Konrad in Lincoln

Cool naval warfare stuff from a long time ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Archimedes_Heat_Ray_conceptual_diagram.png http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/shipshaker2.html

Yup. Lincoln, NE. I just finished up a Walgreens up there in South Sioux. Breaking ground on another one up in Sioux Falls this month. Going there tomorrow, as a matter of fact. My mom's originally from Marcus up there around you, for whatever that's worth. Konrad

By the way, looks like the BYYB site is down. Has it been that way long?

Well I only stop in here about twice a year anymore, but thought I'd stick my head in the door and say "hi". Good to see the bulletin board is alive and well. Lots of sawdust this summer, I hope. And perhaps a few launchings? I must confess that with two boys under the age of 4, I never even got my Vacationer out of the storage unit. :cry: Oh well, they'll keep taking my rent money. Let's hear a report, huh?

Anyone got a good trick for getting white latex off of a slab? I don't own a power washer.

Hi you guys! I don't get over here much, except to stir the pot now and then, but just wanted to pop in and wish you all the best. (And especially Frank for keeping the place open for business.) Our first-born is 28 months old now, and he "sort of" gets what Santa is all about. I suspect in the next 30 min when he wakes up and goes upstairs he's going to "get it" a whole lot more! I don't know who's more excited, him or me. Being a dad is the coolest promotion in life.... 8)

My whole fam is sick, so I'm taking care of them. I can't wait until I can go back to work and get some REST. :? I set out for Mitchell yesterday morning. I turned back at Seward after my second 360 deg rotation in the company car on I-80. :shock:

I've decided to skip a step in the process and just put Resolve Carpet Cleaner straight into the 7 month old's baby bottles. That way when he spits up on the carpet, it'll clean right up!

..there I was when I found a slice of processed cheese down the side of the bed. While I was eating it I got to wondering whether or not it'd be worth it to trim the hedges. So it was up the road, turned right last Thursday, and BAM! I ran out of gas. There was also a single slice of Terry's chocolate orange, but the dog got that after I lifted the bed. Same mutinous critter who gulped a whole stick of butter off the counter a year ago. Could be worse, he came running down the hall last month with a steak knife in his mouth. Olives cause ear hair, don't you know.. But let us consider what Chitlins are: They are hog intestines. Crimony, what a night.

Most of you will not remember "Mike in Lincoln", but he posted here from time to time, about 4 years ago. Here's the short version of my connection with Mike: He came up to me 5 yrs ago while I was out at the lake and liked my boat. He bought plans and started to build. I moved to the east coast, took the boat with. Soon quit the east coast job and came back to Nebraska. Mike got me a job at the architecture firm we're both at. Fast forward 4 years. My boat has been slowly showing it's age from use and storage since I completed it in 1999, but Mike never finished his boat. It just sat in his garage all that time. For reasons I can't explain, him and his whiff got motivated over the last 8 weeks and have actually completed their boat!! They're going to launch it this weekend at Conestoga Lake in Lincoln, NE. I recommended it because it's small and never has a crowd of people. During your luanch day, the last thing you need is a line of pee-d off fisherman staring at you on the boat ramp while you deal with first-timer issues (and those of you sailing ALL know what I'm talking about). Anyway, like I said, Mike doesn't post here anymore. But it's always fun to hear about a launching, so when I get more facts and photos, I'll be back. Probably early next week. Cheers!

All good points. I do like its color and up until this year I was happy with its performance. The clamping issue.. I didn't own $200 worth of clamps at the time I built the boat (and I still don't) so I relied on glue-and-screw method. It's very possible this was part of the problem. But I still think that the recent exposure to wide seasonal changes was the catalyst that pushed the joint beyond its limit. Otherwise this would have shown up several years sooner, I think. I'm not talking about catastrophic failure of any part of the boat, just some annoying age starting to show up. I'll snap a photo in a day or two.

As some of you old-schoolers know, my Vacationer is now 6 years old. I almost exlusively used Weldwood to make the boat. There are a few areas where it seems epoxy may have been a better choice. Secifically, the rubrails are wanting to separate from the hull. That glue joint has separated in a few places around the perimeter of the boat. And no, it's not from dockside abuse. My suspicion is that epoxy has a greater modulus of elasticity than Weldwood. Which doesn't matter, unless your boat is going to see wide climate swings like mine has recently. Up until a year ago, the boat lived in a semi-heated shop all winter. But we've moved and now it lives under a tarp in the drive way. I think the temp changes and humidity swings have played hell with the weldwood bond since it's moved outdoors. I think that stuff is very brittle once it's cured. Keep in mind that here in Nebraska, we regularly experience a temp differential of about 120 degrees in any 12 month period. It was 104 three weeks ago, and in 5 months it'll be 15 below. It's not like the boat is coming apart at the seams, but this all started this last year. Just some thoughts to pass along.

