I have a request for more boat progress pictures.  This is Eleccentricity, my wacky electric boat, which is now upright in my garage and moving ever closer to completion.

Glassing the insides

After flipping it over I fiberglassed the insides and then cut out the floorboards. They got glassed too. Gunwales (the strips of wood at the tops of the sides, inside and out) were next installed. I was looking for ash but found instead a pair of amazing fir boards, twenty feet long.

20 foot fir boards were recruited for gunwales

Next came decisions about where I would install the dashboard, which would also define the size of the foredeck.

Floorboards cut but not fastened

Remember, I’m making this up as I go along.

I positioned a lawn chair on the boat’s floor and tried various spots for where I would sit behind the steering wheel. For some unknown reason, the steering is always on the right in power boats–like England, Japan, and India do with cars.

Fitting the dash

After deciding where to put the dash I cut out a piece of glued-up ash and glued and screwed it into position. Then I built a framework in front of it to support the foredeck. I wanted to curve the foredeck so it would shed water (rather than dumping water in the captain’s lap). This could not be done with anything thicker than 1/4″ plywood. Now, 1/4″ plywood is pretty thin stuff and not likely to support a middle aged guy with a little extra padding, so I had to use two layers. Amazingly, when you epoxy two layers of curved 1/4″ plywood together you end up with something so stiff it feels like concrete. Getting it to curve in the first place was very difficult, involving lots of clamps and screws, stainless steel of course. Next up: floatation foam in under the floor. Then I’ll start dealing with the daunting mechanical and electrical systems. Stay tuned.

Second layer going on

Framing the foredeck

For a while I’ve been saving empty wine bottles that guests of our oceanside apartment have left behind with the vague notion that I will someday make a batch of wine. Last year I actually planted a vineyard and the plants did great over the summer of 2010. I did not allow them to produce fruit however, since this is what you are supposed to do for the first few years. Over the winter I bought a few wine kits, reasoning that if I wanted to utilize my eventual harvest to the utmost, I should get some practice in winemaking.

I couldn’t believe how easy it was. The making of the wine consisted of :

1. boiling a couple gallons of water
2. dump a gallon of the boiled water into the primary fermenter
3. add an envelope of powdered bentonite, a type of clay which helps to settle out the solids
4. dump in the juice from the kit
5. pour in enough water to reach the six gallon mark and
6. pour in the wine yeast

This whole process took less than an hour. At this point I had no idea if the end product would be drinkable, but I did know it would be cheap. The per-bottle cost was under $3.

The directions called for “racking” at regular intervals. This is the transfer of the wine from one container to another, to allow leaving behind the sediment. At the final racking two envelopes of fining (clarifying)  agents are added and one envelope of sulphite as a sanitizer. Then in two weeks, bottling, and the first chance to taste the wine.

I’m no great judge of wine, but I will proclaim the two batches I made as highly drinkable. If others agree (given a respectable time for aging) I will offer my guests a bottle or two. Of course I don’t intend to sell them, just please save the bottle!

In the vineyard, I did my first pruning in early April.  Pruning is necessary to limit the number of buds; too many buds produce too many fruiting clusters and produce small, low quality fruit. I haven’t decided whether I will allow fruiting this year (a second pruning operation removes the flowers) but I suspect I will allow a few per plant. The other thing I did which is exciting is to attempt to root the cuttings. This is happening now, and consists of placing the cut twigs into a moist pot of soil over a heating pad. Supposedly I should see root growth in a week or two. When this happens I will move the pots into the sun so that the buds will start to produce leaves. Then I can expand the vineyard to accommodate another 12 plants. These are all frontenac gris vines, a hardy variety developed by the University of Minnesota.

Crossing the bridge into Maine

I came back from a working trip to northern Michigan to find that during my absence four tall spruce trees were threatening SeaCat’s Rest.  Apparently there had been a big storm. One had fallen on our deck, one hung at a sickening angle over our driveway, one had fallen on our power lines (this is #5 or #6 since we built the house) and a big one fell over onto some fire cherry trees and was barely suspended above our roof, 30 feet off the ground. Most of the spruce forest we started with is gone, mostly due to the affects of age. The center wood starts to rot and carpenter ants often invade. The next big blow and they’re down…or leaning. We’ve had trees fall on two boats, a wheelbarrow, the house, outbuildings, fences and the compost bin.

Another spruce gone

This time the biggest challenge was to figure out how to deal with the big tree leaning over the roof, held in place by the young cherry trees. Normally I cut sections out of a leaning tree so that it gradually falls into a vertical position, then tip it in the direction I want it to fall. But this time the tree was so tangled up with the cherry trees that removing a few sections only produced a shortened spruce, still leaning toward the house.

