First coat of paint

Using the roll and tip method, I painted the port hull using 1/2 qt of Interlux Brightsides, thinned with 10% Interlux 333 brushing liquid.  As advertised, the paint self-leveled really well.  The result so far is still not what you'd get out of spraying the paint down, but its really good nonetheless.

The application of the Pre-Kote primer is really essential to good flow.  The couple places where I'd inadvertently sanded through the primer ended up streaking and showing the color of the underlying gelcoat.

I'll let this first coat cure for a week before I sand it.  I will be doing a second coat in a week or two, depending on the weather.  Its getting to the coldest time of the year here, and I might have to put everything on hold.  At the rate I'm going, I should be done by spring.

Priming the Port Hull

Due to the limited space I have in my driveway, I'm painting one hull at a time.  To prime the surface, I have Interlux Pre-Kote, 333 brushing liquid, a foam roller, and a bunch of foam brushes.

I spent some time yesterday putting the first coat of primer on.  I rubbed down the whole hull with a cloth and some brushing liquid.  This pulled off all the remaining oxidation dust that seemed to cling to hull no matter what I threw at it.  For the first coat, I didn't thin the primer, which in retrospect might have been a good idea.  I used the roller to get all the wide spaces, and the foam brush to get the hard to reach places, such as under the lip of the deck.

After the first coat, the blue color of the hull was still visible under the primer, and it had a distinct uneven cloudy appearance.

This morning, 24 hours after the first application, I sanded down the primer with the orbital sander and 220 grit paper.  One thing I learned quickly is, I should have the sander firmly on the hull before I turn on the power.  If I try and put the spinning sander onto the hull, it tends to rip right through the primer where it first contacts.

Sanding smoothed out all the bumps really well, but also exposed much more of the blue hull underneath.  I wiped down the boat once again with the brushing liquid.

For the second coat of primer, I thinned with about 10% brushing liquid.  What a difference this made.  The primer went on really smooth.  I used the "roll and tip" method of painting.  What this means is that I had the roller in one hand, and a wide foam brush in the other.  I rolled on primer going in various directions.  I then followed by lightly brushing down the primer in a single direction.  (On the sides, this meant from the lip to the bottom.  On the deck, it was from the most recently laid down primer towards the part I'd already done.)  After brushing, it looks like it has a bunch of lines, but it self-levels really well with that brushing liquid in it.  The result was a much more smooth and uniform look.

The only trouble I see is that on the sides, the tops tended to drip a bit long after I'd past, making it a little too firm to knock down a level.  I'll still need to go back and sand the hull of course, and I hope this doesn't present a problem.

I'm actually more worried about preventing this when I paint, but I'll pay close attention as I go.  Here are today's results.  It looks really good, and I haven't even painted it yet.  Sure beats the look of the old hull.

Prepping for painting

A random orbital sander is a wonderful thing.

I sanded down 30 years of oxidation off the gel coat. Well, not completely, but everything looks a bit brighter. I still hate the color, and its still going to get painted.

Having sanded down the hulls, I used epoxy putty to fill in all the dings and cracks. Working with this putty is very similar to working with joint compound, just a bit stickier. All I need to do was use a putty knife to press into the scratches, then scrape the excess off. Its always best to leave putty a little high on the scratch, which will pull in a bit when it dries, and is easily sanded.

In some cases, I had to go over the dings and scratches a couple times to get it smooth.

I tried to sand everything down to a nice smoothness, using 120 and 220 grit.

I also remove the rudders and tiller system. I used a simple, quick and dirty way to beautify the tiller by spray painting everything a nice black. I don't know how well this will hold up, but it was so easy to do, that a reapplication is no big deal.

Same with the rudders. I sanded off a bunch a junk and bondo used to patch some poorly drilled holes. The rudders will still an ugly yellowish faded color. I used some white spray paint to fix that. Again, I don't know how well it will hold, but its really easy to redo.

Fixing the soft spot

I hate the baby blue color of this hobie. I knew from the beginning that I was going to repaint the boat, so this didn't concern me. I was more concerned with the integrity of the hull, which was generally good except for the soft spot on the starboard hull.

