What a gallon of water costs...

Some very scary reading, a quick bit on masking, and in the "Quest for a better battery" department...

So, I just realized that I've been currently using our watermaker twice a week for the last five years and still producing water with a PPM of somewhere between 80 and 100. A fact that I actually find quite impressive.

What's more impressive is that I've spent a big fat zero in pressure pump maintenance and that the Karcher pressure washer works so well.

Admittedly, I've had some issues with booster pumps but have now settled on a cheap 12 volt ($22 dollar) fountain pump that works just as well if not better than the expensive ($400 dollar) 120V pump I replaced the supplied Harbor Freight pump with.

Sometimes I really need to take my own advice.

Anyway, the main cost of running the water maker is just the gas it takes for the generator which works out to about $0.17 a gallon and the very occasional replacement of a 20 mill of 5 mill filter. I'm guessing that might boost the running cost of water to maybe $0.20 a gallon.

As far as the membrane goes, it's still working finest kind and when it does come time to replace it the extra $150 won't exactly break the bank and only add a penny or so the the cost per gallon over its lifetime.

Listening to a whole lot of Beach Boys coverage

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...

Every five days...

EBM with a link to a new pinnacle of stupid, some very interesting science, and in the "Any color you want as long as it's white" department...

My two  chores for today are to check the water in my batteries and to make some water. To be honest I don't enjoy checking the water level in my batteries because they seldom need any water so, on the face of it, it seems kind of pointless. Then again on the other hand batteries are a big investment and it is prudent to check them on a regular basis.

On the other hand, making water is actually enjoyable because I get to read while sitting in the cockpit and that suits me just fine. The only real work involved is moving the product water hose from one jerry can to the next which gives me mostly uninterrupted reading in fifteen minute segments. An added bit of enjoyment is that I still take great satisfaction in how well the super simple watermaker using a cheap $100 pressure washer has worked making water every five days without problems for the last four years. 

Better yet it's a nice day and I have some reading to do.

Listening to another literary play list

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...

On the subject of a better toilet...

Something interesting about Cuttlefish, on the subject of essential workers, and a much missed Hunter S. Thompson discussing gonzo...

I recently noticed that Separett has recently introduced a non-composting toilet that makes a whole lot of sense and is getting a lot of buzz in cruising and van-living circles.

Tiny Installation from Separett on Vimeo.

As it's pretty much the same design as the toilet I built for "So It Goes" more than a decade ago, I'll vouch for the fact that the simple system works just fine. On the other hand, with a price tag of over $1000 it is way more expensive than it needs to be and, as such, brings P.T. Barnum's most famous quote to mind. 

Seriously, $1000.?

The basic system is just a bucket, a bottle, a means of separating the feces from the atmosphere, and a method of  diverting the urine into the bottle. which could all be put together for around $100 and the cost of whatever box you'd choose to house it all in,

As it happens, Sail Delmarva (always a good place for excellent information) has a great post on his new non-composting desiccating head which you really should check out.

Listening to Tenacious D

 

So it goes...

A sensible tool kit...

EBM calls out bullshit & assholes, some depressing news on the carbon footprint of cannabis, and something important in the "Half-assed measures get half-assed results" department...

Stumpy Nubs is a wood working channel I follow. Partly because he's entertaining but mainly because he always makes a lot of sense.

His $100 tool kits make loads of sense, Sadly, these days, we're so conditioned by consumerist propaganda to buy lots of stuff that we sometimes lose track of just how little you can get away with. As it happens I built a Wharram Tiki 31 with not much more than Stumpy's very basic tool kit as described except I built it without any power tools as my build location did not have any power available.

Just the other day someone was asking me what sort of table saw he should buy so he could build a nesting dinghy and was incredulous when I told him a simple jigsaw would suffice.

Listening to some songs with "Ship" in the title

So it goes...

Not just a box of tools...

A really bad idea, some nervous making news regarding National Parks, and a bit of good news from California...

Some time ago I wrote about the Power8 compact tool kit as a possible solution for a minimal onboard power tool/workshop solution. A multi-tool compromise sort of thing because it's just plain problematic to cart around all the tools we'd like on a boat. While not anywhere near perfect it would sorta/kinda do the job.

Apparently they've improved and upgraded the concept and the new DOER is the result.



