A Seemingly Ordinary Day

Like many mornings, this one starts with some dismantling. Anna and Piper are waiting their turn to wax a boat, so to keep themselves busy they dig back into the color laser printer.

A Waxing We Will Go

Anna and Sam bring a freshly canvased boat to the metalshop for waxing. There is already a boat and half ahead of them, so they will have to wait a bit.

Mother of All Gear Chains

The paper feed mechanism yields up an amazing assortment of gears arranged as a single interlocking chain. Piper couldn't be more pleased.

More Wax

Fiona and Brenna have mastered the perfect wax application technique - no air pockets, no streaks, no puddles.

Escape Velocity

In order to higher exit speeds from the launch tube, Nikhil attaches a couple of yards of dryer vent tube. Elena finds the undertaking amusing but thinks that the aggregate drag caused by the ridges in the tube will yield no significant net increase in velocity.

Dark Heart of the Beast

With the case completely removed, the gears and motors extracted, the mirrors and heating elements safely stowed in the parts bins, the skeletal paper path is left whole with it's internal reservoirs of colorful but nasty toner.

Gear Work

Fiona, Brenna, and Robyn try to figure out something interesting to do with the oodles of plastic gears extracted from the printer.

The Cooker

Max finds something of interest in the heater element. Perhaps he is thinking he can use it to fix the toaster which broke this morning.

Going Green

Nikhil remembered using melted crayons to make paint. Green is chosen as the correct color for the T.S.S Kraken and waxing is suddenly fun again (according to Nikhil, Elena, Piper, and Max).

Practice Makes Perfect

There is a subtlety to the application of wax to canvas. The brush must be drawn across the bare fabric at exactly the speed that the hot wax wicks out of the bristles. The stroke must stop before the brush runs out of wax or else an area of superficial wax will be created and air will be trapped in the canvas - the result is a weakness in the waterproofing that will fail when the boat is put in the water. Nik and Elena have got the technique down pat.

Boatload of Boats

The finished boats are loaded on the trailer. Much nervous anticipation begins.

We're Doomed

The Greek chorus (starring Max, Anna, Nik, Fiona, Brenna, and Piper) seems convinced the boats will sink, taking all aboard to their untimely demises in the briny depths.

Safety Goggles

When in a four-way group huddle to get warm (Anna, Brenna, Elena, and Piper), it is important that all huddlers wear their safety goggles. We arrive at the beach only to discover that there is a cold, and somewhat foggy breeze blowing.

Base Camp Alpha

Marilyn and Robyn set up base camp while the tinkerers return to the truck for the boats.

Always Keep the Bottom Side Up

Since the canvas is, shall we say, of less than perfect quality, we are all wary of punctures and decide to keep them upside down until we get them in the water.

A Quiver of Boats

While Gever runs back to the ranch to get the forgotten wet suits, the boats bask in the gray light of the overcast afternoon.

To The Sea

Sam takes his new surfboard out to meet the waves (calling them waves is very generous, let's call them wavelets), and draws the tinkerers down to the waterline.

Riding the Curl

With a monster set coming in, Sam waits patiently and then pushes confidently onto the shoulder of the biggest wave to come through in the last ten minutes - at almost two and half inches high, the wave will come to be known as "the big one."

Make Your Own Fun

Built from two scraps of bad paneling, some waterproof tape, some foam insulation, and a couple of really big bolts, Sam deems his surfboard sufficiently fun.

Laid Back

Sam enjoys a quiet, but very chilly, moment in the water.

The Captain Kirk School of Acting

"I," says Sam, "can't - believe - how - cold - I... am."

Tropical Fish

Now that Sam has shown them that the water will not quite (but only almost) kill them, the tinkerers suit up for boating.

The Call of the Sea

Despite the fact that he can't feel his extremities, his ears, or his head, Sam cannot resist the opportunity to try out the boats.

Turtle Migration

The boats are surprisingly light weight, which makes bringing them down to the water line more of a game than a chore.

In Case We Capsize

Taking a page from the David Bowie / Elton John / Piper book of fashion, Brenna accessorizes her personal flotation outfit with some really cool turquoise swim goggles.

Bad Omen

The edge of the sea is filled with green seaweed. "It's a bad omen," says one of the tinkerers.

Tippy Canoe

With their flat broad hulls, the boats don't sit down in the water, which puts the center-of-gravity too high, and as a result, extremely prone to tipping off to one side. Fiona and Sam try to paddle, but the motion of moving the paddle causes the boat to roll dangerously on every stroke.

There's a Big One Coming

Elena and Max keep a wary eye on the incoming waves. The ripples caused by seagulls landing 300 yards away are almost too much for the tippy boats.

Ship of Fools

Abandoning their paddles (which add more instability than motive force), Nikhil and Piper convince Julie the give them a big shove.

T.S.S. Boat

With it's symmetrical bow and stern, the T.S.S. Boat rides nicely over waves when facing them, but has a tendency to take on copious amounts of water when chased by them. Brenna and Anna would like the waves to stop for a minute while they bail out the water.

Beach Boy

Nikhil, seeking what warmth he can from the meager sunlight, lays down into the sand, making himself as invisible to the wind as he can manage.

Design Improvements

By connecting the two longest boats into a simple catamaran shape, amazing stability is achieved, and paddle adventures become possible. Nik and Fiona take the newly reconfigured boats out for a tour of the nearshore waters.

Fun For All

Gever and Julie take the catamaran out for a spin and find that it is quite stable, but begin discussing design improvements for home-made paddles and get blown by the wind almost to the abandoned pier.

Seats Four

Nik, Sam, Brenna, and Elena manage to get in the new boat for some wave riding and spinning (since they didn't quite figure out how paddle in a straight line).

Seats Four

Nik, Sam, Brenna, and Elena manage to get in the new boat for some wave riding and spinning (since they didn't quite figure out how paddle in a straight line).

Still Tippy

Gever, reminded of a boat he once saw that looked like a shallow bowl, thought that it might work better if he just got his center of gravity low enough. Low enough turned out to be underneath the boat.

Makes a Fine Windbreak Too

With not enough additional pieces to make another catamaran from the remaining boats, Fiona, Elena, and Nik enjoy other fine qualities of the canvas shell.

Hole Jumping