The Bowsprit

As mentioned in the past our bowsprit, the wooden part the juts out of the front and holds the wire rigging which, in turn holds the mast, is in need of repair. Repair is a generous word in this case not even rebuilding or replacing are strong enough words. At first look the wooden piece, 4 feet by 9" by 1.5", is rotted so much only about half is still present, no good at all. It is held down with nine bolts going through the deck and through a large piece of steel underneath the deck to support it all. This piece of steel is completely rusted and has an additional 12 bolts holding it down, pictured below.
Warning this post may be a rant but it is good therapy to write down your feelings, I have been told.

Dinghy Rebuild 3 of 3

The dinghy is about 95% done. Few more little things to add here and there as we go but for now it is usable. Over all we are happy with the result. We stayed within our budget, recycled everything with the exception of resin and built our first dinghy which tested well!

DIY Spear for Fishing

Started building a pair of pole spears so we can catch some fish. Keeping it simple I used some industrial fiberglass rods, surgical tubing, rope, metal rod, metal tubing and epoxy.

Red Wines of California

Pinot Noir, red Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and one famed sommelier Kevin Zraly comprised our night the other week at Kevin Zraly's Windows On the World Wine School, and what a night it was. Mr. Zraly's charismatic delivery of wine, the vine and everything in between was instantly entrancing. I did my best to discern between the aromas - oak definitely oak...oh wait, spiced chocolate? err I mean black cherry...yeah that's it...black cherry!; as well as the the acidity, fruit and tannin levels - the tannins faded...oh it didn't? hmm, what's tannins again? bahh...this is why I came tonight! We laughed and savored our way through this class and Mr. Zraly treated us all at the end with a 1996 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Nappa Valley), simply superb.


I definitely have some learning to do but I did catch the wine bug. My only complaint is that we aren't signed up for the rest of the classes! On the plus side, now I might have a chance of beating Nick at Wine Wars! Game on babe!

Nick and I with sommelier and fellow New Paltzian, Kevin Zraly!

Dinghy Rebuild 2 of 3

Now that the dinghy was to the shape we wanted I went to work on making it a sturdy little boat. I didn't understand the original way the person had built the gunwales with spacing tabs between the pieces and small screws holding it together. Perhaps some boat builder will explain it to me but since it was all broken I decided to fix it my way. Here I am clamping the white oak into position so I can meassure and make cuts.

Breakfast Potato Bowl

Breakfast, ah beautiful nourishing breakfast. One of my three favorite meals. Crispy potatoes sweetly sauteed with onion completed with melted cheese.... Sigh, I'm getting hungry even thinking about it. If you love breakfast, get out the skillet and break an egg, here is a tasty treat of a recipe for you.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

6 small red potatoes - cubed (skins on)
1/2 an onion - chopped
olive oil
flat parsley, or herb of choice
cheddar cheese grated or cheese of choice (I had Gorgonzola on hand so I added it as well)
2 eggs
1 avocado 
bacon optional

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone.

Up Close and Personal



On the drafting table



  I sat down tonight to sketch out the interior of our boat thanks to a Multi Product brochure I found on the capedory.org site. Now we can start figuring out what changes we want to make to the galley and cabin! With spring right around the corner things are starting to get more exciting and should start evolving rather quickly now with set plans to move up to Maine in May!



Up close and personal with our 30' Cape Dory Ketch interior



Explore Some More

Just a reminder if you have not clicked some other links check out our friends pages as well as our other sites. If you like Yoga follow our youtube page as we continue to build up short free Yoga sequences for you to do!

Getting up close with the stream at Sam's Point in NY.

Dinghy Rebuild

This is a project I wish I could have done over the Winter but just didn't have the inside workspace available. With all projects this one had some serious restrictions as well as compromises. Ideally I would like a sturdy dinghy that is sailable, rows well, is light weight and low cost. Doesn't take much time to figure out that isn't possible. Size is a major restriction with our boats beam being 8'11" we want the dingy to be smaller so it can go on the transom if needed so 8'6" was our size. Can't afford an outboard so rowable is mandatory and sailable would be nice, as of now the sailing part doesn't seem feasible but you never know. Light weight is critical for us to be able to move it comfortably without it becoming a major hassle when storing it on deck. Cost is always a issue so we set a budget of $400. Yes you could get a lot nicer and better boat but I doubt you could in our price range.

The plan was to build a simple Portuguese style boat but after pricing out wood this was not even feasible. After some sweating and being nervous we would have no boat I found a 13' Dory in need of repair on craigslist and swooped it up. The gunwales need replacing, parts of the ply wood sides are deteriorated and it is missing breast hooks also it is 13' not 8'6" but after checking it out seemed I could work with it and talked the owner down to $275.

Keep in mind this is a work in progress and I tend to change plans on the go as I run into problems.