Wednesday, June 14
It only took about an hour to install the head gasket and reassemble the engine.  Its running nice and smooth again and it sounds like its running stronger, although its really hard to tell with the craft being tied down to the trailer and still no tach to see the actual RPMs.

Saturday, June 17
I headed out for another ride.  It was a last minute decision so I didn't have a chance to trim the skirt.  A friend was in town for the day so we thought it would be fun to see what would happen.  We had a fair little breeze, small waves and loads of boat wakes so we only got over the hump once.  It was still fun but a little disappointing not being able to move along very well.  He said he couldn't wait to try again after I get everything worked out.

Sunday, June 18
I put the craft back up on blocks and checked the skirt.  When I adjusted the rear skirt last week, I pulled it up a little to far so I let it back down until it was level with the ground while inflated.  It wasn't to hard to see that the bow, partition and divider skirts were also trimmed wrong.  The first time the bow skirt was trimmed a little to high in the center due to a crown in the cement slab that I had blocked the craft up on.  Then, following the plans, I trimmed way to much off the divider and partition skirts instead of trimming it to the ground contact point.  It would have been nice if I had been given plans that showed all the current revisions instead of finding out later I "should have followed the instructions in the video".

It took a couple of hours to cut and glue additional strips of fabric back onto the skirt but I got it done and blocked the craft back up again.  Then it was mark and trim, mark and trim, ever so carefully mark and trim.  After the skirt was trimmed again, I was able to look inside the bow skirt ports and see the divider and partition skirt.  Everything looks like its now trimmed really great.  I can't wait for the next test flight!

Tuesday, June 20
I tried a couple of engine run ups with the craft tied down on the trailer.  The craft is not able to lift or move since it is tied down.  Since the loading on the engine will be static, I don't expect to achieve maximum rpms with these conditions.  Here are the results for the full throttle setting of the engine after warm-up; 1) reached 3200-3300 rpm driving the fan only; 2) reached 3000 rpm driving the fan and the prop.  I am hoping that once the craft is moving, and no longer a static load on the engine, I will reach rpms closer to the engine maximum of 3600.  If this does not happen then the (used) engine is definitely a bit tired and a fund will have to be created for a new power plant.

Friday, June 23
We took off to the lake again.  Unfortunately there was a bit of a breeze tonight and we had a difficult time getting up over the hump until we found a calm spot near the lee shore.  Once up we cruised pretty easily down the lake but we were close to falling off the hump on the way back going into the wind.  The skirt retrim seems to be a success.  We still got a little spray over the bow but it's not to bad now.  I think once I am able to get the craft over the hump reasonably quick it may even be better, but the wife is starting to talk seriously about a windscreen.  She really doesn't like any spray at all and I do have to keep my main passenger happy.  After we got back to the dock, I took the craft out alone again.  This time it came over the hump fairly quick.  It looks like the skirt improvements have really helped a lot.  Now its just getting the engine to run up properly, I'm still only getting 3000 rpm.  Anyway, on my way back to the dock I decided to keep my feet dry and not land the craft at the dock itself.  There were only a couple boats in a four slot launch ramp so I decided to keep up a little speed during my approach and I slipped right up on dry land.  I pulled over to the side, spun the craft around and let it settle down.  What a sight!  The people that were there really wondered what had just happened and a couple came around the corner to where I had set down to take a look at what just came out of the water!  After I brought the trailer down to the ramp, I fired it back up again, lined up on the ramp and slid like crazy down onto the water.  No hump problem this time!  It was tempting to keep going but the trailer was waiting so I turned around and flew halfway up the trailer.  After winching her up the rest of the way I hauled out and went to the tie down area to finish up.  The eyes just kept watching us the whole time.  It was a real blast!

Well, the craft is actually performing pretty well.  Considering I have the heavier weight of a Sevtec Surveyor and the smaller engine and prop for a Sevtec Vanguard, I think I have done quite well.  After speaking with several individuals I have decided to repower.  I haven't decided which engine to go with yet but I do know that I want, and need, more power.  Looks like the repower fund has been created!