DEAD

Killing that BlueFin Tuna was bad karma. Lots of bad stuff happened right after, and the loss is as permanent as the life of that valiant fish.
~
Maybe we had lost it a while ago, without realizing or acknowledging it. The Taoist Masters warned me not to care so much.... but I didn't listen.

Tuna Wars

BLUEFIN TUNA
Order - Perciformes
Family - Scombridae
Genus - Thunnus
Species - thynnus

Obviously, we were successful this morning in our quest to rid our waters of the BlueFin Tuna. ~
We might have to grill and eat this one to drive our point home.
~
I'll give you more details, but I'm too damn tired from getting up at 3:00AM to meet this 150+ lb. behemoth out on the NorthWest Corner of Stellwagen Bank.
~
Ryan Nestor and Chris Crawford did the heavy lifting. Mike Nestor drove the boat, and I stayed out of the way. A true team effort.
~
We initially caught a respectable stripped bass, who rost to the trolling squid spread. Federal regs require that stripers be released on Stellwagen and we unhooked him as soon as possible. By 6:30AM, Ryan's trolling rod bent violently and unmistakenly.
~
After about 1/2, the fish was close to the boat, and Ryan tried to muscle him over the gunwale. Mike grabbed him before he was pulled overboard, and Chris got a gaff into the tuna. We all humped him in, bled it, then deadheaded for Salem Harbor, arriving at the Richard Rockett Landing around 8:15.
~
By 3:00PM, 12 hours later, the adrenalin was completely gone and I was completely spent. Couldn't even rally to Blog until now!!!

Week 26 - 2007 Peeps of the Week

I tried to get the new bench installed on the WhaleEye in anticipation of the run out to Stellwagen tomorrow morning with Ryan, Chris and Mike. But the existing helm seats seem to be welded to their pedestals, so I backed off and concentrated on powerwashing the deck and installing the new deck caps.

The POTW selections are all female. That's just the way that it goes. It's not like I can control it or anything. So back off on the gender thing!!! Stupid Jerks.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 26th week of 2007

Stacey Butler
Katelyn Nestor
Jill Phillips
Emily Ingardia
Laren Rathbone
Mary Endres

Now I can concentrate on the tuna trip tomorrow.

POTW Day

I've got a lot of stuff to do today.
~
Mike is flying home from Charlestown, SC and Ryan wants to go tuna fishing tomorrow morning.
~
The cleaning of the deck was begun yesterday afternoon, but the powerwasher ran out of gas, so I have to go the the station, grap some gas and finish this job. Also the leaning post was delivered from Boater's World and I have to frabricate a wooden knob for the sawed off railing on the WhaleEye. The installation of these on the boat will take some time.
~
Plus, the Nanepashemet Project balls have to be kept in the air.
~
And you expect me to select the Peeps of the Week by this evening???? Shouldn't be too tough with the great candidates this week. I'm open for nominations as long as you don't nominate yourself. Although that would be annoying.... which is a valid category for selection.
~
My temples are throbing. I can feel my head starting to explode.
~
A lesser man would wilt.

Killer Ap

The Apple iPhone is going to give Nanepashemet Telecom more work that we can dream of. It is the killer application that will cause people to demand more bandwidth from their wireless network providers.
~
To provide the level of video and data proposed by the iPhone, you need more antennas, more equipment, more services by Nanepashemet Project Management, Inc.
~
Thank you Steve Jobs.

Ebbs and Flows

We had a nice harbor cruise with Lynda and Will Murray this evening. Very relaxing. The Murray's are fun and great company.
~
Note to Self: Never ask Lynda Murray to help tie up your boat.
~
I took care of a sizable financial obligation today and was treated very fairly. It's weird how making a payment can almost be as satisfying as receiving one, in the right situation. Money itself - how it comes and goes, ebbs and flows - is also mystical at times.
~
Although I need to get more of the flow and less of the ebb pretty soon.

Diverse Accomplishments

We got up in North Conway early, cleaned the condo and were back in Marblehead by 9:30AM. The lawn was a mess so I cut it immediately, but by 10:00 AM it was over 80 Degrees and getting hotter. I knew that I had to get a coat of paint on the deck railings, so I went into overdrive while fielding calls from the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission and Sprint.
~
By 2:00 PM , the deck railings were painted and I was showered and ready for my pricing call with Tom and MIke. We covered a lot of ground with three potential customers by 5:00 PM and I also got some interesting calls from Wild Bill.
~
At 5:30, before dinner, I went down to the Salem Harbor Mooring to check on the WhaleEye electronics, that Ryan had said blew a fuse. They were fine. Don't really understand what happened. I want the WhaleEye ship shape for when Mike Nestor is home with us for the next ten days or so.
~
After dinner, I toured Marblehead Harbor in the Tender... a three mile row that basically qualified as a workout.. The leak issue is very minimal, but I have to tune a lot of stuff in the trailering process.
~
Got the usual oohs and ahhs from people watching me row from their sailboats. The tender does cut a pretty figure... even with me rowing it.
~
Tomorrow, I have meetings with Mike Rockett in the morning. Mike got some great press in the Salem Evening News today for the Salem Waterfront Hotel expansion. His photo, in a very visionary pose, was featured on the front page of the paper, and the Salem Mayor and State Rep went on record with supportive comments for the project.
~
Nice Job Mike!!! I'm really proud to be associated with him and this project.
~
Time for some Dark and Stormies.

