from the cockpit test lab...

Something about the real cost of gas, a big black hole, and in the "Way past time" department...

The whole problem with doing stuff on the cheap is not so much about money but finding good products to replace the overpriced crap we find ourselves having to use from the Marine trades.

For instance, I need a new booster pump for my watermaker as the one I've been using has been doing an intermittent impression of a brick. Which is not what I expect to find in a $400+ piece of gear. Doing my research I've found numerous pumps sporting the same specs that cost a whole lot less. The conundrum of various items sporting the same specs over a price spread from $20 to $800 cries out to be researched. 

So, my project for today is to test a $22 dollar pump. Which, if it works will make me a very happy camper.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Listening to Boulevards

So it goes...

Human powered propulsion...

A good climbing film streaming for free, klepto-warfare, and in the "Stuff you need to know about Immigration" department...

Gas is currently $5 a gallon here in paradise and a lot of folks are complaining. A reader from France pointed out the other day that he was paying $7.80 so it's not Biden's fault and just the current price set by some greedheads to up their profits. The word Greedflation pops to mind.

That said, maybe it's best to keep in mind that oil and its byproducts are a finite resource and volatile pricing is just going to be part of the mix as supplies become rarer.

Time to invest in a yuloh or some sort of pedal driven boat propulsion system? 

Speaking of which, Michael Schacht (AKA that Proa File guy) caught a pic of an interesting entry in the R2AK.

Listening to FKA twigs

So it goes...

and in the perfomance does not always equal speed department...

Worrisome, a different way to approach that walk to the post office, and about that new normal...

It's funny how some thing connect within your brain. A friend and I were conversing via email about sailboat design and performance and all of a sudden I had a moment of understanding that kicked in like a two by four upside the head.

Performance is not just about speed.

Of course, I know that performance is actually the sum of a great many parts  but, when is all is aid and done, it's mostly speed-centric. 

Way back when I seriously contemplated doing the Mini TransAt partly as there were so few entrants from the USA at the time and because I just wanted to do a single hand transatlantic and kick some ass. Also Dudley Dix had just come up with a Mini plan that just screamed build me!

The design brief of such a cutting edge boat IS all about speed and getting from one point to another faster than the other boats in its class. 

Now, twenty something years later, I can still look at the design and appreciate it's virtues but now I  think of other ways to harvest the design's performance.

For instance, The Didi Mini and the newer Didi Mini MK3 would be serious overkill for local racing down here and a smaller rig would still kick some serious ass against most of the local competition and the Mini's big rig is a lot of work for just bragging rights. While the Didi Cruise-MK3 is a detuned version of the full tilt boogie  MK3 with the added advantage of a lifting keel and would still kick local ass albeit in a more sedate fashion.

 

Which, when you think of it, is still all about performance but performance in aid of purpose rather than just having performance as the goal. A slightly different mind set if you will.

As far as my abandoned Mini Transat venture, I still regret not building the boat or doing the race but by my sums the hassle factor of doing a campaign, finding sponsors, and all of the non-sailing craziness involved just did not add up to something I wanted to do.

Listening to Jo James

So it goes...

I really miss being at the Paris boat show...

One half of a degree, just a bit of the daily insanity, and in the "Remember when mountain gear was gear?" department...

Way more expensive than I can deal with but some very interesting innovation going on. Those boom mounted inflatable solar bits are way cool.

The trick, for those of us with lesser budgets, is looking at just how some of those innovations can be adapted to affordable classic plastic.

Listening to the Iron Leg Radio Show

So it goes...

A differnet way to build a sharpie?

Doctors making a point, Greenland ice still melting, and in the "Just a glimmer of hope" department...

About a couple of decades or so ago I found myself reading a description of a boat building method by Derek Kelsall called KSS (Kelsall Swiftsure Sandwich) which is a very clever way to fabricate flat panels to build roundish hulls. At the time I was not overly impressed with the method as a way to build multihulls but I do remember thinking that it would be an excellent way to build sharpies. 

That said, at the time, plywood was fairly reasonable and still had an edge over building composite panels as foam was fairly expensive and getting in to resin infusion seemed like a rather steep learning curve at the time.

So, I filed it away as a boat building method with possibilities along with Hughes Cylinder molding, Constant Camber, and other various interesting ways to put boats together.Thinking that some or all of the various methodologys would come in handy.

Add to the list of emerging tech that I've been following is the use of more organic or sustainable materials for composite use. Materials like jute, hemp, and other fibers that, with the addition of a resin to bind them together, would make for a more sustainable, earth friendly, and affordable boat building material.

