Boat & Bracelet Day

First things first.  All your thoughts, prayers, and energies worked!  I got the call around 9:30 am that my Dad was home from the hospital!  Thank you!

I was shocked.  He could barely move himself to the edge of his bed last night.  We didn't think he would be able to walk on his own or get up and down out of a chair for at least a couple more days.

But he is home.  His regular doctor called and says he thinks Dad may have some broken ribs that the hospital didn't identify.  So he has to go in tomorrow morning to get checked out.  Even so, he much prefers being home - keeping him down and healing is another issue.  :)

I decided to spend the day doing the initial assembly of our new FoldCat boat.  Standing there looking at the seven boxes, I was thinking "What have I done, and where are we going to put all this?"  :)

Starting from left to right we have the Minn Kota Endura 30 trolling motor, the boat itself (that's a 4 1/2 foot x 1 1/2 foot x 1 foot box), the oars and oar locks and foot pump (and instructions), the canopy, the seats and seat mounts in the big box on the right, the four rod holder mounts in the medium box, and the 8 lb. anchor in the smallest box.

Here is what it all looks like unpacked.

The main aluminum slats were already in place when I unrolled the boat. I had to install the front foot rest bar and the front step bench.  Once installed, those can be rolled up with the boat.  Then I inserted the stabilizer aluminum "underbars" on the pontoons under the slats and inflated the boat with the foot pump.  These pontoons take a lot longer than the canoe to pump up.  :)

Then I added the easy-release seat mounts.  I needed a screwdriver to put the seat mounts together.  They do not come assembled since you have two options of sizes depending on how you screw it together.  But the mounts themselves simply use bolts and wingnuts to attach them to the aluminum slats (the holes are pre-drilled).  The flat mounts which are plastic and which the seats slide into, can be rolled up with the boat.

Next I installed the four rod holders.  Four flat plastic mounts are inserted into pre-drilled holes and then each of them have four small screws that hold them in place.  These are also rolled up with the boat.  The rod holders themselves just pop in and out of the rod holder mounts.

I then added the oarlock rod bases and oarlocks.  The oar lock rod bases use bolts and 2 knurled nuts (nuts with plastic hand knobs) for easy attachment and detachment - again, pre-drilled holes.  The actual oarlocks are on pins that slide into the oarlock rod bases.  The oarlocks and oarlock bases do need to be removed and can't be rolled up with the boat.

I then added the wooden motormount on the back slat with the L-brackets, bolts, and knurled nuts.  The motormount does not have to be removed and can be rolled up with the boat.

I attached one seat to the seven inch pedestal and then slid the seats into their mounts.  Here is how it looked to that point.

I then added the optional canopy.  The aluminum tubes sit in two additional oarlock bases attached with bolts and knurled nuts in pre-drilled holes.  It can either remain folded down to the rear or put in the "up" position where one strap clips to a bungee (they call them "Sea Ties") on the front slat and two other straps clip onto Sea Ties secured to the back slat.

So here is how the whole thing looks completely set up (including the motor, but not the battery).

So it took me about four hours to figure all this out and get it assembled.  I needed a single screwdriver and after today will not need a tool at all.  It really didn't need to take that long, but it was the hottest day of the year and much of my time was spent trying not to get overheated and contemplating the most efficient way to do the set up, the most efficient way to take it down, and most importantly, where everything is going to be stored.  :)

So in disassembly, we have to take off the motor and battery, remove the canopy, remove the two-piece oars, unscrew the oarlock bases (for the oars and canopy), pop out the rod holders, slide out the seats, and deflate.

Once deflated (that part is really quick and easy), we remove the underbars from under the slats.  Then we roll up the hull with the aluminum slats, foot rest bar, seat mounts, rod holder mounts, and motormount.

The hull and the underbars store in a carry "bag" that's really more like a bundle cover you strap around the boat.  And let me tell you, you better be a big, strong boy to handle that thing by yourself.  The FoldCat is definitely a two-person boat.  I could manage by myself, but it would not be easy.

The other carry bag that came with our package will hold the rod holders, oarlock bases, and the seats, which leaves the oars, canopy, and motor.  The seats do fold, so we think we are going to store them elsewhere and use the bag for as much as we can.  We are going to have to rethink our entire storage situation with this boat.  So if you are tight on space already, this one takes up more room than I anticipated.  :)

Tomorrow we will go through the whole process and get it on the lake for a test run.  I'm guessing the entire set-up time will take us about 30 minutes the first time.  We should be able to  slowly whittle that down to 20 or maybe even 15 minutes as we go.

I'm looking forward to it.  There is nobody in the campground right now and the lake seems to be uncrowded.

While I was determined to get the boat together in the sweltering sauna, Linda was working on bracelets in the nice air conditioning.  Occasionally, she would open the door to hand me a bottled water, but otherwise she had work to do inside.  :)

She had to get out two breast cancer bracelets ($20 more being donated to breast cancer),

one gunmetal and silver bracelet (still her best seller),

two University of Louisville Cardinal bracelets, and one University of Kentucky Wildcat bracelet.

She is still perfecting the Louisville and Kentucky designs, but all her other bracelets can be seen at the DreamLife Creations Beaded Jewelry page.  It was a pretty good month in the bracelet business.  :)

That reminds me. The month is over.  I've got to get our financials together and I know the budget was stomped into submission in July.  I'm not looking forward to the results.

With the events of this past weekend, I'm a bit behind on my numbers and on returning some emails.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.  :)

After I got the boat put away, we went into town.  We dropped off some bracelets with Linda's Mom who is our best salesperson.  Her commission is a free bracelet every once in awhile since she is such a good promoter.  :)

Then we visited my folks.  Dad was still hurting, but I was amazed that he could get in and out of bed and chairs by himself.  We could tell that it's painful for him to move, but he was doing it.  We are all so thankful that they don't have to deal with the farm any longer and the hospital is only 7 minutes away.

Well, that about wraps things up for "boat and bracelet" day.  Tomorrow includes some more errands and an evening boat ride.  We'll have lots to report.  :) 

Comments

[Joe]

Good to see your dad up and around. Hope he continues to improve. I see yall are going to be styling now. Be sure to post a picture or two.

[Ken Hoenig]

Great news about your dad, we will continue with the prayers for a complete and quick recovery.
The boat looks interesting. I'll bet you'll have a blast with it.

[Dave Miller]

GREAT to hear that your Dad is out of the hospital!

And it looks like you did a great job on the boat!

[Paul Hildebrant]

Howard good to hear about your father-just remember he is a farm boy and used to moving around and at 84 years old it is probably a good thing.

[Paul Hildebrant]

Howard New Boat-2 suggestions when deflating use a small battery power vaccum clean to pull the air out-will make the boat fold up easier and smaller. get a patch kit and learn how to uas it/usually will have a 2 part glue and you should be able to by the fabric from the manufacturer

[Jackie & Tony]

Great news about your Dad.
Can't wait to see how comfortable and manueverable (sp) it is? Tony really is wanting a light weight fishing boat.