Feeling Swamped

Life is pretty grand, but with the little ones, work and life commitments not getting out as much as I'd like. I've been out a few times and still am blown away by how much fun it is to sail this boat. Last weekend I was able to get out during nap time for a bit. Light wind and having to get the feel of the steering paddle and sensitivity to weight trim.

Feeling optimistic I decided to leave Pineapple Express in the water for the week, hoping to get out in the evenings. Didn't happen.

There was, however, plenty of rain and I got a chance to see how water tight my hatches are! It was so full the safety ama was floating!

Ulua is sailing!

I finally got the Pineapple Express on the water with a working sail rig. So much fun! Sails great using the sunfish rig and steering with my rough carved steering paddle. This pics show a rudder, but I have to redo the hinge. 

Overdue Islands 17 Update

Before I could enjoy this view of St Joseph's Sound back in November I had to do some work on my trailer before I felt comfortable hauling it across the state. New hubs, new springs and a new trailer jack. New winch is on the list. Not shown - I converted from bolt rope to slugs for $50 at JSI. Now with my topping lift I can just drop the sail and tidy things up on my boom.

Windy night but lots of fun!

Ulua Launch and up next:Wooden Surfboards

The Ulua was launched over the holidays, and has been great fun to paddle. I still need to finish the mast step and rudder, but it is finally out of the garage!

Next up after some honey do items are checked off the list is a couple of these:

"Free" Sunfish found a new home

Craigslist and days off don't mix. Normally when I see a post for a free boat, I can safely ignore it due to workday responsibilities. Not this time. The "free" Sunfish is all there, I've even had it out for a sail. In my oh-so-abundant spare time I just need to patch a bunch of holes, re-do the foam inside, paint it and patch the sails. No problem!