a project you might want to check out during 2016...

Some exciting stuff, regarding those dire predictions, and something well worth the read...

Someone's been busy.

I expect you'll be able to find out more as it develop over at Boat & Koad.

Listening to a plethora of good covers

So it goes...

Something we all need to think more about...

About that war on Christmas, "It's a Wonderful Life" holiday (isn't it?) and the perpetual fear machine goes on and on and on and...

The last couple of weeks I've been witnessing the slow agonizing death of a boat that ran aground and it has been a somewhat thought-provoking experience.

I expect I'll write more about it later but the most obvious lesson is that, these days more than ever, in spite of such things as towing services, marine professionals, and government agencies that if you get into trouble on a boat you're really on your own...

The bottom line is that no one really cares and all of those in the aforementioned safety net don't care at all (well except for whatever money they can bleed from the situation) and if you need to save your boat it really is up to you to make it happen.

Listening to Big Little Lions

So it goes...

just another day but different...

Just the sort of political discourse we should be hearing more of (but seldom do) these days, a film you really should check out, and the only halfway-sane Republican candidate leaves the clown car...

So, as the much missed John Lennon once sang, this is Christmas, and, if it happens to be your particular Holidaze festivity of choice, here's hoping it's a good one for you and yours.

Me, I'm looking forward to the traditional fare of my people for this hallowed night by making Chinese (heavy on the ginger) food and just generally kicking back, not reading any news, and reading a good (Foolish Voyage) book.

All the best.

Listening to Lin-Manuel Miranda

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...

A film worth seeing...

So simple, so innovative, Lloyd Kahn making some good points regarding tiny housing, and in the "why am I not surprised" department...

A film you really should keep an eye out for...


Rewilding Film Trailer #1 from Rewilding, The Film on Vimeo.

More info on the film here.

Listening to Mississippi Live &The Dirty Dirty

So it goes...

We're pretty much a facebook free zone...

Some good news on the Dengue front, yet another mosquito borne disease we have to worry about, and Mandy Patinkin makes a pretty good point...

It's been pointed out to me on numerous occasions that there should be a Boat Bits page on that face book ting. I'll admit that I briefly considered it but one glance at the terms of service told me everything I needed to know to underline my itching spidey-sense that all was not kosher.

But, since people keep asking me why I don't have a facebook version (or visit facebook sites I'd have to join/like to read) here's everything you should know in a nutshell.



Nuff said 

Listening to Missio cover the Cranberies

So it goes...

In the "I'd be pissed off" department...

Ten things scarier (and much more likely to kill you) than terrorism, an editorial of note somewhat late to the party, and someone else who finds the plethora of faux Twain quotes just as irritating as I do...

Speaking of faux Mark Twain quotes...

Listening to The Wild Reeds

So it goes...

Stuff you should be watching...

This is all sorts of depressing, a needful note to the press, and so much not the good guys anymore...

So, everyone knows that the second series of the Eco Sailing Project is up and running...



Right?

Listening to Nick Lowe & Los Straightjackets



So it goes...

a little compromise is a goodly thang...

Schwarzenegger making a lot of sense, an interesting riff on privilege, and the heady aroma of rose petals on crap...

The other day I heard someone talking about why he wanted a no-compromise boat and then he mentioned the boat he deemed to be exactly that.

The boat in question currently has a lot of folks excited but to say that the boat is an example of a no-compromise mindset is ludicrous. The fact of the matter is, it's a cornucopia of compromise and when you've studied boats as long as I have, you'll know that's no bad thing... All boats are, by their very nature, a compromise.

Don't believe me?

Pick a boat that uses ballast and look at what material is being used and you'll, more than likely, find it's lead or steel either of which is a compromise of weight and cost... Lead, being denser (spelled heavier) and taking up less space, also happens to be more expensive than steel. So, you'd think that lead is the no-compromise designer and builders choice... Yeah?

How about gold? Gold weighs 1206 pound per cubic foot and lead, by comparison, weighs in at 709 pounds so by choosing lead over gold (or an even heavier more expensive glow-in-the-dark-testicle toasting-metal) we're talking the same sort of compromise of using lead over steel or even concrete.

