Halifax Bound: Two more sleeps

Last night I typed a post concerning my work in the shop that related to adding weight to the keel of the SS Silver Walnut.

This morning I woke up and almost immediately thought, I’d better check on the boat. After all, I leave on Tuesday.


["How will this look in the morning?": photos GH]

The two strips of walnut look like they belong, don't they?


["The walnut works for me"]

This afternoon I’ll knock on my neighbour’s door and ask if I can drop the boat into his pool.

Predictions:

My neighbour will say, go ahead.

His three boys will come out and watch.

Two out of three will think it will sink to the bottom of the pool.

The boat will surprise us all.

Ten minutes later I’ll have dried it off and packed it up, ready to strap onto the back of my motorcycle before I depart on a 4,300 km. ride.

Now, I’d better go to Valu-Mart and stock up on Puritan Irish Stew ("with preformed chunks of meat," whatever that is), a suitable meal during a road side stop in southern Quebec or New Brunswick if I ever saw one.

***

Have I solved the ‘tipping’ problem?

I’m taking bets.

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Halifax Bound: Three more sleeps

I know it’s late.

After I closed up shop at Gathering on the Green I took my helpful, patient wife out for supper.

Once we arrived home, I went to the workshop to solve a problem.

The wee boat that contains my dad’s ashes lists to the right and is a bit heavy at the bow.

I hastily assembled materials I felt might help me set things straight in 30 minutes or less.


I.e., steel strap, a metal weight (unknown metal, unknown weight), a pack of nails.


Nuts and bolts, a rusty bolt from the CPR line south of Espanola and a strip of black walnut.


I thought, what material would best serve the purpose of adding weight to the back and bottom of the SS Silver Walnut and survive the long trip across the Atlantic Ocean?

What would you select?


["Black walnut is heavy and should last for several years in salt water": photos GH]

As you can see, I went with the black walnut for sentimental reasons - a strip on each side of the existing keel - and added a liberal coat of Super Spar Varnish before turning out the lights.

On Sunday afternoon I’ll throw the Walnut into my neighbour’s pool to see if I’ve solved the problem.

Does it stand a chance?

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Halifax Bound: Four more sleeps

I know it’s late; 10:10 p.m. And to top it off, to get a bit of a caffeine jolt I’m drinking leftover coffee from this morning.

It will have to do.

With only four more sleeps to go before I start my journey to Halifax (click here to see the itinerary) I had a lot of running around to do today. A repaired saddlebag had to be picked up. The plaque for the back deck of the wee boat was ready. And I needed to test drive the boat to see if it would cross the Atlantic on the surface of the ocean or deep underwater in the belly of a whale.


The plaque looked good but the wood was not walnut, as I had ordered. It was MDF board and was crap. It wouldn’t last a week in the salt water, spar varnish or not.


["The plaque looks at home on barn board": photos GH]

So I tore it apart when I got home and bolted the metal to a piece of barn board, something my dad would fully appreciate. (I would be surprised if he ever laid eyes on MDF). From every angle it looks 100 times better, and will last years longer, than MDF-crap.


But, before doing that particular 'tearing apart' task, I tucked the boat under my arm, walked to a neighbour’s house and tossed the boat into their pool.

Details to follow after I make a real cup of coffee.

***

Do you think it will float or sink?

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In the Workshop Pt 1: A wee boat nears completion

The to-do list related to the wee boat I'm building (it should reach Scotland by 2012 if I toss it far enough into the Atlantic to catch the Gulf Stream) is getting shorter.

- two more coats of spar varnish

- hide two messages in bottles


- screw down the cabin lid

- add a plaque to back deck (should be ready by Fri.)

- add name plate ‘SS Silver Walnut ll’

- give it a test drive

- add outer layer of foam if it sinks


In my opinion, this baby won’t sink and if I can just throw if far enough...

***

Do you have relatives in Scotland who like to take long walks by the beach?

Tell them to keep their eyes peeled in 2012.

