2023 - Back at it

I found the old Fat Bottom Girl blog and decided to bring it back to life. I forget how long I have been at this and reading past posts made me realize a reoccurring issue while also seeing our growth. 

Engine Trouble: Today there are two Yanmar 1GM10s awaiting repair in my garage. Both started blowing smoke. There is a post around 2016 when I found the 1st GM on Craig's list in NC. That one worked well through 2020 when it began blowing a lot of smoke. It was running good but going through a lot of oil. Looks like number 1 got hot. Pulling it apart showed damage that most likely caused the ring issue. 

 #2 was a garage find in a local boat yard. A new engine that was never installed in a boat project. This one also started excessive smoking eventually not starting even with starting fluid. I'm working on getting the head off and curious on how bad it looks internally,

I have a couple of lines on diesel experts who can get one running prior to the 2024 season. Still a better engine than the original BMW D7 that we fought with forever. I need to get better at caring for a diesel.

Crew! Big positive changes in that we have an exceptional depth of crew and that is thanks to Chandler Motley. An Evan Harrel (Quantum Norfolk) prodigy Chandler hoped on around 2017 and quickly got up to speed on all things bow. He knows all the tricks and has trained several other FU (Foredeck Union) card holders in all things hoist, douse, Mexican, throwing out the baby and all the other tricks that get the kite up and down smoothly. 

Chandler is also a great leader and organizer building and maintaining our crews SLACK channel, organizing team building events with the crew and hosting training sessions. Chandler has taken the lead in organizing our 23-24 maintenance session, a key player in talking our syndicate to the next level.

Big changes are coming in 2024! 

Give it all you got! 

Fat Bottom Girl

USA 30812

Dude where's my trailer?

Okay - So the guy who owns the trailer I borrowed, we'll call him Lou, was up my butt about getting it back. While admittedly I did go slightly beyond my original 3-4 month plan. And, I lost his number (changed phones). FBG has been off the trailer for several weeks and no Lou? Dude, come get your trailer!

The rig is ready and the diesel runnith! So the big question is...when do we go pole up? This week sports fans. The 2012 racing window closes on Sunday with the Gaboon. I want some. This could be the last week for weather and our personal holiday hell (I mean schedule) is jammed packed after this weekend. Oh yea and next week is conference week too. And the Mayan's with their calendar. I'd better get this done. FBG in 2012!    

 

Labor Today!

What a great week. A thousand mile journey begins with a step and FBG's 4 mile drive started with it's first 30ft. The tires were beyond flat, one was off the bead, and they left 3 inch ruts. It was great to see her move and she did so with little moaning and groaning. I have full confidence we will make the trip with no incident.

Chris used a tie down strap and some grease to get the tire on the bead. His Blazer had plenty of torque to pull FBG to new ground and we sat her up on some boards to prevent more sinking. This was great because it has rained and rained since we moved her.

We were then able to install the shims in the rudder. These are to snug the fit and prevent the shudder that slows us down (every little bit helps). And we were able to get the propellor on. Also thanks Dave Taylor for the key stock to use to sill the propellor keyway.

the pads on the port side are done and all that remains is the forward and forward starboard pad. I plan to pop them out this week and then get FBG washed, waxed and ready to launch. This week is conference week and Bay Days so work may slow a little, but it will not stop. FBG in 2012!  

Hot as Balls

Between the Chicago conference and my fresh gallon of baltoplate being on back order at West Marine. (they just bon't like us sailors)  not much got done since last report. It was a productive work week making some cash so I can afford to finish this project and pay for all of the expenses that come along with sailboat racing, beer money, crew bail...you know, that stuff. It was okay because it's too freaking hot to work this weekend anyway. Well maybe a wash.

Good fortune did shine this week in the form of a slip at HYC. We will be birthed (very soon) on D dock #5. Getting a slip may very well be the motivation I need to get the hole I throw money into back in the water. Or it may motivate Char to kick my ass. Regardless I am pleased to have picked up a slip and can't wait to get some shrubs and a garden gnome to dress it up a little. Okay not really.


I am going to do some work on the rig, drink plenty of fluids, giver her a wash and work on buffing out the oxidation on the boot stripes and dring more fluids this weekend. Thanks for checking in. FBG in 2012!  

Tornados, Do-Overs & Dumb Luck

Ever hear that little voice in your head? Ever hear it sound like Keith Darby saying "now do you see what I was talking about dumb ass". Well that was what I heard as I looked at the Baltaplate finish. At first, it looked pretty good; but as I got more into it with the wet sand I discovered a bigger issue. The paint went on well, but there were rough spots under the paint that were not smooth enough. Darby said to "hit the boat with a 220 grit finishing sand and feel it for smooth spots". I did it once, but then put more paint over it. Well I should have done the 220 sand again because I had a ah ha or maybe an ah shit moment. I knew immediately that the paint needed to come off.  It was worse than the thin spots. It was bumpy and thin. In one word - It sucked.  

Soooo the Baltoplate is off, again. I have been hitting the bottom with 220 grt and it looks a lot better. There are 3 or 4 small spots that are going to require some filling. I plan to hit the filler and possibly go after the paint again this week. Everyone on internet forums as well as the folks I speak with locally say I need to hit the bottom with an 80grit sand for the paint to stick. I believe that Darby wanted me to paint the baltoplate over the 220. I can always go back and hit it with a light 80 grit sand, but I would like to see how it works on the 220. I have sanded through so much paint so I am going to try the rudder with the 220 and see how it goes. I'll post it up. 

Working to make SBRW (Southern Bay Race Week) and then a Tornado hits. Everyone was okay but the club was trashed. Boats and windows broken as well as the event cancelled. There was no way to host the races on Saturday and Sunday. I really felt bad for my racing buds. As much as I wanted FBG to be out there, I was not terribly upset we are running behind. I would hate to end a 3 year refit by being trashed by a tornado. Most of the club is back to normal and everyone seems to be focused on the next event. Good luck to everyone that is fix'n their boats now too.


Oh yea and we got a slip - A tornado slammed boat is getting hauled off by the insurance company - We are going to reside on the D dock in slip # 5. Now having a place to go I am going to get busy to get there. Has your boat ever been hit by a tornado?