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.