ToolGuyd (my favorite tool review source) talks about it and if the concept works for you there is a lot more information on DOER's Kickstarter page.

Of course, just a thought, but you might also consider reverse engineering the idea and doing something similar with the tools you already have.

Just saying.

Listening to Rodrigo Y Gabriela

So it goes...

Protect, restore, and fund...

Greta still telling it like it is, a very apt point being made, and in the "read it and weep" department...

Some sense being made.



Listening to Rhiannon Giddens

So it goes...

a small boat voyage...

Sagan on climate denial, some needful reading, and a depressing fact...

Listening to Dave Mason

So it goes...

a DIY tool that may come in handy...

The 3.5 million pounds of spent radioactive fuel conundrum, on the subject of hieroglyphic hobo code, and in the "Oil industry wants taxpayers to spend billions to protect it from climate change" department...

James Baldwin from Atom Voyages has an excellent how to video on building yourself a hookah for little money.



Definitely a tool that you'll find useful.

Listening to Tyree Morris and the Hearts of Worship

So it goes...

A system that works...

This is interesting, musings of an imbecile, and in the "They didn't see that coming" department...

So, just a quick note regarding the yearly update of our USCG boat registration. Last Wednesday we went online, paid the yearly fee, and today dropped by the Post office to find the new boat papers were waiting in the PO box. Total elapsed time one week.

In spite of the fact that one often hears horror stories regarding how inept the system is our experiences have been problem free over the last forty odd years. I call that a system that works just fine.

Listening to Luna

So it goes...

Boat tools...

A grifters bonanza, another question of interest, in the "insane, willfully inaccurate, and morally bankrupt views" department, and a right on powerful speech every one should listen to and share...

Over at Cool Tools there is some sense being made regarding tools. Feel free to check it out now. I can wait.

Dum de dum de dum de dum...

Yeppers, a brace is a very cool tool but I don't expect a whole lot of boats have one in their tool box as electric drill/drivers seem to be the thing these days. Pity that.

The thing is, a brace is one of the first tools I was handed when I went to work for a boatyard in ancient times. My first task was to remove thousands of screws holding down an ancient teak deck that had come to our yard for a new pristine deck that would not leak and, of course, that meant I'd spend a few weeks on my knees taking off the old deck...

Thousands of screws later, I had calluses on my knees, an over-developed right arm, and a new appreciation for what a powerful tool your basic brace was. Once we laid down the new plywood deck (screwed down using the brace) and fiberglassed it I found myself driving thousands of screws in the new teak decking which doubled down on the knee calluses and added what seemed like (at the time) a permanent black goo spread over my body that marked me as a deck guy.

On the upside of the learning curve I'd found that by swapping my drive arm every other day I could avoid the irregular bicep look and while I may have been the creature from the black goo poster boy I was at least symmetrical. One takes comfort in the little things...

Anyway, that's the reason I tend to associate braces with boatbuilding and boat repair. It's still a tool I use and suggest to folks for their onboard tool kits. They're cheap, a garage sale one might set you back $10, and being simple with nothing to wear out or break there's not a lot of worry about buying a dud, same goes for auger bits and old used ones are cheap.

My current brace which is probably older than I am and 25 bits were bought as a package on ebay for all of $15. Sure they were sorta/kinda rusty but nothing an hour of work with some WD40 and a scotchbrite pad would not fix. Followed by a little oil to keep them that way I have a tool that could be handed down to grandchildren and that in itself, in the disposable world we call home, is a wonderful thing.

On the other hand, I have electric drills and drivers. They're handy, they work, but I can't tell you how many of them I've owned over the years that failed and usually at the worst moment. Do I really need to go in the whole dead battery issue?

Listening to Jade Bird

So it goes...

a quick note on something that works...

G&T is on a roll, some essential reading, and in the "Well now, isn't this just embarrassing" department...

Not so long ago I installed a MarineBeam tricolor/anchor/SOS light at the masthead and posted about how impressed I was with it's performance and pleased by the low ($99) price. Of course, whenever I extol the benefits of affordable priced boat gear I always get a few "You're an idiot", "You get what you pay for!" and "The more it costs the better it is!" emails telling me the cheap seats are not where the cool kids are supposed to hang out and I'll be an unhappy camper when it fails.

Well...

