I started posting these back when SB went down at the end of last year - I figured I'd move them over here from www.fixitboard.com and since I've had a couple of requests I figured I'd better finish ...
Part 1
I remember building a boat once - fiberglassed over some plywood in the shape of a boat - it worked as a little bass boat, but talk about heavy - only 8ft long, and weighed near 100 lbs. . . then there was my inflatible sailboat . . . ok it started out as a soft bottomed 12' whitewater raft. I added a solid pine plywood floor, 2 bench seats, rudder, lee board and 15' mast with 110' of sailcloth. Even painted all the wood battleship gray.
She was a beauty and needed a maiden voyage . . . I inflated, assembled and packed everything into and on top of my 1979 Datsun 210 (remember those? Great pizza delivery cars) and took off down the freeway with a 12ft inflatible whitewater raft strapped to the top of my 12ft car. Now I had never been sailing in my life, but I had read a lot of books about it, studied the physics behind it, spent months building my little converted raft, but never actually sailed and had no friends who did any sailing. So I went out to Honolulu Harbour, the wind was blowing gently off shore (about 5-10mph winds) and I began my grand voyage toward Diamond head.
My little boat made very good time, approximately 2knots - after sailing for about an hour toward Diamond head (and actually passing it) I decided it was time to return to the harbor, so I turned around (wish I could remember those "fancy" nautical terms, but it's been about 16 years ago) and headed back. An hour later I was directly off waikiki beach . . . about 1.5 miles off waikiki beach to be exact. But no problem I had read all about "tacking" (I remember that word very well), the art of sailing into a headwind by alternately sailing at 45degree angles left and right to the wind. Of course this was a Flat Bottom boat, and the "tacking" didn't quite work as well as I thought it would. . . after 45 min of going nowhere, well actually 1/2 mile further out. . . I decided it was time to row into shore. Now this boat was great for rowing, it was flat bottomed, had nice solid brass oarlocks, 2 8ft oars, and my vast experience (of 2 times rowing it on a calm lake) behind it. Needless to say after an hour of continuous rowing I took a reading off of Diamond head and I was in the same spot I had been an hour ago - the wind was blowing out to sea at the same rate I was trying to row against it. It was at this point that I became worried, for as I looked at my watch I knew that I was going to be late for work (31 flavors ice cream shop in Kuhio shopping center), now I had never been late for work before, so the obvious peril to life and limb paled in comparison, I just didn't want to be late for work. So I completely humbled myself as the next boat passed by and waved/called for help. . . they waved hello back . . .ok that didn't work and I was getting further out. Time for a distress signal, prayer, "umm God, I really don't want to be late for work, so if you could arrange for some help I'd sure appreciate it. . ." as I sat there contemplating my situation I decided that my whole problem was (no lot lack of experience, I had that now . . . at least bad experience) I needed more surface area below the water line, so I decided on a second leeboard, maybe a different color paint would help too. . . (yes logic was not quite at it's best that day) I worked up the energy to start rowing again, so that I didn't continue my seabound voyage (are those barges out here?) when another boat passed by. OK it wasn't actually a boat, it was a submarine, or one of those partial submarines out for a 3 hour tour (wait that's my theme song, not theirs). Their dilligent crew spotted me and they changed course so they could get within earshot. "Are you OK?" they yelled to me . . . I guess seeing an inflatible raft floating out among the shipping lanes is what gave my distress away finally. "Uh . . . not really" (hmm maybe I won't be late for work after all) "I could really use a lift." One of their crew hopped into their little inflatible dinghy and motored over (hmm power, maybe that's my answer?) he tied my bowline off and proceeded to tow me back to Honolulu harbour. I was quite grateful, and as I tied my rubber beast back on top of my little Datsun I glanced at my watch . . . 45 minutes to get to work and my uniform was already in the car, "Thanks God." And down interstate H1 I went. I wonder how Hawaii can have an interstate freeway, but then again it's no crazier than a young college student strapping a bunch of sailcloth on an inflatible raft and hitting the open seas is it?
As I drove of to work my mind began whirling into activity . . . now next time I need to . . .
