Spring has Sprung... Right Into Summer pt. 2

      "But where we are going, Oh it hasn't fully, fully been told..."
                                               -Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics





       So, where were we?
Right:  Boat is launched, boat is sinking, boat stops sinking, yadda yadda, Karma glides into her slip with no further drama.  

  With one boat launched successfully, it was on to the rest of the fleet.   With a little help from the crew of  Boats....

...we got our commuter dinghy, Chameleon, to the marina and into the water.

Then, we tackled Ereni, giving SWMBO's Bluenose  a quick and dirty makeover... and a black nose in the process, to cover some of that quick and dirty.  

  Ereni  is due for some serious  hull refitting this winter-  the brightwork needs to be brightened, the hull needs to have some blisters ground/filled/faired, and then we'll refinish the deck and topsides.  But, we think we'll keep the nose treatment, and add some nose art- SWMBO and I agree we both kinda dig the vintage "rat rod' vibe.

Over the two full years we've lived with, and aboard, Karma, we've developed a pretty good idea of our wants and needs, and have fulfilled many of them along the way...

... and created new ones.

  Our reefer install has been a well-received luxury, with an unintended consequence- power insecurity.

   We have 3 40w solar panels that live on top of our bimini, feeding a single Group 24 house battery and a Group 24 starting battery, also charged by the 35 amp alternator on the inboard diesel. Last season, this system proved sufficient....

... barely. 
     If the solar panels underperformed for more than a day, some motorsailing was required to top up the batteries.  We were careful about energy usage, charging electronics only during the middle of the day, being judicious about illumination, vhf and instrument use, etc. and never really had a power crisis...

    But still....

    This season, I made the decision to add more power and more power storage. Here's the plan:  add another 100w of solar power, in the form of a semi-flexible 100 w panel installed on the dodger, then combine the 2 Group 24 batteries already onboard into a two battery house bank, and add a third Group 24 battery for starting, locating it just aft of the transmission in the engine bay. Next year, we will replace the group 24 house bank with a pair of 230 amp hour 6 volt GC-1 golf cart batteries, if we find that the 160 amp hour capacity of the house bank is not enough We decided to isolate the starting battery from the charging circuit- we opted to install a Xantrex Digital Echo Charge. 

 To quote the manual:
 "The Digital echo-charge automatically switches ON and OFF, charging a starter or auxiliary battery without affecting the main house battery bank. The maximum charge current is 15 amps when the starting battery is 1/2 volt to 1 volt DC less than the house battery...  When the input voltage is 13.0/25.5 volts DC or higher, echo-charge automatically switches ON. The LED glows a steady green. When the input voltage is lower than 13.0/25.5 volts, the echo-charge automatically switches OFF, and the LED blinks green. The output voltage of echocharge is limited to 14.4/28.8 volts. When it reaches 14.4/28.8 volts, the charge current will decrease, maintaining a float condition. "

  So, I bought a bunch of obscenely priced cable, less obscenely priced wire, a battery and assorted electrical parts and pieces and tools and stuff and dug in, on the hottest day of the year....

   
  ... and everything largely went together better than I expected....

.... once I pretty much gave up on the original plan.

I cut and stripped and crimped new cable to wire the existing batteries in parallel...

 ...and that is pretty much where the original plan ended.

A "a semi-flexible 100w panel installed on the dodger" became a semi-flexible 100w panel mounted on the foredeck. temporarily laying the panel on top of the dodger and measuring output demonstrated that there was just too much shading for the panel to generate anywhere near it's potential output. Because of our boat's design, and our usage, the foredeck gets little traffic, so I decided to see if the "you can even walk on it' claims about semi-flexible panels were true. 
   The install was pretty straightforward, once I wrapped my head around drilling 3/4" holes in the deck.  An hours worth of work saw two of the aforementioned holes drilled, some wires run, and the panel fastened to the deck with, and all fittings sealed with, 3M 4200.  

The new panel got a new charge controller, to complement the existing bimini bank charge controllers, then the controller output for both the bimini solar bank and the foredeck solar bank were driven to a distribution block and thence to batteries... 
   ...Which were not happy at all.
    Note to self:  always check polarity before connecting 100 w panel to new charge controller.
    Then check it again.
    Then check it again.

