Salutations on New Years Eve...........

Hello Everyone.......Please accept my wishes for your Safe, Happy, Blessed, and Prosperous 2014. 

Thanks for reading my Blog.....

Peace to you all.....see ya next year

Fluidity and the Captain.........

If you stop and reflect a little bit, you would probably agree that life is dynamic fluid that flows through time swirling us along as a floating population of  flotsam.....we think we are in control, the master of our own ship but in reality we are swept along in the currents of our destiny without much input as to our ultimate end. We plan and scheme and dream and organize our physical existence in an attempt to be in control of our fate and more often than not our fortune takes another tangent....taking us somewhere unexpected .....Sometimes welcoming sometimes not so! So what do we do? We adapt!! If someone were to ask me what is the most critical of human life skills, my answer would have to be adaptability. We have no control of what eventually happens to us. Consider life's ultimate arena, existence, as we know it. Look at what life forms have been around the longest.....sharks, reptiles, arachnids, insects.......roaches!!! Why them, you wonder and not the big, strong, handsome, popular creatures . The answer is simple....They were the ones that  adapted to their changing providence and survived . Those who couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't perished.
"So whats this got to do with sailing?" ......you must be wondering.....???
Well, let me tell you the story of an anonymous captain from around here. For decades this man has been focused on the day when he could depart these shores taking his own boat and go cruising.  Through marriages and children and sick parents and job instability and grand kids and money woes....you know.....life's realities...this man persisted. The day came when he found the boat that would take him to his exotic tropical daydreams. He bought her. He named her after his long departed mother. He paid her off. She was his....not too big, not too small...ultimately seaworthy yet manageable and affordable. One day his employer made the decision to boot him out the door under the guise of a retirement incentive. Just like the dog that you want outside. You open the door and invite him out.....if he doesn't comply.....what do you do? .....you scoot him out, you boot him out, or you pick him up and throw him out. Either way the dog is out. The captain knew this and quietly walked away from 26 years of his life. This was OK with him. He had saved a little money and owed no one. He sold his little house gave away all his treasures and put the wheels in motion to finally cast off.  One hot muggy day while working on his boat he felt dizzy and could feel his heart pounding weirdly in his chest. How strange he thought and then forgot about it and continued on with his purpose.
It didn't go away! One day  the captain finds himself laying on an operating table with masked medicos all around who were preparing to cut open his femoral artery and jam a catheter into his heart!  Two days later waiting  in front of the hospital for his buddy to pick him up, the captain was quiet in his thoughts. His friend pulled up and the captain got in. "What did they say?" asked his friend. "I might not be able to go cruising" sadly answered the captain.

Peace to you all my friends...............

Wired Part II......

For one such as myself who is "sparse of purse" and forced to assume a thrifty posture, it is a daunting endeavor to try and put new lifelines on a 28 foot cruising boat. As you well know, everything is so friggin expensive! A blog or two ago we discussed some wiring options for the lifelines and as of today, no decision has been made as to what to do.....another alternative has come my way for the wire and I wanted to visit with you about this: galvanized cable!!  It has a greater breaking strength than SS wire of the same size and is much cheaper.....Home Depot has 5/32 for 38 cents a foot.....You can buy 5/32 online for 24 cents per foot. Mmmmm, gotta think about this one a while!!

5/32.....7x19....stainless cable breaking strength 2400 lbs.......

5/32.....7x19 galvanized cable breaking strength 2800 lbs.......

Source: Continental Cable, LLC

While in West Marine the other day talking to the guy in the rigging shop about, you guessed it, life line cable,
the WM guy acknowledged that, of course, there was cheaper SS cable available on the market but that is was Chinese made and inferior to the Korean cable that West Marine sells......"Well ! OK !".....Never heard that one before.....?  My wallet keeps whispering to me in my dreams..."Keep on lookin' dude".

Today, while at a  local, hard core, honest to goodness, hardly ever to be found anymore  hardware store that stocks for all the local shrimpers, crabbers, fisherman, tug and push boat guys, and all the rest of the commercial boating enterprises down here, guess what I stumbled across????
You guessed it 5/32...7x19 stainless cable for 72 cents per foot......Oh yeah!...Made in Korea!!!  Take That WM!! The cost for 145 ft is $104.40.....VS ....... $214.60  at YOU KNOW WHERE!!

