It's about time - Building the Paddle Board Begins!

It’s about time I began blogging again.  DC’s early spring is turning into an early summer and that can only mean one thing… I need to get out on the Potomac.  As I promised back in September, I would build a stand-up paddle board.  After much delay, it is finally happening.

Unlike Baby Red, who was built from scratch, I purchased a kit from Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) in Annapolis, Maryland.  I have been waiting to visit CLC since I began building my rowboat last year.  They build handcrafted boats, kits for the ambitious, and have a showroom you can visit.  It was spectacular (for me at least).  

In the Chesapeake Light Craft workshop

Some boats in the works

After I lugged home the 12.5-foot Kaholo kit, I found that the box included all the pieces, epoxy, and fiberglass I needed.

Snapped this photo after I opened the box

You can see that the pieces are cut a like a jig saw puzzle.  I got my hands dirty over the weekend and I will follow up with the results of that!

Yes, A Stand Up Paddle Board

I love my Baby Red unconditionally. She will always be my treasure, my pride and joy, my first love.  We still enjoy playfully splashing around in the water and watching the sunset over horizon, but I decided to build a paddle board for a few reasons. 

1)      Idle hands are the devil’s play things – If I’m not consuming my spare time with something constructive, I might just set fire to this city

2)      Craftsmanship – This has proved to be a useful hobby, so I better keep up with the practice

3)      More portable – I love Baby Red, but a woman of her size is more than I, alone, can handle

5)   Another vessel – Maybe I can tow this behind Baby Red when she's at full capacity

4)      Core workout – No comment

After watching Drew Brophy’s video, I’m even more ecstatic about this project.  I can’t wait to start getting my hands dirty.  Just like boats these days, most paddle boards you’ll see are made of synthetic materials (foam and fiberglass).  It’s a personal thing, but I feel a sense of satisfaction seeing lumber progress into a finished product, especially when the grain of the wood is showcased. 

Inside a wooden paddle board

The inside of a wooden paddle board consists of an intricate skeleton.  I’m planning to build this puppy at my place in DC, rather than using my dad’s workshop in Virginia.  I don’t have the tools to cut those pieces, so I will have to settle for building the board from a kit.  I'm in the process of searching for the best kit.  Anyone have suggestions?

Maybe one day I can be this cool

I Try Drawing.. and Reveal My Next Project!

Every year, my childhood friends and I go to New York City for the 4^th of July.  One night this year we ventured to a bar in East Village called Affaire.  Let’s just put it this way… even for New York, this place was WEIRD.  To set the scene--we were in a candlelight dungeon, trance music was blasting, only two people were dancing, and “artists” who haven’t washed their hair in days were painting canvases.  This is very snobbish of me, I know, but I expected people who put forth so much effort to look and act artsy to actually be good artists.  When I peaked over to see what they were painting, my reaction was Really?  That's it?  Maybe they truly are geniuses.  I don't know anything about good art, so who am I to say anything.  Reminds me of a short story…

I babysit three children of well-to-do parents.  There’s a 8”x10” painting in their living room.  For the longest time I thought one of the kids painted it in preschool.  This is the painting:

It wasn’t until months later that I flipped the print over and saw it was painted by Joan Miro.  I Googled to see who she was, and found out HE is a famous artist.  Oops.

A week and a half after my trip to NYC, I bought a sketch book to show that you don't have to be smelly to do art.  A friend of mine in college said she wanted to do a sketch a day.  I thought that was an awesome idea.  I am doing just that.  I haven't drawn since I took art in 8th grade, so I learn as I go and let my eyes dictate how I move my pencil.  Here are a few I've done:

A baby

Frames

An eye

Maybe it's time to reveal my next project to show you where this is going.  Next, drum roll please,  I am planning to and hoping to build a stand up paddle board!  I think I can integrate some drawing into this project as well.  Watch the video below to see what I'm thinking.  I'm a fan of Drew Brophy's work.  Maybe I can even do something like this with a boat one day...

The Reader Meets the Writer

This summer I took a trip to the Pacific Northwest.  It was the first time I ever spotted killer whales in the wild (Vancouver), witnessed the wrath of Mt. St. Helen’s (she was actually very calm), and saw multiple fully tattooed faces in a single day (Portland).

I’ve been planning this trip since summer 2010, so by coincidence, when I was researching how to build a wooden boat last spring, one of my favorite reads was written by a native Washingtonian, Sam Devlin.  I even quoted him in blog on my March 25 post.  I didn’t realize this at the time, but later when I looked at his website to check out some of his work, I noticed an address with Tumwater, WA, about 20 minutes away from one of my travel destinations.

