catsittingstill | (no subject)

It was cold and nasty all last week. Today it hit the low 70s. I had told Martin I would bring Constance to show his shop class (they're building a canoe) today, but at 7:30 am I called and begged off. Because... well, how many more canoeing days are there likely to BE in 2010? I can show the kids the canoe when it's pouring down rain.

Plus Steve had Tuesday off, having traded days off with someone. So we went out on the lake again. We paddled about seven miles (and I'm kind of tired as a result.) This gave me a chance to put some ballast in Constance and see how she handled more weight. I put 30 lbs of dirty laundry and cans of beans packed in a dry bag (the laundry to bulk the dry bag out so the beans wouldn't sink it, the beans to add enough weight to be worth bothering with) in the back. and had 3 old 2 liter bottles I filled with water to play around with balancing the boat.

1) With Steve in the boat (145 lbs, not quite centered), one 2 liter in the very tail solves the trim issue and makes her float level.

2) With Steve in the boat, and no 2 liter, but 30 lbs of laundry/beans in the back (dry bag right behind the rear thwart) I used two 2 liters bow-ward of the front thwart and one behind the front thwart to trim the boat level. In practice i think 30 lbs behind and about 12 lbs in front will work. This is not as convenient as the 2 lbs behind for every one in front formula that I use for Patience, but should be doable. (and drat it it will include a constant term which is essentially the 2 liter in the tail, but increased since the dry bag is closer behind the seat.

2a: Note a 2 liter is 4.4 lbs of water. I usually think of it as 4.5 lbs because that's easier to multiply.

So Constance was carrying Steve (145) plus 43.5 pounds for a total of nearly 190 lbs. Steve reported that she seemed deeper in the water, but that she felt more stable.

We set off up the lake with Steve paddling Constance and me paddling Patience. Alas, there was no wave testing--the lake was very nearly glassy-still, but it was a beautiful day with the golden fall sun ("Indian Summer" as Steve commented) pouring light and welcome warmth on us. The lake water is noticeably colder than it was last week, but not dangerously cold yet. We had a lovely day, paddling and chatting up past Black Oak Marina and north to what Steve referred to as "Goat Island" which seems to actually be a series of islands. We landed on the southernmost one, took turns seeking out quiet communion with the handy trees, then sat and had some cheese and crackers and some water. By then the sun was sinking and we thought we'd better head back, so we switched boats.

That put me (179, in my gear) plus 43.5 pounds for a total of 222.5 lbs. Constance felt a little deeper in the water, but not dangerously so. On the other hand, I'm not sure how she would have handled wind and waves with those conditions. We hastened back--not pushing 100% but not dawdling--, but even so, the sun had just gone behind the ridge by the time we took the boats out, and I loaned Steve my warm fleece shirt because his cotton T-shirt had gotten damp. He's so skinny I expect he gets cold easily, for all he doesn't complain much. He certainly was happy to try on the shirt :-)

I got home planning to collapse when a lucky chance (a League Member had called to ask if we would have a Board meeting before the League Meeting tonight and Kip passed the message along) reminded me that I mustn't in fact collapse--indeed it was incumbent on me to get the canoes off the car (or tie them down better but removing them was faster) and go to the League meeting.

Which was on the structure and function of the Tennessee General Assembly. And Dr. Kara Stooksbury, a Carson Newman professor whom Ruth had asked to give the talk because she heads the Political Science department, gave a CRACKING good talk--at least *I* found it fascinating. We ended up being nearly as much question-and-answer as talk but she was a good sport about it and I hope she'll come to other meetings.

We had a quick Board meeting afterward, which worked out well. I recruited a few people to help me with the booklet and we agreed to change the topic of the next meeting (in January) to invite the Chairman of the County Commission to talk to us about the rules governing the County Commission. In particular there is a lot of interest in when a County Commission vote becomes a done deal and how many times it can be dragged back to be hashed over again. We feel like there would be a lot of interest in that topic so I'm going to invite the Chairman of the County Commission tomorrow.

So I'm awfully glad I didn't forget all about the meeting, which I might have without that happy chance.

And--

I want to build another canoe. I may have mentioned this. But. I have Patience on the back porch and Constance in the boatshop. If I just move Constance and her cradles onto the back porch it will no longer be possible to use the back porch for anything else. Like, grilling. Did I mention Kip loves grilling?

So, my clever plan. I will build a canoe rack so I can stack the canoes one over the other on the back porch, take up no more back porch surface than Patience is taking now (well, a little more) and have my boatshop back. I designed a rack, ran down to consult Steve at the hardware store yesterday, picked up wood and screws and some carriage bolts, and last night went over to Steves where we cut the notches for all the T laps. (I'm using lap joints, since they're quite a bit easier than mortise-and-tenon but still provide some rigidity.) Steve used his circle saw to cut the edges, I whanged most of the waste out with a chisel, and then Steve cleaned out and squared up the bottoms of the notches with his router. Now that I see how he did it it doesn't look that hard. Just time consuming.

Then this morning before canoeing, I cut the end laps on the pieces that will fit in the notches. I cut six end laps but have two to go. The laps are really substantial; it takes me about 20 minutes to make the pair of cuts with the Ryobi saw. Of course part of that is that I have to be careful and cut right to the lines.

Anyway, I think tomorrow I will have a canoe rack. With spaces for 3 canoes! Putting off the necessity of making a canoe shed for a couple of years at least.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Y'know, SOME people get addicted to crack, not canoes...
Healthier choice, all around, if you're careful of your back.

Crack might be cheaper.... though probably not added up over time.

If you mean canoes are healthier, I agree. Yes, it's important to be careful of my back, but it's even more important to be careful of my mind :-)

I ache with envy - I haven't been on the water in any kind of vessel this year. Fine weather here, too, but unless I skip out on some obligations it's not going to happen.

Urg. I'm sorry.

One of the lovely things about canoes is that they don't require as much launching and putting-away time as larger boats. So it's practical to get out for an hour or two.