I'm not an unhappy camper and, in point of fact, I'm still doing the happy dance because my tricolor/anchor/SOS light is still shining bright even after enduring the worst that hurricane Maria could dish out with its 150+ MPH winds.

Good quality frugal gear works.

Listening to Tokyo Flashback

So it goes...

a quick note about something that works...

This pretty much nails it, not a pretty picture at all, and interesting stuff about email...

A couple of nights ago, the cat anchored next to us was running their Honda generator. I mention this not to rant and rave about how dare someone run a generator in an anchorage but to mention that it was so quiet that I really had to listen carefully to know that it was running against the prevailing background noise on a quiet night.

Modern four-stroke generators these days are quiet...

My current generator is a Ryobi 2200 which is a reasonable facsimile of the Honda 2000. It is quiet, frugal with gas, and, after several years, still starts on the first or second pull. It has also outlasted both of the Honda 2000's we've had previously which goes a long way to vouch for its quality of construction.

Oh yeah, it cost about half what a Honda 2000 does.

So, you might say I'm a satisfied customer. Need I say more?

Listening to Vagina Town

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...

another affordable windvane self-steering gear...

Meals on Wheels, some folks who don't have our best interests at heart, Chuck Berry is no longer with us, and just plain interesting...

I've always admired  the Mr Vee self-steering gears which were an evolution/offshoot of the Walt Murray DIY pvc pipe and copper tubing design ethos. I also like the fact that the Mr Vee self-steering gears are the most inexpensive windvanes around in spite of being more advanced than most of their competitors.

It gets better...

WoodenB, the first flatpack self steering system.

Made from CNC routed plywood, based on the design of Y&B.The kit comes with some cnc made plastic parts where wood is not suitable and fasteners are included. Material for the unique Mister Vee windvane are also supplied.

 Now is that neat or what?

While still in development (so no pricing available as of yet)I expect that it will bring the cost of self-steering down to the point where you can actually use windvane and affordable in the same sentence. For anyone considering a you should drop Mr Vee a note and let them know.

Listening to Good Graeff

So it goes...

A very cool bit of gear...

Sailing Anarchy takes on ISAF/World Sailing (kicking some ass in the process), some situational awareness, and horrific on so many levels...

Just maybe, the best bit of sailboat tech to come out of 2015...

Yeah, really!

Listening to David Ramirez

So it goes...

A pretty awesome pint glass...

Three simple fixes, a little good news, and some Moitessier goodness from SAIL magazine...

So, the other day I got a pint glass in the mail. It looks pretty much how you'd expect a pint glass to look and, as it's plastic it won't break if/when it falls down... Even better, because of some cunning plan of a bottom doohickey it's kinda doubtful it will actually fall down. Now, how cool is that?



OK, so I'll admit I was seriously sceptical but it really does work and I'm not easy to impress or convince. Color me convinced.

Can you spell B-O-A-T-F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y?

For more information check out Mighty Mug at their website.

Listening to Thunderbitch

So it goes...

Some seriously good news...

There be bigots assholes in Dent County Missouri, just some welfare for rich folks, and I'm not quite sure the military and I share the same definition of the word humane...

I've never been a big fan of carrying around a lot of pyrotechnics as things designed to explode/burn on a boat just make me nervous. A feeling underlined over the years by a too large number of incidents where flares became part of the problem rather than the solution.

Truth be told, flares scare me.

Then there's the ongoing need to replace your flares every couple of years... Yeah, I know flares have a three year lifespan but, try as I may, whenever I find myself needing to buy flares I only seem to be able to find flares with eighteen months or so validity.

Have I mentioned that flares are silly expensive?

So, in the "it's about frelling time" department...

... Finally an electric flare that is USCG approved (and yes I know it looks like a man-overboard light).

The good news is from here on this is the only night signal you need to carry and combined with a distress flag as your day signal (which comes with the Sirius flare) it's all you need to be 100% street legal with the USCG and other powers that be.

But wait... It gets better!

The Sirius electric flare is not "dated" with an expiry date which means the only thing you need to replace is the c-cell batteries when needful. That said, if you lose or screw it up you can order a replacement and get it shipped to you by the US Mail or something similar.

Of course I saved the best for last... It only costs $99!

Doing the happy dance...

Listening to Chuck Johnson

So it goes...