2022/2023 winter projects

Most of us are lucky enough to live in California and are mostly able to fish every day of the year. This year is looking a little wet so far (thank goodness, and I hope that anyone suffering from flooding is safe, secure, and comes through it well)

But sometimes being cold and wet while working for a fishing bite doesn’t sound like the most fun thing in the world to do. So what is everyone working on this winter when they are not fishing?

I have an old car that I’ve been very slowly working on. It finally became a roller over the last month or so. It’s a ‘74 260z early build (260’s are oddballs. Early builds are 240’s, late builds are 280’s). It’s rusty, but at almost 50 that’s expected. The rear is a swapped Ford 8.8 with coilovers, tubular arms, and 300zxtt hubs and 2 piston disks. The front is coilovers with fully adjustable tc rods and arms. As well as big 4 piston Wilwood disk brakes.

Currently no motor but eventually I want to do an LS swap with a 6 speed manual.

Nice project.

Its trout time!! Few lakes i know that are great for camping and the vessel inspections are on good faith .

Well, that is when i have time from winterizing or storing things around the yard. Right now, i am working on a stone walkway at the side gate. Looking to store my aluminum on the side of the house as well as upgrade exterior kayak storage. There is not a whole lot of room to work with as well as my budget. 

As well, hoping everyone is weathering the conditions. The Monterey Bay area has been hit with flooding as well as many power outages. I was working for a safety crew and spoke with a lady who was inches from being hurt seriously or killed by a falling tree while she was driving. So lucky.

Also hoping to complete an install of a rectangular hatch on my 2018 hobie.

A metric shitton of home improvement projects, starting with repairing earthquake damage from the December 20 quake, replacing my failed brick façade with versetta stone veneer.  I was going how to get working on it today but then we had a big aftershock and I lost interest, too on edge to deal with much other than doomscrolling YouTube videos about earthquakes.

A metric shitton of home improvement projects, starting with repairing earthquake damage from the December 20 quake, replacing my failed brick façade with versetta stone veneer.  I was going how to get working on it today but then we had a big aftershock and I lost interest, too on edge to deal with much other than doomscrolling YouTube videos about earthquakes.

Dang brah...I wonder which one of ya'all was directly affected and you were in the zone...glad all is well and sorry bout' dem aftershock blues...that was a big quake.  Good new year to ya'...

My fantasy is to build an ultralight AI-like craft. I have some ideas that I think might actually work...

Unfortunately, my reality is more likely to be home improving, starting with painting the ceiling. While painting the ceiling might not sound like much of a job, it's a great room with a vaulted ceiling that is made out of that grooved stuff (I believe it's called "car decking", although it's on my house, and not my car). I already did one (much smaller) room, so I know what awaits: Many hours of taping, followed by many more hours caulking all of those stinkin' grooves, and finally the actual painting.

In case it's not clear, painting is one of my least-favorite DIY jobs. I'd be willing to pay somebody to do it, but I have not been able to find anyone that I trust to do a thorough job.

A metric shitton of home improvement projects, starting with repairing earthquake damage from the December 20 quake, replacing my failed brick façade with versetta stone veneer.  I was going how to get working on it today but then we had a big aftershock and I lost interest, too on edge to deal with much other than doomscrolling YouTube videos about earthquakes.

Dang brah...I wonder which one of ya'all was directly affected and you were in the zone...glad all is well and sorry bout' dem aftershock blues...that was a big quake.  Good new year to ya'...

Thanks Eddie.  Others had it much worse than me, and the town of Rio Dell was hit particularly hard in both quakes.  In my case, the brick façade was not tied to the house.  No wire mesh, chicken wire, brick ties, house wrap - nothing.  It looked like a really nice professional job, but it wasn’t built to last.  Just put up over existing siding.  It was an unpleasant surprise for sure.

oh dang loooooove the 260z, 240's were nice too....280...ok ish, 300 did not like, 350/370's are sweet again.

every now and then I see an old 240z or 260z and think...what if.

For me it will be   a bunch of work around the house...getting rid of stuff that is taking up space...and no longer used, makeing some room in the garage to get a workspace back, that sort of thing.

