The resurrection of Can Do III

I have been having an affair with this boat for over twenty years, and know her every nook and cranny. Can Do, the 1982 Wellcraft Californian's maintenance had been in abeyance for several years. Engines were started every now and then, but the economy had largely relegated her to just sitting at dock. Now that things are better, it was decided to resurrect her. An old picture of Can Do was pasted up inside the cabin as a reminder of her more regal appearance, and as a lure of trips to come. Stephen on the bridge is the owner, as well as an old friend. His wife Caryn is on the bow, and Kate and I are standing at the lower helm. The picture is well past a decade old, and I think we were going off to either Tween Waters, or Key West, but I don't really remember.

Hurricane preparedness II

For all of us there are rituals in life, and for those of us living southwest Florida it's tracking and paying attention to tropical storms and hurricanes. In Ohio when you say spaghetti, they think Ragu. We think models. After waking up at 2:00am to check the latest information from NOAA's Tropical Prediction Center, it's often time to take action. The first step is to brave the crowded grocery stores, and stock up on critical essentials. It's always a melee. People fighting over bags of potatoes chips, and ripping jugs of water away from the hapless elderly, who are often armed to the teeth.

Nigerian yachting

From the desk of:
Dr. Gideon Gonad Jr.
Former Finance Minister of Zimbabwe
Plot 745, Ahmadu Bello Way
Lagos Nigeria

Dear Sir.

I am writing to you upon the recommendation of a friend who says you are honest and very trustworthy to assist me in a confidential business transaction. I had accumulated a huge fortune in Zimbabwe dollars due to my former position as finance minister of Zimbabwe. Unfortunately due to politics, very much corruption, and devaluation of my country's currency I find myself now working as an accountant for internet cafes in Lagos Nigeria, trying to give support to my family of 13 children.

The devil did it.

The classical images of the devil are always of an ugly horned brute that uses his pitchfork to herd hordes of shabbily dressed sinners into flaming lakes of lard. I think it's time to forget that image, and face up to reality.

Today's devil is obviously a smart, suave, and urbane gentleman who no longer works in some dirty subterranean cavern. I mean he's been doing his job for a long time, and punishing uneducated medieval serfs, is neither satisfying, or challenging. The world today offers so many creature comforts. So as they say, I think he has moved on up to the east side to that deluxe apartment in the sky. So instead of poking miscreants with pointy things, what does the modern devil really do day to day?

Why the answer is easy. He invents, and designs products that vex all of us. Where do you think things like derivative funds, technical support call centers, Windows Vista, Farmville, Santa Dreidels, and boat designs all come from?

Sarasota slamming adventures

Gordon Daniher's fishing team the "Dirt Draggers" are the most audacious, and hardest working lot I have ever encountered. He had entered the Sarasota Slam fishing tournament in the billfish division, and he had devised an epic plan.

Diel, or no diel?

Is this a big diel, or not? This is the question of the day. What we know is the image was captured in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 150 miles due west of Sarasota Fl. The boat was just on the edge of the continental shelf.

The screen shot was taken in the morning (late February) using a Garmin GSD 26 running on low chirp (sweeping 28kHZ to 60kHz) outputting 3000 watts. The transducer is an Airmar 599LH 25 element in hull unit. You can see the depth. There is a fuzzy broad line at 500'. This is most likely a secondary bottom echo. The line below it, running slightly downhill is our puzzle. The line is about 30' thick. and you are seeing about 11.2 minutes of recorded bottom. The descent rate of the line is 5.3' per minute.

Alluded allision elusive

It's like an itch in a place you can't scratch, and I admit to some level of obsession here. My radar overlay accident story left me somewhat dissatisfied, and I have continued to search for the boat accident mentioned in the rumor. I'm pretty sure there are some truths buried there.

