Too windy to fly

The Weather-out-the-Window&trade had winds at 20 gusting something. The 'something' doesn't much matter - I was grounded by the '20'. So, chores today. I got an early start, finding myself in the parking lot of the local Sears at 0845, hoping to buy a new weed whacker. They open at 10. I don't know how they survive; I was in the hallowed halls of Home Depot by 0850, with a cart full of weed whacker, ancillary supplies, and a lilac bush that I would later plant for the Co-owner as a Mother's Day gift. By the time I would have been admitted to Sears, I had the new whacker assembled, started, and the job of trimming the grass under the fence surrounding my stately manor already completed.

The next task on the list was to remove the old Ohio registration numbers from the nwe kayak. The numbers came off easily enough, but the annual registration tag left a foil residue embossed with rows and rows of the word 'void.' Nice. A, oh, way to go Ohio, in the immortal words of Chrissie Hynde. I don't want to scrape it off with a razor blade - I'm afraid I'd cut into the plastic. Oh well, it's one of those things that I will just stop noticing eventually.

I also wanted to wash the Miata and get some pictures of it with its new wheels and tires. Having already purchased two complete sets of tires within the last six months for the Subarus, I decided I might as well get some for the Miata too. The alignment of the right rear was significantly off kilter, resulting in a camber angle that was eating the inside of the right rear tire. I thought to just replace the tires, but it has 14" wheels on it, and it seems that quality 14" tires are hard to find anymore. All I could find was brands that were named as if a Saturday Night Live team if writers had been assigned the job of making up almost-Brand names. Goodyang? Firestove? I mean really, Uniloyal??? Please.

The only answer was to also buy a set of 15" wheels.

Which I did:



It drives much better than it did, partially because the wheels have been aligned, and partially because of the shorter sidewall on the 15" tires. When you consider that it drove pretty well already, well, you gotta figure it's just amazing now. It has the responsiveness of, oh, something like a Van's RV, and there's nothing superior to that!

Visiting the White House

I didn't bother to call ahead - didn't think anyone would mind.

Squeezing a full weekend into Sunday morning

The rumors of a rainy weekend were, in the actual event, greatly exaggerated. In fact, once the torrents of rain that drenched me while I was loading up the new kayak on Friday afternoon had enjoyed their little prank, we had very little additional rain at all. But, having fallen prey to the temptation to believe the worst about the weather in much the same way that I believe my decades-in-the-making 401k balance to be irretrievably lost to the vagaries of our turbulent times, I had resigned myself to an indoor weekend. That was partially acceptable, though, because I needed to get to the sporting goods store to acquire the accessories required for my new boat.

Specifically, I needed a second set of car-top carriers to allow for the simultaneous loading of the boats (just in case someone wanted to fly in and go kayaking) and I was hoping to also find a more kayak-suitable PFD (Personal Flotation Device) than the one that I've been using. The PFDs designed specifically for kayaking are designed to place the buoyant parts up high and the chest and back in order to make sitting down inside the small and narrow confines of the kayak more comfortable. Unfortunately, they're expensive. The last I looked for one, the cheapest I could find was over $80.

The shopping went extremely well. I found a set of Thule J Carriers on sale for $129, and a Harmony FZ 6.7 marked down to $49. There must have been some other sale going on that we didn't know about because the car carrier came up on the register at $99, and the PFD came up at an unbelievable $29! Combined with the great deal I got on the kayak itself, this entire acquisition has been extremely painless, albeit only in the pecuniary aspects. I haven't forgotten that downpour that I stood in while loading the boat on Friday quite yet.

With the accessorizing taken care of, the only remaining task is to send in the registration form and get the decal back from the State of Ohio that will allow me to use the boat on "public" lakes and rivers. Don't get me started... Well, to be fair, there are a couple of benefits that we get from the $20 registration fee. The state actually does a very good job of keeping the water ways clear of fallen trees and other obstructions, and they keep track of the boats by their Hull ID Numbers (HIN) which is probably helpful if one ever gets stolen.

Sunday also arrived with better than forecast weather, so Co-pilot Rick and I flew up to Urbana for a quick breakfast. Co-pilot Egg had a band concert scheduled for 2:00 and I needed to be back in time for that. The flight to Urbana was glass smooth under a thin overcast, and the pattern was completely empty when we reached the airport. In fact, there wasn't a single airplane in evidence as we looked at the ramp from left downwind. With the air being dead calm, I had hoped for a perfect landing but that didn't work out quite as expected.

As we were flaring over the numbers, I saw a couple of geese standing in the middle of the runway. Geese, who must be amongst the dimmest creatures on the planet and who exhibit a bare minimal level of a will to live, have a tendency to not move out of the way until absolutely required to. Luckily, when they finally do deign to remove themselves from the area in contention, they move in a predictable direction. Unlike, say, squirrels, who will often turn around and take the longest path out of the way. Thus was I able to swerve around them on the runway, avoiding what would have been a very expensive meeting of propeller and goose.

We got back from Urbana in time to load the new boat onto the ever-willing Subie for a quick 20 minute jaunt out to Madison Lake. I just wanted to paddle it around a bit to make sure it would float, and I thought it might be good experience for the Co-pilot, whose experience to date had been limited to canoes. They aren't all that different, but you have to get used to the tippiness inherent in a kayak, and it's easier to get a feel for the way you use the paddle for turning in a wide open lake than it is when running down a river and find yourself confronted with an immovable object. Go ahead, ask me how I know...



Yes, I know. I have the paddle upside down. Doh!