Now! As if this isn't confusing enough, there is something else that must be factored in this equation and that is the grade of stainless steel ....marine grade stainless steel is 316. It has more of all the good stuff that makes it more corrosion resistant in the marine environment than the 304 grade.
For you technical types: 304 stainless is ....18% chromium and 8% nickel while 316 stainless is 16% chromium and 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum. Molybdenum is the magic ingredient for marine use.
Source: Nema Enclosures Mfg., LLC.

When I bought ZOSHA her lifelines were 3/8", 3 strand nylon line..breaking strength you ask?   4400 lbs.
Source: West Marine Catalogue
You can find 3/8" , 3 strand nylon line from 25 cents to 76 cents per foot..... Take a guess on where its 76 cents/ft ????  One good thing about 3 strand  is that it is easy to learn how to splice in professional quality thimbles and eyes.

OK!...OK!...OK!...enough ....you are probably thinking !!!!  can't blame you either....this is giving me a headache!!  Guess its Corona time.........you guys take care...until the next time...
Happy Holidays and Peace to you all ..........

"I'm Wired"................!

A couple of blogs ago, if you remember, I made a promise to try and minimize my lambasting of West Marine and their prices that send my wallet into twitching like a dumb kid in a spelling bee.....and, you must admit, my promise held true........till now!!  When ZOSHA first came into my stewardship she had ratty old frayed lifelines fabricated from 5/16" nylon three strand that were lashed to the stanchions ......the lashing part is OK.......matter of fact, the Offshore Racing Council or whatever that offshore sailing guru organization is prefers life line lashings over turnbuckles. The old nylon three strand is what has to go. Now, what to replace them with ? First a few HA measurements......mmmmm lets see....28' on deck another foot or two to accommodate the midships deck curve and to clear the outboard shrouds and then 3' up the bowsprit to the terminal end on the pulpit and figure a 10% fudge factor ..........mmmm my figuring according to the semi-marine calculator  in my $8 cell phone indicates  36.3' per line times 4 lines equals more or less about 145 ft of life line material....I think ?  OK....now what?  There are a number of acceptable choices here in no particular order....first: solid life line fabricated from welded stainless steel tubing like our friend did on Namaste  in Australia.....my wallet is convulsing as we speak so this option is not for me.....second: get on the AMSTEEL/ DYNEEMA bandwagon ....soft lifelines made from the newest, greatest, most powerful, awe inspiring, gift to nautical cordage since Kevlar.....13,700 lbs of breaking strength for 5/16 "! this line is fantastic. Riggers are using this stuff for lifelines, running backs, lazy jacks, and complete standing rigging set ups !! its truly a miracle product....I bought 200' of it from Defender on sale for 99 cents a foot....BTW its $2.71 per foot in the current West catalogue.

This stuff is great but, at least for me its a bee itch to splice....my Locking Brummels come out looking like Whoopie Goldberg dreadlocks!! crappy.....the local rigger  does beautiful Locking Brummel's...for $13 each!!  Plus $75 per hour surcharge to come to the boat to custom splice around the stanchion holes..

OK plan C...... standard wire lifelines..... first question..."covered  or uncovered" ? 

7x19....3/16".. uncovered....$2.83 per foot in current West catalogue 

7x7..3/16" covered wire size, 5/16" OD....$3.56 per foot in current West catalogue

7x19 ...3/16" stainless wire from Home Depot.....125 ft for $59.77.... 48 cents  per foot!!

N

Now lets go back to West Marine......look what I found in another part of the store away from all the lifeline stuff................ 5/32" ....316 stainless rail cable.....100 feet for $87.99 !!

My purpose here was not to price out a complete lifeline set up but to look at the costs of a major component of the system.....the fittings and terminals are going to cost the same regardless of what wire you buy and are probably comparable in cost to all the Locking Brummel's and thimbles you'll need. if you go the AMSTEEL route....unless you can master the splice yourself!!!

I was all set to go with the AMSTEEL....stronger than steel cable, won't rust, it stretches less under load than steel cable , its lighter and easier on hands, butts and other body parts that inadvertently tackle it....then someone on the dock.....Radio Free Darryl  if I remember right said "yes but you can cut it with a knife or scissors or some kind of sharp instrument"....this comment started me thinking....!  

Take care my friends.....HAPPY THANKSGIVING.....Peace to you all......

Betrayal...!!!!

