9/30/2012

It's 10:12 Mountain Time, so in Florida it's officially Dad's birthday.  Happy birthday, Dad!  Hope you enjoy your GOB subscription.

I worked on windows a lot today.  It's a surprising amount of work.  I've got the first two (the kitchen windows) all pretty much sanded down to bare wood now.  Next I'll apply some wood hardener, fill in some cracks and missing chunks with "plastic wood" and then paint.  One thing that's got me a little stumped is the old caulk.  Not sure how to get that stuff off.  Maybe some kind of solvent?  I'll have to ask the Home Depot guys I guess.

I was going to mention our list of priorities from the realtor for getting the house ready to sell in spring, but April says she's getting ready to write that up instead, so I'll stay off her turf.

We're going to take our basic First Aid class together this coming Saturday at the YMCA if all goes according to plan (with sitters and stuff).  After that, we'll probably take turns taking these 2-day wilderness first aid classes at REI .  Then, if we're really feeling ambitious, then we'll take this advanced wilderness first aid class.

From the sound of things, I declared victory over the critters prematurely.  I'm pretty bummed about that and at a loss about what to do next.

9/29/2012

Big day for us: we had a realtor up to discuss listing.  We've pretty much decided that we'd better wait for spring, but we have a good list of specific things to address by then.  The biggest thing is really getting rid of stuff.  Which is hard.  The rest is mainly just sprucing stuff up.  So I worked on the windows and cleaning up the garage today.

If we were looking at Benes, this would be a cool one.

Here's a neat Tayana Vancouver.  I've read good things about these.

Benes, Jenes, Bavas, etc.

I came across this thread today, addressing the question of whether "production" boats, specifically Jenes, Benes, and Bavarias are blue-water-worthy.  There are only 7 million threads out with people being know-it-alls about this question, but this one had a really decent and informative discussion.  

Jack Tyler's response, in particular, was very thought-provoking:

...

A multi-year Circle is a very ambitious project that is going to seriously test any boat (and not just in structural terms), so I'd suggest you look at it differently. I'd suggest you start with a Q like: "I have $60K to spend on a used boat (with my other $20K set aside for repairs/upgrades/outfitting and the like, before setting off). What boat will best meet my needs for that $60K?" 

... You need to zero in on the essential, functional demands of a boat doing extended cruising and, from those, identifying what your criteria will be. ... Consider using no more than one or two primary references that intentionally attempt to discriminate between the essential and the rest, and do your work. (My #1 rec would be Beth Leonard's Voyager's Handbook. Pay attention to her 'low budget' generic boat & crew that she repeatedly describes when discussing various boat characteristics). 

If you do your work, you'll end up with a much easier time of it in selecting the boat. Some examples: You'll come to realize that fresh water tankage may need to be much more emphasized than you'd imagined simply because your budget may not support the initial & upkeep cost of a water maker, even a cheap one since it could cost you perhaps 20% of your prep budget. You'll put significant (and functional) storage capacity on your list. You'll come to understand the central importance of a beefy anchor roller set-up (along with the boat's ability to handle much weight up forward). You'll learn that the repeated shock-loading of the deck & rigging hardware far exceeds what most boats see in more typical uses. And with these kind of criteria in hand, you'll look at all boats through a fresh lens and it will be much easier to weed out 'your' boat from the flock. 

You'll begin to appreciate how many boat builders these days (to include most of the models built by the mfgrs you mentioned) push their interiors 'out' in order to make the boat appear bigger and more 'open', with the inevitable loss of accessible storage compartments. You will notice that the bow roller assemblies are often cantilevered and built of 5mm/6mm stainless plate and bends are with tight radiuses. You'll begin to look at how beefy the deck hardware is, how its built and how its attached to the boat. You'll look at the tankage and scratch your head about how that could possibly work. And overarching all of this will be the inevitable ratcheting down of the size of the vessel you can realistically purchase, which will just make matching all your criteria that much more challenging.

Wow.  Why can't all internet-posters be this clear, articulate, and to-the-point?  The discussion goes on for or several hundred more posts, during which Jack goes on to say:

[H]igh production-volume builders that build down to a price a) miss things when building many boats each day (Bavaria was producing 2,000 boats each year as of five years ago...and they were expanding production), b) getting cost out of a boat inevitably forces compromises (which of course is true of every boat), but that c) the odds incrementally add up against you with these compromises because it becomes harder and harder for the builder to properly test & evaluate these, and to adequately inspect every hull being finished. ...  