I plucked up my courage and climbed to the top of the roof with my fishing pole. The casting rod was fitted with a heavy nut and I cast that puppy halfway to the neighbors property. After finding the nut (not easy) I removed it and tied on the end of a braided cord, substantially stronger than the monofilament fishing line.

and another

Back onto the roof where I pulled the cord up as I reeled in the fishing line. Now I tied off the cord on the roof and headed back down where I tied a 3/8 inch three strand nylon line to the cord. Back up again and now I tied the nylon rope to the top of the leaning tree.  I was trusting the friction between my shoes and the asphalt shingles to keep me from plunging into oblivion as I was standing a few feet from the edge. Now it was a simple matter to tie the rope to my borrowed truck and yank the tree back the other way, away from the house. With little effort the tree was down and the boring task of chopping up the tree was all that remained.

The big winds happen in Spring and late Fall, so summer visitors don’t have to worry about falling trees. But life on the Atlantic shore can be a challenge sometimes, just like everywhere else I suppose…

It’s been a tough winter. The economy, war, disasters and brutal weather. The news shows seem to all be paid for by drug companies as ailment after ailment roll by in commercial messages.  Are we really that sick? What we need is a vacation!

Consider the benefits of a relaxing trip to the Bar Harbor area. You will find the cool sea air charged with negative ions which some claim have beneficial health effects. The ions surround dust particles and bacteria and cause them to drop out. Hospitals use ion generators to sterilize the air in operating rooms. From firstscience.com:

At the New York State Psychiatric Institute, researchers found that negative ion therapy helped to alleviate the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of winter depression. During a trial, people were exposed to high and low rate flows of negative ions while they slept. Many of the patients that were exposed to a higher density of negative ions showed an improvement in their symptoms.

Admittedly, there are more important health reasons to come here than negative ions. Acadia National Park will get you outdoors and moving. Exercise is a life-extender, and within these pages are ideas for hundreds of physical activities, all in beautiful pristine surroundings. There are 120 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads throughout Acadia National Park.

Let’s not neglect the importance of fresh food in the health arena. From the Environment News Service:

Eating a small amount of seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as shrimp, tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish daily can cut the risk of death due to heart disease by 20 percent, according to studies released at the Seafood and Health conference in Washington this week.

You won’t find fresher seafood than what’s available here in Acadia. So to recap: Our cool ocean breezes deliver ion-charged air and relief from the heat of the South or stale air-conditioned buildings. Our ample trails and shoreline offer unlimited opportunities for healthy exercise. And the seafood is fresh and healthy. Once you cross that Maine border your stress will lift like the morning fog. You will find that people are more easygoing and the noise level drops.  We’re close, we’re affordable. What are you waiting for?

from Bangor Daily News

A while back (January 18) I wrote a quick post about how Mainers were saddled with an accidental Governor; one who was elected with 38% of the vote, and how he was beginning to embarrass Mainers with his rude behavior and speech.  Now it seems to be a national story, and it looks like my prediction that, “Sooner or later he’ll go too far, insult too many people, lose his temper and become a laughing stock.”  Is becoming a reality. Sad.

Now there is a petition campaign to change the laws in Maine to allow a recall of this governor, something this old state has never had to do. I signed this petition, it can be seen at http://signon.org/sign/maine-needs-a-citizen. The goal of 15,000 signers will be met in a day or so. [It was met about noon on April 6. The new goal is 20,000]. It’s fun to look at the totals pile up. All you have to do is hit refresh/reload and several more people will have signed, many with thoughtful comments like:

From his offensive remarks to the NAACP and the President of the United States, his ignorant derision of the effects of toxic chemicals in consumer goods, to his removal of a mural depicting laborers in the State Department of Labor, Governor LePage has managed to offend most of the citizens of Maine and made a national laughing stock of our state. And we are only 3 months into his reign- er- term. The state can ill afford another 45 months of this.

LePage is also a horrible representation of Maine. We should be making national news for the good we do not for our bullying, ignorant governor.

This can’t happen soon enough. In a state that has elected the likes of George McGovern, Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, Margaret Chase Smith, and Bill Cohen — how did we end up with Paul LePage when nearly two out of three of us didn’t vote for him? Never again. Let’s hope Maine can survive the next 4 years of an ignorant-acting despot.

Until now Maine has been free of the type of corrupt, self serving, truth-bending and extreme politics seen in other states. Now it looks like we can’t escape any more. Let’s just get this over as quickly as possible.

A nice, fresh blanket of snow. It’s enough to make you….tear your hair out! Enough already! It’s April!

April 2, 2011. No April fooling

Lou McNally, now living in Florida!

