Well now. Imagine seeing all of you back here at the SportoPalace on the Hill. Your Servant SportoMaster is about to Take The Field, as the Iron Duke would say. So I shall send Muffling back to Blucher on a fresh horse, and take Picton, Gordon, Ponsonby and stupid little Haye (keep him safe, deLancey, thats what aides are for, to protect their incipient replacements), and if I cant stop them at Tidewater, then Ill stop them at Bacon. What Im seeking to stop are evil little rotters that have made a Black Spot on the bulkead and sole beneath the Falling Table in Misty Roses Main Saloon. I think I shall be able to Cut the Crap with my flushcut Fein tool, taking out a rectangular piece of sole about three by six inches and testing the bulkead above it for weak or deteriorated wood. It didnt discolor to black for JforJ (just for jollies), Matey; somethings going on in there and Allie is probably right about it being ROT. Now we need to (1) find out how extensive whatever it is; (2) biopsy the material and bring the specimen to the Tunstall Memorial Marinopathology Laboratory here on the Hill for analysis; but (3) make every effort at the site to determine the etiology of the condition; and (4) effect repairs and postoperative therapy. We have tolerated this Black Spot for several years; it has not grown very much if at all; but now, while were considering replacing the sole with Beautiful Something (I have sufficient Padauk and Cypress that would make lovely alternating color planking and would take considerable labor both here in the Vast Shops on the Hill and There with Concomitant Contortionism; Allie has a Probably Wiser Notion and Certainly Quicker and Easier that involves something that looks like (ugh) teak and holly. Allie might tip me the Black Spot with Deposed written somewhere near if we dont Do It Her Way. Not because shes mutinous, but because she Knows Better than to let Dad start a Project that might leave us sailing with no floor for a few years. I know that you do not call me Captain Sporto the Circumspect for no reason. And we SHALL have a new floor. Meanwhile, I shall visit the Great Shed on the Tred and secure some Old Burmese Teak to cover the piece of bulkhead (Ill probably make a baseboard that covers the Spot-hole and then carries on to the cabin doorframe casing so that it will appear that the boat was made that way). If theres nothing in the GS, then Ill visit the Baconites and see what theyve ripped out of Pore Ol Dead Barkies thats the right color. I wish Myanmar would get its Act Together so that we could once again import their teak. Plantation teak is just too light and though I have developed three stains that applied successively will match the Burmese, only God can put grain in wood, and anyone that Knows What Theyre Looking At Carefully will KNOW. So Ill Do Something until Geoff wrecks something or Bacon strips some P.O.B. with enough of The Real Stuff. Or Ill use some exotic contrasting or complimentary wood from Freestate or thats hanging around the Vast Shops on the Hill here. Ah, boats. Milne was quite right, you know; so Im Going to Go Mess About in ours. Anybody wanna mess with me? Ill be messing most of the afternoon, because aside from the fun part with The Spot, I have absolutely GOT to get the power on. Whats the use of having a resportorator with a super-quiet Danfoss condensing unit and an innovative integrated all-together evaporator-and-lines made up by Mermaid (theyre the best, and I was in the compressor and controls manufacturing business for 25 years 3 months and 11 days quite successfully and a Member of ASHRAE (still am) until D-foss D-cided that they wanted to translate manuals and other literature from Danish with a computer while at the same time, I fear that Someone at Baltimore may have wearied about hearing the Truth about their New Clothes). Anyways, Mark, that Mermaid unit, that I have thanks to the good offices of Mermaid management and of my Good Friend and Captivating Cajun Joel Eggart (a savvy application engineer with whom I did some Great Work over the years, and who last I heard was the Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Danfoss USA or Danfoss Americas or Danfoss Something; anyway, Joel is the Wizard of the Green Crystal when it comes to refrigeration, second only to the Great Wizard of the White Crystal Himself, Steve Madigan. But certainly as Crystalline as The Other Steve....about whom more later when the Statute of Limitations expires. Got my Stuff together, now; been working on it while dictation this, and multitasking the old grey cells. (One day I will Amaze, Elucidate, and Edify with a Revelation on How I Write, and What Else I Can Do While Im Doing It. I quite humbly suspect that you will be Astonished.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 06:49:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015