Way too expensive for me...

A new land speed record, some interesting details, and in the "Believe them when they say they're going to do shit" department...

Well at least it doesn't have that condomaran look. 

Listening to Moonalice

So it goes...

a pretty interesting plywood scow...

Some scary numbers, the current state of things in the water under your boat, and in the "Urbanized Knowledge Syndrome" department...

Some pretty plywood for sure.

Now it's about time for someone to start designing some shoal draft scows.

Listening to the Mavericks

So it goes...

an interesting scow...

Some climate musings that jive,  a book I very much want to read, and in the "Not surprised but still" department...

Well this is sorta/kinda interesting.

 

From the same design firm that designed the Brava 25 comes the Fast Cruising scow. Check it out over at VPLP Design.

Listening to Midnight North

So it goes...

Must be that time of the month...

A current dumpster diving trend, a good take on Crypto, and in the`"Just how stupid/greedy have we become?" department...+

I often tend to forget that most folks knowledge of how boats work is not based on any kind of study but simply what they think a boat should look like. Or, as our previous stable genius president opined, "I trust my gut". 

A lot of people who are motivated to write me don't like schooners, junk rigs, volkscruisers, free standing spars, extreme shoal draft, or scows.

I actually wonder why some of these folk bother to read Boat Bits at all. Maybe they're just addicted to outrage and BB is just low hanging fruit to stoke their rage in the morning.

I'll also add that the folks who take offense to Boat Bits also seem to be the loudest complainers when I miss a day... Obviously we live in a strange and getting stranger world these days.

As it happens, I have some ideas regarding semi-freestanding spars and junk rig that I'm sure will piss off just about everyone.

Soonish.

Listening to Kid Sistr

So it goes...

Did someone say scow?

 Something needful regarding methane, Shrinkflation is today's word, and in the "Like I don't have enough scary shit to keep me up at night" department...

I've been following the Rosie G build for a while and it's nice to see it all coming together.

More about the design and build can be found at Red Dog Yachts.

Listening to Jimi Hendrix

So it goes...

-A reasonable hull form...

An unsuccessful Dolphin deterrent, a needful read, and in the "Hateful rhetoric" department..

Some bargy goodness.

Listening to Layla Musselwhite

So it goes... 

Best boat in ages...

A very good (albeit depressing) point being made, backsliding on climate, and the "Climate game changer" deparment... 

I'm pretty sure I've made no secret of my love of Harle's Muscadet design in the past but here's a new design that I like just as much.

Sure looks a lot like a Muscadet

With a design brief that amounted to "A Muscadet of the future" and, with no inclination to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Chantier Brava proceeded to design a boat that took the Muscadet concept into the current century.

Better yet, it's a wood boat and wood, Dear Readers, is as close as you can get to an honest-to-god green boat as wood is a sustainable resource with as low of a carbon footprint as you're going to find.

The Brava 25 at 25 feet is a bit bigger than Harle's Muscadet which was just a kiss over 21-feet and the added length and beam makes for a much more livable and comfortable accommodation.

 

The deal-breaker for most is going to be the 1.5 meter (4.92 feet) headroom but I'll go on record as someone who's 6'5" that an interior like this is very livable. Face it, the only important headroom is based on what's needful 99% of he time when you're sitting. That said, I won't bother with the advantages of a flush deck in terms of windage and performance.

So, a boat that I find all kinds of exciting. There's a lot more information on the Brava website hat ou really should check out.

Listening to Lizzy McAlpine

So it goes...

Speaking of dodger/doggers...

Something interesting/scary about insects, somewhat unsettling, and in the "No excuse" department...

What about a booby hatch?

I've always been a fan of Reuel Parker's 28-foot Pilot Schooner. With it's flush deck and booby hatch it's as salty as you can get. Admittedly you only have headroom where it's required but headroom is a highly overrated requirement in most small boats.

More info on the design can be found on the Parker Marine web site and it's well worth checking out.
 

Listening to NoSo

So it goes...

in defense of simple...

Looks like somebody did their math, what you might learn in church, and in the "Sounds about right" department...

I really don't get it.

Folks often ask me simple questions about boats, rigs, and refits but, apparently, desire complicated answers instead of simple ones.

Seriously, what's that all about? Now, as far as my desires for answers to problems I'll go with what's simple 99% of the time. Simple also tends to be easier as well as less expensive which sits quite well with the fact that I'm a fairly lazy and cheap fellow.

As far as I'm concerned overly complicated solutions to simple problems are just stop signs on the roads I like to travel. 

I rest my case.

Listening to Bite Me Bambi

So it goes...

I kinda like the term eco-responsible...

A worthwhile read on forgiveness, depressing Mahi Mahi news, and in the "If you haven't been paying attention" department...

IDB Marine, makers of the popular Mojito design have come out with a new version which they deem to be eco-responsible. They make a lot of sense. The Mojito Virgin 888 is a sensible approach to building a boat that is better then the same old same construction.

To be honest I'd love to be able to afford a Mojito but since that's not going to happen I can incorporate a lot of those ideas into whatever classic plastic I'm currently working on.

By the way the virtual tour of the Mojito is well worth checking out as it's a lot better than most.

Listening to Niki J Crawford

So it goes...

a VolksCruiser of interest...

Not suspicious at all, making the case, and about the need for American flagged boats...

I've always had a soft spot for the bilge-keeled Westerly Centaur design by Laurent Giles and think it is one of the most underrated cruising boats around.

As it happens, there's a Centaur project boat in Gig Harbor looking for someone who'd appreciate it with $500 in hand and the wherewithal to sort out the needful.

From the looks of the pictures all the nasty stuff has already been done which would make the actual needed work something of a slam dunk.

If it were down here in  America's paradise I'd snap it up faster that you can say VolksCruiser.

Listening to Carla Morrison

So it goes...

An interesting scow...

Ringo has COVID (so much for it being over), needful stuff for folks in Ukraine, and in the "Ironic or what?" department...

Atelier Interface has a new 30-foot scow showing at the Grand Pavois that's quite interesting.

Well worth checking out the l'ACE 30 and you can find more info here and here.

Listening to the Iron Leg radio show

So it goes...

What's been on my mind the last couple of days...

Just plain insanity, an astute observation, and in the "About that guy who fucks everything up for all of us" department...

A friend asked me the other day about the idea of "open source" boat plans and it's been on my mind for the last couple of days.

There was an interesting steel boat design, the Yago 31, that was presented as an open source/free plan a while back (Duckworks also has something on the Yago 31). In my mind at least, it was not really an open source design but simply just a free plan which is not quite the same thing.

Sadly, the Yago project appears to have disappeared into that internet void where good things disappear.

Anyway, what would a real open source sailboat design really be?

For me, the most important thing about open source is that to a great extent, it is reliant on user input. The problem with user input is that it can easily morph into the hellish landscape of "design by committee" and that's the kiss of death of good design in most cases, or stasis at best. 

The trick for an open source sailboat design is not to design a boat but to design the parameters of the boat.

For example, an open source Cruiser 30, might be a list of parameters which would include the overall boat dimensions, scantlings, sail area, ballast, and required foils. This would leave the choice of materials, construction, interior, rig, and systems for the users to input their design ideas. Not unlike the Mini 6.5 Transat boats.

Just a table of offsets and required scantlings.

That's a lot of freedom...

The results could be really interesting. You could develop that Cruiser 30 for a progressive version of ferro construction with leeboards, a furling lug rig, and an interior design that is perfect for a couple. While at the same time, someone else is doing a hull based on hemp and bamboo ply panels built using vacuum infusion but constructed as a normal stitch and glue boat. Or, in my current thinking, combining the Cutts and Case double planking method to use home-built lumber using jute...

The possibilities are just about endless.

Certainly worth thinking about.

Listening to Beverly Crusher

So it goes...

a perfect example of how less is more...

A rare quality, interstellar swimming robots, and an anniversary of note...

It's funny how a design can grow on you over the years.

The Shearwater from Edey & Duff, a Bolger design that I never quite liked way back when is now a boat that I find to be one of Phil's best designs.

Back in the day I considered it to be an overgrown day sailor with an over large cuddy that was neither a day sailor or a cruising boat. That said, I did really like the rowing ports.

Now, when looking at the design, I see it as near perfect example of a boat that is as simple as possible and able to do just about anything you'd care to do.

It would be my first choice to do the R2AK.

If I were contemplating a single handed circumnavigation it would be in my top three choices.

