Sunday, August 4, 2013
It was supposed to be today....and it was....
After waking up at 4am and having a discussion in my brain about the 143 things that could go wrong, at about 11:15 am today, with a few drops of rum on its bow, the Chugger design, "J.T" went into the water and floated like a dream!
More and video later....
More and video later....
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The Beginning of the End towards the beginning of floating...
Some things I have been pondering the last week or so...
Will the toilet flush on the boat? Do I have enough interesting books on board? Are the oars I bought long enough to reach the water?
Sigh...... the list goes on and on....interestingly, not one of the things I ponder has to do with whether or not the boat will float!
Ok, ok.....time to get to the point of this post.......Saturday July 27th....at about 10am......yeah yeah, I know....the boat goes in the water!
Now.....I am going to need some help...hence this message here. Of course, the really smart ones of you already know I will feed you.....might even beer ya as well!
Some basics.....5100 North Francisco...on the WEST side of the river...use the Argyle bridge to get to the west side of the river.
My needs......some folks to come to the boat shop a day or two ahead of time to load the boat onto it';s trailer and take it for a test drive. I will provide drinks for this minor event as well! Some people to help get the boat OUT of the river at the end of the day as well, as the boat launch has a minor hill on it...
Sigh... only took a year to be able to send out this message, but here it is.,...... can't wait to take y'all for a ride!
More to come.....
Will the toilet flush on the boat? Do I have enough interesting books on board? Are the oars I bought long enough to reach the water?
Sigh...... the list goes on and on....interestingly, not one of the things I ponder has to do with whether or not the boat will float!
Ok, ok.....time to get to the point of this post.......Saturday July 27th....at about 10am......yeah yeah, I know....the boat goes in the water!
Now.....I am going to need some help...hence this message here. Of course, the really smart ones of you already know I will feed you.....might even beer ya as well!
Some basics.....5100 North Francisco...on the WEST side of the river...use the Argyle bridge to get to the west side of the river.
My needs......some folks to come to the boat shop a day or two ahead of time to load the boat onto it';s trailer and take it for a test drive. I will provide drinks for this minor event as well! Some people to help get the boat OUT of the river at the end of the day as well, as the boat launch has a minor hill on it...
Sigh... only took a year to be able to send out this message, but here it is.,...... can't wait to take y'all for a ride!
More to come.....
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Mothers Day, Part 2!
This weekend is one of those cosmic collisions that one must both embrace and shudder about, all at the same time.
Yesterday I finished the boat, to within about five percent of it being done. There is some paint to be applied, a few screws to be inserted here and there, and some hardware to be mounted. But I could throw it in the water today and make it work!
Today is both Mothers day and my best friends birthday. He would have been 54 today. My mother passed away seven years ago.
I will admit that yesterday's work was hard. I kept picturing the both of them sitting with me in the boat on some piece of calm water, I can see my mother in the galley, making sandwiches and a pot of tea, and then we would sit and eat and point out interesting things on the water. Jeff would laugh his full deep laugh and be quiet, smiling all the while. He would want to drive the boat, and he and my mother would sit in the cockpit, sipping tea, and talking about all the shared experiences of our lives. I might sit in the cabin, baiting a hook to fish with, and although I am no fisherman, it would keep my hands busy. My dog Nala would be near Jeff and my mother, eating the crusts of the sandwiches.
I could see us coming up to some landing somewhere, tying the boat up near a field, and going out to pick some flowers my mother had seen. The dog would run and play and chase bugs like she does.
As the afternoon turned towards evening, the radio would come out, as would a glass of wine to go with some music. We would light some lights, put up the tent awning and make some dinner. The stars would slowly come out in time with the music as we ate. Nala would snore softly on the bed in the cabin, rousing now and then to make sure she has not missed her share of the leftovers,
We might watch the stars move across the sky a while, my mother would have, perhaps, thirty five pieces of historical and philosophical trivia about the stars. She would voice how she always wanted to be an astronaut.
Jeff would not say too much, his laugh would come out now and then, and his measured voice would contribute a remark now and then.