So what to do? With research, you'll find some models of these builders, for some periods of time, are simply better engineered and more easily/reliably built than others. I saw a Jeanneau 41 out in the Frisian Islands of Germany that had been doing the offshore run up the Jutland Peninsula to Norway every year for 17 years. This can be a very tough run. I thought it was first rate and wouldn't hesitate to take it south of the Great Capes. But when built, the owner could ask for modifications such as additional high-tech (kevlar, as I recall) build-up in high-stress areas, and this owner had done that. The trick is to find out which of the many models being built over many years are less prone to major failures (since every boat will have its issues), and zero in on those for your shopping.

I do think Jack has a conclusion in mind here, and I'm not certain I agree with it, but it certainly is nicely put, and I certainly will be getting the book he recommends.

9/26/2012

I've struggled to find a spare moment to write, and I'm stealing these moments from sleep, but I'm committed to being accountable to the blog on our progress so here I am.  We actually have solid progress and significant developments to report.

1. I have finally gotten to work on scraping, sanding, and repainting the windows.  It's pretty fun when you just make yourself do it.  And I got a new Dremel Multi-Watchamacallit for sanding in the corners.  From some other cruising blogs I've read, it's a good tool to have aboard too.
2. I fixed that darn leaky faucet.
3. We sold some more stuff.  We had gotten these Adirondack chairs at Ace like 3 years ago for 20 bucks apiece, and sold the pair for $65. April's a genius of online marketing.
4. We received World Cruising Routes, which is really cool.
5. We have been in contact with a couple realtors and are meeting with one on Saturday to discuss strategy.  It kind of blows my mind, and frankly gives me pause, to think that we could conceivably sell before ski season.  We'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep all options open for now.  One thing that worries me about waiting for spring is the fiscal cliff.  Mind you, I'm certain that it would be good for the economy, but I think it could crater the real estate market again for a couple years.
6. My awesome Misesian an-cap pals, Matt and Whitney, (Boulder-based if you can believe it) who home-schooled their two girls for years, have offered to give us a big brain- and material-dump.
7. We read the chapters on the milk run and atoll cruising in The Capable Cruiser.  Notes to follow someday soon.
8. An old friend of April's put us in touch with a friend of his who's a couple years ahead of us on this path.  We look forward to picking Bryan's brain.

Blue Water Sailing School's Offshore Passagemaking class looks really cool.  If nothing else, I'm definitely getting all the books on their reading list.

Dad also pointed out Melbourne-based Seven Seas Cruising Association.  That looks really cool.  I'm looking for ward to taking some of their classes and webinars sometime soon.

Here's a beautiful boat.

Shopping, shopping, shopping

We have finally finished our back to school shopping, which really just included shopping for Audrey and a couple of cute tops for me too. I went to the Shopping Extravaganza at the outlet malls in Castle Rock with some friends. It was really fun. The big challenge, with all of the amazing deals, don't buy too much! I had to remind myself that we are in the process of selling everything and I really don't need to add a dozen sweaters to my wardrobe, especially considering we will probably spend most of the 1st year or so in tropical weather.

As we were unpacking Audrey's cute new outfits, Jacob and I were discussing how to pack for our adventure in order to keep both quickly growing kiddos in clothes. Dressing Lorelei has started to get easier as she is now fitting into Audrey's old clothes well, but Audrey always seems to be sizing up, or wearing things out. Do we need to pack 3 or 4 years of sizes for each girl before we leave the states? I know they have clothes in other countries, but how handy will it be to have to buy a new wardrobe while out at sea? I will have to start reading some blogs of cruisers' with kids and looking for the answer.

On another note, my friend Emily and I took our girls to Mud Lake last week, and had such a great time! We picnicked and played at the lake. Here are some of the photos I took:

Emily launching the little boat she made

An unfortunate fall into the lake. I couldn't help taking a picture before she was dried.

9/23/2012

I made some good headway on fixing a leaky faucet and repairing our old window frames and sills.  Exciting stuff.

On the homeschooling front, Mom sent sent us several primers that Audrey's been enjoying introducing some vowel and consonant sounds, and mentioned Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Looks promising.  She also owned up to sending us the Stuart book and learning to sail book last week.  Thanks Mom!  We're really enjoying them.

Tonight we're going to read the milk run chapter in The Capable Cruiser.

