My Archives: August 2005

My Archives: August 2005

Monday, August 29, 2005
First sail pics can be viewed here or by clicking the thumbs.

Posted by roland @ 03:24 PM CST [Link]
Well, after lessons learned and bugs found from Sail #1, I spent the nights after work trying to fix the steering. Some really good suggestions were posted by members here and on the other board, and what I finally ended up doing is doing 3 turns before the though-hole, tying the rope to itself after going through the shaft, and putting 3 more turns after the through hole. Tightened it all up, and it works well.
With the steering fixed and trolling motor ok (thank goodness for that), we set out on Lake Lahontan again this afternoon. This time it was myself and my two daughters.
Things that went right: Everything! We spend about an hour and a half sailing around. The winds were very light, but we did reach 2 mph (1.73 nautical mph). I remembered my gps this time.
Things that went wrong: Nothing, really. We all had a great time, but again, I forgot the camera. This nice jet skier used his girlfriend's camera to take a pic of us at the doc. Hopefully he'll email them to me sooner than the guy who helped me last week Wink (still haven't gotten them yet)
I did learn to make sure and pull up to the windward side of the dock (I didn't do that this time >8-O ) and the stern swung way out as I was trying to manuever her onto the trailer (yeah, I still had the sails up, but they were loose), but the jet ski guy jumped into the water and helped me load her up. All in all a great day.
Posted by roland @ 03:14 PM CST [Link]
Tuesday, August 23, 2005

hasten; proceed to; sail a vessel. Courtesy of Tian @ hanzismatter.com.
At least it doesn't mean:

Crazy Diarrhea.
Posted by roland @ 07:46 PM CST [Link]
Thursday, August 18, 2005
After long last, I have reached a stage in the building of My Sailboat that she was ready for a test sail.
Guess what, she floats, she leaks (not bad), and she actually sails! I spent all morning getting things ready, and then at 2:30, this guy from a local sailing club (I had put the word out I wanted to do a shakedown sail and solicited help from the club - I'm soooo glad I did, read on) showed up and we headed out to a nearby lake called Lahontan - it's about 25 minutes away. So we got out there, set it up, and launched it. At the dock we watched water seep into the cabin. I was afraid of that, I knew that there was a small leak; I thought I might have fixed it, but no luck. It still leaked. But, since it was so slow, neither one of us lost confidence. We decided to sail.
We took it out with the mainsail only so we would have one less thing to worry about. We motored out (with this puny ass trolling motor - gonna have to fix that sooner or later) and we sailed it for about 10 minutes, and then we hit another problem. It became apparent during a tack that my steering control had gone. I could turn from straight to port, but not to starboard. The bad thing was that in order to sail back to the dock, we needed to turn starboard. So, we turned on the trolling motor and brought her about. That's when we noticed the third, fourth and fifth problems.
Third problem - I had reversed the wiring for the trolling motor. No biggie, all that meant was 3 forward speeds instead of 5.
Fourth Problem - Turn the motor to port, it hits the rudder. No biggie, I can move the motor mount and make another rudder.
Fifth Problem - Turn the motor to port, and it wants to lift off the mount and fall into the lake. Even though I really cranked down on the mount screws. No biggie, I can route a recess for the mounting brackets to prevent slippage.
We made it back to the dock, and assessed the steering. It seems that the rope I used as part of the steering system was slipping on the wheel's axle. Ok, so we wrap the rope around the axle two more times, and tested it, and it seemed taut, and good to go. No more slippage.
This time I headed out by myself, so my new friend could take some pictures of the boat out on the water (I was so nervous today I forgot my camera!). This time, because of the wind, I sailed right off the dock.
It was Frickin' AWESOME. For about 10 minutes I was in beam reach heaven. I was sailing, and not just sailing, but sailing a boat I had built myself. The wind was up, the boat was heeled slightly (I love that!) and carp were jumping all around me. It was a pretty darn good feeling. Then, the steering problem happened again. Ok, well, time to head back... But because of the wind, It was very hard to get back this time, but I made it it. I had to reach behind the boat with my arm to manually force the rudder over, but I could get where I needed to be. Or so I thought... I missed the dock and was being pushed by the wind right into the rocky shoreline adjacent to the dock. I had enough time to throw the motor hard to port to swing her around (but remember the motor - rudder situation?) the boat swung around, away from the shore, but... the water was too shallow for the rudder now (but that's ok, It's designed to "kick up" if need be, so, another ding, but no harm, no foul. I can always create another rudder, it's not to big a deal. So back again at the dock, we decide to call it a day.
All in all, it was a great experience, and I have some more work to do on this thing, but at least it worked for a while! Hopefully I can update this with some pics before too long.
Oh, and last but not least - I think I may have fubarred my trolling motor. I stowed it in the cockpit for the drive home, forgetting to disconnect the battery. When I retrieved it from the cockpit, the motor was too hot to touch. Uh-oh. The motor must have jostled and moved the throttle to an on position. I'm still afraid to see if it's burned out...
Posted by roland @ 08:38 PM CST [Link]
I've updated my DVD List and created a new format, with the help of a piece of software called DVD Database X and a CueCat I hacked to allow it to send upc codes I scanned. The datbase software allowed entering data by parsing a list of upcs, making entry much easier for as many as I have. The software also allows you to create custom reporting templates based in html, allowing web page creation in seconds. Pretty good deal for $20.

Posted by roland @ 08:03 PM CST [Link]
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Sorry, bad joke. But let's talk tatoos. Lately I've been wanting a couple more. I'd like one to honor my family, but I've drawn a blank for inspiration. I'll keep plugging away at that for a while, until I come up with the perfect design. What I'd like to get in the immediate future is a Calico Jack on my back.
Here's the inspiration, courtesy of PirateMod.Com:
Now, let's pick a size:

My wife thinks that's too big.

I think that's a tad to small.
What I really liked - these are screencaps from a deleted scene from Master and Commander, showing vignettes of shipboard life. One of these featured a crewman getting a tattoo of anchor chain around his torso. Very Nautical, very symbolic. I don't know if I'd get a piece that large, but who knows?
starting:
Several rotations done:
Happy with the results:
From the back:
Payment, as promised:
If you have any suggestions or ideas, email me.
Posted by roland @ 04:55 PM CST [Link]
Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Date of birth, 9 August 1978 Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, France.

Why not get Amelie, or Dirty Pretty Things to watch while you wait for "The Davinci Code" movie to come out (She plays Sofie Neveu)...

Posted by roland @ 04:50 PM CST [Link]
Monday, August 8, 2005

Our death is our wedding with eternity.
What is the secret? "God is One."
The sunlight splits when entering the windows of the house.
This multiplicity exists in the cluster of grapes;
It is not in the juice made from the grapes.
For he who is living in the Light of God, or he who is living in the Light of God,
The death of the carnal soul is a blessing.
Regarding him, say neither bad nor good,
For he is gone beyond the good and the bad.
Fix your eyes on God and do not talk about what is invisible,
So that he may place another look in your eyes.
It is in the vision of the physical eyes
That no invisible or secret thing exists.
But when the eye is turned toward the Light of God
What thing could remain hidden under such a Light?
Although all lights emanate from the Divine Light
Don't call all these lights "the Light of God";
It is the eternal light which is the Light of God,
The ephemeral light is an attribute of the body and the flesh.
...Oh God who gives the grace of vision!
The bird of vision is flying towards You with the wings of desire.

[more]
Posted by roland @ 05:55 PM CST [Link]