Konrad in Lincoln

Well boo-hoo, mister never-finished-the-boat. How's things down there? You guys all cleaned up from last summer? I do like the link posted above, I could make a bed like that. I think the real challenge is that I'd like it to be some sort of thing that'll be for TWO youth mattresses (baby bed mattresses, but taken out of the crib and put in a "regular" bed) Maybe one mattress fore and one aft? Not sure, I'll have to work on this. Their room is large enough for it, I just gotta come up with a plan.

Possibly acetone or MEK (Methylethylketone). Those are both epoxy thinners. I would never spray a mist of MEK, though. That is some bad krap, you can go blind if you get it in your eye. :shock: Acetone is more benign, but misting still doesn't sound ideal, what with the toddler around and all. I did find the following text on the West System's web site. I know my equpment is clean, and there's no wax in the containers, but I may try the plastic spreader thing. Thus far I've been using my gloved hands. I'm using a plastic male mold, so it's not a question of the substrate (since the substrate is a plastic mold) I'm making small motorcyle body parts. I'd include a photo if the pinholes would show up, but they're small enough that they don't show up in a digital image. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROBLEM: Fish-eyeing in coating. POSSIBLE CAUSES & SOLUTIONS: Contamination of the coating or surface or improper abrasion for the coating. Be sure mixing equipment is clean. Avoid waxed mixing containers. Be sure surface is properly prepared. Use proper grit sandpaper for the coating, e.g., 80-grit for epoxy. See paint or varnish manufacturer's instructions for proper surface preparation. After surface is prepared, avoid contamination--fingerprints, exhaust fumes, rags with fabric softener (silicone). Coat within hours of preparation. After wet sanding, rinse water should sheet without beading (beading indicates contamination). Wipe with appropriate solvent and re-rinse until rinse water no longer beads.

During the drive home from work I was thinking about this a bit more. The layups are 5 layers of cloth. I have been applying epoxy to the previous layer, and placing the next layer (dry) on top and working it in. Is it possible that by placing the dry cloth down, I am trapping small amounts of air in the layup, in spite of my efforts to work it in thoroughly? I think I will try saturating each successive layer of cloth, and then carefully applying it to try to keep any air from getting in between. I'm talking about very small bubbles, the size of pin heads. Any thoughts are welcome.

Hey all, I'm doing some un-boat-related fiberglass work, and it requires final coats of epoxy after the layup is cured, to produce a very nice clear smooth finish. I'm having trouble keeping blemishes out of it. I think what I'm getting is very small air bubbles near the surface of the finish coat. Perhaps these bubbles are forming during my mixing process and aren't all getting worked out during application. I used a cheap 1" paint brush (hair bristles, not synthetic bristles) to apply this final coat of epoxy. Does anyone have a suggestion for a better application method? I'm considering trying a throw-away foam brush, but not sure if that'll do the trick. Any thoughts?

Hells-bells, you have a better memory than I do, I've forgotten about some of that stuff. What a riot this place was, lol! I forgot all about that photo trick we did with the Subaru Forester and the boat trailer. I can't even remember why we had the front end jacked up anymore.. Did I really drink that much?? 8) Just kidding Anyway, someone please find that photo of my knee. I have a permanent scar that looks like a freaking weld because the whole stupid thing got infected and took two months to heal. :x

We have our 20 month old toddler and Number Two is due in mid-May. I'm thinking real hard about making a pair of beds (or maybe a bunk bed or something) with the pirate ship motif. No such plans exist online that I'm aware of. I'll be fooling around with this idea for the next 6 months or so. If you have thoughts or ideas, chime in. :wink:

Sheesh. I leave this board alone for a month or so, and when I return, you're all talking about landsailing crashes. So let's set the record straight for all posterity, and for those on this board that were not here during the Roaring Late-90's when I built my Vacationer... Yes, my good buddy Tom did build a Vector, as per plans and specs. Yes, I did get multiple stitches in my left knee from a landsailing wreck. But it wasn't the Vector, it was my own Isabella iceboat that I had converted to wheels. The short version of the story is that it was high winds the day I crashed and better judgement should have prevailed. I would like to see the photo of my knee. I've long-since lost that image, anyone know where to find it? The vector is a lot of fun. But I will tell you that I'm 6'-3", and I don't fit inside the thing worth a damn. I always sat on the side wings and sailed it that way. Tom lost his house and all belongings (including the Vector) last spring in the May 22 Hallam tornado, but that's another story for another day. (It was an F4 tornado, and I'm pretty sure that Vector holds the record for the fastest unmanned landsailer in history) Anyway, I digress. The Vector was really cool, but if you're as tall as me, you'll want to stretch it about 3 inches. The included link is that Vector, and my friend Marlin (who's shorter than me) sailing it. We rigged it with a Sunfish sail. Build it, you'll really be glad you did. http://www.geocities.com/bosch_232/MarlinVector.jpg