Homeschooling research

I did some research on homeschooling aboard this evening.   I didn't get far but I did find this great cartoon.  Really makes you miss middle-school right?  Also this: sites.google.com/site/sailkidsed/home.  Google really wants me to search for "homeschooling abroad" rather than "homeschooling aboard."

Progress, Plans, Pardeys

I finally completed the first pass on thinning out our books.  Eventually, we'll need to get it down to fewer than 50 books (including manuals, boating references, homeschooling books, and local guides) when we move aboard, and that may be high.  In the first pass I've pulled out a couple hundred.  Now I need to get actually get rid of them.

Our goals for the next week are:

1. Move kiddy clothes.
2. Move books.
3. Move furniture
4. Have a brainstorming session on ways to sustain financially once we're out, and identify next steps.
5. Start scheduling flooring, cabinet, window treatment, and gutter guys to come give us estimates.  Not that we're necessarily going to do any of that, but I just want to know what they'll say.

Last night we read "Cut the Shouting Out of Sailing" in the The Capable Cruiser.  They had some good advice, but it was funny because despite the title, one of the main items was basically: "Ladies, don't take it personally when you get yelled at.  Men are just like that."  OK, I'm taking it out of context a little, but we chuckled.  Otherwise the main points were these:

1. Using actual nautical terms for things is worthwhile because it can be less ambiguous than using everyday vernacular.
2. The skipper and crew to should discuss in advance the skipper's plans for things like landing or casting off maneuvers.
3. The skipper and crew should have a checklist for things like casting off and should check all of the items themselves.
4. Eliminate distractions during involved and potentially risky maneuvers, again, like landing or casting off.
5. Consider dry runs for new or complicated maneuvers.
6. There is only skipper (at a time) and his or her orders are to be carried out without discussion.  Post mortem later if necessary.
7. Crew should repeat the skipper's orders.
8. Shout, if necessary, to be heard.

Good stuff generally.

All indications (and I won't elaborate on that) are that my crawlspace efforts earlier in the week were effective.  I can tell you, it's making a huge difference to my state of mind already.

Lessons from Cabo, continued

OK, so wrapping up on Cabo...

I found this next conclusion to be less than satisfactory, but Lin and Larry concluded that the boats that were best able to survive being thrown on the beach were the most expensive ones.  I'm not questioning the finding, but looking for the most expensive boat you can find, "pound for pound," as they say, just doesn't seem like a great strategy.  In fairness, they go on to to discuss the differences in quality of construction that a higher price tag can buy.  Anyway, I take their point, but I'd love to know a more reliable way to identify quality construction other than that the boat is expensive.  But I think I know what they'd say to me about Hunters and Bavarias.

About crew and boat size, they observed that on boats longer than 37 feet, crews of 4 to six were able to get out, and smaller crews had difficulty.  They believe that an important question for crews to answer is whether the crew can handle the ground tackle alone while the helmsperson sails or powers clear.

Under the heading of emergency tactics, they discuss using a stern anchor when you know you're going to hit the beach, such that when you do, you hit with the strongest part of the hull; and maneuvering the boat such that the waves won't be crashing into the deck as the boat rests on the beach.

Lessons from Cabo

Someone sent us a gift!  I don't know who sent it, but today we received Stuart Sets Sail and Learning to Sail: The Annapolis Sailing School Guide for All Ages.  Thanks so much to whoever sent them!  We've already enjoyed the books thoroughly this afternoon.

I joined April and the girls for their swim lesson this morning and was really impressed to see Audrey swim entirely unassisted.

We finally finished the Cabo chapters in The Capable Cruiser.  That was depressing.  But anyway, some good takeaways.

First: lots of nylon lines chafed through, bu no anchor chains parted.  So, better go with chain.

But can you imagine the moment, having decided to get out and head for the relative safety of open water, with other vessels tossing over your ground tackle, winds blowing 70 knots, seas running 10 feet, breakers 18, the beach 100 yards downwind, that you must go forward and get free of that chain?  That would be exciting.  Here's the Pardeys' suggestion:

We rig a 50-foot length of 5/8-inch-diameter nylon line as a safety release at the inboard end of our anchor chain.  We secure it to a strong point inside the chain locker with two round turns and a  half-hitch so it can be released even if it is under pressure.  When the time comes to get out quickly, you can buoy the end of the chain and then cut or untie the nylon safety-release line.

Here's a video explaining anchor line snubbers.

All types of anchors held and all types dragged.  The ones that held were all big though. Better have a big one.

