Spring is just weeks away and we are continuing to prepare for launch. We are a bit behind on the construction of the kayak storage but we should be back on schedule by the end of February. We will be looking for volunteers to paint the racks once they are in place. This will be a March project and should not take much time to complete. All 10 storage slots are now taken.
The gin pole continues to move forward and while we do not have a firm date to erect the pole everything is in place to have it operational in April. We will conduct several user training sessions of the equipment. The pole should not be used for any other purpose than to raise masts.
A few years back the club purchased a GoHoist for the purpose of lifting boats off trailers for members to safely perform maintenance on their boats. Since we have many new members or members who have never used the GoHoist and jack stands we will offer training on the safe use of the GoHoist. We have upgraded the snatch blocks on the hoist which swivel in all planes and have a higher capacity rating and we have a lifting bar which allows you to safely lift a motor without much effort. Because we have two set of jack stand it is possible to have two boats raised at the same time. Use of the GoHoist does require that 2 people must be present to lift a boat. For those with swing keels this is the perfect tool to use in the inspection and repair of worn keel parts.
Indiana is ground zero for viewing the solar eclipse in April. Delaware county is expecting somewhere in excess of 100,000 people to be present to view the eclipse. We have had discussions with Prairie Creek personnel and they are expecting record numbers of people to be at the reservoir for this event. The MSC board has had this on the agenda for the last few months and we are preparing plans to secure the club site from outsiders. We are working with Prairie Creek personnel to have a coordinated plan for this event. As we formulate a plan we will be looking for volunteers to help secure the club’s premises. Yesterday the Fishers Police department posted a request all local residents to avoid driving on the day of the eclipse and if they have to go out have a full tank of gas before leaving home. It is difficult to say with exact certainty how we will be affected but we do expect that there will be a significant impact. We are looking at various barriers and signage as basic controls to keep non members off the club’s property. Additional postings will follow.
As you prep your boat for the spring and look for products or services remember there is a list of suppliers with positive feedback from our members. If you have information that you would like to have added to the list please con contact Steve Bucher at smbucher@gmail.com.