I have often said that the coast of Maine does not fit into the image of Maine as a place of arctic whiteness, but with this winter’s six months of the stuff I have to eat my words. Lou McNally, longtime Maine weatherguy and former host of MPBN TV’s Made in Maine spoke recently on the subject. He  holds a PHD in meteorology and when asked what effect global warming will have in Maine, said that we will probably have more storms and abrupt season changes. No mention of higher temperatures or less precipitation. Maine is known for having the most winter sunshine, second on the East coast only to Florida, as moist clouds get wringed out by mountains or the coast further south.  We may end up with Boston winters, lots of wet show and little sun. Another few winters like this and I’ll be a believer. Lou is now a professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University…..in Florida!

Crocuses in the snow, 4/2/11

Lamoine, Maine is not exactly the center of the universe for the electric boat movement. I am being optimistic when I announce the existence  of my boat. I don’t even know if it will float, and it’s hardly built. But given my usual lack of social awareness (lack of embarrassment), I am pressing on. I guess I reason that if I invest the money in materials and the project is moving along, what the heck!

Regular readers will have noticed that I haven’t been writing as much lately; I’ve been devoting my computer time to finding out more about the weird world of electric boating.  What kind of motor, what shaft speed, propeller diameter and pitch, motor controller, batteries, switches, throttles….the list is endless…and expensive. Ultimately electric boating can offer a day’s cruising for about a dollar, but getting there involves a few thousand.

Starting with the design, an electric boat needs a “displacement hull”. This is a hull designed to have a speed no more than that defined by it’s waterline length. If you push a boat with ever increasing power, it will either plane like a speedboat or squat into the water and make a big wave (a displacement hull). A sailboat is a displacement hull and has a maximum speed related to the square of the waterline length.  So a 28 foot sailboat will have a maximum speed of 7 knots, no matter how big of an outboard you put on it or how much wind you blow.  To push it faster you need a hull which has a flat bottom and a square transom (rear end). Try to push a boat designed for planing with an electric motor and efficiency will suffer.  Eleccentricity is a hull design like a sailboat, with an oval waterline. It will have a top speed of 5.4 knots (6 MPH).  I am hoping this speed can be achieved at about 2500 watts, allowing me a round trip to Bar Harbor, 8 miles away on a full charge.

The batteries will be housed in a hollow keel. This is a wacky idea, but if it works it will make a great deal of stability for the boat, since most of the weight (402 lbs) will be as low as possible. I will need a robust bilge pump at the lowest spot to prevent the batteries from getting flooded, which would be bad. The Yahoo group “electric boats” is filled with eccentric but helpful electric pioneers who have offered me help.  Stay tuned!

Affordableacadia’s oceanside suite, SeaCat’s Rest is now officially compliant with the State of Maine’s Environmental Leader in Hospitality program with a score of 172. One hundred points were required for approval, so we’ve managed to exceed this requirement by a wide margin. We can now proudly display the logo:

The truth is, I didn’t know this program existed otherwise I would have applied long ago. The qualification process was straightforward if somewhat comical in that so many areas clearly didn’t apply–like whether my “exit” signs were lit with LEDs. I have no exit signs, swimming pools, employee uniforms, or employees for that matter; drycleaning facility or insecticide application program. I would have gotten extra points if my pool were heated by solar energy or if my employee’s uniforms were cleaned with biodegradable detergent. Instead I had to make due with the 5 points I got for having no pool, rather than the 38 points I would have gotten for having a “green” pool. (Also no credit for the ocean or the swimming pond up the road).  I scored big on my solar water heating system, and if this green certification can result in an extra booking or two then it will be more than worth it.

I wrote an extra bit at the end in the “extra credit” section since when I built the house I had radical attitudes about building green. The exterior walls are doubled, the insulation was state of the art and the window placement and southern orientation are optimized.

The process was worthwhile because it shined a light on what I can do next to earn extra points and be even greener. Part of that involves my guests, you will now be invited to come up with ideas about how we can save that extra kilowatt. It’s not about doing without, it’s about being smart about how we use energy. It’s about Maine: The way life should be!

Lamoine Beach

The numbers are in for 2010. Maine tourism is on the rise since the dismal 2009 season, with increases in the state of 8% and Acadia National Park of 12 to 13%.  Additionally, the fall season was even better, indicating that the trend is not fading. Both the Maine Office of Tourism and The Maine Tourism Association are bullish on the 2011 season. Maine is within a six hour drive of 26 million people, and if the economy continues to mend, those folks will need a vacation.  We hope they come to Acadia.

