There’s no post that could fully describe the joy of this only-in-California combination over the Labor Day weekend.
Archive for August, 2008
Sierras, Lasers, Black Widows, and Opus One
Saturday, August 30th, 2008Farrallones – Not
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Quick post about a quick trip. Headed out for a hypothetical rounding of the Farallones aboard Bob and Shana’s Tayana 37 “Charisma”.
The usual sailing luck: Really calm where you want it windy (i.e. between mile 3 and mile 25 of the trip to the islands) and really windy where you don’t (i.e. groveling in the usual spot by the south tower, learning how hard it is to gybe and/or douse–doublehanded–an a one acre cruising chute that you’ve never flown before and have rigged by tying the tack to the bow pulpit).
The tightest knot
Saturday, August 16th, 2008Shana and Bob, sailing friends, tie the knot.
Fair winds and good holding.
Bottom Paint
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008Eagle and I hauled and painted Shanti ourselves. We were inspired by my grumpy and hyper-competent gang of east coast one-design friends who apparently haul, paint, de-rig, re-glass, re-deck, and otherwise completely eschew the paid services of the boating labor class. Like once a week, if you believe them.
Fine, but in my opinion, even if I’m as handy as everyone claims I am, this is about the same ROI as changing the oil in your truck: Same money, same quality, twice the time, three times the hassle.
Also, an important take-away: In SF Bay, there’s no need to do boat work anywhere but KKMI. I paid the same for a haul-out and yard space at dodgy San Rafael YH as I would at our “notoriously expensive” yard across the bay, but gave up decent equipment, any semblance of security, handy advice, an inspiring view of AC boats on the hard, and a well-stocked chandlery. In exchange for this non-savings, I got my boat nearly dropped off a rickety dolly, a spreader bent on the crane, and some pretty sketchy characters jumping out of the dumpsters every morning.
Did I mention that I didn’t save any money? Short advice: Pay the $1K flat rate in the spring.
How did we do it?
- Longboarded (by hand) down to 100 grit.
- Filled and faired most of the chips and dips
- 2 coats of black Micron Extra
Eagle did most of the backbreaking work around step #1, which basically buys him out of my share of the Islander, in my opinion.
Eagle and Longboard
Down to the primer
Back into the water where it is safe