Random thoughts and rants on boat design, boat building, and other boat bits for those in the 99%...
The rewards of being a drug dealer, what the clothes you wear actually cost, and if this does not set off your Spidey sense to 11 you might want to go see a doctor...
Things keep changing.
I suppose that's just a fact of life and at a certain age one does tend to view change in a negative light but still... I'm just not seeing this as a positive trend in cruising.
Listening to Fishbone
So it goes...
An interesting argument of convenience, well worth watching (though it might just piss you off), and a crisis of arithmetic...
There's a boat nearby for sale that is in good condition and real cheap. A combination that always grabs my attention...
The problem is it is simply too big at 55-feet.
It's funny but not so long ago when we were sailing Loose Moose 2, someone sailing a 52-foot Irwin, for instance, would, more than likely, be the biggest boat in an anchorage... Sure, there were exceptions but they were few and far between and the average real cruising boat seemed to be somewhere around the 34/35-foot zone.
I'd guess these days the average is closer to 45-feet...
The downside of larger boats are many and varied. The obvious is that they are more expensive to buy, outfit, and maintain. The less obvious is that they take more physical oomph to run and that at the 45-foot zone they start being beyond the unaided physical capability of the sort of people (middle aged and older couples) who have them. I've lost count of the many occasions we've come across boats in trouble because a system failed and the crew was unable to handle the extra physical load.
Throw in the fact that the bigger boat is more work with bigger problems and, all of a sudden, boats in the 28-38 foot range start looking all kinds of attractive.
That said, I can see the way a larger boat might be attractive if approached from a different mindset but I'll leave that to a future post...
Listening to Michael Nesmith
So it goes...
Big Pharma keeping those prices high, Krugman with some questions, and some important stuff about reading...
Since we were speaking yesterday of geriatric circumnavigatorial projects, I would be remiss if I did not mention Sven Yrvind's plan for a non-stop 30,000-mile single handed round the world jaunt...
This is kinda scary, a good point, and today's word is "coercion"...
The other day I was reading the new issue of Cruising World magazine which had a fairly effusive article about the boat Kiwi Spirit and the man (Stanley Paris) who sails it...
I'll be honest, if I'd been reading a print copy of Cruising World I most likely would have thrown it against the bulkhead but, being that I was reading it on my MacBook, simply turned off my computer and fumed.
Now, it's not that I have anything against an old guy with a lot of money wanting to set some kind of record on a super-expensive (some might say excessive) purpose made boat... It is, after all, a free world and whatever floats your boat is OK. No, what really gets up my nose is the fawning sort of Ooh Shiny adulation that Cruising World shows for the man/project...
As I recall, a similar project was met with no small amount of disdain when Jessica Watson started her bid for the youngest non-stop solo circumnavigation.
Of course, there are some differences... there's the youngest/oldest thing, which kind of balances out when you think about it, but then there is the money thang.
Watson did her circumnavigation on a shoestring (as these things go) with an old S&S 34 while Mr Paris seems to have very deep pockets and sailing a state-of-the-art 63-foot boat and there, it would seem, lies the difference.
These days it is not the adventure as much as it is about the money... If you want to impress me I want to see someone do it with less and more in tune with nature.
As for Dr Paris, I truly hope he succeeds in his quest to get around in one piece, set his record, and get his 15-minutes of fame... After all, Kiwi Spirit certainly looks like a boat more than capable to do it with and he is spending a lot of money so it's only fair he gets full value.
Listening to the Zac Brown Band
So it goes...
A good point being made, bastards, and a plethora of mini-Simmons...
I don't know about you, but I've been detecting a slow withering of various marine stores' DIY sections... On the other hand, if you need a tow behind tube to power around the anchorage most chandlers have a mind boggling choice.
Being that, more often than not, I've earned my living shooting film I've been no stranger to what passes for trends and fashion... A reluctant observer and participant if you will.