Have you ever sat with with a loved one and all of a sudden became overwhelmed with dread because you suddenly realized that you have  betrayed them..?.........you trampled their trust...!.......you lived a lie...! These are my thoughts as I sit here down below in ZOSHA talking to you. The warm embrace of her lovely salon holds me in comfort and security as a nasty front moves through. The sound of creaking dock lines emanates through her  hull as she gently bucks in her slip keeping time with the jumbled wave pattern rolling through the fairway. The little tempest howls outside but it's peaceful in here....warm....quiet...comfortable. Oh! what have I done...?
Our time together was supposed to be forever....that was my promise ! Now ??? I don't know...!
Maybe its my years that prevents me from being true. Maybe its a realization that my limitations outweigh her potential...! Maybe I've concluded that she is unworthy of me. It's not her fault. She has been true to me...always....I've never doubted that....She's been there patiently waiting for me to deliver my promises It's not her!! It's me that screwed this all up!!!
Some of you probably know that I just got back from hanging around the west coast of Mexico on the Sea of Cortez. While there, I became one more victim of an irresistible siren. My will power vanished. My resolve melted away. My promises of fidelity forgotten.
What have I done? How could I have done this to you my lovely ZOSHA? What am I going to do?
How can I fix this???  "You bastard", I think of myself. "You did it now, you dumb ass !" is another self recrimination that continually crosses my mind.... !
"Dude! what the heck did you do?" you must be asking yourself by now? Well, let me tell you, I fell in love and succumbed to temptation and...and.....and..... rented a house for a year overlooking the Sea!.  1500 miles away from my ZOSHA.  "Where does this leave her" you ask? "Can you afford to keep her and the house too?" you ponder. "I don't know and NO" is my answer...........The house will be available to me in April or May 2014.......maybe by then the solution to this dilemma will present itself.....

Street view...gate on left leads down to front door.......

View from street in front of the house.........

Another view up the street from the house.......

Front entry....................

My street.....on the way down off the mountain.....

Take care my friends





What day is it...????

HELLO my friends, you all know by now that my grand blog idea for introducing ZOSHA to you via a comprehensive interior pictorial tour has, so far been a partial disappointment.....we toured the v-berth and head,,,,OK that's a start ......but, nothing else has come forward....you guys must be so disappointed in me...my shame knows no bounds...! So, I betcha you're asking yourself....."Mmmm wonder what this goofus has been doing?" ...... It's funny that you should ask....so I'll tellya......screwing around on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico......in a beautiful place....No,...not Cabo or LaPaz or Los Cabos or even Todo Santos....this place is kinda of a secret.....no planes or cruise ships come here.....two ways to get here unless you have yourself a private plane and that is drive your own vehicle or take a Mexican bus down from the border 250 or so miles away. There is nothing much to do here except fish, go to one of the many beautiful deserted beaches that are within minutes of the little town and snorkel and swim and lay around, sail, drink beer or whatever, eat some good food at one of the many local eateries, play golf on a course with dirt fairways and greens, visit with friendly locals, sleep, hang out with the ex pat crowd at the gin joints at night and take in some good music.....you can hike or mountain bike or 4 wheel in the surrounding mountains and canyons or visit some of the surrounding little villages and towns..... that's pretty much it.......PARADISE!!!!!  Here are some photos of a place where time becomes meaningless and schedules nonsense........

Nice shot of the town......

The beach in the middle of town.....

A local open air market.....

Main drag on Saturday afternoon around 2pm........

One of many nice little coves within 20 minutes of town.......

Another beach about 10 minute from town.......

15 minutes from town......on a Sunday afternoon about noon.....

Like pool water.....crystal clear........

Long hike from the road but........

Yeah Buddy......!!!!!!!

Saturday afternoon....20 minutes from town.......

Thinking about buying this place.........

Who said....."if you surround yourself with negative people, how can you expect to live a positive life"?

Let me know if you can.....

Hasta pronto !.........Take care my friends

Are cats happy........................?

My girlfriend Tana has a cat, TAWNY, who has been part of her life for nine years.

Needless to say, Tana, my GF, is very very fond of her long time companion....their time together is longer than ours. Its a given that if we finally do get out of here in March or April 2014 to go cruising, Tawny can't go!!!! There's no doubt that this cat has been happy here with her mommy....
                                                              

 

                                                 Gourmet chow..........
                                                 

Comfortable perch to survey her domain.....

Yummy treats.........

Cat grass........

A lair to stalk bugs and lizards-she's declawed so her damage is minimal!

A great place to sun bathe.........

 

Exotic place to stretch out........

Ahhh.....life is good....BTW I'm not fat..I'm fluffy!!

 

Tana is fervently working to try and find Tawny a new home....

one that, hopefully, will accommodate her lifestyle...!