Rick, even on his first time out, managed to hold the paddle with the correct orientation:



The new boat works just fine. It paddles very much like the Shearwater in that it is easy to get it moving, it tracks well, it's fast, and it takes serious effort to get it to make tight turns. Really, it's just what I was looking for. We only had an hour or so to spend at the lake, but it was enough to get a good feel for the boat, and I think it was enough to hook Rick into coming back for more. I didn't want to stay out too long anyway since the boat isn't registered and it would be just my luck to run into a park officer with a citation quota to meet.

Despite the activity filled morning, we easily made it back in time for Egg's concert.

The Guest Kayak

Building my own kayak was a process consisting of numerous learning moments and as it turns out, using it has also proven more complicated than I had originally assumed it to be. For example, I didn't realize that the boat needed to be registered with the State of Ohio, who required a Hull Identification Number. Where in the heck do you get that?? I eventually solved that little riddle through the CLC Boats Support Forum. Another thing that I didn't realize was that one kayak is not enough; I actually need two.

The reason for that is weight. My 17' Shearwater is relatively light for its length, weighing in at 48 pounds. It's bulky and hard to carry, though, and carrying it up from the basement, lifting it up on the top of the car, and carrying it down to the river is doable alone, but not pleasant. While help is available at home, it is not there when I need it at the river/lake, unless I can find someone willing to sit around for a couple of hours while I paddle. I don't like the odds of that on a routine basis.

I decided that the solution to that problem is a 2nd kayak. Having a guest kayak ensures that there will be two people to carry the boats, and there's also the benefit of having company while boating. I've been keeping an eye on CraigsList.com for almost a year, watching various boats come and go and just getting a feeling for the market. It seemed that the most affordable boats were in the 10' range, and were typically the types carried by Gander Mountain and Dick's Sporting Goods. More often than not, they listed a price nearly equal to (or in some cases exceeding) the price for a brand new one.

I wasn't sure I wanted a 10' boat anyway. I don't think they work as well as the longer boats for the type of kayaking that I like to do. The shorter boats turn much more easily (in some case, to a fault) than my long boat, but they take more work to get moving. They also don't coast as well. The problem was that the longer boats were far more expensive, often at asking prices above $800. I was also very specific in the maximum length that I wanted due to space constraints for storage at home and because I didn't want my guest's boat to be longer than mine. Trust me, that's a guy thing.

I finally found what I was looking for:





That's my new 16' Dagger Seeker (if you Google images by searching on Dagger Seeker, make sure your Safe Search is on! Oh, my!! I would never have guessed...) that I bought Friday. I found it listed on Craigs List Thursday evening about a half hour after it had been posted. You have to move quick with Craigs List, so I called right away. The asking price was still pretty pricey but very reasonable for a Dagger, so I made arrangements to pick it up after work on Friday. I figured that about the only thing that would keep me from buying it would be a big gaping hole in the bottom, so I was reasonably sure that I'd be bringing it home. I packed the carriers into the red Subie, gathered up appropriate funds, printed out the registration paperwork so I'd have it ready, and made sure the GPS knew how to find the seller's house. So, what could go wrong?

Rain. Lot's of it. I had no sooner handed the wad of bills to the seller and got started with the preparations for hauling it home when the rain started. I stood in a downpour attaching the carriers to the roof racks on the Subie and getting the boat strapped on. I was completely soaked by the time I finished. It rained so hard that I was just starting to think about how horribly ironic it would be to drown while putting the kayak on the car rather that while using it. As I snugged down the last strap, the rain stopped.

Besides being a very good price just for the boat, a paddle and spray skirt were also included:



The posting hadn't mentioned it, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it also has a rudder:



Rudders are handy out on an open lake when the winds kick up. Or so I hear. I have yet to learn that lesson one way or the other.

Aw, c'mon New York...

You're not still touchy about that whole 9/11 thing, are ya?



Seriously, though, that took me all of 10 minutes with GIMP. Did they really have to terrorize the entire city with that arrogant and thoughtless stunt??

The AirPigz Video

This is the video resulting from Saturday's trip to Warsaw (Indiana, not Poland):


AirPigz and Dave Gamble's AarrrrV-6! from AirPigz on Vimeo.

We did that interview unrehearsed and in one take. I think that was beneficial - if I had had too much time to stew about it, I don't think it would have gone as well.

There are two sides to every story

This is the story from the other side of the ride that Papa and I took with Lynda from Girls With Wings:

http://thegirlswithwingsblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/now-this-is-flying.html

It's a rare treat for me to see how things looked from the other point-of-view. As they say, a good time was had by all!

I left a comment on Lynda's story:

"Was he laughing at me?"

No, empathizing. The same thing happens to me now and then. I've just learned to recognize the signs - not everyone will confess to how they're feeling for some reason - so I keep an eye on how're they're looking.

One of my life dreams was to fly in a Pitts Special biplane. When I finally got to do it, I had to ask to go back to the airport after only 20 minutes. I felt horrible, but that part is all a distant memory. What I do remember far more clearly is the flight itself, how the airplane felt in my hands, just how uncomfortable 5 negative Gs is, and what an awesome experience it was. Oh, and how hard it is to see out the front of a Pitts, even in the air.

I've been thinking all weekend about what you said as we were flying over my house: I truly am lucky. One of the best aspects of giving rides in an RV is how the wide smiles people wear serve to remind me just how incredibly special it is that we have the freedom to fly the way we do, and how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful machine to do it in.

Maybe we can get a do-over on the Mexican food next time you're in town, or grab some of those ribs at the airport. It's super easy to get me to go to either of those places.

The freedom to fly where and when we want to is truly one of our more precious freedoms. And there are few better ways to do it than sharing the experience in a Van's RV!