The Pardeys frequently from those whose vessels were lost that they had ridden it out until their anchors started to drag, at which point they tried to motor.  No one complained of trouble starting their engine.  They all either got their props fouled in their anchor lines or other boats' lines or had their engines over heat as the seawater being taken in to cool the engines was full of sand and clogged the filters.  Better anchor with room and be able to sail out.

Many windlasses were yanked right off.  Better have that thing secured.

Many stated that they would have left had they been on their own and relied on their own judgement, but that a herd mentality had developed as they all sat around chatting on the radio about how no one else was leaving.  In particular, a number of people figured everything must be OK, as Bernard was not leaving.  Until Joshua was the first boat to hit the beach.

OK, there's more but it will have to wait.

Second Thoughts?

Jacob felt that my last post sounded as if I was having second thoughts about leaving Colorado and going cruising. I'm actually feeling the opposite! I'm more excited than ever. I do think this plan of ours is really helping me to appreciate our beautiful surroundings though, and wanting to cram as much fun and exploring in as possible while we are still here. I'm appreciating beautiful Nederland, and looking forward to the next amazing place we live!

On that note, I have been looking at all sorts of boats online. I try and tell myself not to spend my time with it, as we are still a year out from selling our house and having the money to buy a boat, but it is so fun to look!

For example, this one is pretty appealing, and it's only a little out of our price range (wink).

Crawling

I spent 4 hours in our crawl space today filling gaps with that expanding foam stuff.  For insulation, yes, but also, unfortunately, for critters.  That was one of the more unpleasant experiences of late.  So, good progress on getting the house in shape.

And on another challenge I've set for myself.  I'm not, um, lazy, exactly, but I will take any excuse avoid doing something unpleasant.  I'm lazy about doing stuff that doesn't seem like fun.  What do you call that?  Lazy?  Anyway, I realize that this is a big liability and even more so as a cruiser where self-sufficiency counts for a lot and often entails unpleasant jobs.  So I'm working on plowing through the impulse to avoid them and do what needs to be done and today was a big victory on that front.

April's friend Elsa lent us a copy of her brother-in-law's (Mike Litzow, of thelifegalactic.blogspot.com) book, South From Alaska, which I think is only distributed in Australia.  We started reading that this afternoon and we're really enjoying it.  It's very nicely written, about a very identifiable couple, and very encouraging that this can in fact be done.

April made delicious grilled salmon with garlic, lemon and pepper for dinner.  I might just become a seafood lover yet.

Colorado the beautiful

The girls and I took an aspen viewing drive today through the cute little town of Eldora. The leaves are gorgeous, and I kept thinking about how much I LOVE Colorado! It is pretty, tons to do (skiing, hiking, wild life viewing...), amazing weather (especially if you are a fan of 4 seasons), and fantastically friendly people.

Here are our photos from the day:

It's funny because I normally feel this way about where ever I live...I definitely did about Alaska too (well, maybe I whined a little toward the end of winter).

I'm feeling a little bit stalled out today.  We had a couple sales fall through yesterday, so that's a bummer.  We did read the next chapter after the Cabo San Lucas thing, but it didn't really have any technical content.  It was mainly just an account of the Pardeys' encounter with Bernard Moitessier in Cabo a couple days after Joshua was destroyed on the beach.

I did a lot of "research" today though.  As in flipping through boat listings by the hundreds.  It's really a bad habit.  I think you can fantasize yourself right out of ever actually doing anything.  On the other hand I did do it a little more sytematically this time than I have previously, actually making some notes and stuff, so maybe that's legitimate research.

OK, we're going to crash and read the third chapter on Cabo San Lucas.  This one promises to be more technical.

Tonight we read the chapter from The Capable Cruiser on what happened in Cabo San Lucas on December 7, 1982, when something like 30 vessels were driven onto the beach and destroyed.  It was a pretty horrifying thing.

The next couple chapters will delve into what went wrong and what could have been done.  Just on the basis of this chapter, the lessons are:

1. Always listen to the weather reports, even if you're not planning on going anywhere.
2. Always watch your barometer.
3. Choose a berth with plenty of room to swing without fouling adjacent vessels' berths.
4. Be assertive in defending your berth from those who would anchor too close.
5. Develop the seamanship and keep your boat prepared to leave any anchorage under sail.
6. Refill on fuel as soon as you arrive.
7. Use a fairlead that closes over the top of the chain or rode, so that it can't be yanked free and start doing damage to the pulpit if a rough swell develops at anchor.
8. Wear a harness and clip in when working on deck in rough seas, even if it's at anchor.

