NorthGeorgiaWX

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No, I will still keep track of the weather here and make posts as necessary. But I'll have to track the weather in two locations instead of one! 🙂

Ever since we were down in the Keys, I've had this desire to get back on the water. My fun on the water started when I was 7 years old and continued through high school. My dad had been a fighter pilot in the Air Force and weather was an important thing to know when flying. So when he put me in charge of keeping track of the weather, I handled that job until I left for college. We went through three boats before I went off to college and missed the rest of the fun, but during the time I was there, we traveled up and down the Cumberland River to Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, and brought his third boat down from Holland Michigan, where it was made (Chris Craft), all the way back to Nashville. My love for the water was solidly entrenched in me and despite all of these years being on dry land, it's something that doesn't ever really go away. Boat #1 - No Name - 17 foot Chris Craft I was probably in the 3nd or 4th grade when this picture was taken. I lived in Paris Tennessee when I was in the 2nd through 4th grade and my dad kept this boat at the Paris Landing Marina on Kentucky Lake. I don't remember a lot about this boat except for the time me and my dad took it out to drain some water out that had accumulated after some rain. To do that you had to get up on plane and then open a plug that was located near the lower rear of the boat. Easy enough. Except that the lake was REALLY rough (the lake is almost two miles across at that point) and I was driving while my dad pulled the plug. I was pretty young to be doing that and I remember that it scared the crap out of me. 🙂 But I did get to spend 2-3 years on Kentucky Lake as a kid, and that was the start to my boating fun. Boat #2 - BobaRue - 32 foot Burns Craft We moved back to Nashville and we had the first boat there for a short time before my dad bought this boat. It was a 32 foot Burns Craft houseboat and he spec'd out everything on the boat. I remember going to the factory and looking at all the boats they were building, and listening to my parents go over all the options etc. It was a boat that I spent a lot of years on. We kept this boat at Old Hickory Marina and ran it up and down the Cumberland River to Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. To do that you end up going through several locks, and being a kid, I loved the adventure! The boat was pretty nice. It used twin Mercruiser 302 cubic inch gas engines that made 215 hp each, and the boat would get up and go! It was great traveling around in all kinds of weather, and we even took it out when it was snowing! Awesome experience! My sister and I slept in the forward cabin, and that cabin had the little window that you see on the side of the hull. Boat #3 - Moonraker - 41 Foot Chris Craft This was a step up from the house boat and was a much more capable boat in rougher water. My dad bought this boat brand new (he had it built) from Chris Craft in Holland Michigan. My dad, the owner of the marina that we were going to keep it at, and myself, flew from Nashville to Michigan to pick it up and sail it back to the home marina. The plan was to bring the boat down lake Michigan to Chicago, and then through the locks to the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal where we passed directly through downtown Chicago, At some point past Chicago it becomes the Illinois River, so you continue south to the Mississippi River. Head downstream until you get to the Ohio River and hang a left to head toward Paducah Kentucky. At that point you have two choices to get back to Nashville, get on the Tennessee River and go through the locks at Kentucky Dam, or continue a few miles further and get on the Cumberland River and go through the locks at Barkley Dam. Either way will get you back to Nashville since Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake are connected by a narrow canal. Kentucky Lake is fed by the Tennessee River and Barkley Lake is fed by the Cumberland River. Once you're on the Cumberland River you pass through the locks at Cheatham Dam before arriving in Nashville. We continued past the downtown area toward Old Hickory Lake where the boat would be docked. The last lock is at Old Hickory Dam where you make a 60 foot rise to get to the lake. The trip was fairly uneventful except for the first 3 days. Lake Michigan is always full of surprises and on this trip that was no exception. We headed south toward Chicago from Holland which is on the east side of the lake. After traveling about an hour or so under pretty nice conditions, the weather took a turn for the worse and the waves got larger and larger. They ended up being so large, that when you were in the trough of the wave, you couldn't see over the top of the next wave. Look at the picture above and you can see how high I am off the water and you start to get an idea of what we were facing. The other issue with waves on Lake Michigan is that the wave period is very short meaning not a lot of distance from crest to crest. Combine the short wave period with the wave height, and we ended up getting the props out of the water when we crested the wave peaks. We finally got close enough to find a place to take shelter, and it ended up being the docks for the ore carriers. They allowed us to stay until the lake calmed down, but that took three days. In the meantime, they were not letting any of the ore carriers leave either. Once we passed through most of the Chicago area, we stopped to spent the night at a small dock on the Illinois River. At some point someone from the other side of