October Rains and Research

Happy October 1st. It rained last night. Light rain, but it was rain. Enough to be absorbed into the ground but not enough to run down the hill and refill the lakes and rivers. That will come later, with more rain.

I am liking my research projects. It is an interesting way to pass the time. I have gotten better at it, and I am pretty comfortable with finding stuff out, and even citing my references thanks to that computer class which taught me how with MS Word. That's very handy.

I got to research RVs and fuel efficient cars last summer, and learned that RVs and tow vehicles are really expensive and really inefficient, around 8 MPG, enough so that its a primary limitation and complaint by RVers. At the same time, I was taking weekly trips through the mountain roads on fresh tires with Dad, and being able to whip through the canyons at speed, with the top open/down? Nice. No diesel sputter or irritation with a sports car. I still can't sleep in a motel room, but there's no guarantee I could in an RV either. I used to sleep poorly in a tent, when I was younger and it wasn't instant backache, and given the choice I'd rather be in a bungalow with no close neighbors so there's no chainsaws at midnight or headers-off racing and wrecking like where I grew up, but we can't have everything, can we? In any case, having researched these things I can draw conclusions from the information without terrible expenses or storage fees. And I now know I can rent an RV to see if its for me, someday. Right after I verify that tenting is impossible at my age.

My latest investigation has been into sailboats, as that is an outdoor activity I can do locally. An excuse to go somewhere and do something. Yes, a used kayak is way cheaper. Even a new one is cheap. They make them out of plastic now. And you can store that under the house, for free. A $200 roofrack would let me carry it around, and it would work in any lake, but is paddling fun? From what I remember of my canoeing merit badge? Nope. Sailing, which I also got a merit badge in, however was great fun. Pull the rope, steer, and lean. And the boat goes. It was great fun. That's why I'm investigating it. I also remember than when it leans at 30 degrees it is faster and more fun than when it is riding flat, but when it turns over you get wet with stinking lake water that takes days to wash off properly. So, how to find a boat that leans 33 degrees but no further? So its fun, but still mechanically stable and not going to fall over the rest of the way?

One of the problems with the Laser was that when it leans, the sail dips in the water, drags, and tips the boat over to capsize. Also, the rail edges of the hull drag as well. And the hull is full of foam, which is heavy, oddly enough. More modern boats just have flotation chambers instead. This weighs nothing, and reduces the boat weight by around 50 pounds. Which begs the question: has anybody ever opened up a Laser, removed the foam, put in regular braces, and sealed it up again? Maybe with a removable port, since mountain lakes would make it bulge or crinkle with the pressure difference. It would change the balance on the boat, and probably would suggest running the smaller sail than the Standard one, and maybe even swap to a carbon fiber mast instead of the standard hollow aluminum one, which sinks. The Laser can drop its mast when it capsizes, btw. They eventually added a line to prevent that.

Another idea I had was clever. What about a carefully engineered spring on two of the connections  on the mainsail such that when a certain value is exceeded the line moves, loosening the tension on the sail so it spills air in gusts. Has anyone ever done that? I have never heard of it.

Well, the rain has stopped again. Maybe I can finish my walk this time.