Random thoughts and rants on boat design, boat building, and other boat bits for those in the 99%...
EBM with a timely sports analogy, a trend of note, and in the "To think I once seriously considered living in Wyoming" department...
A new issue worth reading.
By the way, Max Ebb has a great article on using and improving your plastic sextant.
Listening to Lucius
So it goes...
Crowdfunding a war, some thinking about plastics, and in the "Just simple insanity" department...
My watch died yesterday. Or maybe I should say the watch I use to tell time died yesterday as my dive computer/watch and my analog dive watch are still trucking along.
The watch that died (a Soleus Sprint) was of the disposable variety and only cost $12 bucks on sale from an outlet store. What can I say but that I'm just not a Rolex kind of guy.
Anyway, since I needed a new watch I made a quick list of what I actually needed...
Needs to tell time.
Have an alarm.
Accurate enough for navigation (spelled C-e-l-e-s-t-i-a-l)
Waterproof enough to go for a swim with it on.
Now, generally, my go to watch is the Casio F-91W as it has a seven-year battery life, does all of the above, and costs not very much. Still, I did do a quick search on what passes for sailing watches these days and see a whole lot of what I'll term as silly expensive wrist bling. But, as I just want to know what time it is and don't have insecurities that I need to compensate for the F-91W seems like it makes the most sense
Listening to Ani DeFranco
So it goes...
Dorworth writing about a friend too long dead, 2-wheels vs 18, and a very important question...
Voile et Voiliers has a really good article about what's going on with the Russians jamming and spoofing of GPS. It's well worth reading and Voile et Voiliers now has your choice of language so non-French readers can dial in their language of choice. However, the translations are fairly crude which results in a lot of jumbled sentence structure but, with a little work, you can get it to make sense.
Anyway, back to GPS and the fact that there are many possible scenarios these days where your GPS might not work when you need it to. Having a back up GPS system does not do you any good if someone turns off GPS access or the GPS data stream becomes corrupted.
I know I've become tiresome on the subject but good navigation practices and a back up system in place is just prudent seamanship.
Listening to Rufus Wainright
So it goes...
A train station photo of note, some interesting numbers, and in the "Fucking unbelievable is right" department...
We tend to expect progress and innovation where sailing apps and programs go. Sometimes those improvements get slid in to the mix in stealth mode. Like a lot of boat folks I regularly use Windy and was surprised that this addition to the app even existed.
Works finestkind.
Listening to Dirty Cello
So it goes...
Too little too late, regarding 'sustainably' caught fish, and a ski film that made me smile...
I've been thinking lately of adding an AIS transponder to the mix for "So It Goes". An AIS transponder pretty much is a slam dunk where the Need/Want test goes where it is less so is the budget side of things so I've mostly been researching more frugal options.
One of those options is this one.
It's an Onwa KP-38A GPS chartplotter and AIS transponder. As it happens the street price just shy of $400 and if you factor in shipping still quite a bit less than $500.
I don't know about you but I haven't seen any AIS Transponders at that price point have you?
Doing some due diligence it would seem that Onwa has a pretty good reputation and word of mouth has been very good the their chart plotter AIS transponder combos and their is a lot of excitement where their new GPS Chartplotter/Fishfinder/AIS transponder/Radar KP-1299X combo is concerned.
So, I'll continue my research, talk to some folks who actually have one, and sort out whether Onwa is going to be coming out with anything new in five to seven inch screen versions of the KP-1299X sort (12 inches is just too frelling big for my nav area).
I'll let you know what turns up.
Listening to the Old Crow Medicine Show
So it goes...
Somewhat spidey-sense inducing, a good cause, and in the "Where the hell are the perp-walks?" department...
The other day someone asked me where I'd like to sail off to.
Now, in a general way of thinking, I've always considered the best way to sail someplace was more of a that-a-way, yonder, or wherever the wind takes us sort of thing. Being also somewhat superstitious I never say we're sailing to Puerto Rico but 'towards' Puerto Rico because having the audacity to imply you have total control of a voyage is akin to tempting fate to prove you wrong.
I'll also add I never ever begin a passage on a Friday either.
The thing is, there actually is a place I want to sail to and it's not Fiji, it's not Greenland and it's not an island, country, or continent. It's just a place in the Pacific known as Point Nemo.
I'll be honest and admit that I'd never actually set sail to Point Nemo but I just might set a course towards New Zealand that sorta/kinda might get up close and personal with a certain Lat & Long location of note.
Like I said, I'm somewhat superstitious.
Listening to Eva & the Vagabond Tales
So it goes...
A must read article on the subject of diesel engines, an excellent choice for the BLM, and in the "Just dumb as a bag of hammers" files...
