Hi there, Shawn.

I'm feverishly at work trying to get my latest Coho ready, but I can feel another meltdown coming.

Pete Rudie left me some System Three LPU finish, the water base urethane that gets a top coat of cross link whatevers. So, the boat's all ready when I read that spraying this stuff is difficult in hot dry weather. Of course, that means we are setting some heat records right now: the second day of 90-degree heat this summer, the third 90-degree day in four years! (I'm not kidding about that, folks.)

Never one to pass up on a chance to screw up, I sprayed the hull Tuesday, trying to make my learning curve mistakes there. Not the prettiest job I've seen, as there are enough runs to make a semi-marathon. Last night I started on the deck, with much the same results so I gave up after two coats. This morning, though, it looked much better, so I'm going to take another shot at it, then see how much fitting out I can accomplish tomorrow morning. The 'new' skeg? That probably won't happen, and the compass may be held on with hot glue. I wonder if I can simply staple some bungee and line to the deck, and let it go at that?

Meanwhile, the wife is away, the hot water tank can't decide whether to fail completely or simply alternate between not working and over-heating, and now I have a plumbing leak at the upstairs shower. (Probably caused by the temperature extremes.) ...which we only noticed because of the Sheetrock sagging in the kitchen ceiling below... .

Pete Roszyk,
in Snohomish, WA,
a 30-mile, 2.5-hour drive away from Pt. T.