Aloha, Kidspot
Part 1
I remember building a boat once - fiberglassed over some plywood in the shape of a boat - it worked as a little bass boat, but talk about heavy - only 8ft long, and weighed near 100 lbs. . . then there was my inflatible sailboat . . . ok it started out as a soft bottomed 12' whitewater raft. I added a solid pine plywood floor, 2 bench seats, rudder, lee board and 15' mast with 110' of sailcloth. Even painted all the wood battleship gray.
She was a beauty and needed a maiden voyage . . . I inflated, assembled and packed everything into and on top of my 1979 Datsun 210 (remember those? Great pizza delivery cars) and took off down the freeway with a 12ft inflatible whitewater raft strapped to the top of my 12ft car. Now I had never been sailing in my life, but I had read a lot of books about it, studied the physics behind it, spent months building my little converted raft, but never actually sailed and had no friends who did any sailing. So I went out to Honolulu Harbour, the wind was blowing gently off shore (about 5-10mph winds) and I began my grand voyage toward Diamond head.
My little boat made very good time, approximately 2knots - after sailing for about an hour toward Diamond head (and actually passing it) I decided it was time to return to the harbor, so I turned around (wish I could remember those "fancy" nautical terms, but it's been about 16 years ago) and headed back. An hour later I was directly off waikiki beach . . . about 1.5 miles off waikiki beach to be exact. But no problem I had read all about "tacking" (I remember that word very well), the art of sailing into a headwind by alternately sailing at 45degree angles left and right to the wind. Of course this was a Flat Bottom boat, and the "tacking" didn't quite work as well as I thought it would. . . after 45 min of going nowhere, well actually 1/2 mile further out. . . I decided it was time to row into shore. Now this boat was great for rowing, it was flat bottomed, had nice solid brass oarlocks, 2 8ft oars, and my vast experience (of 2 times rowing it on a calm lake) behind it. Needless to say after an hour of continuous rowing I took a reading off of Diamond head and I was in the same spot I had been an hour ago - the wind was blowing out to sea at the same rate I was trying to row against it. It was at this point that I became worried, for as I looked at my watch I knew that I was going to be late for work (31 flavors ice cream shop in Kuhio shopping center), now I had never been late for work before, so the obvious peril to life and limb paled in comparison, I just didn't want to be late for work. So I completely humbled myself as the next boat passed by and waved/called for help. . . they waved hello back . . .ok that didn't work and I was getting further out. Time for a distress signal, prayer, "umm God, I really don't want to be late for work, so if you could arrange for some help I'd sure appreciate it. . ." as I sat there contemplating my situation I decided that my whole problem was (no lot lack of experience, I had that now . . . at least bad experience) I needed more surface area below the water line, so I decided on a second leeboard, maybe a different color paint would help too. . . (yes logic was not quite at it's best that day) I worked up the energy to start rowing again, so that I didn't continue my seabound voyage (are those barges out here?) when another boat passed by. OK it wasn't actually a boat, it was a submarine, or one of those partial submarines out for a 3 hour tour (wait that's my theme song, not theirs). Their dilligent crew spotted me and they changed course so they could get within earshot. "Are you OK?" they yelled to me . . . I guess seeing an inflatible raft floating out among the shipping lanes is what gave my distress away finally. "Uh . . . not really" (hmm maybe I won't be late for work after all) "I could really use a lift." One of their crew hopped into their little inflatible dinghy and motored over (hmm power, maybe that's my answer?) he tied my bowline off and proceeded to tow me back to Honolulu harbour. I was quite grateful, and as I tied my rubber beast back on top of my little Datsun I glanced at my watch . . . 45 minutes to get to work and my uniform was already in the car, "Thanks God." And down interstate H1 I went. I wonder how Hawaii can have an interstate freeway, but then again it's no crazier than a young college student strapping a bunch of sailcloth on an inflatible raft and hitting the open seas is it?
As I drove of to work my mind began whirling into activity . . . now next time I need to . . .
Aloha, Kidspot
I seem to like Battleship grey. All three boats that I've had/refurbished have been at least partly battleship grey. 
