Fish and I spent most of yesterday working on The Boat, though it's not the sort of work that shows up well on a photograph.  Sure, I added a fifth coat of varnish to the woodwork, but can you tell the difference between that and the second coat?  Sure, we added a fourth layer of fairing compound to the keel, but does it look any different from the first?  Sure, we stripped a couple layers of paint from the hull, but you know what?  Underneath the blue paint was more blue paint.  In fact, I think the original gelcoat on the hull was tinted blue.

At any rate, the keel needs a final fairing (what landlubbers might call "sanding" or "smoothing" or "shaping"), then a coat of epoxy to seal it, and a couple coats of paint just to make it look pretty.  The hull needs a bit of light sanding in a couple of areas, and then it can be primed and painted.  Fish painted the rudder yesterday, so it should be happy.  Once the keel and hull are painted, we're basically done with the bottom work, and so we'll be able to put her in the water come Spring.  We may try to tackle the big repair on the starboard bow before the snow flies, if only because we think it'll be easier to do that on the hard.  But the rest of the deck and cabin work can all be done on the water, with plenty of sailing to break up the monotony.

Anyways, I look forward to being able to show y'all some pictures after the primer and paint goes on.  In the meantime, you'll have to take my word that we're busy working on stuff that doesn't really show.

One of the owners just sent a note to all staff regarding a project our company's been hired to work on.  It includes the following sentences:


Does this even mean anything?  I think it means that we're going to provide support!  Support for a process!  A process which will make a framework!  A framework that achieves understanding!  An understanding of synergy!  Seriously, this is just two sentences, and it's already filled my Bullshit Bingo card. 

( Visualize Lewis Black... )

Okay.  Deep breaths.

So, the question becomes:  why is the owner of my company deliberately trying to piss me off on my birthday?

Ran across this little gem today.  Cracked me up.  Had to share.

Ah, the old days...

I've started a boat page on Picasa to track the work that Fish and I are doing.  It is here, and has lots of descriptive captions to help explain what we're doing.

( Progress report... )

So, the sliding hatch has been dry-fitted, and is ready for finishing, assembly, and installation.  But it's pouring buckets of rain today, and the tornado sirens have been blowing all afternoon, so I think we may take tonight off.

In other news, I went over to the Fairgrounds this morning to help the guys clean up and prep the Men's Club fair stand.  It's not the most pleasant job in the world, and the rain that started an hour after we did sure didn't help things.  I had a very wet bike ride home at lunchtime, and told my boss I wouldn't be coming in for the afternoon as I'd originally planned.  Now that I'm warm, dry, and fed, things are looking much better.

Looks like Turtle Lake is getting its fifteen minutes of fame.  For the record: this took place a couple of weeks ago about a mile from my parents' house.  They were in attendance, though they're not in the video.  They had a ton of fun, though Mom says she definitely needs to wear a tube top to next year's event.

( Not safe for TV... )

According to Dad, it took about 45 minutes to move the remote-steering rig to each "new" car.  During which time, there was something of an impromptu demolition derby going on below.  Though the event officially ended with the "full moon" curtain call, the festivities continued for some time thereafter.  As in, the bonfire was still burning and the drunks were still carousing when Mom went to pick up groceries and a newspaper at 11 o'clock THE NEXT DAY.

I can't believe I missed this.  And I can't imagine what next year's event will look like...

My company's annual summer meeting is this week, so there's lots of extracurricular activities that are keeping me away from home.  Tonight it was a happy hour to welcome our out-of-town compatriots, so my boat experience was fairly limited.  That being said, I did get home in time to haul the battery up to the deck (no small feat single-handed; that thing weighs a ton, and the deck is at least seven feet from the ground) and get it hooked up to the electrical panel.  This was done so that I could run the bilge pump and clear the bilge of the rain that fell over the weekend.

While I was up there, I snapped a few pictures to take the place of those that went away when the Craigslist ad came down.  The following are some pictures of Fish's and my new boat.

