Century Club: Tim Ford

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Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
May 7th - on lots of boats

i550, kayak and the Flying Scot Tuesday evening fleet, complete with rig down on one.  No one injured and FS towed back to PSA  safely, so all in all, it was a day!

Painted a bit of the sportboat's interior and launched a kayak to inspect the transom. Paddled out to where one of our neighbors has planted a bugeye!  Wanted some photos, as my Great Grandfather, John R. Ford owned and operated a bugeye in the great turn-of-the-century oyster bed ravage. 

2nd time in as many weeks the red FS lost its rig...something to do with a "pin."  Isn't it always?

 

 

 

 

Friday, May 3, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
May3- Cleaning Day

Goal was to make the i550 look clean and mean.  Took off a winter's worth of dirt, but then I got distracted,  feeling sorry for the kayaks that don't go out all that often so I grabbed one and went out for a paddle. 

Noisy ospreys abound!

Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Work Day number 10

My last of usable "work days." 

Lots of sanding on INC.  The results look like a new Interlux VC Offshore color, called "Magothy Camo" but it is slick as hell and sanded to perfection.  Can you say, "laminar flow?"

Thursday, April 18, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
April 18 - Shad on!

Bunch of stuff.

2nd coat of paint in the V-berth, clean-up in aisle Nine and battery charge. But I forgot my shop vac so I didn't make much progress on the other areas in need of help. 

Launched a kayak for the first time in awhile.  Pesky osprey kept circling the kayak, showing off its newly aquired lunch. I took a second and then third look and damned if the bird wasn't carrying a decent-sized shad!  Either that or a whopper herring, but it looked more like a hickory shad.  Anyway, I hope it was tasty and next time out I'll bring a rod and a few shad darts. 

I just reread Thomas McGuane's The Longest Silence and it has given me a renewed appreciation of Catch-n-Release fishing. 

Hmm...they do taste good though...

Saturday, April 13, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
April 13 - Back to work
  • otto at work
  • more paint
  • one eerie lake

Not much done as the trip to Lake Erie ate up some free days and a weekend.

And I'm quickly exhausting the limit on boat work days.  Doesn't matter, I'm on the water and it's very satisfying to apply paint and try out systems.  I wanted to get the solar panel wired in, but puffs on the creek got to almost 40 (mph) and I didn't think it too wise to start farting around witn a big flat panel on deck. 

So that got scuttled.

But I was able to hook the otto up and while the boat was getting tossed around in the slip watch and listen to it make minor corrections to keep us on course (even though we weren't really going anywhere).

One day it'll be warm and relatively calm. Until then, a luta continua...

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
March 20 - paddle and bilge
  • Turned out to be a kid's toy, not a mooring ball or big fender

Honkin' out in the river with gusts building, eventually, over 35 (mph) so I decided to stick to the creek. Downwind is always fun in puffs 20-30, even in a kayak. 

Got close enough to #1 to get the osprey chirping at me.  There are a ton of noisy birds on the creek! 

My Rule 500 was seemingly lacking in performance so I dove down into that (figuratively speaking) and think I have it back to full-on.  Hope so, as we're getting a lot of rain over the next 3-4 days.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
March 13 - stuff sorted

More time on the CAL-25.  About 5-6 hours this time.  Sorted thru more sails and tossed a few items in the bin. Painted a bit, took off some mildewed Sunbrella, and put a charge on the batt.  The automatic function of the bilge pump seems to be knackered, and I need to get back down soon to deal with it. 

Put the main and the cover back on...these were relieved of duty over the winter to cut down on windage and wear.  Ran the genoa up and took some pix...it's actually in better shape than I first reckoned.

Put some more fenders on too.  Got a lot done, so why does it feel like i have even more to do?

 

 

 

Monday, March 4, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
March 5 - Kayak, casts and some chores
  • JT vs 110 working Jib
  • Extent of sails raised before some TLC on the Main Bulkheads
  • meanwhile the innards get whiter and brighter

I launched a kayak to, for the first time, get a look at RAINBOW's port side, mainly the bottom and along the waterline. But I found it impossible to do much with a extension brush so I bailed on that and just went fishing. Nothin' much happening as the creek temps are still very low.  Next time maybe. 

Got a charge on the battery and a little more painting done. But what was cool was finding two more sails up in the V-berth, one of which is lightly used and it's a JIB-TOP REACHER!  God, I love JIB-TOP REACHERS for leisurely singlehanded daysails. The high clew allows for a ton of visibility and who sails to weather on a leisurely day sail anyway? 

Got some shots of sail size comparison and even dug out the tiny STORM JIB. 

I will NOT be over-canvassed this summer!

Thursday, February 22, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Feb 22 - Fun with a Multi Meter (boat work day)
  • Original JENSEN MARINE switchers
  • Lunch with a meter

Maybe this is day 7 of boat work...I've lost track. 

Anyway, I posted some shots of the way the DC wires are arranged on the boat (on my favorite, very tiny sailing forum) and boy did I hear back! 

But first was just to get the lay of the land and start labeling wires.  God I hate DC.  At least AC just wants to go to ground. Running wires back to a bus creates a nightmarish snarl.  But at least it doesn't electocute you when you F up (unless there's a coil or a bigass capacitor nearby, in which case all bets are off). 

I got somewhere and then I decided to eat lunch and dwell on matters....

Friday, February 16, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Feb 16 - Paint Central (boat work)
  • Not a day on the water, but Frederick's boat show deserves a mention

I think this is my 6th or 7th BOAT WORK day, but I can't help but take the opportunity to apply paint on a warmish day and get even more suited on RAINBOW.  One thing I really need to do is come back with a multi-meter and figure out the wires on this puppy!

Until then there's tons to sand and paint and the shop vac is getting a workout!

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