Took some experimentin’ to come up with a system that works.  Never used a DA as a wetsander before, but while using the 2000 grit, it seemed like it ‘needed’ the wet.  It kept gumming up and making swirlies.   SO’sssss, I put on a new pad, grabbed a sponge and a bucket of water and BAM!, suddenly things started FLYING along.    Concentrating on the middle right now as the bow and stern are probably going to be hand sanded.  Lots of compound curves and odd tight arches that the DA can dig into.

Elbee is being the dream kitten.  Lets me work on Lyssa without being a pest: he’s out there chasing newly fallen leaves and catching bugs and having the time of his life.   When he taps my leg, I know he’s gettin’ hungry.   Not climbing me, but definitely hugging my ankle and looking up at me.  

Last night was interesting: I got to see Zoomies making like a daddy cat.   Laying there comatose, tail hanging down like a plumb line, and Elbee found it.   “NEW TOY!!!”    Zooms never flinched, but that tail started playing ‘catch me if you can’, and Elbee played there for near an hour before getting bored and finding something different to do.   Later on, Elbee climbed up on top of Zooms and passed out and Zoomie didn’t get upset about it.   In fact, when he started getting to warm, it looked like he was trying his best to NOT wake up the little’un.

If only Mama were so ‘cool’ with the new addition.    She isn’t hostile, but she is still doing the growlies on occasion.    I figure soon enough, she’ll warm up.   At least she isn’t in protest mode and hiding in the woods for days on end.

Big nasty cold front on us right now.   Didn’t have a frost this morning as predicted, but we were only a degree or two away from it.   Supposedly starting to warm up for a short spell; just in time for the weekend and me getting Lyssa and her gleaming new hull to the lake.  May be Satyrday, maybe Sonday, but we will make it out.  (I wants to see if gleaming glass is faster than the 400grit finish she had.)

alright, front feet are warmed back up, back at it while I have an hour of daylight left.

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Little Bastard just ran me $180   BUT, not near as bad as I was expecting.    Thought for sure that he was gonna be diag’ed with feline herpes and some other evil shit that seems to run the Feline circles in this part of the world.

Nopes,,, Little’un had a run in with some beaver or something.

Giardia.  

and a common ‘headcold’.   

no wormies, no herpes, no FIV, or Feline Leukemia.  

He did get the vax’s for those though.  

And he blasted a fart from the depths of hell on the Doc,,,,  So we were given a regimen of Probiotics to help with the gassy’s.    Poor doc,,, that little toot brought tears to my eyes and she was at ground zero.

Now little dood is passed out cold: had a bizzy bizzy day!  He rode 45 miles one way on Daddies shoulder, watching the world whiz by,,, No muss about it, just the occasional ‘mew’ asking ‘Are we there yet?’.   Same on the return trip without the mews,,,, I think he knew we were headed home.   (and those vaccines may have started having an effect,,, he was curled up in the crook of my neck by the time I hit the bottom of the hill.)

And despite the fart in the face, he won over both the doc and the nurse.   Especially when he jumped into the arms of the nurse,,,   She said ‘thats a first!’.   It’s almost like he knew the routine in advance and was saying, ‘lets get this show on the road so I can go home and play!’

so a week or so of antibiotics to combat any infections in the chest and head, while he battles off the cold virus, and another week’s worth of stuff to fight the Giardia, and I have to make sure that he uses the litterbox and NO OTHERS do.   Not really a problem unless we start getting mad rain.   The big Kats prefer the outside box (the woods), and only use the inside box when the hydraulic pressures reach critical, and the outside option is off the table.

And of course, I didn’t get to do a damned thing to Lyssa tonight.   Sun was fading fast when we came back, and Mama and Zooms were waiting for their turn at attentions (FEED US!!!) so, by the time I had a minute, the light was gone,,,   seeing how I don’t want to sand off all the gel I just put on (only want to get the high spots down to baby butt smooth), no sanding under LED’s  (bad lighting for body work, trust me).

It can wait, It’s only Muhnday,,,

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Good float today. 

Wet deck from roll practice.

She’s a roller!!!   Moderate primary stability, wall solid secondary up to capsize point then full on toss you over.   That capsize point is almost 90° to surface. 

No speed demon,  but I knew that from racing her the once.  4mph solid, all day long,  but requires enormous inputs to exceed that.

And even swamped,  she floats.

Had to clean her out some more: had a stinkbug fly in my face when I pulled the skirt so figured “drown the bastards!!!”   The fingerlings at shore were more than happy for them.

Now, what sucked?

Lyssa.

Epoxy finish.

I now know why they say to not use epoxy and gelcoat.  