This morning I had a few emails asking why I did not include a lead line in my post yesterday. Well, I really should have one on the boat somewhere but since I never use it, I simply spaced it. But, yeah, it really would be handy.
Which, sorta/kinda brings us to depth sounders. On So It Goes we have two. One, a Fishfinder/chart plotter and two, another cheap (I think I bought it on sale for $60.) portable fishfinder set up to be used in the dinghy. The thing about fishfinders instead of depth sounders sold for sailboats is that the fishfinders provide a lot more information in terms of bottom features and type, plus they're quite a bit cheaper. Which, when you consider it, is very much a win/win.
As I mentioned one of the depth sounders is a chart plotter as well and it is a Raymarine Dragonfly 5PRO which I also bought on sale. It unsurprisingly outperforms most sailboat-oriented chart plotters at a fraction of the price.
What's even better about the Dragonfly is that it has a WIFI channel so will broadcast to your tablet, phone, or computer.
Designed for open boats and kayaks it's more than up to the rigors of being installed in the hard dodger which is pretty much all I need in the cockpit. The only other instrument in the cockpit is the VDO Sumlog.
Pricing on Dragonflys is all over the place. I've seen them selling for as low as $199 to as high as $599. As it is an old model, I'd hold out for something around the $200 dollar price mark or less. The only downside I've found with the Dragonfly is it is annoying that the icon for your location is a power boat.
We also have a Humminbird 785c2i chart plotter which is mounted inside the boat next next to our dinette/navigation table. Again, bought on sale for a fraction of its list price.
For our VHS we have a Standard Horizon radio which also has GPS and AIS receivers. We took advantage of the Defender sale which had a great price as well as a big rebate from Standard Horizon. Plus we thought that the RAM4 remote access mike which plugs into hard dodger gives us better communications and AIS monitoring in the cockpit.
On the radio front, we also have a couple of inexpensive handheld VHFs.
That's pretty much it in terms of electronics. Obviously there's a lot of redundancy on show with three stand alone GPS units, two separate depth sounders and three VHFs,
As far as new gear goes, the only thing I'm on the lookout for is an AIS transceiver but only when the price comes down a bit more and someone puts them on deep discount.
Listening to some best of April covers
So it goes...
A death of note, regarding a particular Gecko species, and in the "What is/is not for dinner" department...
It's not that I'm a Luddite but I will admit that, as far as boat systems are concerned, I'm fairly well entrenched to being "old school". Which translates into that I'm a pretty happy camper when I know where I'm going, where I'm coming from, and, more or less, know precisely where I happen to be in a particular moment in a journey.
Of course, to know those things one requires a variety of input data and to get that data we require tools...
For starters, aboard "So It Goes" we need a compass so I know which way to point the boat. Actually we have several compasses but the bare minimum, for me at least, is two. A compass to steer by and a hand-bearing compass to take sights with. Our steering compass is a Sowester grid compass and we have a Suunto hand bearing compass which can also be used as a steering or telltale compass.
Since the compass tells us which direction we're going, we also need a way to tell us just how fast we're going which, with input of time gives us distance traveled. We have a variety of gear to measure speed such as our VDO Sumlog which is a mechanical (prop driven shaft drive) instrument which tells us how fast we're going and how many nautical miles we have traveled. To back up the Sumlog, we also have a Wasp trailing log and just in case, we have a Knotstick which only gives us speed. I'll be the first to admit that in terms of navigation gear I'm very much a "Belt and braces" sort of guy.
The next bit of my core navigation gear is a cheap Davis Mark 25 plastic sextant which I paid a whopping fifteen bucks for in a thrift shop. I believe that the current retail on the Davis is over $250 but can be found for much less. My previous and still favorite sextant was the Ebbco (also plastic) sextant which still shows up from time to time on the UK eBay and I keep looking for one as it is, in my opinion at least, the best cheap plastic sextant around and a lot more robust than the more delicate Davis Mark 3, Mark 15 and Mark 25, as well as being more precise than the Davis Mark 3.
Lastly, I have a couple of watches (a digital and windup) because time is a very essential element where navigation is concerned.
You may have noticed that none of these items use electricity with the exception of the cheap digital Casio and I sorta/kinda like it that way. In decades of being on boats, the most common problems encountered were almost entirely of an electrical nature. With this core setup, I can sail anywhere I care to with zero worries concerning issues with electronics or winding up on the wrong island.
The total outlay of all the various needful bits is quite small and I'm pretty sure I could replace everything listed (including the various backups) for less than three-hundred dollars total with careful shopping. For the bare bones cheap as you can get, I'd look for a Used Silva 70 compass (which works great for steering/handbearing), a used Knotstick, a used Davis Mark 3 sextant and a cheap $15 Casio watch which in total should not set you back more than $100 or so.
