Fitting the Cetus MV

3M 4200 applied to the vanity hatch and 1/4 inch of foam removed from the seat bottom. Fitting my Cetus MV. Test this weekend.

Why, after the honeymoon is over, do we want to mess with things? It's perfectly fine; but, can it be made better? Such are my experiments with customizing the fit of my Cetus MV. It always seems to be the search for perfection.

The front vanity hatch still leaks a little even after applying Capt. Tolleys crack sealer, and the thigh braces seem to engage a little too easily. So it was time for the black 3M 4200 (yes I have the 5200 but I can't wait seven days for it to cure) and the removal of the seat for some trimming of the front-bottom foam. All in all, things went extremely well. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and entertained me in the garage on a rainy morning.

– AG

Sunday morning paddle

Good paddle today at Silver Lake with Boyd and David Lindberg, Steve Korbas, and Nancy Gould. Lunch at the marina afterwards. The marina is not open for breakfast yet—they will be in a few weeks.

- AG

Paddles posted on twitter

For those of you wanting to know when I go out to paddle and where, follow @2_kayak on twitter.

Spring?

This week the weather is promising a wonderful kayaking prognosis. It has been a long time coming. Please remember that even though the outside temperature is warm our lakes have not warmed up yet. You should always dress for immersion. FYI, the Lake Michigan buoy is in place and indicates a water temperature of only 40°. Inland lakes heat quicker, and a quick indication is that they are around 55°, but that will change from day to day. Please be careful out there and plan ahead.


- AG

Powers lake paddle

Steve Johnson and I plan on launching from Powers Lake tomorrow (Tuesday, 4/30) @ 11 AM. Good to be retired. Join us if you can.


- AG

First paddle of the year

Today, Nancy and I dusted off our kayaks and put in at Lake Mary for a nice easy paddle around the lake. My back held up just fine and I felt like I had greater flexibility due to the physical therapy. We happened upon a pair of tufted ducks (had to look them up in our bird book) in one of the coves. The channel to Lake Elizabeth looks passable, even though we didn't attempt it. After the paddle, we headed to Sand Bar Island Grill for a grouper sandwich with fries.
Looking forward to another paddle tomorrow-- don't know where yet.


- AG

CAPTAIN TOLLEYS Crack Cure Sealant

Picked up some of this today from West Marine with the intent of repairing my phantom leak on the vanity hatch of the Cetus MV. I put a thin coat over the suspected leak area and repeated the process 30 minutes later. Clean up with a wet cloth is easy. Used a syringe to apply the sealant as the cap got broken on the bottle when I tried to remove it from the packaging.

The test will be this weekend at Lake Mary.

From the specs:

Excellent for sealing hairline cracks in gelcoat This penetrating copolymer sealant is formulated to be so thin that by using capillary action it can find its way inside fine cracks and set to a clear, flexible seal. Use on wood, rubber, glass, metals, fiberglass, Lexan, ceramic and concrete.

Formulation: One-part water-based acrylic polymer sealant Recommended Usage: Fixing leaks in wood, rubber, glass, metal, ceramics, and other materials Penetrates fine cracks

Coverage: Apply every 20 min. until saturated

Drying: Complete cure in 24 hrs or less

Color: Milky Quantity: 2oz. tube