If I wanted a bug out boat to get away from whatever apocalypse (zombie or otherwise) I doubt there be a better boat anywhere.

It's not the sort of boat that the boating industry or consumerish cruisers understand or grok but, for those with an unhampered mind, it just might be the boat that makes the right kind of sense.

Listening to G Love

So it goes...

Doing the math...

An important read, a point well made, and in the "Why isn't this idiot not in an orange jumpsuit already?"... 

So, I've been pricing out a build of a KD860 Open and, at first glance, it's a fairly depressing exercise. Nothing makes a forty year old classic plastic sailboat in need of an extreme refit look affordable like the cost of 60 odd sheets of marine ply and the epoxy and glass to cover it with.

Then again, the first budget for a new boat is always daunting and as Hunter S. Thompson said...

 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." 

Still, I do have a cunning plan.

Listening to Making Movies

So it goes...

An interesting cat...

Cost effective power, losing teachers, and Wendig with an artifact of rage and frustration...

Bernd Kohler has a new version of his KD860 design...

The KD860 Open

From where I sit there's a pressing need for an affordable small multihull that can be easily built and an open bridgedeck variation of the KD860 certainly fill a void.

One of my biggest issues with modern multihulls is the lack of simplicity and the idea that everyone wants a boat that will do well in the charter market. A situation that results in multihulls that are big, heavy and expensive.

The KD860 Open is by it's very nature simple which results in a lighter better performing cat that is also a lot more affordable.

My want list for a cruising cat for a couple is pretty spartan. A good place to sleep,a comfortable place to hang out/work, and, multihull performance.

Which, is pretty much describes the KD860 open to a "T". I'll be checking out the study plans ASAP and have more to say about the design and rig once I've had a chance to price it all out. In the meantime, there's more info over on the K-Designs website that you'll want to check out.

Listening to some songs for a certain mood

So it goes...

just another affordable sailboat...

A different orbit, music for flat earthers, and Badtux with the needful...

Pretty much everywhere I look there are boats in good condition selling for very little. This morning I came across a Newport 28 Mk 2 going for $2500. Admittedly the engine is not currently working  but as it's a Yanmar and not seized it's more than likely a repair rather than replace situation.

 

Practical Sailor had a pretty good review you might want to check out. 

Anyway, that's a lot of boat for not a lot of money.

Listening to Maverick City Music

So it goes...

a depressing state of affairs...

A book on AI I think I need to read, why the word "concerning" makes me nervous, and in the "It's about time to nail these these jerks to the wall" department...

I just noticed that RAKA has a newish website with higher prices. 

Yeah, prices on everything just keep going up and it's getting harder and harder to build a boat on a workingman's budget.

It's a depressing state of affairs.

Luckily, old classic and not so classic boats still abound while the cost of buying and refitting an elderly boat is still within the reach of someone on a very tight budget. Albeit, a task akin to swimming upstream against a strong current with your hands tied behind your back.

A $400 boat on CraigsList

What we could use is some real progress in the design and building of boats. Sadly, what passes these days for progress is more about bigger, more expensive, and fashion rather than simpler, sustainable, and affordable.

Things really do need to change.

Listening to an interesting cover

So it goes...

a couple of reasons to look at a center cockpit design...

L,G, & M with a needful read on the economics of blogging, collateral damage, and in the "Just another scary record to ignore" department...

I'll be honest and say that I've never been a big fan of center cockpit designs. Part of it is that they're, to my eye at least, mostly ugly and have wheel steering.

Which is not to say that some center cockpit boats have some advantages.

For instance, take a look at the head on an S2 and you'll see an awesome sit down shower arrangement that just might be the best head design in a monohull in terms of practicality.

Not bad for a thirty foot boat.

Another plus for center cockpit designs is that their layout makes it easy to throw on a junk rig without destroying the interior accommodation. Point of fact, I spent a few hours looking at various center cockpit designs and most of them would easily work as a junk or lug rig.

Something to think about if you're looking for a junk rig.

Listening to some Three Dog Night coverage

So it goes...

Way cooler than a Lagoon...

Pay's up for some, apt thoughts on music, and something scary about salt...

A very cool little multihull.

Sébastien Roubinet is no stranger to adventurous pursuits and his choice of a sailing craft tends to reflect that experience.

More about the project can be found here.

Listening to Steve Earle

So it goes...