[Boat]housekeeping versus the dirt [rowing]

We had a cross-country canoeist arrive in Albany on Saturday morning. He started out about 21 months ago at the mouth of the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. For sections he couldn't paddle, he portaged the canoe. While he was in Albany we kept his canoe safe in the boathouse. He headed out at dawn this morning, under cold, clear skies.



After he left, I spent a little bit of time in the boathouse shed with a shop vac. The boat shed is constructed in such a way that the walls do not extend all the way down to the pavement, so there's a gap that allows water to run through and that also lets debris in from the interstate overhead. Since we are planning to train there this winter, our head coach has been working on methods to block out the gap as much as possible.

Over time, a ton of debris and dust have accumulated inside of the boathouse. It's worse than counterproductive to try and use a broom against it, because sweeping launches small particles back into the air, where they settle again on our equipment and contribute to its wear-and-tear. I'm not sure if a shop vac is the best possible answer, so I figured I'd post about the project here and see if anyone has any other thoughts or ideas.

Otherwise I will just keep vacuuming.



There are worse places to be.