Yeah, but it's FREE!

Some interesting skullduggery, bad news from down south, and Mr Orlov rides out hurricane Sandy at the dock...

The other day a reader of Boat Bits dropped me a line and a link and wanted to know what I thought about a free boat on Craig's List in his area. The boat in question was a 26-foot Pearson Ariel and, if the photos attached to the ad were accurate, not a bad boat at all. To add some frosting to the confection, its dockage was paid through the end of the year... The cherry on top was that the boat, in fact, was free.

Think about that word for a moment... F-R-E-E!

Now, I'll be willing to bet that the boat is going to have some issues but then again I've never come across a boat new or old that did not have something that needed to be fixed, replaced, or sorted out.

So back to that word FREE!

A family of four might find a Pearson Ariel way too small for cruising, so would most couples but for a single person it's not really a bad choice. I should also add that as a daysailer/weekender it would be a lot of fun for anyone and not a bad platform to learn to sail.

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people looking for boats are not really thinking through the situation because they are on a quest of the true love (till death do us part) and Holy Grail sort... They're not so much looking for something that will work out, they're looking for that perfect boat and everyone knows you can't find a perfect boat on Craig's List for free.

The thing is, there are more and more free boats popping up and some of them are in good shape but have simply become too expensive for someone who seldom uses it to justify paying for a marina berth. Simple economics and common sense sometime means it's easier to give something away than hassle with the selling it scenario. Way back when we moved on to Loose Moose 2 we were as concerned that the first Loose Moose wind up in good hands with a person who would take care of it... So we sold it for $1 and it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

I've always thought a really great way to find a perfect boat was to go cruising to out of the way harbors and anchorages and keep an eye out for that slightly forlorn boat with the faded FOR SALE sign. When you think about it, an old free Pearson would be a great boat for just such a quest...

Listening to Alan Price

So it goes...

We may not have jet packs but we can choose our reality...

About those oh-so-needful x-ray scanners, something worth reading regarding copyright, and a manifesto of interest...

It occurred to me the other day that we're living in a very different world than I was looking forward to. Look, I've made peace with the fact that I don't have a jet pack and never will... Sure, I'm a little bummed but I'm a grown man and I can deal with it.

On the other hand, what I am having more than a little trouble dealing with is how mean things have become. The other day when we were trying to deal with our internet provider to sort out certain issues with the fact that their system does not work most of the time (for those who have noticed the fact that there are less Boat Bits posts and wondered why the combination of horrible internet access combined with Blogger becoming seriously problematic at best is the answer) and our service rep said something that has been going around in my mind ever since...

"You have to realize you're no longer in our reality"

Their reality, of course, is all about profit... Which is why they charge us $60 a month so we can get our email and file the daily blog post. They, in fact, are really good about collecting that money as it happens but not so good at actually providing the service they're selling. When we point out the fact that the service is getting worse with less access points and slow/throttled speeds we're told that our sort of user (WIFI) simply no longer count as we're too small a group to service as we no longer provide enough profit... So, POOF we're no longer part of their reality...

Well, except for the fact that they still market their wifi services as every morning I have to listen to their advertisements on the radio which tell me how awesome it is and they still charge us for the service (as my monthly credit card statement attests). So, in point of fact, I'd say we are very much part of their "reality" but they've simply opted out of their responsibilities and blame us because we're simply not providing enough profit but, being greedy, they are not willing to simply cut a revenue stream...

The fact is, I keep seeing this sort of mindset everywhere especially in the marine industry... From the haulout yard, to the local marine store and marine tradesmen the opting out of providing decent service because we are not in their new mega-yacht reality.

That said, the whole reality changing gig done the right way can be a powerful tool... You want a VolksCruiser sailing/cruising experience and lifestyle on a blue collar budget all you have to do is click your heels and say to yourself ...

"This reality sucks and I want my life back"

Then you face into the the wind and utter the magic words...

"Hey hey Gardner McKay" (the "Hey hey" isn't needful but does add flair...)