the river started taking pot shots at us using a pellet gun. Chicago is NOT my favorite place and I don't care if I ever see it again. But I will have to do it one more time.... and I will talk about that soon. Boat #4 - Eastwind - 53 Foot Chris Craft I don't know much about this boat as I was off in college and working. I don't think my dad had this one for long, and I don't have many pictures. I believe this was taken before they bought it. Boat #4 - Silver Cloud - 65 Foot Hatteras I never got to spend much time on this boat either. I was living about 8-9 hours away (they lived in Venice Florida) and was working, so I couldn't come down as often as I would have liked. My parents took this boat on part of the "Great Loop", leaving from Venice Florida and travelled all the way to Maryland and Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, I wasn't on that trip but sure would have loved to have been there. All of these boats don't mean a lot to most people, and you probably wonder why I have shared this with you. When we were down in Key West and we took that sunset cruise, I walked up to the bow of the boat and stood for a while. The sound of the water, the warm wind, and the feeling of freedom flowed all over me and brought back all of the of memories of being on boats. There is just something magical about it that I can't even describe. A few months ago I discovered a site that was discussing a boat trip called the "Great Loop", so I started reading about what that was all about. "Loopers cruise the 6,000-mile Great Loop route aboard their own boats completing a circumnavigation of the eastern U.S. and part of Canada via mostly protected inland waterways. The Great Loop route follows the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Chesapeake Bay, and the New York Canals northwards, goes across the Great Lakes, south on the Inland Rivers, and then east Gulf Coast to complete the Loop." Here's a basic map of the loop. There are alternate routes in some areas, and lots of places to enjoy side trips along the way. The loop has been done in as little as 6 weeks and as long as 12 years, but generally it takes people a year or so to complete the entire route. There is no timeframe for completion. However, there are certain times of the year when you need to be on specific sections of the loop. During the winter, you need to be down south as most of the marinas and facilities are closed on the northern part of the loop. So you do the northern part during the summer and the southern part during the winter. People generally do the loop counterclockwise as that direction keeps you from having to sail upstream against the strongest currents, so you're doing the downhill portion from Chicago to the Gulf in the spring and up the east coast in the fall. Maybe... Weather, side trips, trips back to the house for a little break, all dictate the timing of where you will be at any specific time. Some people take extended side trips off of the main route. For example if you are in Florida during the winter, you might as well head over to the Bahamas to spend a little time there, or around the Tennessee area, I would explore the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers as far as they go. Once you get up to New York, some people head up to the seaport towns of New England. It's all about what you want out of the trip. So.... Amy and I have decided to start looking for a boat so we can participate in this big adventure! There are some size restrictions for boats that want to make the loop, and it all comes down to the draft of the boat, both water draft and air draft. A lot of the time you'll be traveling on the intercoastal waterway as well as some shallow offshore areas and canals. A boat for the loop needs to have 5 feet or less of draft in order to keep from hitting the bottom and/or tearing up props. The out of water height (air draft) is just as important, as there are some fixed bridges that are pretty low, so you generally want a boat that is less than 17 feet high out of water, although there are alternate routes that allow you to go a little higher. Many boats have mast and antennas that fold down for those situations, but it's critical to know the exact height of the boat for this trip. The boat will probably be int he 40-50 foot range. Otherwise, get whatever boat you'll feel comfortable in for an extended amount of time. The boat doesn't have to be fast since in most areas you can't go fast anyway. It needs to have at least 250 mile range since there is a stretch or two with no place to stop for fuel, and with diesel engines that is not a problem. Diesel engines are a must as well as the latest electronics (navigation, radar, radios, beacons, auto pilot). A good solid dinghy is a must as well as bow and stern thrusters, the capability of enclosing the fly bridge and aft deck, walk around beds in the main cabin, cat walks down the side of the boat, as well as other miscellaneous things that I'm sure I'll have to add. I would love to have a Great Harbor 37 or 47, so I may start my search with that in mind. Can't wait to get started! I now belong to the Great Loop Association, and they have a ton of resources for making this journey. This site will answer any questions you might have about the loop. AGLCA | Homepage WWW.GREATLOOP.ORG Here is an article from some loopers about traveling through the "Dismal Swamp" that I thought was pretty cool. Great Dismal Swamp – For Many Moons MINDFULMARY.ORG We're here! I've been looking forward to this for a long time, having heard about it for decades. We had to time it right to arrive at the southern lock at opening time, since the two locks that book-end the canal open on a schedule. We traveled in a parade of three boats...a Nordic Tug…

