Kayak varnish

1st coat on hull after varnishing the right side of the hull yesterday.

Bolted speaker shelves on stereo cart.

Bike ride w/John F. R&R the stem on the mtn bike just before going out--feels like it's about 5-6" higher. Feeling pretty good on the bike.

Kayak paddle shaft length

After chatting with Sheri Cassuto, we agreed that paddlers need a better guide to paddle length.

Factors to consider:

1. paddler height. Really?
2. paddler's shoulder height above the water. This really does matter.
3. boat width, yes
4. shaft length, definitely
5. blade length, not really
6. paddling style: vertical vs. low angle.
7. the seated height to the nose tip and the boat beam. Pretty good. Still, I use a 210 and better paddlers have observed to have one hand too high. Probably true, as I like to give that shoulder a rest by not paddling every day.

For Vertical Paddling style:

Paddler	Paddle	Paddler height bench to shoulder/nose	Seat height above water	boat beam overall	Paddle length	Paddle shaft length
Me	Epic purple	22.5"/29"	1"	22"	210	43.5" = 110.5 cm currently under evaluation
me	Braca I	same	1	boat beam overall	220	45"
so	Paddle	Paddler height	1	boat beam overall	Paddle length	Paddler shaft length
ever	Paddle	Paddler height	1	boat beam overall	Paddle length	Paddler shaft length
wishes	Paddle	Paddler height	1	boat beam overall	Paddle length	Paddler shaft length

4th coat

of varnish on the kayak deck. ,Before varnishing, the kayak was moved to a room with no traffic to attain finish with less dust.

june 28

finished watching super size me

Bread

Kayak 2nd coat on today.

to Olympia to pay for and pick up '95 Volvo. Rear brakes done

Traded bread for coho salmon fillets w John F.

3rd coat on deck of kayak at 8:30 p.m.

daytime running lights

O Canada. Needs cars to have DRL. Phoebe's 2010 Kia Forte did not have them.

$44 module arrived from California http://www.automotiveelectronicaccessories.com/aeapn480hd.htm

How to do it:

Tools needed:

socket wrench set for removing headlights to examine..

wire cutting tool

Wire stripping tool. pliers to crimp wire splicers.

electric meter to detect DC voltage and detect connections.

1. Figure out what kind of switching system the Kia had. Removed headlight assembly to access the wiring. Following the instructions, I found the Kia was not a double negative switching system (where light switch and dimmer switch are connected to the positive wires leading to the bulb and volt meter shows 12 volts betw wires to the bulb and ground while lights are off).

Six wires attach to a plug that inserts into a socket on each headlight assembly. On our car, two wires each go to the low beam, high beam and parking lights.

How: turn on low beam headlights--the low beams and the parking lights will turn on. Remove the six wire plug from a headlight assembly. Use the volt meter to determine which two wires are the positive wires to the low beam and the parking lights (place red lead of voltmeter in the plug and black lead on the negative battery terminal--a 12 volt reading says it's on). On our car, the wires on right side were the yellow and pink wires. Then turn the headlight control switch to the parking light position, leaving only one wire that reads 12 volts--meaning the yellow wire on our car's right headlight assembly goes to the low beam. The corresponding wire (red) on the left was in continuity with the right. We'd only need to wire one side. I spliced the green wire of the DRL unit to the red wire on the left headlight wiring harness.

Next, I hooked up the brown wire directly to the negative battery terminal and the red wire directly to the battery positive terminal

Finally, I sought a way to route the blue wire into the passenger compartment to access the fuse box there, when I got this idea that I could wire to the car's fuse box in the engine compartment. I found a fuse that I thought would not be "live" with the key in accessory. The included adapters to attach the blue wire connector to a fuse wouldn't fit, so I removed the socket on the end of the blue wire and stripped 1/2" of insulation. I pushed the wire into the fuse socket and then the fuse. The low beams came on. I pulled out the fuse & the wire and found a fuse that was really off. Tested the installation--it worked.

On the red wire, I then installed the device that reduced the intensity to 75%. Done deal.

I'm still a bit confused about how I did all that, but once done, it was easy.

On now to a little body work. I instructed and helped Phoebe tape, sand, fiberglass and paint the bumper. Also, did the work on the rusted parts of the body where the car scraped other things.

Varnish

first coat of varnish on the Tern 14 deck today. forgot I had Japan Drier--instructions indicate 3.5-7.5 ml per 8 oz. next coat: roll front deck, tip off every 18-20 inches, brush around the cockpit, roll and tip off rear deck.

One fish, two fish.

one bread, two bread.

epoxy, fiberglass

sandpaper. gloves. stir stick, squeegee, acetone, vinegar.

New Paddler

Got an invite to dinner with Jeff F.

Returned the favor and invited him to a paddle on the Huki OC2. I rigged the canoe for stability. Gave a quick lesson and we were off for 30 minutes. Impressions: Good power even as a beginner. Could even be a contender. He liked it much more than the kayak due to the more open structure of the boat.

Then dinner and a little music making.