a boat issue of note...

Proof positive that it can be done, an unexpected event due to climate change/drought, and in the "About those rights" department...

Way back when I used to work in a boatyard for an hourly wage, I mainly did two jobs. Fixing leaky decks and sorting out mast step issues where deck stepped masts were concerned.

The leaking decks were hard on my knees and back, but fairly simple. Deck stepped mast problems were a whole other thing entirely.

The usual problem ran something like this: the compression post was not supporting the deck/mast. Compressive forces induced by the rigging would push the deck down at the mast step. Which would cause the rigging to go slack.

With me so far?

Then the owner or rigger would tighten the rig, which caused more damage to the deck, compression post and compression post step, which would then result in more rig tuning. This, of course, would induce more pressure on the mast, step, deck compression post and compression post step.

Which puts us pretty deep in FUBAR territory.

Now you have a deck reverse curvature, a compression post step failure, or a buckled compression post. In a worst-case scenario, the mast would simply pop a hole in the deck or hull. Other issues were various forces on interior structure that could cause many and varied construction failures as the mast/rigging matrix is now tearing your boat apart.

It’s actually pretty amazing just how much damage (spelled t-o-t-a-l — l-o-s-s) can occur by simply over-tightening the rig.

Actually, like most sailboat problems, the fix is fairly simple if caught early and addressed promptly. Of course, check all the parts of your rig regularly, including not just the rigging but the mast step, compression post, the compression post step and the deck in and around the mast.

Most classic plastics are old enough that parts of the compression post assembly are way past their sell-by date. For instance, on our CAL 34, the first repair/upgrade I made was to replace the compression post and the beam it stepped on. The downside was to remove the old I-beam and replace with a new one. I also had to drop the mast and remove and replace the adjacent bulkhead.

There is a pretty good video, on just such a problem that you might want to check out. 

While I’m pretty sure I’d approach the repair somewhat differently than they do. I’ll just say they are on the right track, though they’d make their lives a lot simpler by dropping the mast to facilitate their fix.

Listening to something from the I need to listen to more Ska files

So it goes...

Looking at a Sangria refit...

The song you need on your playlist, a great ad, and in the "We're all for solar as long as we make a profit" department...

Ino Rope on rigging a Sangria in 2022...

Listening to Fairport Convention

So it goes...

an overhand soft shackle...

EBM with a good link, a worthwhile rant, and in the "Just plain interesting" department...

This is good.

Listening to Courtney Barnett

So it goes...

on the cost of things...

An important question, some needful reading, and in the "There's hype but then there's hype" department...

As it happens I just came across a receipt for some Samson rope I purchased a few years back and the important number was $79.95.

Considering that this was for a 600-foot spool of 10mm line that's a pretty good number. Doing the math tells me the line only cost just a kiss more than thirteen cents a foot. A 600-foot spool was more than enough to replace all of the running rigging aboard "So It Goes" with enough left over to replace any halyards or sheets that need replacing in the foreseeable future.

Doing a quick search while having my morning coffee I found several reasonable facsimile deals for spools of rope in the under twenty-cents a foot price point.

You just have to look.

Listening to Lasers Lasers Birmingham

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 best buy in rigging gear...

An article that I found a lot more interesting than I expected, somewhat troubling, and in the "I have a very bad feeling about this" department...

I was perusing Duckworks the other day and noticed they had a set of splicing fids for $3.25 and it got me thinking. Plastic fids make sense as they're smooth so won't snag on rope fibers and they do the job. Of course, fids are such a simple tool that you can make your own or adapt something that's laying around like a ball point pen or knitting needles. I can't actually recall how many splices I've done with ad hoc fids but I'm sure it's an impressive number.

While I take a certain amount of pride in being Mr Cheapseats, I will confess to owning some nice fids of the more than cheap variety. I have a set of Selma fids, a D-Splicer, a couple of open back fisherman's fids, as well a plethora of knitting needles, forceps, and other fiddish-shaped bits of plastic or metal that seem to have found their way into my rigging bag.

Still, to be completely honest, I'm pretty sure that the cheap plastic fid kit would do 99% of the splicing I do regularly. For those who only do a few splices a year they'd be more than up to the job. Better yet they even come with splicing directions.