Gold makes all kinds of sense as a ballast material but it is silly expensive so not using it is an obvious and sane compromise...

Really... who could afford a frelling gold keel? Granted, replacing the lead ballast on my CAL 34 would be an awesome performance enhancement but that would cost (at today's rate of $1,065.55 an ounce) $63,933,000.00. That's a whole lot of cat food as Buffy and Willow would say. Need I really say more?

Compromise is really all about utility and what works in a given situation. So, in most cases, it adds to the safety and performance of the boat rather than the opposite.

When folks (usually spelled salespeople) start expounding on their new no-compromise cruising boat, they're most likely trying to sell you something and they happen to think you're a gull.

Listening to Joey and Kelly

So it goes...

a little food for thought...

Bill Moyers nails it, a great analogy, and just in case you haven't been paying attention...


Meet the Earthship from flora lichtman on Vimeo.

Listening to Dead Confederate

So it goes...

A whole different way to see Gran Canaria...

A little common sense, however over in the "logical as a bag of hammers" department, and I'm not really sure whether to be more afraid of the body armor wearing assault rifle toting idiot driving around town or the cops who can't see that the nutcase might be a threat...



Listening to The Oh Hellos

So it goes...

On gifts for the Holidaze...

Why I no longer eat octopus, a very, very good point, and on a related note...

I'm finding it an entertaining process to read the varied and sundry blog posts of the boaty kind which revolve around gift lists for the Holidaze two-step. While, I, on the other hand, am knee deep in lists of things I want to get off the boat because "So It Goes" really wants it's waterline back and been hinting that a new (long promised) rudder would not be amiss...

So, just a thought, but before you decide on giving your boat a lot of presents you might want to check and ask what it would like...

Listening to Silversun Pickups

So it goes...

Boat shows...

A Rude Pundit making sense, an interesting series of questions, and pretty much just what you'd expect from a bought and sold group of politicians...



I used to really look forward to the Paris and London boats shows. Not that I was really interested in oohing and aahing boats and gear I couldn't afford but the boat shows always had neat ideas hidden around the various booths that I could take away for free and utilize on my own boat projects.

Boat shows are great if you're looking for answers to fiddly problems.

One thing I learned early on was that the more expensive the boat the less clever the designs become, cunning utilization of space goes out the window, and the chance of finding an answer to problem that needs a cunning answer just ain't going to happen. As a result if I'm looking for clever and cunning I stick to boats below the 36-foot mark.

It's not just the boats that I look at as there are lots of clever ideas in neat products hidden away in corners right along side the "It slices it dices" man and the woman selling the "It's a dress, it's a cape, it's a scarf, it's a tres chic truc that's perfect attire for le femme chic". Yeah, lots of cool stuff if you have an idea what you're looking for.

Even better, the Paris show would have serious content for folks who build boats and you could actually talk to people who know shit and are not just there to hand you a brochure and don't know zilch about the boats/gear they are pimping.

But what I really miss is just across from the Paris show is a great place to get my Merguez Frites freak on...

Listening to Gloria Ann Taylor

So it goes...

Some Saturday Muscadet goodness...

Some seriously scary shit, a book review of sorts, and in the "What we have here is a dire situation" department...

Really, how can you not love the Muscadet design?




More information on the design can be found at the APM (Association des Propriétaires de Muscadet).

Listening to Bird Dog

So it goes...

and in the "How paying a lot of money does not always get you a good boat" department...

Webb Chiles points out the one great advantage of the Southern Hemisphere,
twisted beyond repair, and we really should be better than this...

You really should read this article by Charles Doane.

Really!

Listening to Glen Hansard

So it goes...

What I wish Santa would bring me...

A little bit of interesting history, a lot of truth in faux publicité, and in the "lies have consequences" department...

This is seriously cool!



The problem with all the boat-friendly washing machines I've come across is they really have no real or decent rinse/spin capability which everyone knows is the heinous part of doing laundry on a boat. The Drumi, on the other hand, looks like (just maybe) it might actually do the job. It's a chunk of change but with a small load at a Caribbean laundromat costing $3.50 or more these days it would pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time and dispense with the dreaded evil trip to the laundromat blues. So, color me interested.

Listening to the Staples Singers

So it goes...