Of course, with the current price of good quality plywood being nuts these days all of a sudden the basic idea of the KSS, Constant camber, and Cylinder molding all start looking a whole lot more interesting. 

Anyone know a good source for jupe?

Listening to the Isley Brothers

So it goes...

Dealing with hindsight...

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...

A bit of DIY goodness...

Some needful reading on the subject of masks, regarding Google's creative bookkeeping, and in the "You just can't fix stupid" department...

This caught my eye because it's pretty much just my old ETEK based Mark 1 electric drive which worked pretty well and was both affordable and pretty easy for just about anyone to cobble together on a budget.

 

Simple works.

Listening to a bardish playlist

So it goes...

On the subject of variations of tech...

A hotline of note, idiocy in Biloxi, and in the "Calamity is no longer imminent; it is here" department...

Sailing Anarchy has, what could be, a very interesting thread entitled Low tech ocean cruisers on their Cruising Anarchy forum  that you might want to check out.

That said, I really should mention that the whole idea of low tech vs high tech really does get up my nose as well as the idea that you have to go all in on one or the other. In my mind the operative word we should be using is appropriate where tech is concerned.

Appropriate is what makes the most sense in a given situation. High-tech for its own sake is as stupid as going low/no-tech because of a knee-jerk reaction and vice-versa. Good design is always going to be a mix of the two with a common sensical addition of inspired compromise in the process.

Just saying.

Listening to Lindsay Ell

So it goes...

a project I'll be following...

Some tRumpish idiocy, what's killing salmon, and in the "Just let me know when it's 2022" department...

Here's an interesting project from Green Sailing who must have read "Sailing the Farm".

 

I'm especially interested in how they're going to include a seaworthy chicken coop into the mix.

Listening to Cathryn Craig

So it goes...

Warning; Content may be woodie inducing...

Chuck Wendig with all you need to know about voting, some horror stories for your hard drive, and on the subject of climate change gentrification...

I'd write something today except I'm too busy trying to absorb all of the wonderfulness involved in Stephens Waring Yacht Design's take on a very appropriate tech modern wooden mast in their current post "Modern Wood Mast: A Photo Essay".

Listening to Gracie Abrams

So it goes...

Just stop signs on the roads I like to travel...

A somewhat troubling read, doing a good thing, and some photos from the NASA Juno probe...

Apparently some folks require rules.

For some odd reason, every once in awhile, folks write me and ask for a rule because, apparently, some misguided readers think that where boats are concerned...

1. There should be RULES.
2. RULES are comforting to some.
3. A guy who writes a Blog with a moniker like Boat Bits is going to be a repository of said RULES.

Which is sort of funny because the whole idea of RULES has a lot to do with the reason I do the boat gig and to paraphrase an often paraphrased line from a great movie...

"We don't need no stinking RULES"

Which is all just a roundabout introduction to the answer to the question someone asked me the other day...

"What's the rule on anchor weight to length ratio?"

Fact of the matter is that there is no rule. That said, my advice on the subject is that the bigger the anchor the better as long as it's not so big that you can't handle it without some form of power assistance. In my case that translates roughly to an anchor of around forty-five pounds with a mostly chain rode.

As far as I'm concerned, rules are just stop signs on the roads I like to travel but, the fact is, that we all have a variety of personal and physical limits that we should pay attention to. Not so much rules but just a bit of knowing one's own limits and applying some common sense to the equation.

Listening to Café Tacvba

So it goes...

Something worth looking into...

A little needful reading, what one asshole person was doing on that day, and in the "why the fuck is someone not in jail over this kind of fuckery" department...

Just maybe, a better form of antifouling you may want to check out.


Neosil Presentation v1.0 from Vault17 on Vimeo.

Listening to Big Thief

So it goes...

A project that you might want to follow...

In Palau they're doing something important, it's hard to be a whale these days, and a not the same old same music video...



Listening to Winston Jarrett

So it goes...

Just another day in the greed zone...

Metastasized global economy pretty much says it all, just about the profit, and in the "poisonous corrosive man" department...

A reader sent me a link this morning to this...

...wanting to know if it was a good deal.

Now, I could easily insert a whole lot of snark here, go off on a rant of epic proportions, or simply acknowledge that, in point of fact, that the quote most often attributed to Mr Barnum (that he most likely never said) would be spot on.

Instead I'll just answer the question...

West Marine sells it for $299.99 and Defender sells it for $235.99 so the one you're inquiring about is not really a good deal and, if you're going to spend your money foolishly, you're better off giving it to the folks at Defender.

Then again, if you want something that does the same job just as well for a non-stupid price like this one...

