on getting stuff done...

Some way too interesting times, a bit of interesting news regarding those Orcas attacking boats, and in the "Who casts the longer shadow?" department...

Some times I sit at the keyboard trying to think of something to write. The funny thing is that yesterday while I was doing some reading, I said to myself…

"Ah, that will make a great post for tomorrow!"

Of course, today, for the life of me, the only thing I can remember was that it was brilliant and would make a great post but not a clue what it was. 

I’d blame it on being an old fart, but this sort of occurrence has been a factor from as far back as high school. You’d think by now that I’d have sorted out a way to save those elusive ideas.

Sure, I know I should always have a pencil and notebook ready at all times and in the past; it worked a treat. These days, I reach for a tablet or a computer instead, but I seldom actually input anything as the latest news story or daily silliness distracts me.

Sadly, it’s not just about the writing. The real culprit is that I should note ideas regarding boat tasks and needful fixes and projects. Last night, getting up to grab a bottle of water, I had an inspiration that I really needed to get with the program and work on the bilge pump. This morning, what with making pancakes, reading the news to see if we were at war with Russia, or being reminded that I really should check the water levels of the batteries. That I needed to sort something with the bilge pump drew a complete blank.

Yeah, I really have to get a few notebooks.

H/T to Six dollar shirts

Listening to Patty Griffin

So it goes...

New Years aftermath...

Regarding the unspecified value of together, about that dead whale, and in the "Well this blew my mind" department...

So, here I am on the first working day of the new year and it’s already depressing. It’s not that the world is rapidly going to hell in a turbo-charged wicker basket, or that apparently 30-40% of the population seems to believe a world picture that bears no discernible relationship to reality. Nope, it’s all about the fact that 2021 was a horrible year to get anything done. Which translates to how the frelling fuck did my to do list for 2022 become the list from hell when we’re only three days into the new year?

Take the new self-steering gear that is not, as planned, attached to my transom but currently a bunch of parts taking up room in the salon. Then there’s the rewiring project that is a bag of varied wire and electrical bits which have taken up residence in the starboard quarter berth. Let’s not forget the new bilge pumps which need to be installed....

The list appears to be endless.

I’ve never been one for the entire New Year’s resolution thing. Simply because I’ve never been up close and personal to anyone who’s been successful.

Just as I never sail to a distinct destination but towards and the idea I should make lists that include a schedule is simply asking for trouble in the world that I inhabit.

Still, I’d like to reclaim the table in the dinette, which has become just another horizontal surface that stuff waiting to be built is sitting on.

On the positive side, with the current state of the plague, a large part of the population having an IQ somewhere akin to the temperature of Cut Bank Montana, and having way too much stuff to do to get back into cruising mode, I still have a glimmer of hope, if only seen through tears, to sort things out doing the ad hoc two-step.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Listening to the Iron Leg Radio show

So it goes...

How to avoid the dreaded compass rose trap...

Somewhat uplifting, a very good cause that could use your support, and a cartoon too close of the mark for comfort....

A longish time ago, I had something of a burning bush moment while building a boat. It was not something someone said or a cunning plan. It was just a simple question I asked myself...

Is this actually essential to this boat?

Which, I’ll admit, is a fairly simple question. But it got me thinking about what defined essential and nonessential where building or refitting is concerned.

For instance, a couple of boats over from my boat was a cold-molded sloop that was only partially planked and still needed a couple of courses of veneer before being glassed. That being the case, I wondered just why the builder was working on an inlaid compass rose for the chart table before the interior fit-out was even a thing. Just for the record, I’ll go public and say that while I think inlaid woodwork is a very cool addition to a boat, it is never an essential part of a boat.

Most boat plans or production boats show or come with all the essential bits. My usual way of building a boat is that if it’s in the plans, you can consider it to be indispensable. The same goes for the design of a boat while doing a re-fit, as what’s designed in should mostly be essential.

Where it gets iffy is where the designer has left important bits to the whim of whoever is building or refitting the boat. Frankly, there is a special place in hell for designers who do not design in systems. Raceways for wiring, places to put the needed instruments, and stowage of propane bottles. Better yet, it would be no bad thing for designers to include provisions for dinghy stowage and sensible locations for solar panels in their plans.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a clue what you think is essential for your boat. I go with the idea that simpler is always better than complicated. Not that I’m against progress and realize that I should always build in space for potential additions to systems in the future. This includes things like building in extra space and large enough wiring races to add instruments when needful. Not having to resort to tearing the boat apart to run a couple of cables.

Sure, there are many non-essential bits that make a boat livable or a home. The trick is not to let them get in the way of actually building or re-fitting your boat. Consider it essential to plan for them in the overall scheme of things but avoid getting caught in the compass rose zone.

Listening to an albums worth of Neil Young coverage

So it goes...