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This was the last morning of going over to the Center for Wooden boats to work on assembling our Annapolis Wherries. Our instructor let us all get in about 1.5 hours of sanding, then he gathered us together to talk about the finishing steps. From here, there will be a general round of sanding, then about 4 coats of epoxy across the entire thing to seal in all of the wood. Once that is finished, there will be another 4-5 layers of paint and/or varnish, with sanding in between, to protect the epoxy from UV exposure, which causes it to break down.
But those projects will take too long to complete in a classroom setting, so I'll be working on them at my mother's house.
Then it was time to take the boats home.
Most (sane) people bring a vehicle to put the boat on, strap it down, and then drive it home. At some point, I can't remember exactly when, the idea came up that we could potentially paddle the boat over to Portage Bay, then then portage it home instead. At the beginning of the class, our instructor told us that our boats wouldn't be finished by the end of the week, but they would at least be "tsunami-ready," as he put it. (in other words, if a tsunami comes along, by all means use the boat to escape!!)
What it looks like to cartop:
But it sounds like he hasn't ever had anyone actually test out the tsunami-readiness. This morning, I cartopped over my sculling oars, to potentially use as paddles, unsure of exactly how far we'd wind up going with this hairbrained idea. After some discussion, it started becoming more and more apparent that the CWB folks were happy to help us try and actually make the paddle and portage work. They even went so far as to loan us a set of canoe paddles and life jackets, seeing as the rowing units haven't arrived yet.
But we couldn't use the Center's docks, for liability reasons. Understandable. But one of the CWB volunteers told us there was a beach nearby where we could launch. Good. A first test of the boat's portage-ability.
We figured out that the best way to carry the boat was on our heads. I could see better than S from my position in the stern, so I called out steering commands.
Making it to the beach wasn't so bad. Then it was time to test whether the boat would float yet.
It did!
There were a couple small seeps, from some of the wire holes we ran out of time for sealing off, but we only had about 0.5 C of water in the boat by the end.
I sat up on the stern compartment bench, but it seemed best to have S lower down in the bow, for stability.
Lake Union was bustling - unsurprising, given that it was a Saturday with beautiful weather. Note the tiki boat in this photo. We were also passed by multiple cruise/party boats. I greatly prefer being out on these waterways early in the morning, when it is much quieter.
Also notice something interesting in the distance, just beneath the Space Needle...
I'm not sure how I feel about those fake masts.
The University Bridge was stressful. We neared it just as a very large cruise boat started bearing down on us. At the last second, I noticed that it looked like small, maneuverable craft could actually fit under a narrow side arch near the shore. (way too narrow for rowing shells!) FAR better than trying to negotiate space with a cruise ship in the shipping channel!
Things were more relaxed once we got into Portage Bay itself, enough so that we could enjoy ogling the house boats more.
And, land ho! This is near the Montlake Playfield.
There's a tiny beach here, next to a beaver lodge. Most of this area has a thick layer of squishy mud, which reminds me a lot of the riverbed in Albany....mmmm...There's also a sign posted with information on where you can find out about the current water quality. Yum.
We made it!
For that part, at least. Now the real portage began.
I decided that the ramp to get up the hill on Calhoun Street was too steep and narrow to attempt, so we walked the boat over another block to give the stairs on E. McGraw St. a try instead.
It was kind of like trying to get a couch up the stairs in a house. Not impossible, but definitely requiring some grunting and a bit of swearing.
Made it. Time for another rest break.
Next rest break, on the descent on the other side, where my mom walked up to see the spectacle.
The neighbor where we took our rest break was very appreciative of the craftsmanship.
And, we made it!
The only remaining step for the day was returning the paddles and life jackets, and fetching the car. Also, today is a football game day, so there's all kinds of backed-up traffic across both the Montlake and University Bridges. Bicycles to the rescue!
I'm hoping to get the boat installed in my mother's garage tomorrow morning, and then there will be at least one trip over to the Fisheries Supply for supplies for the next steps.