Corroding conversation

There is a conference going on next to me, and I finally have to wander over and listen. The boat had just been pulled, and it's hanging in the slings. The yard supervisor, owner, dealership mechanic, and a couple other hangers-on are in the background. There is a lot gesticulation and finger pointing at both the hole that wan't there 8 weeks ago when the boat came in for a bottom job, and the missing paint. This is a twin engine boat with Volvo dual prop outdrives.

Thank you notes

Sarasota boating news

Sarasota Boating news July round up

Speeders Beware
In an effort to crack down on the epidemic level problem of recklessly speeding boaters leaving wakes behind their boats, local constabulary are testing the use of helicopters equipped with radar guns. With the dramatic expansion of Manatee zone's, most local water speed zones are now confined to 25 mph in the Intercoastal waterway, and idle speeds outside the ICW.

Signage in miles per hours were posted for the Sarasota area because of concerns that "Most boaters here don't understand that nautical mile thing" stated a local official, and we don't either. We just know that we get extra revenue if they are going 25 kts instead of the slower 25 mph. Authorities have been pleased with the results to date.

Wedgie? Really? I'll give you a wedgie all right

This boat builder belonged to a helm design school inspired by drive in movie screen design. Wide and flat is the modus operandi. The problem on this boat is the Furuno NAVnet display is in front of the passengers seat, and the helmsman has to lean over at an awkward angle to see the display. In this little project we are going to make a wedge to give the driver a better view of the display. It should only take a couple of hours to do this with a little pre-planning. Armed with this photo, and I actually had a spare display in the office, off to Delcraft I went. Bob and I chatted a bit, came up with a design, and I left the display with him. A few day later we have a beautiful wedge assembly for less than $140.

Radar overlay heading gyrations

This all started with hearing a rumor about a boat accident, that led to a lawsuit. This caused Raymarine to turn off their system's long existing capability of using GPS generated course over ground data as the radar overlay heading input. This was reinforced by Compass Marine's rant on Panbo that was similar to what I heard.

So I explored the issue, and was initially confused by what I was finding. There is the recently settled patent lawsuit that involved almost all of the big MFD manufacturers. It appeared that since there were aspects of the case that could have involved radar overlay, this could be the culprit. In the end this was not the case, and it was settled by all parties in American GNC's favor.

As for the rumored boat accident, I just couldn't find it. The one that was closest to the described accident was wrapped in somewhat of a mystery. Despite the fact that three souls were airlifted off the vessel, there is zero reference to it in the USCG records. There were lawsuits, but I could find no information regarding them. In the end I had spent way too many hours looking, and I picked up the phone, and called Raymarine.

Yacht certified? Whats that mean?

When I read about the 34' Silverton with 27 souls on board that capsized, my initial reaction was "Clown car". I mean where could you put all of these people on a boat of this size, and what was the boat's rated capacity? It turns out there is no rated capacity for passengers on this vessel. It falls generically into the category of "Yacht Certified", if it was certified at all.

Deep deep deep imaging

It was only a few short years ago if you could find bottom at a thousand feet, you had the best money could buy. Then Chirp happened, and the technology limits are not even fully explored yet. The screen shot of the Garmin GSD 26 sounder module painting bottom at 17,624 feet is just the beginning. To read about this, and see more screen shots, click here to see what Ben Ellison at  Panbo has to say. And read the Garmin Blog about it

Marine troubleshooting

Getting inky

A young mother holds a newborn in a RAF hospital late at night in England. She remembers how vivid and spectacular the stars were that night, and many years later tells her child this. The daughter is intrigued and wants to know what her mother would have seen on the night of her first day. She chased down information on a now long closed air force base. She found pictures of the base hospital, got its orientation, and the lat/long position. The view her mother saw was facing west. An online star almanac was found. Date, time, lat/long and azimuth are fed in, and this is the view of the night sky her mother would have seen. Kate's going to get a tattoo.