I'll also add, that since it's that time of year, they'd make a great stocking stuffer.

Nuff said.

Listening to a pivotal Beach Boys album

So it goes...

Some thoughts on rigs...

An interview of note, some needful reading that made me angry, and in the "Sigh" department...

For a long time I was a big advocate of free-standing rigs. My main issue with standing rigging was its many potential failure points any one of which could make your rig fall down and go BOOM. Take it from someone who had a mast fall down that it's not something you want to do.

My current thoughts on spars and rigging has evolved to the point where I think the most sensible approach is somewhere between the two using a mast with more structural integrity in conjunction with textile rigging. The marriage of the two becomes much less prone to failure as well as more economical.

When I was considering adapting "So It Goes" to junk  or lug rig The diameter of a single mast figured out to be ten-inches in diameter which was problematic on several levels. A wood mast of that size done using traditional scantlings was going to be heavier than I thought prudent, the location of said mast would be problematic to the interior layout of the boat, and the cost was more than I was prepared to pay for in materials and time. While I played with various other junk/lug schooner or ketch rigs they all screwed up the interior to the point that I found myself going with the Simplicity Rig which Mark Smaalders designed and has worked out extremely well.

Since then, I’ve put a lot of thought into how I could have done the rig differently and in various ways to make textile rigging better and more affordable. In textile rigging, the problem seems to be that instead of embracing strengths of textile rigging they treat it like wire.

When I look at a rig replacement, the first job at hand is getting rid of those potential failure points. As most rigs fail at the mast to stay and boat to stay intersections, that’s the problem areas that need to be dealt with.

In the boat to stay intersection you have the chainplate, toggle, turnbuckle, and whatever sort of stay termination you’re using, as well as however many clevis pins or shackles are in the mix. The average number of failure points at the chainplate end of the stay is six. Multiply that with the number of stays on a sloop and that equals forty-eight failure points and we haven’t even begun talking about the stay to mast attachments. 

Which is why I've been partial towards free-standing masts and rigs. More on those in the next installment... 

Listening to an album's worth of Go-Go's coverage

So it goes...

Something interesting about rope...

A whale of a tale, something from the inappropriate files, and in the "Why the fuck is no one in jail?" department...

Yeah, I know it pisses some folks off when I link to or have things in French but all you need is the visual so you could just turn your sound off.

But better if you leave the sound on because you might learn something.

Listening to a bookish playlist

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...

on the evolutionary conundrum of boat gear design...

On the subject of where money for children in need goes, some Beatles stuff I'm really looking forward to, and in the "a slab of misery on wheels" department...

The other day it came to me that what "So It Goes" needed  were a few more cleats or suchlike to take care of a couple of extra halyards and the most obvious answer was to add a couple of pinrails. As it happens pinrails actually make all kinds of sense.

The problem, for me at least, is that most folks think of pinrails as being some varnished teak bits on the shrouds. You know, sort, leaky tiki old school traditional sort of stuff.

But, I asked myself, why haven't pinrails evolved into the current century? For that matter why hasn't someone designed and built an evolved tradical gaff rig?

Anyone seen any cool evolved pinrails? I'd love to see some pictures.

Listening to fifty Paul Simon covers

So it goes...

Regarding opinions masquerading as facts...

Some very old skis, a vaccine for Malaria, and an Orca sculpture that caught my attention...

OK, I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of sailing or cruising forums because the general level of cluelessness tends to get up my nose. For instance, this morning I looked in on a thread about free-standing rigs and another about textile rigging and most of the content was clueless.

The problem is that opinions, in the general parlance, have gained equal stature as facts which results in too much BS information floating around clouding the information streams.

Now, where free-standing rigs are concerned, having researched the subject to the Nth degree, built said masts, and sailed them across oceans I think I actually have a handle on the general question of rather or not they make sense on a cruising boat. As it happens I've also long considered the reasons for the lack of popularity of free-standing rigs and it really has nothing to do with whether they are good or bad but a whole lot to do with the fact that folks, in general, are just way too resistant to change of any sort to adopt something other than the same old same.

