Approaching art...

Stolen raccoons, exploding whales, and in the "Milk with Dignity" department...

Atom Voyager has taken the whole outboard conversion process to a level approaching art and there is a lot to be learned by following along while an artist works his magic.

Color me impressed.

Listening to Arny Margret

So it goes...

an outboard of note...

Some good news from Puerto Rico, republican thinking regarding demons, and in the "Hindsight's a bitch" department...

Sort of a blast from the past.

The Cruise'n carry, a rebranded Tanaka outboard, might not be the quietest outboard around but it has as much horsepower as most small hard dinghies require to make hull speed. Even better at only 12 pounds  it's easy on the back.

For those interested in such a beast you should also be aware that the Tanaka was also rebranded by Gamefisher (Sears), and Waterbug.

Listening to a good/better/best coverage of the LA's

So it goes...

Human powered propulsion...

A good climbing film streaming for free, klepto-warfare, and in the "Stuff you need to know about Immigration" department...

Gas is currently $5 a gallon here in paradise and a lot of folks are complaining. A reader from France pointed out the other day that he was paying $7.80 so it's not Biden's fault and just the current price set by some greedheads to up their profits. The word Greedflation pops to mind.

That said, maybe it's best to keep in mind that oil and its byproducts are a finite resource and volatile pricing is just going to be part of the mix as supplies become rarer.

Time to invest in a yuloh or some sort of pedal driven boat propulsion system? 

Speaking of which, Michael Schacht (AKA that Proa File guy) caught a pic of an interesting entry in the R2AK.

Listening to FKA twigs

So it goes...

An alternative engine thought...

Something for the "When they say it out loud you really should believe them" files, as dumb as a bag of hammers, and how you can help Ukraine...

Checking out Surplus Center this morning, a great resource, their engine section impressed me. While their diesel offerings were nil, they had quite a few very interesting four-stroke gasoline engines for not a lot of money.

Like this Subaru 14HP for $299.95.

Compared to a diesel engine of the same quality, that's a lot of bang for the buck.

Of course, I'd be the last person to advise anyone to put a gasoline engine in their boat as gasoline can go boom. That said, I wonder why designers have not used such an engine in a way that was on the boat rather than in the boat.

Off hand, I can think of a few ways that would be fairly non-problematic and safe. While retrofitting something like a CAL 34 would be a chore, but what if an engine like this was an integral part of a new design? It could be a super simple way to go.

Of course, the designer would have to be creative, but from where I sit that's where design gets interesting.

Worth thinking about.

Listening to Silvana Estrada

So it goes...

In search of one horsepower...

A reasonable excuse, something interesting about cheese, and in the "Not at all surprising" department...

While I enjoy rowing I'll be the first to admit that on occasion a small outboard is no bad thing. I use the word 'small' because when I do the need/want test I find that what I need to power a small displacement dinghy to hull speed is just around 1HP. 

Now, if you think about, it one horse power is actually a whole  lot of energy and hardly a thing that is a candidate for derision. Trust me it will move your boat just fine.

Of course, our consumerist overlords don't seem willing to produce a one horse power outboard engine and these days finding a 2HP engine has become quite the problematic exercise.

The old air cooled 2-stroke Cruise N Carry outboard with 1.5HP was actually a pretty good motor as it was simple, easy to fix, and only weighed twelve pounds. The downside was being air-cooled and two-stroke it was a noisy little sucker.

It seems obvious, to me at least, that the way to go with a small outboard these days is going electric. There are lots of little trolling motor that would push your little displacement dinghy just fine.

Saturn 65pond thrust/1 HP motor

The problems with little trolling motors for a cruiser is that while the motors are relatively inexpensive and light they do require a largish battery to make them work. The idea of having to wrangle a 100AH battery in and out of the dinghy on a regular basis as well as having to charge the battery does not induce a warm and fuzzy feeling.

There is one little electric outboard that checks off most of my list and that's the EP Carry which is a great design but somewhat pricey at $1600. Especially when considering that an electric weed wacker can be bought for less than $200.

Did I really just say weed wacker?

Think about that for a moment... It's an electric motor on a stick that turns something. While, granted, a polypro string is not exactly a great way to push your dinghy through the water it does not seem all that difficult of a stretch to imagine that one could attach a propeller to such a beast and see what happens.

Listening to ADG7

So it goes...

something to make the boat move...

A not unexpected SNAFU, EBM makin' a point, and in the "Don't let the door hit you on the butt on your way out" department...

Just in case you were thinking of building a Yuloh.

Listening to the Tedeschi Trucks Band

So it goes...

What kind of steampunk wonderfullness is this?

An interesting study on salmon harvesting, EBM making sense, and in the "Just the same old same FUBAR" department...

A steam powered outboard engine!

 More about it here.
 

Listening to the Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes...

on the subject of how not to entertain an anchorage...

Badtux with a timely historical observation, some good advice, and in the "Funny how some folks minds work" department...

So, here's a question.

Do you know how to row?

Really?

I ask mainly because over the last few years on the rare occasion I see someone actually rowing, they're mostly getting it wrong. Seriously, rowing is a long way from being rocket science but there is a right and wrong way and a bit of technique; both make for less work and goes a long way to keep you from embarrassing yourself.

As it happens, Off Center Harbor who are purveyors of bespoke media centering around boats and suchlike, has a couple of videos well worth checking out. The first, "Rowing", is an excellent little film that pretty much covers everything you need to know while the second "Advanced Rowing with Havilah Hawkins, Part 1 – Techniques and Maneuvers" really ups your game and can add some serious style points while you're at it.

Then again, you might just want to continue with the kludge method as it's always nice to have nautical flailing for the entertainment value.

Listening to Amy LaVere

So it goes...

What people are talking about in Paris...

Greenwashing in aid of profits, an entertaining/educational app, and in the "Just in time for Christmas" department...

For a long time I've been pondering where or not to buy a Ryobi electric weed-whacker with the intention of morphing it into a dinghy propulsion device. As it happens, apparently, one of the big interest items at the Paris Boat Show is this electric godille (sculling oar). Bateaux magazine has an interesting write up on the motor as well.



Of course, being a product aimed at folks on boats it is a whole lot more expensive ($1600) than it should/could be. That said it is a pretty good proof of concept for me to get that Ryobi weed-whacker and get to doing.

Listening to New Order

So it goes...

cheap horsepower...

A visual aid to the madness, another threat to democracy, and the question I ask myself everyday...

I was persusing AliBaba the other day and came across a bunch of dirt cheap diesel engines .

Seriously cheap like this one.

What's not to like about a new water-cooled 10HP diesel engine for $400?

That's cheaper than what Volvo gets for some gaskets...

Sure it's old tech but old tech diesel engines tend to be work horses that run forever and are easy to fix when they do have problems. The fact is that an engine like this would make a whole lot of sense for a variety of boat designs if one had some basic mechanical licks and an open mind...

Hey, it even a hand starter!

Admittedly, 10HP is small by current standards. Of course, me being an old fart who still thinks that that Colvin's "One HP per ton" advice continues to make sense I'd be all over this if I were building a sharpie or VolksCruiser design.

Listening to birthday boy Southside Johnny (and the Jukes of course!) who just hit the big 70

So it goes...

fun with fin wave propulsion...

Russian bot season again, stuff you need to know, and this really should piss you off...

This is all kinds of interesting.



More details here.

Listening to Rosali Middleman

So it goes...

Getting from point A to B...

Not exactly a surprise, making profits in heinous acts, not really bizarro (anymore) news, and in the "a legitimate form of protest" department...



Listening to Robert Jon & the Wreck

So it goes...