Steve Day

Hi Everyone, I have had this project completed for some time and have been waiting for the top glass. The glass arrived today and the table has been put into service (launched? ???). You might recognize the boat from my cradle project a while back. The couple it was intended for did not want the cradle for some reason or other, so SWMBO "suggested" I make a coffee table out of it. The result was pretty good. That's why she is the brains around here. Here are a few shots of the finished product: Blessings to you all, Steve

Greg, I wondered how far you were from here. I would love to "invade" your territory, but we are on a "mission" this trip and don't have any time to spare for side trips. We are here to go to the USO Ball tonight and to visit with family in the area. SWMBO would not like it if I would take off for several hours to go see boats and fellow boat builders. It is really good to see you guys building Spindrifts. I was looking at the serial numbers and was impressed at the number of Spindrifts that have been licensed out of Graham's shop. Mine is 447. Blessings to all of you, Steve

Anything to keep Frank entertained, right guys? Bruce and Konrad do tend to do that. Thanks for being there and posting. We went down to Navy Pier this afternoon and saw a sailboat entering the harbor area under Genoa. Those guys had to be cold. I trust they were moving the boat and not doing that for pleasure. It certainly would not be a pleasure for me :. Later, Steve

Larry, I put hand holes into all of the floatation compartments and am able to store dry stuff on the boat and keep it dry. I was careful to place them where I could reach to all parts of the compartment. They work great! I am on the road in Chicago at the moment, but will shoot a picture(s) of them to you when I return home, if you would like. Steve

I just have to say that you guys really have to "get a life!" I cannot believe that you haven't got some chores to do, or a boat to build, or a boat to sail, and have to spend your time talking about dog butts. ;D We are traveling up to Chicago for the USO Ball this weekend and the cold weather reminds me of why you folks up nawth don't sail boats in the winter. We got a rather rude awakening when we got out of the car this afternoon. We're heading south again on Monday so we can go sailing next week without putting on several layers of clothing and foulies. Steve

Hey Larry, Do you want to look at mine? I'm away with the Boy Scouts over the weekend, but will be back Sunday night. It appears you are "getting with the program" quite well. I am looking forward to having another Spindrift in the area to sail with. Keep letting us know how you are doing. If the timing is right, I can help/consult as you are going along. Steve

I was wondering about that Avitar. Konrad is a bit radical from time to time. Steve

Hey Konrad, Were you flying that thing out near Branched Oak? All of that area looks much the same, but Branched Oak came to mind when I was looking at the background. Was that thing as hard to fly as it appeared? Steve

Looks pretty good, Greg. I know it is tough to get things done when all of the stuff is going on. Keep on working on it. Looks like you should have it done by next spring and will be using it a lot on trips with that RV. Looks like you are in position to beat Frank at getting your Spindrift finished. ;D Steve

Konrad, Are you going to get the boat wet this year, or are you just sitting around contemplating the naked? Steve

There is a lot of wisdom in the line about folding clothes. However, it might be a bit problematic in Nebraska or Maine. Steve

Hmmm... Ray's providing spelling corrections... THAT'S a stretch! Steve

We have a Beneteau 40. The "air draft", or mast height is 53'. That bridge has a span height of 50'. That just doesn't work. We can stay on the west side of the bridge and get over there with the dinghy if you guys stay on the east side. Steve

Wow! What a nice looking boat! You should be proud of the way she looks. Very nice job. I see the dog even got a trip. Steve

Scott, It appears that I can get my boat under the Pensacola Beach Bridge, so I can go as far as the Navarre Bridge, but I cannot get under it. I could do this in my boat and might be available. It might be fun to participate, if you guys would have a bigger boat come along. I'll make sure I bring my Spindrift along, so I could still say "I built it" when someone asks. Steve

Mike, Gina suggested rather strongly that I should sell a boat or two before I build another. Something about too many boats to take care of and store. I find that hard to believe. Perhaps I should do that, but I will find that somewhat difficult. HE, HE Steve