Then you simply get to doing...


Rant over.

Listening to Crazy Horse

So it goes...

a shift in perception...

The storm I'm worried about, about those weather satellites, and a whole different kind of storm coming our way...

It really all depends how you look at stuff...

Yesterday morning I was swimming next to the boat when I looked at my transom and, all of a sudden, I had one of those moments of clarity which solved the current problem I was having coming up with a cunning yet inexpensive means of mating my new self-steering gear to said transom. The thing is, I never would have come up with the idea by looking at the transom from the deck level looking down.

Perception really does have a lot to do with which direction you're looking and your vantage point of choice...

Around boats it's pretty easy to see that tunnel vision is the norm more often than not. Take wood for example... You need some wood for a boat project and teak springs to mind when all sorts of other wood species may do the job just as well, better, or at a fraction of the cost.

Want to know something interesting? Teak became popular as a boat building wood not because of magical antirot properties but because it was CHEAP. There once was a time when, for bespoke yacht building, teak was looked down on and Douglas Fir was considered the decking of choice... But, I digress.

On the self-steering front the change of vantage point just made mounting my new gear a couple of hundred bucks cheaper (saving money is always happy making), a whole lot stronger, and, as such things go, will look a little prettier as well. What's not to like.

Listening to Kasey Chambers

So it goes...

Some need/want musing...

A quick heads-up to some cops Zatoichi is a fictional character, an interesting requirement of being a Christian I was unaware of, and an open letter some folks should read...

I got some mail the other day from a company that makes water slides, inflatable pools, and other such silliness for the mega-yacht market... Apparently it's simply no longer enough fun to have a gazillion-dollar-250-foot-diesel-guzzling-yacht so you need to turn it into a theme park as well.

On "So It Goes" we're currently trying to lose all things that are in excess to our needs and counterproductive to its 1969 waterline, so you can kinda see how the ideas of inflatable Olympic size pools and giant slides for use in an anchorage has me somewhat bemused...

The trouble is, in the whole trying to regain that svelte 1969 waterline is that it's one thing to apply the need/want equation to something you want to bring on to the boat and it's another thing entirely to apply it to something you already have on the boat that entails throwing away something that is perfectly good and serviceable (that you never actually use).

Luckily we have a thrift shop we can donate stuff to in aid of the local animal charity but it's not like they get all excited about a couple of perfectly good but mismatched coffee cups, some "seemed like a good idea at the time" wonder tools, and books that won't get read again. The downside of dropping stuff off at the thrift shop is that, more often than not, some bric-a-brac or thingy cries out to be brought back to "So It Goes" and you never know, stranger things have happened, but I might even be able to find a cast off mega-yacht superslide...

Listening to Beau Jocque

So it goes...


 

Just the same old same...

Donkey Mountain on the elusive undecided voter, in the seriously stupid department, and did someone say schooner...

We all take stuff for granted... It's part of the human condition. Of course, where boats are concerned it can be a little more problematic if you have high expectations...

Take parts for your boat or dinghy. You'd think in an area where people use boats on a regular basis, that the local dealer for your outboard would have common parts in stock (albeit at prices that may make a grown man weep). It would make sense in the grand scheme of things because if you need an important bit for your outboard you most likely need it NOW and so you're willing to pay those silly prices...

"We don't have it we'll have to special order it..."

To add insult to injury, the guy behind the cobweb covered cash register will then tell you that they only make special orders on Thursday and, as it is Friday, it won't get ordered till next week (unless next week has a holiday in it somewhere) but you'll have to pay the exorbitant price now and, oh yeah, there will also be the Fed Ex shipping which adds another $200 to the price...

What's wrong with this picture?

Well, the fact is, that you pretty much have to expect anyone doing business in some paradisaical location to be a bit less than organized at the best and your worst nightmare more often than not. It just goes with the territory.

