a couple of irksome words...

Something important from Carl Sagan, even more scary reading, and in the "But someone's making money" department...

I just realized that I tend to grit my teeth whenever anyone uses the word "sustainable" these days. I suspect my bad reaction has a lot to do with the fact that most people using the word sustainable don't actually have a clue about what the word means.

Such is life in 2022.

Another word that puts me in a bad mood is "downsizing" since most folk using the term are not actually downsizing but using it as an excuse to go out and buy a bunch of stuff.

Sorry, but I really needed to get that said.

Listening to Durand Jones & The Indications

So it goes...

something regarding design...

An excellent interview with Werner Herzog, something on second class American citizens, and in the "Three years is not a lot of time" department...

So, it appears that the folks on Uma are sorta/kinda getting into the cruising boat design playground or something like it. Good for them. I'll be following what they conjure up with bated breath.

As for myself, I've never been into the idea of designing a boat for myself for a few reasons. One being that I feel my talent lies more in the building of boats rather than the design process. Which does not mean that I don't have a long list of input as to my druthers when working with a designer.

Of course, one big problematic issue where getting a designer to draw a boat I'd consider building these days is that most of my want list are not sellable to the current market. Most sane designers would not waste their time when they could be designing a condomaran or cookie cutter cruiser/racer for clients with deeper pockets than yours truly. 

Not that I think a tradical VolksCruiser would be a bad investment in time for a designer. There are a lot of folks out there that, if approached in the right way, could be sold on an easy to build, affordable, sustainable, and able performing design that fulfills an empty niche in the current market.

Of course, I'd welcome and love to review and post information on any boats that designers of the  tradical, easy to build, affordable, sustainable, and able performing design mindset might send my way.

Just sayin'

Listening to some Carole King coverage

So it goes...

on resisting seductive boat bling...

Exploitation for profit, a needful read on masks/mandates, and in the "It's just slumlord culture" department...

Pretty much every day someone sends me something about a new bit of boat bling that I should buy. Today it was an integrated modular instrumentation solution that would, if the included material is believed, will make my life all warm and fuzzy. 

The thing is I already have a semi-integrated instrument system that works just fine. That the idea of replacing it with a newer, hipper, and more stylish system that actually costs more than the boat I'd be installing it in sorta/kinda appeals to me has me questioning my sanity.  

Such is the power of consumerism and its attached hype that even I feel the siren call of buying new stuff I don't need and can't afford on a regular basis.

I keep having to remind myself that I already have excellent gear that would have cost an unattainable fortune back when I was crossing oceans with a compass, trailing log, and plastic sextant. Gear that worked then and will, if needful work just as well today. While I now have GPS, chart plotters (yes plural!) an incredible depth sounder/fishfinder, and AIS I still consider them luxuries and depend on the basic compass/log/sextant as the fail-safe core of getting from one place to the next.

That being the case, I don't feel like the seductive lure of consumerist boat bling is a problem I can't resist... Well, at least until they come up with a modular instrument system that include an espresso machine and bacon fryer as part of the integrated package.

A man can only be so strong.

Listening to Bedouin Burger

So it goes...

What stuff costs battery edition...

A thing about language, a suggestion from EBM, and about that gas in your dinghy...

It's come to the point where I have to replace the batteries aboard "So It Goes" and I've been doing a lot of research on what to replace them with. 

Just about everyone is telling me that I should go with Lithium and their talking points seem to have merit and at first glance they are somewhat compelling. According to just about everyone Lithium has twice the usable energy, charges faster, and when the overall life of the battery is factored in less expensive than lead-acid.

Almost too good to be true.

A resource I follow where lithium batteries are concerned regularly tears down commercial lithium batteries and far too often the build quality appears to be somewhat problematic. Another resource who is big on harvesting surplus cells has been something of an eye opener as the whole act of harvesting cells is based on batteries that, for one reason or another, have failed.