Great finds online this evening:

• YouTube rental of the Pardeys' 84 min Storm Tactics video for $2.99.  
• A whole bunch more great video content.
• Lin and Larry's site.
• The Complete Sailor

I forgot to mention one other steering trick for cutters which have lost their rudders:  Apparently you can trim your main and jib as you normally would, then steer with the staysail.  I'm not clear exactly how this works but it sounds pretty cool.  I want to try it out.

Travel Doctor

I had a yearly exam today, and told my doctor our plans to sail the world. I told her partly because I like to tell everyone these days (wink), but also because I wanted to discuss any vaccinations we might need to get before we begin and how far in the future I should plan those doctor visits. She told me I needed to act at least 6 weeks before our voyage (so I have a little time), and she also said I should see a Travel Doctor, which I didn't even know existed.

Afterwards I had lunch with my good friend Alyssa and her son Van, and we discussed them meeting us for a visit in the Mediterranean. Talks like that get me so excited to see the world, and SO SO excited that we may have friendly faces from home popping in on us during our adventure. 

In local news, it was a very rainy day in Nederland and Boulder today, something that hardly ever happens! Not that it doesn't rain here, but it never rains all day. Our norm is lots and lots of sun with a brief afternoon shower. Lorelei loved stomping in the puddles. Audrey wanted to join the fun, but refused to wear sensible shoes and instead opted for sparkly pink mary-janes, so after her first splash her feet were soaking wet, and she was a little crabby about it. I hate to admit it, but I was pretty pleased with myself. I was saying in my head "'See, Mama does know best!", but out loud I was saying "bummer sweetie, I guess those shoes aren't made for splashing in puddles".

Progress for Patriot Day 2012; Notes on steering loss from the Pardeys

Progress notes for today:  I posted some pictures to our little Make Me Move listing on Zillow.  Who knows if anything ever comes of those things.  I'm guessing it's pretty rare, but I'm not one leave any option untried.

We read the first half of the chapter in The Capable Cruiser on caring for your marriage aboard.  I'll write up notes on that when we complete the chapter.

We also completed the chapter on coping with a steering failure.  There are some great suggestions in there.

First, and this seems like it would go without saying, but I could absolutely see myself blowing past it in the heat of a lost-steering situation had I not read this chapter, is to immediately address any threat of drifting into other boats or onto a lee shore by dropping anchor if at all possible and heaving to if not. (BTW, I need to read their Storm Tactics book and really get my head around heaving-to, among other things).  They actually described situations they've had like this where, lacking the opportunity to find a nice anchorage, they were forced to heave the anchor over in water so deep they had only a 2:1 scope, but it was sufficient to address the immediate problem.  With that risk triaged, we move on to a cool-headed assessment of the situation and further measures to be taken.

Second is to identify the nature of the failure.  Is it a broken tiller or rudder head?  Is it a failed linkage from a wheel?  Is it a lost rudder?  As an aside, they touch on the importance, when considering taking any boat out on passage, of giving some thought to the complexity of the steering system and ease-of-access in the event of a breakage.  They give the example of a center-cockpit boat they were delivering, with mechanical steering linkages running 20 feet aft behind lockers and beneath the sole to the rudder.  It started to fail and it took an inordinate amount of effort locate and jury-rig the failing components.  I wonder how many modern boats have actual mechanical linkages.  More to the point, I wonder how many of the vintage we're likely to sail.

The simplest solution to lost steering if the rudder is intact is one which will have required some planning ahead:  If you have had the foresight to drill a hole toward the trailing edge of the rudder, then in an emergency, you can run a line through it, tie stopper-knots on each side, and run those lines to cockpit cleats, allowing you to steer effectively by hauling in the line on the side to which you wish to steer.  Even with an inboard rudder, though it will require a quick swim to place the line, this system can be used effectively by running the lines first through forward blocks on each beam and then aft to the cockpit.

In the case of a lost rudder, one might drag a "tail" which can be moved to the aft quarter on whichever side toward which the captain wishes steer.

Finally, one may steer with the sails, balancing the rig's center of effort with the hull's center of resistance and shifting the center of effort fore and aft of the center of resistance in order to fall off or head up, as needed.

