Bumfuzzle

I'll be honest and say that there is something that attracts me to people who piss people off. We live in a society that does not always reward people for doing stuff unless they follow a certain accepted behavior pattern. Cruising in a boat like Loose Moose 2 tended to bring out the "let's burn them at the stake" crowd mentality in some folks, while bringing out the "Geez who'd have thought you could build a liveaboard sailboat that looks like a box, sail across the Atlantic and have an enjoyable time without going into debt in the process, and come over for a drink" crowd! Actually, while we were cruising, we actually seemed to make a profit... One of the things we loved about Loose Moose 2 was how it was instant insight on whether someone was of open or closed mindset.

I have always been interested in what people spend cruising. What it really costs vs what people spend and so forth. A while back I had heard that a Cat out cruising with a website was publishing their monthly budget. Just the fact that they named their boat and blog Bumfuzzle shows they have a sense of humor and do not take themselves too seriously. They also freely admit that they have had something of a steep learning curve in this cruising off into the sunset gig. So what is not to like? Apparently the fact that they eat at McD's when the opportunity presents itself and bitch when they are near becalmed (funny, sounds like every cruiser I have ever run into!), has apparently scandalized a group of keyboard commandos who have never eaten at McD's or had a pizza or complained when the wind did not blow like they wanted it to and never had a day of shame or made a mistake (yeah, right)...

There is some very good information on their website, and there is a lot of knowledge to be gleaned from their travels (they are in Turkey at the moment) from good anchorages to where to eat, plus the fact that they show what it is costing them to cruise is invaluable... All in all, good stuff by good people!

Projects and Dinghy Dilemma

While we are still looking for the next Loose Moose design (more about that soon) we have decided to do some refitting to So It Goes our CAL 34 and prepare it for some longer distance cruising as either the Pacific, or more likely, Europe will be our cruising grounds next year.

The CAL is really an exceptional boat and when all is said and done, it is not that hard to tweak it into a more bluewater-oriented mode. The hard part is my film gear, our charter business and the crew of Moose that form the extended crew of So It Goes... but we have been tweaking and it is amazing how with a little head scratching, serious banging of heads against the bulkheads, and inspired serendipity, that it actually all comes together. The changeover to an electric drive system for instance, added a four by four foot cargo hold under the cockpit that happily stows all our scuba gear!

Some of the projects for this "H" season will be a new forward bulkhead and chain locker, a hard dodger, a watermaker, and some yet-to-be-figured-out thing that needs to be done to the under-cockpit stowage areas.

One of the head banging against bulkheads situations is the dinghy dilemma... We currently have a 9.5-foot (Caribe 9L) RIB with a 15HP outboard (and we also carry a small five horse outboard as a back up) which is wonderful, but takes up a bit more room than I'd like on the foredeck. Our second dinghy is a Walker Bay 8-foot rowing boat that we tow, but I am thinking that neither will leave the Caribbean with us when we head out for further places.

A dinghy is such an important part of a cruiser's life that having the right one is important. So, these days I find myself searching hither and yon for what makes sense with our limited deck space. Inflatables, both roll up and folding, are one possibility. Another is a nesting dinghy, but they all seem to get just a bit too clever for my tastes and there is something about having a boat you can launch ASAP that makes a lot of sense...

Here is one that might make the short list The Portland Pudgy . Taking the idea that a dinghy can also be a life boat gets two items off the list at one time. Of course, I would have to give up anchoring far out as it is certainly not a zippy dinghy but, unlike our Walker Bay, it does look like it has the capacity to carry both Sheila and I, plus gear/shopping/water/ etc. and it does have that lifeboat feature. I am really looking forward to seeing one of these puppies in person and will reserve my opinion 'til then but, the concept makes real sense and I would love to hear from anyone who has seen one of these up close and personal.

Sensible construction

One of the nice things about some of Phil Bolger's older work is that it was so easy to build and even a master procrastinator like myself could build a seaworthy boat in a reasonably short time. On both of the Loose Moose designs, the fact that the interior could be completed before the upper side panels were installed made for very easy interior fit out and saved hundreds of hours of labor in the process.


