This has been a miserable Spring with constant rainstorms. I had hoped to get my Whitehall in the water at least once a month ago but flooding deposited so much mud on the boat ramp that I was afraid that I could not get it back out once launched.
Weather this weekend looks good. We are set to do a pirate event at Put-In-Bay so I will have friends to help launch and man the boat.
I have things prepped. In addition to soaking the boat with a hose, I left it out in some of the downpours. This helped swell the seams shut.
I redid the leathers on the spoon oars. They were too far down the oars and the ends of the oars would bump against each other when rowing. I cut them off and stitched them back on, further up. I also replaced the collar at the top of the leathers with thicker leather so the oars wouldn't slip past the oarlocks. I need to do the same thing with the sweeps but I'm running out of copper tacks.
One interesting thing - the leathers showed their age. They are a light gray but they were originally natural leather colored. Every place that was covered is still the original color. That includes the underside of the leather and the places covered by the stitches. I've never seen leather bleached out so light.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Ready for 2011
Two years ago I had a lot to accomplish. I had to sand and paint the Whitehall and do various maintenance to the trailer, then get the trailer weighed so that I could get a license for it so that I could have the boat inspected so that I could have it licensed.
Last year the Whitehall was in good shape but I had replaced the trailer and had to move the bunkers around. I had also acquired the Black Sheep. It needed painting and some rot fixed and I had to go through the inspection and licensing process for it, too. Plus I had to make two pairs of oars.
This year both boats are in good condition. There are a couple of cracks in the epoxy where I fixed the rot in the Black Sheet and I need to do something about that. The trailer needs a new fender and I may need to replace the wheels but they are ok for in-town. I have had to pump the boat out a few times. Mainly, I've had to pump out the cover. The water has been pooling in the cover with just a little making it into the boat.
Yesterday I hosed down the Whitehall to tighten up the seams. I did find that the seabag containing the life preservers had some mildew. I have an extra seabag and the life preservers seem ok. There was a coil of cotton rope that had a bit of mildew so I washed that with some bleach.
It's a good thing that so little is needed. The last two years I had a lot of clear days to work on the boats. This year has been terrible with rain nearly every day.
Now, as long as the Scioto isn't too high I should be set for the weekend.
Last year the Whitehall was in good shape but I had replaced the trailer and had to move the bunkers around. I had also acquired the Black Sheep. It needed painting and some rot fixed and I had to go through the inspection and licensing process for it, too. Plus I had to make two pairs of oars.
This year both boats are in good condition. There are a couple of cracks in the epoxy where I fixed the rot in the Black Sheet and I need to do something about that. The trailer needs a new fender and I may need to replace the wheels but they are ok for in-town. I have had to pump the boat out a few times. Mainly, I've had to pump out the cover. The water has been pooling in the cover with just a little making it into the boat.
Yesterday I hosed down the Whitehall to tighten up the seams. I did find that the seabag containing the life preservers had some mildew. I have an extra seabag and the life preservers seem ok. There was a coil of cotton rope that had a bit of mildew so I washed that with some bleach.
It's a good thing that so little is needed. The last two years I had a lot of clear days to work on the boats. This year has been terrible with rain nearly every day.
Now, as long as the Scioto isn't too high I should be set for the weekend.
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