If changes are made, the latest changes will appears here. Last Update: 01/23/23 2016 Obsession Red Sedan Xtreme-DI high pressure fuel pump Xtreme-DI fuel cam ZZP valve springs Deatschwerks DW400 low pressure fuel pump JMS Voltage Increaser for low pressure fuel pump Renick Performance charge pipes with Synapse bypass valves Renick Performance cold air intake GM throttle body for LFX motor Renick Performance vacuum tank Renick Performance downpipes Vibrant 4” resonator with custom 4” single mid pipe Turbobay turbo's with custom designed inlets ZZP rear trailing arms Carlyle rear toe bars Renick Performance RP 556 wheels, 19x9.5 and 19x11 Renick Performance Swift springs Michelin PS4S tires, 275/30-19 and 305/30-19 ZZP Flex fuel sensor Renick Performance carbon fiber mirror covers AEM Wideband Sensor Stainless brake lines Porterfield R4S pads and Motul 600 brake fluid Renick Performance blacked out grills and emblems Roof wrap GTechniq's Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic treatment Tuned by Justin Schmidt 2017 Phantom Gray Coupe Aric Miller HPFP DSX Flex Fuel Sensor AEM Wideband Sensor Xtreme-DI low pressure fuel pump Renick Performance downpipes Renick Performance cold air intake ZZP rear trailing arms Renick Performance RP 556 and RP 416 wheels, 19x9.5 and 19x11 Michelin PS4S and Yokohama AD08 tires, 275/30-19 and 305/30-19 Renick Performance sway bars SPL adjustable end links Stainless brake lines Porterfield R4S pads and Motul 600 brake fluid Renick Performance blacked out grills and emblems Eibach springs GTechniq's Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic treatment Tuned by Justin Schmidt

