Continued Progress

I have not been as diligent in documenting my progress this time around. I have made good progress in adapting the hull to accommodate two pedal drives. The drives are on, the seat brackets are almost ready, the prop struts are in place... And other areas I am forgetting. 

In reality, all that is left is becoming a short list with a few key things at the top. Brackets for the adjustable seat supports, rudder setup, brackets for the wing and Stabs, and new couplers being made at a shop for the gear box. 

Training has gone well. I have a few rides over 70m and a gravel century under my belt. I'll also throw a shout out to the Iron Cowboy. James Lawrence is on his way to 50 Ironmans in 50 States in 50 Days. I had the opportunity to ride with him for 73 miles on Friday in Fayetteville, AR on his day 14. See the pic below, and follow him on Facebook. 

Patchwork

After a month of life with a newborn, and more work on my trip of bike options, I got back to work on Quo Vadimus. Tim came to initiate son fiberglass work. We were able to get the foam back glassed. On Friday, I glued the additional bulkheads in to support the deck extension. Then I was able to lay out and glue the deck and foredeck to fill the area I cut away. Saturday I faired out the edges and I'm nearly prepped for Glass. 

Quo Vadimus V16-8m

When Jerry first told me that his tandem hull turned pedal drive would be mine following this adventure, he also told me that naming it is on the new owner. 

Together we decided that our team name for the race is Third Enveavor. This name is drawn from Jerry's path leading to this effort to compete in the 340. For me, it is my 6th time to sign up, and hopefully my fourth finish. It is my Third attempt at sub50 hours and Third Endeavor in pedal drives. Production Hobie; home built Three man by Ricks design, and now tandem light build by Yancy by Ricks design. 

That covered the team name, but I was never drawn to Endeavor as the boat name. Too space shuttley or Cruise shipy.  I realize those are not words. 

This adventure, this drive forward, this fourth boat in four years of the 340 is more than a change in equipment, it is a forward progression. Quo Vadimus is a Latin phrase translated roughly to mean Where are we going? Or Where we are going. It is not the most popular way to say it in Latin, but I'm connected beyond that. A well made sitcom that only lasted two years, Sports Night, used the phrase in one of their episodes. A CEO of the company that bought out the Cable company they worked for named his company Quo Vadimus. He was not lost, but rather would use the question as a motivator in how they can continue to be progressive and outside of the box. Check out the show. It is usually on Netflix. 

Quo Vadimus falls within that same reasoning in this endeavor we have been on. I plan to use it as a tip of my hat to Rick Willoughby as he continues to strive to develop and progress to more innovative designs. 

In racing, it will be a question to inspire for much of the race, then more concrete of a question in case of fog or second night hallucinations. 

Quo Vadimus V16-8m

Hull Surgery

It was difficult needing to cut into such a beautiful hull. It was a must. The foredeck (the raised part in front) was too long and would not accept the seat and drive placements necessary for good balance. I had to cut off a section of it last night and will replace it with a new deck. 

I'll clean up my cutting work tonight and get the foam bulkheads in place. The online foam purchase for the deck was damaged during shipping, so I am waiting to hear from the company about a replacement. 

In the meantime, I will glass the pedestals  and prep the hull for future bracket locations. 

In other news, we only have 8 days or less until boy #2, Charlie, comes. That will change the amount of time I have for everything, so the key is to work in quick bursts. 

8m in my garage

This evening I got my first closer look at Yancy Scroggins' work he did for Jerico last year. It is obviously not in a finished, painted condition. I will be adding pedestals, brackets, two seats, and the drive system. Then we will strip off the removable items for a paint job. It will represent the beautiful work that Rick designed and Yancy built utilizing his incredible shop I had the privilege to visit just a year and a half ago. 

It is a meter shorter than the Third Wheel and is ready to handle less displacement than it as well. It is slightly narrower and not as deep as the Third Wheel. (It is designed for just two pedaler's) 

Incredibly light. The Third wheel hull (with pedestals and brackets) weighed in at 101 pounds. The 8m hull is starting at 31 pounds (without pedestals and brackets). 