To fix the softspot, I went with the method suggested by Hobie to inject epoxy resin between the layers of the fiberglass. Having never really worked with fiberglass, I didn't really appreciate what I was in for. Seemed simple enough.

I bought a couple of small syringes and a can of resin. I drilled several small holes into the soft spot area. I may two mistakes. First, I mixed in too much hardener. Second, I didn't really think about how I was going to get the epoxy into the syringe. This turned out to be really messy and difficult. It got more messy when I dropped the cup of epoxy on over the hull and onto the ground. Naturally, this all landed smack on top a sprinkler head, gumming that whole thing up permanently. Of course, the syringe started to gum up as well too quickly do to the fact I'd put in too much hardener. My hands and feet got covered in epoxy.

My second attempt went better. I ended up injecting resin all around the soft spot, instead of just in a single area. It seems to have worked well, as most of this area is now rock hard.

I patched the holes I drilled with epoxy putty. The epoxy I spilled on the hull got taken care of with some sanding using 120 grit with a rotary sander. Because I'm going to repaint, I'm not concerned about matching color on the putty.

Mast base repair

I had much less trouble stepping the mast with the new mast cleat, but once up, the pin refused to budge. With a hammer, I was able to extract it. However, I wasn't able to put the pin fully back in once I wanted to bring the mast down. Naturally, this was not an acceptable situation.

Upon inspecting the mast base, it appeared to be no flush with the mast. There was a 2-3mm of gap on one end, giving it a decidedly uneven appearance. Furthermore, it was being held on by various screws of different sizes.

When I removed the base, it was clear that the mast had some pieces ripped out, and the mast base wasn't looking in the best of shape either.

I went online to thebeachcats yahoo group for some help. I was looking to see whether I should get a new base and maybe cut the bottom half-inch of mast off. I got many suggestions. What I opted for was to get a new base. (I maybe could have gotten away with drilling some more holes in the old base, but it was a small price to pay for my peace of mind.) I did not cut the mast base, but drilled some new holes, and widened others.

In all, I put 5 steel rivets to attach the base to the mast. I used my hand rivet tool, which was hard, but doable. I also cleaned and re-caulked the entire base and all the rivet points. I don't really want the mast filling with water in case of a capsize. I'm still a little concerned about this, and am going to throw the mast into the pool when I get a chance. I might get a Hobie Bob to put on to the mast if it fails the swimming pool test.

Hobie 16 Initial gear replaced

I started with some basic items.

First, I got a new mast step link and pin. This was simple to install.

Second was a swivel cam cleat and base for the main traveler. This was a rather simple mechanism, where the base installs to the rear cross-bar, and the swivel cam attaches to the base. The base came with two self-tamping screws and one bolt with a nut. I could not figure out how I was supposed to put that nut inside the rear-cross bar, so I opted to rivet it in instead. I got an inexpensive hand rivet tool, and after a few tries figuring it out, I got the base riveted into the cross bar. The cam screwed onto the base without difficulty.

The trampoline had a bunch of different line holding it together, which I removed and replaced with new cordage. Lacing up the tramp isn't hard, but I'll need to do it better next time to get it tighter. I also removed some of the rotten hiking straps, and eventually removed them all.

I replaced the downhaul line, and got some new shock cords for the trap wires. Eventually, I'll need to get some additional gear for the trap wires to make it fully functional. I just wanted to have something to hold onto.

I got a new extending aluminum hiking stick.

Refurbishing a Hobie 16

On labor day weekend of this year, I bought an old 1979 Hobie 16. The boat was, overall, in relatively good condition, but like any 30 year old piece boat, it has issues. I've set about doing some refurbishing work over the winter, and will chronicle it here.

Overall, the boat was in fair condition. The hulls were in pretty good shape. There were, naturally, many dings and scratches. The bottom of the hulls were showing through the gel coat, but were not worn to the fiberglass. There was a decent sized soft spot forward of the trampoline on the starboard hull. The hulls were baby-blue, and heavily oxidized.