Just $13

Really, just how stupid do they think we are?


Listening to some interesting versions of Sloop John B

So it goes...

Just a little fiscal common sense...

Some serious NRA ass-backwards thinking, some folks fighting the good fight, and how being number 1 is not always something to be proud of...

I'm in the process of adding two fifteen gallon water tanks in otherwise inaccessible places on the boat to supplement my super simple hose into a jerry can water system.

So, to keep things simple I needed to get a couple of y-valves. This being what I had in mind...

...and West had what I wanted. Well, at least I thought so until I checked out what a couple of them would cost.

So, what's a poor boy to do?

Well, as it happens, I needed to get some propane at the local hardware store so had the opportunity to peruse various plumbing stuff and found just the thing...

A two way hose adapter with dual shut offs in the garden center for about $2 each. The downside is I needed to add three 3/4" thread to 1/2" hose barbs for $1.99 each so the total damage was right around $16. They're tough, bombproof, and affordable... What's not to love?

Which, when all is said and done, that's about a $94 savings (more if you factor in the cost of having a pair of y valves shipped down to the Caribbean). I don't know about you but I can always use and extra $94 or so.

The only disadvantage I see is that dealing with four shutoff valves is slightly more complicated than two valves to deal with but nothing like a deal breaker and, once I stared thinking about it, having four separate shutoffs is actually advantageous in my installation. Something of a win/win as far as I can see.

Listening to the Wailin' Jennys

So it goes...

another good boatbuilding material...

I find this bothersome, so much for one justice for all, and something you might want to ponder...

I suspect I surprised a few folks yesterday when I mentioned ferro-cement as being sorta kinda equal with other boat building materials. So, let me say this...

Ferro-cement is a pretty good material to build boats. Now you know that I'm tragically unhip.

In my defense, I do have quite a bit of experience with ferro-cement as, while I was in college, I worked for a yard that was building ferro-cement boats back when ferro-cement was considered a cool way to build boats.

The main advantages of ferro-cement is that it is strong, inexpensive, quick to build, and a fairly easy way to build a boat. The downside is that done badly you wind up with a bad boat... But, then again, you can say that about any boat built of any material.

Back in the days when ferro-cement was popular, a lot of folks (and not a few companies) built some really awful boats in ferro and these heinous examples of the boatbuilding trade pretty much sealed the fate of ferro-cement as a non-acceptable way of building boats.

Sad that...

Because, when you actually look at the advantages of ferro-cement it makes a lot of sense and, even more, if you were to bring it into the current century by taking advantage of such things as epoxy, for example or other modern materials.

A Ferro Endurance designed by Peter Ibold

The fact is, there are a lot of 30-50 year old, well built ferro-cement boats happily sailing all over the world. They don't look any different than non-ferro boats and, due to the pariah status of ferro boats, owners tend to keep a low profile when it comes to advertising what their boats are built of.

Bruce Bingham was my introduction and mentor where things ferro were concerned and, in my neck of the woods, his book "Ferro-cement: design, techniques, and application" was everyone's go-to guide. It might be a book you want to keep an eye out for if you care to read about how to build a good boat in cement.

The sad part of the whole ferro-cement story is that when it became unpopular and something of a pariah boatbuilding material, development simply ceased and those who may have improved and evolved materials and techniques were drawn to other materials and methods like cold-molding wood, steel/alloy, and stitch & glue...

Maybe it's about time to take another look at ferro and do some thinking.


Listening to the Turtles

So it goes...

Better, best, bestest...

A couple good points, something to keep in mind, and about those makers and takers...

Pretty much everything on my boat works. Now, I mention this because people keep writing in asking my opinion on products because they want to find the better or best stuff. The problem is that I don't think better or best actually works around sailboats. I'm more a whether stuff works or doesn't work kind of guy.

Anchors are a good example... I have four anchors aboard "So It Goes" two Brittany anchors (20KG & 15KG) and a couple of fisherman folding stock sort. I use them because they work and can't actually see how they can work "better" because they do everything an anchor is supposed to do and if they did not I wouldn't be using them.

Fact is, I can't actually see how another anchor could be better unless maybe it made water, washed the dishes, did laundry, or took out the trash when needful and I expect I'd be the first guy in line to buy a new Spade/Manson/Rocna when they have such features... But, until they do, I'll keep using what has worked and continues to work for us without issues.

Actually, the whole better, best, and bestest thing has very little to do with being better but it's just a simple tool of folks trying to sell you stuff. Not unlike the fact that all of the cat food we buy Willow and Buffy seems to come with a "Now with new better flavor" or somesuch variant emblazoned on the package and judging from our rather gourmand cats reaction to such things...