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Great day to work on projects in The Shed

Today, the temperature on the front porch seemed close to boiling by 10 a.m.

Too hot for me to sit and relax.


["Purple martin house - ready for delivery": photos GH]


The back yard felt too hot.

At least too hot to cut the grass.

However, The Shed felt several degrees cooler, so I set up the chop saw, chopped up some custom trim, finished a purple martin house (without flush toilets) and then applied the second top coat to a wee boat that will journey with me to Halifax in about 10 days.


["Ready for trim paint, then spar varnish"]

The Shed keeps its cool and helps me keep mine during hot weather.


["If it floats, it should reach Scotland by 2012"]

Tomorrow, if it’s too hot to ride (Ha! Is it ever too hot to ride?) I’ll paint the trim on the boat - my wife suggested blue paint rather than red - and assemble one more purple martin house in the coolest joint in the neighbourhood.

Keep cool out there, folks.

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The SS Silver Walnut 2: First top coat looks about right

It needs another top coat or two, then marine varnish, but the colour seems right.

It needs red or blue trim to make a few lines and shapes stand out.


["A lot of wee jobs needed before I head off to Halifax": photo GH]

It needs its name painted on the back or side.

It needs an identification plaque naming its passenger (ordered).

It needs to be delivered safely to the Atlantic Ocean.

It needs to float!!

***

The float test is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Okay, if it sinks - then what?

Stay tuned.

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In the Workshop: Painting is sticky work at the best of times

Today was so hot outside the paint I was applying to a wee boat was getting gummy before it left the brush.

I started the job outside because the smell of primer goes to my head and I had a hockey game later in the day and didn’t want to make any goof ups.

["No more trim; time to apply primer": photos GH]

So I moved the job into the workshop and the first coat started going on better and a large fan kept the fumes to a minimum.

After cleaning the brush I went to my game, didn’t clear the puck at a critical moment and the other team turned my goof up into a goal.


["Two wee bottles contain messages and will stored in the cabin"]

I tried redeeming myself - and came close (set up one goal and would have assisted on the winner but a teammate failed to tip in my low shot from the blue line) - but, yeah, yeah, the game ended in a tie, a result that many guys find very satisfying for some reason.


["More primer tomorrow, then top coats and varnish"]

If I apply a coat of paint, then varnish, once per day for the next 6 days the job will be done before my next game.

No more goof ups!

***

I admit, I take the game too seriously sometimes, but if I stay competitive for a few more years I might get called up by The Leafs.

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I’ll say ‘sail on’ to my father at Crystal Crescent Beach

Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park is located about 20 - 30 km. south west of Halifax and, according to my map of the area, looks like the perfect spot from which to set adrift a wee boat for my dad’s final voyage on the Atlantic ocean.


["I filled the boat (w ashes) using a scoop from my dad's old barn"]

It will be perfect if, once I set the boat adrift and say ‘sail on,’ waves don’t instantly send it back to shore.

It will be perfect if the boat falls in step with the Gulf Stream and heads off toward Scotland and not Peggy’s Cove, i.e., around back behind me and in the wrong direction entirely.


And though I don’t know how close I’ll be able to get to Pennant Point, the pointiest and, again according to my map, best spot to say ‘sail on,’ I’ll give it a good try and hope for the best.


I think that’s all one can do unless there’s a boat for hire somewhere nearby and the fee isn’t an arm and a leg. In my case, I’ll need the arm and leg to get me home safely on the motorcycle.

It will also be a perfect day if the boat doesn’t immediately sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.


My dad wanted to be buried at sea but I think he was hoping for a bit more adventure than spending two seconds near the shores of Crystal Crescant Beach!

***

The clock is ticking, I’m getting excited (though very busy at the same time), and after I apply four - five coats of paint and marine varnish to the boat, the wee thing might sink just from the weight of the paint and varnish alone.

But it won’t leak!!