The water would push against the hull and make soft noise as we soaked it all in. At some point my mother would insist on doing the dishes before we turned the boat around and headed for home. Nala would sit next to her, waiting for a plate to lick clean. Jeff and I would talk of the day, and other days like this one. Once the dishes were done, we would untie the boat, and slowly chug back upriver to the boat landing, where the real world awaited us.
It was a great, hard day that has spilled into today as well......and that is more than ok.
Yesterday I finished the boat, to within about five percent of it being done. There is some paint to be applied, a few screws to be inserted here and there, and some hardware to be mounted. But I could throw it in the water today and make it work!
Today is both Mothers day and my best friends birthday. He would have been 54 today. My mother passed away seven years ago.
I will admit that yesterday's work was hard. I kept picturing the both of them sitting with me in the boat on some piece of calm water, I can see my mother in the galley, making sandwiches and a pot of tea, and then we would sit and eat and point out interesting things on the water. Jeff would laugh his full deep laugh and be quiet, smiling all the while. He would want to drive the boat, and he and my mother would sit in the cockpit, sipping tea, and talking about all the shared experiences of our lives. I might sit in the cabin, baiting a hook to fish with, and although I am no fisherman, it would keep my hands busy. My dog Nala would be near Jeff and my mother, eating the crusts of the sandwiches.
I could see us coming up to some landing somewhere, tying the boat up near a field, and going out to pick some flowers my mother had seen. The dog would run and play and chase bugs like she does.
As the afternoon turned towards evening, the radio would come out, as would a glass of wine to go with some music. We would light some lights, put up the tent awning and make some dinner. The stars would slowly come out in time with the music as we ate. Nala would snore softly on the bed in the cabin, rousing now and then to make sure she has not missed her share of the leftovers,
We might watch the stars move across the sky a while, my mother would have, perhaps, thirty five pieces of historical and philosophical trivia about the stars. She would voice how she always wanted to be an astronaut.
Jeff would not say too much, his laugh would come out now and then, and his measured voice would contribute a remark now and then.
The water would push against the hull and make soft noise as we soaked it all in. At some point my mother would insist on doing the dishes before we turned the boat around and headed for home. Nala would sit next to her, waiting for a plate to lick clean. Jeff and I would talk of the day, and other days like this one. Once the dishes were done, we would untie the boat, and slowly chug back upriver to the boat landing, where the real world awaited us.
It was a great, hard day that has spilled into today as well......and that is more than ok.
Mothers Day!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
End of the season, but not just yet.
The last month has tried my soul, my patience, and a few other things I won't name here, as I am trying not to behave like a drunken sailor.
About seven weeks ago, I was within striking distance of being able to launch the boat. A fairly significant illness in the family gave me the gift of making sure my priorities were in order, this meant the boat needed to wait. One or two weeks after that, I was diagnosed with either plantar faciatis or a severely strained Achilles tendon in my right foot. The doctor said that there wasn't too much difference, they both hurt like hell and the treatment was pretty much the same. Stay off the foot and take these pills. Since my doc is also a good friend, I paid attention.
Since my bike is my preferred mode of transit, this curtailed my movement even more. God knows I love the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority, a.k.a The Buses and Trains that sometimes move us!) but even at 50 plus years old, I can pretty much beat any bus to whatever destination I choose in the city when I ride my bike. They won't, and probably rightly so, let me race the trains.
So given my priorities with family illness and a semi useless right foot, (although the whole wooden peg leg, pirate scenario is kinda cool!) the boat has languished a bit here. I have stayed at home in my castle by the big lake, taking the occasional ginger footed walk with the dog over to the lake (it's two blocks away) and in general, have been pining to sit in the cockpit of my boat, puttering around on the water.
In the last two weeks, I have been able to ride more, and my hopes started to rise that I might get a few days of boating in. I spent some hours at the boat shop, last coats of paint, loading up the storage lockers, fitting in windows, etc., etc., getting the last details glued and screwed.
Speaking of screwing, the City of Chicago chose to close my boat launch ten days ago for renovation.Let me state this again, so you understand what these muthafu.....um...ok....you get the idea. They closed my damn boat launch! There is a lovely sign there saying something to the effect of "See Ya Next Spring Suckers!" I stood and swore for ten minutes in three languages.
