swimming nicely

[dmd@essex1.com]

A nice Sunday am early. Kids still asleep. Wide awake with something on
my mind. Marge makes the fatal flaw. She jumps out of bed early wanting
to work on house. Too bad she forgot one item not on her list. If Iam
happy Iam helpful. Only one thing to do then I said See ya! and headed
toward river. It was as usual great. More people than usual probably 10.
Went down stream about eight miles to a ramp I had used before. After
flood the entrance was a mud bog. Almost got stuck. Just enough to keep
it exciting. When I do get around to repairing hull Iam including skid
plates. Later Dave the Wave

 

[Karl Vacek]

> When I do get around to repairing hull Iam including skid
> plates.

Steel would be heavy. Aluminum maybe, but to be effective you'd need maybe
1/8" - 3/16". Then you have to join it to the steel somehow, or if you
makeit a really good fit you could just lap it on and bond it with Gluvit or
etc. What about some sort of carbon fiber/epoxy bonded right to the hull
bottom? Or for that matter, plain fiberglass - somewhat cheaper, and you'd
want it plenty thick anyway.

Come to think of it, what about fabricating new hull bottoms from heavy
aluminum and making a really thick bottom? No rust, lighter, and if thick
enough, stronger. The shapes are simple, and starting from scratch would be
easier in most respects than repairing. The few compound curves are minor
and easy to do on an English wheel - or just get someone to supply those
couple of parts. The rest could be made with a shear, a brake, and a
roller.

I was way too inspired at the Miller exhibit last weekend - could be that
I'm just looking for an excuse to get a TIG.

Karl