Authorship

So I'm sitting here thinking about writing a series of books.
~
At least five, maybe seven.
~
The first will be about building boats - specifically, the trials and tribulations of building the Chamberlain Marblehead Gunning Dory.
~
The second will be about fishing - documenting a season of chasing stripers and tuna around the the North Shore of Boston.
~
The third will be about a fascination with maps and GPS.
~
The fourth will be about the experience of running a business.
~
The fifth will be a character study on someone who interests me.... like Donald Trump.
~
Not sure about the sixth and seventh.
~
Don't worry. I won't forget the Peeps who supported me when I was just a Blogger. BTW, if you find me a publisher, I will be sure to mention you in the acknowledgements.

Nice Office

The day in North Conway was a great success, with the sunset capping a fine 24 hours on Earth.
~
Joanne and I went to the outlets then had a nice lunch at the Thompson Eatery in Jackson.
~
After lunch, we took a ride to Conway Lake and checked out the boat launch ramp and the trailer parking facilities.
~
When I got back to the condo, I took a couple of business calls and fired off some emails, which really got me pumped, because it is apparent that this virtual office gig is very feasible.
~
I'll take the Tender for its first lake run in Conway, then later make the trek up north to Lake Umbagog.

Afflicted

I know that most of you envision me as a vigorous, mountain of a man, oblivious to the physical frailties that plague the majority of lesser men.
~
Not So!!!
~
Even I can be stricken by the afflictions that plague common people.
~
Today the problem is the freaking Gout in my right foot, specifically the outside joint of my big toe.
~
I could feel it coming on up in Burlington at the Wedding, but I viewed it as a byproduct of my aggressive dance moves. Luckily, I packed my Allopurinol and a green pain killer just in case the Gout made an appearance.
~
So I'm thinking that the pain will soon fade into light headed euphoria.

Take Precautions

I can't believe the sympathy e-mails that I have received due to the insidious prank pulled on me by the devious Jill Phillips.
~
Thank you for the kind sentiments.
~
Trying to counterfeit a Dark and Stormy is about as low as you can go. At least she didn't try to pass a fake Lagavulin!!!!
~
That would have been a capital offense.
~
I took a mug shot of the culprit so that you can protect yourself from being victimized like I was.
~
The good looking guy, Eric, has been posing as Jill's boyfriend for some time now. I'm not sure of his complicity in this plot.
~
Kate and Emily may also have played a role.

Time to Regroup

We haven't been to the Northbrook condominium in North Conway for a while. Building the new Sundance school, the work on the Tender, and not wanting to go far while Will was getting ready to be born were the major reasons.
~
In fact, the last time I came, I got some X-C skiing in.
~
Everything was fine, except a couple of hornets decided to build a nest in our grill on the deck. Bad choice.
~
We'll regroup here for a day or so, then get back to business at Nanepashemet Project Management.

Road Trip News

We left Essex Junction this morning and cut across Vermont to No. Conway. I'd seen dead deer along the highway in California and Pennsylvania, but never once in New England.
~
But on this trip, we saw two - one on Route in Vermont and one in NH, both on Route 302.
~
During the ride, both Mike and Ryan called. Mike was getting ready for his trip home from DC, and Ryan had just returned from a morning fishing outing at Stellwagen Bank. He said he was out on the Bank by 5:00AM, and ten minutes later, hooked onto a giant Bluefin which stripped the line.
~
The fish must have been well over 400lbs. to do that to our Olkume tuna rigs, and Ryan said that he was powerless to halt the line stripping. WOW!!!! I would have loved to have seen that.

A Happy Day

Brian and Stacey's wedding was really fun... until Jill Phillips did the unthinkable.
~
It's hard to articulate this, so I'll just blurt it out. She put a lightly tanned liquid in a wine glass in front of me, and told me it was a Dark and Stormy.
~
Naturally, my defenses went right up. I could tell that something sinister was in process. I think that Jill felt that she could take advantage of me because of the sweat pouring from my forehead as I tried to regroup for the next dance set.
~
She must think that I'm a big, fat, idiot.
~
Even in my reduced physical state, I could tell that the mislabeled drink sitting in front of me was Ginger Ale and Myer's Black Rum..... certainly not a Dark and Stormy.
~
Nice try Jill. Joanne and I still had a great time, despite your evil plot.