It is staggering. 

Great job Yancy! We will get it to a finished quality soon enough. 

The Third Endeavor: the beginnings

Last year as I was planning to start the build for the third wheel, I gave a story behind how we had gotten to that point. 

Who is that? Here is a summary from last year:

Tim: He was my partner from the 7th MR340 who for many reasons has become and him and his family will be long standing friends. 

Rob: He has been my partner in more weekend expeditions than anyone. We have paddled the navagatable lengths of the Jacks Fork, the Finley, the James (to lake water), the Beaver, the Swan, the North Fork, the Buffalo (from Ponca to White), sections of the Missouri, and many other small trips. Also could be easily considered part of the family and Henry's best bud. 

Liz: She is my wife, two time ground crew captain, full of grace, patience, sounding board, partner in The Race to the Dome, and support in all I become obsessed over. 

Henry: He is my son, my biggest little helper in the shop, and always inspiring. 

Jerico: He is a connection I have made along the way in this process of HPB. He has a seemingly endless supply of building/ machining experience, continues to share ideas/thoughts/plans/time, encouraging, and uplifting. He calls his home near the Missouri River. 

Rick W.: He will be referred to a large amount of the time. He lives in Australia.  In every way that aspiring builders like myself attempt to forge a path toward efficient ways to travel on water, Rick has either done it, researched it, wrote about it, or developed it. I gave a tiny nod to Rick on a previous FAQ, but this entire project is going because of his work and his generosity. He has developed and redeveloped systems to work the best for HPB. He is the developer, designer, guide, and in some items, manufacturer of the V-16. He will be my guide as we continue to build and outfit the first three man version of his design. 

Greg: He is an overall stud in the world of endurance. He holds the current record for distance traveled on flat water for a pedal drive boat. His endurance accolades move on from there. This year he has his sights set for Carter's solo record in the MR340. He set his record in an earlier version of Rick's design and will be bringing it from the now chilly north air of Canada to the race this summer. 

I know more people will be involved in this project and it will be an incredible help as we push forward. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the story for this year: The Third Endeavor.

Liz: she is still my incredible wife yet she is been up to more lately as she is soon to give birth to our second son, Charlie. She was bummed out last year that she could not fill in as the Rollo ground crew for the third year, but she did follow along and act as our virtual groundcrew from Springfield.

Jerry: as stated above Jerico has been a big part of the third wheel and now my partner in the third endeavor. Jerico and I are joining forces as we attack this years MR 340 as a tandem pedal drive. We are not using the third wheel. We are converting his 8m Rick designed, Yancy built, solar electric boat into a two-man pedal drive.  Jerico is going to take the third wheel and turn it into a solar electric boat for the E340. The work on these two projects start tomorrow as I am taking the third wheel up to Jerico and bringing back the 8m. 

Greg K: Greg loved his voyage down the MR 340 last year so much with his wife, Helen, as his groundcrew, that they are attacking the river together this year in the newly built special K tandem pedal drive. They completed over 100 miles of training just this week alone on the thawed out lakes in Canada. There always inspiring and always driving forward between their ultramarathons and now together in a river ultramarathon.

Rick: Rick is just as involved this year as last year. He has sent me new goodies that will be a lighter more reliable version of ways to set up the boat that he's developed over his summer that is just now coming to close in Australia. He is always developing always moving forward and ready to help drive the sport forward.

Much more to come…

2015 MR340

After signing up weeks ago and temporarily slotting myself in Solo Pedal Drive, I now have a plan. 

Jerry, who helped me in many ways last year, built a solar electric boat for last year's E340. It is the 8m two man design of Rick Willoghby. 

Now he is converting it into a two man and I am giving the race a shot in yet another type of boat: Tandem recreational canoe; Hobie Solo pedal drive; home built Third Wheel 2 pedal one paddle (V16-9m); and now in a V16-8m. 

Let the obsessing commence...

Reeves