Standing rigging was in good shape. The mast (full aluminum) is scratched, and has a small dent, but is otherwise in excellent shape.

Sails look like the originals. No tears, though one batten sleeve is looking a little frayed. One number decal is peeling off. I can't comment on the stiffness of the sails, but I'm not racing it (yet.)

The tiller and rudders were in decent shape, though a bit faded and ugly. There was no hiking stick. There was also no cam cleat for the main traveler. It just was completely missing.

Trampoline is in decent shape. (Faded blue vinyl.) Hiking straps were rotten.

When I first tried to raise the mast, I notice that the mast step link was warped and bent. I managed to step the mast anyway and get the pin out, but getting back in was a challenge.

Testing Slideshow

Christmas Photos

Another year has come and gone, and its time for the Christmas photos. Getting the family to settle down for a group photo is one of the hardest things to do, but I got some good results.

My beautiful family

Dog Pile
Originally uploaded by Michael Bass.

I'm lucky enough to have the most beautiful family. Their joy is worth all the trouble.

The photo shoot

IMGP0996.JPG
Originally uploaded by Michael Bass.

My model and I ran out to the vineyard to catch the evening light. She expertly posed for me with only minimal instruction on my part. She used the wind and the sun to make the ordinary seem dramatic.

Pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old!

The Misty Seascape

Lover's Point
Originally uploaded by Michael Bass.

I really do enjoy a good timelapse picture of the ocean. The light on the moving water paints extrodinary images that are different every single time.

These really are not hard to do. You need good location and proper lighting conditions, and a bit of patience, but its nowhere near as difficult as getting a good portrait.

For me, I'll take a picture such as this at or after sunset using a wide angle lens tighten to its highest f-stop to maximize the duration of the shot. Good composition is very important, as is getting a vantage point where the waves are doing something dynamic and iteresting.

I usually shoot these shots anywhere from 5-30 seconds.

More examples here.

Off to School

Modelling new jackets
Originally uploaded by bassomatic33.

Sarah and Sophia started going to school today for the first time. They are both now attending pre-school twice a week. I really hope they enjoy it.

Seri's New Look

Seri's New Look
Originally uploaded by bassomatic33.

Seri's been working out hard. You cann see the results now.

Alexander the photographer

Alexander really enjoys taking pictures. Here's one of his that I really like. (Pretty good for a 5 year old.)

Flagstone patio progress

I have slowly been making progress on that flagstone pation I'm building. It took a very long time to lay every flagstone. Leveling each one is tedious and difficult. Some of the stones are quit heavy. I'm sure an experienced person could do it faster, but I understand why it's so expensive to pay someone to do this. There is a lot of labor involved.

I didn't actually make more than a couple cuts, as I wasn't trying to make the joints too tight. (Going for that rustic look.) The hardest part was getting the slope right, becuase I had one part where it slopes up to landing outside a side door. This throws off the whole project, and it took a while to get satifactory results. Even so, I can see that water is going pool up a little in the middle. Not a really big problem, as thats where the drainage pipe runs.

After putting all the stones down, I started sweeping in about a dozen bags of gold granite fines. It takes many passes to do this. I empty a bag, sweep it over the patio, and try and compact the joints with whatever I can use. (Shoes, sticks, etc.) I then flood the area with water to help the compaction. A day later, I sweep, add more fines, sweep again. Eventually, the joints begin to look a bit solid. Now I have a very dirty patio. I need to wait for everything to dry before I sweep off the loose fines on top, then I have to clean the stones. Not sure what I'm going to do about that yet, I'll try with just a simple cleaning solution, but I may need to resort to acid.

When joints dry, they should, hopefully, be rock hard. I need to wait and see.

I have one progress photo. You can see a couple of the large planters I intend to put in after the patio is finished.

Nothing like good weather

It has been so wet and cold this fall and winter that I've forgotten what good weather felt like. Its been ages since I've seen my kids wearing less than 2 layers of clothing. And finally, we have a weekend where the weather was just glorious. We are going to have one of the best wildflower shows this year in living memory.