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The trip to Halifax is playing with my mind

In less than two weeks I leave for Halifax to fulfill a promise to my father.

Everything I say, do and hear is now getting filtered through the ‘trip’ part of my brain - which appears to be most of it.

An hour ago a fellow at The Roaster said, “You paid $20 for plastic shades?”


["Ten dollars worth of my new shades": photos GH]

“Yes, but they’re red,” I said, “and they fit with my energetic mood right now.”

When I got home from the coffee shop I noticed city workers cutting limbs from a tree on my neighbour’s yard.


I thought, I’ll get my camera, that’s a cool job. (But, is it the perfect job?)

When I stepped back onto the porch I saw three limbs fall to the ground, and an image appeared from the ‘trip’ side of my brain.

What if a limb bounces off my concrete driveway and hits my bike? My trip would be ruined.


["Everything gets filtered through my 'travel plans' now"]

What if one hits my head? Again, my trip would be ruined because my helmet wouldn’t fit over the bandages.

So, I’m going to strap on my helmet right now (sans bandages) and move my bike onto the street - about ten miles away.

I’ll be back in two hours.

***

Two hours - that’s if there is bus service out of Hyde Park.

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New shades: But were they worth 20 bucks?

Times are busy all over. I barely had time to sneak out of the house this morning for coffee at The Red Roaster.

But I’m getting lots of stuff done related to my upcoming Halifax trip.

The itinerary is set, hostels are booked (Day 1, June 8: Sqweek House in Kingston), money is saved, Dad’s boat is well underway (half done, I’d say), one pair of jeans is nicely pressed.

However, a few big hurdles remain.


["How much did you pay?" I was asked: photo GH]

I need a luggage rack for my bike or else I'll have to pack even smaller than small. I have two leads and if they don’t pan out then I’ll have to build one myself. I have some bird’s eye maple that will do the trick. (Custom luggage rack. How cool is that?)

I need to finish four purple martin houses by Friday, June 4, and I’d like to build a batch of 6 ‘old school house’ bird boxes by the same date - for Gathering on the Green, June 5.

And I’d like to get in a few more practice rides to toughen up my behind and see how my new shades handle the morning sun.

Yes, I bought new red shades for the trip - aviator style - because they look funky and suit my cheerful mood (even though I’ve never been busier).

But... and this is a big but... are they worth the 20 bucks?

My mind says yes.


["That's 10 bucks worth right there"]

My wallet says no.

Hey, if they make me smile all the way to Halifax they are definitely worth it.

***

Yup, 20 bucks.

I know, it seems like a lot to me too.

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Motorcycle Miles: How should I handle Montreal while travelling east?

Spring is in the air, the idea of motorcycling is entering my head and I just finished studying routes from London to Halifax.

(I have a promise to fulfill in Halifax and this is the year to check it off my list).

Like the experienced traveller that I am (insert laugh track here), I’ve looked at different routes to Halifax, but each one has a big scary part that involves Montreal on my way to the hostel in Quebec City.


["I encountered more rocks than people on my way to Thunder Bay, 2007. But Montreal is different, and intimidating.": photo GAH, Hattie's Cove]

I just can’t ignore Montreal. So, what to do?

Should I blast right through the centre of the city on Highway 40, without even stopping for so much as a cup of coffee or the opportunity to make people laugh about my Grade 9 French language skills?

Should I add miles and hours to my trip east by venturing north at some point before reaching Montreal and connect with Highway 158, then travel more safely and slowly toward the 40/158 junction well east of the city?

Should I cross over to the south side of the St. Lawrence River, e.g., at Cour de Lac on Highway 201, and zigzag my way east, then north on one of the tamer highways, e.g., the 133 to Sorel?

Or, are there other tried and true ways to get through or around Montreal for someone not eager to practice rudimentary French skills at a wee cafe on a Montreal side street?

Just asking.

***

More details about the trip later.

I’m busy saving up $1,300 dollars to add to what I already have stashed in the bank.

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