Happy only starts the description
Yeah, this is the “glorify Lyssa” post that I can well believe a few of y’all saw comin’.
How to describe the difference between two boats, of different materials but nearly identical design (nearly because the decks are completely different with only small tweaks below the water line,,,). While I can’t describe things perfectly (my butt doesn’t know english and the translation gets a might garbled) I can describe the differences in performance at the water level,,, Putting one (BJ) on edge, where you lift one knee and ‘lean’ (not really) in the direction you want to go (the boat leans out, you lean in,,,) does absolutely nothing without driving the paddle harder on the outside of the turn. In the other boat, the same motion and she is taking that turn with grace and NO OTHER INPUT required. Any other input only amplifies the motion or hinders it, depending on what it is. Too much on the inside and she goes straight, more on the out and she is nearly spinning on her center axis.
Love the hell out of Blue Jean, and she has her forever home with me, but she is not Lyssa, nor is Lyssa her,,, two completely different characters with distinct differences that make for two very loved boats. Lyssa is more like Lizzy in how fast she is, but more like BJ in how she handles things: Lyssa is more like a Standard Nordkapp when it comes to how she handles edge and leans.(Lizzy is an HM, with a fixed skeg/keel: straight tracking like a freight train). She fits the bill between Lizzy and BJ that I was looking for. IF I were to use animals to describe them, I would say that Lizzy is that 8 month old colt, all abuzz with get up and go, skittish when bored, and ready to run, run, runrunrunRUN,,, Blue Jean is that 5 year old, Amish raised mule that pulls the family around country roads and doesn’t spook at even the most obnoxious exhaust pipes. Lyssa,,,The two year old mare that has good sense, but is still looking to play, and may play a game of ‘nip the behind’ when you least expect it, but is content to run around the pasture for fun.
When I was doing the one crossing that had me a little goosed looking at it from the distance, I pulled the skeg back up because it was doing me a disservice being down. Even at half-mast, it was grabbing the rebound waves and twisting me around towards the cliff face that I was trying to stay away from: with the skeg up, the waves were pushing the stern out, while the wind was cocking it ‘in’, and I was doing exactly what I wanted to do, which was travel a straight line along the cliff face and get to calmer waters. Skeg down the waves had more ‘push’,,, I am learning the heck out of this boat and MYSELF again. And that IS what I wanted in a fiberglass boat: growth. That she punches waves in the face and laughs about it (they slap me back by climbing in my lap and making for a wet ride) is only a plus, (I do have concerns about her ‘pitch-poling’ in surf, and have read that this model is known for it: pitch poling is when the bow drives under so hard it impacts the bottom and ‘pitches you’ as if you were on the end of a pole. Good thing we don’t really have surf around here,,, Boat wake is the most I see,,, And Lyssa won’t be taken on white water, where that might be an issue.)
Now, full admission, I have been in much taller water in other boats that did well. (Serena on Cumberland lake when The Ohio Navy was let out of lockdown in 2020,,). What we saw today was minor to that day, but the memory of how Serena handled the waves was “Right There”, I even had the feeling I was still moving in waves when I hit the no wake zone (didn’t get motion sickness, just had that ‘things is moving, but they ain’t,,,” feelz going on.). But, she had one thing Serena didn’t have: SPEED. I checked in a couple of places and I could have her up to that 5 point sumpin mark in about 10 strokes of the blades. I was digging hard to do it, but she did it anyways, and once there, I could let up a touch (still needed to power on,) and hold it close for a spell. That is not fast,,,, Thats BLOODY FAST, and I am not sure Lizzy could match it (more boat to get up to speed.). Lizzy could hold it longer, but she had more mass to hold the inertia, and longer waterline.
and the other advantage of Lyssa vs Lizzy: easier access to cargo holds. Larger hatches (that are now or will soon be weatherproofed)
One downside to today though; My carbon fiber Greenland Paddle is taking on water these days. Still quite functional, holds its own as a paddle, but after an hour, has gained weight: lifting 2# every stroke is a lot easier than lifting 5# every stroke. and when you are lifting a paddle 1000+ times a mile, that adds up to “woOF!!!”. I have another brand (not Chinee like my current one) but its sorta pricey and won’t be ‘gotten’ anytime soon, and the means is being set aside a little here, a little there. And since I do not think I will have that new blade in hand for the SKAW, I am going to start making a set of wooden blades that I can splice into the CF loom of said current paddle and not have a paddle that incrementally gets heavier as I get more tired. No rush, easy after work over a couple of weeks project, but one that today became “do this soonest” over other kayaky projects I have. (and that front hatch leak was very minor, it can wait a bit.). If you don’t recall, the SKAW is a 13 mile race, open flat water (two 6.5 mile laps). Don’t want to run in that with the handicap of a paddle that gains weight the more you use it.
