More Boat Work

Shiny New Stem Plate

This boat is teaching me a lot.  A lot of patience that is.  It seems to be taking 10 times longer to do the work than I ever thought it would  However, it is going well, what I have done that is and I know it'll be strong too.

Old stern Chainplate

New Stern Chainplate

The last mention on here was I removed the rusty stem plate.  The stern chain plate was equally as rusty and I removed that too along with the port and starboard plates.  The stainless ones are now back in place and fibreglassed in.

Rudder Cut in Half

The rudder which you saw me stumbling around with has been cut and the shaft and bearings removed.  I enjoyed this job as it is the only job thus far I could do standing in a normal position  The bearing has been reamed out and had a plastic sleeve in it and is ready to be reinstalled along with the shaft which has been shortened in readiness to be attached to the tiller.  I'll be excited if I can get this project finished this year!  Sally has sanded the mast and that is ready to be coated with a aluminium coating once it stops raining.

Royal Botanical Gardens

Every couple of years S and I go to the botanical gardens in Burlington.  The RGB is the pinnacle of gardening and is well worth a visit.  Throughout the year they hold events such as a; lilac festival, rose garden, etc.  This year we decided to go to the rose garden at the beginning of July.  We both needed a break from the work we'd been doing and I was recovering from a kidney stone event, so this trip cheered us up no end.  We took a picnic for lunch with thermoses for tea rather than the stove.  A few years back we did take the stove and left quite the scorch mark on the grass, which I'm glad to say, has grown back with barely a trace.  I can't say too much about the beauty of the gardens; it's truly something you have to discover for yourself.  In the meantime, here's a few photos.

It's been awhile

It's been some time since I posted and for that I'm sorry.  Summer hasn't been all work.  We got out kayaking a few times.  We have a new place we like to go to; it's Little Lake in Peterborough.  It may not be exhilarating but it has plenty of variation and a nice beach for swimming when the water is warm enough.  There is the lake and also some channels behind the campground.  The railroad crosses one end of the lake on swing bridges which add some fun to the paddle.  At the west end of the lake there's a huge fountain.  Very tempting in the stinking hot weather.  Of course we can then wrap up our day out with a visit to Costco.  I'm sure our soggy, dirty look entertains the shoppers.

This is also the location of Sally's famous demonstration of the semi Eskimo roll in August of 2008.
Getting out with the kayaks became infinitely easier when we got the truck.  Not only is the roof lower than the van for loading it is easier to with some slick Yakima roof racks.  All the gear goes in the back of the truck and we aren't too worried if it's all wet either.  Getting changed in the truck is a bit tricky but since neither of us have been too shy the parking lot suffices.  This also scares off any people that want to come and talk kayaks.  Not as though I mind talking but everyone else has a better kayak and can't wait to tell you about it.  They either have longer, lighter, more stable etc etc.  But we are out in ours and they are just talking about it!!  For the record the blue boat, which is really H's is a Necky Santa Cruz and the green boat is a Necky Manitou Recycle.