01/21/23 - Updated a few sections, mostly the mod section. For more updates and changes see the additional blog posts. Well.... my wife really needed a nicer car as hers was getting old and she has been a Cadillac girl since she had her 2001 Cadillac SLS in Obsession Red. So.... we found one a little newer in the color she likes. 🙂 This is the newest addition to the family... a 2016 ATS-V sedan. 🙂 Yes, another ATS-V. This one is a little special though. It looks pretty unassuming doesn't it? Just your normal Cadillac if you didn't know any better. But if you thought you might like to have a little run against it, you had better come loaded for bear. This car was originally built to be the fastest ATS-V in the country, but that isn't our goal for it now. The times below were done before the turbo's were replaced with a couple that should be good for 700 whp. As it sits right now, and running on E85, this car makes approximately 700 hp at the wheels... and that's a lot more than my car makes. The guy that owned it said he liked to mess with Hellcats and this is a V6. 🙂These next two image are a little old now, there are at least multiple ATS-V's in the 9's so the target keeps moving. These highlighted numbers were recorded before the new turbos and before the next tune I'll throw at it. The car has the following modifications: Xtreme-DI high pressure fuel pump Xtreme-DI fuel cam ZZP valve springs Deatschwerks DW400 low pressure fuel pump JMS Voltage Increaser for low pressure fuel pump Renick Performance charge pipes with Synapse bypass valves Renick Performance cold air intake GM throttle body from LFX motor Renick Performance vacuum tank Renick Performance downpipes Vibrant 4” resonator with custom 4” single mid pipe Turbobay turbo's with custom designed inlets ZZP rear trailing arms Carlyle rear toe bars Renick Performance RP 556 wheels, 19x9.5 and 19x11 Renick Performance Swift springs Michelin PS4S tires, 275/30-19 and 305/30-19 ZZP Flex fuel sensor Renick Performance carbon fiber mirror covers GM Morello Red carbon fiber interior trim Tuned by Justin Schmidt Sounds like this car will be a good 1/2 and 1/4 mile car. 🙂 A car with the EXACT same mods (including the TurboBay turbo's) running on E70 made this power, so hopefully this is what it's making now. I talked to the guy, they had to tune it down on the street because it is breaking the tires loose at 100 mph. The bump dip in the curve is where they pull out power for the dyno in high gear, apparently the computer doesn't like something at that RPM range on the dyno. It still handles like mine does, it had the same identical suspension and wheels and tires before I upgraded mine. Actually the tires on this car are the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires which I'll be putting I have on my car. I have new wheels ordered so she'll have the exact same wheel/tire setup in a few weeks (changed). I'm considering getting some Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08 R tires (200 treadwear) to go on my car. So I'll mount the new front tires on her new wheels and then put those on my car, the my wheels and front tires on her car, and then take the Michelins on my rear wheels and put those on the new rear wheels for her car, and take the new rear tires and put those on my rears. Confused yet? Since I want to autocross this year, I want the 200 treadwear tires on my car. I should wear them out before it gets cold next fall, and I'll put something else on them. Once I've had time to play with it, I'll post some more information. 🙂 In the meantime, here are some pictures I took with both (or all three at times) Caddy's. Here's a link to a few more pictures. We will be getting the hood repainted since it got a little sandblasted making high speed runs in Florida. 🙂 https://photos.app.goo.gl/b3tentypc9yQE8Wf8

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I'll get some pictures and post them. I just now saw your comment. LOL I need to subscribe to my own blog post I guess. 🙂

EDIT: The room has been put on hold indefinitely due to a new adventure that we've decided to undertake. I finally have the as-built drawing from Shawn Byrne and the first revision of the equipment list from Adam Pelz. The as-built is 21 pages of drawings that I won't show here, but this is one of the pages. Here is the equipment list for the moment. This shouldn't change very much as this point. There are miscellaneous bits and pieces like cables and other connections that will be needed, and all of that was included in the equipment list. I already have a nice rack with lots of space, so all of the rack equipment in the list below (with the "r") will fit. (1) - Seaton Sound SS2-4000-DS18 (2x4000 watts) for sub (r) (2) - Seaton Sound DS212-8 Dual 12" subs (2) - Wisdom Audio SA-3 Amp (500 wpc x3 channels) (r) (for Left, Center, and Right) Each speaker requires two channels of amplification) (1) - Wisdom Audio SA-8 Amp (375 wpc x8 channels) (r) (for surrounds and Atmos speakers) (1) - Lumagen Radiance Pro (r) (1) - Trinnov Altitude 16 (r) (1) - JVC NZ9 Projector (1) - Stewart Filmscreen WS25138HHMG2APX acoustically transparent screen (3) - Wisdom Sage Cinema Line 2 (L/C/R) (8) - Wisdom Sage Cinema Point 2 V2 (surrounds and Atmos) (1) - Roku Ultra Streaming device (r) (1) - Reavon UBR-X200 4K Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD-Audio player (r) (1) - Roon Nucleus (r) (1) - Kaleidescape Strato C player (r) (1) - Kaleidescape Terra Movie Server 12 TB (r) Everything will be controlled by Crestron control devices and all of this will work independently from our existing Control 4 system. I will have a connection from the Trinnov to our existing Sonos system. Right now the installation is scheduled for September but I think I'll be lucky if it's all working before Christmas.