Deck Cap Plan

Last night I got my inspiration for the deck cap design.
~
It will be patterned after the breasthook of the yacht tender, which was formed with two pieces of Meranti Mahogany, and a strip of red oak epoxied in the middle. There is a crown on the oak strip that was formed by planing and belt sanding the breasthook. Then fine sanding, a couple or three coats of epoxy and at least five coats of marine varnish.
~
1x8 meranti boards will be positioned over the rail curves from post to post, then curves of mahogany will be jigsawed from one side and jointed to the other. All of the angle joints will be expoxy glued and reinforced with biscuits.
~
Under all of the edges will be a 3/4 strip of oak, which will form a two toned illusion of a 1 1/2" rail piece.
~
I'll set my router edge guard for 7 1/2" inches and run a straight edge bit along the entire rail to insure that the rail curves are parallel.
~
Then I'll reset the edge guard to center on 3 1/4" and make the center plough cut which will house the middle oak strip. Then 1/4" oak strips will be cut from a 14 foot oak board that I have been storing for a couple of years. The thin width of the oak should allow it to bend easily into the plough cut, which will be bedded with epoxy.
~
When all that dries, I will plan and sand the crown and edges.
~
The contrast of the dark Mahogany, enhanced by the oak highlights, with the painted white curved rails should be cool as hell!!!
~
I'll definitely take pictures to show you. If all goes according to plan, we should see this masterpiece before the 4th of July when Mike comes home again.

Vermont Wedding

Joanne and I are in Essex Junction, VT to attend the long awaited wedding of Stacey Mallette and Brian Butler. Naturally you recognize their names as former Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week.
~
We are staying at "The Inn at Essex" which is a hotel restaurant complex that houses a culinary institute. The food is good.
~
Tomorrow, we will drop over to St. Michael's College to pick up a baby sized T-Shirt for Will, then rest up to get down for this happening affair. I'm going to try to be reserved, but I brought my dancing shoes just in case.

Dark and Stormy Dilemma

Inner circle Peeps know that Dark and Stormies are one of my favorite summer drinks. You remember the recipe right?

• Ice
• Goslings Black Seal Rum
• a squirt of Lemon Juice or a lemon slice
• Ginger Beer (definitely not Ginger Ale)

Part of the deal, though, is that the Ginger beer usually goes flat if you try to save it.... and one bottle handles three drinks.
~
So if there are no Peeps around, and I decide to have a Dark and Stormie, I really have to have three so that the Ginger Beer is not wasted.
~
I'm just finishing my third now.

POTW Selections

I'm wicked tired from priming the deck railings, but it's POTW day, and I know that I have obligations.
~
Many are impressed with my dedication to this massive obligation. I don't blame them. Even I have great admiration for my ability to select worthy or annoying Peeps for their contributions for inspiration or irritation over the past week.
~
Often I'm asked "How do you do it? How do you muster the intestinal fortitude to make these important selections?" Excellent questions, the answers of which we may never know.... like the mysteries of faith.
~
Had enough of this Monkey Dung? Me Too.
~
Let's get on with it.
~
Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for 2007 Week 25

Tyler Gill
The Incredibly Screwed up Indian Women in the Unitied Frequent Flyers Call Center.
Kevin Grimes
Eyk Van Otterloo
Amanda Houghton
Kat LoConte

Are you satisfied??? Now maybe I can get some rest.

Bondo

The Rockett Hotel meeting lasted until noon, then I went to Pep Boys Auto Parts to get the Bondo. After a 1:30 sales conference call, I was ready to Bondo the gaps in the railing. I had never used the stuff, but it was straight forward enough.
~
After you mix the red hardener with the grey goo, it sets up really fast. Your have to mix small batches and work quickly.
~
I was foolishly wearing my flip flops and didn't realize that a dollop fell on my big toe. I found out about it when it started to harden and burn. Then I was nervous that I couldn't get it off without ripping my toenail. It came off with a little too much force, but no apparent damage.
~
After Dinner, I sanded half of the hardened Bondo. The railing came out far better than I expected. This Bondo is good stuff and could cover a ton of sins in the future.
~
Tomorrow, I have to go to Jack Connolly's memorial ceremony at the Lynn Yacht Club, then meet with Peter Lojko. They are going to spread Jack's ashes in Lynn Harbor. I'm pretty sure that this will not be one of my final bequests.
~
Afterwards, the plan is to finish sanding the Bondo, fill with Spackle and spray paint the posts, railings, and balusters. Friday may see an additional coat. But I have to leave for Concord to drop off a bid to the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission, and continue to Burlington, VT for Brian and Stacy's wedding.
~
Sometime next week, I will start to build the mahogany and oak caps. This will have to be epoxied and marine varnished.
~
When all that is done (probably by the end of next week}, I will power wash the deck and build the stairway railings. I'm thinking of something curved and laminated with mahogany and oak strips.
~
Then we'll get back to the basement.
~
Also, in case you were wondering, I blew off the Harbor rowing workout today. Tomorrow might be a better chance.

