Sunday, October 9, 2011

Trailer work

For the last 5 years, we have been towing our windsurf gear on this trailer:
It's light enough to be towed by a Honda Civic, but fits about 10 sails, 5 booms, 8 masts, and (as shown) 4 boards. In theory, there is enough room for more boards on the top - but big, rusty pieces of metal have been falling off the top for a few years now. I have not trusted it enough to tow the trailer with boards on top for quite a while... So finally, I decided to just take the top level off. After a few exhausting hours of sawing, off it was:
As you can see, the top frame was pretty much rusted through, even though the metal was originally rather solid (the previous owner of the trailer had put a roll of carpet around the top, which kept the metal wet & steamy for weeks). Fortunately, the lower parts of the frame are all fine. Here's a picture of the trailer now, about 50 pounds lighter and more aerodynamic than before:
Astute observers may also notice new wheels, which we put on so that we can tow the baby to the ABK Clinic in Hatteras next week without worries. The trailer also has a couple of new stickers - here's a favorite (thanks, Andy!):
Here's one of my other favorites:

Hope to see a few of you in Hatteras next week! There's still lots of space in the ABK clinic. Coach Ned has rented a big house right on location again, and there's probably still room in there, too. The road repair should be completed within the next 2 days, so there is no reason not to come! Rocktober is a great time to be in Hatteras - last year, I ranked our two weeks there as the "vacation of the year", ahead of Bonaire, the Gorge, Maui, and Cabarete (all spots that I love, too!).