Field Trip!

        "I don't know when the road turned into the road I'm on...."
                                                         -Jackson Browne




     Ahhh, winter, when a cold sailor's  thoughts turn to boats.  Refitting, rebuilding and repairing are top of mind,  but what if is too cold for epoxy to kick and paint to dry?  Then a sailor dreams, and some are seduced by the siren's song of a new (to them, at least) boat.

     Hilary heard the call.

     After a gut-check regarding the condition of his O'Day Tempest, the antipathy of his better half toward his Tempest, and his own boatsmithing skillset, Hilary asked himself three questions:
   1. Would I rather fix, or sail?
   2. Would I like to sail with my wife more often?
   3. Can I find a better boat that I can afford?

    Thus Hilary dove into the world of internet classified ad boat porn.

    Just as with all other forms of pornography, boat porn is always titillating, occasionally seamy, and rarely as attractive in reality as in the pictures.

     And plentiful.

     Really plentiful.

     There are a lot of boats for sale, and a lot of places to find them, and with lots of variety comes lots of analysis, and eventually Hilary's brain just plain locked up.

    He contracted a case of analysis paralysis.

    In an effort to effect a cure, Hilary fired me an email, asking for help choosing his next boat.

   I was happy to assist.

   I am really good at spending my own boat budget.

   I am really, REALLY good at spending other people's boat budget.

   As Hilary had discovered, there is a lot of misplaced optimism in the old boat marketplace.  Phrases like "sails new in 1998," sounds MUCH better than "15 year old sails due for replacement,"  and pictures in ads are accurate when they were taken...in 2004.  In the mid four-figure bottom-feeder end of the marketplace, there is a LOT MORE misplaced optimism, bordering on desperation... and in some cases crossing the border into the land of Outright Lying.  So, we narrowed down the options, and I tossed some new ideas Hilary's way.  Eventually, after a couple of  false starts and a few close calls and boats that didn't make the cut, Hilary thought he had found "The One",  so we saddled up and hit the road, heading NW to Sarnia.

    Saturday dawned cold and sunny as we departed Stately Jones Manor.  The day remained sunny as we got to Sarnia, but the wind whipping off of the St. Clair River was COLD.  Before going to look at the BIQ (boat in question) we decided to grab some lunch and work up some last-minute boat shopping strategy.

    More on that "strategy" part later.

   Fed and watered, we continued on our quest.  Within minutes our prize hove into sight:

   A 1978 C&C 24.

   She looks pretty from 10 feet...

    And still looks decent up close.

   More headroom than the Tempest, and the interior is dry, clean, spacious and unsmelly.

    Cared for by only her second owner, the boat has a dry bilge, replaced compression post step, rebedded hardware and ports, a decent suit of sails, all documentation including owner's manuals for the boat and all components, and a Suzuki outboard which stated first pull and idled and everything.
   Downsides?  Original plaid upholstery, original gate valves on through-hulls, but both the valves and upholstery are in good shape.  Simple rig, no traveller, no furler. Knotmeter is not functioning. The keel joint needs to be faired.  Wiring is in need of some sorting.  But that's pretty much the only real deficiencies, par for the course in this price range.

     
     After a thorough tire-kicking, Hilary and I huddled for a confab.  I tell him what I think it is worth.  He tells me what he thinks it is worth. We discuss the art of negotiating.   Hillary set's an absolute, walk-away, not a penny more top end price that he is comfortable investing.  I agree that the figure he has in mind makes sense. Reassured, Hilary breaks the huddle and trots out to scrimmage with the seller...

    And buys the boat.

   For a few hundred more than his top end.

   Huh?  What about all that hardball strategizing and negotiating tactics and stuff?

   "We got along. He's happy, I'm happy."

   Hey, if everybody is happy with a deal, it's probably a good deal.

   The next step is to beg, borrow or rent a truck capable of hauling the boat and included trailer home, and Hilary is good to go this season.

   If anybody wants a low-budget O'day Tempest project boat, I know this guy...



Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us or just tell your friends.

Recipe Page is Started

     "How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?"
                                       -Hank Williams






     Two-Burner Tastiness recipe page has been started.  More to come.



