on a general lack of a plan...

What passes for justice with wealthy drug dealers, somewhat depressing news from the Bahamas, and something for the last day of the official 2020 hurricane season...

Over the weekend I checked out a lot of the "Hey, we're buying a boat and thought you'd be interested in watching us spend lots of money turning it into the perfect cruising boat" YouTube fodder. Which was, for lack of a better term, depressing.

For starters, I always find folks throwing money at things generally off-putting. More so when they're throwing money around to fix or replace things that don't actually need fixing or replacing. 

Of course, most of my thoughts on rehabbing a boat tend to focus on getting rid of most of the superfluous bits and pieces masquerading as indispensable requirements.

Anyway, it did get my thought process focused on the idea that anyone who's building, rehabbing, or outfitting a cruising boat really needs a plan and a firm budget going into such a project as well as the fortitude to stick to that plan and budget to avoid the dreaded mission creep.

More on the subject of mission creep soonish...

Listening to Tricky

So it goes...

About that yellow flag you fly...

A quick dose of reality, a worthwhile read, and in the "Just rats leaving a sinking ship" department...

"Le bateau c'est la liberté, pas seulement le moyen d'atteindre un but."

Bernard Moitessier really did hit the nail on the head when he said that and while it still applies the world has become a whole lot more problematic where freedom is concerned.

One thing I've noticed in various discussions regarding the words freedom, cruising, and their application to the current Covid-19 situation is that a whole lot of folks don't exactly understand where freedom and responsibility converge.

Seriously, cruisers complaining about the projected rules for the reopening of the BVI in December don't seem to get it at all as they apparently don't have a clue to the meaning of the word freedom or an inkling of what passes for the required responsibility of a captain and crew arriving in a foreign port. What makes it even more off-putting is that those with the loudest voices are coming from the country with the most Covid-19 cases and deaths.

On most cruising boats the yellow "Q" flag gets a lot of use and well it should as boats for the last couple of thousand years or so, have been a prime disease vector and continue to be. If you need an example just consider the floating Petri dishes better known as cruise ships.

The thing is, we really do have a lot of freedom on boats as we can decide whether to go to a place or not. That said, once you decide to go someplace you're accepting the responsibility of following that country's rules and customs while you're there.

Face it, what passes for normal post 2020 is going to be a whole lot different than what it used to be. I expect that we'll find that a lot of countries will require proof of vaccination for a variety of diseases as well as more intense border screenings and various new hoops to jump through.  On the plus side maybe the added rigors of cruising will keep some of the entitled folks who think freedom is all about doing what they want without regard to the greater whole back home.

Listening to some Jerry Jeff covers.

So it goes...

 

Yeah, it's the "T" day...

EBM with a cultish decision that ignores reality, interesting how they go together, and an especially good segment for "T-Day"...

This morning it came to me that there would be no parades and, even worse, no moose and squirrel. Why is it the little things we take for granted become heart-breaking in the dire landscape of monumental loss we've collectively shared this past year?

Still, for those of us still here, there is much to be thankful for and it is a goodly thing to take a day off and reflect on those things we've lost and give thanks. Thanksgiving has always been a sort of Yin/Yang sort of holiday.

Here's hoping the next one will be better and we're all up for the hard work that will be involved to make that happen...

... and thanks for being here.

Since "T" day for me would not be right without R&B...

Listening to Arlo

So it goes...

A few stocking stuffers...

On the subject of wearing masks, some very good advice, and in the "Americans are so caught up with the idea that this can’t be happening to them that they’re missing the very obvious fact that it is." department...

So, it's Thanksgiving week already which, I guess, proves that time sure flies when you're in the middle of a global pandemic. Anyway,  it's also a good time to check out the sales and see what would make sensible gifts for the cruising inclined folks on your list.

For starters, I noticed that West Marine has the Orion Floating Locator Electronic SOS Beacon kit on sale for just $59.99 which is a heck of a deal when you realize it is all the signalling gear required to be street legal by the powers-that-be. More importantly, the electronic flare has a lot of advantages over pyrotechnic flares which have safety, pollution, and disposal issues. At the current sale pricing I'm tempted to get another one (we already have two) to use as a dedicated dinghy flare kit.

As just about everyone these days uses epoxy on boats and a too-large percentage of folks I know tend to use it incorrectly you might want to check out "Epoxy Basics: Working with Epoxy Cleanly & Efficiently" by Russel Brown which really should be on everyone's shelf or Kindle. While you're at it you should really have a look at his other books "Scarfing Basics" and "Rolling Perfection"as they'd make great stocking stuffers as well. The three combined are some of my most used reference books and get a lot of use.

