The fall weather has been a blessing allowing us to make in roads on some of our major projects. Hopefully December will be as nice as November but that may be too much to hope for. During the month of November two major projects did achieve their planned goals. Last spring the crane was diagnosed with a major failure of the upper bearing. Thanks to Jerry Priidy he was able to patch thing s together to get us through the season. Over the last two weeks the crane was totally dismantled and totally rebuilt including all the electrical components. There is a bit more to do with the wiring but the crane is totally functional and moves like new. Not only was the upper beaing replaced but new roller bearings were installed to replace some that fell into the water during the disassembly process. New grease fittings have been replaced so that general maintenance can be accomplished and all the old hardened areas was removed. Sam Shroyer, Jerry Priddy and Steve Scherschel deserve a special thanks for taking the lead on this project and making it happen. The second major effort was to install the foundation for the gin pole. Sam was again an important contributor in this project excavating a 5’X5”X5’6”deep hole and placing the mounting tube in place. Concrete was poured on Thursday and is now curing. Most of the hardware is in our position and Leon Pinson is fabricating the upper bracket for the boom that will be welded to the pole. We are in need of someone with a portable welder to weld the bracket to the pole. Ben Melton has volunteered to lead the painting effort so that the pole is in place for launch. Our next project willl be to create the kayak storage area in the dock house and we hope to have that completed in December. The last of the winter projects will be the repair of the outside bulletin board which will proceed toward spring when the outside as weather improves.. We are only about 120 days away from the 2024 sailing season.
The learning center at Prairie Creek will be conducting various training sessions during the winter months. We have been asked to participate in some of these sessions to stimulate youth interest in sailing. Jay MageeIt is projected that the first session will be in the January/February time frame. is working with Tawny Hill from Prairie Creek to develop and conduct these sessions. Once things become more firm we will be able to post more information..
For the upcoming season there will not be an increase in club dues nor the city fees. We have a three year agreement with the city on fees and 2024 is year two of this agreement. Hopefully this will allow evryone plan their budget for the coming season. Just a reminder payment of fees is due by March so so that dock and mooring assignments can be completed. A few assignment changes will be necessary but very effort will be made to retain everyone in the assignment they had in 2023. We do have about three slips opening up on A and B docks ffor those interested. A dock will be getting a new connection from the bridge to the docks that will eliminate the current step between the bride and the docks.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!