In our July 8th post of your building projects we noted one owner’s Cal 35. Jon Shepard wrote us to say the boat pictured is actually the quite different Cal 35 Cruise.
Many of you enjoy learning about mad genius, Guy Light’s modified skiff. Just after we published the article, Guy sent the following addtional notes:
“I forgot to tell you about the subtleties in the design of the seats. They’re removable so you can sleep. They have coarse fiberglass on the top with resin and finish to make them nonslip, but not abrasive. They clamp from underneath with wingnuts and a lever made out of oak. They slide along rails so they can be placed anywhere to balance the boat. They have a handhole cut in them so that it makes it easier to come about and change places in the boat giving you a handhold.”
Rich Green sent us some poetry…
On the Driveway in Winter (based upon a true event)
I lay on the ground ‘neath the Boston Whaler, it was on sawhorses and not on the trailer. And what do you think I held in my hand, why ’twas my Boston Whaler trailer sailor bailer which I planned to refit and re-bed and re-caulk, you see, because it’s so very important to me. It keeps out the water and empties it too, a really quite clever thing for it to do. I held it in place, looked over it twice and thought to myself it fits very nice. Then suddenly from the north a great wind blew, the dust started flying and I dropped a screw. The weather turned chill as north weather will do and I did what I did and so would you. I packed up the bailer, I picked up the screw, I covered the Whaler as my cheeks turned blue. I zipped up my jacket and turned up my collar and ran for the house as I started to holler, “I can’t take the chill, this cold wind could kill, I need something finer” and I went to the recliner. Now I’ve eaten my toast and sipped my hot tea I lean back in the chair and it occurs to me, it’s still early in winter and I’m not a failer just because I’ve not installed my Boston Whaler trailer sailor bailer.
Josh, as you can see: I attempted to write something grand this past Monday and found….
Poetry isn’t my fortè
Some days it’s not even a threetè
On a very bad day it’s a twotè
And on Monday it’s clearly a onetè
Best regards.
Rich
Norman Stringfield wrote to us with a public service announcement: “You may have read that several cases of malaria have been discovered in Southwest Florida. Isn't the Everglades Challenge in this area? Perhaps we should warn potential participants they should embrace the method used by England in India in the 1880s. As you may know quinine is a natural preventative for malaria. Its drawback is the extremely foul and bitter taste it leaves. The resourceful Brits created a daily ritual of meeting on the veranda as the day started to cool for cocktails of gin and tonic water made from a mixture of gin, quinine, sugar and water. The Brits, abhorring a teetotaler, took to this ritual like a duck to water. I have been observing this ritual as long as I have lived in Florida and after over 60 years I have not had the first hint of malaria. Since I always add a twist of lemon I have been scurvy free as well.
And finally, our friend Chuck Leinweber sent us his this paint by his daughter. Chuck writes: “Stan Roberts to the orignal photo at Sail Oklahoma several years ago. I sent it to my daughter, Carol Marine, who painted it. The two main boats are John Owen’s OZDuck and Gene Berry’s ‘Andy’s Junk.’” You can see more of Carol’s work here.
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I especially liked the comment from Norman Stringfield.
Nice mix of fun and interesting "stuff". Tks