Since I've been doing this gig for a while I still take a lot for granted but, these days, I take for granted that the local dealer of parts won't have what I want, the local mechanic will have even less of a clue than I do about what is wrong with my gear, and that I really need to take care of important stuff myself if I want stuff to work as it should. I'll admit, that the evolutionary chain to get to that point was somewhat long and at times painful but now that I expect zip I'm pretty much a happy camper in general and in those rare occurrences when I find I'm wrong I get downright ecstatic!

Listening to Pink Turtle

So it goes...

Something in a 38'...

Something of a curious time to start buying up voting machines (just a quick FYI on voting machines), an interesting observation, and a meeting of two great minds...

How about some more balanced lug eye candy from Tad Roberts in a 38-footer...

Listening to Los Lonely Boys

So it goes...

Now, what I really need is an umbrella...

Brilliant at Breakfast with an excellent use for a Saturn 5 rocket, skullduggery or worse in Ohio, and why we need some perp walks...

I've got a leak in my deck...

Not a biggie, deck leaks are simply a foregone conclusion and a fact of life on boats. Water is smart and, in this particular case, I do believe it is a whole lot smarter than I am.

Of course, now that it's not raining it's even harder to find the leak because, well, it's not raining. So thoughts of cunning plans and suchlike are now in the mix... and everyone knows things have a tendency to get a bit strange when the words c-u-n-n-i-n-g-p-l-a-n gets into the mix.

Kind of a bummer that!

Well, anyway, it's not leaking now and it's such a nice day...

Listening to Pink Turtle

So it goes...

Anyone want to build a boat?

In the you are what you eat department, Kurt Hughes points out something very cool for boat folk, and James Cameron makes some points...

Several readers wrote asking about how difficult it would be to build a balanced lug sailboat of the cruising persuasion...

Well, on one hand not so hard and then, on the other... Well, it can be a serious bitch! The thing is, it's not so much about the actual building as it is about the hassle factors and obstacles to your ongoing momentum.

Now, let's say I wanted to build Tad Roberts 44' balanced lug schooner from his Future Cruiser designs (something I've given no small amount of thought process to) I already know a few things...

One, it's a big project. Two, it's going to take a chunk of money to put one together and three, it would be a lot easier if I were able to build in a co-op situation with a few other folks who want to build similar boats (even better if they were all Future Cruisers).

The advantages of building in a co-op situation is that it makes finding a proper building site easier and more affordable, cuts the cost of materials to a great degree, and just generally makes for a faster more affordable build.

So anyway, if I were to decide to build such a beast I'd do my best to find three or four like-minded souls who also wanted to build a reasonable facsimile so we could put together a co-op...

Just saying...

Listening to Dave Mason

So it goes...

Hors piste

Hey,  I'm sure that there is a completely innocent explanation for this sort of thing (and if you believe that you just might be interested in a bridge I have for sale), on disruptive trends, and how bikes can make sense...

This current news over at Noonsite was not exactly the sort of news that fills me with joy.

Having spent a lot of time in the Canary Islands it is one of my favorite places to cruise and hang out. So news that it is becoming less cruiser friendly is not something I want to read about with my morning coffee, but then there it is... Bummer.

Sadly, this is the future we find ourselves in and folks on boats of a nomadic nature who are not on mega-yachts or of the compulsive consumerism form of yachting are going to find that a lot of places are not going to be welcoming them with open arms as suggested new rules (pdf) for the USVI attest.

That said, it's a big world and, if one is willing to cruise hors-piste, there is always a way to make it work. Point of fact it might all even be for the better...

Listening to Bob Marley

So it goes...

Some more balanced lug goodness...

Something to make you bang your head against the nearest bulkhead, this is scary on so many levels, and about that tax plan...

The really wonderful thing about the balanced lug rig is just how little gear is needful to make it work... Some line and a few blocks is pretty much all you need.

Some folks feel the need to use a winch whenever a line needs to be pulled but, until you get into the near 500 square foot area sort of sails, just a simple single or double purchase halyard does the job. Considering the big yard, this surprises a lot of people but the reason most folks have problems raising their mainsails in the same old same sloop rig is not because of the weight of the sail but the amount of friction caused by track and whatever attachment system is joining the sail to the mast. The lug being by its very nature pretty close to frictionless does not need a lot of oomph to get it up...