Working in the Workout

High Tide tomorrow at Marblehead Harbor is 3:30 PM in the afternoon. I have meetings with Mike Rockett in the morning, and will be attending to Nanepashemet details until after lunch. Then I have to get the Bondo and fill in the railing gaps on the deck.
~
Hopefully, I'll be ready to try to get in a rowing workout on the Tender by 3:45 PM or so.

Deck Repairs

We are in a holding pattern with a couple of our projects, so I used the downtime to jack up a portion of the back deck that was sagging, remove the cap cedar on the railing that was failing, and purchase the red meranti mahogany for the new railing cap from Moynihan Lumber in Beverly.
~
I jacked up the sag using the tire jack from my F140, then reattached the rim joist to the garage foundation using power actuated Ramset masonry nails. The system scares the hell out me because of the gunpowder explosion used to drive the nails into the masonry, but it is very effective for fastening wood to masonry.
~
The 1x8 meranti went for $2.35/lf which would probably be about $4.00 per board foot. Expensive, but with the right finish, it will add value to the deck for years to come.
~
I have to get some Bondo to fill wood gaps in the curved railings tomorrow and when that cures, I'll spray paint the bannisters, railings and posts, then apply the mahogany caps. Beneath the 1x8 mahogany, I'll epoxy 3/4 strips of oak to give a sense of bulk and also a two toned cap design.

Needless to say, once I got going on this project, I blew off the rowing workout in the Harbor.

A Biological Fact

I didn't get to row in the Marblehead Harbor as planned today, because Tyler Gill invited me to join his foursome at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce Tournament at the Ipswich Country Club.
~
I haven't been to that development since it was new in the eighties and early nineties. It's still really nice and the course was in great shape.
~
My golf game wasn't.
~
Tyler hits a nice ball, and his EnerNOC colleagues were competitive. I had to be a drag to the foursome.
~
Every time I play, I think it will be different, but by the 12th hole, I'm always done - with 6 or 7 holes left. Plus the game takes so much time. If the tournaments were 9 holes, I bet that I would even look forward to them.
~
My father was a good golfer, and my boys, Ryan and Mike are very capable. But the golfing gene skipped a generation, because I truly suck. I feel that I am biologically incapable to score in the nineties.

A Great Place to Workout

Today, I was reminded that rowing is really good exercise based upon the overall soreness in my body.
~
Since the Tender was so seaworthy, and fun to row, I'm planning on getting in the three mile loop of Marblehead Harbor at every chance when it is high tide.
~
For the next two days, high tide is around 3:00 PM.
~
It doesn't hurt that Marblehead Harbor is so beautiful. Even when I was a kid growing up in Lynn, I would ride my bike to the Harbor as much as possible.

Tender Launch

I know what you are thinking.
~
"That must be a good boat to keep that Fat Bastard out of the water."
~
Well, you're right.
~
A successful launch witnessed by Joanne, Katelyn, Peter Crawford, Jim and Kathy Peabody, Chuck and Elaine Jellison along with William's great grandfather Pa Jellison, and Linda and Tom O'Shea.
~
Peter Crawford provided the color commentary.
~
It did leak somewhat, and the source has not been identified.
~
But the trial run was great. After Katelyn and Tom took turns, I rowed out to the mouth of the harbor and back.... about a three mile trek that took me an hour.
~
The boat was very stable and fast moving - a credit to the original Herreshoff design.
~
Lots of compliments from onlookers.
~
It is a freaking good looking boat if I say so myself.
~
I hope that Ryan and Will catch a lot of fish from this Tender in Will's future childhood years.
~
It is definitely a one rower boat though. I had hoped that two could row together comfortably, but the trial with Katelyn makes this doubtful.
~
The next boat, the Marblehead Gunning Dory, should accommodate two easily.
~
Now the sailing rig has to be finished to see how the Tender sails.

Busy Saturday

Lots of stuff to get done today.

• Install the centerboard and epoxy glue the front seat in place
• Clean up the back deck
• Get Mike a frequent flyer ticket to DC
  
• Launch the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht Tender
• Lay a row of tiles
• Drink some Dark and Stormies

I better get busy.