One thing I have learned, is as far back as elementary school trends and fashion are something of a primal force and as a primal force I have always been surprised how no one seems to notice that those who set fashion or start trends are seldom (if ever) the ones who profit from them...
Just like in Jr High... Remember how the folks who started wearing certain stuff and were ridiculed for their fashion sense at the time had already moved on to the next coming thing when everyone was now wearing last months fashion faux pas which was now Hip (with a capital "H" of course)?
So it does go...
The same thing, of course, is part and partial of yacht design as for those of us of a certain age remember building cats and tris and being told by sailors, experts and the dreaded yachting press that multihulls were unHip, unsafe and a social faux pas of gargantuan proportions...
A lot of people think that trends and fashion are the stuff of rich folk and I could go into a long and multi-faceted argument as to why the wealthy, when it comes to common street smarts, simply don't have a clue. But, rich people are really boring so I won't bother except to mention that fashion and trends are a thing of the streets and with no street smarts the only way you are going to get your Hipness is second hand by buying it...
So, the fact is I don't pay much attention to what is fashionable but I do try and keep a weather eye out for what some folks are doing... Especially those folks who people make fun of and heap disdain on at the moment as they really are the true fashion and trend setters.
Right now I'm seeing a lot of people downsizing and simplifying who are not being forced to by the economic wonderfulness that is life in the US of A in 2011. While the rich (always one step behind in the Hipness ting) are buying bigger and bigger megayachts those with their ear to the ground are downsizing and looking to do more with less...
Kind of makes you think...
I've also noted a trend in some of my readers who write and apologize or make excuses to justify their choice of having a larger than needful boat or replacing their engine and not going electric without any prompts on my part. If these folks feel the need to justify or apologize not going with something it is already a trend and it is something you may wish to to factor into the game plan. I should also point out that fashion and trends are not always trivial pursuits akin to mullets and hula hoops but can be simple survival instincts kicking in...
So it goes...
Listening to Tower of Power...
There has been a longstanding discussion on one of the cruising forums about electronic anti-fouling systems...
Well, hardly a discussion but more a parade of people with opinions and no real personal knowledge on the subject saying anything but the same old same ain't going to work.
Sigh...
Funny thing is you used to hear the same sort of arguments where multihulls were concerned and, like the discussion on electronic anti-fouling systems, most of the anti-multihull brigade knew pretty zip about cats or tris but they knew (by damn) that they did not work!
Fast forward to 2010 and just about anywhere you go you'll see catamarans cruising, daysailing and doing the lion's share of chartering. Meanwhile, all the magazines that published editorials saying that multihulls were not only an affront to sailing tradition, nautical sinew, and nothing more than floating death traps, are telling us today that if you don't have a cat you are simply not cool.
So it goes...
Like multihulls before, electronic anti-fouling scares some people. People, who as it happens, have a lot of money invested in the status quo and like the same old same just fine. Paint companies make and sell millions of gallons of toxic paint, boat yards depend on folks having to haul out every year or so to put poison on their bottoms and every time we paint our bottoms someone's bank account gets bigger (everyone's but the poor fool painting his bottom). Make no mistake, but there most certainly is entrenched interests who have a serious stake in continuing with the system as it stands. As long as there is a profit involved they will keep doing what they are doing.
As I've mentioned before, we had electronic anti-fouling on our last boat and it worked in the Med, Atlantic and Caribbean. It did not use much in the way of power and except for the fact that we had a couple of parts fail we'd still be using it. Sadly, the company that made our unit went out of business (no doubt, bringing happy camper smiles to the paint companies' faces) and at the time we could not find a replacement.
I'm not sure if any of the existing electronic anti-fouling systems actually work but I do know that next haul out I will be installing a system. The cost of hauling out these days is becoming a process more a thing akin to armed robbery than commerce. All said and done, I've never felt good about working with poison whether to my health or to the health of the oceans I call home.
Progress is actually seriously cool... Come join the future!
It's scary just how easy it is to fall into lock-step with the prevailing winds of opinion and the pressure to conform is something of a relentless beast. We see it all the time in the cruising community, our film work, and the charter business...