Harbor Freight has a really excellent canvas rigging bag for $9.99 which you may recognize since quite a few purveyors of marine bric-a-brac sell the same bag for a whole lot more.

As it happens, I have two of them that I use as actual rigging bags and all of my rigging tools and needfuls (with the exception of my cast iron bench vise) fit in with room to spare. Better yet, the various pockets are actually done in such a way that you can really get serious about organization with a place for everything and everything in its place.

I keep meaning to get Harbor Freight's canvas bucket for use while rigging aloft next time it's on sale but it would also make a great stocking-stuffer.

Listening to Molly Tuttle

So it goes...

On the subject of DIY self-steering...

A good point being made, “We don’t comment on pending investigations.” has a nice ring to it, and in the "Just in case you haven't been paying attention." department...

I've been following a forum thread where a guy is building a self-steering gear based on a very simple established commercial design and another design from the Walt Murray stable. The thing is that the person building the windvane has no real experience with self-steering and, instead of just building either one or the other, he's decided to combine the two and "improve" them in the process. 

Unsurprisingly the self-steering gear in question does not seem to work.

More importantly, I'll be getting emails using this windvane project as a justification of why you should not build a self-steering gear and buy a new one next time I write about DIYing a windvane and yes, Dear Readers, I'll be writing a lot of DIY self-steering gear stuff in 2021.

Which is a not all that unusual state of affairs where boat projects are concerned. It seems people just can't resist screwing around with something that works just fine. Which is not to say that a thing can't be improved upon or refined but it is important to keep in mind that improving something that works really well requires a lot of talent and experience with how something actually works to accomplish that sort of development.

I've been told, more than I appreciate, that I over-champion the idea that folks on boats should DIY more and throw money at problems less. Truth be told, I have a deep abiding faith that most all boat projects are within the capabilities of just about anyone with the will to take on a project, the willingness to do the needful research to suss out how to actually do the thing right, and the realization that there's always a learning curve in the mix.

Listening to the Drive-By Truckers

So it goes...

A quick thought about small projects and fixing tools...

A very scary number, a bit of literary trivia, and in the "Bad decisions have bad outcomes" department...

Yesterday I had something that needed fixing and, as I had the perfect tool for the job, I expected it to be a very quick fix.

Have you ever noticed that there is no such thing as a quick fix where boats are concerned? Especially when you've said the words...

"It'll be a quick fix!"

When I got the tool out I proceeded to put a new sanding belt on and noticed that there was not enough tension to keep the belt on. "Not a problem" I said to myself all I have to do is to take the tool apart free up the mechanism put it back together and then I can get to do the quick fix.

Of course, while taking it apart it was easy to see what the problem was and all I needed to do was to free up the spring shoot in some WD-40 and I'd be back in business.

Now springs are wonderful things but it's always a good thing to remember that they can store a shitload of energy when compressed. I even said to myself "be careful with this little sucker because it'll want to go walkies" and so took steps to keep an eye on preventing just such an occurrence.

I should have been a bit more careful but who'd have known that the little spring in question would have enough energy to shoot straight up into the stratosphere not unlike a SpaceX rocket on steroids.

The quick fix has not been accomplished and today, no doubt, will be spent trying to source part #6307-043 or reasonable facsimile.

On the positive side I am very impressed with the Wen manual and exploded diagram that they have for the sander and wish I had the same sort of documentation for all of my tools.

Lastly, I'll hazard a guess that the errant spring will re-enter the the atmosphere some time after the not-so-quick-fix is finished.

Listening to boygenius

So it goes...

Three good video channels you might want to watch...

Some very good advice, some timely public service ads, and in the "It's real and it's happening" department...

How to Sail Oceans: A single hander on an engine-less gaff cutter shows you how it's done.

Atom Voyager: A video channel by a two-time circumnavigator on the Pearson Triton of the same name who is the ultimate guru for those of us who aspire to turn classic plastic into simple, safe, and comfortable cruising machines.

Sailing Blowin' in the Wind: A new channel with a lot of promise featuring a family of six living and cruising on an engine-less Ericson 28.

Listening to an album's worth of Elvis Costello covers

So it goes...

WWBD...

Badtux is on a roll, Ian Welsh with a solid point, and what I'll be following today...

Here's that proa cartoon by Michael Schacht to peruse.

There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in this Bolger inspired thought exercise. Obviously, it's very different to the Bolger sharpie cartoon that got the ball rolling but, for me at least, Michael was able to channel the Bolger vibe, sensibility, and the original wish-list while keeping it his own design.

Good stuff.

