Besides Cars: What other kind of hobbies are you into?

[thechadzone]

Nice boat! That's a cool transition from a Santana 20. There's an active fleet of Santana 20s where I sail, and I've wanted one for a long time. There's a Narca catamaran on the grass by mine, and I've been tempted to steal it!

I've read that there isn't any such thing as a maximum hull speed for catamarans of any make, and my trip out last week was strong evidence of that. It came down to how much s balls I had. I find that they're a decent substitute for skills when the winds are heavy!

[jimincalif]

Thanks. There was a Catalina 27 and a lot of years of no boat (saving money) in between the 20 and the 380.

As I recall the Eugene 20 fleet was active way back in my day as well. I met a couple of skippers at our Nationals regattas. I remember one guy towed his 20 down to San Diego with a Chevy Citation (bringing us back to the car theme). Surprised he made it (of course I towed ours from SoCal to New Braunfels TX with a '67 Chrysler wagon, only broke down 3 times).

Cats are a blast, no doubt. If I had access to a beach where I could keep one, I'd probably have a Hobie 16 too.

[maytag]

this is me, doin' what I do:

[Jimb]

Looks like you never quite manage to get yourself centred nicley on the seat
Jim

[4babycar]

Ok, I guess I will bite. I may many hobbies outside of Fiats. Ok, here goes: Kite flying, Camping, orienteering, I rock climb and am instructor for recreational climbing as well at adventure racing climbing, Adventure racing (BTW - my little SIL is a world record holder as the youngest female competitor to complete a 24hr race!), mountain biking, WW kayaking, WW canoeing, managed an Adventure racing race series including designing and building a 4 ton 2 story high mobile climbing structure, run an engineering mentoring program for high school students through the engineering company I work for, house restoration but that was mainly on our previous house, fishing, golf (twice a year), photography, vintage amusement games (Pinball, Jukeboxes, pool tables, etc.), and billiards. I think that just about covers it. Basically I like anything that keeps me from doing yard work! I HATE THAT! All of this is in addition to being married (that means putting on a smile for all the other tasks that my wife volunteers me for at the school, pool, barn and the in-law's) and having two young girls too!

Check out the album for a few pictures of my hobbies.

http://gs126.photobucket.com/groups/p93/PHUKX7CR6X/

Here is one of the spider since this is a Fiat forum.... (it just happens to be at my favorite climbing site!)

[mdrburchette]

Awesome pics! I especially love the sailboat pics and Maytag's racing pics.
The local gokart dirt track has started a new women's Clone Light division so I've taken up gokart racing. It's really fun and I seem to be getting the hang of it. I'll post a pic if the track photographer comes by Friday night.

[Gunsmith]

Wow! Who could have more interests or hobbies other than Fiats? I guess if I thought about it I may have a few “Other” interests. Construction of the new facilities at the range seems to have taken over all of the hobbies and interests as of late but we will be right back in them if and when I ever complete the projects. As you can see by the lake behind our house in my avatar we are a fan of sailing as well. This is one of the most popular sailing lakes around as there are no gas powered vessels aloud. So in the morning it’s people rowing and in the afternoon when the wind picks up so do the sailors. Being in Florida we are also big fans of all the other water sports, off shore fishing, scuba diving, skiing/wake boarding, surfing, kayaking, crossing the Bermuda Triangle to get to the Bahamas and what ever else we can find to do in or on the water. We are also in the Land Rover club and love to go to the off road camping events that are not exactly Fiat friendly. Running an 85 acre shooting sports park has it’s obvious enjoyment that those of you who shoot would understand. When ever possible we travel out West for the good white water fun, rafting kayaking, hiking and camping. We also hunt what ever needs to be hunted, wild boar, alligators and now pythons have been added to the “Please destroy” list by the state. Photography is enjoyed by everyone in the house. We also have put in a lot of volunteer hours at the animal shelter installing and maintaining their phone system and network as well as whatever else needed to be done and taking the kids from The Place of Hope foster community out fishing, I know that does not sound exactly like a hobby but we have a great time doing it.

[maytag]

So many of y'all have included home remodeling as a "hobby", that I figured I'd chime-in, even though I wouldn't consider it a hobby.
I made my living as a General Contractor for a decade, but now swing a hammer only for free and charitable causes.

And for my wife.
so here's the wife's new bathroom. I wish I'd had the forethought to take some before pics, because the photos here don't do justice anyway. We've lived in our home just over 5 years. It was built in '63, and at that time, the master "Suite" was an afterthought. They stole 37" off the bedroom and plumbed it for a pedestal lav and shower, and tossed-in a comode fro looks.
So we decided it was time to get rid of the mold problem (why wouldn't the builder have installed a vent-fan in the baths?)... and the project grewq from there, as all of my projects tend to do. One thing led to another, and next thing you know I'm moving the wet-wall to gain another 18" of width.

Ceramic on the floor with electric heat under it.
Porcelain on the shower walls on a 45d angle.
Natural slate on the 'columns'.
The column-lights are on an occupancy sensor w/ just enough light to let me pee at night....
the other lights are on preset dimmers. And the light in the shower is also my vent-fan, with 180CFM.
I think the piece de resistance is the mirror over the medicine cabinet. My wife comes-up with stuff all the time from yard sales and thrift stores. This came home with instructions that it was to go over a medicine cabinet... but as you can see that posed some problems with obstructions..... so you'll see the way I worked it out. I hurt myself patting myself on the back on that one.
Only thing remaining is the glass frameless shower-door.

[Fiat88]

You guys have some pretty exciting hobbies. Sailing looks like fun! Looking forward to some more pics guys!

[77SportSpider]

Maytag, the sliding mirror really is neat. Nice work!

[jimincalif]

Drawer slides on the mirror, very creative. Looks fantastic.

[katsi]

I guess you have got to be a little creative to love Fiats. Everyone here seems to have many other interests AND tallents. Personally, I too like to tinker arround the house and garage (see my Schwinn). I put in all the floors in our house (tile and wood) and I just finished my back yard. Next is to re-landscape my front yard and after the Spider is done, I'm thinking of an X-19 or a VW bug. Also, I love crusing my bike on those lonely TX back roads!









http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/481 ... 34e1cf.jpg

[mdrburchette]

Very nice! Ron won't let me have a swimming pool...even if I sell a Fiat or two.