Mike, I really like that little boat! That might be a little closer to what I am looking for to mess around on the delta. The Garvey works good, but Gina would probably like a little larger boat, as it might ride a little better. It was neat to see the photos of your grandson & the dog. It is really quite neat the way those labs attach themselves to little ones like that. Steve

Charlie, We are happy to hear you folks are OK! The photos you put up on the link are really sad to see. It's amazing the power of water being driven by the high winds. The shots of the floating docks in the parking lot with all of the boats were very interesting. It is very sad to see all of them thrown up on the land like that. We had a story similar to that here on the Eastern Shore after Katrina where most of the boats left in the water at the local yacht club were found on the land across the harbor (downwind) in the parking lot of the marina. Not a pretty sight! Ray, A lot of the folks around here have a "Hurricane Hidey-Hole" scoped out upriver where they can anchor and tie off the boat to large trees in a sheltered area. Some people anchor their boats out in the bay to ride out the storm. Some people have slips in really good, sheltered areas and ride the storms out there. There are not very many floating docks here in the Mobile Bay area (probably due to smaller tidal ranges here). Most boats down here do not have a cradle, since the only time they are out of the water for maintenance or repair. When a hurricane threatens, the marina here on the eastern shore takes many boats out of the water and the place is "crammed" with boats on jack stands. That works pretty well until the water comes up high enough to float the boats on the jack stands. The 13-15 foot surge of Katrina was high enough to float the boats on the shore and jumble them up quite a bit. It was pretty ugly, but not as bad as those boats in Texas. Steve

Good show on getting the boat and trailer to where you can launch and retrieve singlehanded. It also appears you were able to right yourself from the unscheduled capsize with little difficulty. Congratulations on all accounts. I was interested to see you writing about the area around Jensen Beach. We lived there a number of years ago (1973-1978) and we have fond memories of canoeing in the area, particularly Herman's Bay and up around the St Lucie Plant. I built an 18' Hartley Trailer sailor in 1976 and we sailed her from the Stuart Beach causeway and down toward the inlet. Those flats were a great place to sail and clam back then. I hope they are still like that. Have fun down there! Steve

Greg, That's just my observation on the east side of the Bay. The winds here in the bay are not as strong (both storms had winds from the east) as they were in Gustav and the tides have more amplitude this time. Plus Ike is larger than Gustav was at this position in the Gulf. My take is that all of these things add up to make a bit more water in my marina this morning at high tide. Steve

I think Konrad is referring to himself as the Nebraska Peanut Gallery. I might also include myself as a former resident of Nebraska. Steve

We're getting some effect from Ike here in Mobile Bay with water that appears to be a bit higher than from Gustav. Not much wind, though. The storm is about at its closest point of approach to us, so things should get better after tomorrow. My heart goes out to the folks in Texas. I pray that the damage is not too bad and that everyone comes through OK. Steve

We're getting about 6' of excess water here on Mobile Bay due to storm surge from Ike. Otherwise, not much impact except for a little wind and rain. It does make you appreciate the sheer size of Ike when you look at the distance between here and Texas. I hope the folks over there in Texas aren't impacted too much. Our hearts and prayers are with them. I hope Charlie does OK. Steve

I was down at the Grand Hotel Marina where we keep "Day's Dream." She came through the storm without a scratch, which is always a relief to discover. As near as we can tell, the storm surge on our side of the bay was about 3' to 4'. It just barely overtopped the seawall in my slip. the surge was a bit more on the western and northern shores of the bay with water getting onto the roads there. Larry's photos tell the story quite well. All-in-all, we came out as good as you could expect. With all of the news coverage, it appears our friends in New Orleans did OK too. However, I would not even consider living in that town for a whole host of reasons. Those pictures of the levee being overtopped were SCARY!!!!! :o If I recall my dam experience correctly from Florida Power & Light, they should have a minimum of 5' of freeboard in that situation. We had 13' of freeboard on the dams I was in charge of when I worked for them. Steve

Mark, Very nice work. It is really nice to be able to go out in a boat that you built! ;D I had thought about the Birder, but finally decided on the Diva2. Have fun with her! Steve