Miss Geico offshore racing boat catches fire

The 6000 hp turbine powered 50' Miss Geico caught fire Saturday afternoon during test runs off of Lido Key in Sarasota Fl in preparation for the Sunday Suncoast offshore Powerboat race.

Where do old boats go ?

Where do old boats go is a weighty question. I'm not a religious guy, which I suspect has saved me from a lot of extra guilt in my life. The answer is I really don't know, but I have a theory.

I think they stay with you in your heart and memories. The child will smile as he remembers that wooden ketch surging through blue seas under a crystalline sky. Farewell old boat, you always kept your crew safe, and taught us all how to steer a true course.

Debby Downer

Debby was a downer indeed. The rain started five days ago on a Thursday, and with a vengeance. For four days it never let up, and well over a foot of precipitation fell. Noah was frantically trying to finish his ark, but like all boat projects he was way behind schedule, the site was flooded, and the alligators were hungry and cranky. The radar display was solid dark green with lots of yellows and reds. The alerts were spewing out nonstop on the TV and radio. Brappp, Brappp, Brappp, this is a.... tropical storm, flood, rip tide, thunder storm, tornado, high surf, marine, and four horsemen of the Apocalypse warning. But like all large rains with a name we occasionally get here, life goes on. Banks are open, there is soggy mail in the box, and restaurants are packed with grumpy tourists

Primordial soup

Nothing makes me more nervous than the typical boat's water system. Visions of explosive lumbo trickitis emanating from the lower blowhole, coupled with world class cramps or worse has generally discouraged even my most trivial usage of boat water. I would use it to wash dishes, or take a shower only if there was enough chlorine in it to bleach your hair Jean Harlow white, and sear your nasal cavities. In general, if you haven't make a serious investment in filters, disinfecting systems, and chemicals I think it should never be used for drinking. I know it's an audacious thing to say about your boat's expensive water system, but I think it's the truth. Just look at all the news stories about near death experiences, and severe illness boaters have had after drinking boat water. What? There really aren't any? Why I was sure I would find some. But I didn't, and I know why.

What the..... inverter installation made easy

The first step in doing a DIY inverter install on your boat is to find a 12 VDC source. This is usually a big red wire. A battery switch is a good place to find one. Don't worry at all about it shorting against the common leg of the switch. That thin plastic coating on the handles of the clip is there to insulate them. It looks fine, and is color coordinated. The clip has the appearance of permanence, requires no expensive special ;tools to install it, and has the panache I like to see in a marine electrical installation. You won't need any of those dangerous and unsightly restraints like tie wraps either.

What happened?

Ouch, it's dangling from its hip. A case of being drawn and quartered, gone awry, and it was all done by something, but what? I know most boaters are familiar with rocks, and a few have had some up close and personal experiences with them, me included. But in southwest Florida we don't often see rocks. In place of all those hard objects we just have fluffy white sand that collects on the shores, and a hard packed version that resides in the water. I'm going to apply some marginal journalistic standards here and disclose that my information is second hand from my mechanic friend who was the verbal cell phone based first responder. He dealt with the owner throughout the incident. To protect his identity, I'm going to change his name to Ron White, mostly because he kinda looks just like Ron White. I figure the real Ron White, who actually looks exactly like Ron White won't mind. As the real Ron White says, "I didn't get to where I am today by worryin' about how I would feel tomorrow." I feel the same way, most days anyway.

Suicide terrorist sturgeons threatening Florida.

Florida's governor, and cabinet convened this week in Tallahassee for an emergency closed door meeting to discuss the emerging sturgeon threat. A cabinet official, speaking off the record said, "It's apparent to us that Florida's sturgeons have been infiltrated by some branch of al-Qaeda. Not a single person was injured by a sturgeon in 2010, but we're smart enough to put two plus three together. Osama bin laden was killed in early 2011, and in that same year nearly a dozen sturgeon suicide attacks occurred. This now explains where the sturgeons were over the winter, terrorists training camps."