#texaswatersafari

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Closing one Door to Open the Next

Well, the TWS "season" is over and so, in some ways, our chapter closes with Team Cuatro Sinko Seis and the adventures of the River Rocket. I regret not keeping up this blog because the stories and experiences leading up to the Texas Water Safari are just as entertaining and memorable as the Safari itself. All the work parties, training runs, emails exchanged and fundraising efforts for our cause, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. At the end of the day, Facebook time won over the blog due to it's power of telling little stories in smaller, more digestible and visible segments. We brought on board 145 followers and 20ish sponsors and supporters, all of whose contributions and support made our eventual TWS 2013 finish possible while raising almost $3000 for HAAM. To do the blog justice, I'll either link or post our TWS photos, but one could just as easily check out our Facebook photos at www.facebook.com/teamcuatrosinko We'll wrap up our fundraiser campaign at the end of the month and open a new chapter. Not sure how it will look, but we'll be back. If you'd like to donate a few bucks to save the life of an Austin musician, you can go to www.gofundme.com/team456 Peace. 5 Out. (Don)

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Stencil mania.  So, I've spent the last week meticulously cutting out the stencil of the Bearded Brother's logo.  They've been generous enough to provide us with energy bars for our training and the Texas Water Safari.  I finally finished cutting out the last piece today and wanted to get something on the boat before we run the river tomorrow.  It happens to be a very, very windy day and not the best day for stenciling.  Nevertheless, here's my theory.  It's easy to take paint off of aluminum and if needed, I could always redo it to perfection later.  A promise is a promise and the Bros came through, so Team 456 had to deliver.

I think the photos prove that we delivered.  The lettering is not so sharp because working in the wind and on a curved surface was not easy.  The sticky tack did not completely hold while the wind was whipping everything around and so there may have been some leak-through.

I hope you agree that the logos seem true to the original and they should get their due attention.  I've sprayed two logos on port and two on starboard, so this should be more than adequate.

I'll wait till it dries and take of the excess paint on the sides of the logo, then I'll be done.

What do you think?

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Today was a cool day, starting with meeting Chris and Caleb (the Bearded Brothers) at their mothership.  Team 456 is proud to promote their product, as their energy bars are 100% natural, organic, vegan friendly and gluten free.  We're definitely on a nutritional upgrade from last year's cliff bars.  The Bros hooked us up with some bars for training and will be providing some of our nourishment for the actual Texas Water Safari. 

I'm hoping to get my BB stencil done tonight and perhaps get a logo slapped on the Rocket before our Sunday training run (Staples to Luling 90).

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Team 456 Work Day.  Well, Scott came over this morning to help with boat duty. The plan: get her cleaned up so we can add some artwork, hull numbers, etc.  We also hoped to sand down some rather large gouges in the bottom of the boat which were inherited from the previous owners.  Steve brought some of his orbital sanders and some sandpaper and away we went.  As you can see from the photo, above, there's considerable denting and scratching of the hull.  Scott had to return to family and Steve broke for lunch and I pushed on intermittently throughout the day.  Her sides are considerably more shiny though there are obvious areas around welds and rivets which we avoided for clear reasons.  I've read that many commercial boats are dipped in phosphoric acid and given an electrical charge simultaneously.  This creates a bluish tinge to the aluminum but imparts a protective layer of oxidation which is stable and prevents further corrosion.  I sure hope we haven't created a nightmare by sanding her down.  I'll probably go pick up some naval jelly at the Home Depot.  I believe that naval jelly is essentially contains phosphoric acid and can protect aluminum.  I'll have to research further.

Finally, an interesting read about what makes a boat fast.  I suppose this is a science that can't just be googled and answered in one fell swoop.  I did read that, counter to what's intuitive, a perfectly smooth surface slows you down.  It basically said that if you get little air bubbles on the bottom that aides the glide.

We'll have to figure this all out soon.  I just want to put stickers on our boat.

By the way, if you've read this blog entry and enjoyed it, can you click on this link and donate a dollar or two?  It would really help working, low-income Austin musicians access much needed healthcare.  And here's the link:

www.gofundme.com/Team456

Thanks,

Don

Team Cuatro Sinko Seis.

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Walking through Cottonseed Rapids.

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Here is a photoset from our 2012 water safari completion.