Oar handle issue

Our crew has an oar problem.  Lots of not quite there oars.  One lot had very fat handles and another set had these funny plastic handles.  This second set had been rejected sometime ago and the set with the fat handles had been conveniently ignored.  Our club has two other sets of oars used by the two better crews and we would use one or other of those sets.  Only when all three boats were out did we have a problem and we would use the fat handled oars.

As the HOTY loomed closer it was decided to send the plastic handles to Croker for them to cover with veneer.  The handles returned looking nice but with an issue.  The problem was the end where the outside hand is placed was very narrow - 32mm.  I found that when I used the oar I ended up with small and very painful blisters in the crease of my fingers behind the fist knuckle.

This morning I arrived at the shed a few minutes early.  Armed with various raw materials and some ideas I fashioned a grip using a HOTY stubbie holder and some cloth sticky tape. 

This worked well but as expected it was spongy.  My concern with spongy is that it will absorb power and we need as much power as we can get.

After the row this morning I drove to A-Mart All Sports at Mt Gravatt.  I purchased the rubber grip for a cricket bat $10.  The helpful staff showed me how to use a "cone" to put the grip onto a cricket bat.  Alas they did not have any cones available for purchase.  I phoned Rebel Sport and they advised they had them at $15 each.  I then spent 3/4 hr driving at a snails pace through the Garden City car park.  It was stupid.  Gridlock.  Finally made it out and parked across the road and walked in.  Bought the "cone" and a coffee.  Met Dick's wife and a couple of other people.

Walked back to the car.  Somewhat difficult as these centres seem to be designed to disorient me.  I figured I would take any exit and then work out where to go once I was outside.

Back at the shed, I began the process of putting the grip on the oar handle.  The demo I received seemed so simple at the time but in practice I had missed something.  Youtube came to the rescue
Some kid helped me out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mryzps-tJkA

Here you see the cone at the bottom.  The grey lump is the rubber grip ready to rollover the silver bit and onto the oar handle.  The silver bit is a part of the cone.
One layer of grip is already on the oar

Here we see two layers of grip.  You can see the overlap.

A couple of other rowing pic.
In this pic John from the Shadows is dismantling their oars and pouring out some water that had leaked in.  We also measured all of their oars and ours.  All seemed to measure up correctly.

Another bit of work on our new grips.  Smoothing the veneer off with steel wool.  Worked well.

Sherwood Community Festival

Sherwood Community Festival

Started the day with a row then coffee.  Dropped into work to pick up projector and misc extension leads.

Home and packed the ute.

At Sherwood, a small silver car was parked across the driveway to the church making access difficult. Squezzed past.

Set about sorting poles for screens.   There is a group of dedicated Mormon? Young people who help with set up. They arrived down at St Matthew's and we erected that screen. I ran an extension lead from inside the church out through a window and set up the laptop in the sheter box.  All ready for the projector that St Matts would supply later.

While I was getting the poles ready for the UC screen,  Viv offered lunch at the coffee club compliments of the committee. Had a salad. Far too hot for anything heavy.

Erected the UC screen.  Set up the computer. Located the USB stick with the PowerPoint on it only it didn't. A phone call to Viv and onto our local Councillor - Nicole Johnstone and sh organised her office to email it to me.

The major task of the afternoon was the construction of a stand for the TV.  I should find out what it would cost to hire a TV & truss stand.  Shelby was the key to making this happen.  He had all the right tools and screws.

Joseph,  a young fellow at St Matts, located me and told me he had connected the projector

Thanks
Shelby - help through the day & building the stand for the TV.
Som - cleaning up smashed light and sorting out stuff. Clean up at the end.
Warree - Thai curry.
Matt & Jo - big flat screen TV.
Mormon youth - helping setup in the heat of the day.
Daryl & Wendy - minding my Computer while I looked around the festival.
Joseph - looking after the computer and Projector at St Matthew's. And fixing the slide timings.

Thursday

A leisurely   toast and marmalade for breakfast.
Showered suits and photos.
Then the four of us drove to 9:30 chapel service at? ??.
It used to be the Wandsborough family church where Ken & Mary were married. Now owned by a funeral company.

Back to Annette's place behind 92 Boundary rd for tea and banana bread.

11:00am at West Pennant Hills Anglican Church for the Thanksgiving service.

Lots of people. A nice service. A huge morning tea described as  a light lunch. Serious sugar.

Back to James place for a snooze on the couch.   Drove with James to pick up Charlotte.  She is in her last year of primary school  (gr6).  Tonight their family + Henry are going to a music concert.

5:45 Henry & James dropped Lewis & I at Epping station. We bought tickets and boarded the 6:00pm train to Central. James had advised us to get the express which we did. Only a couple of stops to Central. Changed trains to the airport.  Checked in.

7:00pm Bought a beer.
Killing time.

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