    I didn't, and wired the panel to the charge controller backward, and didn't realize my error for 48 hours.    
   I bought a new charge controller, and now the batteries happily charged away...  but wouldn't hold a charge.  Well, 5 year old lead acid batteries are due for replacement anyway, so "Next year, we will replace the group 24 house bank with a pair of 230 amp hour 6 volt GC-1 golf cart batteries" became "TODAY we will replace the group 24 house bank with a pair of 230 amp hour 6 volt GC-1 golf cart batteries."

   (Note to those of you playing along at home:  Golf cart batteries are about the same width and length as Group 24 batteries...but about twice the weight.  Getting them up onto the boat, then down into the boat, then down further into the battery bay, was an exercise that, in retrospect, would be less danger-filled if one is wearing steel-toed boots, not flip-flops.)

So, new batteries go in, cabling is connected,  and power flows!  Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that "add a third Group 24 battery for starting, locating it just aft of the transmission in the engine bay." is a non-starter.  So, the new batery gets located slightly farther aft, under the aft cabin berth.  The Xantrex Echo Charge install was a breeze- the instructions were clear, the manual was well-written, and all of the supplied bits and bobs were of good quality. 

  Was it worth it?
   Yep. 

   We now generate more power than we can use  and store most days, and have had no problem keeping ahead of our loads even during our very hot July, when our refrigerator was running much more often than it's typical 30% duty cycle.

    As we have realized the need for more power, we also have been grappling with our need for more space. the S2 8.0C is a cleverly designed boat, pulling 26 feet of accomodations out of a 26 foot LOA hull...  but that means that on-deck and cockpit storage is  non-existent. Coaming pockets would be a big help for line management- sheets would no longer be all over the cockpit benches and underass, an uncomfortable proposition during a crash tack.  I did some measuring, found a pair of fire extinguisher pockets in the clearance rack at a local chandlery, and a little mahogany and varnish and cutting larger holes in our boat and screws later...

Our cockpit is slightly more organized.


  
Also seen in the above picture, behind the compact sportsdawg, you can kinda spy that scrap mahogany was also used to craft risers, to raise the height of the bimini slightly.

Below, little has changed, other than a new trawler lamp,  cushions that are 1" thicker and comfier, and new Low-Buck back cushions and throw pillows have been added:

  
   We lucked out at our local grocery store (I shit you not- the grocery store)  and found outdoor furniture cushions and pillows in the right colours,  and amazingly, the right size, for half price.


    Life is good, and more comfortable than ever...and the sailing's not too bad either.


Thanks for having a read.  Pass the word-  Please "Talk the Dock!"

  
  

SWMBO's New Ride

   


      "Gonna ride like the wind, before I get old..."
                                            -Christopher Cross


       
      Lemme tell you a  little backstory, to explain how we got from where we was to where we is:

      Faithful Readers may know that SWMBO is not a lifelong sailor.  In fact, she had never set foot on a sailboat until February 2008, when she sailed for the first time, aboard a 16 footish dinghy, in San Diego's Mission Bay, as part of a work-related team building exercise.

      She was hooked.

      Bad.

      Her enthusiasm got me back into the sailing game, after a 2 decade detour into the masochistic world of wooden powerboats.  By the time her return flight hit the tarmac at YYZ, I had lined up a half dozen boats for us to look at. 6 weeks after SWMBO's homecoming we signed a contract on the perfect boat for us, the Georgian 23 named Whiskeyjack.

      What was perfect for us was not necessarily, nor entirely, perfect for SWMBO.

      See, Whiskeyjack and her successor, Karma, are big little boats- lots of accommodation in a smallish LOA.

     What they aren't, is that 16 footish dinghy that hooked SWMBO.

     They also aren't a Bluenose.

      Enter Jack.

      SWMBO had admired Jack's ever-changing collection of daysailers since we first set foot on the Dock: Tempests and Nordica 16s and Hughes 24s and Minuets, oh, my!

      But Bluenoses were Jack's favourites. At any given time, he owned a handful of the sleek full- keeled belles of Mahone Bay.

      SWMBOs fate was sealed when she first laid eyes on Carpe Diem, the other Bluenose on the Dock, owned by Carpe Diem Jim

      A half decade ago, SWMBO declared, "I want one."

      Alas, although her fate was sealed , the fates conspired against us...

      ..... until last winter.