As a last item of what seems to me excellent advice, Lin and Larry suggest taking the time in calm conditions to run through exercises simulating situations like these so that the crew is prepared for the real thing should it ever happen.  In the unfortunate event that no such real emergency should ever  in fact transpire, the drill will have nonetheless been a great exercise in teamwork and a great example to the young ones of being prepared for contingencies in life.  Some worthwhile drills to run: man overboard, lost steering, and lost engine.  I'm sure there others that would be worthwhile.  Any suggestions?  Lost nav systems?  Abandon ship drills?  Galley fire?

I posted a "Make Me Move" listing on Zillow (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2117016376_zpid).  If you know anyone who's looking for a great spot in Ned, we'd love to talk.

Here's the blurb:

We love this house, but we're selling everything to sail around the world.  

What will you love about it? 

Will it be gazing at the Continental Divide, Barker Reservoir, and downtown Ned views from nearly every room in the house, including most of the 13ers in the Indian Peaks-- South Arapahoe Peak, Baldy, Neva, Navajo, and Arikaree?

Will it be checking ski conditions at Eldora from the dining room?  You can be riding the Challenger lift fifteen minutes after walking out the front door, and skiing the back glades 30 minutes after that.

Will it be being 5 minutes to West Magnolia mountain bike trails, 15 minutes to the hiking at the Hessie trailhead.  20 minutes to hiking and back-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and extreme sledding at Caribou townsite, 25 minutes to 4-wheeling Mammoth Gulch up the Jame Peak Wilderness, and 30 minutes to Fourth of July trailhead, all while you're only 20 minutes downtown Boulder by car or bus  (with free yearly eco-passes for Nederland residents)?

Will it be watching the moose, hawks, deer, elk, fox, and herons from the deck?

Will it be fishing in Barker right across the street?

Will it be your prime seats on the deck for the annual Independence Day fireworks display over Barker Reservoir?  We always have all our friends over.

Will it be listening to every act at Ned Fest from the patio?

Will it be the southern exposure and superb passive solar?  We actually open the doors on sunny days in January to let some of that solar heat out!

Will it be not having A/C and not needing it?  Your friends in Boulder will be roasting in July, while you enjoy the refreshing mountain breeze blowing through the open doors and windows.

Will it be the 900 square-foot detached garage with its own 28-foot wall of windows overlooking town, the lake and the divide.  I bet you've never had a workshop with such a great view!

Will it be the recent upgrades including: 2 new well pumps, new EnviroFlame pellet stove, new front-loading washer and dryer, new stainless dishwasher, new GE "french door" fridge with bottom drawer freezer, new LG 5-burner range with convection oven, 6-year-old 100-year roof? 

We think you'll love it all!

Perfect spring weather: sunny at the house and dumping at Eldora!

Inspiration Abounds

It seems like everywhere I turn I'm surrounded by inspirational quotes. Not only on the sailing blogs I read, which is to be expected, but from friends, in email, on walls. I don't know if everyone is feeling the need for a little extra inspiration these days or they have always been there and they are just really drawing my attention lately. Most of them seem to be revolving around not having regrets, or not putting off for tomorrow what you can do today, like this one on Windtraveler's website. 

I'm so excited about our dream, and feel like it is turning into so much more than a dream, as we start to make real steps toward making it happen. One of the things that makes it even more real for me is telling my friends and family about our plans. I have been mostly getting great feedback, and words of encouragement (my favorite is when people say they can't wait to visit us!). Occasionally though, I get very skeptical responses (are you sure you can live in such a small space with two kids?!), worried responses (what about pirates, and hurricanes?), and people who are really sad that we are doing this (I will never see you again, or my grandchildren wont know me if you do this). With these nay-sayers, I have found myself letting the guilt and worry sneak in. My Aunt Danielle gave me some great words of encouragement the other day, telling me to stay focused on my family and what was best for them. And thankfully words of encouragement are all around me just when I need them. So, keep the inspiration coming! 

Here is a recent favorite: 

The most dangerous risk of all - The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later -Randy Komisar

Here are a few new pictures, just for the fun of it! 

Audrey's 1st day of Pre-K

Lorelei kept saying 'I see waterfall' 

taking a little hike by Boulder Creek

Moose mama with her twins at the bottom of our road

hiking back from preschool next to Barker Reservoir

Well, it's been a busy weekend.  We read the chapters from The Capable Cruiser on the Pardeys' experience outfitting their second boat and on sail care.  I definitely need to sit down with the book soon and make some notes.

Dad sorted out for me a number of the questions I'd noted earlier on mast-bend, running backstays, clubbed staysails, and the like.  Another sets of things to make notes on before I forget...

