The Men's Downhill is a huge event, very important to me. A Swiss man (Didier Cuche) and an American (Bode Miller from NH) were two top contenders. NBC in its totalitarian control over Olympics coverage DOESN'T AIR SHIT when it's actually happening (1:30 EST). They'd rather sit on it until Prime Time, and show you a few select races instead of the whole thing. This is blasphemy. For Chrissake I never watch sports on TV, but this is one thing I don't like to miss, it's on every 4 years, what's it take to show the whole thing live? I miss Switzerland in this regard, very very much-- I took complete coverage of one of the most important ski races for granted apparently. I looked everywhere online for live streaming, but couldn't find anything free, no matter how much I tried. Canada in theory offers it, but it would never load.
In the end, Didier DEFAGO of Morgins, a few villages over from mine, took gold in a mini upset (I'll post the run once I find a good link), knocking down Bode to Bronze. I would've loved to see it, not knowing what was coming.
I bet I'm missing a great party over the pond.
I mean, I've got a million ESPN channels showing 20 year old basketball games, but only one damn station covers this Olympics!?
NBC, I hate you, go to hell.
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Well, my back and I are arguing again at a very good clip. It's frustrating and limits boatbuilding.
That being said, with the aid of my lovely wife I have installed the inwales.
It was relatively simple. A second person is a help in the initial installation, but I did the starboard one solo. A few dry runs, few coatings of epoxy to seal everything, some thickened epoxy on the inwale spacers, a few clamps, some clean up, and the inwales are installed. These bastards really make the boat. She shines.
There are a few things that are not perfect. The inwales lined themselves up with the spacers nicely, though in some areas the inwale rose above the spacers, in others below. Some sanding will even it all out. The port side, interestingly enough was more exaggerated in this regard compared to the starboard side... the port side was also the copied side. Maybe that had something to do with it. Be sure to get the inwale flat up on the spacers, there be some twist in there, arrrr.
ALSO, some intrepid readers will remember BH3 sidearms not meeting the sides. This has been rectified with careful thickened epoxy application, some tape covered wood bits to act as dams, and also a spacer split in two, and placed on either side of the arm to provide extra strength. A good fix, rather than sucking in the side and losing a bit of fairness down the gunwale.
Two days ago, I also glued together my mentally challenged daggerboard case:
I was really intent on only using the wood I had available. For instance, I had leftover pieces from my daggerboard itself, which is more-or-less already the same thickness as the daggerboard will be (a little more since the board will be planed down some). This meant these leftover pieces were ideal. So I put them together the best I could. The vertical lighter pieces that guide the daggerboard are cherry, the same as the front and back end of my board. Again, leftover pieces. The hardwood will provide banging and clunking protection. You'll notice the lower right frame overhangs a bit. This is on purpose, since the shape of the trunk itself, as described in the plans, did not fit what the boat actually was. I have a little less rocker coming out of amidships, apparently, than Storer was imagining. Again, this is why the amateur should not cut specific pieces such as seats until the hull is 3-D. Just my opinion. Side cleats along the bottom will fill the gap that is left, of that I have no worries, but I wanted the base of the wood along the bottom of the hull, for strength.
Onwards!
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