A very, very cool new design...

As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of the work of Philip C. Bolger who was easily one of the brightest lights around in boat design. Of course, being a man with an open mind who spent a lot of time outside the box (and most people's comfort zones), he had as many detractors as fans...

I liked Phil's work because it made sense and worked. Some of his designs are as beautiful as anything you'll ever come across on the water and some of them were elegant in their simplicity and as functional as a WW2 jeep or a VW bug...

Both our Loose Moose's were designed by Phil and the fact that he is no longer with us is something that saddens me to this day. The man left a void simply too big to fill...

But, the thing is, great minds sow seeds, and while it might take some time for those seeds to grow, a lot of Phil's ideas and influence are beginning to crop up here and there in everything from mega-yachts to boats designed for real world people with real world budgets. As someone who has seen this slow growth it is just a little funny how certain design aspects on our Loose Moose 2 which scandalized various so called experts on design are now pointed to as cutting edge and vast improvements when found on super luxe boats as the Wally's (just as an aside, can you imagine naming a luxury boat series a "Wally"... was "Dork", "Doofus", or "Dweeb" already in use?) and other boats.

Another designer I have long followed and admired is Roberto Barros (now known as B&G Yacht Design) who has always showed a design sensibility that made all kinds of sense. While you can trace a lot of influences in the design catalog, all of the designs are very much a Barros.

The newest design from B&G the POP 25 is something of a head turner as it contains about as much livable space in a 25-foot envelope as is possible in a pretty nice looking exterior that will sail and keep you safe.



Designed from the get go as an easy to build, affordable and livable cruising boat, it sports a lot of thought and brains. How many cruising boat designs do you know that have electric propulsion designed in from the start and make use of the weight of batteries as a percentage of ballast?

Something other designers should take note of is this design is affordable... something very important in these hard times.

I've been looking at this design for a couple of months now and I have yet to find a flaw in the thinking that went into it... This really is an awesome boat.

The only thing that's missing is (it seems to me) that the POP 25 could use a big brother... Say a POP 35 (I'd certainly buy a POP 35 design and build one).

Not everyone will understand what makes this boat so exceptional... Bolger certainly would have, and I like to think that a lot of Boat Bits readers will as well.

Listening to Ashford and Simpson

So it goes...

My morning thoughts...

A really good point over at the Benshi (which could apply to the marine industry as well), how open source makes sense for builders of electric vehicles, and, for those still in the dark ages of internal combustion mindset, a handy hint about your oil...

I might as well call this blog "The Second Cup of Coffee" as 99% of the time the blog is written while I have my second cup of coffee... Which really does not have much to do with anything except to say that "Boat Bits" is a lot more ad hoc morning reaction to stimuli than anything else and what I actually write tends to jump from what music is playing, the morning news or something that I woke up thinking about...

Much like today, my first thought was how cool the new Roberto Barros Pop 25 design would be with an alternative rig like junk or (even better) a balanced lug rig set up for roller furling...

Either rig would make a lot of sense and make an already affordable and easily built design even more affordable and easier to build. But, hey, that's just my morning semi-caffeinated thought...

For those who find the Pop 25 concept interesting but just that kiss too small there is both a slightly larger Pop in plywood and a 32 foot aluminum Pop in the pipeline. The Pop 32, as far as I can see (if it were plywood and sporting a balanced lug rig) would be just about a perfect boat for our needs... Color me very impressed!

Listening to Jefferson Airplane

So it goes...

A new POP design...

A very depressing business model, some trickle-down kleptocracy, and Fatty Goodlander wrote the best thing I've read in a sailing magazine in the last couple of years (so you might want to check it out)...

Like a lot of people I've been hoping that Roberto Barros and his crew would be working on a larger version of the POP 25 boat in plywood.

That said, thay have worked up a 32-foot POP in aluminum (at least one is already under construction) and, just recently, unveiled a 28-foot version also in aluminum...

I don't think I need to tell you that this is one very cool home-buildable boat. Lots more information on the POP 28 here.

Still waiting on a reasonable facsimile of the POP 28/32 in plywood though...

Listening to the Mother Hips

So it goes...

Some POP 25 news...

Something worthwhile about emotional correctness, some seriously FUBAR shit, and in the There's No Free Lunch Department...

For those considering building a POP 25 it just got a little easier as Roberto Barros now offers a how to build manual as part of the plans set...

Just makes sense...

Listening to Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

So it goes...

Sometimes an alternative choice would be a goodly thing...

C&L makes a good point, so does Ian Welsh, and a class you might want to consider...

I was looking at the Barros Pop 25 design again the other day and it is still a pretty great little boat.

That said, the more I think about it, the rig really starts to bother me. The cause of my irritation is that the cost of the rig is way too much of the overall building and outfitting budget to make me a happy camper.

Which is not to say it's a bad rig but it is an expensive rig and, for a boat designed to be a serious budget cruiser, it seems somewhat out of place.

Maybe it's just me but an alternative rig would open the design to a lot of budget builders who get stopped dead once they start adding up the costs of the rig.

