Summertime ...

... and the livin' is easy.

I don't know how high the cotton is or if the fish are jumping, but "me and mine" are enjoying the Minnesota summer (it's the one season that makes the state habitable!).

There's been a lot of good stuff going on and I only have time to live it in the first person, so I haven't posted anything in a while.

However, I have been rowing my single sculling shell a lot recently which is ... awesome; but I'm starting to incur some 'wear and tear' damage. (here's a gratuitous shot of the cockpit after a recent wash while I was up at a lake:)

Being the manly, muscular male specimen that I am, sometimes I don't know my own strength. Out on my last row, I actually caused one of the bolts on the foot stretcher to shear off. The foot stretchers are hardware that connect your feet to the boat; the sneakers are attached to the foot stretchers and the foot stretchers are attached to the hull of the boat.




This is the upside down view of the whole kit and kaboodle. It's hard to see, but the bolt on the lower left is missing. I was just going to replace the bolt, but as I examined the structure more closely, I could see a lot of other flaws: The right foot rest is splayed out to much, the sneakers are shoddily attached in the wrong place and only with a single bolt apiece, the wood is cracked and metal parts are starting to rust. Plus the design is poor - it needs another support between the foot rests to reduce the torque on the bolts on the bottom - in particular the very bolt that I broke.

I could feel my father's energy channeling through me as I thought to myself, "This sucks - I can do better".

So ... I'm making a new foot stretcher. I found some nice oak that is slightly thicker that I cut to size and predrilled holes for the attachment. I'm coating that with 4 or 5 layers of marine varnish. I've sanded and repainted the metal components. I'll attach the sneakers correctly this time (after I've washed the sneakers and bought new odor eater insoles!). I am also going to add a small metal support mid foot for the stability issue.

My goal is to end up with a better (and, well, prettier) foot stretcher that is no more heavier than piece of crap that's in there now.


I know ... I'm a geek. But it keeps me out of trouble.


Hmmm ... the seat casters and the tracks for the seat are looking a little grimy and beat up, too ...