      December rolls around and I get an email from Jack. He has decided he needs to thin his fleet, so enquires if SWMBO might be interested in a Bluenose.

    I ask.

    "Uh, yeah!  Duh." was her response.

    I email a reply to Jack's email, he replies back, SWMBO and I count our shekels, and the deal is done.

     SWMBO now owns a Bluenose.

     So does Jordan.

     Jack released two Bluenoses from his fleet, one going to Jordan, one to SWMBO.
 
     Last weekend, SWMBOs Bluenose hit the water.

      Sunday,  we got a call from jack that he could drop SWMBOs new old boat into the water that afternoon... if that was okay with us.

      I asked.

     "Uh, yeah!  Duh." was her response.

      An hour later, loyal Docksters Lorraine and Frank and John had gathered at the ramp to help Jack launch ....

   

Then Thelma, er, Lorraine and Louise set off with Jack for the short motor transit from the ramp to the Dock.
      

 ....arriving uneventfully at her new slip:

  By sunset, with the help of fellow Docksters and my last-minute-visiting 'rents, we had the mast up and the deck and topsides kinda gleaming:

This season, the Bluenose fleet on the Dock has doubled in size.

Oh, and that "thinning the fleet" idea of Jack's?   Not so much.  The day he dropped off SWMBOs boat, he headed to London to pick up two more.

  SWMBO is still grinning

    It's gonna be a great summer.

Changes

      "But now I think I'm able to carry on..."
                                  -Sam Cooke




     Hey, Constant Reader,  long time, no see.

     Miss me?

     *crickets*

      Robert F. Kennedy once said, "There is a Chinese curse which says "May he live in interesting times." "

      Times have been interesting as hell around here lately.

       Since I last added a post  to this venerable archive,  there have been some big life changes around here for SWMBO and I.

       In September, we made the decision to put   Stately Jones Manor on the market.

    

       It is more house than we need, or want, at this point in our lives, and the time and money we have to devote to maintenance and upkeep and mortgage payments and property taxes is time and money that can't be spent on the boat.

     Or rum.

      So, we had a confab with the most amazing Realtor I know, signed the listing paperwork, and then did something very, very stupid.
   We asked for recommendations on work that should be accomplished around the house to maximize the value and minimize buyer's objections.

   The list was long.

    SWMBO and I realized we had about 5 years worth of unfinished, half-finished, unstarted and unplanned renovations to accomplish...

   ...  in three weeks.

   Remember those home decorating "challenge" shows on TV, like Trading Spaces , where ham-handed amateurs accomplish an astounding amount of transformative work to an old home in an amazingly short period of time?

     Bull.  Shit.

     Here we are, a month on, and the house photographed well, but there are still a ton of little jobs to do, like replacing old light switches and tuckpointing  brick and repainting trim.
  Again.
   Inside and Outside.

   *sigh*


  It is a bittersweet decision.  We have a lot of good memories here, and we love Stately Jones Manor.  But...   it doesn't float.

    Friends, relatives, co-workers have been asking the same question, "Where are you moving to?"

   When we answer  "Dunno.  Haven't had to worry about it yet."  There is some consternation.

    "Well, you need to move somewhere!"


   Whoa, let's get Stately Jones Manor sold first, then we can worry about the next step. It might sell in a month, or it might be on the market for three months with no action, in which case we take it off the market and continue to live with it and in it.  We don't need to sell SJM.  But, it would be nice not to have to mow the lawn we never use and paint the trim we never see and clean room we don't use and...

... it is a little frustrating always having to keep the place in "An agent has a client who wants to see the house can they come over in 15 minutes?" -level readiness.  We're not total slobs,  but now the laundry has to be folded and put away straight out of the dryer and shoes are always in closets and the bed laways has to be made and the kitchen sink has to always be dish-free and the bathroom sink has to be toothpaste blob- and whisker-free and....

   ...Okay we might be total slobs.

   What is really frustrating is that it puts any winter boat building projects on hold.  I don't want to start building something and then get confronted with a no-conditions, full-asking-price offer asking for a 30 day closing.


   (Although, now that I think about it, maybe that is one way to guarantee a quick sale- start building something that will be a royal pain in the ass to move.  )



      I've also undertaken a bit of a serendipitous career change.

      I wasn't looking to change jobs.
      I wasn't actively beating the bushes or trolling Monster.com.

