Random Fun Boating Videos

YouTube - Hoverwing
I want one!

YouTube - Supermaxi Maximus Breaking Mast
This sucks when this happens.

YouTube - Hobie 18 wave jumping
This is an old but pretty cool shot.

YouTube - Worrell 1000 Yacht Racing
Extreme beach catamaran racing. 1000 miles including crazy beach starts/finishes.

YouTube - 29er Wakeboard
I always wondered if it was possible.

YouTube - Hydrofoil Windsurfing
This looks cool.

YouTube - strait pilot rough seas
This is a gnarly job.

YouTube - Iceberg Collision - the real thing!
How did this happen?

YouTube - war ship at full speed
Check out the wake!

YouTube - GIANT WAVE VS. BOAT
It's a good thing everybody made it through this alright.

YouTube - Rough Weather - Corentin Douguet Sailing crazy Figaro
Good helicopter footage of a singlehanded sailor sailing a very fast boat in rough conditions. Why did he think the spinnaker was a good idea?

YouTube - Proteus Boat and HP get Personal
I like seeing crazy new technology.

YouTube - Hydroptère
Speaking of new technology, how about a ridiculously-fast giant hydrofoil trimaran?

YouTube - The Amazing Boats of Kotaro Horiuchi
And some more cool technology.

YouTube - "ENZA - Jules Verne Trophy"
Good documentary showing Enza, Peter Blake, and the round the world race.

YouTube - Xtreme Thundercat Racing
This looks like fun, except when they roll on top of you.

Boat Videos

Here is some footage of the boat starting at idle and quickly getting on to a plane when I floor the throttle.

Boat Videos

This video shows the cool new GPS that I got from work. You can see the speed in the upper left corner as I floor the throttle.

Boat Videos

In this video you can see the boat decelerate from full throttle to idle quickly. When I was designing and building the boat I was very concerned that when the wake caught up to the boat it would wash over the open transom. As you can see, it turned out to not be a problem at all!

Boat Videos

This video shows a quick tour of the boat.

Noëlle the Gardener!

Since Noëlle has been too busy getting ready for finals I will have to do a post for her. So, here are some pictures of her working on her plants. She only has time to take quick breaks inbetween studying, but she has been using her time to plant seeds, transplant plants as they grow, and get all sorts of planting done. I can't remember all the plants she is growing but I'll try to remember as many as I can. Let's see, there's tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, borage, foxglove, squash, and lots more I can't think of.

A Complete Boat

Well, it's complete but far from finished. There is still a LOT of work to do, but it is good enough that it can be taken out and used. Noëlle and I took it out on Sunday and had a blast! We cruised down falls lake, found a quiet cove, dropped the anchor and ate a relaxing lunch while watching fish jump and Noëlle even saw some turtles! By the time we got back to the launching ramp we had run well over twenty miles and only burned 3 gallons of fuel. I don't know if it is the design of the boat or if there is something supernatural about this 15 hp engine. It seems to have the power of a 25 hp but only burns the fuel of a 5 hp. Amazing! Next I have to see if it's got enough oomph to pull a wakeboarder. First I have to install some cleats to tie a ski rope to. By the way, now that it is a real boat, I've got to come up with a name for it. Noëlle has said that I can't name it after her and the best that I've come up with so far is "Starship", but I feel that there has to be something a lot better. Anybody have any ideas? Let me know!

Gelcoating and sanding

I posted some pictures here to show how exciting it is to watch the boat transform as I apply coats of gelcoat. What these pictures don't capture, though, is what an extremely laborious and time consuming process this is! The amount of sanding required is mind boggling... Perhaps if I was a better woodworker I wouldn't have to sand as much?

Boatbuilding Continues

In the first picture here you can see the transoms well. It shows the engine "pod" and the "hydrofoil" clearly. You can also see how much sanding I still have to do! The rest of the pictures show more of the seats and foredeck under construction. Notice the large drain holes cut into the bottom of the seats so that if a wave comes aboard it should drain out quickly. Also check out the fuel tank braces that end up creating small storage compartments outboard of the fuel tank spaces. Then the finished product! It's finally starting to look like a real boat. Yay!

A quick trip with Nick the neighbor and some construction photos.

Last weekend Noëlle and I took our neighbor from across the street out on the boat for a few hours at Falls Lake. He is only 10 but he comes over and helps me work on the boat most days that I'm out there. It was fun to take the boat out even though it is far from finished. There still aren't any seats in it so we have to sit on the deck and dodge the gas tank and coolers as we move around.
I also added a couple of pictures showing the beginning of construction of the foredeck and the seats. It took longer than I thought it would to put together. The generator is there just to add weight to the deck while the epoxy dries and the seat is temporarily there for sizing purposes.