Which is why it is such a delight when we do see people doing things a bit outside the box whether it is a different slant on cruising or a novel approach to the business of filmmaking or chartering...
Having a charter business ourselves, we have been aware for a long time that the world is changing but by and large the business of chartering boats has been in something of a rut simply doing the same old same over and over again and marketing itself in a manner that is equivalent with the evolutionary state of fishing with clubs. Which is not to say that the industry does not provide a good value or level of enjoyment, but it does miss a lot of potential clients by ignoring all but the same old niche they have been mining for the last fifty or so years.
But things change and not always for the better. The current economic crunch has seriously cut a swath through the niche's ability to afford to charter and instead of looking outside the accepted niche for a different sort of client looking for a different sort of charter vacation all, efforts seem to be focused on doing the same old same and praying a lot. Which is why I like to see boats that see new niches and go after them by providing a vacation that adds value and brings in a wider range of clients. Last year a filmmaker friend and I were discussing doing a series of week long filmmaking workshop as a week long sailing trip which would include an intensive film & video workshop mixed with sailing and diving... Not just the same old same yacht charter.
One boat that seems to have a found a similar niche is Good Medicine which provides ongoing medical training (CME) program for Doctors and Dentists as part of their charter possibilities. What better venue for a class than on a sailboat in paradise?
Here in the Caribbean it constantly astounds me that no one is doing sea-kayaking, surfing or cycling charters as these sports have a base that is travel oriented and with a proven record of being more than willing to spend serious money on their sport. Truth is, there are any number of niches from rum and culinary to historical and education that are really crying out to be served if anyone would take a moment to listen...
The thing is that we need to look outside the box and see what we are missing...
No doubt, there are just as many reasons behind the impulse to move on to a boat and go cruising as the number of people doing it, but you can spot trends. Right now there seem to be two that stand out...
One being the current economic madness which has motivated a lot of people to take some time off and (hopefully) wait it out while cruising till things get better. For a lot of people this makes all kinds of sense as (for most) it's a way to save money and no real downside.
The other trend is beginning to look like something of a tidal wave and that is the fact that the simplicity movement has been discovering sailing in a big way. What better way to simplify your life than to move it into a realm where simplicity is something of a central mantra?
That said, why people do the cruising gig is always a much more complicated equation than simply waiting out the economy or wanting to get down to basics... People are never ever simple.
And that folks, is a GOOD thing...
Which brings me to a newish cruising forum... TheKeel.com which seems like something of a breath of fresh air amongst the same old same collection of sailing/cruising forums. The best way to describe it is excited and interested (kinda like a puppy) with zero negative content.
Yeah... zero negative content! For those just getting started having to run the gauntlet of self proclaimed experts, old boy networks or racist and political thuggery (can you spell kewl?) when all you want to know is how to keep the boat right side up with a smile on your face, a lot of the forums can be seriously daunting as well as a something of a downer.
While the Keel is young and still finding itself, it has a lot of potential and is certainly worth checking out as long as you leave the negative baggage behind...
Listening to Pressure Drop by Toots and the Maytals
So it goes...
There are times when you find yourself saying silly stuff...
"I'm the white boat out in the anchorage with the blue sail-covers"Only to realize as you say it, that you've just described all forty or so boats in the anchorage who ALL have blue sail covers and are white! Which, when you think about it, is some kind of odd considering that boat folk tend to think of themselves as stone cold individualists who walk a different path...
"No way I'm like other guys, I'm a sailor"...Who just happens to have the exact same paint scheme as everybody else. To a certain extent you might consider that a certain nautical God, Nathanael G. Herreshoff once said...
"There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black".Then again he also hated fiberglass and said it looked like "frozen snot" so he can't be the problem...
Back in the 1600's they thought the world would be different too...
"Call on God, but row away from the rocks."