      But an opportunity was offered, and I saw the chance to be one of the rare lucky few who are able to work at something that they really love to do.
     The money isn't huge- it's not a whole lot different than what I have been earning.

     But, it's an interesting challenge.
 
       And, for the first time in almost 20 years, I will have weekends off.

        That's huge.

        In fact, it's difficult to explain how huge it is, to have a schedule that fits your spouse's, and your social circle.

        This season, due to our work schedule, SWMBO and I sailed together far less often.

       Hell, the reason we started sailing in the first place was because it was something we could enjoy together.  I know it sounds sappy, but when we're not together, sailing is a little less enjoyable.  Whiskeyjack did not leave the Dock as often as she has in seasons past.


      So, it's been a crazy busy few weeks, but the worst is past, so now, instead of coming home from work, changing clothes, picking up a hammer or a drill or a paintbrush, I can get back to scratching my head and trying to figure out how to  fill a blank screen woth something worth reading.

    Thanks for sticking around.




   and remember to...
"Talk the Dock!"

   


   

Stunningly, I Continue To Remain… an Idiot.

               "...over and over and over, again..."
                                           -The Spinners
    Notice to Mariners, Eastern Lake Erie, Long Point Bay:
    Buoy ED2's current physical location does not match chart location.

    Yeah, I hit it.

    *sigh*

     (Y'know, if I am gonna keep baring my soul like this, hanging my dirty laundry on this worldwide clothesline, I really need to find some way for it to pay off.  Schadenfreude should equal shekels, I'm thinking.  Alas, it does not; while I continue to swing for the fences, I have yet to get called to The Show.  Really, I'm pretty okay with that.  I have thousands hundreds a handful of loyal readers that I am happy to call friends, who are happy to call me on my shit. And I apparently keep giving them lots of shit to call me on.  Like this.)

 

     It was a beautiful night for a twilight sail.

    No traffic, we've pretty much got the bay to ourselves, there's just a breath more than a wheeze of wind, pretty much just enough to keep the sails full and Whiskeyjack chuckling along at 3-4 knots on a reach.

    Not a great sailing night, but a great night for a sail.  SWMBO and I had been working long hours, and had seen little of each other over the past week.  We were like ships passing in the night, to borrow a worm-eaten but accurate cliche.        
   So, to be able to grab a few hours together? At the same time?  On the same boat?
   That's a perfect night, limp wind be damned.

    We light up the trusty Yanmar one-lunger (running much happier since a fuel filter change, oil change, valve adjustment, head re-torque, and fuel line bleeding)  and putt out of the Marina.  We soon turn to port, bearing south around ED6,  and roll out our genoa, raise the main and  cut the power, SWMBO and I smiling as we soak in the sudden silence.

    With the wind coming out of the west, our deck-sweeping genny was effectively blindfolding me, the usually situationally aware skipper, to anything off our port bow.  In fact, pretty much anything from 8-12 on the clock was obstructed from view.  Luckily, I had a second pair of eyes aboard.

... And I had a chartplotter.

... which, for those of you who are not up to speed on cutting edge high-falutin' modern boat electronics, means that I had, on a 5" screen, a full colour  graphic representation of the lates edition of the most current official and accurate marine charts, outlining depth and distance and dastardly damned destructive distractions that a prudent sailor would be well-advised to avoid.

    Including buoys.

   The red buoys marking the  approach to Port Dover, ED2, ED4, and ED 6 are known informally as the Three Sisters, and common lore is that ED2 is the sister you can dance with, ED4 is the sister who won't let you get too close, and ED6 is just plain ugly when you get within arm's reach.

   Having messed with the rocky shoals to the east of ED6, once, I tend to give her a wide berth as  we depart the marina.

  ED4 and ED2 are in deeper, less treacherous water.

   Thus, once past ED6, sometimes situational awareness becomes... less than fully aware.

   With sails full(ish) and our stalwart galleon ambling along,   SWMBOclimbs  forward onto the house to enjoy the sunset.  She looks forward and informs me that ED2 is off our port bow...

     :...but,"  she continues, "If we hold this course, we'll miss it."

    Note the use of the plural subjective pronoun above.

