Time to paint the dinghy...

Something important you could help with, rather worrisome, and a scorecard you might want to check out...

My dinghy looks like crap...

I mention this because yesterday I was moving anchors around. Pulling up chain and over sized anchors into an eight-foot plywood dinghy does take it's toll. But hey, it's a workboat.

Made worse because we never bothered to paint the dinghy as a test to just how long the RAKA UV resistant epoxy would work. It's lasted incredibly well but it is most certainly now on its last legs and it's more than time for a recoat and some paint to spruce things up...

To add insult to injury, I came across a very pretty picture of a Bolger Tortoise over at the PHA site which reminded me just how cute these dinghies can look.

Listening to Los Texmaniacs

So it goes...

Different...

An enlightening read, a worthwhile endeavour, and a bill in California that deserves support...

Having followed the world of sailing and cruising for longer than I care to admit is that, as a whole, it's a herd animal mindset.

Forget those old guys with the wispy ponytails going on about how cruisers are open-minded free spirits and sea gypsies. Sure, they talk the talk but show them someone doing something a little different from the norm and they go all judge and jury on their asses... I recall sitting in a bar in Las Palmas hearing just such a "we're all sea gypsies and free spirits" rap when the guy turned to me and asked me what sort of anchor we had and when he heard our ground tackle of choice, turned away from us with the words...

"No self-respecting sailor would use anything but a CQR..."

The herd likes to stay within its norms.

Not all that many years ago, the herd was not really open to multihulls and our beer-swilling ponytailed old fart would tell you that cats and tris were unsafe death traps and an abomination to the very core of nautical tradition. Hardly surprising as the sailing magazines looked on multihulls in the same way and would continue to until a couple big charter companies bought some catamarans and, not wanting to offend an advertiser with deep pockets, all of a sudden cats overnight became the new hip thing.

Herds like to be led...

I was mulling this over because a friend of mine is wanting to downsize and is seriously considering buying a shoal draft sharpie which, in fact, is a pretty cool design I've mentioned before and he desired my opinion...

I relayed that I thought the boat was an excellent design and certainly able to take him anywhere he wanted to go, as well as fulfilling all his stated wants and needs extremely well but there was a downside...

It's a different boat.

Fact is, anyone sailing or cruising such a boat will find they are the most talked about boat in any anchorage and little of it will be good. Sad to say in any community there are always some mean-spirited folks and the cruising community has more than its fair share.

Personally, I have a pretty thick skin and criticism from folks who don't have a clue does not overly bother me though it does become tiresome and, as such, it should be a factor for my friend to consider.

On the plus side, having such a boat is something of an instant litmus test for open-minded/close-minded when you meet new people because their reaction tells you all you need about someone.

Listening to Zachary Richard

So it goes

Some more multihull madness...

Bet you didn't know this about gooseneck barnacles, a thing or two to think about, and something interesting for those who follow the weather...

Everybody's desperate trying to make ends meet
Work all day, still can't pay the price of gasoline and meat
Alas, their lives are incomplete
-Warren Zevon-

Boy, Warren sure got that one right in "Mohammed's Radio" and it seems these days that every time I turn around the price of stuff I need to buy has gone up yet again.

I don't believe I'm overstating the case when I say it's both somewhat stressful and depressing. From a lot of the email I get from readers of Boat Bits and VolksCruiser I guess a lot of you do, too.

I mention this because the other day I wrote how cool the new Gunboat G4 was and quite a few readers thought I'd lost my mind...

Well, I'd like to assure folks that yes, there was method to my madness about the G4 and, for the record, I've been off-the-rails since way back in the 70's. So, while I might be mad as a hatter, it's just the business-as-usual sort so nothing to be alarmed about.

But, about that rich man's toy and penis substitute Gunboat G4...

It really is a good design. There are some excellent out-of-the-box ideas there that we should not be disdainful of and treat them the way most yacht designers deal with good ideas by people other than themselves... Which would be to purloin, steal, loot, appropriate, and rip off anything that's not nailed down. Hey, it's what good designers do best. Of course, what happens when talented boat (we filch ideas too) builders and designers of sailboats do their thing? Well... things get better.

Evolution rather than stasis if you will...

There's no reason that someone shouldn't jump off with some good HOT ideas from the G4, adapt them to a plywood epoxy composite construction, add a bit of common sense of the fiscal variety, and come up with an affordable cruising boat that could sail rings around your average Leopard or its ilk as they motor or motorsail from place to place...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to a a rather cunning plan for cold molding ply-epoxy-carbon curved foils and dagger board boxes on a budget for something of a scowish nature...

Listening to Warren of course

So it goes...

Little victories...

Apparently some democrats have spines (yeah, surprised me as well), Lefsetz on a bit of modern reality, and something good to know...

So here's something in the good news/bad news department. The good news is that West Marine is now selling some real boat friendly and affordable bikes rather than toys. They now have three models of the Montague folding bike...

The bad news is they've also introduced a whole slew of electric bikes that don't make a helluva lot of sense for folks on boats.

That said, we do appreciate the little victories...

Listening to the Volunteers

So it goes...

So, about that splice vs knot thang...

A bit of needful perspective, someone's been getting around, and in the awful-greedy-stupid company department...

Well, this pretty much speaks for itself...



Listening to Alan Doyle

So it goes...

A French camera designer and cruising budgets...

A letter of note, musing on a steampunk future, and about one of the lucky ones...

