a couple of quotes...

 

Stupidity at work, wordle, and in"the no semi about it" department...

Two of my favorite quotes pretty much nails my thoughts relating to boats.

“Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

- Albert Einstein

Perfection is attained, not when no more can be added, but when no more can be removed.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Pretty much says it all.

Listening to ADG7

So it goes...

on the subject of 12 volt working just fine.

This gave me a nightmare, mainstream bat-shit crazy viewed from abroad, and in the "Just what we don't need or want" department...

Some while back, I had a couple of 50-watt solar panels fail. What can I say but shit happens. As the seller of the solar panels refused to honor their warranty as, apparently, they defined "Lifetime Warranty" as being until the panels died. 

I'm still pissed off.

Anyway, since I planned to try and fix the panels but never quite got around to doing it, our electrical budget has been a bit compromised. Not an overly problematic state of affairs as we just cut back a kiss on our consumption.

Which, I'll point out, is not all that hard. We've been doing the boat ting since the days before solar panels when 99% of our power aboard was produced by an Ampair Aquair water/air unit like this.

It worked just fine.

That said, in those days we didn't have anything electrical on board except for instruments, a few meager interior lights, and navigation lights. Our VHF radio and our RDF at the time operated on AA batteries. Still, it worked pretty well while sailing in the Med, Africa and over to the Caribbean.

These days, we're still a 12-volt boat where electrics are concerned. I'll admit we do have an immersion blender that operates with a 300-watt inverter  but I think it's been about five years since it's been used. Which, I suppose, makes me the last person anyone should seek guidance from on an integrated solar/diesel system that would power a large village or a couple on a catamaran who wants to be comfortable and sail with all mod cons.

I mention all this as the next up project is redoing the solar mounting aboard "So It Goes" and part of that is to redo some of the wiring into a more cohesive (dare I say elegant?) loom. Hopefully it will make a bit more sense than the ad hoc assemblage that has somehow grown into a 10-gauge spiderweb which lays in wait for the unprepared.

The thing is, that 12 volts makes sense for folks who don't want to complicate their lives to the extent that it gets in the way of the simpler life some of us were hoping to find in sailing.

Oh yeah, if anyone sees an Aquair in good shape selling for cheap drop me a line...

Listening to St. Paul & The Broken Bones

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...

on the premise that over-thinking around boats is often problematic...

Actions and words matter, worth reading, and in the "This really makes me want to pee in my pants" department...

 "I have a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel".

-Black Adder

I often tend, when working out boat projects, to dismiss my first thoughts. For example, I'm building a new boom for "So It Goes" and my initial plan was to just do a T-section boom because it is dead simple, strong, quickest to build, and cheap. What's not to like?

Of course, just to make sure I'm not doing something I'll regret later, I do a bit of research and see if anyone has come up with a better sort of boom or spar that might be even easier/stronger/cheaper. Then lo and behold before you can say "Cunning Plan" I've somehow managed to lose focus and find myself doing research on exotic composite layups, interesting ways to attach a boom to a mast, and just generally losing touch with the whole point of the exercise.

Maybe I should build a wingmast?

All in the hope that I'll somehow or other come around to the perfect Cunning Plan or something close enough to it to do the happy dance.

While this is all going on the boom, or whatever project is in the mix, is not getting built now is it?

More often than not, I do this circular logic thing a couple of times before I have to sit myself down and tell myself that, in point of fact, that the initial idea/plan actually makes a whole lot of sense and that I should just got to doing and if I had I'd have already finished the project. Face it, tough love is often a 2 X 4 of logic upside the head.

That said, the whole quest for the cunning plan does often result in small improvement to the original simple plan so it is not without its advantages. In the case of T-section booms and gaffs I now routinely add carbon and Kevlar when I'm gluing it all up which results in a stronger and stiffer spar with just tiny increase in cost.

Still, there is a whole lot to be said to simpy just build the frelling thing and save the overly cunning plan for the Mark 2 version.

Listening to the Mavericks

So it goes...

Avoiding stasis...