    Not being able to actually see aforementioned navigational buoy, thanks to the large dirty and frayed obstruction that is our 160% genoa,  I glance at the chartplotter and see that, according to the theoretical, perfect, completely imaginary world of  electronic charts, ED2 was hundreds of yards off our port bow, currently at about 10:30 on the clock.
  (okay, imagine that there is a clock face on the table/desk/couch/bed/lap/floor  in front of you.  imagine 12 o'clock is directly in front.  Imagine where the big hand would be if the time was 10:30. now point your hand there.  THAT is where ED2 is supposed to be, at that moment in time.)
   (I can't believe you actually pointed.  By the way, did you know that it is impossible to lick the outside of your elbow.?)
   (Oh,come on...  you didn't.  Did you?)
    (Yeah, I knew you did.)

   Okay, so back to the story:  sailing along, nice night, all is good, no boats around, yadda yadda. SWMBO and I sit down to relax in the cockpit with a glass of wi

  KLONGGGGGG!!!!
SCRAAAAAAAAPPPPPE!
BOINGITTYBOBBLE!!

  "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??!!??"
 
"Oh My God,"  SWMBO replies, "YOU hit a buoy!!!"
(Note the pronoun change, from plural to singular.  Yep, this one is alllllll mine.)

   A big-ass orange shape pops into view  as it passes the leech of the genoa, and continues to bump down our port side:

Folks, allow me to introduce you to my now-close friend, ED2.

Having established that no significant harm was done to our vessel (turns out that ED2 is basically a tower attached to a big fiberglass donut, and having ascertained that 3 out of 4 chambers of my heart are pumping furiously while one seems to be pretty much catatonic, I glanced at the chartplotter:

Then,  while SWMBO gazed aft at ED2 bobbing in our wake, in incredulous disbelief, I darted below and grabbed the camera....

(Yes, the helm was unattended.  For a brief moment.  It wasn't like there was anything to hit, I'd bloody well ALREADY HIT IT, hadn't I?)

...  and snapped a shot of the chartplotter screen:

Which was horribly out of focus, so I snapped another one shortly thereafter, as the wind died and we bobbed.

  Call it, oh...almost a QUARTER MILE out of position.

  Upon our return to the Dock, we inspected our trusty vessel for any signs of damage.  Aside from a small scrape aft of the registration number on the port side, there was no evidence that we had bounced off a big-ass buoy.

    Whiskeyjack  is the Keith Richards of small cruisers-  Not real attractive, but enduring and hard to kill.

   Until now.

  So, what did we learn from my fail?

   Reagan was right:  Trust, but verify.

   Waters you have sailed hundreds of times are always new- nothing ever stays static when affected by wind and waves,

    Chartplotters are a nice tool, but nothing beats the Human Eyeball, Mk I, for  accurate real time situation reports.

    And, it is always the fault of the person holding the wheel.  There may be no "I" in "Team" but there is always one U in "It's Your Problem."




  "Talk the Dock!"


 

New Shoe Long-term Review, Part Deux

     "Before you come to any conclusions, try walking in my shoes..."
                                                              -Depeche Mode

   
    SWMBO and I have been wearing Crocs daily for two months.

    Not to get all Dr. Seuss, but our Crocs have been:
  On the boat, off the boat,
  On a bike, and on a hike,
  Walking the dogs on the Lynn Valley Trail,
  In Wednesday Night Races, where jib sheets I tail.

    Been worn on the floor, in the store,
    And walking to the job.
    Been worn all dressed up,
    And when I'm a slob.
    They've been worn naked footed,
    They've been worn with socks.
    From decks to dinghies and dinghies to docks.

       To date, they haven't let us down.

     GREAT grip on all surfaces, in all conditions-  an asset with the recent run of rainy weather causing all surfaces to be perpetually slippery.

      These shoes are getting better with wear- the laces that I complained about in the preview post  have softened and  now knot much better.

      These shoes are easy to clean, and dry quickly.

      After two months of daily, often damp, use, they don't smell.  BIG plus.

      The leather uppers have held up VERY well- no scuffs, no wear.

       The one aspect which has been mildly disappointing is tread wear. Two months in, both pairs are showing noticeable "flat spotting."

SWMBO's at the toes, mine at the heels.

    That's the only criticism so far.  Otherwise, these shoes are surpassing our expectations.  We'll continue to keep you posted.


  "Talk the Dock!"

Long-Term Gear (P)Review: Crocs. Huh, What?