 

Our dilemma with finding a new home for a loved one before leaving illustrates one of the sadder vignettes of "chucking it all and going cruising"

 

Take care my friends...peace to you all

A genuine "REEF KNOCKER"..........!

A new boat slid into a vacant slip on K-dock today.........But, before I continue, lets jump into the ole' time machine between our ears and travel back to when this narrator first got into sailing.....back in those days "Men were Men, Women were Women, Dogs were Dogs, Children were, well, you know,  ....you get the idea here"...during these years cruising boats were a little different than they are now. Cruising World and Sail Magazine actually printed stories about real, ordinary people on real ordinary boats doing remarkable voyages in  Pearson 28's and 32's, Westsail 32's, Ingrid 38's, Tahiti Ketch 30's, Southern Cross 28's and 31's, Dreadnought's 32's,  Golden Hind 31's, Vertue 26's, Nor Sea 27's, Bristol Channel Cutter 28's are just a few that immediately come to mind. Companies, now long gone, manufactured and sold all kinds of stuff for we wannabe cruisers, ABI, New Found Metals, Thomas Foulkes. The books of, to name just a few,  Lynn and Larry Pardey and  Hal Roth and Bernard Motissier and Eric and Susan Hiscock and  Wayne Carpenter and Donald Street fueled our imaginations and dreams of one day "chucking it" and heading for the open horizons. Back in those days the RDF and Loran networks were the primary electronic gadgetry for finding yourself....a small boat radar cost $10,000.
Offshore sailors knew how to use a sextant and dead reckoning to navigate. Most of the stuff that the sailing mags of today tell us that we  must have in order to successfully cruise had not even been invented yet!!
Don't get me wrong here! I'm for progress. There is no Luddite blood in my veins.....new materials coupled with new design technology has dramatically altered the conventional wisdom of cruising boats......I embrace the new and fully support the rethinking of  historical standards in just about everything; however, realizing that I'm not smart enough to figure any of this stuff out and being old school, its hard for me to understand how a 42 foot, deep fin keeled, high aspect rig boat that displaces less the my 28 foot ZOSHA, which is a full-on cruising boat, can be considered to be safe at sea.......? In my formative sailing days for cruising boats... it was about heft. Not size but heft...... Heft? what the heck is heft you must be asking yourself.....I can see it in your eyes......well let me tell you.... it is something that is rugged and powerful and of substantial bulk for its size.....something that inspires security and imparts to one  the feeling security and the  ability to handle whatever comes along....something that is fearlessness in the face of adversity.......

ZOSHA

"Now where ya goin' with this buddy" you must be thinking by now!

Ok....lets travel back to present day Galveston Bay, Seabrook Shipyard Marina, K-dock....... Today a boat with HEFT sled into an empty slip a few down from me. This boat is what we used to call in the old days

a reef knocker........!

Massive scantlings, mean looking, a boat that looks like it can tame the wildest tempest....a full on, hard core, no question about it....tough vessel  that was designed and built for offshore voyaging.....nothing else...not for cheese and white Zinfandel with neighbors on the cockpit table while watching fireworks, not for racing around some inflatable buoys on the bay, not for hanging lights all over it for the Christmas parade....one purpose for this boat.....offshore sailing.

I talked to the guy who owns and built the boat. His name is Erwin. He is a kinda young middle age guy who told me that he will retire in a couple years and wants to sail the world.....sound familiar? He gave me permission to post photos of his boat on this blog. That's all I know...don't like to pry into other people's business.

The boat is a steel variation of the venerable Bruce Roberts Offshore 44 and displaces about 26,000-29,000 lbs. Believe me folks when I tell you its a real honest to goodness reef knocker!!!!!

Take a look:

There are houses around here that don't have this much space in their backyards!

NO WOOD......!!! Whoo Hoo!!

Now this is GROUND TACKLE....60 pound CQR on 3/8" chain!

 

There must be some majestic windlass under there!!?!!

 Swim platform?....dingy storage? sundeck? Whatever it is, its cool!

The steering cockpit........look at the size of that winch pad!!!!!

 

The relaxing cockpit directly forward of the steering station....notice the watertight door/companionway hatch

Nice, fair steel work....this guy did an awesome job of building the hull!

 

You could land a small plane on this deck!!!

I just love a nice butt don't you?

 

Well there she is... an awesome vessel. A bona fide"reef knocker" I know that all of us extend our collective best wishes to Erwin and hope that his sailing dreams come to reality soon.

 

You guys take care. I'll have ZOSHAS Tour #3 up soon.

Until next time, peace to you my friends.....