Astute readers of Boat Bits (I'm sure) have already twigged to the fact that the mast on Bolger's ESC is not stepped on the centerline. I won't really go into that just now except to say that there are any number of advantages to doing this and the only downside is that it will drive dock walkers and folks of limited vision bat-fuck-crazy and they will make your life problematic from time to time. Yeah... I know this because our first Loose Moose (a Jessie Cooper design by Phil) also had an off-center mast.

So how to make an already pretty wonderful rig even better?

Well for one, as it seems most folks sailing these days have a strong grasp of foresails and suchlike, a small jib goes a long way to making the transition to a balanced lug facile and gives you another sail for better balance to tweak. Of course, adding a small jib is a complication as you'd need to add a couple of running backstays and maybe a forestay (I used the word "maybe" as foresails can be set flying and don't necessarily need a forestay). A small jib would also require one or two small winches (small here is the operative word) and a couple of blocks which, while adding some cost (not a lot, 20-30 bucks at a flea market) would make up for it in a good way.

See more over at Bigornick

Lastly, while slab reefing works just fine on a balanced lug rig (that big yard scares the bejeezus out of a lot of folks though) the truth is not everyone wants to go up to the mast to reef and so you might want to think of a roller reefing system of the DIY sort (face it, anything you do with a balanced lug rig is an ALL DIY proposition). The good thing about roller reefing a balanced lug rig is that it is a simple, cheap, foolproof system, and it works...



Listening to Tedeschi Trucks Band

So it goes...

a really smart rig...

Sensible Simplicity pretty much nails it, a book worth reading, and Lectronic Latitude talks outrage...

Here's a design by the late Phil Bolger...

It sports a simple rig but simple in a good way.

Simple means it's inexpensive with a free standing mast. Of course, a free standing mast means no need for standing rigging which is both expensive and prone to failure. The balance lug as shown does not require any expensive gear (spelled no winches/tracks/cars/reefing systems).

Better yet, it's a powerful rig... Truth is, I doubt you'd be able to find more HP per dollar invested in any other rig. Its more powerful than the junk rig and has most of it's advantages and none of the craziness in the running rigging department...

Which is not to say you can't improve on a good thing, but more about that tomorrow.

Listening to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

So it goes...

Just another close shave...

Yep, pharmaceutical companies would never put patients at risk for better profits, the new face of law in Texas, and on reaping what you sow...

Tropical storm Rafael was something of a no-show for us here in the USVI and in its place we had a very quiet windless night... Lucky us.

Especially so when you factor in that just yesterday afternoon Rafael was forecast to run right over us. So later today I can pick up my storm tackle and get back to my various and sundry projects...

Listening to Les Rita Mitsouko (because we're doing the happy dance!)

So it goes...

and I'm not sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Sète because...

Something simple people get wrong, a worthwhile read, and a scow a-building...

Listening to France Gall

So it goes...

About steering...

About those recent job numbers, something Mitt should read, and in the total BS department...

The really big thing people sailing sailboats need to keep in mind is that the best course is seldom the direct one. It actually bothers me to even mention it being such a basic premise and all but since I keep observing people bashing dead to windward under power that, just maybe, it deserves a mention from time to time.

Have you ever sat at anchor and just watched the wind? Wind is interesting and it is always shifting... I don't care if the weather report says it's blowing from the east (that's an average of course) it is seldom just blowing from the east. It moves, it shifts, and if you're not sensitive to its minor changes, you're not going to be sailing to your best advantage.

Since wind is a fluid thing, a course needs to be fluid as well to be able to get as much oomph as possible which is why you might not want to be slavish in following that heading to the next waypoint...

Which, as it happens, is why self-steering gears work so well. They track every little wind shift and keep you in the groove. Sure you might not be steering a perfect straight line on the chart but since the wind is not blowing a perfect course either it all works out for the better.