Then again, as I am most assuredly not a Luddite, I do have electronics because they really do make a lot of sense providing that you are not 100% dependent on them getting you to where you need to go.
Next we'll look at what electronics I find most needful in the overall scheme of things.
Listening to Flaco Jimenez
So it goes...
Walkabout containers, a book I'm looking forward to reading, and some situational threat assessment...
Yachting Monthly (a magazine I no longer subscribe to) has an online article "How to get the latest boat electronics – on a budget".Which, me being Mr Cheapseats, caught my eye and I thought to myself "Maybe YM is back on track?".
Well, not so much.
First of all budgets are always a tricky subject and, in this case it begins with spending around over $7000+. on various components. Then another $500+ or so in hardware/software to let the various components play nice with each other and send WIFI to your tablets.
Now, I'm sure the author of the article could have spent a whole lot more money to do the same thing but, I'm also pretty sure one could put together a reasonable facsimile for a whole lot less. The thing is that if you're going to publish an article that is proclaiming it for folks on a budget it really makes sense to define what sort of budget you're actually talking about.
That said, I'd love some input on how to improve a very basic (spelled all the needful things) instrument/electronics that makes sense for folks on real budget for folks who blanche at the thought of spending over $7K on such things.
I'll be talking about what works for us in terms of need/want next...
Listening to a great cover
So it goes...
EBM makes a valid point, a book on my need to-read list, and something from the "The lips keep moving and the lies pour out" files...
I happened to be checking out the Celestaire website last night and happened to notice they had the Davis Mark 3 sextant on sale.
Jim Gaffigan making sense, yet another reason to boycott Facebook, and a little good news in this mess we call 2020...
Nautalytics with some needful educational content.
A podcast worth listening to, regarding a realistic time frame, and some bad news you might want to check out...
I'll be honest and point out that I've found myself somewhat depressed of late as things seem to be run these days by a motley collection of fools, incompetents, and people of limited vision. Which, if you don't mind me saying, is not at all what you want during a global epidemic with a side order of a world depression.
So, here's something from Tom Cunliffe (who is not a fool, incompetent, or someone who suffers from limited vision) that I found to make sense and in its own small way reassuring. I'm pretty sure we could all use a bit more reassuring content these days.
Listening to some Rolling Stones covers
So it goes...
On the subject of Spring, regarding sustainable boatbuilding, and in the "Pretty much says it all" department...
Tom Cunliffe with something interesting about charts.
Listening to a very good Elton John cover
So it goes...
Responsible innovation, EBM with a good point, and in the "Well, I guess they need to get their exercise some way" department...
John Scalzi shares some apt thoughts on impeachment, a film to keep in mind, and a thing you might find interesting about GPS...
So, it would seem, the USSF (Space Force) is in the news and it has something to do with GPS.
More importantly, it's about tRump's Space Force being in the drivers seat where GPS is concerned.
Now, maybe it's just me, but so far I have not seen anything that tRump's minions (AKA "folks unable to organize a piss-up in a brewery") touch that does not wind up broken or in clusterfuck mode.
Seriously GPS in clusterfuck mode is something all-kinds-of-problematic for folks on boats. Which is why you might want to seriously consider having some sort of tried and true backup on your boat.
Something regarding Blue Whales, an interesting chart, and the Solomon Islands price themselves out of most folks cruising budget...
Celestial navigation and a smart phone. Voile Magazine gets into it.
Listening to some Buddy Holly coverage
So it goes...
G&T with a common complaint, something regarding beef, and it would appear someone's been stealing...
This is really quite neat.
Time magazine nails it, some sense being made, and in the "Maybe try a Sousa march instead" department...
So, here's a question that's been bothering me.
Does anyone (other than me) still use a hand-bearing compass anymore?
Listening to RF Shannon
So it goes...
Some lucid thought on the civility debate that's well worth reading, interesting space stuff, and in the "Ass or asset?" department...
Ben Ellison/Panbo has some great coverage on a recent navigational snafu and blowback you need to read.
You're still here?
Listening to Gogol Bordello
So it goes...
A depressing note, EBM on the subject of "hearts and minds" and in the "racist, misogynist, bigoted cult of personality that worships Trump" department...
I'll admit I'm sorta/kinda looking forward to the upcoming Golden Globe race in the hopes that it will give a shot in the arm to the idea that seamanship actually matters. Plus, it really should be a pretty good race and is more or less accessible to folks who actually have to work for a living and not just the same old same money wins and rich folk behaving badly affair which seems what most racing has become these days.
On the subject of eroding seamanship skills I'm actually quite impressed with the newish FastSeas routing app as it seems to do the required job for an affordable price (or free) so you might want to add it to your tool set and check it out.
Listening to Fármacos
So it goes...