     "You keep samin', when you should be changin'..."
                                            -Nancy Sinatra




         Like most sailors, I like to think of myself as a romantic traditionalist, carrying the torch passed down through generations of seafarers.

         SWMBO thinks I am a creature of habit, resistant to change.

         One of us is right.

         On very, very good days, it's even me.

         Take shoes, for example.

         Boat shoes, in particular.

         For decades I have worn Sperry Topsiders ™ in a variety of permutations- slip-ons, laced, leather uppers, canvas uppers, you name it.  They are solid, sturdy, dependable, shoes that all have a common set of characteristics:

        They always stink by the end of the first season.
        The soles always harden and get slippery by the end of the second season.
        They aren't cheap, even on sale.

         3 years ago, I rotated my latest pair of stinky, slippery Topsiders ™ into service as "boatwork shoes" and moved a new pair of West Marine Topsider-like shoes into regular use.  Same styling, slightly lower price....
       .... and same result- slippery as teflon covered-snot, and as stinky as bleu cheese aged in a diaper pail, by the end of the second season.

        So, they rotate into the "boat work shoes" slot and the Topsiders ™ rotate into "lawnmowing shoes" role.

       All of which means I need a new pair of boatkicks for this season.

       This time around, I decided that I might maybe, possibly, break with tradition.
     
        I knew what I wanted:
        Grip.
        Ventilation.
        Toe protection.
        Support.
        Comfort
        Durability

         Last season, I had the chance to check out a pair of Vibram Five Fingers ™.

   

     
    I liked the concept, but didn't like the lack of toe protection, and I like shoes that I can slip into with a quickness if necessary- these ain't that,  when you gotta make sure your piggies park in their own pocket.
  
And, although I rarely get invited to places that have a dress code, on the odd chance that an invitation to an event requiring a jacket is issued, deck shoes are acceptable, and mark one as a man of the sea-  Five Fingers™?  Er, maybe not so much.

   So, is there anything new that might meet my needs?

   Maybe.

  Meet my new Crocs ™  boat shoes: 

   Yeah, I know what you're saying. 

     I said the same thing.

   "Crocs?"

   "Crocs??? "

   "Crocs makes boat shoes?  Like, on-purpose boat shoes, not just I-wear-my-Crocs- on-my-boat shoes?"

    Yep, it turns out they do.  

   And the Crocs folks are so confident in the quality of their shoes, they sent SWMBO and I a pair of pairs to test this season.

    

           I ordered up a pair of  Cove Sports  while my better half opted for a pair of Above Decks.


      When our new footwear arrived at Stately Jones Manor, the first impressions were largely positive.

      The stitching was nicely finished, the leather uppers were soft and supple and the shoes were light- the Cove Sports weigh about half  of what my previous boat shoes weigh.

     Do they meet the requirements, though?

     Ventilation?  Got it.

     Check out the scuppers on these bad boys:

     Water gets in, water gets out.  Air gets in, air gets out.    See the way the moulded sole wraps all the way around the side of the foot  and caps the toes?  Looks like it might be a toe-protection winner.  Big burly boaters don't cry- but jamming your toe on a cleat will make one's eyes water and cause the hurling of creative epithets to the world at large.

   Support?
   Comparing them side-by-each, it looks like the SWMBOs shoes have more support than mine:

  But, looks can sometimes be deceiving.  More on that later.

  One feature that I appreciate is that the removable insoles are all polymers.  No cloth, no glue, nothing that is going to come loose and end up polluting the lake or end up in the garbage... and one less "gets wet and stays wet" area.

    Both shoes have real-world usable "pull tabs" on the heels.  You can actually hook a finger in the tab loop to pull your shoes on.  Nice touch.

   Two minor gripes-  the laces. SWMBO finds the laces on her shoes to be kinda cheesy.  The laces on mine are kinda slippery looking.  More on that later, as well.

  Got grip?  Sure looks like it.  Nice tread pattern, good siping around the perimeter allowing water to
escape under each footfall.

  Okay, cool- first impressions are largely all good.

  So, let's put them to work.


   For the last 10 days, SWMBO and I have been wearing our new Crocs everywhere.  To work, to the marina, walking the dogs, riding our bikes, everydamnwhere.

    Initial impressions of these Crocs boat shoes under load?

   Better than expected, and in this traditionalist boat shoe-snob's view, far, far better than a pair of Crocs has any right to be.