Throw in the fact that while companies producing (or just rebranding) batteries have warranties that don't quite reflect the longevity they're claiming.

Warranties tend to say a lot about how good a product actually is so I take them quite seriously. Then again I recently had a couple of "Lifetime Guaranteed" solar panels which failed and the vendor refused to replace them because the company that built them was no longer in business. Which makes me wonder how many of the lithium battery sellers of today will still be around in five or ten years.

I'll also point out that the battery in the computer I'm writing this on is no longer accepting a full charge and cuts out on a regular basis and it's only a couple of months old. Fact is, battery failure on this computer has been an ongoing issue and I don't think a single battery has made it to the end of a warranty cycle. As it is, I'm replacing the computer battery about twice a year which does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling where lithium batteries are concerned.

My current 400+ amp hour battery bank has lasted six years nine months and is still working albeit in a tired and grumpy manner. While we could get by for another year it makes sense to replace them now where I can get a good price on new batteries in a place where the old bank will be recycled and not just dumped in a landfill.

The decision to buy lead acid golf cart batteries is mainly about the fact that I have experience with lead acid and know they will work for the next six years or so without any issues as they're simple and don't have a lot to go wrong. Lithium, on the other hand, has complicated circuits (BMS) which can fail and are not user repairable. Several people I know advised that installing a second lead-acid bank as a back up to a lithium bank would be no bad thing which does not exactly fill me with confidence.

But what about the cost? The new bank (four six-volt golf cart batteries) is going to cost $732, including free delivery. Using the current bank as a model means I should expect to get around eighty-one months of service and the cost to the budget will come to about $9.04 a month.

I suspect, that eighty-one months from now when it's time to replace the new batteries, there will be a newer, hipper, and better battery chemistries that do not require rare-earth materials to build while lithium will have become passe.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings...

Listening to Petite Amie

So it goes...

Looking for input...

A social network of note, some seriously scary shit, and in the "understanding the anti-vax pro-horse dewormer mentality" department...

In my current search for boat building materials that are sustainable, non-polluting, and affordable I find myself often frustrated by the general lack of good information on materials like bamboo, flax, jute, and hemp. As it stands, most of the available information on these items tend to be less than technical and all about how these various materials are the new hip thing as a decorative material.

So, I'd really love to hear from any readers that actually knows something about these materials or happens to know someone that does. Seriously, I thrive on input.

Now, with that request out of the way I have to get to doing on the new tabernacle...

Listening to Dave Davies

So it goes...

t y T Y

Making water and some related thoughts part 2...

An election of note, a state of affairs I'd never have imagined, and since we're on the subject of Covid-19...

Back when, I used to work in a marine consignment store which taught me a whole lot about which boat products were good and which were, shall we say, problematic.

As it happens, we always had a lot of watermakers and various watermaker components on consignment and just about all of them had their very own horror story of how they wound up on our shelves. The funny thing was we never had anyone bringing in DIY watermakers but what we did get was top of the line very expensive gear that, for one reason or another, didn't work or required work or parts that were too expensive to put right.

Part of the problem was watermakers were marketed as being very high tech systems which required some sort of arcane rocket science skills to operate. The companies involved in making marine watermakers did their very best to keep folks from realizing just how simple a watermaker actually is. Which resulted in a lot of needless tech being added to make things simpler but actually made them much more prone to failure.

The thing is, a watermaker is just seawater being pumped through a couple of filters which then goes through a high pressure pump into a membrane which separates some freshwater from the seawater with a pressure regulator (which is really just a valve), a pressure gauge, and a flow meter. Can't really get much simpler than that now can we?

I mean, seriously, that's only a couple of switches on the pumps and a knob to turn until you hit the 800 psi mark on the pressure gauge. Dead simple.

Of course, anything you add to make such a simple system easier to use actually winds up resulting in more, not less complication and a much higher incidence of system failure. Most all of those consignment watermakers were there because one of those added features failed. 