Well shoot, just a little old 40-footer, huh? Sounds like a plan. Be advised that me and the whiff are expecting No. 2 to arrive in mid-May, so all plans are tentative and non-binding. Give me an e mail when you decide to uncover that spindrift in the spring, and I'll see where we're at with life's little events.

You've sailed a Stevenson boat on Bluestem? That's great, I like that lake, but I never go there. We have iceboated there in the past, but it was years ago. We recently moved, and are actually closer to Bluestem (about 15 min) than we are to Branched Oak. Are you aware that the Linocln/Omaha area used to have quite a number of Stevenson builders? At one time there were about half a dozen of us, but this was about 5 years ago. Some people have moved away, others have never finished there boats. So basically I'm it. There were two at my architecture firm (one has left the firm, the other still isn't done). There is a very nice completed weekender up in Omaha, I forget the guy's name at the moment, only met him twice. It would be nice to have another steveson boat to sail with. Let's keep in touch. My boat is in dry storage right now, and is in need of a new rudder and rudder box (that's another story for another day :x ) My personal e mail address is bosch232@yahoo.com

An hour right down the super slab from you, in NE. We've been waiting for Branched Oak Lake to refill for about 4 years now. :x You know any of the top dawgs at YGH? Like Bob Ailor or Chuck Schulz?

They screw straight into the lugs of the tire. The threaded part is only about 1/2" long. It's a forgone conclusion that you'll lose a few here and there and need to rinstall some, but for the most part they're in there for good. The real problem is that we got a good cold snap, got about 5 inches of ice, which was immediately followed by 8 inches of snow a few days later. So the lakes are pretty much just a big snow-covered wasteland, and we can't iceboat on it. :? But no worries. If the weather won't cooperate this year, I'll just save the studded tires for next year. These Dunlop tires were worn out anyway, and were going to get replaced in the spring. I'll just dismount these tires and leave them in the corner until next winter if I have to.

I am amazed at how well these ice screws bite!! It's like being velcro-ed to mother earth. We have a solid 1/2" sheet of clear ice on our concrete driveway right now, and I did wheelies like it was damp earth. Same goes for the snow pack on the street in front of our house. The (few) neighbors stood there nonplussed as I wheelied up and down the road on the snow pack. 850 ice screws, three hours to install... But what a freaking riot. These aren't yer daddy's sheet metal screws, kids. These are Pro Gold Series ice racing screws. Sixty bucks for a bag of 1,000, so they weren't exactly free. :? We have GOT to get some clear ice on the lakes...

Bah! I'm ALL German, and I didn't get all wound up over some of the inperfections. I wanted to actually SAIL my boat. Not have this 3 year project that was a floating piece of artwork that I was going to fret over every time I took it out. Not dogging you, don't misunderstand. It's wonderfull to have pride in craftsmanship. My point is to remember that after just *one season* of launching and retrieving, you're gonna have a LOT more dings and things on your boat than some little specks of whatever in the finish. So just imagine what it'll look like after 1,000 years. Trust me on that.

You have aluminum on your boat anywhere? Here's a link for anodizing aluminum. Never tried this, but I'm thinking about doing the sprockets on my dirt bike. Looks pretty easy to me. http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

Here, have a look. http://www.bigcountryoff-road.com/Past%20Events/adg.wmv

I can't help it, I have to talk about it. We have a sofa and a love seat. We have a nice square marble table between them that stands about 18-20 inches off the floor. So we're minding our own business on the couches the other night, watching some history show or something. Collin enters the room, in full toddler-running mode, and he's holding a ceramic cereal bowl high over head with both arms while he runs. He runs across the room, bowl held high, screaming an impressive war chant the whole way. He reaches the marble table, stops, and in a thunderous crash of splinters and shards of ceramic, brings the bowl down as hard as he can on the table. :shock: This startles him for just a moment. He looks at each of us, giggles, does a U-turn, and runs out of the room again with hands held high. Minus the cereal bowl which is strewn between us. We're left there speechless and blinking at each other. Didn't even have a chance to say one word during the event, this all unfolded in about 6 seconds. Talk about a Weapon of Mass Destruction.. Amazing.

