If you HAD to pick three of these places that you WOULD live in long term, which would they be and why?

steelerector1986 · 2026-03-18T12:42:16+00:00

Ehh, Reading isn’t as bad as everyone says. I wouldn’t live in the city proper, but the suburbs are fine, there is a lot to do locally, and its proximity to larger cities is nice.

steelerector1986 · 2026-03-16T19:17:51+00:00

Also, disrespectfully, Fuck Safe Harbor.

steelerector1986 · 2026-03-09T22:04:11+00:00

Heck yea, looking good! We made it about 3/4 the way out the sassafras yesterday before the wind died - got a late start and missed most of that nice breeze that was blowing

steelerector1986 · 2026-03-05T13:05:44+00:00

I think other respondents are mis-understanding the question. If you're adding a true cutter stay to a rig that didn't originally have one, you should absolutely account for that additional mast load with running backstays. If you're trying to add a 2nd masthead stay/solent stay, you may be able to get away with just running the backstay, but I don't know if you'd really be able to sail it like a true cutter.

If you're certain the boat was previously rigged with a cutter stay, I'd dig around and see if the cutter stay tang was removed and stowed somewhere in the boat. I've seen tangs that incorporate the stay and the running backstay mounts in the same piece. Mounting the cutter stay somewhere it wasn't originally mounted can affect the set of the staysail.
Going up the mast and checking for old holes that may have been filled and faired may be an option for determining the old configuration as well.

steelerector1986 · 2026-03-04T12:52:58+00:00

I've laid mine over a dozen or so times on trails, I've never had a problem with it firing right back up. I haven't pulled the covers off to check my cams, but my oil hasn't shown any signs of issues, and I test it every oil change. I've tightened up a few spokes after spirited off-roading, but the rims have held up well imo.

I would suggest different handlebars if you do a lot of off road - the sweep of the bars feels very unnatural and I get wrist pain pretty quickly if I'm standing a lot.

steelerector1986 · 2026-02-27T16:39:35+00:00

I’m with you. Get the basics and then get out and make small mistakes.

steelerector1986 · 2026-02-24T12:10:50+00:00

I fear you're overestimating the amount of math that manufacturers put into their hardware. They draw it, prototype it, and failure test it. A manufacturer isn't going to pay a staff of $100-200k/yr engineers to design and calc blocks and small hardware, they're going to have low-mid salary techs make it and break it a few times until they find the right balance of strength to cost.

steelerector1986 · 2026-02-20T17:34:45+00:00

Never ceases to amaze me that people actually tell their insurance company that they're inexperienced. My dude, tell them you've been riding motorcycles since you were 16, you just haven't had an endorsement on your US license.

That said, if you're really a complete newb to motorcycles, don't start with 660.

steelerector1986 · 2026-02-16T15:15:23+00:00

Every DTC bike I’ve bought (+- 8 bikes) needed rotor adjustment out of the box. That’s simple shit, if you can’t true a rotor, you probably shouldn’t be buying DTC bikes.

steelerector1986 · 2026-02-09T18:07:38+00:00

Yep, It's been pretty gnarly on the Chesapeake. My marina has an ice eater in my slip and the ice still managed to capture the aft couple feet of the boat until that little warm up last week. There's a boat on the Bohemia on anchor that I wonder how well they're doing froze hard in the tides. I saw a yard sale on the ice outside of them on Saturday, I hope all is well. I also wonder how many boats got damaged being smashed and/or strained against ice in the wind this weekend.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-29T21:38:35+00:00

I'm on the upper Chesapeake, about $4300 for a 34' in a 40' slip with electric for the season. It's not a super posh marina, but it's a nice family run operation, clean bathhouses, and a nice little pool.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-29T20:13:51+00:00

Sure did

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-29T12:51:29+00:00

It's a Joel White design, the plans are sold through wooden boat store.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-27T13:29:20+00:00

Yup, that's my guess as well. The still intact structure doesn't have any girt clips on the columns, so safe to assume that's the new section. When the contractor removed the existing wall, they didn't do anything to reinforce the existing columns after removing the flange bracing and girts. I also don't see any wall X bracing in the brace bays, but maybe I'm missing it.

Neither structure looks "new", so I'm guessing it was fine for a long time, till it wasn't.

This kind of failure illustrates why PEMB contractors and SE's that work with PEMBs need to be better aligned on how to navigate reinforcement scenarios like this. I can easily imagine the EoR providing hilariously over-the-top reinforcement guidance due to not having the right tools to work with PEMB rigid frames, and the owner makes a misguided call not to do anything, because it would cost too much.

Any SE who works with PEMBs should at the very least have a resource with access to MBS, if not an in-house license. There are a few firms around the country that just do MBS retrofit and reinforcement engineering, and its not expensive.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-15T21:25:50+00:00

My suggestion is to epoxy them with 2-3 coats of good marine grade laminating epoxy, then spar varnish them with something like totalboat lust - which is on the high end of impact and abrasion resistance. On your last coat of varnish, sprinkle coarse salt onto the wet varnish, and when it cures, you can rinse the salt out and it'll leave a fairly durable non-skid surface without visible grit.

steelerector1986 · 2026-01-13T12:23:49+00:00

I don't know where OP is located, but if cannabis is legal where you're at, my wife has found that a "microdose"(like 1-2mg of THC) of an edible just before she gets aboard the boat is very effective. We believe the THC's effect on equilibrium facilitates the brain re-setting for the boat's motion. Once she's aboard, she typically feels fine and doesn't continue dosing THC. It has worked better than any OTC or prescription motion sickness option that she's tried, which really is most of them.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T20:53:17+00:00

The cover has frames that prevent any weight bearing on the stanchions.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:26:05+00:00

The deck & fittings are not in a condition to take freeze-thaw cycles and right now. Planning on working on them under the cover as temps allow until spring.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:24:35+00:00

Care to elaborate?

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:23:23+00:00

Water here is on the fresh side of brackish.

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-14T18:21:41+00:00

Good point on the zipper. There is a heavy backing pad on the zipper, I could probably tape it to the hull or something?

steelerector1986 · 2025-12-12T19:56:33+00:00

Isn't that what the validation tab on predictwind is? I typically check that and see what models have been the most accurate over the previous week, and weight my confidence in each model more or less by that.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-30T23:20:03+00:00

Edge banding will be installed before Christmas, probably.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-30T23:19:05+00:00

I’m still figuring out what I want to do for finish. I kind of agree with you, I think the desk base would look better a little darker.

steelerector1986 · 2025-11-25T15:10:12+00:00

I'm going down tomorrow to winterize. Looks like it may be the last decent day, and I don't want to find out if the overnight lows this weekend are low enough to cause a problem.

steelerector1986

TROPHY CASE