Listening to Gogol Bordello

So it goes...

Making water and some related thoughts part 2...

An election of note, a state of affairs I'd never have imagined, and since we're on the subject of Covid-19...

Back when, I used to work in a marine consignment store which taught me a whole lot about which boat products were good and which were, shall we say, problematic.

As it happens, we always had a lot of watermakers and various watermaker components on consignment and just about all of them had their very own horror story of how they wound up on our shelves. The funny thing was we never had anyone bringing in DIY watermakers but what we did get was top of the line very expensive gear that, for one reason or another, didn't work or required work or parts that were too expensive to put right.

Part of the problem was watermakers were marketed as being very high tech systems which required some sort of arcane rocket science skills to operate. The companies involved in making marine watermakers did their very best to keep folks from realizing just how simple a watermaker actually is. Which resulted in a lot of needless tech being added to make things simpler but actually made them much more prone to failure.

The thing is, a watermaker is just seawater being pumped through a couple of filters which then goes through a high pressure pump into a membrane which separates some freshwater from the seawater with a pressure regulator (which is really just a valve), a pressure gauge, and a flow meter. Can't really get much simpler than that now can we?

I mean, seriously, that's only a couple of switches on the pumps and a knob to turn until you hit the 800 psi mark on the pressure gauge. Dead simple.

Of course, anything you add to make such a simple system easier to use actually winds up resulting in more, not less complication and a much higher incidence of system failure. Most all of those consignment watermakers were there because one of those added features failed. 

Which is something you might want to think about where watermaking systems or any boat system is concerned.

Next up on the subject is putting together a very simple bombproof system and what it all actually costs.

Listening to the Spring Breaks

So it goes...

Making water and some related thoughts...

Steve Kornacki has a fan, something on the how of things, and in the "Fossil fuel extraction and fault lines don't mix" department...

Yesterday I made some water or, to be more precise, I desalinated some saltwater and turned it into freshwater. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is no big deal as I do it every five days or so.

As it happens, I don't really do anything during the water-making process but move the hose from one Jerry can to another as they fill up so not exactly a taxing chore and what I do mostly is read a good book or think about stuff. What I thought mostly about today was mainly how dead easy the act of making water was and how simple a watermaker is to build as it's really just simple plumbing.

More importantly, I thought about how a simple thing which doesn't require silly expensive components or highly skilled labor shouldn't really cost a whole lot of money.

More on the subject tomorrow.

Listening to Jon Pousette-Dart

So it goes...

a couple of cartoons to look forward to...

John Scalzi with a couple of spot on posts (1 & 2), Badtux with a needful point, and Chuck Wendig saying what I've been thinking for the last couple of days...

It seems we've all had something of a momentous weekend akin to waking up from a three and a half year nightmare and, as a result, a lot of us are just a bit, shall we say, frazzled.

But hey, this is supposed to be about boats and suchlike so, just maybe, we should get on track and do a post about a boat design or something like it...

As it happens Michael Schacht recently showed me a couple of very enticing "ideas" which, hopefully, I'll be able to share with folks in the very near future. One an interesting 30-foot catamaran for serious voyaging I find kind of exciting. Secondly there's a Proa that was influenced by a conversation we had about one of Phil Bolger's cartoons and Michael asking himself "What would Bolger do?".

This, as it happens, is the Bolger cartoon we were talking about...

 
 

Hopefully you'll get to see Michael's "WWBD" proa interpretation soonish.

More soon come.

Listening to Karen O and Willie Nelson

So it goes...

nah nah nah nah

Nah Nah Nah Nah Hey Hey Hey

Goodbye!

A compressor I'm lusting for...

A good reason to bring back newspapers, yet another scary thing about Covid-19, and in the "You just can't fix stupid" department...

How about a real boat-sized scuba compressor?

 

A lot more information over at the Mantus Marine site.

Listening to John Stewart

So it goes...

A very interesting cruising boat...

An easy math problem, seems that the tRump campaign has been busy, and in the "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" department...

The new Small Boats Magazine has an excellent article on a cruiser of the rowing sort that you might want to check out. 

The boat in question is the Row/Cruiser design from Angus Rowboats which is a seriously sweet ride.

Listening to five good covers.

So it goes...

On the day before the election...

An excellent point being made, a new world record, and in the "might want to take a gas mask if you're voting these days" department...

Since I'm an American citizen who resides in the USVI and, as such, a second class citizen I'm not able to vote in the presidential election.You have no idea just how pissed off this state of affairs has made me.

Take it from someone who can't vote just how precious your vote is.

Don't waste it.

Listening to an especially good episode of Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes...