A DIY article to check out...

Imagine 40% of Americans think this clown should be in office, some needful reading, and in the "Just another scam for witless boat owners" department...

 

48° North has an excellent article on DIYing a dodger using plexiglass that costs out somewhere short of $500. Considering that a Sailrite dodger kit and their dodger frame kit will cost you over $1600 or so, that amounts to a significant savings.

Of course, my go to method for dodgers is stitch and glue plywood construction which costs a whole lot less and is strong enough to stand on when the need arises. 

Still, the plexi dodger sure looks sweet and 48° North is free as always so well worth checking out.

Listening to Preoccupations

So it goes...

a boatworthy guitar...

Tank go boom, something interesting on the lithium front, and some nefarious hijinks in Catalan...

One of my favorite singer-songwriters has been playing a Yamaha Silent guitar for quite a while and it's a guitar I'd love to own. If for no other reason, that it just might be one of the best guitars for boatfolk around.

Of course, Yamaha does not build this sort of guitar as a 12-string which I find highly problematic. Then again, a little thought and some sweat equity might go a long way towards a DIY version or two to play with.

Listening to Buffy Sainte-Marie

So it goes...

A cat rigged Souriceau?

Some pictures from Mars, ongoing colonial hijinks, and in the "Unsurprising fuckery in high places" department Caribbean edition...

Something interesting from Eric Henseval you might want to check out.

 

I'm sure Eric would be happy to tell you more about the cat rigged Souriceau.

Listening to a literary playlist

So it goes...

 

On the right track but way too expensive...

Regarding Climate Gentrification, a very needful read, and in the "Big frelling question" department...

Well this is kind of interesting.

EcoCat 42

A home buildable flat panel derived catamaran using recyclable materials and bio-sourced resins.Way more expensive than I can afford but if you have a spare 350,000 euros laying around you might want to check it out.

Listening to the Jitters

So it goes...

What I'm currently thinking about...

Some chess related life advice, murder most foul, and a needful read for surfers...

I've been thinking a lot about various self-steering systems, evolution, and performance lately. So much so, that I really need to spend a couple of days working through those thoughts and ideas to come to some sort of conclusion that makes sense.

More on that thought process soonish.

Listening to Marah

So it goes...

How the marine trades are not your friend part 110,367...

Scarily right on the money, those disappearing lakes, and in the "Everything has a carbon footprint" department...

One of the portlights aboard "So It Goes" had a part fail and, unsurprisingly, the company (Vetus) that made the port no longer supports their product. Kind of a bummer that.

In searching for said part from other purveyors of portlights I didn't really come across anything that would work but I did find myself saying "WTF" a lot at the pricing of said bits.

So, what to do? The choice seems to be a new port or fabricate the bit I need.

Of course, if I replace one port I'd have to replace four ports because even I would not be able to deal with mismatched ports as it would drive me nuts. On the other hand, replacing four ports would cost close to $1K and my Mr Cheapseats persona could not handle that on any level.

Leaving me with  the only sensible answer to the problem is to fabricate my own bits.

As it happens the part is actually fairly easy to build as all I really need is a 1/4" thumb nut ($0.36) and a 1/4" threaded stud ($0.81) combined with ten minutes with a file and drill to make it work.

That works out to $1.17 and I think I can handle that.

Listening to songs in aid of a theme

So it goes...

What's currently on my mind...

What's in your tuna fish sandwich, some needful drought news, and in the "common sense or radical environmentalism" department...

Since I'm thinking about a new dinghy I've also been thinking long and hard about a one HP electric outboard to go with it.

More about that soonish.

Listening to a harp-centric cover

So it goes...

Something about dog bones...

Something from Dick Dorworth, some situational awareness reading, and in the "Current weapon of choice" department...

Sailing Anarchy has an interesting piece on dog bones (AKA toggles) that you really should check out. That said, be warned that while well worth reading it morphs into an infomercial but the content is worthwhile

I'll also point out that dog bones are just about the easiest and cheapest bits of sailing gear to DIY. All you need is a drill with a 3/8" or 1/2" chuck, a hack saw, and some 3/8" or 1/2" aluminum rod.

Listening to Mon Laferte

So it goes...

a slightly evolved soft shackle...

Yet another health care crisis, about those By-Catch figures, and in the "Wishcycling" department...

An improved soft shackle.

Listening to Elijah Wolf

So it goes...

Not a bad idea at all...

A transatlantic voyage of note, what you can do with salmon sperm, and the word of the day is D-R-O-U-G-H-T...

This is kind of neat.

No idea what the pricing is but there is more info on the FLIN Solar website as well as a lot of great ideas for the intrepid DIY practitioner.

Listening to a favorite song

So it goes...