"Dude, it's just the same old same..."

Listening to Little Feat

So it goes...

A thought about what boats cost...

This is really interesting on a lot of levels, a quick economic point about pigs, and Scalzi with a few notes...

I've been thinking a lot about the cost of boats and why some are worth more than others. It's something of a mind bender...

For instance, just how do you base your value markers?

Is it workmanship/quality? Scarcity? Utility? Hipness?

Most boatfolk tend to obsess about quality and it's a given that a Hallberg Rassy is better built than a CAL or suchlike being built for different price points. Of course, where it gets complicated is that the CAL will take you to to the same places...

Which brings us to utility element and the argument that as far as simple transportation goes the CAL and the Hallberg Rassy are equal because they fulfill the same purpose. Not unlike the fact that a VW has four wheels just like a Rolls Royce and gets you from point A to B pretty much the same. As it happens, I'm a utility kind a guy...

If you're concerned with the whole hipness factor I should simply point out that boy are you reading the wrong blog!

Where I do see a real argument in favor of one boat costing more than another is scarcity. The fact that, being unique and offering something different that cannot be found elsewhere. This explains why junk rig or super shoal draft boats sell for more than their Marconi rigged or deeper draft brethren...

That said, in the real world it is always a mix of those factors but you'll seldom go wrong if you let the utility angle do the heavy lifting in your decision making process.

Listening to Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith

So it goes...

No need to feel guilty or explain...

Sold out with a waiting list, on the subject of tattoos, and a little more of that American pie...

A blog I read from time to time just did a post recently defending their boat decisions of the more rather than less sort. It got me thinking about why someone should feel the need to justify their choices...

For sure, there is nothing wrong with having SSB, radar, watermaker, fridge, freezer, and other home comfort items. The thing is, they all come at a cost and hassle factor that you have to pay for and deal with and, as long as you're comfortable with the cost and hassle factor, it's the right thing to do.

We cruised for a bunch of years without refrigeration and most of that time didn't even bother with ice for the ice box. We got along just fine. Looking back at those days I'm glad we did it because it taught us a lot about the negative side of refrigeration on food longevity and the skills needful for successful provisioning. Today we have a small (one cubic foot) Stirling engine fridge which is all we need to keep the lemonade and the week's stock of meat cold.

On the other hand, neither a watermaker or a SSB quite pass the current need/want test for us. As far as water goes, we are very frugal in terms of water usage and the added hassle factor of a watermaker is keeping it off the list. Pretty much the same goes for the SSB... We have a receiver and don't feel the need to talk to anybody so why bother? That said, if the we ever find that the hassle factor of getting water goes up or the need to talk to folks at a distance becomes important, we'll act accordingly.

The thing is, what you want to do is what you should do... In our case, we tend to lean towards doing without hassle rather than doing without what amounts to perceived comforts, but that's just us.

Listening to Lyle Lovett

So it goes...

on need/want and the cost of tings...

Not sure about you, but I'm certainly following the wanker of the decade posts, some sense being made, and every once in awhile we find we are living in the future...

A guy on the other end of the anchorage has a water installation that cost more than my entire boat (and that's without including his watermaker!) which might make some folks wonder about someone's sanity... Whether it's mine or his would depend on your point of view I suppose.

In my defense, when I went to get water at the galley sink this morning, I was able to fill up the coffee pot with water pretty much as I expect he did... So, where's the difference?

Well on "So It Goes" we have a Whale manual foot pump, some tubing and some stock water bottles. The entire water system might cost a grand total of a $150.

On the other boat in question there are custom stainless water tanks, a pressure system, hot water heater, very expensive "marine" filter system, and a large number of sinks and faucets any of which cost more than my entire system... Well, if you can call a foot pump a few feet of hose and some plastic jerry cans a system.

Since I'm comparing prices I should also mention that the rebuild kit for just one of his pumps costs more than four of my Whale pumps (I know this because I have four Whales: one for fresh water, one for salt and two new ones as spares).

The fact is I like that in the morning when I go to make a pot of coffee I know that water will come out the tap with zero worries. There's a lot to be said for simple systems... They work! Even better is that they don't take a lot of money or work to keep up.

Speaking of simple systems, our current inverter just died after several years of use (I'm pretty sure we spent something like $39 for it) and we just bought another reasonable facsimile to replace it for the grand total of $51.95 which I expect to give the same kind of performance...

Listening to Levon Helm and The Band (Levon won't be with us much longer and he will be missed...)

So it goes...