Which is something you might want to think about where watermaking systems or any boat system is concerned.

Next up on the subject is putting together a very simple bombproof system and what it all actually costs.

Listening to the Spring Breaks

So it goes...

Making water and some related thoughts...

Steve Kornacki has a fan, something on the how of things, and in the "Fossil fuel extraction and fault lines don't mix" department...

Yesterday I made some water or, to be more precise, I desalinated some saltwater and turned it into freshwater. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is no big deal as I do it every five days or so.

As it happens, I don't really do anything during the water-making process but move the hose from one Jerry can to another as they fill up so not exactly a taxing chore and what I do mostly is read a good book or think about stuff. What I thought mostly about today was mainly how dead easy the act of making water was and how simple a watermaker is to build as it's really just simple plumbing.

More importantly, I thought about how a simple thing which doesn't require silly expensive components or highly skilled labor shouldn't really cost a whole lot of money.

More on the subject tomorrow.

Listening to Jon Pousette-Dart

So it goes...

Some sustainable rides...

Something that needed saying, just some same old same stupidity, and in the "Well, actually I'm pretty sure that they're several levels more heinous than just morally bankrupt" department...

Recycled To Ride from Anna Burns on Vimeo.

Listening to dead musicians

So it goes...

a quick reflection on a 25,000 mile sack of groceries...

Concrete canoes, somewhat worrying, and, for some, it would seem that the gravy train's going bye-bye...

The other day i went shopping for a few things and could not help but marvel at a few things. For instance, I bought two carrots (99-cents a pound) which hailed from Canada, a few apples ($2.59 a pound) from Washington State, and some chicken thighs ($1.99 a pound) which I'm pretty sure was grown and slaughtered in the US of A but shipped to China where it was cut up into pieces and then shipped back to the US of A where it would be shipped on to the Caribbean.

To say this is just plain nuts would be something of an understatement...

Then again, maybe the fact that I'm at the tail end of the supply chain and have regular reminders of what happens when the supply chain has hiccups or breaks down for short periods makes me over-sensitive because it's just a normal part of living in the Caribbean.

Maybe so, but I still think there's something scary when you find yourself in the situation where everything in your shopping bag has traveled at least 3000 (or more) miles so you can make lunch. We really do seem to be taking a lot for granted thinking that the current transport system will continue to function along the current business model.

Just saying...

On a not unrelated subject, you might want to check out this article regarding shipping products via sail in a more sustainable manner.

Listening to Help The Doctor

So it goes...

on the subject of budgetary carnage...

Some very needful reading, a good reason to buy stuff somewhere else, and just the sort of thing to read during Christmas week...

Lately I've been receiving a lot of email with links and suchlike sent by folks as proof that it takes a LOT OF MONEY to fix your boat or to cruise and today was no exception.

Today's example (you can read it here) concerned a couple with a Cape Dory 33 whose engine was toast and the local diesel repair guy had just given them an estimate for $6,741.47 ($2903.27 parts + $3270 labor + tax & shipping). It was a rather depressing story.

The guy sharing the link to the story said it was proof positive that boats/cruising was very expensive and how I was wrong about budgets and suchlike...

OK.

So yeah, it does cost money to fix stuff and shit happens.

That said, while I don't think the couple with the engine problems are doing anything wrong, their spending and budget is not the only path available to them...

For instance, if you can work and maintain the systems you have on your boat you can dispense with that rather large labor charge and, looking over the prices on parts, you could save a whole lot of money there as well with a little educated effort but the important lesson that comes to mind is that old but still valid observation...

If you can't repair it, maybe it shouldn't be on board. - Lin and Larry Pardey

Which just may be the smartest thing Lin and Larry have ever said.