A blog I enjoy and admire has been talking budgets and maintainence of late and just about everything they're saying makes sense so well worth a read...

For me the whole budget thing is colored by something the great motion picture camera designer, Raoul Coutard, said when someone asked him how to design a hand holdable self-blimped camera...

"First, you start with a quiet camera."

Over the years I've found this bit of logic adaptable to most things in my life because it simply tells you to look at the core of the problem first. Sadly, a very unpopular method these days...

But, I suppose, we're talking about budgets so to adapt Coutard's thought process to cruising and boats...

"First, you start with an inexpensive boat with simple systems"

Need I say more?

Listening to the Rascals

So it goes...

Seconds count...

Dorworth on Mountain Gazette, mind-boggling scary, and did someone say bat-shit-crazy...

I keep noticing a trend... Folks on boats in commuter mode.

Recently, a blog I read was talking about the advantages/disadvantages of anchoring close in or at the fringe of the pack and the example they were using was an anchorage I know quite well.

The major point of discussion seemed to be not so much about anchoring but convenience and how long it would take you to get to the beach in your dinghy.

Have I mentioned the anchorage in question is really small?

Now, being that I no longer bother with a motor on our dinghy, the difference in getting to the beach for me from the outskirts of the anchorage or the inside is about a minute or two and, because we tend to savor our privacy, we pretty much always anchor at the back of the pack. The extra minute of rowing being no big deal and is enjoyable especially when there are turtles or rays to see which is most of the time.

Of course, the folks writing the blog weren't talking about people who row (we're not in their reality) but about proper cruisers with RIBs with 15HP or greater motors (I believe the author has a 40HP as it happens). The difference they are actually talking about in added time to get to shore would be a few seconds which could hardly be called all that inconvenient or a hardship from where I sit.

I often hear folks expounding on the need for dinghy speed because, apparently, getting to the dinghy dock a few seconds or minutes earlier makes all the difference.  Now, truth be told, I'm pretty hazy about what the difference actually is, but I gather, it must be pretty dire if seconds count... Maybe there's a guy on the dock going into cardiac arrest or Timmy's locked in the barn and it's on fire?

Me, being a slowpoke, I suppose, whatever it is, I've missed it by the time I get to the dinghy dock. You know what? That suits me just fine...

Listening to Red Molly

So it goes...

Somewhat short of a cunning plan...

Krugman makes an important point, this is worth a listen, what could happen next time you need some engine parts if your name is Jones, and in the memory hole induced irony department...

I've been jumping through some mental hoops trying to sort out a more-than-cunning-plan to deal with all of the STUFF we carry around on the aft of our boats these days... It gets messy if not unsightly.

Dive bottles are the most current bane to my existence. Commercial racks all seem to have a bigger footprint than I have anywhere on "So It Goes" and, surprise, most are silly expensive...

This does seem to have the right idea but it's too big/expensive and, is it just me or do the words "eight-inch PVC schedule 40 pipe" jump to mind?...

While this one is more about the right size and would work out quite well on the coachroof (or maybe not as it might interfere with the dinghy) but a lot of money for not a lot of material and something like it could be built in Starboard or ply for a lot less.

More about this project later...

Listening to Lio

So it goes...

What the cats get up to and its affect on boat design...

Some seriously fucked up shit, a glimpse from the real world, and this really should worry you...

I've often threatened to mount a couple of GoPro cameras set up for time lapse inside the boat to see just what the cats get up to while we're off running errands. The reason I have not is, I suspect, that I'm a little afraid of just what our cats might be getting up to.

Sometimes not knowing is the best strategy...

But, the idea did get me thinking about using cameras of the GoPro persuasion as an aid to boat design... The idea that being able to better see how we utilize the interior space just might give us a clue how to design an interior that is more user friendly and answer some questions about how we actually do things rather than how we think we do.

From my point of view this would be no bad thing because most cruising sailboat interiors, at best, are problematic. Then again I'm taller than average so I put more stress on the systems but it has always been obvious that some designers simply don't have much of a talent for designing interiors that work.

Philippe Harlé being one of the exceptions. I've always found even the smallest of his designs to fit like the proverbial glove. There's always room where you need it and if there is not the much talked about "standing headroom" its absence is non-problematic in the day to day tasks needful when cruising or living on a boat. Which always surprises me because Harlé was not a big or tall guy and I can think of any number of tallish designers who, apparently, don't have a clue how much space is needful for basic tasks like washing dishes or something simple like sleeping.

Harlé's Armagnac is a good example of a boat a guy who's 6'5" would be comfortable in despite it's less than 5'8"ish headroom. Fact is, I remember the first time I saw one in the flesh as I did a double take once inside because it just did not seem to be possible to feel so comfortable in such a small envelope.

The word TARDIS does come to mind...

Having studied various designs over the years, I've come to the conclusion that it's the utility of space that makes the difference and not the space itself. Obviously not a concept that is all that easy to figure out for most people when comparing designs because it's more a feel rather than a measurable thing you can check with a tape measure.

Listening to Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes

So it goes...

A cat that doesn't look/perform like a condominium...

Somewhat troubling, something interesting about horseshoe crabs, and in the if-you're-going-to-use-the-word-fascism-you-should-have-half-a-clue-what-it-means department...

Wow, this is really neat...



It's about time someone started designing and building catamarans that actually perform like they should.

More info can be found at the Gunboat site...

Listening to Sublime

So it goes...