My favorite read and guide to building boats (written by Sam Devlin)

I didn’t realize how uncool it was to email Mr. Devlin to request a tour of his workshop until I told my friends and they called me a nerd.  Despite the bit of ridicule from my peers (which happened to come from the same people that thought I would never go through with building a boat), my visit to Mr. Devlin’s was an experience of a lifetime.

We arrived at his workshop on the morning of August 24.  I could tell he was really busy because his phones were ringing off the hook, but he walked us around and showed us his company’s current projects including an extension on a ferry.  The tour was short but being the enthusiast, I was fascinated.  He has a staff of about 13 employees, all of which were working on different tasks on different boats.  When I thought Mr. Devlin was showing us to the door, he brought us to his office and asked how he could help me.  I explained I had already finished my boat, but that I’m intrigued by people who can do what they love for a living, something he is clearly practicing.



Mr. Devlin and Me



Our discussion became one about finding your passion and the challenges we face when we do something we love, including making ourselves vulnerable by putting our work out there for critics to see.  His phone continued to ring, but he continued to talk right through the sound.  Mr. Devlin even gave me the last copy of one of his favorite books, The Year of the Boat written by Lawrence Cheek.  I've been reading it and I feel like Cheek is speaking right through me.  Where was this book when everyone kept asking why the hell I was building a boat?

My current read: The Year of the Boat by Lawrence Cheek

Some Shots of Summer

I’m sad to say that the lazy days of summer are at its end. Baby Red will continue to receive frequent visits by me this fall, but come winter, the cold and early sunsets tend to keep me indoors more hours of the day.  To maintain my sanity, I’ll blog more frequently than I have in the past few months and keep everyone updated with Baby Red and any other projects I tackle.

I do have a lovely story to share from my vacation in the Pacific Northwest (I will post tomorrow), but today I thought I’d post some never before seen photos from this summer.  Enjoy!

Natalie posing.  One of Baby Red's first times out on the water.

During a picnic dinner on the Potomac

Katy rowing for the first time

Becky in front of the Lincoln Memorial (August 28, 2011)

August 28, 2011

August 28, 2011

Late Night Swim

I’m long overdue for a new post.  Luckily, I had a blog worthy night. 

Laura and I, once again, went on a little adventure.  According to experts, the early August night sky sets around 8:15, but I think the last bit of sunlight doesn't disappear until 9.  I didn't get off of work until 7:10, and we didn't hit the water until 8, so we had a good hour of twilight.  DC recently (and finally) got some rain this week, so the river was thick and comfortably choppy.  We rowed out far enough from Jack's that we could let the current take us back.  It was relaxing...and much needed.   

There was something eerie about the mood.  The clouds were swooping upwards and the Potomac was strangely quiet.  I guess most of the kayakers had settled in for the night, and the few yachts that were out were only found by the waterfront, which was far away.  We were all alone.

This looks like an escape from Alcatraz

I've always thought Georgetown University looked like an evil castle

We started to head back.  The sky was black by then.  We were rowing by the Washington Canoe Club and Potomac Boat Club when Laura said, "Someone just jumped in the water...or fell!"  We rowed closer to Jack's and sure enough, there were three people swimming around in the river.  Another guy and the owner of Jack's were staying dry on the dock.  We pulled Baby Red up and I turned to Laura, "I'll jump in if you jump in."  I grabbed her hand and SPLASH.  We were wet and treading water. 

Paul yelled, "Pool toys!" and threw a few stand up paddle boards for us to play on.  One of us would hop on and stand up while another person pushed them along.  Most of the time, the rider would just fly off.  It was a great night.  Unfortunately, it was so dark, this is the best picture I have.

John

Baby Red Throws a Birthday Bash

After two occasions of partying on someone else’s boat (I met up with the Bolivian and her boyfriend a second time last week), it was about time I host a little get together.  This was actually Meggie’s spectacular idea, so for her 24^th birthday, we met up at Jack’s Boathouse to do some kayaking/canoeing/rowing.  Never having any nautical experience before building the boat, I didn’t realize that yachts sometimes anchor themselves next to each other.  We decided to do the same thing…only we looked much cooler.

Baby Red well stocked and dressed in birthday apparel

It would have been Un-American to live a day with zero commercialization, so Red Bull was sure to make an appearance on their Jet Ski.  They provided us with free drinks and swag.

And a few more visitors...