Wanted: Deadlines

Hey everyone, hope you are still around.  My traffic stats tell me some people are still checking in, so good for you.

Well, I dusted off the project board and have been researching and noodling (not the hand fishing for catfish, but the mulling of ideas and taking apart the project in my head) so things are getting under control.   Here is where everything stands:

I think I qualify for early registration in the 340 this year.  I used some of (or maybe all) of the entrance fee to get Meers, The Curve, and I into the Kawnivore, but I believe I still qualify for the early registration.  If so, I will register as soon as I can, which means before Christmas.  This is good, cause it will put a deadline on me.

For the moment, I am working for two clients and that is also good.  I am going to need the funds for this- especially with some of my newer modifications- and that comes from work.  So, while I can't devote myself fully, I am going to be funding the project (I guess my corporate sponsorship didn't go as far as I thought).

Also, the Armadillo Works is in good shape.  The hardware section is closer to being sorted and I have a plan for a good work table (prototable with added table saw and router).  I am also going to start shooting video and getting that posted, so that will be cool.

As a final note, many of you may know that my personal life went into a tail spin sometime in September, but I am back on track now.  I am a bit more busy, but my head is in the game.  In addition to the Velocidillo, I will be working on some furniture, an old Argo, and a few other odds and ends maybe another boat).  The advantage to this will be that I can talk more design as these things are coming along.  The problem will be staying on track.  In addition to all of this, I have started running again (no more marathons though, half-marathons only) and this is to help me quit smoking.  That is a serious mind altering experience (I've done it before) so I will have to keep it from interfering.   I'm just going to have to work it out.

Let us proceed.

The night before my return to running.
I need a shave, but I kept my pre-race scotch out of the picture.

As I Work This Out

So I haven't been adding content lately, which of course is bad in blogger-land, but I think it makes sense.
At the moment, my boat plans are the same (record breaking design of pedal powered craft, much praise and critical acclaim followed by an extreme bender and bikini-clad admirers) the process is recessed into my head.  I spend a lot of time up there, and many of my projects work themselves out internally.  It's the way I work when I am without a client or deadline.

Rest assured, work is being done.

I am also very busy trying to earn money to pay for the supplies to make these ideas real.  In the mean time, I thought I would put up a photo from the race.

Meers and I waiting for the starting gun.

I recall feeling pretty good at this point, and for the first leg.  But all of that would fade as the river took it's toll.  I can't wait until I can run a good race with a chance of a victory.  Meers too, I think, is getting excited about racing.  With the Curve waiting for repair, I am tied to shore and want very much to paddle a bit in the autumn.  I read Canoeing with the Cree the other night (couldn't sleep due to my own internal relationship demons and such).  Didn't satisfy me as make me long for the pull of the river's bend.  While you wait for me to write, you ought to give this a read.

Back to the Drawing Board

It's been a while since I've been on here.  While I haven't been idle in this time, I have been working out some important process issues and getting some of my technology on line.  Here's what I've come up with, and what you can expect.

The MR 340 for 2012 is a little under a year away.  I chose to compete in the Kawnivore for the experience (brutal as it was) and use the additional time to perfect a design rather than run a prototype on short notice.  I have some time now, and I want to go back over my progress to improve what is there.

As a part of this, I will create computer models of what I am building.  Over the last month I got some help from my friends and have put together a computer devoted to Solidworks.  I also have a legit copy of the software and am in the process of refreshing my knowledge by doing tutorials.

In the physical world, I am going through and improving my shop.  There is a lot of work to be done around the Armadillo Works and I can't delay on it any more.  Principally, I need a decent prototable (a work surface away from the bench), better drawing area, an organized hardware section, and some improved storage.  There is a lot of stuff in there, and without organization I tend to let it got out of hand.  Keeping a clean area will not only improve the work, it will make you want to work.

This is the Prototable I built for Scott Padiak & Assoc.

The major problems I am facing now are a lack of deadline and a fast approaching hunting season.  I guess I could add to this a lack of funds and a need to work, but those seem to be ever-present.  In any case, I am going to continue progress and continue to use this blog to follow as well as to motivate me.

Hope you stick around.

24:20

Alright.

I've been analyzing the official time for the race and I think that an explanation is fairly clear in the first two check points.
Manhattan to Wamego: 19 miles in 3 hours, 45 min. = 5.5 mph

Wamego to Maple Hill: 21 miles in 5 hours, 30 min. = 3.8 mph

From here on, the times just hovered around 4 mph.  So slow compared to our training and the first 20 miles.  The reason for this is pretty simple: no water.

Let me explain.

The Kansas river is a fairly wide, sandy river.  It drains the eastern side of Kansas eventually emptying into the Missouri River at Kansas City.  Like most of the central part of the U.S. there have been extremely high temperatures and little rain in that part of the country.  As a result, the Kansas has become very shallow.  There is current, but in many places it is ankle deep across almost all of the bed.  The Learning Curve needs a bit more water than that.
Now this is not to say that there isn't a channel.  I was able to find and follow the channel through the first part of the race pretty well.  Unfortunately, after Wamego it was dark.  I can read large features in the dark, but the subtleties of the Kansas were beyond me.  I can't read what I can't see.  What it boiled down to is that I couldn't make the crossovers.  Let me explain.
The channel of a river flows in a meander within the banks of the river.  Water may be all the way across, and it might even be deep, but the majority current has it's own path.  For example, in a curve, the flow goes to the outside.  This is why the outside of a curve has a steep bank while the inside is typically shallow.  However, you can't just stay to the outside and be good.  The channel will cross the river at points and you have to follow along.  As long as you hold the channel, you can get good speed and you will gain from the river... a sort of teamwork where you paddle and ride the current.
Now, when the crossover is hard to find, you end up grounding out on the bottom and looking for the channel.  How?  Well, I got out of the boat and walked around until I got to water about knee deep.  Mid -calf would float us, but knee meant there was good flow.  A few times I slipped down through the sand or off the edge and went up to my hip, but mostly it worked out.  It is, however, no way to be fast.
The problem with this system is that you stop and get out of the boat.  This is not only slower but it breaks your momentum.  It's disheartening.
Now here is some good news.  I learned to see it in the day.  Not always, but enough that I could tell where it was.  It turns out there is a very subtle riffle on the surface where the deeper water is going by the shallows, and I learned to see that.  It wasn't as pronounced as I'm used to, but if the wind was down and the sun was not in my eyes, I could make it out at least three fifths of the time.