Autopilots on the other hand, unless integrated to your wind instruments, will force you to  sail a direct course but autopilots are idiots and, since most folks using them simply dial in a compass course, you're not going to be in sync with the wind...

Not so long ago I realized that my chart plotter had a problematic effect on my sailing ability. Seeing my current course as a graphical interface, while being neat and all, had a real tendency to distract me from the course I should be steering in favor of the subliminal desire to make for a straight line on the chart plotter. Put the cover on the chart plotter and, hey presto, all of a sudden I'm going faster towards where I want to go. Take the cover off the chart plotter and I'm losing a knot or more...

Kinda like Kryptonite for boat speed...

Which, I suppose, is why so many folks sailing from St Thomas to St Martin simply wind up motoring on a straight line course into the wind and swell as they're addicted to those nice straight lines on the chart plotter.

Listening to Ezra Furman & the Harpoons

So it goes...

It's not the path but the intensity that's unclear...

On doing the Eskimo thing with Granny, something everybody should read (really), and Mr Vigor making a good point...

So we're currently watching the weather...

Kind of goes with the territory this time of year and all but some weather systems are more nervous making than others. 98L is just such a beast because there are too many possible scenarios and most of the discussion is more about whether it will be a threat to the US of A mainland with bugger all concern about what it does while it's in my backyard.

Time to check the ground tackle...

Listening to Jimmy Buffett

So it goes...

Lots of stuff to read...

A little reminder for those with electric propulsion, just so we're all on the same page, and, apparently, iPads are kinda popular in some circles...

Having a Kindle and a Nook has made some big changes aboard "So It Goes".

The obvious advantage is that some of the book clutter is a thing of the past and we're actually being able to reclaim some (albeit small) storage space for stuff other than books.

The other thing is that the instant nature of E-Books means that we no longer have to get books shipped to us and that is an awesome improvement in the often convoluted logistical nightmare that is getting a book to some small island in a timely manner or depend on finding an errant cruiser with books I might be interested in reading (we only seem to find folks with lawyer books and bodice rippers)...

The downside is that I find myself in a bizarre situation never encountered before where, all of a sudden, I have a big backlog of books I have not read yet...

Life, as they say, is most excellent!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated subject, this new design by Rodger Martin is seriously cool...

Listening to Wilson Pickett

So it goes...

a few notes from deluge city...

I'd always wondered why there were so few unruly republican offspring, considering the previous, this seems apt, and something to keep you up at night...

I'll be the first to admit that there is a certain, shall we say, perversity to some projects on boats...

Take yesterday where I was working on a pair of hatches under a clear blue sky. While I sanded the hatches there was not a cloud in the sky, when I got out the epoxy to coat the hatches... still not a cloud.

Hatches coated and sitting in the cockpit drying. This, of course, left two gaping holes in my deck but the sky was clear of clouds so time for a swim...

Jump in the water for a bit of a swim and, hey presto, all of a sudden the skies are looking like deluge city...

Listening to Jethro Tull

So it goes...

Really just a normal day...

I'm seeing a certain perverse logic here, about those debates, and a scow schooner project of note...

Oh, I see that it is something of a holidaze trifecta today so here's hoping that everybody reading this is taking advantage and is NOT in a cubicle slaving away somewhere making someone other than yourself rich.

That said, working on your boat in my mind is a very acceptable way to spend a holiday but do yourself a favor and avoid the really grotty jobs like sanding off the old bottom paint.

Me? I'm going to do a little rig work, install a couple of vents, and do a little painting... I actually like painting as it makes the boat look super clean and new in as much as a boat built in 1969 can look (without getting silly) new.

Listening to Judee Sill

So it goes...

What's in my rigging bag...

In the  j’accuse department, some legal wrangling of the maritime/not maritime sort, and, nope, 2012 is not what I imagined it would be back in the early 70's...

