gate were all in keeping:

Here is a tour of the facilities, including a bird scarer that was too loud for a neighbour 300 metres away, who had a helicopter. Warning: things might get loud:

So, you can imagine that, with such facilities, we held some really awesome events:

The club gave me this to thank me:

Of course, I had my fun, building replicas of Team New Zealand yachts to sail on the lake, a boat for a friend who worked for Stars & Stripes, and several other close friends: