Re: Multiple groundings and other tricks...
Hello Jack,
Thanks for the generous compliment!I owe it all to
Merriam-Webster,the OED and perhaps a big debt goes to the chaps who
toil in the better vineyards of Italy and France.
Yes,I read how you have been the lucky recipient of a tired
MICRO...........LUCKY YOU!
Thanks for the generous compliment!I owe it all to
Merriam-Webster,the OED and perhaps a big debt goes to the chaps who
toil in the better vineyards of Italy and France.
Yes,I read how you have been the lucky recipient of a tired
MICRO...........LUCKY YOU!
--- In bolger@y..., "Jack E. Bearden" <jalo@i...> wrote:
You mentioned "robust construction" of your keel. Did
you do
> anything to make it tougher than usual? A year or so ago I enjoyed
the
> excellent pictorial step by step keel making process you presented
on your
> website. However, I was not able to get to that site when I tried
recently.
For a re-fresher on the keel pictorial,go to www.duckworksmagazine.com
and scroll the articles section.
As to my keel,it is attached to a 1/2 inch bottom and made up of a
laminate of 2 X 2 mahogany,through bolted up through the bottom and
also a keelson( that little half-witted chickensh*t son-of-a-keel
which lurks inside the boat!).
This particular construction method is,I believe,more robust and
longer-lived then the original suggested by Phil Bolger.Keep in mind
that Phil designed the MICRO to a particular"wish-list" and the method
shown on the plans does work.It just ain't as tough for the repeated
abuses it may recieve from intimate contact with things denser then
water.
I do not have any ready solution for your tidal problem other then to
suggest keeping her at a warf that has at least 20" under her at low
water or anchoring her off a bit.
Barnacles are no problem here as you state.Even green slime has a
problem in the heavy-metal rich toxic soup which passes for"fresh
water".The little Zebra muscle however,does cause all sorts of grief
for the big water-sucking,water-cooled inboards.Expensive grief!But
those little critters sure do enjoy straining out a ton of suspended
sh*t from the water and for that I am grateful for the clear view of
the bottom!
Sorry to read about the black fly problem.Horrible beasts!At least the
Mayflies do not haul a chunk out of ya when they take off!
Best of luck with your restoration,post pictures if you can and do not
hesitate to write if you think I could be of any help.
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,playing catch-up-with-the-postings on an overcast day
off and debating with the crew whether to go to the boat or not,on the
shores of the St.Lawrence..............
>
Given the
> variables of a rocky harbour floor, not to mention the tidal
backwaters and
> rivers on the Bay and basin I want to explore, would you advise any
special
> attention to keel and/or bottom?
minimal "barnacle rash". I realize that
these are
> not likely issues on the St. Lawrence (though Zebra muscles might
be),
>
> jeb, sipping home brew, swatting blackflies, and day dreaming on the
flaky
> deck of Bilbo's Pocket, sitting on her even flakier trailer, on the
gravel
> where a bowshed workshop will soon be build... on the serene shores
of Fundy
Brilliant narrative, as usual, Peter. I've decided to start two seperate
volumes from your postings. One will be titled Lenihans Tips on Miro
Cruising. The other will be a taped in appendix to volume I of Canada: A
People's History. I could almost close my eyes and picture what the coureur
de bois beheld from their birch bark freighters. Unfortunately each time I
closed my eyes I had to stop reading. Sort of like hitting the pause button
on my remote. And I had almost forgotten about May flies. When we lived on
Lake Simcoe we had a neighbor who's bug zapper was shorted out by the shear
mass of the May fly assault. However, I'd gladly trade you your whole
population of St. Lawrence May flies for the singular cloud of black flies
that inhabit the air above my property at the moment. I've set up a
temporary under-tarp workshop for building another kayak. Black flies can
make plan study and line fairing a nearly impossible task.