In another month and a half we start the hurricane season, so I thought I would share some of the Weatherbell Hurricane Season Forecast. Weatherbell is one of 3-4 companies that make early hurricane forecast, and they are actually pretty accurate. There are more details in their post as to why all of this may occur, but no need to bore you. 🙂 Take note that the areas in this forecast that will see the greatest impacts from hurricanes this season are the Gulf coast and then the southeast coast. If this were to happen, Georgia might be in for a lot of tropical rainfall.

I now have the as-built drawings. Waiting on the equipment list and pricing as well as the room construction cost, and should have those this week.

It's done! The final finishing touches were completed yesterday and other than adding/moving things on the walls, there is nothing left to do. The vanity and sink installation was basically the last item to complete. Glenn came over yesterday and got everything hooked up and working. You can see the spigot on the left side of the vanity and that's my hot water connection for washing the cars. The other item that he did, we install the hose reel for the air compressor. This went in the small closet that is behind the vanity and was mounted to the floor. You can see the hose sticking out of the wall. It's self retracting and can lock into place, so I can drag it all over the garage to air up tires and then give it a tug and it retracts back into the wall. I'll make one final post where I can thank all of the people that helped to make it all possible. In the meantime, here's a link to all of the pictures from start to finish. Garage Makeover - Google Photos PHOTOS.APP.GOO.GL 195 new items added to shared album

The Eagle has landed! I placed the order in October for the vanity and it finally arrived yesterday, Glenn has already started the work to install it. I will be installing a spigot for a hose on the left side of the vanity so I can have hot water for washing the cars. On the right side, I will have a hole in the wall for the air hose. I had Bruce Jankowski install an electrical outlet in the closet (that door to the left) and I now have my air compressor in the closet. Not only is it much quieter, but it is also hidden from view. Now the only thing you'll see is the hose sticking out out of the wall. The sink. This new air hose reel will be mounted to the floor in the closet just like you see it here. Once it's installed, I'll adjust the black hose stop so that only a little bit of the hose sticks out. Almost done. This was the last major piece to install. I did talk to Bruce about possibly installing some lights in the recessed area that use to be storage, so we may do that at some point, but otherwise this will complete it. Next post:

After all of this time, they are finally making progress on the room design! I finally have some detailed drawings and they are now working on the as-built plans. This image shows the placement of the speakers in relation to the seating position and screen. The magenta speakers are ceiling, and the aqua color speakers are in-wall. It would be nice to have a larger room, but I have to make do with the space I have. Fortunately, the ceiling, side and rear speakers will be the Wisdom Sage Cinema Point 2 v2's since the Planar Magnetic Driver module can be rotated 90 degrees and tilted 22.5 degrees, providing any seat in the room the clarity for vertical, horizontal, DOLBY ATMOS®, DTS:X®, and AURO-3D® installations. I have no place to put the left/right side speakers, so those will be in the ceiling as well, and the Trinnov processor will aid in focusing the sound where it should be. There are four ceiling speakers, two side speakers, and two rear speakers, for a total of (8) Point 2 V2's and (8) channels of amplification. Here's a side view looking toward the wall with the windows. The windows will have motorized blackout shades. Looking toward the front wall. The two speaker cabinet is a custom Seaton Sound Submersive F2+ dual 15" sub. It has two 15" drivers with a 4000 watt amp and there will be another one of these (a slave version that runs off of the amp for the front sub) in the rear, so basically 4000 watts across four 15" drivers. Each of these sub cabinets supposedly act like like 18" subs. The three front speakers are the Wisdom Sage Cinema Line 2 speakers. Each of those speakers has two 24" planar magnetic drivers and six long linear excursion, high-output woofers, and each speaker requires two channels of amplification, so the front three speakers require a total of 6 channels of amplification, for a grand total of 14 channels. Not sure which amps will be used just yet. The projector screen is acoustically transparent, but I'm still waiting on the final equipment list, so not sure of the screen brand yet. Looking toward the rear wall. You can see the same sub that was in the front is also on this back wall. The projector box can be seen near the top of the ceiling. I hope to get the as-built soon and get started on this. It's been more than a year in the works.