( Click for boat pictures... )
That's all I have for now.  Suffice it to say that there's a great deal of work for Fish and I to take care of in the coming months, not least of which is calling around to see if there's a reasonably-priced marina or mooring field we can use as home base when the ice goes out next spring.  In the meantime, we'll get busy on the bottom work, since it has to be all done before we splash her.

Got the boat home last night.  Bit of a pucker factor involved in getting it out of Uptown, and some more when we hit the Interstate and discovered the straps weren't tight enough, and finally some more when we had to finesse it into its landing pad on my alley.  But in the end, the boat was successfully planted at my place before darkness fell. 

My thanks to neighbor Bob for lending me the pickup; trying to maneuver the 16' box truck in the alley was proving nigh impossible, and moving a 3000lb vessel by hand is every bit as much fun as it sounds.  Also, greetings to all the neighbors who showed up to stare at the new landmark.  I'm sure we'll have time to talk more later.

Pictures and descriptions to follow soon.  In the meantime, I need to find a pony to ride on my boat.

So, I have this agreement with Lemur where I can buy myself the odd toys on occasion, provided, and I quote: "Nothing with a comma in the price tag."  This works out great, as most of my impulse buys consist of old computer games from the $9.99 rack, and an issue of Sailing magazine now and then.

Well, yesterday afternoon I made the mistake of checking Craigslist during a mental health break at the office.  'Twas there that I ran across this.  (Hopefully, the link will work for a little while.)  I shared it with Fishtie, and we quickly came to the conclusion that we needed to go have a look at it.

As of about four hours ago, Fish and I are the proud owners of a 1965 Rainbow 24 (Weekender Model).  She's a sound vessel, though she is showing her age.  Her original name is Amazing Grace; the kid we bought her from didn't have a name for her during the time he sailed her.  It should come as no surprise that shall christen her Red Mantis (after the proper de-naming rituals are observed, of course).  First, I need to find a truck that can tow her over to our house, and I need to clear the crap out of the pad by the alley so that I'll have a place to park her for the time being.

The previous owner's repair work is pretty amateurish, so we'll spend some effort improving that.  I also want to sand down the hull and spend some time fairing and repainting the bottom.  We figure we'll spend this summer and fall working on fixing her up a bit, and we'll put her in a suitable lake when the ice goes out in the spring.  The interior work (some electrical and some cosmetic) can be done on dry land or in the water, so it's gonna take a back seat 'til the bottom work is done.

It hasn't really sunk in yet that we actually own a keelboat.  Granted, we're approaching it from the idea that this is our practice boat, one on which we can learn and practice some significant maintenance and repair techniques without the fear of really screwing up our dream boat.  She's seaworthy, though, so I look forward to many good hours of sailing as we work through our list of projects.  I figure that when the time comes, we'll trade up to a real cruising vessel, confident that we'll be able to take proper care of her.

It should go without saying that the boat will be painted and trimmed in red.  Red wan' go fasta!

After a five-day work week that I thought would be the death of me (five days! in a row!), I was pleased to see another four-day week on the calendar.  It was really three and a half, since we eat ice cream after lunch before the holiday, and then all go home early.

Leems and I drove up to the lake on Friday morning, since we didn't feel like coping with Thursday evening holiday traffic.  One nice thing about living just 90 minutes from the lake is that we have these options.  The weekend involved plenty of sailing, and goofing off with the nieces and my folks, and then the big boat parade, and finally the blowing up of small explosives.  We went over to the neighbor's place and sat on their deck, which has a panoramic view of the lake.  Our fireworks were good, as were those down the lake.  The ones across the lake were really impressive, and the ones that we could see at the far ends of the lake (each end) were just outstanding.  It was a heck of a show.

( Lots of fresh air... )

So here we are, with June and July over and done.  Hard to believe that it's almost State Fair time.  Before we know it, the leaves will be turning.  I suspect they'll be early this year, since we're about 14 inches short on precipitation for the year.  I gotta tell you, boating can be tricky when the water levels are all down by at least a foot.  I just hope that when the weather pattern changes, we don't wind up getting 20 inches of rain in one day.