   





   Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us or just tell your friends.

Two-Burner Tastiness: Valentine's Day Edition

     "I've got no patience, I've got no time...'
                                    -Blue Peter








     The Dock may be empty,t the lake semi-frozen, and Docksters scattered to their winter dirt-homes, but that doesn't mean that we have to stop living large by living small.

   This winter, SWMBO has been perfecting bread recipes:

 Test-driving boat-size baguettes as well as french loaves and cinnamon bread for the freezer.

Meanwhile I have been attempting to replicate old favourites.

    Tonight's menu was an off-the-chain hit.  Super easy, and super tasty.

    Back in my college days, a favourite restaurant was a little hole-in-the wall joint called The Lucky Kitchen. A storefront with a couple of four tops and a wall of deuces,  what the place lacked in ambience it more than made up in flavour.   My  favourite meal was the Shredded Pork in Peking Sauce.  At least once a week I'd return the beer bottles and shake  down the couch cushions to put together enough scratch to buy myself a plate.   It sure beat the hell out of ramen noodles and Cap'n Crunch.

    Well, it beat the hell out of ramen noodles, at least.


      The Lucky Kitchen moved out of the student ghetto in my sophomore  year, moving downtown and upscale.  The shredded pork got lost in the shuffle, disappearing from the menu.

     The place closed a few years later.  I'm not saying there is a connection but...



       Like some sort of ancient oriental curse, it seemed the secret recipe of Shredded Pork in Peking Sauce had been lost to the ages.   I've eaten in a lot of Chinese restaurants since, but have been unable to find this dish on the menu anywhere else.  Maybe with the name change of the big town to Beijing, anything with the word "Peking" in the name was erased from the cultural zeitgeist by the Chinese language police.  As time passed, my memory dimmed, and Shredded Pork in Peking Sauce faded from foody bliss to faded memory.
   
     Until today.

     I wanted to kick some cuisine with SWMBO  for Valentine's Day, so I triaged the fridge for ammo.  Finding pork chops, that long dormant pork memory surfaced.

     "Hey," Methinks, "I wonder if I can Google up a recipe?"

   Turns out I could.

    Further turns out it is wicked easy.


    15 minutes of slicing and dicing and pouring and blending, a half hour of marinating, 10 minutes of stir frying, cook up some brown rice in a pot on the other burner, and  ...

  Oh yeah, this one is a keeper.  SWMBO is happy.
 
    'nuff said.

  If anybody wants the how-to, I am thinking about starting  a new permanent section with all of the two-burner recipes.  Good idea?  Don't bother?  Toss me some feedback on this one, folks.




  Thanks for taking the time to check us out. Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us or just tell your friends.

Tying Up Loose Ends, Volume 8: Sad News.

        "Run to the ocean, run to the sea."
                                            -U2






       I introduced you to John and Melanie way back here:

http://docksixchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/05/bittersweet-hope.html



    John died this morning.
   
   Fair winds, John.


 

Getting All Fancy and Official

         "Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality..."
                                                          -Bob Marley






          Back before Christmas, on my third trip of the week to my local NOSLY (Neighbourhood Old School Lumber Yard), the counterman remarked that I should open a commercial account.
        "It'll save you 15%."  he says.

       Cheaper.  Cheaper is good.  I like cheaper.

       "What do you need from me," I ask.

      Counterman replies, "Tax number and company letterhead."

      Okay, tax number I've got, but I have no letterhead.  I'd been tossing around a business name for a while, but had done nothing concrete.  Now, with some incentive, I dusted off some old logo ideas and pondered how to turn my scribbling into something usable.

      With some help from WLYDO confederate Rick at Sons Creative  I came up with something workable that, I think, accurately portrays who we are and what we do:

                            

Note to self- figure out how to crop and enlarge in Publisher. Emboldened by my results, I ginned up some business cards for the Chronicles. 6   6
Anybody have any thoughts on the logos?    Thanks for taking the time to check us out. Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us, or just tell your friends.

Gear and Tool Review: Best Portable Bar Ever.