Mike, In a few months we'll begin a Walgreens up in Mitchell, which appears to be not entirely far from you. Where do you sail again? We're also going to do one in Yankton starting this month, but that's further away from you than Mitchell. Gimme somethin' to look forward to, man! Konrad

Darn, what'd I miss?

Hells-bells, I can't read all of those replies, but let me say this: My mast has been warped that much since the day I made it 6 years ago, and the Vacationer doesn't give a dang. Seriously, quit worrying and go sail.

Oh my freakin' word, it's a come from behind tie game at 7-7, going into the 10th inning!!! :shock: :shock: The whole state is watching. (all 5,000 of us)

Anyone here follow the Collge World Series in Omaha? http://www.cwsomaha.com/html/home/index.asp Nebraska won their first game ever in the CWS on Friday night. Playing Florida this evening. We're all as thunderstruck as anyone that we're in it this far. ESPN if you're interested.

Anyway, back to Mark's original question: I personally would reccommend glassing it when you have the inclination to do it. Since we've moved to this new house, I've been caught with the boat uncovered several times and have had 4 inches of water standing in the bottom to bail out. Sure glad I slathered it on in the bottom of the cockpit.

Well that's pretty neat! But what the heck is it? Is that a very modified Stevenson boat, or something else completely? I do like it.

Hiya Steve, I was kind of wondering about you. That's at Connestoga, which is 13 min from my driveway. It's small, but how can you complain about 13 minutes?? Blue Stem is probably about the same distance, but it's an oddball shaped lake. I think Blue Stem might be a little bigger, though. Well if we don't connect before you take off, I hope your travels go well. My e mail address is bosch232@yahoo.com Save it and give me a shout when you're back this way. Konrad

Here are some photos. First one is at the dock, with some free help from bystanders. (The boat always gets free help.) Second one is while we were motoring out to the middle to raise sails. That is a perfect Nebraska Summer sky right there, folks. I kind of forgot how much fun the boat is to sail, and it's no slouch in the water either.

Oh yeah, Tom knows the kids well. I probably won't take Collin (23 months) out on the boat until he's at least 3. He doesn't yet understand that there are dangers in the world, and when I tell him "no" he doesn't really get it yet. It's still a game for him. A little frustrating, but it's just because he's still very young. Most of his "talking" is really just mimicking the words he hears us say. He can be a handfull when he decides he wants to do something. I can just see it now: I'm trying to keep the outboard pointed the right direction while trying to hoist the main, while keeping Collin from jumping overboard or fooling with the running outboard. :shock:

A variety of factors have kept me from sailing my Vacationer very much for the past 3 years. Primarily, they lowered our best lake by 4 feet to rebuild boatramps, and the water never came back up. The birth of both boys in the last 23 months has also slowed the sailing down. But I'll take that trade any day of the week. :wink: Anyway, I tooled around inside the boat for about 2 hours this morning, standing the rigging and even raising sails in the driveway, checking for loose connections and hardware (I did find some, so check over your boat) Then called my buddy Tom and we met at my "new lake" which is small but extremely close to my house. I can be there in 13 minutes, even going slow at 50 mph towing the boat. Winds were perfect at 12 - 15, out of the southwest. Temp steady at around 83 deg. Skies were 4/10 clouds, the big cotton ball kind. Stood the rigging with no drama. Backed the boat in and floated it with no drama. Motored out and raised sails, all with no drama. Everything went just about as well as could be asked, considering this boat was only sailed ONE TIME last year. The lake is basically a rounded square footprint, and we banged all four corners during the afternoon. Never raised the jib, we were doing fine on the main alone. A perfect day all around. I will post a couple of pix either later this evening or tomorrow.

If it makes you feel any better Mike, I've got a 30 foot finish on my Vaca also. But I've had my boat for 6 years now, and one thing's for sure: The builder's eye amplifies the imperfections far more than the bystander's eye does.

The absolute BEST thing you can do to finish your boat in a timely manner is to make a punch list. Go out to the boat with a pad of paper and a pen, and spend 20 minutes walking around the boat. Look at all of it, and make your list of items to be completed before launch. Then just go down the list and cross them off as you do it. This sounds like a rediculously pragmatic suggestion, but it's the best psycholigical motivator you can have. It works.