Maine shrimp

Now for seafood. The big news on Friday was that the Maine shrimp season is shutting down early, on February 28, six and a half weeks earlier than planned. While this sounds like bad news, it’s not. The early shutdown is simply because biologists have declared that the total catch quota has been reached. The shrimp fishery is healthy and shrimp fishers have reached their limit with less fuel and in shorter time. Although this quota is much less than old record years, the management of the fishery is with an eye toward building up the stocks rather than the boom-and-bust days of old. Soon Maine’s shrimp industry will rival the productivity of our lobster fishery. Read on.

And how did the Maine 2010 lobster season do? Terrific! 81.1 million pounds was the 2010 total, far outstripping any other year since record keeping began. Remember, our lobster are caught in traps, not nets or dragged dredges, so it’s certain that many, many lobster escape to live another year. Follow the link above to discover the details of our sustainable lobster industry. The only possible problem on the horizon is the cost of fuel and bait. Diesel keeps going up, and our method of rejecting under- and over-sized lobster in addition to egg-bearing females means lots of fuel is necessary for each pound harvested. Compared to 1950, and adjusted for inflation, our lobster fishers are receiving less per pound ($2.92 in 2009 VS. $3.12 in 1950) and paying more for fuel ($1.60/gallon VS. $2.50/gallon or more now) and bait ($1.00 per bushel VS. $20-$25 now). We may get to a time when the limit to the lobster industry is not supply, but the price of lobster to the consumer. Thanks to The Ellsworth American for the above numbers.

Atlantic cod

Meanwhile, Maine groundfish, the word used to mean all traditional finned commercial species like cod, halibut and haddock, is  not doing so well. Actually, the fish are doing better than the industry. Some say the industry is on the verge of collapse, with fewer than 70 boats compared to a peak of 350 engaged in commercial groundfish fishing in Maine. There are many reasons why stocks are down but overfishing is the big one, and applying the management techniques used in our more successful fisheries is showing signs of success–stocks are rebounding. But how do we make sure there are those able to catch the rebounded stocks if the industry is allowed to die? In 2008, those 70 or so boats were allowed to fish a total of 48 days. Perhaps the correct level for allowing the stocks to rebound but not the industry. Times are tough. Now there is a new management system in place, which divides fishing grounds into sectors and allows more local management. The fishers will be more actively involved in the science and will no longer be in a mad scramble to maximize their catch in 48 days. We’re at the bottom of this fishery at present, I hope to report soon that the Maine groundfish industry is on the upswing. Once those cod recover however, look out lobster! They are a cod’s favorite food.

Unsigned, undated painting by Edward Grant

About 10 years ago I went to our recycling station (dump) here in Lamoine as I do every Saturday. We have a “swap shop” containing books and other items which folks think might be of use to their neighbors, and I like to give it the once-over every time I go. On this particular trip I spotted four watercolor paintings which seemed nicer than the usual swap shop offerings. I brought them home. Two of them ended up matted and framed on my living room wall. I sometimes get criticized for bringing things home from the dump, but these paintings were calling me. As they say, “I don’t know art, but I know what I like”.

Every few years I would do an internet search for Edward Grant to see if somehow my artist might be recognized. For years I turned up nothing. I had nothing besides his name to go on. Last week I was watching Antiques Roadshow (PBS) and I decided to give it another try. Immediately I struck gold; up popped the Biggs Museum of Modern Art in Dover, Delaware which had had an exhibition of his work.

I wasted no time in contacting the curator and explained to him that I might have some Edward Grant paintings and wondered if he could help me verify the style and signature. Admittedly, the paintings I have are of Maine landscapes, and those on the web are more of sandy Delaware, but the curator eventually replied that he thought the style and the signature looked genuine.

Signed, dated 1973

Edward Grant was born in 1907 in Delaware and painted prolifically throughout his long life. He was friends with famed Maine artist N.C. Wyeth and that’s where I think the Maine connection was established. Edward had a summer place in Round Pond, Maine. His “day job” was as artistic director of the Hercules Powder Company, an explosives maker. Over his 70 year artistic career his style changed many times, morphing from illustration art, Social Realism, Abstraction, Photorealism and finally moody landscapes until his death in 1998.

The Biggs curator referred me to an art dealer in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware who specialized in his paintings to put a price tag on my treasures. Of course, it was a little awkward when we came to the subject of provenance, that word which means the chain of custody. It would have been best if I could have shown him a photo of Edward handing me the paintings. Instead I had to settle with, “I found them at the dump”. The art dealer returned with a minimum price (and an offer) of $2,000 for the four paintings. No great fortune, but I think I will no longer be criticized for lingering at the swap shop!

More on Edward Grant can be seen here.

Edward Grant’s paintings can be purchased at the AerieArt Gallery.