Saturday 16 July 2016

Ama considerations

Ama design is top of mind right now. Here is one possibility: taking a couple copies off of one of Andrew's little 12' catamarans that he has for sale.
It looks a perfect shape and size, to me. Here's how much of it I'd use:
About 10" high by 8' long.


Evening paddle

I put in at the end of my street for the second time. It was a perfect evening for a paddle. 

I almost stabbed a seal pup in the face with my paddle! Lost my cadence by it! No photo, of course, it happened so quickly, and I wasn't going to go back and disturb the thing any more than I already did. The seal pup was just under the surface, right where my blade was headed, looking up at me. Mom was nearby.
I've got a name for the piece of aluminum at the end of the skeg that the boat rests on. I was likening it to a toe nail. Now I'm calling it a "skid plate".
Above, the skid plate hangs in, not sliding on the wet cement of the ramp. The cart is farther forward than I've had it before. It worked well for going uphill stern-first, with me pushing on the bow, but next time it'll be centred better.
In some of the photos you can see a seat back. I've been negligent in documenting that and the fibreglass seat I made from a mold that John has.

Below is my track from this evening. You might be able to go there in the Navionics web app. You can see the airport "runways" outlined in green: 
Around the second corner was the sweet little cove below. The whole area is under-developed and therefore fairly natural, because it's DND land. The islands in the DND areas have "No Trespassing" signs on them.
I saw some pigeon guillemots, lots of geese, quite a few oyster catchers and a number of seals with their babies. The babies have a soft call that sounds like "Ma".



Cart wheels

Godfrey found a kids stroller at the second-hand store. We shared the wheels.
I took the two larger wheels, since they fit my cart so well. The axles fit them perfectly. I won't worry so much now, going over bumps and ruts. Godfrey has the four smaller wheels.