Came home and noted some areas that didnt seem like they had cured. 

They hadnt

And around them. I could see the build up from the gelcoat.

Sigh,,,   wipe those areas with degreaser. Use a sharpie to tag them, out comes the sander,   again!!!

Not too many but enough, and all along the gunnel, none on the lower hull.  I wasnt as detailed as I thought. 

I was much more meticulous this round. Sand,  wipe down, observe water ‘stain’, sand some more, repeat,,, 

The last of the gelcoat is now on, and I walked around her three times looking, HARD, for any signs of gelcreep (what Im calling those bare patches I found)

No more epoxy for boats unless I build it as an epoxy boat; no gelcoat.

Gonna let gurl cure over night, and I has a Vet appt for Elbee tomorrow evening. (prononced as letters, L B .   Stands for lucky bastard.  Or little bit,  both work.) As well as a FULL day of powered gate fun.   One install,  two diags.   Might carry over into Twosday.

And I’ll get to the sanding and polishing as soon as I can.  Sanding should be a breeze: she is already smooth,  just knock down the high spots and swirlies from the DA.   I want her done by Friday, PERIOD!!!   She’s been drydocked for three weeks and I miss paddling her.  Paddling Selkie was fun,  but she aint Lyssa. 

That was the writing prompt this morning, and, well, normally, I don’t pay any danged attention to the prompts, but this one,,,,,

Be True to yourself!    That one is the biggest and sometimes the hardest one.   If you can’t be true to YOU, who can you be true to?   But there are times where one lies to oneself, to ease the issues of the day.   Say, you are in a bad marriage, but you keep saying, ‘things will get better if I stick it out’,,,   or you have that shitty job and every morning you say “one more paycheck and I can cut loose”    Its all bullshit, and we tell ourselves these things to ease the passage through our personal hells: but it’s not being true to yourself.  Take the time, assess your situation, if things are tough, that may be the best thing to go through, but if things are killing your soul, think about change and honesty.

Honesty is best, but there are times where silence is better.    I run into this daily.    Being honest with others can sometimes create frictions, and those times are where its best to shut your danged mouth.   Don’t create any bullshit, or try to sugarcoat things, just shut your danged mouth.    Maybe you will earn the status of ‘rude M!F!’ or somesuch, but you will also gain respect for being HONEST when it matters most.   Those with half a braincell will hate you, and those with two will see you with respect.

TEACH!!!   You learn your whole life through; sometimes the hard way, other times vicariously through the hardships of others.    Pass what you know on to the younger, so they can find their own, and potentially better ways.   We live on the shoulders of Giants; lift someone onto yours.

(stealing this one from Peterson)  PET THE KITTEHS!   You need to take the time to relax and settle down.   Take the time to pet the kat, or pupper, play silly pit-pat games with the little murder-mittened fluffball.   Your day is not so damned important as to ignore children, two legged or four: take a minute or three and settle down!

READ, WRITE.   The one ‘technology’ that has set us ahead and beyond any other species on this planet is “FATHER TONGUE”,,, Being able to set our words down in ways that carry them PAST our own times, into the future.   Being able to access the words of people 5000 years gone is our biggest strength.    Don’t be so cocksure of yourself and think that reading and writing are lesser skills.   Read, learn, THINK, then write,,,   everything else is just details.

Never assume you know it ALL.   You don’t, period, end of discussion.   I tell my boys all the time “I don’t know what I’m doing; I’m making this shit up as I go along.” ; I’m not always joking,,,   The more I learn, the more I learn I have to learn.   My knowledge is a mere drop in the bucket of whats out there.   (this is where I get upset with ‘experts’; more times than I care to think about where some expert told me ‘x’, but I proved ‘y’.)

ASK!  ask for help, ask before taking, ask for the things you NEED.   That asking may  be in the form of ‘buying’, but you have to ask, first.   When out in the wilds, ASK; mama-nature will hear you, you just have to open your eyes to see what she offers. You are a child of God, just ask.

This one is not a ‘principle’, but I have found it is good tactic in getting through life.   When you are somewhere you don’t really belong, ACT LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE.   It’s amazing how quickly people will help you when you act as confident as an owner.  Carry yourself with confidence, pitch the voice a bit lower than your normal speaking voice, and PROJECT: people will pay attention.   

more laters,,, kitteh playing with keyboard.

Started off with getting Selkie finished sewn up, and coated the fresh seams in ‘goop’ (after taping off area and any holes inside the cockpit flange).   I then did my running that was needed, picked up a couple new tools, and some other things for the rest of my endeavors today: paint mixing supplies, etc.