I've got a variety of rigging  jobs coming up in the not too instant future and, as it happens, someone recently wrote asking what a good basic rigging kit should contain, so it seems a reasonable time to talk about what's in the bag...

Cutting implements... Of course, I have my day-to-day boat knife but I keep my ceramic knife in the rigging kit along with a couple of razor knives, a pair of shears and surgical scissors.

Fids... I have a bunch, partly because some fids work better in some situations/materials than others and partly (I believe) fids are a lot like rabbits which, if left alone for any length of time, you'll find that your rigging bag is full of a lot of fids that seemed to get there all by themselves. That said, my most used fid-like objects are actually forceps if that is of any interest.

A bag full of light stuff for whipping and seizing, some heavy waxed thread and some sail needles plus a hunk of beeswax seem to complete the marlin spike side of things.

For the standing rig work, it's pretty simple... a pair of 10-inch adjustable wrenches (otherwise known as Crescent or Moy), a hack saw, a block of wood with wire-sized holes and a saw kerf to use as a jig to saw wire in a non-problematic manner, a 100-foot measuring tape, and a selection of Loos tension gauges.

The only other bit worth mentioning that does not fit in the rigging bag is a proper bench vise on a board because life is just too short to mess around without one.

Of course, I should add that Brion Toss's book "The Complete Riggers Apprentice" pretty much answers any needful questions that are likely to come up whether it be tools, a particular splice, and anything else dealing with rope or wire.

Listening to The Civil Wars

So it goes...

and I'll say it again...

Something worth considering in a much maligned cruising destination, a bit more of Webb Chiles plans, and a little love at first sight...

Today my email had a number of notes filled with no small amount of outrage, dismay,  and horror that I might suggest using a plywood product that is not labeled marine... Obviously, some of my readers are much more trusting than I am in regards to the veracity of what passes for a marine industry and so-called standards these days.

Which I guess is OK... I suppose there needs to be a body of folks who buy stuff on the home shopping channel, guzzle $4 beers at beach bars, and collect on those offers of money from those nice folks who write from Nigeria about all of that money they have waiting for you.

Right now there is a whole lot of Chinese plywood labeled "marine" floating around... Some of it is good to excellent, and some of it is truly awful. Same thing could be said for a lot of the plywood coming out of South America. The point is, that whatever wood products you buy to build your boat (or use in projects for your boat) needs to be looked at and judged on its own merits and not on a stamp or the fact that the guy at the yard tells you it's "marine"...

Since some of my current projects on "So It Goes" involve pulling out some bits of interior that is still in good shape, it's given me a lot of chances to examine how non-marine plywood has held up over forty-something years protected by a little paint at most... Truth is, I love our CAL 34 but there were a lot of corners cut way back when to make the boat a profitable one. Not that I'm complaining as the interior ply with a veneer of teak overlay has held up way better than anyone could or should reasonably expect it to. Where it has failed or exhibits problems is where previous owners have done some wood butchery of one sort or another and done it badly...

So, when all is said and done, I'm still going to suggest that you be open-minded about using more affordable species of lumber and plywood when/where it makes sense and when/where you can responsibly satisfy yourself that it is of a quality that will do the job.

Listening to Save Ferris


So it goes...

Some ad hoc materials testing...

I'm not sure about you, but I do not find this a happy making fact, so much for the recovery, and Lefsetz on Bob Seger...

I may have gone on a time or two about the whole scam of overpriced things with a marine label... So, if you're adverse to the subject maybe you should skip this post.

Anyway, I have some scraps of wood I've been keeping on deck as something of an ad hoc test bed and now that it's time to clean the decks of excess clutter it's about time to put the test to bed.

As for the results, color me kind of surprised... Some teak bits I have out (untreated and left bare) are hanging in just as you'd expect. What's surprising is that some yellow pine scraps look just as good.

On the plywood front... I have some scraps of BC exterior ply, some formply and some marine ply all untreated and left bare and unprotected from the elements. The exterior is looking a little ragged but not that much more ragged than the marine. The big surprise is that the form ply is looking awesome...

