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Samstag, 18. März 2017
Its moving day no its not we are just marking time
The rusty meat cleaver repeatedly strikes the bundle of wires until they are completely severed. The tangled mess is then shoved into some fiberglass crevasse. Job done thinks the wire butcher, now what needs my finesse?
When boats ship by truck, they have to be lower than 13' 6" on the trailer to meet most height restrictions. So in this case, a Viking 53" Sport Cruiser was shipping out of Sarasota. Everything had to be removed off of the hardtop, packed, and stowed somewhere on the vessel. On this boat, as you can see below, Jeremy has already removed the Furuno radar, and is starting to pull the bolts for the stainless steel structure. I'm down below, getting ready to catch the stainless steel tower as it tips back, taking some pictures, talking on the phone, and doing other less than important things. There is also a Stratus TV antenna (serving no purpose in life now), Furuno GPS receiver, a pair of electric horns, a Digital Antenna VHF, and a Digital Antenna FM antenna. This is a pretty basic set of gear on this boat. You can also encounter satellite domes of various types and functions, and many other types of antennas, and flag poles.
So here is what important to me, having been on the receiving end of many boats that have been shipped, is how much care did the other guy put into the disassembly? Did he leave me notes behind, saying where things were stowed? Was care taken in labeling the wiring, so I don't have to guess what was connected to what? Or did he just have his pet beaver chew the wires apart, and shove them unlabeled into the hole. In the case of this boat, there are two four foot antennas, that appear to be identical. One is the VHF antenna, and the other is an FM antenna, although from their appearance, you can't tell the difference. What ever nomenclature was originally on these antennas, is long gone. So out comes the labels, and in a minute or two, the problem is solved for the next guy. In the picture below, everything has been removed, a clear piece of plastic was used to close the radar mount hole, and the other penetrations have been sealed.
I carry this little Brother label maker with me in the truck. It is inexpensive, doesn't take up much room, and is indispensable. Like printer companies who almost give the hardware away, just so they can sell you the ink, the label maker companies, are really in the business of selling you the labels. Regardless of this, a label costs pennies to make, and can save hours of effort when you are reassembling a tangled wad of wiring. I also use this little machine to label anything on a boat, that I have struggled to identify, so the next time I visit, I won't have to do it again. I love adding something new to a boat years later, and finding that pull string, or label I left in place is still there. I think to myself, "What a good boy I was", at least on that day.
So our job was done for the day. While we were removing the electronics, some colleagues of mine, using wrenches, and socket sets that take two hands to carry, were pulling the props, and stowing them in the engine compartment. The truck pulls up the next day, but there is a problem, the boat is still to high. A new trailer is needed, and the shafts, rudders, and struts have to be removed. Seven hours later, minus lots of difficult to remove running gear, the boat is set on the new trailer, and the tape measure still says it is too high. Gods from afar consult, and command the boat is to be reassembled, and a captain will transport it to its destination. My phone rings, and would we please reassemble the electronics. It took a little over 5 five hours to remove the stuff, and stow it. It took three and a half hours to reassemble, and test the gear. Good thing we labeled all of that colorful spaghetti! I'm not surprised, it's a boat
Sonntag, 29. Januar 2017
Refurbished Woods No 200 Canvas Pack Part 1
For decades, the canvas canoe pack was the basic piece of storage gear for a canoe trip. People today either continue to expound on their virtues or curse them in favour of modern, high tech alternatives. In the U.S., they are marketed as Duluth Packs and the company (started by French Canadian Camille Poirer in 1882) still churns out beautiful (and expensive!) packs today. One such pack was recently listed on Ebay for $100,000 US!
In this country, Woods Canada made their own versions beginning in 1909. These packs simply referred to as "Woods Packs" feature prominantly in the paddling films of Bill Mason but had a much more common utilitarian role of hauling forest fire hoses and axes in the bush. Below are the two models, the No.1 Standard and No. 200. These designs were later adapted by Duluth Pack to make their famous Northwoods Pack.
No.1 Standard and No. 200 Woods Packs
The company closed up shop a few years ago, but their their trademark and product line have been acquired by another company and many of these items are being produced again. Here's a pic from their 2009 Catalog.
From the Woods '09 Catalogue
In keeping with the direction of making my own gear, I decided to try and attempt a basic canvas pack for the planned canoe trip next summer. This fastastic Tutorial on making a Canvas Pack was detailed enough, but not having access to an industrial sewing machine limited my options. I also had a hard time sourcing out heavy duty 15oz mildew treated canvas from a local source and wasn't about to pay the expensive shipping and import duties if I ordered from abroad.
Instead, I stumbled on the page of Backcountry Gear Exchange, a small outfitting company based in Kearney (just outside the western access points to Algonquin Park) that was setup to recycle and reuse old gear. I picked up a battered old Woods #200 pack for $25 CND (brand new retail for $115 + tax). It needed repair to the leather components and was missing the tumpline strap, but overall the heavy duty canvas on the faded pack was sound. Here are some pics with it partially filled with a bag of wood shavings.
Views of the pack - front, side, back
The leather straps on the pack needed replacement. Removing the simple splash rivets was simple enough with a pair of pliers, but a former repair job on one buckle area used Slotted and Robertson screws that were preened over square bolts as a makeshift rivets.
Torn tumpline buckle strap; Makeshift rivets
Removing them required sawing the face of the bolt into quarters with a small hacksaw and then chipping away at the metallic fragments. Once loosened, the screws came off easily enough.
Sawing the bolt face; one screw rivet removed
With the other leather pieces removed, the canvas pack will get a thorough washing to get rid of the grimy stains on the exterior. Then the bulk of the leather components will be replaced. More of the next stage posted here.
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