Came home and the goop was tacky, but not cured yet.  Took her off the horses, moved her out into the sunlight, figuring, ‘Black boat, sunlight, EASY heat to cure stuff fast.’  (wasn’t wrong)

Then Lyssa on the horses, finished the sanding process, including some touch up areas I needed to be a bit more agressive with, then a wipe down with degreaser, then acetone.  Let dry (takes like 3 seconds, but why race the clock here.)   

Two full coats of gelcoat on the old girl,,, she looks like a danged new boat right now.  As the stuff cures, it gets a little duller, but also smooths out.   Tomorrow, after a full days cure, I will wipe her down with acetone, to get the wax off her and see if she needs a third coat (or fourth for that matter) sanding and polishing after,,,,

And while I was waiting for Gel to cure (first round) I wrapped up getting Selkie wrapped out.   Put the deck lines back in place and secured, Compass back on deck, footboard installed, make sure the seat is still secure (though i never pulled it) and give her insides a good wipe down and blow out with a leaf blower.

She is now on Buffalo, waiting to get wet tomorrow at the lake; test run!!!

No water time today, but what I did do, has put me in an easier state of mind, almost as good as a full day paddling.   ALMOST,,,,   Tomorrow will make up the difference.

And all was done with a kitten riding herd on me!!!   (half tempted to call little’un, GIZMO,    he sure has that look with his oversized ears right now,,,  Still debating it,,, He only responds to tongue clicks so far,,,Will see.)  

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30′ away,  and not skittish of my moving around.

Could dress out around 90# (conservative estimate)

They ‘know’ they are safe near the houses with hunting season in full mode.

Good thing (for them) I’m not in need.

one pound and half of fluff and buzz,,,

total wrench in the mechinizations of Dio’s world,,,,

Not that I am upset with him, but things had to make some changes to accommadate the little one (still no name,,, 😦   )

Since I didn’t get the wrap up on Selkie done that I was trying to get done (still need to sew up half the cockpit and seal up that section) my plans on taking her for a test run and possible delivery to Brudda B; not happening today,,,  SO’sssss,,,,,     I spend today doing those things, and tomorrow I can take her out, AFTER I get my domestic crud out of the way.

is what it is,,,,    B is in no hurry to have her returned so next week is just as good as this’un.    AND,,, I would like to get him out on the water in her when I take her back, not just to make sure he is happy with the repairs, but to get the blamed foo brudda of mine some WATER THERAPY,,,,   I know he needs it, even if only an hour on fluid surfaces,,,   even a little would do him wonders right now.   (I don’t think he has had more than a couple hours on water all year.   )

Reading up on things down south in the panhandle region,,,   Glad to hear things are ‘sedate’ down there.    Amazing how a group of people, that patrol their AO with weapons on display can make a region peaceful.  

And armed society is a polite society.

Funny how all the BS from the left is coming to the surface, and how all of the things they make fun of ‘rednecks’ for is about the only thing holding shit together in the areas that have been pummeled back into the stoneage (temporarily).   

And I have noted that the Vitriol of  TDS hate has taken a hard upswing the last week.  My Utoob feeds keep popping up with TDS clips, heavily edited for context manipulation, with decidedly skewed wording for headlines.    I can see the ‘spin’ from half a room away,,,  

They are scared.

They are getting desperate.

And the clock is ticking,,,    They know that to cheat at this point (at the level they will be forced to use) will be so obvious,   And they know the optics thus far in just a few short weeks ARE NOT GOOD.

I fully expect something to take place in the next couple of weeks to ‘justify’ suspension of the (s)election cycle.   And I doubt it will be external (Kraine/Russia-Iran/Israel)  Lamestream media keeps ‘hinting’ at some Jihad-ian interference,,, Likely to scare the Normies away from the polling sites,,  And they keep uping the ante on mail in voating,,,(like in S-TN area, which is predominately a red voating area, will likely flip to blue with all the mail in they are pushing,,,)

It’s all Kabuki Theater,,,  

Keep that idea in mind, READ THIS

wake up, PLEASE.      WE have seen it repeatedly over the last couple weeks,   GOVERNMENT gets in the way when shit really needss to get done.  Corruption is rampant in our system and that corruptions gets people killed.    And has anyone seen any other COUNTRIES sending aid to help our people?   ROFLMAO,,, Like you ever will!!!   We bail out the world, but when the shit hits the fan, WE ARE IT, and don’t you dare ever think it will go the other way,,   The historical evidence doesn’t lie.

ALright,,, day light has arrived, time to get bizzy on boats and stuff, so I can float tomorrow,  buzzy-n-fuzzy has finally succumbed to food coma this morning so I have a window where I can do my things (and maybe Zoomies will take over the daycare side when little-un wakes up.)

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