Blacksmith

Ray, thanks. I was afraid you might say some thing along those lines. I used meranti (sp?) on the whole thing, no fir. I guess I will have to break out the sander. Again :-\ Stephen

I was finaly able to get my MicroTrawler unwrapped. It has been a long nasty spring for our house, but that is another post. When I got it undone, the whole thing needs paint! I am asking for suggestions. I used Valspar, top side marine paint when I built, and I primed the ply well and painted. But now, there are lots of checks, cracks and peeling. What would you suggest for paint? Thanks, Stephen

Kristen, make sure you take a look at the Duckworks piece that Bill wrote. It was in the past couple weeks on the Duckworks web site, here is the link. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/gatherings/pepin/index.htm I hope you and your friends can make it down and join in the fun! Stephen

Thank you for the link. I have tried to read it all, and I think my brain is going to choke soon. Lots of good information. I will be asking the doc about some of this when I talk to him next. The weather is almost 40 today, temping me! I want to uncover the boat and strt puttsing with stuff on it. But we average about 2 feet of snow in March, so I really should wait a few weeks.....but I DON'T WANT TO ;D Hoping for open water soon! Stephen

Good afternoon to all. I have not posted for some time. Sorry. I have been reading most all the posts, and trying to keep up with all that is going on. So, a warning, this is a kinda long list of stuff, that I need to get out, and you all are the chosen victims or what ever, but you can just not read it it you don't want. So, here I go. Lots of stuff going on since I last posted, a couple months ago, about water in the cabin of my Microtrawler. I know where the leak is, at least the general area, but it got too cold to really get into the find and fix, so I will get on that first thing this spring. Emily, youngest daughter, that dad is VERY proud of. She is now in her third semester at a local college, and is on the Deans List. All A's to date. Her mom drives her to class, waits in the parking lot, drives her home and helps her with the home work if Emily needs any help. My wife is a saint. Most of Emily's profs have been good about her CP, but this last semester, one prof, after Em told her about her limits, said, and I quote" This is really going to muck things up having you in my class." My wife and Em will not let me go talk to the prof as they said they would not be able to bail me out. It really ticks me off though. Emily had to go out in the hall when the class went over a quiz, because Emily takes her tests and quizes in the special need department, and she had not taken hers yet. The teacher FORGOT that Emily was out in the hall, and went on with the class without her. I still want to go "talk" to her about it. If I take up a collection, will any of you give to my bail out fund? :-\ Just a joke, but I do get ticked off. Lindy, oldest daughter. Dad is just as proud of her. She was eccepted to medical school, and she and her husband will be moving to Kentucky this summer when her husband, Scott, finished his schooling. He builds musical instraments, dulcimers, guitars, things like that. They are fun to watch. The kids doing so well, the money they don't have, the cars they drive with no fear, things like that. I guess we were like that too, weren't we? Me. Work, well, it is work,not bad, but work. In my job I have to drive a lot. A while back, on one of these drives I hit a gaurd rail at about 70. Not the way I wanted to start my day, but not too much damage to the car, and very little to me. But I have no idea of what hapened. So, lots of test. I cannot drive, play with sharp things, or run with scissors. At first the doc was thinking things like tumor, not what I want, but one batch of tests ruled that out. Now they are talking seizure or some thing like that. The not kowing is hard for me, and I am getting a little grumpy. OK, down right crabby, according to the women that have to put up with me. They are both SAINTS, I think. My wife. Well, what can I say. She is the best thing that God ever gave me. Thanks for letting me ramble on, and on, and on..... Hope to see some of you on the water this summer! Stephen

Greg, I would love to. But it is going to be a couple years at least. So, I think next summer you need to load up the RV, hang the boat trailer on the back and head up to Northern Wisconsin. I have enough room for you to park your RV in the yard, or there are some real nice state parks within 10 miles of my place. Or, I could get a September MessAbout set up. I am thinking of one of those too. I will keep you posted. Stephen

Thanks all for your suggestions. I am getting ready to tarp the boat for winter, but may have a bit of time to try to find the leaks before I get snowed in for the season. I will let you all know what I find when I do my checking. I have been reading about the Great Loop, and the dream has started. I think it will be a few years, but hey, one can never plan too soon, can they? To do the loop, I will NEED a bigger boat. Not want, but NEED. So, I have an excuse for cruising the Boat Porn sites Don't I? The girls may not see it that way though for some strange reason. Have any of you done a long cruise? A little dad bragging, Emily has started attending the local Community College, and is taking 9 credits. That seems to be about the max she can handle. But she made the Deans list. Dad is REALLY proud of her! So is mom. She asked if I made the deans list when I was in school. I told her I was on a list in his office, but it was a different list than the one she is on. Thanks again, Stpehen

I have not posted in some time, but I have been reading all the postings pretty much every day. Life has gotten in the way of some of the things I want to do, and now it is supposed to snow tomorrow in my area. Oh Well. My problem is this, when it rains, I get water in the cabin of the boat. I have re-sealed EVERY #$%& spot I can find and it still leaks. Any ideas how to find the leak? Oh, and my Wife and Daughter think we are all sick. I have been caught cruising some Men's web sights. You know the ones with boat plans and parts and how to build another boat, and pictures of other boats that people have built. Emily said I may need to go back to treatment for this. I am glad you folks are there and understand! Thanks for listening, Stephen

That looks SO cool. We had snow and 30 mph wind today, I have not even unwrapped the Micro Trawler yet. I had hoped that today would be the day, but not in this weather. Thanks for the great report and photos. It give me hope that it will get warm some time! Stephen

Al, welcome! I did not build a sail boat, but a Micro Trawler. I have it on the Duluth Superior harbor most of the time. Are you planning on attending the Lake Peppin Mess About? There will be several Weekenders there, and the trailers that they have as well. There is a post from Bill Paxton on this board about it, with a link and some photos of last years gathering as well. Again, welcome to the board. Stephen

Bob, glad you made it through the last batch of storms! We have 36 to 40 inches of ice in the bay right now, but the Coast Guard is going to start breaking on Tuesday for the lakers. Wonder if I could get the Micro Trawler out there with them I am planning on being at the Mess About on Friday, took the day off for some thing far more important than work. Stephen

Hey Bob, good to see you are making it through the winter! We had 15 below this moring. Both the water buckets in the chicke coop were solid. Are you going to make it to the Lake Pepin messabout? I am planning on being there with the Micro Trawler. Stephen

We, Emily and I, my buddy Ken and his son Dylan, spent an afternoon in June on the big lake, Superior. We went out from the Duluth Superior harbour under the Aerial Lift Bridge. The kids, being teenagers, had to have something to eat. I think Dylan has a hollow leg sometimes with the amount he can eat, but the table works well. They are sitting on the bunks, and when not in use, the table stores on its side in the front of the wheel house, hooked to the shelves. As we came back to the harbour, a thousand foot laker was heading out under the bridge. I do not remember if we caught any fish on this trip, but we had a great time. The last photo is of my favorite Captain taking a turn at the helm. Looking at these photos helps me remain sane. I am anxious for warmer weather so we can go out on Someday again. Thank you for letting me share. Stephen

I just wanted to say Hi to all. I am fighting a really bad case of Cabin Fever. We have a Special Winter Weather Warning in place for tonight, wind chills on excess of -40. I just cannot get used to that no matter how hard I try. So, Hi to all and hope you are doing well! Stephen

That was CLOSE I am glad it did not hit your boat!