Hell, I’m single and an empty-nester: what else do I have to do on those nights when all the other stuff is either done or on hold for weather???
(debating on Lyssa/Lizzy for the race seeing how they are both fast boats and Lizzy is plenty stable, so long as you don’t stop moving,,,)
So, for the TL;DR crowd that scrolled down here to see if I had anything else to say: Lyssa is MY BOAT now, and our friendship grew in leaps and bounds on that lake today. Very happy and all the trials and tribulations of getting her, to include the ‘fight with Da’,,, was worth it.
Been a touch bizzy
Just lettin’y’all know, I am still here, posting may be lite, mostly because there ain’t amuch to yap about,,,,
well, theres PLENTY to yap about, but is it worth sitting down and tapping out a post about the latest distraction, or some Cesna and the pilot passing of ‘sudden’ crashing in Virginia,,,
Or the latest krazy that I am into,,, Trucks and kayaks, trying to keep my Buffalo moving under her own power, and making an older kayak seaworthy again,,,,
or that I am getting 9 hour days in at the J.O.B. and that seems great, until you realize that ALL of that extra lucre needs to pay off debts that WERE getting knocked down until Buff decided to frag me and my finances,,, She didn’t kill me, but all that headway I had made was splattered on the alley walls like so much gruesome grafitti. Again, could have been much worse, but thanks to you guys, wasn’t,,, Many thanks and I can’t say it enough…
As for the more hours thing going on at the J.O.B.,, Most of it krew leading, and ‘putting out fires’… Not fires in my shop, since I haven’t fired up the welder since sometime last week. I need to check my shielding gas tanks, not sure I have any full ones that aren’t on the rig, and that needs rectified soonest since I DO have welding jobs forthcoming that will require more than one tank to finish. (even though I run at barest minimum of flow since we no longer have a supplier close,, can only order once a week for scheduled wednesday delivery.)
About Lyssa, the blood red kayak,,, That hatch is fixed, but man, that was a mess to do. They afix the hatch rings when the deck is not attached to the hull, and that makes the way they do it flat easy. Since I am not going to seperate the hull/deck to fix one little ring (Oh Hell no!!) I had to make some strange and troublesome yoga moves. That ring is now fixed but in doing it, I mucked up some of that work I had done on the skeg and now have to pull the seat pan, again,,, sigh,,, My addiction, my zen thing, and there is USUALLY a price to pay for such. I am paying mine. But the compartment holds 5psi for 30 minutes and no bubbles anywhere to be found. (rear compartment still has a leak somewhere: she won’t hold pressure, but I haven’t found any bubble spots. May be in the rear where the toggles are located, I hadn’t looked there,,, if so, I live with it, that area is complicated and near unreachable from inside.)
Buffalo is doing well for now,,, Been working on pulling donor parts in the evenings when I am ‘watching paint dry’ on Lyssa. I want everything off and ready for when I start to swap parts on the real deal because I don’t want to be without transportation for more than 48 hours at any given point. Preferably 24 but I am a realist, I know engine/transmission swaps can be a DAYS affair, even with full shop access,,, I have shade-tree(or carport if you prefer full honesty), gravel drive, and hand tools,,, My one power tool is my dewalt impact driver (which rocks, but has limits,,,) and the rest is busted knuckles stuff (but Snap-on, Mac, and Cornwell,,, Quality tools that have served me well for three decades,,, If ya wanna borrow them, its full price down with 95% back to you on safe returns. Sorry, gonna protect those tools like they were me own fingers…)(and I found a local Cornwell dealer that isn’t an ass like the Snappy dealer, that won’t honor the handtool warranty…)
Gonna be long humpday, clocks are winding down today, even though I haven’t done all I intended to do tonight. Did take a big chunk out of them though…
more tomorrow, maybe early post before things take off on me.