Power Week

This was as powerful a week as I've had in some time.
~
Moved forward with two major projects for Nanepashemet Project Management and submitted a large proposal from out of the blue, met William Nestor, my new grandson, tied up a key loose end for Sundance Pre-school, substantially finished the Tender, and confronted my mortality in Concord, NH in the midst of coming in with the low bid for the NH State Liquor Commission.
~
Whew!!!
~
As much as the week was exciting, I wouldn't mind a little boredom in the next few days.
~
Somehow, that doesn't seem likely.

Countdown

The last step before launching the Tender will be to reinstall the centerboard and permanently epoxy glue the front seat. I'll do that first thing in the morning with fast set epoxy so that it will be dry by noon.
~
High Tide tomorrow is 12:57 PM EDT. So the launch will be at 1:00 PM sharp at the Riverhead Landing , Marblehead Harbor, opposite Devereaux Beach at the beginning of the Marblehead Neck Causeway. You are welcome to attend, but it will be pretty boring.
~
Contrary to popular opinion, it will not sink!!!!
~
After putting the Tender into the water off of the ramp, I plan to row around the perimeter of the Harbor, test for leakage and get the feel of the rowing performance of the boat with the fixed oarlocks. Afterwards, there will be Sam Adams on the deck at Beverly Ave.
~
You are welcome to attend that too, and that shouldn't be boring for long.

Can't Top This

Lots of recognition and emails from the Peeps regarding the arrival of the Grandkid, Will Nestor. It was a great day. Even the freaking squirrel laid off of the birdfeeder for a while.
~
It will be hard to top that day this summer.
~
Even launching the Tender this Sunday won't top it.
~
Even catching a Bluefin on Stellwagen won't top it.
~
Even Katelyn letting me finish a sentence won't top it.
~
Even losing thirty lbs. won't top it.
~
Even a case of Lagavulin won't top it. ..... (But that would be close.!!!)

Now do you see what a great day it was????

Week 24 - Peeps of the Week

The easiest week by far to pick the POTW - all for inspirational reasons, which as you know I don't normally disclose.
~
Also, because of the overwhelming events, this is the only week when only four Peeps were chosen.

Announcing
Nanepasehemet Peeps of the Week - Week 24 of 2007

William Nestor
Courtney Nestor
Ryan Nestor
Michael Murphy

Next week, we should be back to a mix of annoying choices - and hopefully a Lagavulin lock in.

Happy Birthday William

William Michael Nestor joined the human race this morning at 4:56 AM, weighing in at 7.35 lbs. 20 inches. Courtney and Ryan are fine but tired. Joanne is thrilled.
~
We got the call from Ryan at 5:05 AM telling us to come to the hospital, and were in the car 1/2 hr. later. When we turned on the radio, the first song was "They Say It's Your Birthday" by the Beatles. That was weird.
~
Wait till you see him!! He's really put together well.
~
Oh Baby!!!

A Matter of Time

If you look carefully at his aerial view of Lake Umbegog in Errol, New Hampshire.... you can see some young trout that will be harvested from the Tender... hopefully by Kid Nestor someday.

Getting Born

Kid Nestor is making his move tonight. Praying for the best.

Rumor

Rumor has it that the NHSLC just made a wise choice in their decision to hire the best damn wireless contractor in the NorthEast.

Le Chat et Le Poisson

Isabelle displays the essence of cat as she contemplated the status of Joanne's new pet fish, "Fin" the Japanese Fighting Fish.
~
Click on the picture to enlarge it and you can see the Blue fish in the vase.

Tender Homestretch

After dinner tonight, the centerboard was fitted. I had to resaw it and plane and sand down to the bare wood, so it will have to be removed and epoxied again.
~
The mast is also almost done, but needs to be fitted into the mast support and mast limber. To me as a neophyte sailor, the mast seems much larger than it should be.
~
When the centerboard finish is cured, I will reinstall it and permanently epoxy the first bench seat. The back seats will remain loose for removal, but will be sufficiently wedged between the centerboard case and the transom.
~
Should be no problem getting to a rowing launch this weekend.

Right on Track

Got a great email from a carrier this morning looking for a proposal. Nice way for Nanepashemet Project Management to start the week.
~
I thought this week would be a big one anyway, but now it might be huge.
~
Could mean trouble for the Tender launch!!