I have, in this last week or so, stopped swearing in two of the languages, thus freeing up what little is left of my mind to form a back up plan. There is another boat launch, farther away, but reachable.It's not ideal and it has some issues, but...........but............BUT........it may be possible to still do this. I may be making Thanksgiving dinner on board when it happens, but it may still happen! If you happen to see an ad on Craigslist in Chicago over the next few weeks or so that looks like this..."Wanted, Crane or helicopter rental near the Chicago River...." well, that's me launching my damn boat!
Patience me hearties.....
About seven weeks ago, I was within striking distance of being able to launch the boat. A fairly significant illness in the family gave me the gift of making sure my priorities were in order, this meant the boat needed to wait. One or two weeks after that, I was diagnosed with either plantar faciatis or a severely strained Achilles tendon in my right foot. The doctor said that there wasn't too much difference, they both hurt like hell and the treatment was pretty much the same. Stay off the foot and take these pills. Since my doc is also a good friend, I paid attention.
Since my bike is my preferred mode of transit, this curtailed my movement even more. God knows I love the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority, a.k.a The Buses and Trains that sometimes move us!) but even at 50 plus years old, I can pretty much beat any bus to whatever destination I choose in the city when I ride my bike. They won't, and probably rightly so, let me race the trains.
So given my priorities with family illness and a semi useless right foot, (although the whole wooden peg leg, pirate scenario is kinda cool!) the boat has languished a bit here. I have stayed at home in my castle by the big lake, taking the occasional ginger footed walk with the dog over to the lake (it's two blocks away) and in general, have been pining to sit in the cockpit of my boat, puttering around on the water.
In the last two weeks, I have been able to ride more, and my hopes started to rise that I might get a few days of boating in. I spent some hours at the boat shop, last coats of paint, loading up the storage lockers, fitting in windows, etc., etc., getting the last details glued and screwed.
Speaking of screwing, the City of Chicago chose to close my boat launch ten days ago for renovation.Let me state this again, so you understand what these muthafu.....um...ok....you get the idea. They closed my damn boat launch! There is a lovely sign there saying something to the effect of "See Ya Next Spring Suckers!" I stood and swore for ten minutes in three languages.
I have, in this last week or so, stopped swearing in two of the languages, thus freeing up what little is left of my mind to form a back up plan. There is another boat launch, farther away, but reachable.It's not ideal and it has some issues, but...........but............BUT........it may be possible to still do this. I may be making Thanksgiving dinner on board when it happens, but it may still happen! If you happen to see an ad on Craigslist in Chicago over the next few weeks or so that looks like this..."Wanted, Crane or helicopter rental near the Chicago River...." well, that's me launching my damn boat!
Patience me hearties.....
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Well, today was one of those interesting, "no such thing as coincidence" days! After several weeks of looking at motors, and getting a wee bit dejected about it, I took another stab at the problem today. I had gotten a slice of advice to be on the look out for a motor called an "Eska", it's air cooled, no longer made, but by all accounts, worth looking at if I could find one.
I had been enduring some rather annoying phone calls from people selling motors. Things like.....Me: "So, if I come at look at your motor, can I see and hear it run? Them: "I just had it painted, it looks GREAT!" Me: "So, that's a yes?" Them: "Did I mention that I just painted the motor and it looks GREAT?" Me: "Sooo, what you are really selling here is an anchor?" Them: "Well, it MIGHT need a little work."Me: "Ummmm, thanks, I'll get back to you."
Today I called a young man with this motor, after some chatting, he volunteered to bring it to me, and tank test it right in front of my very own eyes and ears! After I picked my butt up off the floor and regained my senses, I told him that I would add $20.00 for his gas to travel to me if it all worked out!
I immediately went out back, filled up an empty dumpster and waited for him to arrive. By the time he got here, there was a small crowd of my my tenants out back in the garden waiting with me as well, because you just don't get to see a dumpster full of water with an outboard motor churning it up every day! I told the tenants they could bring their laundry down and I'd run it through the motor wash for free. No takers on that!
The guy arrived, we filled up the gas tank, four pulls on the motor and off it went!
As you can see, today I found an Eska, 7.5 horsepower, and if you attach it to a garbage can full of water, it works!!!!! If it's possible for an outboard motor to be cute, I guess this one is!
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