Hunter S. Thompson
One thing you notice hanging around the mega-yacht Mecca of St Martin for any length of time is that there has been something of a shift in some of the crews... You see less of the ex-Olympic sailors sort and more of the type who used to carry guns in their previous lives and you might not be too far off if their being hired was due to their skills with small arms and inspired mayhem in elite services rather than their sailing or piloting skills.
Then again, maybe the owners of some yachts simply want to improve their Russian language skills as there seems to be a whole lot of Russians about these days...
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure a whole lot of very rich people are looking for safe havens or suchlike of the just in case variety and why not set up your mega yacht as one just in case?
I've always respected the intelligence of those who make a lot of money by either fair or foul means as you don't get silly rich by making dumb decisions and when they start preparing for the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, well I for one, take notice! On the other hand, a lot of folks in the process of getting silly rich just may have pissed off a lot of the wrong people in the process and they are not worried about the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it but are just worried about PAYBACK...
Who was it said that Karma is a bitch?
Hmmm...
I noticed that my email today had no shortage of "Earth Day" come-ons of a nautical nature as Cruising Compass and others ran some content of a "green" nature... Well, if you can call running a couple ads touting sort of green stuff as content. The one bit of content which really was content was of the simplistic don't-throw-stuff-overboard sort of thing.
Of course, anyone dependent on advertising is not going to be doing any "get-in-your-face-don't-consume-more-than-you-need" hard hitting journalism or editorials, as that would fly in the face of selling you stuff and that, my friends, is what journalism is all about these days... getting you to buy stuff.
Getting you to buy stuff to be green is sort of... well, the words COUNTER PRODUCTIVE spring to mind.
If you really want to be green and do something good for old Mother Nature, try not replacing anything on your boat that does not need replacing... and by needing to be replaced means it no longer works and is really, really needed.
Yeah, I know that means you will have to have a GPS that does not also work as a DVD player, a VHF that does not keep phone numbers in memory, or that bigger display for the radar that doubles as a 3D entertainment center or whatever...
This whole sailing gig is not about buying stuff and consumption... Or at least it should not be. Some time ago, MadMariner/NavaGear did an article about good blogs to read and he included Boat Bits which I found both pleasing and depressing. The fact that he included me as a "boating gear blog" has made me re-examine what Boat Bits has been doing and to tell you the truth depressed me as the last thing Boat Bits wants to be is just another "go-buy-this-gear" sort of place to hang out. We can do better than that...
We need to do better than that.
The sad fact is that considering the sorry state of the world and the clusterfuck of problems facing us that we should be doing a whole lot more than rolling out the "don't throw stuff overboard", "use bio-degradeable soap", and "use our advertisers folding prop" articles once a year on Earth Day and then pimping non essential gear and practices the rest of the 364 days of the year...
As the great Sam Cooke often sang, "A Change is Gonna Come" ... and things won't be the same old same down the line. If you think that we can all continue to have our cake and eat it too, I have a steel tower for sale in Paris you might be interested in.
On the other hand, if you are not as dumb as nails, get smarter about the very real problems and do the right thing.
Rant over for the moment...
As an electric propulsion guy I've been following various fuel cell systems but so far they have been expensive with a high kludge factor and either too big or too small to make sense on a boat...
Oorja Protonics, has a methanol model set to hit the streets in a few months that looks very interesting being no bigger than a comparable marine gen set (5KW) and with a rumoured price of less than $15,000.
Do I hear an AMEN?
I'm not bragging but I am fairly good at seeing developing trends. If I have a problem it is that I tend to get on whatever wave I'm riding a little before it seems acceptable or doable in an easy fashion... Electric propulsion being a good example, We are maybe two or three years away from electric propulsion being fully accepted and the "Bee's knees", yet I have been doing the electric propulsion thing for nearly six years. Before that is was catamarans and ULDB sharpies...
Being a bit ahead of the crowd is not something I advise as a general rule as its stressful and breaking trail is never an easy thing, nor is being laughed at or ridiculed. That said, I would not have it any other way as I enjoy doing what seems right.