Further Tender Details

Early this morning, I got the fourth and final coat of interior marine varnish on the Tender. Then I sanded the mast and applied a coat of epoxy to it. After finishing this by 11:00 am, I just had enough time to shower and go with Joanne, Ryan and Courtney for a harbor cruise.
~
Seems like kid Nestor is ready to pop. Courtney has carried to term which is good. I'm really interested in seeing this kid make an appearance.
~
In the afternoon, I took down the finishing hut, and turned the Tender upside down with the help of Tommy O.
~
I've decided to get the centerboard fully operational before a launch, and the centerboard doesn't fit smoothly into its case. So I filed the bottom centerboard opening smooth, but I'll have to substantially plane down the centerboard and refinish it with epoxy before it can be reinstalled.
~
By Saturday, I'll be officially ready for a rowing launch. The Sailing launch is planned for July 4th when Mike comes home again.

Final Sopranos

I'll admit that I was wrong on how "The Sopranos" would end. I was sure that Tony was going to get whacked, and I had predicted that his psychiatrist would do it in self-defense.
~
I kind of liked the way it ended though, with the former boss Junior lapsing into oblivion, giving the precedent for Tony to gently continue with the threat of a criminal suit on his mind.
~
It was a good series.
~
Now both "Rome" and "The Sopranos" are over. These were shows that I looked forward to seeing all week. Looks like I'll be experiencing a little gap.
~
There is a new series coming in a seven episode HBO miniseries based on the David McCullogh bestseller John Adams and starring Paul Giamatti. But that doesn't start until sometime in 2008.

Fresh Water Plans

I'll be taking the Tender up to Lake Umbagog on the Northern New Hampshire-Maine border this summer as soon as we can get away.
~
There is a nice boat ramp up there and the scenery is beautiful.
~
Catching a fish would be a bonus.

Raised Expectations

Anytime you expect people to act in a certain manner... and they don't, it is always a source of stress and strain.
~
Better to have no expectations and not be disappointed.

Impediments to Launch

I got the third coat on just before it started to mist. Doubt that the rain will hold off for the fourth and final coat. Which is ok. Since the mast is near complete, I think that I'll get the entire sailing rig done including installing the centerboard before I put the Tender into Marblehead Harbor.
~
The sail won't be stitched together soon, so I'll use the smaller sail that Joanne bought me from Doyle Sailmakers for the Pram that I made a couple of years ago. It's a sprit sail also and is probably a better choice to get the feel of the boat with, since it will be a substantially reefed version of the sail size that is designed for the Tender.
~
I never used it because I never got around to building the sailing equipment for the Pram. It will come in handy now though.
~
Plus, I have to cut and grommet a custom tarp to make a cover so that I can store this thing properly outside on the trailer. I'll make a stand for the mast so that it can be used to slope the interior of the installed tarp.

Plane the Mast.

Late this afternoon, after calls with a couple of customers and some key vendors, I decided to fool around with shaping the Tender mast with the bandsaw and my hand planes. Much to my surprise, I got into a groove and completely tapered and rounded the main mast.
~
Using sharp and well tuned hand planes is an extremely tactile and satisfying experience as the fine shavings curl up from the work piece. The Stanley bench plane that I used was my father's and is at least 40 years old, yet performed flawlessly.
~
With a little touch up on the belt sander pulley rig tomorrow, the mast will be ready for epoxy coating. Coat three of the sprayed marine varnish is scheduled for tomorrow morning after the mast sanding is complete. If the weather holds, and I can get another coat in by late Saturday afternoon, the test launch could indeed be Sunday.

Ben and Jerry's

It's hard to imagine what could be more satisfying than a pint of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. I just had the Pistachio.
~
The only weird thing is that the container says that one pint is four servings.
~
I don't think so. There's no way that anyone but me gets any once I start my pint.

Get Out of Bed

Just so you know... while most of you Pathetic Peeps were languishing in your bedsheets on an early Friday morning, I was out getting the second spray coat of marine varnish on the Tender. I don't know why I have to carry the load all of the time!!!
~
BTW, it took 57 minutes to set up all of the equipment, do a little sanding, mix the varnish, spray the interior and exterior, clean out the spray gun, put the equipment away, and close the garage door. Call it 1 hour.
~
So that's the metric. 1hr/coat of marine varnish.
~
At my pay rate of $250/hr, plus $40 for a pint of varnish and thinner, the cost is $290.00. Tack on 10% G&A, and 10% profit, this job gets priced out at $350 bucks.
~
So that's $350 Bucks that Nanepashemet Boatbuilders earned while you losers were sleeping. Now what do you think of yourselves??? Pathetic.

Launch Build Up.