Alexander had a couple milestones this weekend. First, on Saturday we rented a motor-boat out on our local lake. As we cruised around with no destination in particular, I repeatedly asked him if he wanted to drive, to which he replied, "No, I'm scared." Finally, out of the blue, he said, "Can I drive, Dad?" I said, "Sure", and handed him the stearing wheel. Well, after a few out of control turns, he got the hang of it. I could see the pride and confidence growing on his face as he took control of the boat and made it go where he wanted. I just sat back holding Sarah and let him go where he wanted. Pretty good for a 5 year old.

The next day, we concentrated on learning to ride his bike without training wheels. Now, as I recall, I never used training wheels when I was a kid. I have clear memories of being pushed on a bike in a local parking lot, surrounded by family members. I was very out of control and did not understand how to use the brakes. I recall running into someone. (I think it was my grandfather.)

As for Alexander, we got out on the street in front of our house. (There is virtually no traffic on that street.) I pushed and held onto his bike as I ran along side him, letting go when I thought he had control. At first, he was too scared to do anything. When Alexander is scared, he just talks and talks and talks and won't let you do anything. "Daddy, I want to tell you something. First you push me, and then you don't let go, okay? We will do it one more time okay, then that's it."

Well, after much cajoling, I finally was able to let go of the bike for a significant amount of time. By the end of the day, he managed to go a couple blocks without stopping. He only crashed once, which set him back for a while. What really helped was when we came across a neighborhood friend of his that was also riding his bike. Nothing like a little peer pressure to cool the nerves.

Sarah is healthy and happy. She spent a lot of time in the park riding the slide and the swing. She's learning new words everyday, and charming everyone around her.

Sophia keeps getting bigger. Pretty soon she'll be crawling, then walking. I can't wait.

Hospital Daze

A rather virulent virus has been going around, and my daughter caught the brunt of it. She has always had lung problems. Being a premie may have something to do with that. At any rate, she had real diffuculty breathing and was running high fevers. So last Saturday we saw a doctor who immediately put us in the hospital. I say us because of her attachment to me. She would not put up with anyone else for very long. So I left her side only briefly during her 4 day stay.

And so they poked and proded and x-rayed her. Everything turned up negative, but the x-rays showed a bit of pnemonia. Sarah was lethargic and slept most of the time. Sometimes she just coughed and cried or got really upset. She spent two days not even cracking a smile.



Today, thankfully was different. She smiled at me. She played and laughed. She's still sick, but well enough to leave the hospital. Hopefully, she'll recover pretty quickly at home. She certainly was excited when we came home.

I must say, that despite the excellent staff and reasonably good food of the hospital, it is the most awful thing to get stuck in there for more than a day or two. The mind and body just go slack with numb boredom. There is simply nothing to do. I wonder how much better people would do in hospitals if patients were made to keep busy as much as their condition allowed?

Building a Flagstone Patio

In an effort to save some money, and actually do some of my own landscaping, I took on the task of building a patio in the courtyard area of our new house. The house came with no landcaping in the courtyard, save for a covering of bark. It was both useless and unattractive. I considered many options for the courtyard. Should we pave over the whole thing? Should we put cement, pavers or flagstone? In the end, I liked the look of the flagstone the best. Using the rosa variety of Arizona flagstone fit well with the color and style of the house.

Since I've never done this before, I decided to do the flagstone on top of a sand base, rather than a cement one. After extensive research on the internet, I figured that this would be sufficient for my purposes, and its something I could take my time doing. Mortaring the flagstone on cement might yield a stronger patio, but its really hard for a beginner to do. Sand is much more forgiving.

Step 1: Rerouting pipes.

The courtyard was sloped towards its center with a drain pipe in the middle. This pipe also was connected to two downspouts from the roof gutters. I had make a new drain at the front of the patio, and remove the old drain, all the while keeping the connections to the down spout. This wasn't terribly difficult, but I had to dig down pretty deep.

Step 2: Demolition

The step at the door had to go. I started with a chisel and sledgehammer. When that proved too slow, I borrowed a breaking bar. This made rubble of the concrete in short order.

Step 3: Excavation

My plan is to slope the patio from the original top of the step to level with the driveway. This gives me a gradual slope away from the house. I staked a line from the doorway to the driveway, and began to excavate no less than 7 inches from the top of the line. This picture shows the excavation beginning:



Excavation took several days of back breaking diggings. The clay soil did not yield easily, and required using a pick-axe. For now, I disposed of the dirt in the back yard.

Step 4: Purchasing

All in all, I have about 320 square feet to cover. I went to my local landscape supplier and bought enough (or so I thought) sub-base and sand to bring be up to about 2 inches of my guideline. Because flagstone varies so much in thickness, I couldn't be sure exactly how much I needed. As it turned out, we were a bit enthusiastic on the excavation and dug a few inches too deep in places. I've had to go back repeatedly for more sand.

I settled on tumbled flagstone, which are more expensive than regular patio flags, but are nice and rounded at all the corners. I spent a considerable amount of time individually picking out a variety of different stones, some large, and some small. (I didn't want to make any cuts.) In the end, I bought only half as much as I really needed. This was mainly because I didn't know how much I needed. It all depends on how you lay it out. I wanted to make sure I didn't buy more than necessary.

Everything was delivered to my driveway.

Step 5: Laying down the base

My brother-in-law Weldy and I spent a day putting down the gravel sub-base and the sand. Pictures of this follow:




We used a hand tamper to tamp every load of gravel that was dumped. This was difficult, but it saved the cost and hassle of renting a compactor.

We then added a layer of weed block, and then the sand.



The pipe sticking out may eventually hold a power cord for fountain. It runs from the center of the patio to the socket on the wall. I threaded it with a fishing line so I could pull something else through later.

Finally, we began to lay the flagstone. This process continues still. Each flag needs to be individually leveled and set right so it is not tippy. This is incredibly time consuming. The cost of this patio professionally is certainly in the labor.



Not done yet. I'll continue this when I've made more progress.

I broke a nail!

So I broke a nail the other day. Big deal? Well, this break involved pealing away a healthy portion of skin, and resulted in no small amount of blood. How did this happen? That's a bit of a story.

For many years now I've been casually playing a sport called Ultimate. I haven't really had time since college to play at a tournament level, but I love my lunch time game. Lately, however, I've been taking a hiatus from it. This arose due to a couple changes in my circumstances. For one thing, I moved significantly farther away from my office, resulting in a much longer commute. I found that I had much less motivation to get back in my car at lunch and drive to the game. Plus, work has been getting busier lately, and I don't like to prolong my hours by playing games in the middle of the day. (3 kids at home, y'know.)

Anyway, the last game of Ultimate that I played happend at the end of Summer, and ended badly with one player attempting to make up his own rules, and another picking up the cones and coldly stalking away from the game.

It has never ceased to amaze me that a game such as Ultimate, which embodies a spirit of sportsmanship in its most basic rules, still attracts a select few that behave in a fashion I would expect of my 5 year old at home. Fortunately, such behavior is generally limited to specific individuals, it really tends to through a pall on the lunchtime games when some personalities get out of hand. For god's sake, its a lunch game. I don't go out at lunch to train for tournaments, I go to play, have fun, and get some exercise. But I digress.

Because of the additional effort it takes for me to get to the game, and the less than stellar behavior that was appearing on the field, I stopped going to the games. However, a recent period of really good weather called me back to the field.

Unfortunately, playing Ultimate conflicts with another, more recent passion of playing classical guitar. When playing classical, one must use the fingernails and not a pick. So I carefully grew my nails out, and I fuss over them all the time.

Most ultimate players keep their nails very short, as the frisbee has a tendency, if improperly caught, to rip ones nail off. I've been playing for a while, so this generally doesn't happen. After just two games back, the disc managed to rip the nail off my thumb.

So now I can't play Ultimate. I also can't play guitar. (At least for another week.)

So now I'm left contemplating which is more important to me. I don't know how I'll answer that one.