Steppin' Up is Home- Preparing for a New Season

[Gil Weiss]

Step one of my seasonal launch process was completed yesterday. Despite a cold rain, I towed Steppin' Up home from the local marina where I keep it during the winter. It now sits on my front lawn.

Next will be the cleaning/waxing and related stuff to prepare for another great season in the water at Lake Nockamixon. Although I put her away clean and waxed, I do it all again each spring.

The weather has been different everyday here in SE Pennsylvania, but at least it has been calm with no storms - a benefit of this location. Ir feels like winter here this morning, but the boat on my lawn reminds me of better days ahead.

I assume many of you are getting things ready for a new season? This always "feels good".

[Mercrewser]

I guess you can say I'm getting ready.  Darn stinkpots.  Maybe I should swap this 1200lbs of cast iron for a 10 lb mast.



If it is nice next weekend, Lauren Beth will be on the lake!  I love sailboats.  Hitch up and GO!

[Gil Weiss]

What did you do??? Dredge up on of the dock anchors at Nock?

Seriously, what ever turns you on is OK with me. However, you might need a mast and sail to compensate for gas prices this summer though! When do yuo expect to be tearing around the bay down the shore?

I took the winter cover off Steppin' Up and she was cleaner and nicer than expected. Worked all day on various items including adjusting the angle of the motor mount, putting a coat of Cetol on the teak, repaing a section of pin striping, etc.

After a winter like start the weather turned out great today.

Good luck with your iron maiden . . .

I do like all kinds of boats. (I spent eight years in a 24' SeaRay down the shore before the sailing bug bit again)

[Craig]

Gil,

You're making my jealous! Solitude is still iin winter storage and will stay there for a while yet. Rest of this month has too long of a list of things I have to do. May looks only marginally better.

I'm curious, is the new marina you store your boat doing any fiberglass/gelcoat/bottom work yet? My father's old Mercury 14 needs to have the bottom finished. He spent a fair amount of money for some outfit on Wallenpaupack to redo the deck. The fellow took care of the blisters on the bottom, too, but Dad did not have him epoxy the bottom and paint it. His cast iron keel will start rusting again if it is not properly sealed, and the bottom will start blistering again if not finished. Parents! They just don't listen to you!  :lol:
Craig

[Gil Weiss]

Hi Craig,

Great to hear from you. The new operators of this state owned marina are expanding it on many fronts. I feel as though they will be getting into repairs etc, as the fellow that runs the operation, Carl Swain, is the talented and experienced marina manager from the place next door that closed due to development. As of now I don't think they are doing this type of work.

I would call the Sailboat Shop in Glen Gardner NJ. They are reputable folks and if they don't do this type of work they might steer you in the right direction. They have a good website and list their services. You might call a few of the Bucks County marine dealers and inquirer too.

Sounds like work, etc are getting into the way of your boating season? I do my best to prevent that. I have a few business trips coming up but I have minimized their impact. We hope to get in the water around May 1st this year.

[Craig Weis]

Everybody needs an extra project, or another bouy anchor. Ha, ha, he ,he. skip. :lol:

[Gil Weiss]

Skip,

I don't know if you are aware that I fly RC planes and helicopters? Been doing so for almost 25 yrs.  These days this hobby has spilled over into my job with all the emphasis on unmanned vehicles but that is another story.

I fly all electric stuff these days. My current project is a Graupner Hydroplane. My goal is to fly it off my boat at the lake when the weather is too calm for sailing. This craft looks like a miss Budwiser Hydro, acts like a hydro but flys! There are vids on the Hobby Lobby web site.

Should be interesting . . .

[Craig Weis]

Hey Gil, the unmanned stuff is way cool.

I enjoy an old timer, high lift, Clark-Y-airfoil in a wingover cabin configuration from the 1940's era called a CloudKing with an inverted OS 40 four stroke driving an 11-6 AirMaster screw. With full fuel she'll fly for 45 minutes and become a dot in the sky. Got her stuck in a thermo once and it was way after dark dark before I got her back to the LZ. I have 13 airframes of various mfg and scratch builts. Have not re-kitted one in a long time. Knock on wood.

My buddy flys electric in Ann Arbor. All scale stuff like a Bee Gee and a DeHavailand Rapido [sp] ? Beech staggerwing, and other cool planes.

Helicopters scare the heck out of me. As a matter of fact this pilot I met just killed himself when his Canadian made Messerschmit mercy flight bird crashed two weeks ago. I was just looking at the pic I took of the bird last year when it came in to Door County Memorial Hospital with the neighbor's kid posed along side of the bird. Sad. Me and the dog always walk over to watch when we hear it fly in.

I have a Q-boat model about 50 " long that I carved out of a railroad tie when I was a Cub Scout covered it in glass with R/C added and removed several times. Gaff rigged. skip

[Mercrewser]

I have a couple of RC boats, one with a 30cc Homelite in it.  I never really got into flying RC planes, although I love going to the flyins.  Quakertown puts on a great RC airshow a few times during the summer.  If you havent been there, its a must see.  In August, they have a scale plane only show, with lots of multi engine warbirds.  I have a Private Pilots license, and I used to do alot of flying out of Doylestown before I got married.  I have flown Diamond Katanas, Piper Warriors and Cessnas.

[Gil Weiss]

I actually have flown at Quakertown, a long time ago when attending a Fun Fly they held every year. For quite a few years my two sons and I flew every weekend. I was very active in the AMA and several local clubs.

The boys moved out after college and my wife made me get another sailboat. My weekends are now spent on the water. I'm not complaining, just explaining. The shift to electrics allows me to fly near my home after work in the long summer evenings, no 30 minute trek to a club field. The state of the art relative to electrics today makes it a wonderful way to enjoy RC flying.

My older son lives between my home and the lake. He was a 4 yr old son that likes sailing and will ultimately want to fly RC. His two yr old daughter likes sailing too. My younger son has a steady girlfriend and lives about an hour from the lake. I think it will be getting crowded up there this summer. My wife and I have considered a larger boat, but we like our CP16 and it's ease of operation. Problem with sailboats is that you need a REAL large boat to take out a group.