We sold a buffet that we inherited for, wait for it... $450.  And I don't even have to deliver it.  Woo-hoo.

I spent a couple hours compiling stats on various models of boats I've heard great things about to start to develop a sense for the significance of various measurements.  I need to finish that up and post it.

I have also completed the first two chapters in World Cruising Essentials on boat length and rigs and am halfway through the chapter on engines.  Next chapter is on gear -- autopilots, windvanes, etc.

I did some investigation into selling a bunch of our books online.  For most items, there's no way to beat the existing low price on Amazon and you still have to pay them to store the item while it sits around unpurchased.  I think the thing is to pick, say, 10 books of recent fiction and sell them as a lot on ebay for 25 bucks or something.

To cap it all off, we watched Captain Ron tonight.  Oh, I know it's no undying classic, but I really love that movie.

So, a pretty strong weekend for the boat project all around...

Are Hunters blue-water-capable?

Jim Bohart says "yes." What do you think?

Swimming to Safety

The girls have started a new swimming class at Ocean First Diving in Boulder. It is great so far! It is really focused on water safety, which I love. I have been thinking a lot about the new safety challenges we will face living on a boat. Instead of worrying about jumping off our deck and rolling down the mountain, we will have to think about falling over board and into the ocean. I think being proficient swimmers and really understanding ways to stay safe in the water is a good step. They really work on fun ways for the kids to remember to roll over on their backs and float if they fall in, and get to the edge as quickly as possible. Audrey was floating on her back by herself, and in Lorelei's class we practiced climbing out alone (elbow, elbow, tummy, knee, knee) and monkey hand walking around the edge.

We read the chapter on dinghies and tenders from The Capable Cruiser tonight.  Takeaways:

• In Baja, South Pacific, and the Indian Ocean, cruisers spend ~85% of their time at anchor.
• Inflatables 
• are more stable which is nice for climbing aboard from the water (after snorkeling, say) and for loading heavy supplies like water.
• Sitting on the side makes for a wet butt.
• Get punctured by rocks, coral, dogs.
• Take a long time to inflate costing precious minutes if you go aground and need to kedge your boat off before the ebb tide.  (What's kedging?)
• Can get blown out to sea if the motor fails (very difficult to row to into the wind)
• Hard boats
• Are more easily rowed, even to into the wind.
• Can be rigged with sails.
• Are much sturdier.
• Are much bulkier.
• Are heavier.
• Are quickly deployed.
• Can be made more stable with the addition of a flotation collar
• Also look at porta-botes.

Question:  Do davits rule out windvanes?  What's the difference between a windvane and an autopilot?

Oh wait...

Maybe raw doors are what we need for the cabinets.

Occupation Circumnavigator: Sailing Around the World looks like a really neat book.  I also added Fibreglass Boats: Construction, gel coat, stressing, blistering, repair, maintenance to the shopping list.

I did a little research over at Home Depot today on various things for getting this house in order.  It seems to me that the key to getting the best price possible must be to make the first impressions as favorable as possible and then fix all the obvious flaws.  For us that means siding, front door, and kitchen for first impressions, and a raft of smaller fixes otherwise, like sanding and painting window frames, installing light fixtures in the garage, repairing our shower walls upstairs, and replacing the flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms.

I saw some nice-looking modular kitchen cabinets for around $200 a piece.  I guess we'd have about 12 pieces to replace.  I have no idea what level of effort is involved with installing something like that.  I think we could put in some new counters relatively inexpensively since they're so small.  So maybe about $3500 including a new sink plus lots of sweat to redo the kitchen, which should look great with all the new appliances we've put in over the past couple years.

I think we should probably also replace our main entry door and frame.  Yeah, that magnet's nice in the winter, but we won't be selling in the winter, and it's distinctly annoying otherwise.  What's a nice exterior cost, about $800?  How hard is it to install?  I'm thinking, "really hard."

Siding looks like it's about $24-$32 per 4x8 sheet.  Here's where it's nice to have a simple rectangular house.  I think about 40 sheets would cover the whole house, and 20 more would take care of the garage.  So about $1800 in siding for both, plus paint or stain and lots of sweat.

We also for sure need to do something about the pantry and the storage in the cabinets.

We tried to read the bowsprit chapter in The Capable Cruiser yesterday.  That was another big "huh?"  I'll need to continue to do some research on the concepts from these chapters to really get them.  Not that I believe it's critical to fully internalize the Pardeys' pontifications on bowsprits and staysails, but I'm guessing that if I want to understand anyone at all on the topics, I'll need to know enough to understand the Pardeys too.

