Since May, I’ve been tinkering with brushless electrical motors, trying to make floating objects move more quickly. The proximate result is this electric motorized paddleboard:

This project is by no means finished. Traveling at 5 mph is fun, but not nearly fast enough. As we speak, a motor ten times the power of this one is sitting in a shipping container, en route to my basement. While I wait, let me pause and reflect on the project so far.

When my sailing class was canceled back in early March, I realized it was time for a more individualistic hobby. And so, I furled the sails and tied up the boat and picked up a circular saw from the hardware store. After I got over my fears of loud, terrifyingly quickly spinning metal blades, a whole bunch of cutting and screwing, then digging and painting, I have a Little Free Library standing outside my house, and a little bit more confidence for the next woodworking project!