With all of that, it was about overcoming the difficulty.

In the end, all races are about pushing yourself across the line.  It always comes down to how hard you can go.  Everything else- the speed, the time, the strategy, and where you place- is a product of how hard you work.  For Meers and I, I can say we were all in.  I don't think we ever stopped working.  There were obstacles in the river, and the hull was never meant for this, but we pushed it as hard as we could.  I won't offer that as an excuse for a poor showing or make excuses to justify a long trip.  The fact is, we took it across the line, and at the end of the day, that's all you can do.
We didn't win, but we will be back.  I don't know if the Kawnivore will be a go or not.  But, as I said, the target remains.  I am determined to design and build a boat that I will use to win the MR340.  As for other races, well,  we will have to see.
The Learning Curve is now retired from racing and I will need to spend a lot of time with her to get her back in shape for even a gentle float.  I like that I was able to build a boat, use it for trips, camping, training, and racing.  She's tough, but I'm learning a lot.  I will post as I get those parts done.  From here on, I will go back to the design of the Velocidillo and try to keep the pace up.

Here we go.

I went for a walk

Well, the race has been run.

In this case, it was almost literal.  I will have a complete debrief on what happened out there in Kansas later, but for now I will keep it to a few choice phrases.

We finished.  More than a few people didn't, and that is an accomplishment.  We weren't as fast as I'd hoped, but there were complications with the river.  Here are the facts:

It was a hundred degrees.  The river was shallow.  We worked as hard as we could.  We finished the race and were not last.

This is the hardest river race I have ever tried, and while the MR 340 takes longer and left me with more lasting pain, it was easier than the Kawnivore.  What happened out there tested my abilities more than any other race, period.   The Leaning Curve was at her best, and is suffering from serious damage.  Meers and I will at least get better.  Of the hundred miles, we walked ten: canoe in tow.  Many of the people I talked to were worn out, and some gave up.  I have to thank every volunteer at Rivermiles and the Friends of the Kaw for their support and help along the way.  Thanks to Scott for giving me a race this year, even if it wasn't my goal.  Thanks and love to my support crew for putting up with me being grumpy and driven as I am in these things.  Thanks to my partner, the Meers-Cat, for helping me paddle and pull that hunk of wood down an impossible river.  Thanks to the good people of Kansas for the hospitality.  Thanks to you, dear reader, for paying attention to an idiot and his friend while they strive for something intangible.  I hope you will stay with me while I continue.  And thanks to God for letting me be that idiot: able to do it, survive it, and learn to do it better.  

This blog was not about the Kawnivore, so it is not over.  There is a boat to build and a race to win.  The target remains.  Let us proceed.

Starting Line

T Minus 1

The Armadillo rolls on.

Next stop: Lawerence Kansas.

T Minus 2

Alright.
Everything that I can do has been done.  Today is about getting my gear together and watching The Life Aquatic.  I have read all the scouting reports and dispatches.  I have studied the river through Google, and read all the info.  I am as ready as I can be I guess.

This is a new concept for me.  I usually don't like to prepare for these sporting events.  I like to just go.  But, and this is important, I have also never won a sporting event either.  There may be a correlation.  Regardless: I'm ready.

From what I can tell, this is going to be a tough go at first.
Shallow water.  Little current.  Hard to read.  Lot's of boats.  The first 20 miles will determine the line up as the pack thins to a line.  I predict a lot of grounding and so on.  The first checkpoint, then, will be important.  Here's my plan:

No weight in the beginning.  Meers and I have canoed the shallowest stream I can find and kept it going in less than a foot of water because we were light.  The Curve rides on top of the water pretty well, so I will not carry any extra water and only one battery until Wamego.  Once there, I will get my water jugs and extra battery.  I will try not to rig anything so having it set for fast retrieval will be key.

From then on we are on our own.  Won't see the crew again until the dam, but the river will be getting deeper as we go.  I hope I can read it well. This race is going to have a lot to do with the ability of racers to read the river correctly.  Like Cash said: muscle, guts, and luck.
I don't believe in luck, so I will have to make up for it in the other two.

The cut-off times seem to be generous, and if Meers and I keep our pace with a sense of urgency we should have a nice place toward the front. To get out front, we will have to see.  There are a lot of good paddlers in this with some really nice hulls.  I have a secret plan in the back of my head that we could attempt a sort of gambit:  Meers and I switch places half-way through.  I become the engine and I am fresh compared to him, so he gets a rest while I refresh our speed.

Not sure if that will work.  As with just about everything I do, I will adapt to what comes and just keep working.  One thing should remain at the front of all thought: I intend to win.

Talk to you after the race.