Good morning. The parks people are running a truck across the grass to the old Point Pleasant Yacht Club landing. I don't have the slightest idea what they do over there. I'll check later. Making breakfast of fried potatoes and eggs.
Today, I turn to designing a linkage between the rat and the cruiser, a means of connecting them like a train. I will need to have the trolling motor free for docking and for going into locks. I don't think I need to move it from where it is mounted now. So the other end of the raft will automatically become the head of the raft-car. Trains use a coupling that allows both up and down and lateral movement between the train cars. I need to allow even more vertical movement because of waves. Perhaps a floating unit coupled to both raft and cruiser independently?
Then again, maybe two capstans to tighten ropes between the raft and boat, like the barges and their pushers use. Maybe a bumper of rubber or plastic, or even wood between them. My task is complicated by the unused inboard motor port on the cruiser. It is sealed with plywood and sealed with caulking. It is neither strong nor stable. It sticks out a bit and I dare not replace it unless I can dry dock the boat.
OK, wood boards 2x6's drilled and mounted to the two handles that come out of the cruiser's stern. If these are long enough they could be fixed with a single bolt each to the raft deck. I done this way the cruiser can turn even with a motor attached to the swimmers ladder. The boat will turn and the raft will follow with a slightly larger radius. And I can cross between the boats on the boards. Heehaw!
I have some cleats and I can get rope and boards tomorrow when I have money.
If I hook these up first and draw the boats together with rope, I will be able to load plywood and glues and 2x3's into the cruiser by walking through the raft, up the spacer boards and into the cruiser. Tomorrow could be a busy day.
Build the link, replace the cruiser floor, get registration for the raft, put tank and motor on the cruiser somehow, then prepare to leave on Thursday. Yes, Kālu, kale, Thank you father.
Today, I turn to designing a linkage between the rat and the cruiser, a means of connecting them like a train. I will need to have the trolling motor free for docking and for going into locks. I don't think I need to move it from where it is mounted now. So the other end of the raft will automatically become the head of the raft-car. Trains use a coupling that allows both up and down and lateral movement between the train cars. I need to allow even more vertical movement because of waves. Perhaps a floating unit coupled to both raft and cruiser independently?
Then again, maybe two capstans to tighten ropes between the raft and boat, like the barges and their pushers use. Maybe a bumper of rubber or plastic, or even wood between them. My task is complicated by the unused inboard motor port on the cruiser. It is sealed with plywood and sealed with caulking. It is neither strong nor stable. It sticks out a bit and I dare not replace it unless I can dry dock the boat.
OK, wood boards 2x6's drilled and mounted to the two handles that come out of the cruiser's stern. If these are long enough they could be fixed with a single bolt each to the raft deck. I done this way the cruiser can turn even with a motor attached to the swimmers ladder. The boat will turn and the raft will follow with a slightly larger radius. And I can cross between the boats on the boards. Heehaw!
I have some cleats and I can get rope and boards tomorrow when I have money.
If I hook these up first and draw the boats together with rope, I will be able to load plywood and glues and 2x3's into the cruiser by walking through the raft, up the spacer boards and into the cruiser. Tomorrow could be a busy day.
Build the link, replace the cruiser floor, get registration for the raft, put tank and motor on the cruiser somehow, then prepare to leave on Thursday. Yes, Kālu, kale, Thank you father.
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