OK, Pardey time.  'night.

Round-up for the first month

Well, we've been writing this blog for just over a month, and we've been pursuing this BHAG since July 22.  Let's pause to review what's happened in that time.

• We've announced our intention to our family and friends.
• We've formulated a concrete plan on how to do it.
• We've begun preparing our house for sale in spring 2013.
• We've sold $180 worth of stuff.
• We've spent $73.61 on sailing books.
• We've listed about $500 more in stuff for sale.
• We've begun posting all those gently-used too-smalls for sale on ebay.
• We've read a chapter a night together of The Capable Cruiser.
• We've identified the basic and wilderness first aid classes available in our area.
• We've started a blog.
• We've made 33 posts in 35 days.
• We've had 695 page views.
• We've identified all the major to-dos for the effort.

We have a tremendous amount left to do.  In the next month, I anticipate that we will:

• Sell most of the large items in our garage.
• Sell most of our baby clothes.
• Finish reading together The Capable Cruiser.
• Finish reading together the story of the Bumfuzzlers' circumnavigation.
• Finish reading World Cruising Esentials.
• Order World Cruising Routes.
• Develop a lot more specific knowledge on cruising vessels. 
• Complete several home projects.
• Continue to write about a post a day.

As Dad always told me growing up, "slow but steady wins the race..."

Family

We went to my Aunt Dani's and Uncle Jim's house for dinner last night and had such a good time. Our cousins came too with their 3 kids. They have a beautiful house on a private lake, with a sandy beach. We were surrounded by family, and it was awesome. The kids took a paddle boat ride, but couldn't figure out how to steer the boat in, so Audrey got pushed in by her cousins. We all took a pontoon boat ride and ate dinner on the beach and then they made a fire so the kids could make s'mores. Jim and Dani really know how to throw a dinner party!!

This brings up one of my worries about cruising for several years. No family. We can't just jump in the car and drive 45 minutes to visit our family. One consolation is that most of our family really enjoys traveling, and have a proven track record of visiting us when we are living far away. When we were in Alaska everyone visited us at least once, and some many many times (My grandmother and dad both visited 5 and 6 times respectively in the 3 years we lived there).  The other side of the coin is, the main reason we decided to move from Alaska to Colorado was in order to be closer to our family. Now, not only will we be saying good bye to them, but also many good friends.

Well, I will quote a line from the bumfuzzlers...we will cruise 'for as long as we are happy doing it'. This adventure has no rules.

Getting More Out of Your Cruising Staysail part 1

We read about half of the chapter "Getting More Out of Your Cruising Staysail" from The Capable Cruiser last night.  Holy smokes!  That is a very technical chapter coming out of the blue in a book that, prior to this, has focused on things like putting two drops of alcohol in your kids' ears to prevent infection.  I about drove April up the wall trying to explain it all to her as we read, and, frankly, as a sloop sailor, barely tracking what they were saying myself.  But I'm actually thrilled to be getting into the meat of the matter.  I 'd never really been clear why one might want a cutter rig, as opposed to a sloop with a big jib and a spinnaker for running downwind.  And I'd always wondered how you were supposed to get your jib around the inner forestay.  So this chapter touched on a lot of that though I'm still largely unclear on much of it.

What I could understand:

• Better performance to windward than a 2-masted rig (why?)
• 3 smaller sails easier to handle and reef than the 2 larger sails on a sloop (really?  how so?)
• Staysail is the most versatile sail on a cruising boat
• On watch alone, simply drop the staysail on deck or hoist it to accomodate changing wind strength
• Staysail plus a reefed main balances better than reefed main and reefed jib both of which move the center of effort forward, causing a lee helm.  The forward shift in center of effort due to the reefed main is counteracted by the shift aft in the center of effort due to the staysail as the jib is dropped. 

What I didn't understand:

• What is releasing the staysail stay?  Where does it go?  Why is that convenient to do with a loose-footed staysail and inconvenient with a boom or club?  And what's a club?
• Why is a staysail with a boom "self-tending" as opposed to a loose-footed staysail?
• What is a release lever?
• What's a tang?  
• Why would the addition of a staysail to a sloop require the addition of "two intermediate supporting shrouds led to chainplates aft of the mast?'  What does adding a stay have to do with adding shrouds?
• What's a running backstay and why would the addition of a staysail require the addition of one, but only on boats larger than 35 ft?
• What causes the mast to bend?