A needful read, an important question, and in the “really, I mean Really?“ department… I’ve been considering adding a couple of cheek blocks to my masthead on the Islander. As I mentioned the other day, I’m partial to Garhauer gear. Anyway, I was thinking along the lines of this cheek block… Now, while I’m not …
Some Tesla news, about that anticipatory obedience, and a welcome alternative to Amazon… I used to work in a boat gear consignment shop and it taught me about what works, what doesn’t, and how gear fails. It also confirmed my suspicion that 90% of sailing folks are idiots who love being treated like an ATM. …
Some ARC rally news, an interesting read, and something I really need to add to my laptop… Every day someone tells me I need boat stuff I cannot live without but have somehow never missed. Maybe worth discussing in the comments if you care to.
Practical Boat Owner has an article on the recent ARC rally that I found both interesting as well as depressing. Mostly it’s about what stuff you need to have to cross the Atlantic. Lots of stuff. Expensive stuff. Of course, the ARC has always been a favorite thing to do if one is big on …
It was seventy-two frelling degrees this morning! Since I have the Simpson Lawrence Anchorman aboard (SHINY!), it’s now time to remove the Vetus manual windlass and put it up for sale to get it (and its weight) off the boat. I had planned to take it down to bare metal then give it a new …
I’ve been mulling over various solutions to mount our chart-plotter in such a way that it could live in the boat but allow for it to hinge into the companionway to allow it to be seen from the cockpit. Hardly rocket science but it does exercise the mind into coming up with a workable solution. …
The nice thing about most classic plastic boats is the fact that they were mostly built like tanks. Fiberglass and polyester resin were cheap and did not require much in the way of expensive labor to slap together so, for the most part, a lot of very strong boats got made in the late 60s …
This morning I noticed a certain blog/website had a post on outfitting your boat for fishing with various affiliate links to illustrate the products being talked about. Like this lure… The price on the provided Amazon link is a whopping $44.99 which happens to be the most expensive Cedar plug I’ve ever come across. My …
What with the push for induction stoves for boats, the current news that gas stoves may be less than healthy, and the fact that I’d love to lessen the amount of fossil fuels aboard. So, hardly surprising I’ve found myself thinking about the various alternatives to propane lately. The main issue with going electric is …
The other day someone pointed me to a couple of Craig’s List self-steering gears to illustrate the argument that it was impossible to sort out a cruising boat on a frugal budget. One of the gears was a Hydrovane for $4K and the other was a Monitor for $3.8K… Which, I suppose, means that if …
