Gearing up for some night rowing/sailing with 3M 7/11 Reflective Tape . . .

It works!

Put together a Self Rescue Stirrup with some 1″ Webbing and 16″ of 1-3/8 Reinforced Tubing . . .

4 days into my Homemade Bread Experiment: which one will last longer? The piece outside the bag is pretty hard & dry, but might be different in the Florida humidity . . .

With 3″ of snow here in Philly, the rest of the day will be spent plotting courses.

Concept 2 Model D Indoor Rower

This contraption has been my best/worst friend, especially since October when I started training for the Everglades Challenge in earnest. It’s a well rounded, no-impact workout that is perfect for what I want to accomplish. Right now I’m trying to log in some long hours & ‘distance’, but will kick in the 3 WEEK WINTER WORKOUT just prior to the race.

January 2nd I added some High Intensity Interval Training to my routine which really boosts core strength and endurance. I alternate HIIT styles to balance it out, i.e. Mon-Wed-Fri I’ll do 10 crunches, 10 push-ups & 10 squats – non-stop for 15 minutes as fast as I can; Tue-Thu-Sat I’ll do an 8 Cycle (4 minute) TABATA .

HIIT in the morning, rowing in the evening . . .

Winter has been pretty mild up here in the Northeast, which has provided me with a much-needed, extended “epoxy/varnish season”.

With the help of one of those oil-filled radiators on wheels, I was able to heat the shed up enough to get the boat in ship-shape. None too soon either, because I don’t think I’m gonna have many more opportunities between now and the end of February when I head south to join the ‘Tribe for the EC.

Inserting a 17' Boat into a 20' Shed!

Boat & parts drying (note daggerboard hanging in doorway)

Daggerboard & Partner drying . . . spars in the background.

I keep checking things off the list, but it doesn’t seem to get any shorter!

Boat prep/mod is nearly done. The most significant modification I was concerned with was adding a kick-up rudder, which will definitely make SPRAY a more versatile vessel for the EC2012. I haven’t measured it, but the original rudder added 3″ or 4″ to the 5″ hull draft. I’m also hoping for less drag and course deviation while rowing.

(L) Kick-Up – Waterline is about even with the bolt. Rudder kicks up, remaining rudder bottom even with skeg. Rudder shaped into a foil to make up for lack of area. (R) Stock Rudder – “Barn Door” works very well while sailing, but adds drag and depth while rowing.