Good and bad,,,
the bad: no work today,,, Asked if I should take the rest of the week off (I have a reason I desire this, later in post) and was laughed at, but that still means NO WORK TODAY,,, dammit,,,
I kind of expected it,,, Usual this time of year; schools letting out, fams headed out for vakay, businesses are changing up footing for summer,,. We usually drop off around this time and my custom work drops off comptetely,,, still, kinda sucks on the timing of things, seeing how I just recovered from a set-back that cost me (and you, and a very sincere thank you in order for those that helped fund Buff and mine’s recovery of Transpo,,,)
Thats life, move on,,,
So I came home and did stuff here, like trimming my weeds, placating kats because they despise the line trimmer,,,
And digging deeper into Lyssa. Fixed that leaky skegbox, and pretty much had to take her apart to do it. Nothing needed removed from the decks, but I did have to take apart the cable lines, and to get to the control box, I had to take out the seat pan. I even played and put the seat pan from the Necky Chattum in it, just to see. Didn’t like, felt like it raised my CG by 1/2″ or so. That makes a difference in ‘liveliness’ of the ride and Lyssa already feels spritely. anyywhooos,, the Skeg box was a simple fix, just needed to reseal the cable tube at each end, but to do that I had to take it all apart and clean the parts up so the sealer would stick. Funky design, and more complicated than I like, but it works and I figured out some tricks for the re-install.
And my added coaming worked out great. I haven’t tested it on water yet, but I did put the skirt on and did some serious wiggling around to try and pop that edge loose. Seems like its going to work. And its strong. Much stronger than I expected. I was able to pick up the whole boat by the coaming. I figured ‘if this breaks it, it was gonna break anyways’,,,, Held just fine. After I put everything back together I mixed up a thin batch of resin and pigment and ‘painted’ the repair area to smooth out my sanding mark and make it match the rest of the coaming better. You can still see it but its not as obvious.
And I put hip pads in her to ‘tighten’ the feel of the cockpit. I have such a narrow hind side, that even a 16″ wide cockpit feels loose to me. LOL Even though I am 6′, I have to use medium or low volume boats or I feel like I am wallowing in a bathtub.
And she is ready for the weekend. B and Fam are at the lake already, and why I was ‘hoping” that Bossman and Son would be willing to let me ride out a week,,,, Oh well. Not this time and I do need the income, so I ain’t complaining about that, just the fact that I am off on a weekday and essentially ‘on hold’,,, Itsux,,,
So, when I do get the chance to head out (likely friday eve) I am only taking Lyssa with me. Not enough time to play with multiple boats and I want even more time in her yet, preferably out of the No Wake zones,,, and now that the skirt holds, time playing with rolls. I already have a feel for her speed, (fast, but not as fast as Lizzy) And yup, I could take her to the lake or river today, but I would rather give that sealer 24 hours to cure up without strain,,, All that pulling stuff apart to get at the culprit,, naw,,, let her sit
It’s called life,,,
Feeling much better today. Whatch’all didn’t know was that I put new wheelbearings on Buffalo yesterday. Yes, while fighting of internal buggies n such, but before I tipped the bottle,,,
and that wasn’t the danged problem.
Pretty much knew it when I jacked up the front end and didn’t get ANY wobble or wiggle out of the suspected bad side. (note, I just did wheel bearings on her two years ago, and those were definitely bad). well, money spent, send it. go through all the motions and I slways do suspension parts in pairs: anything else is false economy.
and the noize was exactly the same as before.
Low Differential fluid,,, Topped of the front diff and the noize abated. GM front drives are always in motion, just not fully engaged across both wheels.
I feel a bit miffed that I didn’t figure that out before I went and spent a chunk of cash on the parts. BUT, I have two good bearings sitting on the shelf for the future (not a danged thing wrong with them so I boxed em and when/if these bearings start to fail, there they are.).
Its one thing to be mad at myself for a simple (NEWB) mistake, but then, I am not turning wrench everyday like I usedta back in the day…. Nor is my hearing all that these days. That I could hear it tells me it was getting really bad. but diff gears are robust, they just need lots of lube to not burn up.
It’s called life. We age, things fail, on us and things around us, and we keep moving forward in time, until such time as we don’t, but time never stops. Mistake made, and may be made again later down the road. BUT, next time, I check fluids before I go dropping cash.
