And then there were three

Back down to three hydrofoils...this one's gone garden gnome.

Had some fun with the new ATC3K taped under the wingbar on Sunday; finally edited the video down.  It is quite possibly the most boring video in the world, but the soundtrack is pretty good. Anyway another vote for this camera - it rocks even though you can't see what you're shooting precisely, because there's no viewfinder or LCD. So it pays to have a laptop or some camera along that can play the card files when you are setting up on a small thing like a Moth, so you can set the angle and check it. But I got pretty close with the "Ah - that looks pretty good" point and go method.

Nothing earth shattering to report, boat-wise. Still plenty of work to do, but now I know what direction to go and what the priorities are. Greg showed up with his boat du jour and managed to shear both the propeller and the rudder off, but that was all sort of predictable as it was all only held together with bondo. It's always fun to see what propulsion system will show up on that thing; generally they last about half an afternoon, but are exceedingly cool and stylish before they burn out. It is like Mothing with Inspector Gadget as your crash boat - we're never sure who is going to have a harder time getting home. I was thinking of towing him at one point, but he got a good workout with the double bladed paddle, which is just as well as I've never tried to tow anything with a Moth before and I had enough trouble staying in the same zip code without trying to tow anything.

No mechanical failures or anything, but I deliberately set out for the lumpy stuff at the end of the channel and control system developed a flavor of post-traumatic stress disorder bordering upon catatonia. I have not pitchpoled at two knots since sailing Bill's Skippy II - reminded me of those fishing boats that get sucked under by submarines driving through their nets, disappearing without a trace.

Two industry guys here interested in putting a build program together, which is v. cool from my standpoint, as now I have some locals to chat Moths with. And a 3rd reportedly en route from points East - could go from zero to four boats in six months, which would be pretty good growth for a single club I think. And that is without anyone buying any boats.

John G. put in a Cameo out of the blue, literally, the way he usually does. Somehow it always works out, no matter how last minute or where he is holed-up on his hold-overs. I must not have enough of a life or something, but it is always great to see him and get the latest word from down there.

I thought I was over traveling but it would be fun to get down south and meet all these antipodean internet personas in person, as the class seems to draw lots of characters.

More testing on the wkend if I can get some thumbscrews lined up. Need to put pen to computer screen on that project.