Why you don't need to spend $995 on a composting head...

Something well worth reading on Wanderer III from WB, some feline stuff of interest, and in the "green washing on steroids" department...

A dead simple and affordable composting toilet how to by Atom Voyages.

 

Listening to Freakwater

So it goes...

Another thing to add to my no-longer-available list...

New York ship wrecks, something on the downside of big fucking boats and in the "Eric Clapton should take note" department... 

Perusing West Marine looking for a couple of inexpensive cleats I noticed that the type I was looking for no longer seemed to be available. Since I could not find what I wanted there I checked out Defender who also seemed not to have the sort of cleat I was looking for. 

You know the sort that looks like this...

Which, for me at least, is my go to cleat for sheets, halyards, and various other rigging needs. They do the job just as well as the more expensive sort and are fairly cheap albeit more costly than they should be. 

That said, while looking at what was on offer from West/Defender I was actually shocked at just how silly expensive a lot of cleats have become.

Of course, there's no reason you can't build a reasonable facsimile of this sort of cleat out of scrap wood which has a long history as a material to make cleats from.

If anyone out there knows a source in the US of A for this sort of jam cleat please drop me a line and let me know who they might be.

Listening to a couple of Prince covers

So it goes...

Some DIY wonderfullness...

Some needful reading, a free book I'm looking forward to reading, and did someone say "Tall bike"...

Atom Voyages (always a great resource) with just about everything you need to know to build your own Atom Solar Tracker. 

Listening to Brandi Carlile

So it goes...

Regarding the boat designer builder interface...

Some well earned karma, EBM on that Texass thing, and in the "Just so wrong" department...

The other day I had an email from a guy who, apparently, needed to tell me that he would never build a Bolger design because his boats were ugly and. since Phil was no longer living he would not be able to answer questions that arise in the building process. 

Now, for starters, I personally feel that Bolger's designs are anything but ugly and some of his designs are actually beautiful. That said, I'm aware that some folks take issue with some of his designs like our Loose Moose and Loose Moose 2 but, as far as I'm concerned, I'll just point out that when form and function come together in a positive manner the design will reflect that.

On the subject of not choosing a design because the designer is not around to answer your questions, I'll just point out that the designers job pretty much ends when the drawings are done as any good design will have all the information you'll need to build the boat.

Then again, if you don't have the needful skill set to build a given design it's really time to either acquire the skills or choose a design that better reflects your abilities. The bottom line is that it's not the designers job to hold your hand and spoon-feed you what you should already know...

Listening to a Captain Beefheart cover

So it goes...

a new exciting design...

An interesting read on modern journalism, something regarding  rare earth elements, and in the "same old same false equivalency assholery" department...

As it happens, Michael Schacht (that Proa File guy) just sent me a very interesting drawing of a design for home builders he's currently working on...

The design is an evolutionary offshoot of his Bug Out Boat design that has come about in the quest to get a bit more displacement into the B.O.B. which entailed getting away from flat panel plywood construction.

Yeah, a fiberglass multihull for home builders that makes sense!

Now, while I find the AVION a very neat boat, what really excites me is the construction method. Michael has sorted out a system that involves just a few simple to build and inexpensive molds that allows the builder to fabricate a bunch of shaped panels that will, when put together, result in fair oval hulls. 

All in all an excellent way to build a good boat quickly and inexpensively.

I know that Michael will be putting a much more detailed article on the design and building method together that will be on Proa File so you might want to bookmark Proa File or add it to your RSS feed. Of course, as soon as there is any new Avion info available I'll be sure to mention it on Boat Bits,

Listening to Mike Zito

So it goes...

On the subject of a better toilet...

Something interesting about Cuttlefish, on the subject of essential workers, and a much missed Hunter S. Thompson discussing gonzo...

I recently noticed that Separett has recently introduced a non-composting toilet that makes a whole lot of sense and is getting a lot of buzz in cruising and van-living circles.

Tiny Installation from Separett on Vimeo.

As it's pretty much the same design as the toilet I built for "So It Goes" more than a decade ago, I'll vouch for the fact that the simple system works just fine. On the other hand, with a price tag of over $1000 it is way more expensive than it needs to be and, as such, brings P.T. Barnum's most famous quote to mind. 

Seriously, $1000.?

The basic system is just a bucket, a bottle, a means of separating the feces from the atmosphere, and a method of  diverting the urine into the bottle. which could all be put together for around $100 and the cost of whatever box you'd choose to house it all in,

As it happens, Sail Delmarva (always a good place for excellent information) has a great post on his new non-composting desiccating head which you really should check out.

Listening to Tenacious D

 

So it goes...

A bit of DIY goodness...

