Notes and Stuff

This week's anxiety attack has passed. In the grand scheme of things it would not have been a major catastrophe had I missed the Timothy Lake Messabout this month but that's what I thought was happening. You see, the Jeep is still not running - and once it is running I am not sure I'd trust it on a road trip to Oregon. So I figured I could use the credit I have with Southwest Airlines, fly to Portland for Michael Storer's presentation at David Graybeal's shop and return home the next day.

David offered to find me a ride to Timothy Lake and back to Portland - but then how would I get my camping gear there?

Thorne offered to share his tent and to give me a ride home if that would help. That wouldn't get my gear up there either, and I didn't want to be mooching gear for the weekend. Thorne later upped the offer to a ride both ways which I really appreciate but I had found a solution.

I decided to rent a car after all. My initial reaction to the price of a rental was based on a week-long rental because I'd have to pick up the car on Tuesday to get to Portland on Wednesday and return the car on Monday. But if I skipped the Wednesday affair I could get a much better price on the car. So, I am picking up a car on Wednesday the 16th, driving to Timothy Lake on the 17th, and returning to Sacramento on the 20th.

I am glad to have worked that out as I have been feeling guilty about committing to doing things (Big Lagoon, Pirates Fest, etc.) and then not doing them. I really wanted to attend the Timothy Lake gathering.

The rudder and dagger board are being prepped for paint! Based on the (nearly identical) recommendations from two separate discussion boards I am using Kilz for a primer and oil-based enamel for the top coats. Following another suggestion I am going to use tractor paint for the top coats. Tractor paint is an oil-based enamel intended for rough outdoor applications and it is considerably less expensive than marine paints. I will use John Deere yellow for the exterior of the hull, the rudder and the dagger board. I have given a single coat of primer to the rudder - and it both shows the flaws and fills the very small blemishes. It looks to me that three coats of primer, sanded between coats will be sufficient on the rudder. The first coat on the dagger board is drying and I cannot guess how many coats of primer may be needed.

The work table is done! I used 2x4s for the legs (instead of the intended 4x4s) but it is solid enough for what I need. It is the same height as the WorkMate so the two can be used together for working larger pieces.

A side project - a camp kitchen box - is underway. I have been talking about this since the boys were in Scouts, and I found a relatively compact design a year ago. But me being me... I didn't get anything done about it until now. I expect to have it ready for the Oregon trip.

My daughter tells me the ground level storage area under her house is pretty much empty and I can use it whenever I want. This means I have a space to build the hull! Now, I need to do some serious planning and preparations. Once I begin assembling the hull I want the sequence to go very smoothly - and quickly.