Something you may want to check out,  a conversation with Bruce Springsteen, and in the "technically and economically feasible" department...

Back in the late 80's when we were preparing to retire and sail away to the Caribbean things were different and not in a bad way.

For instance, there was not a lot of choice like we have today in boats and boat stuff. Today, by comparison, there is such a plethora of "stuff you have to have" that just choosing a boat and outfitting is a lot harder than actually doing the sailing/cruising gig.While choice is a good thing, too much choice tends to induce stasis and stress. Made worse, of course, by the fact that the pressure to consume mixed with the need to have the very best (something that really only exists in myth) and shaken with a liberal application of false information is a cocktail that will make your head spin.

I mention this because as I'm budgeting out the new boat build I've been spending a fair amount of time thinking of the outfitting as I'd really like to future proof my investment and insure as trouble free system as possible. A couple of weeks looking at state-of-the-art electronics systems made me wonder just how anyone can actually outfit a boat these days and not lose their mind in the process.

My job became a lot easier once I'd applied the Need/Want process to the mix and did the math which vectored me right back to a reality based system...

Which means I'm going old school. Truth be told, I've always preferred simple and, as a bonus, if you want simple you're back in the not a lot of choice world.

So, right now my shopping list for the next boat is a grid compass, a mechanical (not electronic) speed/ log, an inexpensive fishfinder/chart plotter, and a vhf with AIS. Since I'm a belts and braces kind of guy I'll also add a couple of cheap (under $100) pocket GPS units, a handheld VHFs, and a trailing log. All told not a lot of investment and far, far short of that magic $1K number.

Next up we'll talk about why I prefer a grid compass and suchlike...

Listening to Wyclef Jean

So it goes...

Something to pass the time with rope...

EBM on more pharma greedheads, some not exactly surprising shit, and morphing from nanny to ninny...



Listening to Jake Shimabukuro

So it goes...

simple...

Exciting stuff, apparently it's different when it's their problem, and on that being a certain age thang...



Listening to the Marcus King Band

So it goes...

Small works...

About that dumb idea, some really, really good advice, and in the "not exactly surprising is it" department...

Here's some proof positive from David Bold that you don't need a fifty-foot boat to sail across the gulf stream and cruise the Bahamas with some style.


Cruising the Bahamas in 3.6 meter ENIGMA from David Bold on Vimeo.

Listening to a whole bunch of good people

So it goes...

Some stuff to think about...

A question I keep asking myself, don't you love it when right wingers do their math, and in the "Better Conditions = Happier Workers = Higher Profits" department ( FYI: If you wear clothing with sailing company logos chances are it was sewn in a sweat shop)...



Listening to Françoise Hardy

So it goes...

a quick love/hate scenario...

Just another instance of big Pharma companies not being your friend, worth reading, and this just might ruin your day...

Let's talk about love/hate scenarios.

I happen to love my Whale foot pump because it is the most simple, trouble free, affordable galley pump available... Love is not too strong of a word.

What I hate about this pump is that since the diaphragm needs replacing every nine-months or so you need to buy a service/repair kit that costs nearly as much or MORE than the actual pump and this is just frelling NUTS.

Just thought I'd get that off my chest...

Listening to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

So it goes...

Simplicity... It's sorta/kinda complicated.

Every one's favorite Professor RIP, a reading list of note, and this is not happy-making at all...

When you stop to think about it simplicity should be a whole lot more simple...

The other day I was looking at my next project of redoing the electrical system that has somehow or other evolved into a complicated mess that has taken on a life of its own, not unlike the Forbin Project or Kudzu.

Anything but simple.

Now, take a look at the original wiring diagram for the CAL 34...

Something to aspire to!

Listening to Susan Tedeschi

So it goes...

On bigger not being the answer...

First Draft makes a very good point, just the facts ma'am, some seriously bitchin' surfboard porn, and Weather Underground has been purchased by the Weather Channel...

Mr Orlov's post this morning got me thinking (it's well worth a read) about the whole being a consumer and consumerism gig...

Anyway, it sorta/kinda reinforces something that I've been thinking about for awhile that if looking to buy or build a new boat, smaller makes a whole lot more sense than bigger.

