This is more fun

Post by **Tim** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:21 pm

Winter without real snow serves no purpose.

We finally got a respectable snowfall yesterday. A lot of sleet held down the total accumulation, but we still got about a foot here. (I still think the "hype before the storm" was silly.)

Much more fun. Keep it coming.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:38 pm

Yeah. Great.

I remember hiking to a meeting about 8 blocks away yesterday thinking "ah, this ain't so bad!". I had the wind at my back.
The return trip, pelted with the wind-driven sleet, inspired far more colorful thinking.

We now have an inch of solid ice on everything. Ankle-breaking weather.

We need a nice fluffy snowstorm so we can have something to cushion our falls.

Post by **dasein668** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:35 pm

Figment wrote:We need a nice fluffy snowstorm so we can have something to cushion our falls.

Move North. And inland. We had a bit of sleet here on the coast but nothing like an inch of ice build up. Official total in Portland was 8 inches. D-e-n-s-e stuff though.

Robert The Gray · Post by **Robert The Gray** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:39 pm

that grass looks so green from here. Believe it or not I do miss riding a snow mobile. the look of stars in under 20 degrees, taking saunas and jumping into lakes. ahhhh a real winter.. we have about 70 degrees today. hmpfhh. i feel weak and untested.

r

Post by **Tim** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:53 am

Figment wrote:We need a nice fluffy snowstorm so we can have something to cushion our falls.

There's nothing better than some light powdery snow on top of glaze ice...I can hear the breaking hips from here!

Robert The Gray wrote:that grass looks so green from here. Believe it or not I do miss riding a snow mobile. the look of stars in under 20 degrees, taking saunas and jumping into lakes. ahhhh a real winter.. we have about 70 degrees today. hmpfhh. i feel weak and untested.

My enjoyment of snow doesn't mean at all that I don't feel envious every time I watch one of your new sailing movies, believe me!

Especially since I only got to sail twice all last year. I am looking forward to the season--or at least I truly will once I figure out where I will be mooring my boat.

For now, I will revel in winter. In Maine, it's silly to start really thinking boats until April.

Noah · Post by **Noah** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:34 am

Last Wed we got 26" in under 24 hours...I'm still digging out...I'm glad I didn't have a boat cover to deal with.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:52 am

In my quick drive through the yard on Saturday, I could've done a great photo-essay on the merits of proper boat covering. The ice build-up from last week followed by a period of high winds made it VERY clear that you get out of it what you put into it. Those who skimped on the cover, or its supporting structure, or its lashings, now have no cover left to speak of.
Well-fitted covers and well-supported shrinkwrap jobs looked as though nothing had ever happened at all.

After seeing that, I was perfectly content that my only personal hassle was to spend a half hour chopping ice from the ground so I could open the door to the shed.

A30_John · Post by **A30_John** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:18 pm

Figment, was that your Stimson shed? How is it holding up?

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:13 pm

I wasn't ignoring you John, the thread just fell off my radar.

Yep, stimson shed, holding up just dandy. It's actually BETTER with a little bit of a snowbank built up around the edges, far less drafty.

A30_John · Post by **A30_John** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:52 pm

Thanks Mike. My shelter has seen some "build-up" this winter too. Since this is my first winter with the shelter, I was hoping to assess the implications of the snow's weight on the side of the shelter. So far so good.. :-) (The other thing I'm assessing the implications of is condensation. Today at 45 deg. inside the humidity level was acceptable. Which is good. I've been thinking about insulating to keep things constant for my Spring boat work. Do you have a condensation problem?)

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:09 pm

With exeption of the dry part of the winter (January, February, and the early/dry part of March) condensation was a HUGE problem. Plastic just doesn't breathe. Ventilation is the only cure. I keep a 20" window fan running on low 24-7 in the spring and fall, and that seems to be enough on all but the really foggy or misty days.

Insulation would be an interesting approach, but I've never really explored it because it would mean eliminating the solar heat gain that makes the shed so handy in the spring and fall when everyone down at the real boatyard is shivering.

A30_John · Post by **A30_John** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:02 pm

This stuff here might meet your needs:

http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index ... 0&cid3=-99

I'm debating between that approach for the "shoulder season" or a full insulation job for winter use as well.