Here is a photo of Sheila checking out the progress on the interior of the Jessie Cooper design that was to become Loose Moose. As you can see, the boat is being built at floor level and getting in and out of the boat is just a step in or out, and a lot of the work can be done from outside just reaching in.


It might not seem like a real advantage to some, but the other guys in that hanger were having to climb up ladders and then try and get pieces of plywood or lumber in through a hatch climb a ladder down inside and then try and manipulate stuff inside the confines of a closed up hull. Over the course of construction, all those extra steps add up and not having those extra steps is one of the reasons that Loose Moose only took four and a half months to build.

I like this boat... Far Harbor 39

Robert Perry ( http://www.perryboat.com/ ) is a pretty talented designer of sailboats and in our cruising we have come across a lot of Tayana 37 owners on both sides of the Atlantic who are the very best form of advertising...Very satisfied customers! His various reviews of other designers' work are exceptional and, in a world of designers advancing themselves by trashing other people's work, is a breath of fresh air that he not only appreciates other's good work, he seems to be more than happy to point it out as opposed to stealing it and pretending it's something he just came up with... In short, a gentleman.

But I would be dishonest if I did not admit that for whatever strange reason, none of his designs have ever caught my fancy. I certainly admire a lot of his work but, to be honest, none of his previous designs (to paraphrase the late, great Jim Morrison) lit my fire!

Well, that was until yesterday! I was looking at some stuff and came across a design by Robert Perry called the Far Harbor 39.

Far Harbor 39, Robert Perry design

The Far Harbor 39 is a boat designed with the idea that you might need to ship it and to have the maximum boat that would fit inside a standard shipping container. With the number of people who ship their boats across the Atlantic growing every year and the costs climbing, it even makes sound economic sense (cents?). Last time I heard (like yesterday) to ship a thirty-six foot boat from the Caribbean to France was currently at $11,000.00 if you booked (and paid in full) six months in advance, a shipping container on the other hand would go for about $5000.

The idea works and I cannot really say why, but the design does Light My Fire... Maybe it is because the shipping container element made Mr Perry get outside the box he was used to working in or, just maybe it was just time that my less than normal likes and Robert Perry's designs would by simple number of his designs "Click" at one time or another.

The fact that I actually like a boat that uses the moniker of "Motor Sailer" is a rare accomplishment as the term usually has me running for the hills... The Far Harbor 39 does not quite provide what I am looking for in terms of the next Loose Moose, but it is certainly a boat that I'd enjoy sailing and does make for successful answer to its design goals.

Whatever the case, this is a pretty exceptional boat and as someone who has sailed a thirty-seven foot boat of similar beam across the Atlantic, this type of boat will sail and be no slouch while she is doing it. The interior is simple and shows just what a great interior you can get if you don't feel the need to have four beds and four ensuite heads in a boat that will mostly be used by a couple.

Pretty cool!

The boat is being built by Container Yachts. Check it out:
http://www.containeryachts.com/

Things have been crazy...

Sorry for the long hiatus... Various film projects, the charter business and trying to nail down a new boat to build has been the stuff of much strangeness and not a small amount of frustration!

"Let us consider that we are all partially insane. It will explain us to each other." - Mark Twain

True then and truer now... I most certainly qualify, as I work in film, live on a boat and, from time to time, build boats. Most of the people I work and hang out with no doubt qualify as well, though if you have been reading the news since the Bush Posse came on the scene, you will have to admit there is a whole new bottom line on the insanity thing. Boat building, sailing to nice beaches, and making films is starting to look a whole lot saner!

Some would say, "these folks are crazy!" In a time when people no longer build boats to sail in, and couples feel that they can not go cruising in a boat shorter than fifty feet or one that costs less than $500,000.00, here are people who are building and sailing tiny boats and apparently having a great time doing it. Even if you don't hanker to build and sail one of these micro cruisers there is a lot to be learned from people who do... http://www.microcruising.com/

For those Bolgeristas, the photo was taken during the building of our first Loose Moose, Bolger's Jessie Cooper design, in a hanger at the Charles de Gaulle airport in France.