Beauty of a machine, looks like a ton of fun to drive.  Yakhopper had a 280 was it that he restored?  Love to see the progress on your rebuild!

2023 I'll be trying to focus on the house projects that I've neglected for too long.  Rooms to paint, flooring and trim work, fix stairs, install window coverings, replace the fireplace with a wood stove, restore the deck, new lighting fixtures, etc.

Don't forget our brother , Moo. He is doing home repairs. Hit him up .

Just ordered the PWM controller to modify my trolling motor from 5 speeds to variable speeds.

… replace the fireplace with a wood stove…

We use a pellet stove as our heat source on the main floor of the house. It’s very convenient, but it does require electricity. We have a standby generator, which happens to be on right now, thanks to the storm…

So far I love the solar/battery backup I had put in this summer. Batteries, six big lithium ion's , take care of 110 circuitry and the 220 volt water pump but not range nor oven. Camp stove for that. Nice not to go into rain and start and hookup generator. All electric house so no propane for cooking or heat. Woodstove heat when PGE is out. PGE bill since install is usually a negative 30 to 40 bucks so when PGE is on line I turn on electric heaters to use up credits. The downside is that the system is not a do it yourself fix if something goes haywire but Enphase energy constantly monitors the components and the company Synergy, that installed is local and I have a friendship with them.

So far I love the solar/battery backup I had put in this summer. Batteries, six big lithium ion's , take care of 110 circuitry and the 220 volt water pump but not range nor oven. Camp stove for that. Nice not to go into rain and start and hookup generator. All electric house so no propane for cooking or heat. Woodstove heat when PGE is out. PGE bill since install is usually a negative 30 to 40 bucks so when PGE is on line I turn on electric heaters to use up credits. The downside is that the system is not a do it yourself fix if something goes haywire but Enphase energy constantly monitors the components and the company Synergy, that installed is local and I have a friendship with them.

I just had mine installed in September.  After the December 20 quake the neighborhood was without power for about 20 hours.  I started making coffee right after the quake and probably made 10 pots that day giving it out to the neighbors.  Worked like a champ, and on the lowest sunlight producing day of the year my batteries were at 57% when the power came back on.  Figure that time of year on a cloudy day I can run without attempting to conserve electricity for about 2.5 days.  In the summer I could run on solar and battery power indefinitely.

I have no gas heating and the in-wall electric heater raises my PG&E bill 300 a month.  The fireplace is a 60's retro design that is pretty to look at but very inefficient.  Woodstove will cost around 2K, vs the 15K to have a gas heater installed and ducting run.  Heated my last place in BC for 9 years with a woodstove, that would basically be a fire you started in Oct/Nov and kept running until March    Cost for a cord went up, but I still have a 1 1/2 cord from fallen oak to use.  Looked at pellet stoves but just didn't want to have that as the only fuel I can use.  Powers out now here too, but the 100A Dakota Lithium with an inverter is running my internet and laptop right now, all I need to keep working    Tesla power walls look pretty awesome but hefty price tags.

So far I love the solar/battery backup I had put in this summer. Batteries, six big lithium ion's , take care of 110 circuitry and the 220 volt water pump but not range nor oven. Camp stove for that. Nice not to go into rain and start and hookup generator. All electric house so no propane for cooking or heat. Woodstove heat when PGE is out. PGE bill since install is usually a negative 30 to 40 bucks so when PGE is on line I turn on electric heaters to use up credits. The downside is that the system is not a do it yourself fix if something goes haywire but Enphase energy constantly monitors the components and the company Synergy, that installed is local and I have a friendship with them.

That sounds like a sweet setup, but we’re in the woods and would have to cut down 10-15 VERY LARGE trees to have any chance with solar.

We’ve got a standby generator that automatically fires up and switches over whenever the power goes out. The generator runs on propane, which we also use for a tankless water heater and a couple of small direct vent propane heaters for rooms in our lower level.

We’ve had outages that lasted up to 4 days, although recently, PG&E seems to have gotten a little better at restoring power in a semi-timely manner.

I’m a big fan of the pellet stove—not as cheap as burning logs, but it’s on and off is almost like using gas…