It’s kinda icky out today. Grey April skies, threats of rain (that we need!) and chilly. Seeing how I just fought off the bugs, I think I wanna hold off on kayaky stuff today, maybe even build a fire in the stove to knock the chill in the house down. (gotta watch that though, its real easy to turn the house into a literal oven.)
And that means I work on writing stuff,,,, Still working on that re-write and sequel so there is that,,,,
more laters as I get the gumption,,,
in the course of human events
People live, people die, life carries on, and the world continues to turn.
When we are at our lowest, I think its good to remember the above. WE, individually, will cease to be, but the rest of this semi-psychotic mess we call a species will carry forward. If we are remembered or not is ENTIRELY up to us, and what we do. Will we be remembered in fondness? Or will our name forever be attributed to some evil or sickness?
I can think of a few public figures right now that are rapidly earning something along that last,,,, no names need be said, do they?
I posted up a video recently of a young man in GB that is just ripping apart the viral threads with a baring of his soul. In that video he says that he only wants to leave something good behind. I think “Mission Accomplished” would be the operative words here. His viewing counts gain by millions each week. When I posted the vid, it was below 4 million,,, this week, its well over 8 million and climbing still. I wish only the best fo the man: from what I have read, he deserves it. His art may not be for everyone (I know a couple of people I showed it to, sorta wrinkled their nose at it,, but others, totally sucked in and it “Clicked” with them, same as it did me.). He is leaving something positive for millions behind,,, if he were to do nothing else the rest of his life,, there will be some that remember him,, And in positive light.
I think that is all any of us wish for, ultimately,,, To be thought well of when its all said and done for us.
Thats part of why I wrote the book I did,, and why I intend on doing more there. I wanted to come home and work on them today, seeing how it was a rainy cold mess out,,, BUT, too much for this one jack of all trades to handle today. More tomorrow. I was joking with my dad that we may be burying Bossman this week: when he writes my check he may have an aneurysm,,, Maxed hours every day and there is still one more to go, and I have enough on my list for 3 more full days, and thats just the shop time I know about, installs may add to that. Bossmans BP may spike, but I know the revenue I generated this week more than justifies the expenditure for me,,,, He’ll get over it,,,
Darkness is falling, its been a grey day, and soon, furry lumps will be arriving, wishing me to dry them off, feed them and make them places to curl up (like my lap,,,). Any work I start now may get interrupted, repeatedly. BUT, here I am, on the Mac, tapping out a post and once I fire this off, I am opening Vellum and getting busy until such time as Grizz and Mama start insisting they are the absolute priority and nothing else will suffice.
To be honest, I haven’t paid one iota of attention to the world at large this week, other than my daily reads of BCE, Sarah WRSA, Cold Fury and Liberty’s Torch,,, (and the comics, DBD, GG, and LFG,,, two are very non-political.). For what its worth, doesn’t seem to be much movement on collapse, WWIII, or The Not-so-Great reset,,, Usual swirling of the bowl going on, and, well, dongivafuk these days…. I can’t stop it, I can’t control anything past my personal space (which is as far as my arms reach) and I will roll wth the punches as they came and as I can,,,, I think thats all any of us can do.
In the meantime, I work on that ‘legacy’ I want to leave behind, the words going to print, and the ones here that will vanish when this site is shuttered after my demise. (no I ain’t dyin’, not today anyways,,, what the future holds is anyones guess, and I may be around for another 30 plus years,,, We will see,,,,). Keep the prep thing going while there is still that luxury, keep making alternative plans, three ways in, five ways out,,, two is one, one is none,,, Rather be looking at it, than looking for it,,,, Little blurbs that seem cliche, but are sound wisdom. Things we need to carry forward for the generations that will replaces us. Some of the ideas I wrote into Wings,,, facts that are not taught in the Indoctrination centers,,, concepts that are dead simple, but complicated to express to those blinded by the mental gymnastics they are taught.
We all move on, none get off this rock alive (not yet anyway,,, )and none are immortal: death comes for us all.
But we aren’t done yet, and there is still much we can do.