Don't get all excited about this, but I got the first spray coat of marine varnish on the interior and exterior of the Tender this afternoon. Three or four more coats and then I will have to actually put it into the water.
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If I get up around 6:00AM tomorrow morning, and get another coat on, that should give me plenty of time to get to my 9:00 AM pricing conference call. After that, I have to go to the Salem Waterfront Hotel for a Sales Meeting. By lunch time, the coat should be dry and I could spray another coat. One more coat on Sat. Morn., and the launch could actually happen this Sunday.
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If you would like to be invited to the launch, feel free to send me an email detailing the worthyness of your request and it will certainly be considered. I might even spring for some Samuel Adams Summer Ales to commemorate the event.

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week - Week 23-07

Another POTW day.
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I had a number of people this week committing a cardinal sin in the Nanepashemet doctrine.... asking to be a POTW. You would think that people wouldn't be so foolish and crass!!
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I even had Steve Lewis questioning the "no animals" rule. He almost had me though when he asked if his puppy could be Peep of the Week if it came up to me with a bottle of Lagavulin strapped to it.
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I have to admit, that was a conundrum.
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Luckily, it didn't actually happen, so I don't have to adjudicate what could have been a loophole in the Peep Body of Rules and Regulations. It's not a good thing to try to trip me up.
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Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 23rd week of 2007

Tom Chagnon
Jill Tufts
Ray Bates
Steve Lewis
Lauren Rathbone
Mike Chandler

Better luck next time.

POTW Day

Thursday.
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It must be frustrating for you having to wait until the evening before finding out who the honor/disgrace went to.
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But you must be used to frustration.

Electoral Responsibility

Seems like the Presidential campaign is well underway.
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Who do you support?
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As I get older, and debateably wiser, it seems that anyone who wants to run for President is suffering from a serious character flaw - extreme vanity. So, right off of the bat, it's hard to warm up to someone like that.
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In time, I will throw the full impact of the Nanepashemet Blog into supporting one of these obsequious candidates. As you know, it will probably have a major impact on the outcome of the election.
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So, I can't take this responsibility lightly. Naturally, the input of the Peeps will be carefully considered. Right!!!

Nice Try

Quite a few of you decided to take the opportunity to ridicule me because of my confusion with the kill switch on the boat.
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Do you think that bothers me???? Some word missiles from misguided Peeps with bad aim??? HA, Je creche a vous!!
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I've freaked out far worse, on far less, in the past.
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If you want to get under my skin, you'll have to do your homework. For example, I'll be heading to the Gerry tonight to sponsor Dave Bruett's membership, and I suppose you naysayers will have some wimpy editorial comments on that.
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It will take a lot more torpedoes to sink this battleship.

Can't Touch That

We just picked up a ton of business from a major carrier. All of the prep work has kicked in. Hammer Time.

Opening the Season

Those who know me well, know that I'm not a complainer. No whining here. Bitches and Gripes can find another dude.
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But I hate the first time out on the boat every season. There's always some stuff that you forget and you have to get used to a big 3000 lb vehicle bounding up and down in the swells. Usually you get your sea legs after the first time out or so. But you have to go through the first time.
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So tonight, I take the WhaleEye out of the harbor to open it up in Salem Sound. Just getting used to the feel again. I attached the emergency shut off cord and brought the speed up to 25 kts or so. Coming back into Salem Harbor, the battery hatch flapped open, so I put the engine into neutral and then went to close the hatch.
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Naturally I forgot to detach the emergency switch off cord and the engine went off. When the motor wouldn't turn back on, and I was being swept out of the Harbor, I contacted the launch service and asked them to get the Salem Harbormaster out to tow me. After a little negotiation, and trying to contact SeaTow, he reluctantly agreed to tow me to the mooring.
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After a couple of minutes of being towed, I realized that I hadn't reattached the emergency shut off cord. Sure enough, when I reinstalled the cord, the engine turned over. By that time, I realized that my navigational lights were not operational, and when the Harbormaster asked me my name and address, I was sure that I was being written up for non-compliance with the running lights regulation.
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I brought the boat back to the mooring with no further incidents.
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Can you see now why I'm downsizing to oars and sails???

Good Looking Kid

One of Katelyn's best friends, Lauren Rathbone, gave birth to a handsome bruiser, Ethan.
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He's a toughie, But you may have to invest in a more manly hat, Lauren.

A Name for the Tender

I've received a number of questions regarding a choice of names for the Herreshoff Columbia Tender lately.
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Fair enough.
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It's been tempting to name it "Nanepashemet" after the famous blog and equally renowned project management company.
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Unless somebody suggests a better name in the next week and a half, then that's the way it will go. But I'm open to advise from the Peeps.
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I've already disclosed to Tyler Gill that we will be foregoing the christening with champagne for a quality bottle of Samuel Adams Summer Ale.

Fair Warning to Fish

The WhaleEye hit the water today, sealing the fate of hapless tuna, stripers, and bluefish who are now in the twilight weeks of their short fish lives. Unless another mechanical mishap occurs, we will be mercilessly pursuing our finned prey by the weekend.