As it happens, I don't much like working on engines but, over the years, I've rebuilt a few. The first one was the engine in my 1963 VW van that I had to rebuild on the side of the road in the back end of nowhere with the tools on hand and a dog-earred copy of John Muir's "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Complete Idiot". It took me a week and a half and I had to hitch hike fifty miles each way several times to buy parts and get stuff machined but at the end of the ordeal the engine worked and continued to do so till I sold the beast a couple of years later. You might say I'm living proof that John Muir was right about the complete idiot thang.

On the other hand, my first thought when I saw the estimate of $6,741.47 was why on earth would someone pay that kind of money for a repair of an old diesel engine when you could buy a new one for less than $3000? Someone always has industrial diesel engines on sale cheap if you know where to look...

I'd expect a brand new 27HP Kubota could be easily adapted and would work finestkind on that Cape Dory. It only took me five minutes to find it (Surplus Center has a bunch) and costs $2,895.95. I would not be surprised if you spent a couple of energetic days looking you could find an even better deal on a new engine.

You could also install an electric propulsion system for less than $2000 (batteries not included so that would add another $1000) or adapt the boat to use an outboard. Some might even say that you don't really need an inboard engine at all... 

The bottom line is that there are always options and, almost always, there's an affordable one sitting right there in plain sight but most folks are usually so busy throwing money at the problem they miss it.

Which, I suppose, is me saying that I'm sticking with my thoughts on budgets and costs...

Listening to Angry Johnny & The Killbillies


So it goes...

Some interesting stuff...

Some needful reading, Jesus, apparently, still weeping, and in the "cold hard facts" department...

Now, here's a good idea.



Listening to some John Hiatt songs

So it goes...

Now this is interesting...

A drought problem I suspect you were unaware of, some battery news, and the stupidity it burns...



Listening to some Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA) covers

So it goes...

in the a "lot more sustainable" department

A needful voice in the mix, just ripples in a pond, and a question we should all be asking...

Maybe boatbuilders should pay attention...


SURFBOARDS FOR A SHARED PLANET from erik derman on Vimeo.

Listening to Zella Day

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...

Downsizing...

Some stats worth keeping in mind, why carrying around a lot of dead and dying lionfish might not be smart, and something you should read...

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Anybody keeping an eye on the Tiny House trend already knows downsizing is a very real and vibrant force. What you may have missed is it's just the tip of the iceberg. A lot more of the same sort of thought process is popping up all over... even where boats are concerned.

That said, a lot of people just don't understand what's going on. Hardly surprising when the powers-that-be and those who profit from the current state of affairs keep telling us that perpetual growth is both viable and sustainable. Hey, repeat something often enough and folks begin to believe just about anything no matter how stupid it may be.

I suspect that most folks are all so busy fueling the perpetual growth machine that the contradictions simply don't register...

Maybe it's time to take a day off from the hamster wheel and do a little thinking.

Listening to Lake Street Drive

So it goes...

We all should do some math from time to time...

This is scary, an interesting study, and in the “whoops — we did exactly the wrong thing, and killed the economy” department...

Webb Chilesgets down to some basic math and comes up with the number 750 strokes to get 1/2 gallon of water using a manual watermaker. I'm sure this is an important number for Webb's next voyage. Truth be told, I found his figuring to be more than a little helpful in focusing on some math I'm working on as well.

Something a lot of people often forget is boats become finite systems once they get out of sight of land and, if you were to point your boat at Europe or Tahiti, you're pretty much on your own till you get where you're going.

Of course, since we all live on a finite system called Earth, you'd think that we'd all understand the concept of finite systems and sustainability but I'm often surprised how few people actually do...

It's pretty depressing when you think about it.

It would be a good thing if more people were thinking about the whole sustainable living/sailing on sailboats gig and doing the math.

Maybe some folks need an enticement?

As it happens, I have a copy of the most excellent DVD "Ice Blink" that needs a home. So, how about we have a little contest for some out of the box thinking on how to make a sailboat more sustainable and the most interesting thought we get before the end of May gets a brand spanking new copy of "Ice Blink"?

Let's see what you got...

Listening to Cream

So it goes...