This has been an expensive project, but I have no regrets. I'll have to also attend to other things over the upcoming weeks, but hopefully I can keep this whole project moving forward. It has been an adventure, to say the least.
But those projects will take too long to complete in a classroom setting, so I'll be working on them at my mother's house.
Then it was time to take the boats home.
Most (sane) people bring a vehicle to put the boat on, strap it down, and then drive it home. At some point, I can't remember exactly when, the idea came up that we could potentially paddle the boat over to Portage Bay, then then portage it home instead. At the beginning of the class, our instructor told us that our boats wouldn't be finished by the end of the week, but they would at least be "tsunami-ready," as he put it. (in other words, if a tsunami comes along, by all means use the boat to escape!!)
What it looks like to cartop:
But it sounds like he hasn't ever had anyone actually test out the tsunami-readiness. This morning, I cartopped over my sculling oars, to potentially use as paddles, unsure of exactly how far we'd wind up going with this hairbrained idea. After some discussion, it started becoming more and more apparent that the CWB folks were happy to help us try and actually make the paddle and portage work. They even went so far as to loan us a set of canoe paddles and life jackets, seeing as the rowing units haven't arrived yet.
But we couldn't use the Center's docks, for liability reasons. Understandable. But one of the CWB volunteers told us there was a beach nearby where we could launch. Good. A first test of the boat's portage-ability.
We figured out that the best way to carry the boat was on our heads. I could see better than S from my position in the stern, so I called out steering commands.
Making it to the beach wasn't so bad. Then it was time to test whether the boat would float yet.
It did!
There were a couple small seeps, from some of the wire holes we ran out of time for sealing off, but we only had about 0.5 C of water in the boat by the end.
I sat up on the stern compartment bench, but it seemed best to have S lower down in the bow, for stability.
Lake Union was bustling - unsurprising, given that it was a Saturday with beautiful weather. Note the tiki boat in this photo. We were also passed by multiple cruise/party boats. I greatly prefer being out on these waterways early in the morning, when it is much quieter.
Also notice something interesting in the distance, just beneath the Space Needle...
I'm not sure how I feel about those fake masts.
The University Bridge was stressful. We neared it just as a very large cruise boat started bearing down on us. At the last second, I noticed that it looked like small, maneuverable craft could actually fit under a narrow side arch near the shore. (way too narrow for rowing shells!) FAR better than trying to negotiate space with a cruise ship in the shipping channel!
Things were more relaxed once we got into Portage Bay itself, enough so that we could enjoy ogling the house boats more.
And, land ho! This is near the Montlake Playfield.
There's a tiny beach here, next to a beaver lodge. Most of this area has a thick layer of squishy mud, which reminds me a lot of the riverbed in Albany....mmmm...There's also a sign posted with information on where you can find out about the current water quality. Yum.
We made it!
For that part, at least. Now the real portage began.
I decided that the ramp to get up the hill on Calhoun Street was too steep and narrow to attempt, so we walked the boat over another block to give the stairs on E. McGraw St. a try instead.
It was kind of like trying to get a couch up the stairs in a house. Not impossible, but definitely requiring some grunting and a bit of swearing.
Made it. Time for another rest break.
Next rest break, on the descent on the other side, where my mom walked up to see the spectacle.
The neighbor where we took our rest break was very appreciative of the craftsmanship.
And, we made it!
The only remaining step for the day was returning the paddles and life jackets, and fetching the car. Also, today is a football game day, so there's all kinds of backed-up traffic across both the Montlake and University Bridges. Bicycles to the rescue!
I'm hoping to get the boat installed in my mother's garage tomorrow morning, and then there will be at least one trip over to the Fisheries Supply for supplies for the next steps.
This has been an expensive project, but I have no regrets. I'll have to also attend to other things over the upcoming weeks, but hopefully I can keep this whole project moving forward. It has been an adventure, to say the least.
