Switching gears

I think it is safe to say that I am no longer pushing towards sailing this season and I am looking directly at fall haul-out. I paid the storage deposit and I have calculated the cost of my new and improved boat cover plan and I just think I would rather put my resources there. Its been a fun season even without sailing and I have enjoyed not having the constant pressure to get something done.

I was busy Saturday getting my girlfriend's car situation sorted out. Sunday was for regular errands. Today, I rowed the nutshell out to Jenny to check everything out. It was a nice row against a stiff current on the way home and I am now convinced I don't need an outboard skiff. The 5hp Honda I have for the skiff has hardly been used and I am losing the love for it so I think I will sell it and buy some shop tools with the proceeds. I am much more interested in shop tools than outboards at the moment. I might even use the shop tools to get something done on a Shellback dinghy (12' row and sail) project that stalled last fall. That would make a nicer utility dinghy than the small Nutshell. The Nutshell is a great cruising dinghy but where size is not a detriment the Shellback has many advantages. Its basically a Nutshell with a longer and pointed nose anyway. The option to realistically haul in the pickup and sail out of distant waters is intriguing. Of course I have some ideas for bigger boats that do this but there are just too many good boats to build and too little time.

Anyway, I spent some time on the boat enjoying the nice sunny day and doing some cleaning. The birds weren't much of an issue but the lack of decent ventilation was. I am starting to see mold grow inside on the painted surfaces. I didn't have a ventilation system in place when I launched and the boat gets pretty stuffy as a result. Next year ventilation goes up on the priority list.

I also took some rough measurements for ordering interior supplies. I am convinced now that I am going to cover the bulkheads with vertical tongue and groove cherry paneling and I am putting together a materials estimate. So far it looks like 50-60 square feet of coverage; a bit more if I decide to cover the lower settee fronts which I am leaning against doing at the moment. Cherry veneer plywood will be used inside as well. I just want something more visually interesting on the blank bulkheads.

Last year the winter cover was sort of a hybrid. The ridge line was supported by frames on deck and the tarp was held off the boat with six curved frames (bows). It worked okay but the ridge pole and frames tended to move around in windy weather which kept me worrying about chafe marks. This year I want the bows to support the ridge pole which means a lot more bows (like 12 per side) which will make the cover more of a real structure.

Not much to write about this week. The boat looks good except for where the river scum collects. It only takes a few hours for the brown stain to show up so I have stopped trying to scrub it off. I think next year I will have to raise the waterline a bit since the bow is right at the waterline now and I expect to add at least a thousand pounds to the boat over the next few years (50 gallons of water, 4 group 27 batteries, interior wood, food stores, electrical equipment, etc)

Lots of recent postings have been rather boring and I am sure I am losing my audience (if I ever had one). If you still check in, just hang on into the Fall when boatwork can begin again. A lot of the distractions this summer are winding down so I expect to get some interior and sail hardware projects done before winter. With the boat mostly fully insulated winter work is becoming an option too.

Stay tuned.