A climate change news story involving bareboats, some depressing Covid information, and an interesting video on how some folks learn a language...
Yesterday I finished seizing various chafe areas on the new lifelines which should extend their life considerably. It was not lost on me as I was doing it that seizing Dyneema with waxed twine was mixing old and new tech but, in my experience, the use of old/new tech often results in an appropriate solution to a problem.
Truth be told, it occurred to me that since seizing is such an easy and inexpensive way to protect Dyneema that I was an idiot not to seize the standing rigging aboard "So It Goes".
The late great Brion Toss pointed out that seizing Dyneema which protects the stays from UV and chafe pretty much made for rigging that would last forever.
Of course, hindsight is a bitch. Especially for boat builders as we're always able to see better ways to do things after the fact. When building my Wharram cat, finishing the first hull was tempered by the fact that I knew that the second hull would be better than the first because my skill set had improved. Every mast I build is going to be better than previous masts simply because I'm better at it, have absorbed new techniques, and studied how other folks have built their masts.
Which, of course, is one of the reasons that I really want to build a new mast for "So It Goes" as I learned a lot and can build a better one based on a Reuel Parker mast section that will be easier to build, lighter and less expensive than the one I have currently. Better yet, It would have a better mast tabernacle system which will free me from the clutches of greed-head boatyards, make maintenance simpler, allow for low bridge situations and allow me to seize the standing rigging as a bonus.
Listening to Bo Diddley
So it goes...