Some needful reading on the subject of masks, regarding Google's creative bookkeeping, and in the "You just can't fix stupid" department...

This caught my eye because it's pretty much just my old ETEK based Mark 1 electric drive which worked pretty well and was both affordable and pretty easy for just about anyone to cobble together on a budget.

 

Simple works.

Listening to a bardish playlist

So it goes...

Speaking of better rigs...

All kinds of scary, Kimmel makes a point, and and in the "Yeah, climate really does effect the economy" department...

How about a DIY mast solution?

 

The current May/June issue of WoodenBoat magazine has an excellent article Building Box-section Masts with Plywood by Reuel Parker that is well worth the price of admission.

Listening to Soldat Louis

So it goes...

On building a better rig...

 Killing our mother ocean, a book on my must read list, and in the "No cure for selfish stupidity" department...

Someone recently asked me about my opinions on chainplate materials for his switch to textile rigging. The main part of the question involved whether to use expensive 316 stainless vs the use of much more expensive titanium. When I told him that my choice would be Delrin I'm pretty sure he thought I'd lost my mind.

Now, I'll admit that I'm pretty sensitive to the importance of having a bombproof connection between the rig and the boat and I might be extra careful as I lost a rig to a stainless steel chainplate failure and in the same time period two different friends lost their rigs due to the failure of titanium tangs. So it's a subject that I've given a lot of serious thought to especially where textile rigging is concerned.

A lot of folks now favor the use of carbon fiber or composite chainplates glassed in to the hull which has the advantage of spreading the rigging loads over a much greater area and dispenses with the negative factors of stainless steel and titanium. If I were building a new boat I'd seriously consider this avenue but since the person in question is refitting an existing boat so it's not as easily done and somewhat problematic.

Some time ago, in my ongoing research to make textile rigging more affordable, it occurred to me that if using textile rigging metal chainplates are really sort of a one step forward two steps back kind of thing. You're still using parts that are prone to failure, not exactly textile friendly, and, to add insult to injury, are really quite expensive.

Since the main purpose of a chainplate is to distribute rigging loads on to the hull all we really need to do is to find a more textile friendly way of doing it. 

My first thought, since we're talking "rope", was something akin to a thimble but then realized that any circular or teardrop shapes would be better at distributing the shroud loads to the hull. Better yet the disc or teardrops would not need to be in a metal at all and any high density plastic like Delrin or HDPE would work just fine. The only metal at all in the shroud to hull matrix would be through bolts and backing plates.

The upside is that the plastic chainplates are both inexpensive and easily fabricated by anyone with a DIY bent. The downside is they're not the same old same so if you were to go with the idea I'd factor in that you'd have to do a lot of explaining to passers-by of the less than bright sort. Of course, if you're doing a textile rig you will be having those sort of conversations anyway so not really a factor.

I'm currently writing a more in depth how to on applying some creative frugality to textile rigging design so that anyone can build an inexpensive, user maintainable, and bombproof rig.

More about that soonish.

Listening to Nick Lowe

So it goes...

Working on the Big Picture...

Latitude 38 has something on cargo under sail. The BBC with an interesting article on battery tech, and John Scalzi has a new guitar...

We live in a polarized society and, for me at least, it's crazy making. 

The thing is, I'm not talking about the fact that the worlds politics are polarized (which they are) but how a polarized mindset tends to get in the way of progress in things like boat design and suchlike.

Take sailing rigs for instance... I can't actually remember the last time  I came across an open-minded discussion of various sail rigs. Nope, it's more of a this rig is good and all other rigs are bad kind of vibe when talking about rigs. Which leaves folks like me who tend to think that all rigs make sense but also have their strengths as well as weaknesses out of the dialog. It's not a good or bad question we're dealing with but a what rig would make the most sense in a given situation sort of thing.

So, hardly surprising, having mentioned something about the junk rig on the blogs, that I now have a lot of mail both pro-junk and anti-junk as well as a few emails which are a lot more interesting on the subject of how junk rigs might be improved as well as some ideas relating to other rigs that might be incorporated to improve the junk rig.

The problem with both the pro-junk and anti-junk contingents is that they are both stuck in a rut and have very little to bring to the party as well as being kind of boring in the process.

The current conundrum that I'm dealing with is not really about the junk rig but more a way for home builders and DIY gear folks to build sails themselves in an affordable and less problematic way. In actuality it's not a junk or sail issue as it's more of a whole rig big picture issue.

A big problem with the polarization of thought is that one quickly loses the ability to see the "Big Picture" which is a much needed component of progress.

Anyway, I'll continue to mine my current obsession, which might very well be barren, and we'll see how it goes.

More on the subject as it develops.

Listening to …And You Will Know Us by the Trail Of Dead

So it goes