Of course, the advantages are pretty obvious. Smaller is going to cost you less to buy/build, smaller means less work to keep it sailing, as well as less expense all around. What's not to like?

A lot of people seem to feel that a bigger boat is a safer boat and I'll admit that a bigger boat can be a tad more comfortable in some conditions but there is really no valid argument that bigger = safer.

Take a quick look at Tad Robert's Future Cruiser 28...

This boat can go anywhere you care to take it. At 28' it has about the same living space as our CAL 34 or, to be more precise, it has about the same amount of living space we actually utilize on our CAL 34. It's systems (well, actually using the word systems is something of a misnomer) are small, cheap and easily handled. When it's time to haul out you'd have six feet of haul out charges you don't have to pay and a gallon of anti-fouling you don't need to buy... Over the course of a few years this becomes a substantial savings... I won't go into savings at marinas because with a draft of less than two feet you'll always be able to find someplace free to anchor!

Of course, if you have a bent to go the multihull route take a look at the KD860...

Small, shoal, perfect for a couple, and cheap/fast to build...(You can find more about my thoughts on the design here).

Listening to Rod Stewart

So it goes...

A little protection...

Next time you tip a waiter/waitress you might want to reflect on this, some good news, and an interesting article for those of us who wonder why sailing is less than multicultural...

A boat near us on a mooring went walkabout yesterday night. It wound up having to be pulled off a reef, and sustained enough damage and costs to completely ruin the owner's whole year.

Bummer!

Makes the need of a little chafe protection come in to serious focus...

Listening to the Dixie Chicks


So it goes...

Simple Monday and a few words on anchoring... Part three

Why you might want to think twice before eating that shrimp cocktail, Bob Perry talks rudder, and, apparently, Hart over at "his vorpal sword" wants the same thing I do for Christmas...

Truth be told, I'm not very good at anchoring in tight places because 99.9% of the time there is simply no need to. On those rare occasions when I do, the operative word is C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y.

As I have mentioned before, if a boat has any kind of decent scope out the chances are that they are pivoting on their chain rather than their anchor and that makes it very difficult to ascertain exactly where someone's anchor happens to be...

For instance, yesterday in the anchorage we were all pointing in very different directions as it was a current/swell/wind nightmare. Later as the swell died down and all the boats were pointing (more or less) into the wind I realized that for a boat just coming in to the anchorage it was the anchorage from hell but did not look like it was. Our anchor was about thirty feet behind us while the boat behind us was sitting dead on top of theirs and for the rest the only thing I could say for sure was nobody's anchor was anywhere near where you'd expect them to be.

Which is why that inviting hole in the midst of a bunch of boats can be anything but inviting.

So, the prudent and simple thing to do is to anchor at the back of the pack... Fact is, we never ever anchor in front of boats and, as many years as we have been doing this, we have never found ourselves in a situation where we could not anchor aft of the pack.

On the other hand, most times when we come into an anchorage where lots of boats are sardined in a section we'll find there is plenty of room because the "anchorage" is often much larger than the area actually being used by boats and we do ourselves a disservice when we assume otherwise simply because boats are bumper to bumper in a particular corner.

Listening to Dirty Heads

So it goes...

Listening to the iPod and filling holes...

I'm currently in the process of losing all of the deck hardware involved in bringing the halyards and reefing lines back to the cockpit...

Which means I have a lot of holes to fill and as filling holes is something of a time consuming though brainless job I have ample time to listen to my iPod and wonder at how much all of this gear I'm taking off the boat cost... Jeez!

Bringing the reefing back to the cockpit is an idea, that while appealing on many levels, can be somewhat problematic when confronted with real world use. Over the last few years I have lost track of the number of times I've had to go to the mast to free a line, untangle something, or sort out other mayhem during a squall and I'd hazard a guess that, if I had kept track, that my visits to the foredeck with lines led aft in heavy weather were about the same as when none of the lines were led aft.

The big difference though is that if you expect to go to the mast on a regular basis you are prepared to go to the mast. On the other hand, if you don't expect to leave your cockpit... Well, shit does happen!