So get to it.
just a hypothetical you understand
Soccer-mom; rushing to get the kids to soccer practice,,, 6 kids in her 7 passenger mini-van and as raucous as 6 excited kids can be,,, Rushing, running late, pushing that speed limit just a touch,,,
Blows through a yellow that turns red as she passes the middle of the intersection,,,
Gets to the soccer fields ‘just in time’ for the kids to make practice or game or whatever,,, Watching the kids, her phone starts beeping with messages.
“Distracted Driving 1PT”
“Excessive speed 2PT”
“Failure to heed traffic device 2 PT”
“Running Redlight 2PT”
“More than 4PT in 30 days, License suspension, 6 month”
“Driving without a DL, Misdemeanor, bench warrant issued”
“This is your friendly neighborhood Insurance agent; due to an increase in the points against your license, we have suspended your insurance policy on all vehicles,, have a nice day’
“Driving without insurance, 2PT”
“More than 8PT in 30 day period, Second misdemeanor, Bench warrant issued”
and as she is reading these, blood pressure rising, the Police cruiser pulls up to her mini-van followed by a tow truck and another larger van with the sign “Child Protective Services” emblazoned on the side,,,
Guys, I like my tech, but I don’t trust it with my life,,, and every time I go into pay my insurance premiums, I see that ‘red-dot’ thingy that would track my vehicle and allow me a ‘significant discount’ on my insurance,,,, Um, NO, and not just NO, but FUCK NO,,,, I have enough bad mojo in a ‘smart phone’ that has become so ubiquitous in our everyday lives,,,, and yah, I know they track me that way too, but so far, they haven’t TOTALLY turned it into a weapon,,, The above scenario is NOT freedom,,, Its a prison without walls, where you are permitted certain liberties until such time as they say you aren’t,,,
and there are days where I wonder just how far away that scenario is from reality.
And no, I didn’t get a ticket or anything today,,, Just saw way too many “Legally Authorized” Highwaymen out today. Enough that the main drag of 25E looked like a Kmart with dozens of blue light specials going on.
what is????
I’m reading today,,, well, I read EVERY day, but sometimes what I am reading is simple escapism books, to take my mind off the day/week I am having, or just to forget about what a mess things are, even if for a short moment.
BUT, this book (as linked in last post) Fun to read, and probably a bit more to digest for some people, as in, read a chapter and let it ferment in the back of the head for a few days before moving on (had a few books like that, stuff that went off like a time bomb weeks months years after reading it). and in reading it, I realized that some of what he is saying is the same shit I have been saying in other ways, here, off and on, for several years.1 Like the conversation between Mackey and Nudge at Macks deathbed; The two minds thing and the one WE think is in control, isn’t. That gets brought up, and a particularly good case in the debate is made.
Is it truth?
What is???
My truths may not be your truths. You may feel very strongly that the Holy Trinity is FACT, IRREFUTABLE and to say otherwise is HERESY. Ok, thats YOUR truth,,,
Mine is a whole lot more forgiving, but still requires ETHICS and MORALS, and that whole ‘eternal damnation’,,, entirely in YOUR court, up to you, your choice.
Actually, I really liked Sarahs definition of TRUTH (paraphrased because I can’t find the original now).”Truth is what remains when everything else has faded away.” And in keeping that in mind, we will all know, individually, the truth, eventually, when ‘this reality’ has faded away and we leave it. To say yours is the ultimate truth is rather narcissistic, but really, who am I to say you are wrong. I freely acknowledge my beliefs may be wrong, and I may even outgrow them as I learn more. I may even come around to your way of thinking,,, Who knows.
What is TRUTH,,,,
What I do know, we may be created in the image of God, but we are most definitely flawed: that is a truth. Not that its a bad thing, but we are not perfect and thank the lord hallelujah AMEN for that!!!! Perfection across an entire species would be boring and likely detrimental to its survival. We each have individual strengths and weaknesses and those, across the board average out for the better for the SPECIES. Occasionally, one weakness (usually seen as a strength at the time) rises to the surface and things get really ugly for a short spell. BUT, the majority usually reacts to bring that one bad apple back to the fold, or just eject it into the void for recycling.
where am I going with this?
we are broken.
we are not perfect.
we are absolutely BEAUTIFUL in that fact
and I know I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Y’all have a good evening, more tomorrow when I get a near a keyboard,,,,
1 “Learning is finding out what you already know, Doing is demonstrating that you know it, teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you. We are all learners doers and teachers.:” From Illusions, by Richard Bach
Dio's Workshop 