I just did what Ken Connors did: Used a 4x4. I'll tell you from my experiences that the mast on the Vacationer is probably oversized by about a factor of 5. It'll never, EVER break. Unless you flipped the boat and dragged the mast on the bottom or something crazy like that. :shock: The loads are just too low on this rig to lose sleep over any of this. You could use a ratty knot-filled 4x4 and it'd work and you'd never have issues. The real safety factor of this boat is that it's unballasted, which means you're NOT going to be out in weather that will ever test this rig to it's max design criteria. But that's actually a very good thing.

Ok, so I get home from work, and I'm in the family room with the fam. The three players in this story are: Me: Working husband, father of one 16 month old boy. My Wife: Part-time working mom, almost done with the first trimester of Number Two. Always feels nauseous, ALL the time. Collin: 16 month old boy, has about 4 words, and generally runs around like a wild indian. So we finish dinner in the family room and I'm in the kitchen putting stuff away, and Lisa says, "We've got a PROBLEM..." This can't be good. :? Seems Collin is on the floor playing with some toy, and he has what we Americans now call a "Wardrobe Malfunction". In other words, he filled up his diaper, and I'm not talking about on the front side. And the thing has leaked onto the carpet. :shock: :shock: :shock: Well, holy crap. (so to speak) I look over the situation as Lisa takes the boy into the bathroom, holding him at arm's length. I'm left standing there looking at the floor, which apparently I've been volounteered to deal with. Before I can make any sort of assessment, I hear my pregnant wife and Collin in the bathroom: He's now squallering like a stuck pig, and I can hear her ralphing into (I hope) the toilet. Seems the smell was too much for her. So I enter the doubly-foul bathroom and take Collin at arm's length and go immediately outside, leaving my poor bride to her own devices in the bathroom. Now, mind you, Collin is at that age where he'll steer-wrestle you every inch of the way when it comes to putting on or taking off ANY piece of clothing. So the poop-wrestling match ensued outside the door on the welcome mat. For most of the match, he clearly had the upper hand with the old "I'll sqirm until I smear poop on you" move. You don't believe me? I quote Darth Vadar: "You don't know the power of the Dark Side..." In a few minutes, my wife had recovered and we tag-teamed him out on the ground and with the garden hose and about 30 wet wipes, managed to get the foul substance off of him and most of his clothing. Lisa then tended to herself and the wreckage of the bathroom. Luckily my mom happened to be there, and she proceeded to clean up the carpet with the quiet stoicism that only a mother can have in a moment like this. (Moms are great like that.) It was ten minutes that seemed like ten hours. And all that told, I must say that we're still laughing about it right now.

This "not in the mood" business is REALLY starting to get old. :x

I'm just ribbin' you, hope you don't mind.

You should grow a handlebar mustache, man. It'd look like a million bucks on you. I need an avatar, how do I do that? :?

Hey Ray. Is that really you in that avatar?

Critters-Schmitters... I saw the sea horse, the sea turtle, brain coral, tube sponges, anemones, yadda yadda... Hell, I can't memorize all them fish names, I'M A BUSY MAN. Put me on a wreck any day. 8) Ice diving diving is all about your buddy system. You chop through the ice, and are tethered to your surface parter with a 100 ft of line so you don't get "lost" and can't find your exit hole. (that would be bad) :shock: And besides, my whiff is preggers again, so what's the diff if everything shrinks?? I ain't gettin no use out of it anyway. :x :oops: :shock: :? But seriously, got my dry suit cert, deepdiver, wreck diver, and nav all under control and legal-begal. So I'm thinking about ice. The problem is a decent dry suit is $1,500.00 and there's NO WAY I'm spending that kind of coin.

Hah! I KNEW you'd surface on this thread eventually, you snorkel geek! Glad to see you survived the ride. 8) I was thinking about sending you an e mail to see how things were. If I actually get around to doing this, I'll probably do mdf. I have some aluminum extrusion from an office building we built in '99 that'd work pretty well. I just know that I don't want the stupid thing to warp on me after glue-up. :? I may also troll the wooden boat forum for input. I'll be in touch if/when this starts to come together. Can't decide if I should do the playing surface or the rest of it first. It'd be a real shame to build a top-drawer setup, only to find that I can't get the playing surface right. Thinking about getting my ice diving card this winter, what do you think?

Now I see what you're talking about. I'm talking about a stand-alone shuffleboard like what you find inside bars and pubs. You're talking about the outdoor version, so I can see the source of confusion.