I my room, the three front speakers will be line source speakers, and here is a great animation showing why that is a good thing.

Just found out that my garage came in 2nd place out of more than 500 entries in RaceDeck's garage of the year contest! 2021 RaceDeck Garage of the Year Contest Winners Announced - RaceDeck RACEDECK.COM The fourth annual RaceDeck Garage of the Year contest has come to a close and it was nothing short of pandemonium! The RaceDeck crew received a record number of entries vying for the 2021 Garage of the Year, largely due to the over $5,000 worth of prizes on the line for contest winners, with the … Continue reading 2021 RaceDeck Garage... I have all of the pictures at this link, from start to almost finish! Garage Makeover - Google Photos PHOTOS.APP.GOO.GL 159 new items added to shared album Next post:

Still waiting on the paint touch ups but most people wouldn't notice. We managed to get some more pictures on the wall, installed the new blinds on the windows and doors, and I got the new toolbox to replace my old red one. I added a rubber mat to the top of it to protect the finish. Other than the vanity and sink, I think we're just about done. Next post:

Finally, the paint is done! They will come back after the first of the year to touch up any areas I might find, but otherwise it's done. I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out. I'm still waiting on the vanity and sink to arrive and the blinds (they will be black) for the windows have been ordered and should arrive the second week of January. I have found a new toolbox to replace the old red one I have. I needed a small workspace in addition to the storage for tools, and this box fits the bill. I think I'll stain the wood on the top to something darker but otherwise, this will work perfect I still have more to put on the walls, but I need to think that out before I make a bunch of holes. Next post:

More progress made today and they may be finished painting tomorrow 🤞 The ceiling is done. They need to go back and recut the red in a few places, and there are a few spots of ceiling paint on the wall that they will touch up. The louvered door that covers the refrigerator went back on this morning. The garage door side is the focus now and they made good progress on that today. The paint wasn't dry when I snapped this picture, but you can see some drier areas on the left door. All of the trim around the doors will be painted that same color. You can click to enlarge any image. Here's the opposite wall. The trim and ceiling are darker than they look in the picture. This wall is pretty much done except for a few minor touch ups. This picture is not in focus. The camera was having a hard time focusing on the red wall and I should have fixed that, but hey... it is what it is. They still have some trim paint to do on this wall, the door needs to be painted, and some cut in work on the red, but almost done. You can also see where the vanity and sink will go back in. I need to call them to see when it might ship. I ordered that in October and I think it was a 12-14 week lead time... it should be about done. You can see the blue in the ceiling color even though the camera doesn't show it exactly like your eyes see it. The garage door wall should look great once the doors and trim are finished.

They are still working on the garage but things are moving along nicely. They finished up the woodwork today. The trim for the wainscoting is up and the shoe moulding is down on the floor. Other than paint and getting the vanity for the sink, it's just about done. I have pictures and neon and things to go on the walls, so I just need to get some paint in there! In that box on the floor is a new air hose reel that will go inside of the little closet on the right hand wall. I'm going to make a hole on the wall for the air hose to stick through, so the reel and compressor will all be hidden. The painters will have to go over some of the trim again since I changed the color after they got started. You can see the lighter color trim on the closet doors versus the newer darker color on the refrigerator door trim as well as the trim around the opening. All of the doors and the rest of the trim (including windows and the garage doors on the inside) still need to be painted. You can see the red color that the walls will be painted (Sherwin-Williams "Real Red"). They had to paint a strip of red before they put the wainscoting trim on, so that's why there is only a little bit at the moment. The ceiling will be the blue color on the far left in this image. It's almost black. (Sherwin-Williams "In the Navy") We're still waiting to get the vanity and sink, it's been ordered for a couple of months now. The trim around the garage doors still has to be painted as well as this side of the actual doors. Next Post: