The Phoenix is painted and ready for water, weather permitting. The skeleton is a pterodactyl, I think as Phoenix-like as I could find. I am quite happy with it.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Paint it like you mean it
The Phoenix is painted and ready for water, weather permitting. The skeleton is a pterodactyl, I think as Phoenix-like as I could find. I am quite happy with it.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Shrinkage
When you think of the Inuit (Eskimos) up in the Arctic Circle building their kayaks, the mind has a tendency to wander over all the technological advances that make building a kayak here so much faster. But there are still limitations. Wood will only bend in certain ways, even with steam applied. I had 5 piece of oak leftover from the ribs that I was going to use to make the cockpit rim. I knew I would probably break the first one, but I thought I would be good after that. But no. The pile on the right is the broken remains of four of the five pieces. I couldn't make a full hoop no matter what combination of soaking, steaming and bending I tried. In the end the rim is made up of four separate pieces and cover with cloth to hide my shame. Still, I got it all sewn in and in 45 degree weather I carried the kayak to the side of the house and soaked it under the water faucet. Sure there was no hose because it was still cold enough to snow yesterday, so I literally carried it back and forth under the faucet to get it all wet. A little application of the iron and now to wait for it to dry. The shrinkage should remove any wrinkles and hopefully the frame can stand the pressure. But as it sits moistly on the porch, this is how it looks.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
At the Kayak Again
In November I started building a skin-on-frame kayak on my front porch with reused materials. By the end of the weekend I had most of the frame finished. The next day the temperature plunged to a high of 20 degrees and stayed that way until now. For those months no work could be done, I found the wood too brittle and would crack at the slightest touch. Two days ago it got above freezing and I started work again. I touched up the frame and made sure it was relative sound. I know this is really just a prototype so I am not going to sweat it too much, I won't use it past this fall to be safe. This is a composite picture of the naked frame right side up:
And upside down. That is the front porch on which I have built this whole thing:
In order to skin this I tried something new for me: canvas. With nylon you waterproof it with polyurethane, but canvas was the traditional solution prior to the invention of synthetic cloth. I pulled the canvas over the frame and tacked it down with a staple gun as tight as I could.
I then used a curved needle to hand-sew a running stitch and then a whip stitch which leaves an awesome Frankenstein-like seam down the deck of the kayak. The next step is steam bending the cockpit rim, sewing it in, and then painting it. Given the name of Phoenix, I have some graphic design ideas that should look stunning.
And upside down. That is the front porch on which I have built this whole thing:
In order to skin this I tried something new for me: canvas. With nylon you waterproof it with polyurethane, but canvas was the traditional solution prior to the invention of synthetic cloth. I pulled the canvas over the frame and tacked it down with a staple gun as tight as I could.
I then used a curved needle to hand-sew a running stitch and then a whip stitch which leaves an awesome Frankenstein-like seam down the deck of the kayak. The next step is steam bending the cockpit rim, sewing it in, and then painting it. Given the name of Phoenix, I have some graphic design ideas that should look stunning.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
All good things must come to an end.
My entire Tuesday was spent traveling, so this will be short I flew out of Orange County again and the plane banked over Dana Point as it started for Texas. I could see where I was staying with my sister and the town I called my home for two years. Since I was heading East I lost 3 hours so I saw the sunset from the air just over Pittsburgh:
And this is a comic I started drawing on the second flight, once I get it done I will put it up here.
And this is a comic I started drawing on the second flight, once I get it done I will put it up here.
Monday, March 9, 2009
And this would be Sunday...
Okay, so onto Sunday. After a continental breakfast at the hotel (I like healthy yogurt covered with whipped cream apparently) we met up again with my Uncle and Aunt to take to the skies. By that I mean the Tramway that is right outside of Palm Spring. It rises over 6,500 feet and one hell of a technical feat. 
It takes about 15 minutes but it was quite a ride. There are towers along the way to keep that life-saving cable off the ground. Each time you would go over the hump at the tower the tram would sway in an excitingly disturbing and life threatening way towards the rock wall. As you can see my Uncle is enthralled.
It is a really amazing ride and at the top the view is stunning. This is the gang looking for nude sunbathers below of course.
What neither my sister nor I had considered that the snow on the top was because of cold, not an artificial snow machine blowing ripped plastic. We were dressed for warmer climates, i.e. shorts, no jackets, but it was 38 degrees up there and that snow you see behind is about a foot deep. Still, my Eastern blood had not entirely thawed and I was fine. This panoramic does not due justice to the distance or height, it was truly stunning.
After that we went to see why my relatives were in Palm Springs in the first place (they live in Colorado): the BNP Paribus Open. I am not a tennis follower but I could see by the grounds it was a damn big event. We watched one of the qualifier matches as my Uncle described the insanely complicated scoring. Gail won so a huzzah for her. The real event starts tomorrow though and they are here for the week to watch the action.
After parting ways we drove back to the coast. Being back is nice, some sleep and a slow day tomorrow will be even better.
It takes about 15 minutes but it was quite a ride. There are towers along the way to keep that life-saving cable off the ground. Each time you would go over the hump at the tower the tram would sway in an excitingly disturbing and life threatening way towards the rock wall. As you can see my Uncle is enthralled.
It is a really amazing ride and at the top the view is stunning. This is the gang looking for nude sunbathers below of course.
What neither my sister nor I had considered that the snow on the top was because of cold, not an artificial snow machine blowing ripped plastic. We were dressed for warmer climates, i.e. shorts, no jackets, but it was 38 degrees up there and that snow you see behind is about a foot deep. Still, my Eastern blood had not entirely thawed and I was fine. This panoramic does not due justice to the distance or height, it was truly stunning.
After that we went to see why my relatives were in Palm Springs in the first place (they live in Colorado): the BNP Paribus Open. I am not a tennis follower but I could see by the grounds it was a damn big event. We watched one of the qualifier matches as my Uncle described the insanely complicated scoring. Gail won so a huzzah for her. The real event starts tomorrow though and they are here for the week to watch the action.After parting ways we drove back to the coast. Being back is nice, some sleep and a slow day tomorrow will be even better.
Ignore the damn timepost, this deals with Saturday...
Friday night ended in a wonderful party hosted by my sister and a mix of people I knew from when I was here last and some new ones as well. My friend Matt managed to swing by on his way from Arizona to LA with his sister and equipped with a bottle of good tequila. We drank to good friendships.
The next day, sans any sort of hangover, My sis and I headed east to Palm Springs to meet up with my Uncle and Aunt. Before we could begin we found progress halted by the Festival of the Whales parade which celebrates the whale's migratory path past the Dana Point coast.
There were a couple of interesting floats but you can see the 
one that captured my attention. There was a hoard of unicyclists too, around 30 or so and this one guy had a spectacular ride. The parade seemed to have ground to a halt and the unicyclists were just going in circles playing a version of Polo that involved unicycles instead of horses and a stuffed shark instead of a ball.
The journey was faster than we expected, which was nice. It has been a while since I have been on I-5 and that unto itself was delightful. What was truly amazing was the transition from beach to mountains to desert. Right before you get into Palm Springs there all these windmills, most over 60 feet tall, quietly spinning. I have seen these sorts of windfields before and find them comforting while totally chaotic. While in any given line four or five might be spinning, the chances they would logically be next to each other never proved true. Much like the mystery of where a tornado touches down, there the wind could hit one and skip the windmill directly behind it.
Once we got into Palm Springs we decided to get a little food at a small local joint before going for a hike (a brilliant BLT). We then followed Palm Canyon Drive south into the hills to climb Garstin Trail. It ascends about 1,1oo feet, around 5 miles round trip and is about a40% grade which meant about 25 switchback throughout. Once at the top we could see quite a distance over Palm Springs to the far hills. The panoramic is a composite of multiple pictures without a tripod.
This is a good picture of my sis and me at the top.
That was followed by a glorious dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my Uncle and Aunt, then some wandering to find some live music. I was exhausted, a call from my landlord at 6:30AM because he didn't realize that I was in CA meant I had only four hours of sleep so we returned to the hotel and slept.
The next day, sans any sort of hangover, My sis and I headed east to Palm Springs to meet up with my Uncle and Aunt. Before we could begin we found progress halted by the Festival of the Whales parade which celebrates the whale's migratory path past the Dana Point coast.
There were a couple of interesting floats but you can see the 
one that captured my attention. There was a hoard of unicyclists too, around 30 or so and this one guy had a spectacular ride. The parade seemed to have ground to a halt and the unicyclists were just going in circles playing a version of Polo that involved unicycles instead of horses and a stuffed shark instead of a ball.The journey was faster than we expected, which was nice. It has been a while since I have been on I-5 and that unto itself was delightful. What was truly amazing was the transition from beach to mountains to desert. Right before you get into Palm Springs there all these windmills, most over 60 feet tall, quietly spinning. I have seen these sorts of windfields before and find them comforting while totally chaotic. While in any given line four or five might be spinning, the chances they would logically be next to each other never proved true. Much like the mystery of where a tornado touches down, there the wind could hit one and skip the windmill directly behind it.
Once we got into Palm Springs we decided to get a little food at a small local joint before going for a hike (a brilliant BLT). We then followed Palm Canyon Drive south into the hills to climb Garstin Trail. It ascends about 1,1oo feet, around 5 miles round trip and is about a40% grade which meant about 25 switchback throughout. Once at the top we could see quite a distance over Palm Springs to the far hills. The panoramic is a composite of multiple pictures without a tripod.
This is a good picture of my sis and me at the top.
That was followed by a glorious dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my Uncle and Aunt, then some wandering to find some live music. I was exhausted, a call from my landlord at 6:30AM because he didn't realize that I was in CA meant I had only four hours of sleep so we returned to the hotel and slept.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday was lazy, my sister's couch is remarkably comfortable. Did a couple of things that had to be done, then I finally got the energy up for about a 5 mile walk down to the harbor to see the newly restored Pilgrim.
There were a couple of other notable things in the harbor. There was the usual size compensation of small boats and large yachts and these people on surf boards paddling around while standing. Odd.
The last bit was up the 150ft hill on a road that makes you appreciate that back in the day they would throw seal skins off the top down to the ships, just like the Pilgrim, waiting below. Back to the condo, a jacuzzi to take the edge off, a shower and onto the party...
There were a couple of other notable things in the harbor. There was the usual size compensation of small boats and large yachts and these people on surf boards paddling around while standing. Odd.The last bit was up the 150ft hill on a road that makes you appreciate that back in the day they would throw seal skins off the top down to the ships, just like the Pilgrim, waiting below. Back to the condo, a jacuzzi to take the edge off, a shower and onto the party...
California, the Prodigal Son Returns
This is all for naught though when those who announce gate changes and boarding feel a need to exceed the decibels of a jet actually taking off with the loudspeaker volume and take to reading War and Peace for it's entire length just to make a point. My headphones can only do so much.
I've been sitting here for about three hours with occasional walking breaks for my sanity. I have a startling view of the massive ticket counter line. Lines are such a strange thing at airports. There is a line at the ticket counter at my gate and it makes me wonder if I am missing something important, like if I don't join that line it means that I will have to ride the wing to the next stop. Of course it is unfounded, my eticket confidently announces itself as a “boarding pass” but really, why trust a piece of paper? It is as likely to lie as the next inanimate object.
I am ready to get on with it though. I decided no 
food for my uneasy stomach until Dallas, make it really WANT it. If I let it run amok now there will be no telling what will happen next, demands for calamari and pears dissolved in vinegar?
After the two flights I will say that the pilot in the first one was amazing to land in that kind of wind and it is remarkable to note how conversation can be silenced when the person sitting next to you pulls out a laptop whose boot up screen had the Homeland Security logo with a secure log in. Given my mind silence was the better of the options available.
Arriving in Santa Anna was wonderful and stepping into 68 degrees, sun and a slight breeze was, dare I say, orgasmic. Following it with a walk down to the beach with my sister, Roxy in tow to see the sun set over the ocean was so refreshing.
To then follow that with one of the best sushi I have had since leaving at Gen Kai was the final topping that precipitate my collapse into sleep at 10:30 once we got home.
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