Fall Workday

We had beautiful weather for Fall work days at the club this weekend. We do work days a couple of times during the year; generally there are a couple to get the grounds and the fleet up and running for the season in the spring, and a couple more during the fall to put things to bed for the coming cold season. The club has a very reasonable work requirement of 15 hours for each member and working a couple of these workdays is a fun and very helpful way to fulfiill that requirement.

I'd actually worked well past the required hours, but everything I did was for the sea kayak committee and the first of the work day calls was actually from the Sailing Committee. Between other commitments and bad weather, I missed the Fall race series this year, but I did get out for some very nice cruises and I think that if I play with the dinghies I should help take care of them.

A few days after the Sailing Committee workday was announced, Saturday and Sunday all-club workdays were also announced, so it was a good, productive, busy weekend (with pizza even!) at our grounds in Canarsie.

John W. gets the mowers ready. John's amazing, he does a huge amount of work at the club just on his own time, and is also very good at organizing these work days so that the many hands that show up are actually used in the most efficient way possible. The thank-you note that another member posted to the club's Yahoo group after John posted a wrap-up of the remaining work to be done described him perfectly as "The spark plug that keeps the Sebago motor purring like a kitten!" 

Sunfish Blue being checked for leaks. A soapy sponge is run along all the seams and fittings, then they use the shop-vac to run air into the hull. Soap bubbles get blown at any leaks. Word at the end of the day were that there weren't as many as there have been sometimes. Those that were found were or will be patched. 

A bustling scene

Bob and Lynn and I took care of Sunfish sail maintenance, cleaning, oiling the moving joints on the goosenecks, replacing rings and fasteners that had disappeared over the season, checking for wear and tear, all that good stuff. 

I also found a permanent marker and wrote over the measurements and names that are written on each rig. You might say my work was remarkable.

Garden committee members discussing plans.

A few energetic members spent part of the day splitting firewood for the stove which serves as the main source of heat in the clubhouse in the winter.

Everything was pulled out! 

These three were working on shelving in one of the containers

Cutting the shelves

Garden committee cleaning up the fenceline. I also benefit from the gardens and hadn't done much to help out with the maintenance of the various plantings around the grounds that is the responsibility of the garden committee, so I was happy to have enough time left after the sail work to at least put in a few of the plants that a new member had been able to bring. 

Putting-away time.

End of a good productive day (and then they had another one on Sunday). Bring on the winter!