     There has been no break-in period.  No blisters, no stretching, no issues- from the first day, it felt like I had been wearing them for years.
   
     They are WAY more supportive than they look.  I have been working some long days, on my feet for up to 12 hours at a time, and my feet don't hurt.  That is a Very Big Deal.  I have feet so flat that ducks go "damn!"  and the end of the day often finds me popping pain relievers and soaking my feet. (Yeah, middle age sucks.)  I have been foot-pain free for the last ten days.

      The initial grip is excellent.  Better than expected, which can take some getting used to, after shuffling around on slick soled shoes.  Will it last?  We'll see.

     The ventilation is great-  After taking these shoes off at the end of the aforementioned 12 hour workday, my shoes, and my feet, do not smell like the end of a 12 hour workday.

     They look good.  I've had people ask about them, and everyone is floored when SWMBO or I give up the maker.  The response is always the same:  "Those are Crocs?  Where can I get a pair of Crocs like those?"

      The laces are mildly annoying-  SWMBO thinks hers look cheesy but stay tied without getting stretched out or knotted, mine look better but need frequent retying.

     So far, neither pair is showing any noticeable wear.  On the dirt, they are doing the job they were hired to do.  However, one key component in this long term test is missing-

      These are BOAT shoes, and they have yet to do their thing aboard a BOAT.

    Will they  be up to the task to which they have been tasked?

     Will they  hold up over the long haul?

     Whiskeyjack splashes on May 15th.  Then, it gets serious.
 
     We'll keep you posted throughout the 2013 boating season.  If they work, we'll let you know.  If they don't, we'll let you know that as well.

      Meanwhile, it looks like the shoe roster has just added another player to the rotation:

 
   "Talk the Dock!"


 

Low -Buck Lighting Review: Old School Edition

     "Threatened by shadows at night..."
                                     -Pink Floyd




    As prodigious as we are with rum consumption,  we are as miserly with electrical power aboard Whiskeyjack.

  We light the cabin with battery powered LED lighting which consumes a relatively small amount of power compared to traditional Edison-style bulbs, but LED lights have drawbacks not considered when we installed them.

For example, insects like them.

A lot.

In fact, a lot of little bugs like LED lights a lot.

(Yes, we have screened hatches, but that only keeps insects out that are already out when the hatches are closed- those insects that are in when the doors close remain in, swarming around the lights.  It's sort of like a dance club at last call.... in reverse.)

The ambience factor, or lack thereof, with most LED lighting is also not inconsiderable. The LED lights aboard bounce off the fiberglass overhead and fore and aft bulkheads, casting a dental-office style glare, hardly inducing one to curl up with the latest copy of Good Old Boat.

     There are certainly alternative colour LED bulbs, in warmer and fuzzier hues,  but retrofitting all of the panel-wired fixtures below deck is not an inconsiderable expense, and a project  filled with trepidation.  What if the bulbs we feel are bright yet warm, clear yet cozy in the store/at the show/ in the display/whatever feel different in the confines of our cabin?  Most vendors have a "no return" policy on electrical stock, bulbs included, so I envision ending up with hundreds of dollars of perfectly good yet completely unacceptable lightbulbs occupying valuable booze spares stowage real estate.

    And there is still going to be the infuriating infernal interior insect infestation in orbit around the aforementioned illumination.

    So, it was time to suss out some alternatives.

     Candles cast a warm glow, but lend little illumination, as evidenced by the small votive candle in the cockpit below.  An advantage over fixed-site lighting, however, is the convenience of being able to move light from deck to Dock to cabin to cockpit.  More flexibility in lighting means less lighting required on board, and less storage space dedicated to redundant illumination.

 It got me thinking, though.  Why not  try going old school?  We decided to explore the world of lanterns.

Traditional ship's lanterns....


image courtesy of amazon.com

... seem to fall into two categories:
1.  More expensive than electrical light, more elegant, well built and provide adequate light, and
2.  More expensive than electrical light, more elegant, really poorly built and provide inadequate light.

Is there an alternative?

We decided to find out.

 Low-buck style.

 Here's the parameters:
 Non-electric light suitable for reading/working in the cabin.
 Portable- usable in cockpit, cabin, on deck or on Dock.
 Unattractive to insects
 Under $25.


Go.

