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 ..........