                          "I've got the bottle, bring me your cup."
                                                                -UB40




          




      So there you are, invited for vittles on a boat across the bay.  Being the good guest you are, you load a bottle or two and  some cheese and crackers in a bag , jump in your tender and get gone.  You arrive, climb aboard, and share out your lukewarm bottle, sweaty cheese and broken crackers.

     Impressive.

    Or say you want to go for a day sail with friends on your Siren.  You can load a cooler and a grocery bag, and wine glasses and ice and cutting board and cutlery and then you don't have room for your friends.

     Oooooh, dilemma- do we sail with our friends and leave the booze on the Dock, or take the booze and leave the friends?  It's an awkward choice.

     Here on the Dock, we've found the solution, thanks to the coolest cooler company ever, California Innovations .

 

    Meet Product #78124-90-09, or, as we know it here on the Dock, The Porta-Bar.  The Porta-Bar is a rigid soft-side cooler/picnic basket hybrid loaded with features.

  Open the front facing zippered "lid", and the first feature you notice is the thin plastic cutting board cleverly attached to the inside surface of the lid with stretchy elastic bands at each corner, making it both secure and removable for cleaning.

  Inside are three adjustable compartments.  The walls are easily removed and reinstalled thanks to the velcro tape fasteners.  Nestled inside these compartments are a tall bottle carrier,(Warm Bin) an insulated ice box/topload cooler (Chilly Bin), and a plastic bin with lid (Cool Bin).

   The Warm Bin will fit as many as three 40 oz bottles of rum, or two 2 litre soft drink bottles, or a vodka bottle and a Clamato juice bottle or  a bottle of wine, a couple of glasses and a baguette.   This baby is versatile!

  The Chilly Bin is cleverly designed.  Inside the soft bag is a plastic tub, perfect for holding ice cubes in addition to up to 12 soft drink cans.  To maximize cold life, the lid has a small velcro sealed hatch, perfect for quick soft drink extraction.

       Above the Chilly Bin is the Cool Bin, perfect for storing lemons, limes, cheese, sausage, sandwiches, all sorts of snacks.

    The handles are sturdy, the stitching reinforced and the fabric is easily cleaned.  The only quibble, and it is  minor, is the lack of a carrying strap.
     
      All in all, this is a pretty impressive package, especially at a retail price point south of $40. Like it?  Want one?   There is only one problem...

    According to California Innovations, Product #78124-90-09 is No Longer Available.  If enough demand is generated, they will consider putting it back into production.  Fire them an email, let 'em know you saw it here and you want one, bad.

Service@ca-innovations.com

Barring new ones rolling off the assembly line., my local Canadian Tire still has a few in stock.  If anyone wants one, drop me a line, and I'll set you up.

UPDATE:  I have sourced about a dozen of these, which I am happy to move on at $35 each plus shipping costs.


You know the drill.  Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!" Link us, follow us, or just tell your friends.

Gear and Tool Review: Sticky Stuff That Unsticks Other Stuff

                      "I wanna make you move, because you're standing still..."
                                                  -Finger Eleven












           DonorBoat destruction has meant unbolting and unscrewing hundreds of , er, bolts and screws.  And nuts.  And washers. All bedded just as they left the factory.

     Stainless screws and bolts installed through aluminum cleats and tracks, all bedded with caulking that was still tenaciously goopy all these years later.

  All of it was removed without a single stripped fastener.
  Not one.
   I'd love to be able to take credit for this fortuitous feat of fixture and fastener finesse, but it weren't skill.  It was Screw Grab.




   I am not a chemist or an engineer, and I have no idea what the actual secret ingredient or process is, but, in simple terms, Screw Grab Friction Drops is a grip enhancer.  Got a recalcitrant screw?  Squeeze a drop or two onto the screw head, insert the tip of the screwdriver and turn.  It is that simple.  And it really works.

   A little goes a long way.  I bought a bottle of Screw Grab from Lee Valley Tools  almost a decade ago, and  have more than half the bottle still remaining.  It might be the best $6 you invest in your toolbox.
   There was one casualty of the Fabulous Fastener Follies- one Phillips screwdriver.

    Busted the tip unscrewing backstay chainplates.

       
     Like I said, this stuff GRIPS.





   Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us or just tell your friends.