Roll up Dinghy Mod

The small roll up inflatable that I use with my ePropulsion electric motor has a flat bottom. I think this is a common feature of these small lightweight boats. I was trying to teach my grandkids to drive and realized it is not easy. The boat tends to slide around on turns. I thought about glueing a pool noodle to the bottom of the boat and even bought a couple. For somewhat obvious reasons including more difficult to fold, I did not try it. I settled on buying a SUP fin pocket and removable fin. This works great. I had three possible locations and decided 2nd board from Transom was best. I glued the fin pocket over the board so I could still fold it and did a test run. The original fin which was long made noise and vibrated while underway. I cut the fin down to four inches and have been using for a few months. Myth: Can’t make a flat boat track…busted. It tracks great.

Music to my Ears

Project two doesn’t deserve pictures because it was just replacing all the outside speakers and upgrading the stereo.

The generator is exhausted now

A common problem on a generator with more than 6,000 hours is failure of the exhaust manifold. I was do routine maintenance on my Northern Lights 20kw Gen and notice the exhaust manifold had a nasty crack. There was no water leakage but there was some soot inside the enclosure.

Laser meets woodworker

Projects on Roxia are always fun (unless they’re not) but learning a new skill is fun also. It is especially fun if I can use it in boat related themes. Getting ready for the NOR 2024 Rendezvous I thought I should make a few give-away items. This turned into a fun dive into a cross between craftsmanship and laser engraving. I used the laser to cut into wood and cut abalone to inlay. Abalone or more specifically Paua from New Zealand is notoriously brittle. I have used it before in projects but it is time consuming and frustrating when I break it when nearly complete. Enter the laser. Part art, part technology and part craftsmanship made a fun diversion. Here are a few items I made. I have an endless list of things I want to try.