As far as textile rigging is concerned I'm just so tired of hearing the same bits of misinformation spouted as gospel where terms like stretch, creep, and cost are concerned that I want to bang my head against the table or bulkhead till blessed unconsciousness results to make it go away. Then again, I've researched the subject, taken workshops with folks who know what they're doing, and done enough practical work with the materials to know why my mast did not fall down when confronted with two Cat 5 hurricanes while tons of non-textile rigs fell down.

Which is not to say I don't have opinions as well. There's a sailboat design that induces a negative knee jerk reaction in me that I really dislike. There's something about the way the sheer looks and the rig just does not make sense to me which fuels my disdain. That said, I've never actually sailed the boat or even seen one sailing so I'd never offer a public opinion on how well or badly the design might actually work. Sure, I expect it to be a real dog but, since I don't have facts to back up my opinions of the boat, I'm not going to say anything about it.

Just sayin'...

Listening to Thao & The Get Down

So it goes...

an example of how "cheaper" and "better" go together...

On the current state of assholery, an apt Twilight Zone, and on the subject of budgets...

For a variety of reasons I've been thinking a lot about building affordable masts and sensible rigging to put them up with.

Which is somewhat out-of-step with what most people are doing as it seems that most folk seem to be more in the "Let's just see how expensive we can make it" school of boat building. Rather than the few asking 

"How do we make this better while cutting the cost at the same time?"

who seem to be in short supply. 

As I mentioned before I'm pretty impressed with Reuel Parker's current riff on a plywood mast and reading his follow-up article in the May/June 2021 issue of Wooden Boat Magazine that combined with a judicious use of textile rigging it's possible to put up a better rig for a whole lot less money than most think possible.

Better yet, the mast in question is super easy to build, lighter than any mast you're going to be able to buy, and, after perusing used masts on CraigsList, quite a bit cheaper than an old beat up mast on the used market. What's not to like?

So, why am I the only guy doing the happy dance?

One of my projects this week is installing a new tabernacle on "So It Goes" around the current mast and sorting out that it will work for the new mast I'm planning to build soonish of the Parker variety.

Listening to Ghalia Volt

So it goes...

some times a bit of brute force is no bad thing...

A very needful read, L,G, & M also getting it right, and in the "We need real action instead of thoughts/prayers" department

A couple of tools you won't find on most people's boats is a sledge hammer and a crowbar. Now, I'll be the first person to admit that a sledge hammer or a crow bar do not quite fit in the refined tool category but they do have their place.

For instance, I needed to make a small adjustment to the rig that would otherwise require taking the boat into the local boat yard to use their crane to lift the mast a couple of inches which would have also required the expenditure of too many hundred dollar bills for the lift.

Then again, the reason I needed to adjust the rig and mast step had a lot to do with the fact that the crane operator in question was the cause of the needed adjustment/fix to the rig as the initial mast stepping was something of a clusterfuck and I really did not want to repeat the experience.

Now, if I were someplace where they had bridges I'd just lift the mast and re-step it using a simple block and tackle but down here in paradise you don't see a lot of bridges...

So, what's a poor boy going to do?

Which is where a crow bar and a three-pound sledge hammer come into play. A half hour of elegantly applied brute force with the added assist of a bit of leverage from a small crow bar did the trick finest kind.

There are lots of ways and situations where a sledge or a crowbar might be just the right tool for a given problem.

Anyway, it's something to keep in mind...

Listening to Jason Isbell

So it goes...

Dealing with hindsight...

A climate change news story involving bareboats, some depressing Covid information, and an interesting video on how some folks learn a language...

Yesterday I finished seizing various chafe areas on the new lifelines which should extend their life considerably. It was not lost on me as I was doing it that seizing Dyneema with waxed twine was mixing old and new tech but, in my experience, the use of old/new tech often results in an appropriate solution to a problem. 

Truth be told, it occurred to me that since seizing is such an easy and inexpensive way to protect Dyneema that I was an idiot not to seize the standing rigging aboard "So It Goes".

The late great Brion Toss pointed out that seizing Dyneema which protects the stays from UV and chafe pretty much made for rigging that would last forever.

Of course, hindsight is a bitch. Especially for boat builders as we're always able to see better ways to do things after the fact. When building my Wharram cat, finishing the first hull was tempered by the fact that I knew that the second hull would be better than the first because my skill set had improved. Every mast I build is going to be better than previous masts simply because I'm better at it, have absorbed new techniques, and studied how other folks have built their masts.

Which, of course, is one of the reasons that I really want to build a new mast for "So It Goes" as I learned a lot and can build a better one based on a Reuel Parker mast section that will be easier to build, lighter and less expensive than the one I have currently. Better yet, It would have a better mast tabernacle system which will free me from the clutches of greed-head boatyards, make maintenance simpler, allow for low bridge situations and allow me to seize the standing rigging as a bonus.

Listening to Bo Diddley

So it goes...

One step for tourists and a giant leap for folks who make money off them...

A pretty important distinction, a needful read, and something that really should piss you off...

I just finished watching the Bezos Blue Origin launch and, overall, it made me feel good that there is now a chance that space will actually open up. Not so much because of some spirit of adventure but simply because there are profits to be made and rich people will want to cash in.

I'm actually OK with that. Seriously, opening new frontiers is a way better way of getting richer than stealing wages from your employees. 

Today's project is putting in new lifelines so it's mainly splicing which is a great way to spend a beautiful day.

Listening to some Marvin Gaye coverage

So it goes...

in the "Old plastic bottles" department...

Something on the subject of parachute science, an interesting fact, and 25 corporations you might want to think twice about...

It would seem that Premium Ropes has a new rope available that is made from 100% recycled material.

Beats putting plastic bottles into landfill all to hell.

Listening to a literary playlist

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...

What stuff costs...

A good point, another reason not to use Google, and in the "Rich men behaving badly" department...

Over the last week or so I've been trying to find some seine line/twine and finding it difficult to find in the size and color I'm looking for. The real difficult part is that it would appear that many purveyors of said line won't just drop it in the mail but instead quoting silly amounts to send the line down here to America's Paradise.

Anyway, as I also needed to replenish my dwindling stock of waxed sail twine, I noticed that the price of said sail twine was pretty much the same from the various folks who sell it with a fairly glaring exception.

West Marine.

Sail twine is available mostly in one ounce, quarter pound, and pound spools. As in most things the prices seem to be more expensive per foot if you're buying the smaller sizes and less expensive in the larger spools. Most places sell an ounce for $4, a quarter pound for around $9 and a pound for about $30.

So, imagine my surprise, when I checked out West Marine and found them charging $64.99 for a one pound spool. Not exactly surprising that their smaller spools were even more expensive.

The thing is, West Marine is so big that they really should be undercutting most other suppliers of marine goods if for no other reason that with their economics of scale they're paying less for goods than their smaller competitors.

Anyway, just something to keep in mind when you're shopping for stuff and a reminder to always do the math.

Listening to a coffee themed playlist

So it goes...

on being sorta/kinda busy at the moment...

Norton Juster is no longer with us, a bit of surf history, and in the "She's just extremely confident about her ignorance and no one seems to have the heart to tell her she's an idiot" department...

The last couple of days I've been doing a lot of thinking about a new way of making a junk sail I've recently come across and adapting said ideas into something that might actually make sense for a VolkCruiserish type of boat.

I'm enjoying the process.

Which is a roundabout way of saying I haven't come up with the post I'd planned to write today as I've been talking to various sailmakers and gear heads on some junkish details and material availabilities.

Anyway, hopefully, more interesting stuff soon come.

Listening to some Rickie Lee Jones coverage

So it goes...

Is a trigger warning really needed?

A failing infrastructure, something about that plague state, and in the "Not the right question" department...

The other day over on VolksCruiser I wrote something on the subject of "Free Boats" and I got quite a bit of push back as a result. Apparently, the words 'free' and 'boat' used in conjunction is something of a trigger phrase for some folks.

Now, where I come from, the whole idea of taking something that has no or a negative value and recycling it into something that has a purpose and value is no bad thing and I truly admire those folk who take on such projects and are successful in their endeavors. 

Offhand I'd really love to find a free boat without a mast so I could test some cunning plans I have regarding affordable rigs and rigging but every time I find such a beast they are in someplace far away. That said, If a free C&C 35 without a mast appeals you might want to check out Craig's List up in NYC...

Listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees

So it goes...