Which is not to say someone with a copy of "Practical Junk Rig" or "The Chinese Sailing Rig - Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig"
would have much trouble sorting out a more affordable rig and sail plan but still s simpler "normal" (or what passes for one) rig would make the Pop 25 a lot more attractive for its particular niche market.

Listening to Guadalupe Plata

So it goes...

Who says you can't build a boat quickly...

Just the sort of thing to make you repeatedly bang your head against a handy bulkhead, meanwhile back in the workaday world, and Webb Chiles with an observation about Bernard Moitissier...

Quite a few of the Roberto Barros Pop 25 seem to be building in a timely manner...



You can find out more about some of them here.

Listening to Joe Bonamassa & Beth Hart

So it goes...

Two boats hit the need/want test...

Your tax dollars at work, a country willing to stand up to crooked banks (hint: it's not the US of A), and how the EPA ain't working for the folks of Goliad County Texas...

So, what do you really need to cruise?

If you fit the universal average for folks cruising on a sailboat it's more than likely you're a couple and, if you're paying attention to the whole need/want thang, I suspect a boat like this might just fit the bill...

Samoa 28

Samoa 28

It's the Samoa 28 by Roberto Barros who you may remember from the very cool Pop 25 design we've mentioned in the past.

Of course, a lot of couples think they need something bigger like the Amel Super Maramu...

To be honest, they are both pretty cool boats but seriously, for a couple the Amel is so much overkill that it is really kind of stupid er overkill.

The real disadvantage of a boat like the Amel, other than its cost and black hole drain on your cruising budget, is the fact that it insulates you from the real world you want to cruise in which is something worth giving some thought to.

Me, if given the choice between the two boats, I'd be all over the Samoa in a heartbeat! Sure I'd lust a little over the Amel but being sensible I know the Amel would never ever pass the need/want test while the Samoa would...

Nuff said, except to mention that the plans for the Samoa 28 are currently being discounted by 20% this month...

Listening to J.D. Souther

So it goes...

Just another pissed off day in paradise...

A major accomplishment in assholery, a reliable source of profit, and something about tree burials...

Every once in awhile I'll find myself in a marine store looking to buy something or other but it's become a fairly rare occasion. Which is sad in a way as I really used to enjoy spending time in a chandlery, if for no other reason than I'd often get good ideas on how to cobble up rigs and suchlike. 

Not these days though...

Truth be told, the only thing I seem to get when visiting my local marine store is getting pissed off. Like yesterday when I needed to get a handful of machine screws and found the 3-inch 1/4" machine screws were $4.99 a piece.

Admittedly, I'd just come from the local Ace hardware where they did not have any 3-inch 1/4" machine screws but the place where they should have been said that if they had them they'd cost $1.99 a pop.

I mention this because the place I normally buy machine screws stateside sells them for 25-cents if you're buying just one and 23-cents each if you buy twenty-five and they'll ship them to me down here in the Virgin Islands for free.

Being both frugal and not an idiot, I decided to not buy any screws locally. I'll order them stateside and get them in a few days. Still, the idea that the "friendly" local marine store had jacked up the price to that extent really pissed me off. For those adverse to doing math, my stateside seller sells 25 machine screws for $5.75 with free shipping and the local store would charge me $9.98 for 2 screws.

As a quick reference West Marine sells 25 of the same size machine screws for $10.49 not cheap but certainly not the model of avaricious greed-heads our local marine store seems to be channeling.

On the way out of the store we passed their masking tape which cost $10.55 a roll while Walmart sells the exact same tape for $3.83 a roll which is just adding insult to injury.

Such marine industry hijinks pretty much accounts for why I don't spend much time in marine stores anymore.

Listening to The Veldt

So it goes...

Almost ready to splash...

I suspect that Archie comics is going to give the Walking Dead something to worry about, a film about Gene Clark, and some outrigger goodness...

The second Pop 25 Solaris nearing completion.

More on the subject here...

Listening to Warren Zevon

So it goes...

a lifeboat/dinghy of choice...

Regarding weaponized stupidity, dealing with awkward numbers in Florida, and in the "A trail of Covid spikes in his wake" department...

Face it, where lifeboats are concerned,  you can't have too much positive flotation. While the two buoyancy/storage chambers combined with a wood hull assure that the Tortoise won't sink I think it's safe to say there's nothing wrong with a bit more positive flotation in the mix.

So, how best to accomplish that?

As it happens, Gig Harbor Boat Works makes and sells inflatable sponsons, otherwise known as Dinghy Dogs, which are pretty close to perfect for the purpose. The downside is they're, at $375, not exactly cheap.

Duckworks sells some inflatable Beach Rollers that, could be adapted for the purpose and has been used on Richard Wood's Duo nesting dinghy. Priced at about $150 for a pair they give a lot of extra flotation for not a lot of outlay. The downside is they're a little too big for use while sailing the Tortoise.

My personal choice for added flotation is a 52" x 4" pool noodle stuck inside a Sunbrella or reasonable facsimile sleeve which will add a Buoyant Force of 107.24 N Buoyant Force per side for a whole lot less and not interfere with sailing in the process. Better yet, they'd only cost around $20-$25 a pop.

Another advantage is they all make great dinghy fenders.

Listening to Marty Balin

So it goes