Projects find me

Today I did a little work on the boat. A friend of mine caught up with me and asked for some help with a project this week. Since my lovely wife and I will be heading out on the water soon, I said why not now? My project was at the “wait for glue to dry” stage anyway.

He’d bought one of those free standing basket ball hoops for his grandson. It took him a day just to assemble the base. He was pretty frustrated. Several hours later, working together, we got it assembled. Let’s just say the instructions could have been clearer. Some assemblies were put together and taken apart three times. Four hands weren’t enough. I resorted to duck taping parts into place until the screws could be lined up. It’s done, and I’m sure his grandkid will be happy.

Then another guy I met last year in dad’s park wants me to build him a solar hot water heater. I don’t think the guy has much of a budget, but in Florida’s climate, you don’t need much of a water heater. A simple 1970s design batch heater should do the job. That’s basically a water barrel in a box with a glass front. I’m temped to build it just for the fun of it. I’ve built and installed these things for less than $35 by using stuff from the junk yard.

One nice thing about staying with my dad is his collection of good tools. Sure beats the heck out of doing everything with a multi-tool, vice grips and a battery powered drill. Today I got to use a drill press, jig saw, belt sander, grinder and a decent socket set. That certainly made my jobs easier.

I don’t mind doing these projects, but all jobs for other other people are going on-hold until we get back from sailing.

-Sixbears