Close Call

I know that most of you Peeps are awestruck by my engineering prowness. Being able to construct the Boat finishing shelter in only one weekend has leveraged literally hundreds of emails - all expressing admiration, shock and awe.
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Well I almost let you down.
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With a steady rainfall all last night, I couldn't believe the amount of water that had collected on the top of the tarp. I literally couldn't push it up from below, and had to get a ladder and bail the collected rainfall from the top of the hut.
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If the shelter had collapsed, it would have been a public relations disaster!!! Maybe the end of the Blog as we know it!!!
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Whew....
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As I continue to advise you, I am only a man... not a Greek God, or Marvel Comics Superhero. Even I can have failings and frailties.

Good Morning Asshole

Can't Good Morning America find another story other than a selfish personal injury lawyer, Andrew Speaker, who has no problem screwing other people? Like that's never happened before.
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This one has a new twist though. Sneaking on a commercial airliner with Tuberculosis.... he didn't mean to put other people at risk. What an asshole.
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I hope every passenger on that plane gets their own personal injury vulture/lawyer, and sues poor Andrew for pain and suffering.
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Now his Mommy and Daddy are fighting his battles for him. If one other person gets TB transmitted by him, the whole family, as well as Diane Sawyer, should swing.
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We need some real news.

Launch Date

Finished the temporary spray painting hut by 2:00PM today.
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The hut was made entirely from tarps and strapping that was causing clutter under the deck in the backyard. It's made in seven foot sections that are primarily clamped together and can be disassembled and stored for the next boat.
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Now the weather excuse is over. All I need now is time to complete the sanding and varnishing. I'm thinking two weeks to the rowing launch.
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That would be Sunday, June 16.

Time to Ponder

If a Man Farts,
And there is no woman around to tell him that he is a gross pig,
Did he still Fart?

Deal with Weather

All day long, it was supposed to rain today. So I decided to build a series of framed tarp panels so that I could enclose the Tender in the driveway, and still start the final marine varnishing step. The frames were cut from some strapping that I had stored under the deck and I have plenty of tarps lying around.
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By 6:00 PM I had five frames built and two tarps attached, but rigor mortis had the best of me.
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If it is not raining tomorrow, I will finish the tarp enclosure, and get the first coat of varnish on the interior.
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There is a tornado warning in effect for Essex County until 8:30PM tonight.

Last Stages

As you can see, the details are just about done on the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht Tender. Except for shaping the masts that have been laminated, there is virturally no construction left to do.
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I have to sew the sail, but I won't wait for this to be done before launching. The launch will be a rowing event.
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Nothing left but to prepare the surfaces with a 220 grit sanding, then begin the spray varnishing. I also have to epoxy fasten the seats and finalize the centerboard, but these are minor operations.
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June is definitely the month to test drive the Tender.

Starting to Worry

Now I know what they mean about a Full Moon. It definitely brings out the craziness in people.
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I get this email saying that the Peep was going to take one of the Philbrick books that I told you about on his honeymoon.
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Peeps.... Please Pay Close Attention....
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Honeymoons are not for reading the books that are mentioned on this lame Blog!!!
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Honeymoons have absolutely nothing to do with this Blog.
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I used to think that that the people who read this Blog had a modicum of common sense. Now I know that I have to start from scratch.

Distasteful

Now one of my steadiest, most reliable peeps, Stevie Lewis, wants me to bend the rules to make his new dog a POTW.
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What audacity!! Totally out of the question!!
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Plus, I can't imagine how Steve's nostrils taste. Even if animals were eligible, I'd be reluctant in view of this Pup's "bad taste".
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Now.... Jill still has a shot for next week.

Wrongful Supposition

So Tommy McMahon thinks that everytime he chases an idiot off the field at Fenway Park, he should be a Peep of the Week!!!
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Not even close.
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How many times do I have to tell you???
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The only automatic lock on a POTW slot is to get me a bottle of Lagavulin, 16 yr., Single Malt Scotch.
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BTW, I'm running really low.

POTW Week 22

I have no excuse for the tardiness of the Peep of the Week selections today.
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Maybe it was the full Moon.
Maybe the project management business is pre-occupying.
Maybe the Tender obsession has gotten out of hand.
Maybe I'm just a bad person.
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But I'm human.... like the rest of you... and I make mistakes.
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So KMA! Here they are....
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ANNOUNCING
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 22nd week of 2007

Katelyn Nestor
Nathaniel Philbrick
Mark Ferrante
Kelly Clarke
Diane Sawyer
Mark Ryan

Now get off of your high horse and don't squander your obligation to make this world a little bit better today.