As you may have picked up from an earlier posting, I've just adopted a sadly
neglected Micro. She's beautifully built with a very sound hull but will
require a winter's worth of evening and weekend work before she goes back in
the water. "Multiple groundings" is a definitive topic for sailing on the
Bay of Fundy. You mentioned "robust construction" of your keel. Did you do
anything to make it tougher than usual? A year or so ago I enjoyed the
excellent pictorial step by step keel making process you presented on your
website. However, I was not able to get to that site when I tried recently.
My Micro will ultimately live much of her sailing days in the Harbourville
harbour where she'll sit high and dry twice every 24 hrs. Given the
variables of a rocky harbour floor, not to mention the tidal backwaters and
rivers on the Bay and basin I want to explore, would you advise any special
attention to keel and/or bottom?
Also, I have in mind a possible system for keeping her more or less
laterally trim during these periods of mandatory parking. I picture
threading a couple of pieces of high density bumper material on rope and
held in place with knots. When anchoring or mooring in tidal water I'd slip
the rope over the bow and "keel haul" the rope back to a point about
amidship. Ideally my pieces of bumper rubber would sit either side of the
keel to keep her upright during those dry hours. Hopefully this will allow
for peaceful sleeping and minimal "barnacle rash". I realize that these are
not likely issues on the St. Lawrence (though Zebra muscles might be), but
your overall Micro-wisdom is greatly appreciated. I also welcome comment
from any keel boat sailors who regularly deal with the ups and downs of
tidal life.
jeb, sipping home brew, swatting blackflies, and day dreaming on the flaky
deck of Bilbo's Pocket, sitting on her even flakier trailer, on the gravel
where a bowshed workshop will soon be build... on the serene shores of Fundy
volumes from your postings. One will be titled Lenihans Tips on Miro
Cruising. The other will be a taped in appendix to volume I of Canada: A
People's History. I could almost close my eyes and picture what the coureur
de bois beheld from their birch bark freighters. Unfortunately each time I
closed my eyes I had to stop reading. Sort of like hitting the pause button
on my remote. And I had almost forgotten about May flies. When we lived on
Lake Simcoe we had a neighbor who's bug zapper was shorted out by the shear
mass of the May fly assault. However, I'd gladly trade you your whole
population of St. Lawrence May flies for the singular cloud of black flies
that inhabit the air above my property at the moment. I've set up a
temporary under-tarp workshop for building another kayak. Black flies can
make plan study and line fairing a nearly impossible task.
As you may have picked up from an earlier posting, I've just adopted a sadly
neglected Micro. She's beautifully built with a very sound hull but will
require a winter's worth of evening and weekend work before she goes back in
the water. "Multiple groundings" is a definitive topic for sailing on the
Bay of Fundy. You mentioned "robust construction" of your keel. Did you do
anything to make it tougher than usual? A year or so ago I enjoyed the
excellent pictorial step by step keel making process you presented on your
website. However, I was not able to get to that site when I tried recently.
My Micro will ultimately live much of her sailing days in the Harbourville
harbour where she'll sit high and dry twice every 24 hrs. Given the
variables of a rocky harbour floor, not to mention the tidal backwaters and
rivers on the Bay and basin I want to explore, would you advise any special
attention to keel and/or bottom?
Also, I have in mind a possible system for keeping her more or less
laterally trim during these periods of mandatory parking. I picture
threading a couple of pieces of high density bumper material on rope and
held in place with knots. When anchoring or mooring in tidal water I'd slip
the rope over the bow and "keel haul" the rope back to a point about
amidship. Ideally my pieces of bumper rubber would sit either side of the
keel to keep her upright during those dry hours. Hopefully this will allow
for peaceful sleeping and minimal "barnacle rash". I realize that these are
not likely issues on the St. Lawrence (though Zebra muscles might be), but
your overall Micro-wisdom is greatly appreciated. I also welcome comment
from any keel boat sailors who regularly deal with the ups and downs of
tidal life.
jeb, sipping home brew, swatting blackflies, and day dreaming on the flaky
deck of Bilbo's Pocket, sitting on her even flakier trailer, on the gravel
where a bowshed workshop will soon be build... on the serene shores of Fundy