Manual is now in print

Been working on this for a few weeks. Our assembly manual is now in a printed and bound book. No more CD’s!

I much prefer anything technical to be on paper than the in digital format. After publishing my book and learning the ins and outs of publishing a book I decided to print the assembly manual.  I wanted to make some updates and tweak it a little bit. That has taken a little while.

I just placed the order for the first copies. Starting around February 1 if you order a kit or a plans you will now get the printed manual instead of a CD with the manual on it.

 

Makin’ Waves

Something new is in the shop. With Shad finished I have decided it is time to tackle what i suspect will be a big project.

Who am I kidding? This is a really big project!  I am about to start the restoration of Makin’ Waves. She is a 1962 Chris Craft Sea Skiff that I have owned for over 20 years. I did a cosmetic restoration on her once before. Due to improper storage she developed a leak, a bad leak and was hauled out.

I was afraid to send it to the shop because money was tight and you never know what it is going to cost till you get the boat apart. Then you are committed. So it has been in under cover for several years.

Now I have the skill and most importantly I have the space. So I have pulled in the shop and this will be my next big project.

 

Shad is finished and photographed

A few photos from the second time out with Shad. Foggy and rainy but a great day to do some photography. Just posting a few here.

My buddy Phil out on Short Creek.  Further down the river I gave him my camera and asked him to snap away. Gave me a chance to see my boat on the water.

I need to paint my logos on there and this one is done!

Launching day finally!

I finally got to take SHAD out and I love it! After just a couple of minutes I found myself paddling, concentrating on my photography instead of the boat. It was like putting on an old pair of slippers, You don’t think about them, you just put them on and go about your business and that is exactly what I did.

I found SHAD a little smaller than most of my boats. I straddle the boat in the water, park my butt in the seat and then pull in one foot then the other. Because it is a little lower volume I could still do this but I had to lean back a little to get my leg in. It rubbed against the frame under coaming. I could get in without risk of getting stuck, it was just lower and that makes it a little tighter to get in. That was a surprise but that was the only one. I found it comfortable, easy to turn and tracks really well.

I was expecting really hard tracking but a little lean and it started to turn slowly. A lean and a little paddle stroke and it would go where ever I wanted.Just really impressed. This may become my other go-to boat. I still Long Shot better, but she is a close second.

Here is some photos from the paddle.BTW, at the end of the paddle I took several of her on the water and shore….. but I forgot to check the lens and there were big water drops that ruined the photos. So I will have to take some more. Gives me an excuse to go paddling again. 🙂

Kudzu Craft nuclear green

I got my green! Well not exactly but this is pretty close. A tad yellower than I had in mind but it is as close as I can get. After all searching I found this at of all places my local Ace Hardware. The paint stores couldn’t mix it but the hardware store can? Really? Well if the quality of the paint is there, they have my business.

Anyway, check it out. It’s not finished but it’s close. Look at those lines, even if I do say so that is a good-looking boat. Now if it just paddles as good as it looks.

Now, with these you can see why I call it Nuclear Green, I think it may glow in the dark! 🙂 Anxious to get the rigging  on the boat, that will help by breaking up all that green. So stayed tuned!

New Years Day paddle

Meet up with some friends for a News Years day paddle. Wind was wild today! As we ate breakfast we decided the Beech Creek would be the best choice and provide some shelter from the wind. Still there were times it was liking paddling against a wall. You arms were moving but you were not going anywhere!