Yep, once again, I’ve found myself sitting inside a boat while all hell breaks loose outside. Tropical Storm Ernesto was surprisingly nasty and, while not a cat 5 hurricane, seemed to be just as kickass as Maria was. In hindsight, we really should have gone to our preferred hurricane hole rather than stick it out …
Lately I’ve been thinking quite a bit about buying and installing an AIS transponder but stuck in the need/want and affordable/ not affordable tests. The bottom line being that I just don’t want to spend $700 or so for a transponder with all the needful bits. Here’s a solution for an alternative solution that would …
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 …
The other day a reader dropped me a line where the subject of DIY came up and he pointed out that, unlike me, he could afford to hire folks to do work for him and if you had to DIY you might want to consider something other than yachting as a lifestyle decision… Not the …
Safety… This week I read of two separate incidents where someone was killed in a boatyard while working on a boat. Not actually a rare occurrence as it happens. Think about that for a moment. Sadly, boatyards (especially DIY yards) are notorious for being unsafe as they are a mix of toxic materials, dangerous conditions, …
The other day I was watching the “Maritime Lemonade Stand” which is a video series of a guy who plans to sail around the world and support himself selling lemonade… It’s entertaining. Seriously, the guy is funny and brings a whole new take to the dynamic and, as such, it’s well worth watching. It’s also …
The other day, a reader who often drops me mail to let me know I’m an idiot, directed me to a thread on a forum regarding a woman’s decision to buy a cheap RV stove for a couple of hundred dollars instead of a “proper” marine one for a couple of thousand… Silly man. First …
Over at Simply Sailing Online there’s a post that makes a lot of sense… You really should read it if you have not already. I mention it because there are a lot of people who think that having stuff is what makes them safe. As opposed to something, shall we say, as mundane of being …
