CurlyShavings

Since last time

The hull got two good coats of primer, some Bulls Eye 1-2-3^® and some left-over Behr Premium Plus^® Water-Based Primer & Sealer No. 436. We determined that a tinted primer would have been better.

Not for the last time did I remind myself that gloss paint is harder to apply than a flat paint. It doesn't seem to cover as well and when using a roller, you get the classic "orange peel" look no matter how short your nap. We used a foam roller and kept things fairly smooth but even so had a difficult time getting a dark, smooth finish. By the time we stopped, I'm fairly certain we had four coats of Behr Premium Plus^® Porch & Floor Paint on.

That reminds me of a quote I heard once upon a time from our CABBS group:

One never really finishes a boat, you just run out of time.

Launch Day

We launched on July 6th, 2009 over at Shadow Lake in the South Chagrin Reservation, part of Cleveland Metroparks. We hauled everything down to the southern end of the lake and got set up (see nearby picture).

The initial hull test (throwing it in and watching for leaks) showed that the seal between the side panels, the bottom and the forward and aft transoms was good.

Then we added the builder (Ben) and let him bob around at the end of a long painter.

He wanted to sail, however, so I climbed in and we sailed around a bit. There wasn't a whole lot of wind but we were able to get it to go in the direction we wanted without paddling. That counts as sailing in my book. I was reminded that the tiller was too long and the boat just isn't designed for a full-sized adult. Certainly it can handle the weight but there just isn't a comfortable spot for a grown-up to rest easy in a boat this size. Ben, though, was in heaven and he got to helm this little craft a few times as we even got up enough speed to get a bit of a bow wave going.

I'll look around for a picture of the raccoon we startled down by the south-east corner spit of land. Barb says it was missing a tail and we did watch it galump (the movement a raccoon makes while running) along the shore and into the woods.

All-in-all it was a great day and I am quite proud of the new boat-builder in our family. Ben, you should be proud of your accomplishment! This is quite a boat and I look forward to letting you mess around in it on Shadow Lake and even LaDue someday soon!

What's next

As I wrote above, you never really finish a boat, you just run out of time. There's currently plenty to accomplish still on this boat:

• We have a coaming to add to the afterdeck and a foredeck to add as well. There's a bit of a problem with the forward transom (aka "bow") that I'd like to address (it's not symmetrical) before adding the foredeck.
• We've considered adding a small skeg to help it track better.
• The current rudder is sufficient but a kick-up rudder (e.g., Irwin Schuster's POP-I Sharpie) would be welcomed.
• The sail is beginning to show its age and could use a bit of duct tape in a couple of spots.
• Oh, and we'd like to add a water line and stencil "Box II" on the stern transom. Ben's got a red paint all picked out for that!
• And of course, more sailing!!

About the design

The Tortoise is a Phil Bolger (1927-2009) design from his book Build the New Instant Boats.

Bart Johnson pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1969 through 1977. An accomplished player, he has quite a story and has impacted a number of people over the years.

My own connection to Bart was quite short. One evening in the spring of 1995, in a ride-share limo (at the time, cheaper than a one-passenger taxi) heading home to Downers Grove from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, my fellow passenger and I did the small-talk about our jobs and such. He introduced himself as Bart Johnson.

I suppose when you're really famous, it must be frustrating to be recognized all the time. Perhaps when you're somewhat famous, it must be frustrating not to be recognized at all. (I know when you're not famous at all, being recognized can be quite embarrassing.) I sensed disappointment that I didn't recognize him and also that I didn't recognize the name.

I learned long ago that expressing interest in someone keeps you from being a bore so I asked him a few questions and heard about his latest trip. He was a scout for the White Sox at the time (1980-1997) and had been down south for a couple of days.

We were nearing the limits of my baseball small-talk. While my wife is a baseball nut, I am not: I had a summer job in high school (mid 1980's) at a radio station producing* the Astros Baseball broadcasts** but that was it. I enjoy the game but don't know much about it.

He explained that as a scout, he'd be given a seat behind home plate, up just enough and a little off to the side to see the pitcher in action. It was a courtesy that teams gave visiting scouts, largely to ensure that their scouts would also get the seats they needed. He'd been down south that week (Arizona comes to mind) and had caught a number of foul balls.

"Would you like one," he asked. "Sure," I replied as we arrived at his address.

We got out of the car in the last of the day's twilight and he went to retrieve his gear from the trunk. He unzipped a bag and produced a ball. Borrowing my Cross pen, he quickly signed it. "I didn't pitch it, but I caught it, so perhaps it'll be worth something someday."

I thanked him profusely as I got back in and he went up the walkway to his home.

Later in the car, I looked it over. I sensed that I had in my hands something important. I didn't know much about him; that would come later. He'd been a real, live, baseball player and that was enough. I got one of those plastic baseball boxes for it and I keep it on my bookshelf, next to the one my dad gave me from his high school days.

*"Producing" at the time was a fancy word indicating that I played the commercials and station IDs at the appropriate times.
**To this day, I enjoy listening to a radio broadcast of a game over watching on TV or even heading to a ball-park. I was warped at an early age.
[random note] Doing the Astros Baseball in the `80's did turn me into a Nolan Ryan fan. I followed him into college in the late `80's and witnessed many of his seven no-hitters.

Update 9/3/2010: Since we can't seem to keep the comments (and there have been many that didn't pass the filters) to Bart Johnson, the Sox or random baseball player meetings, I've closed the comments. Too bad.