Panasonic Sport Headphones (RPHSC200K) are brutal

I do a lot of running, biking, and other active sports. I tend to do most of these carrying my IPhone 4 so that I can track my progress using TrimbleOutdoors.com app AllSport GPS (I really need to do a review of that app some day because I love it).

The only problem with this setup is that the earphones that come with the IPhone just aren't great for staying put when active. They are fine when loafing around but the minute that I start moving they are out of my head. I end up spending most of my activity adjusting them or putting them back in.

So, I decided that I would break down and buy a decent pair of sport headphones so I did some looking around online and perusing at FutureShop . My criteria when selecting headphones weren't elaborate. I wanted something with a reasonable sound spec and something that was in an in-between price range. My second criteria was based solely on the fact that I figured a cheap set wouldn't be any good but I didn't want to spend $100 on something that I would be beating around with outside.

I settled on the Panasonic Sport Headphones. At the time these were $59.99 + tax (they have since dropped in price). They were from a reputable company and met my criteria.

The performance of these has been less than stellar.

The sound quality is dismal. They have absolutely no bass output (despite what the package assured). They sound as though they are only half inserted (so I find myself constantly trying to jam them in further).

They sort of stay in when running but I still find they rattle out to some extent.

The volume control is laid out the same as a standard set of Apple headphones but the rubber coating makes them practically useless when active.

I would avoid these headphones. There are really no positive attributes.

Pram build - Step 8 - Exterior finishing

Once the interior was finished I flipped the boat back over and finished the exterior.

The first task for the exterior finishing were the runners. I made these out of 3/4 x 3/4 strips of spruce. I used the dimensions on the plans to space them out, applied epoxy and screwed them into the frame pieces.

Once the epoxy cured I used a plan to share the front edge of the runners so that they slopped flush at the front edge.

I finished up sanding, filling, sanding, filling and more sanding until the bottom was fair and smooth.

I applied the same primer and yellow boat paint to the bottom of the boat. I used 3 coats of paint.

I applied a name to the back (because every boat deserves a name!) using black paint. I chose the name Mâthos since my sailboat is named Salammbô and Mâthos was her lover.

Once dry I fitted the remaining hardware (cleats and oarlocks) as well as adding a bump rail to the gunwales. For the bump rail I used 1" rope tie wrapped to the gunwales.

I am exceptionally happy with how Mâthos turned out. She is a very good rowing boat, pulls very well behind the sailboat and is remarkably stable. I can fit my family of 4, our dog and a days supplies in her and still have 6" or freeboard (approx 645lbs). I wouldn't want to go out in rough water with that much weight though! I've had her with one other person in heavy waves with no issue at all. A very dry tender.

I have also purchased a small 30lbs thrust electric motor to use on the back of her and it works very well for ferrying us out to the mooring with no effort.

I would highly recommend John Gardner's "A plywood Pram". The instructions in his book are a little sparse but the boat comes together well. If you attempt a build of the boat and have any questions about how I did something, please ask. I'll answer the question as best I can and update these pages as appropriate as well.

I would also welcome additions/amendments to my instructions. This has worked out well with my loft bed plans. Collaboration with a couple of builders has made the instructions much more useful.

Pram build - Step 7 - Interior finishing

Once the seats and gunwales were dry I set about cleaning up the interior. I used thickened epoxy to fill in any gaps, voids or holes. Everything was sanded once the epoxy set.

I also used this opportunity to install a ring on the bow. This will be used for towing the tender so I wanted it to be sturdy. I was also impatient on a Sunday and didn't have access to a real piece of hardware. I used an old shackle and epoxied it in place. Seems to work well.

Once everything was cleaned up reasonably well I finished the interior with a coat of oil based primer and oil based boat paint.

I wanted to finish the interior first so that I wouldn't scrape the bottom paint later on in the process.

Once everything dried I flipped the boat over for exterior finishing.

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