 First stop, Canadian Tire ,  where, for nearabout $17, I purchased a World Famous hurricane lantern, not exactly as shown, below.

When I purchased the lantern, it had a "World Famous" label attached to the chimney, which peeled off and fluttered to the floor when the lantern was removed from it's cellophane wrapping.  The lackadaisical label was an accurate indicator of the quality of  the lantern to which  it was formerly attached.  The price was cheap, and the product lived up to the price. Included was a business card-sized slip of paper with filling and  lighting instructions printed in smudgy 6 point type.  The lantern itself  is about 12" tall, with a base diameter of about 5".  The fit and finish appeared sloppy, an impression which was dramatically reinforced later.

Next, we paid a visit to our good friends at Lee Valley Tools and traded $19.95 for a Dietz "No. 80" hurricane lamp.

Wow.  What a difference $3 makes.  The Dietz lantern came in an honest-to-goodness box with the globe wrapped for protection.  Included were lighting and cleaning instructions, wick trimming info and a short but succinct trouble-shooting guide. Compared to the World Famous lantern, No. 80 felt huge, standing 15" high with an 8" wide footprint.  Fit and finish was better than expected, with decent plating on the burner, bails, globe plate and tank cap.


Price winner:  World Famous
First Impression winner: Dietz No. 80



With the contestants chosen, it was time to get them ready for use. Both lanterns are kerosene fueled, so after a perusal of the filling directions, the lanterns were placed on the table and  loaded with keros...
...sonofabitch!!!!!...

The World Famous lantern's instruction slip included the cryptic phrase "Do not fill tank more than half"  There was no explanation for this fortune-cookieish bit of advice, and also no instruction on how one determines when the lantern is half full- there are no "fill to here"  markings, and the small fill port is completely obscured by the spout of the kerosene container providing sustenance, so trying to eyeball the level doesn't work.  So, in typical Dock Six fashion, I guessed.

And overshot the mark.

I discovered this fact when kerosene leaked STREAMED out of the tank, not from the fill port, but from the tank itself.  It turns out the tank has a large hole where each of the legs that hold the chimney are attached.  I cleaned up the kerosene from the table top, aired out the cabin and turned to fueling No. 80.

Which was accomplished in an incident-free fashion.

Fueling Winner: Dietz No.80


With the candidates ready for action, it was time for the illumination elimination round.  Time to introduce the incumbent to the festivities, the $2 LED lamp that hangs over the table, affectionately known as the " UFO Light"

Here's UFO in action:

  Here is how a copy of Good Old Boat looks under the light cast by UFO.  Lots of illumination, but lots of glare as well.

That is the current cabin lighting standard aboard.  Let's see how our competitors compare.

With some fiddling, with both hands as the globe refused to stay raised thanks to the poor fit of the lifting bail, World Famous was persuaded to light, and with further fiddling, encouraged not to smoke (at least not until it's 18 years old and/or no longer resides in our house).

Illumination was provided, but, like every other aspect of this lamp, it was disappointing.

One can see that there is a magazine in front of them, one can discern that there are photos, one can read the title, but beyond that, gathering information from the page is a struggle.  Illumination was spotty, with shadows and flickers

I briefly suspended the test to trim the flickering wick and wash the soot off the globe, hoping to increase the output.
The result?

Um, yeah.... no.

Right then, let's see what No. 80 brings to the table.

Definitely easier to light, requiring only one hand.  Lift the globe, lock the bail, set the wick, strike a match, trim the wick, lower the globe, done.

   The result?
  Usable illumination.  Warmer, brighter, over a larger area with no shadows or flickering.  Not nearly as bright as UFO but easier on the eyes and bug-free!

 Illumination winner:  Dietz No. 80

  Further testing in the cockpit on our last sail of the season earned compliments from Jack and Melanie on how well No.80 lit the cockpit, with none of the breeze induced flickering and relighting as was often the case with citronella candles, and no wax on the cockpit sole.

I think we might have a winner, with some improvement to the plan.   A second lantern is needed to fully light the cabin, and lighting the v-berth with a lantern this size isn't gonna work, so there is no choice in retaining some LED lighting.
The "cozy" factor is not to be underestimated, however, and the consistent response is how much "nicer" the lantern light feels compared to the electric alternative.
We're gonna give it a long term test next season, and we'll let you know how it goes.


"Talk the Dock!"