So, at least for my style of sailing, going back to simple make sense.

The bright side of all of this is that I'll have a lot of line organizers and suchlike to pimp at the next nautical flea market I find myself at and, with any luck, might even pay for all of the epoxy and fillers that the hole filling consumes. I can live with that.

What would be even better (I'm guessing) is one of those holes has also been causing an apparently untraceable leak in our deck that has had me jumping through hoops for months...

Listening to the Bonzo Dog Band...

So it goes...

My next washing machine...

I've mentioned before that laundry tends to be the most problematic chore aboard a cruising boat. Every once in awhile someone comes up with a clever idea or prototype but they all seem to stay ideas and prototypes...

Yesterday, I read about, yet another, clever idea for a non-electric clothes washer and spinner... Color me excited... then I came to the part that said it was not available and was a concept rather that a I-can-buy-it-anytime-soon sort of thing or in the parlance of the day... VAPORWARE!

That said, it looks kind of cool but does not quite inspire confidence...  Then again it might do double duty as a rice cooker!

But it did get me thinking and since said concept is based on a salad spinner, why not simply buy a real heavy duty industrial manual salad spinner and have done with it? Stuff built for food service tends to be built to last, and as things go, at a little over a C-note, affordable. Especially if you factor in not having to hit $3.50 a load washing machines at the local laundry...

... Plus if you ever have the need for making Godzilla sized salads you're covered!

Maybe I'm just simple minded...

I get no shortage of emails to Boat Bits Central pointing out that going simple may be all well and good for the likes of someone like yours truly (apparently a simpleton/idiot of some talent), but that for most folks things are a whole lot more complicated... The world being a very complicated place.

Frankly, I simply don't buy that line of reasoning and if there is one thing that becoming older has taught me is that things, when you get down to the nitty gritty of basics, really are dead simple and the cloud of complication is all a lot of smoke and mirrors that you or someone else created.

Life really is simple, and if it's not, you're doing something wrong... Which is not to say that simple is always easy as sometimes it's damn hard work...

One of the reasons boat building, sailing, and cruising has such a lure to modern folk is that it is by it's very nature an exercise in simplicity. A black and white (no shades of gray) world where things make sense and that, dear readers, is known as the real world.

All you have to do to get with the program is to chart a course and go...

Listening to Jerry Riopelle do "So Young".

So it goes...

Edging toward simpler...

One of the problems we have in the doing-up-a-boat-and-sailing-away-gig is that most folks don't pay enough attention to the world outside a very small confined orbit... I'm lucky coming from a climbing, backpacking, and cycling background so realize the answer to all questions is not always over-priced marine gear.

For instance, not too long ago I pointed out that a figure eight descender made a reasonable boom brake for around ten dollars instead of a "marine" boom brake for hundreds. Of course, I'd never have realized you could use one to stop a boom if I had not arrested a 230-pound climbing partner's 80-foot zipper fall on Half Dome. Face it, it makes sense to look outside at what other sports use from time to time...

But it's not just the gear we need to keep an eye on as an even more valuable resource is keeping tabs on what other sports and activities are up to in terms of head-space. What are they thinking?

Left to the CruisingWorld/Sail consumer yachting world it's all about buying things and comfort or ever increasing luxury as the norm for what is needful on a sailboat. Not too long ago, the people who still are heroes to most of us sailed without engines, furling gear, refrigeration, EPIRBs, computers, watermakers or onboard washers/dryers... Hardly seems possible if you only read the sailing rags of today. What is even more surprising to some, is most of them had a pretty good time doing it!

Which is one of the reasons it's good to read blogs like "A Path Less Pedaled". It gives you a different viewpoint and makes you realize just how comfortable in the grand scheme of things a 1970's era classic plastic sailboat can be compared to riding a bicycle across the USA. A whole different head space for sure! Their post from today really is a must read if only to tweak that urge for yet more and more expensive gear/toys that the sailing rags tell you ya gotta have...

Listening to Dexys Midnite Runners

So it goes...