My quick reaction is that when I get around to building the Chameleon dinghy is that considering it's glassed and sealed with epoxy then painted, that the cheap exterior should hold up as well as the less than wonderful marine ply available to me down here. This saves me quite a lot of money so this is a good thing to know.

On the form ply front... this sure seems like a great material to build a bigger sharpie or scow out of. It's cheap, seems to hold up better than either exterior or marine ply, appears to have better quality control (spelled no voids) and it is a fraction of the cost of exterior or marine... What's not to like?

Just a guesstimate but I expect using formply would save a huge chunk in the overall building budget of a 40-foot sharpie or scow and seems quite apt in a boat of workboat origins.

I think I'll be building a new self-steering rudder using the formply in the very near future but more about that later...

Listening to The Pogues

So it goes...

What you really want is a SAFE boat...

Makes you kind of wonder how fucked up things are when guys like this are protecting you, some notes on Greece to keep in mind, and something worth reading...

There seems to be a lot of talk of late about a distinction I've never really been comfortable with... the whole Blue Water Cruiser thang seriously gets up my nose.

You see, I'm all for seaworthy boats, capable boats, and, most importantly, safe boats but I find the distinction between a "Blue Water" and a "Coastal" cruiser somewhat problematic because it somehow says that it's OK to go to sea (as long as you're not going "Blue water") in a boat that is less than safe or as seaworthy than it should/could be.

Let me put it like this... How far can you swim?

I don't know about you but sailing from Los Angeles to Hawaii (Blue Water) is just like sailing from Los Angeles to Catalina (Coastal) as soon as you're further off the beach than you can comfortably swim back, I don't see a lot of difference between drowning ten miles offshore or a thousand. The whole being dead thing is a state-of-affairs I'm making a point to avoid (so far so good).

By the way, I'm reliably informed that being dead sucks...

Anyway, the whole point of all this is whatever you plan to do with a boat, your choice should really reflect seaworthiness and safety. Truth is, making most so called "coastal" cruisers safer and more seaworthy is pretty easy and I can't think of a better guide to doing it than Dan Spurr's "Spurr's Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat" which I find is still a very helpful and much used resource on my bookshelf.

Of course, whatever boat you have, the weak spot is always the crew. Not a bad idea to improve your own personal skills set "seamanship-wise" while you're upgrading the boat...

Listening to Dolapdere Big Gang

So it goes...

On keeping the positive in perspective...

The words 'they hire him to do something wrong' pretty much says it all, some apt info for some readers of Boat Bits, and an important thought about betrayal...

One of the nicer things about living in 2012-going-on-2013 is there is so much accessible to us if we are willing to take advantage of it...

If you want to cruise in groups and party down like a perpetual summer camp of organized events it's all there for you. On the other hand, if you want to take a more out of the way path it's there as well and all you have to do is sail that-a-way.

Want to sail on a beater classic plastic, bespoke art object, current fashion flavor of the month, or get down with some strange design you want to build and test because you think it would be fun...

It's doable!

Well, of course, the world is in a somewhat sorry state of affairs, our leaders do not have our best interests at heart, and (dare I say it) the very real possibility of doom, of one sort or another, coming down on our collective asses much sooner than later is lurking just a breath away... But hey, there's always a downside to the picture...

So, all in all, not a horrible time to go sailing!

Listening to SHEL

So it goes...

A pretty cool minimum-envelope cruiser...

Mr Fitzgerald (author of Sea-Steading) muses over at Sensible Simplicity, so does Drift Away... well muse that is, and a blast from the past over at Mountain Gazette...

I'm not sure whether the idea of making minimum envelope cruisers is the best use of the scow idea but, on the other hand, it is a great test bed and an idea that works on something less than five meters will more than likely work even better on a 12-meter cruising/work scow...

That said, you'll find a lot of food for thought over at Bigornick (both scow and otherwise) and there's a lot more to see of SKROWL here.

Listening to The James Gang

So it goes...