To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.

Team Red Cruising

  • Binnacle Cover

    The 10+ year old binnacle cover finally collapsed. The zipper teeth finally eroded to a point where they wouldn't actually zip. They zipped open one last time.

    567D1001-424C-42E8-AB58-64E91A7F2885 1 105 c
    567D1001-424C-42E8-AB58-64E91A7F2885 1 105 c

    CA made a new one.

    The color scheme doesn't match anything.

    2D939E90-5AD6-4007-8ED7-F55B3A82A60B 1 105 c
    2D939E90-5AD6-4007-8ED7-F55B3A82A60B 1 105 c

    But.

    It was cheap …


  • Replacing the Running Rigging

    Just about every piece of running rigging has a shackle (or a loop) spliced into it.

    So. I've been trying to learn to splice loops into double-braided line.

    4647F496-E79C-4280-A7A4-45CC62A9A16C 1 105 c
    4647F496-E79C-4280-A7A4-45CC62A9A16C 1 105 c

    See Home Handicrafts — Splicing for my first few attempts.

    Here's the mizzen outhaul: white with green.

    I spliced …


  • If it's not one thing, it's another

    Usually, it's the other. This is how one repair tends to expand into more than one.

    Haul out means some slopping around in the slings as they lift Red Ranger up and whisk her away. It also means that she's often blocked with the bottom of the keel level, which …


  • More Home Handicrafts — Three-Strand

    D40C8F54-BD07-4FEE-A75B-60C6AE8F1BB5 1 105 c
    D40C8F54-BD07-4FEE-A75B-60C6AE8F1BB5 1 105 c

    I'm slowly getting the hang of some of the rigging jobs.

    Here's my version of a "Shackle Splice". It's a Crown Knot and then the tails are buried under four turns of the line.

    The splice is (clearly) bigger than the line. It's bigger than the …


  • Bottom Paint, Topside Wash & Wax

    Here's everything we own in the world: boat and truck. It's so rare to see it so close together.

    7E807741-1531-476E-B767-632EB099AA6D 1 105 c
    7E807741-1531-476E-B767-632EB099AA6D 1 105 c ""

    (Okay, there's a mattress and a few boxes of things at Diane's. Except for stray bits of junk, like the camera I'm holding, this is it.)

    0ADCC7F5-A55A-4B7E-BFEB-7DC0CE9A5323 1 105 c
    0ADCC7F5-A55A-4B7E-BFEB-7DC0CE9A5323 …

  • Home Handicrafts — Splicing

    I can do an okay job of whipping. I've tried my hand at seizings. I've woven the anchor chain to the end of the rope rode.

    8728A441-850F-4F24-9122-868638138B2A
    8728A441-850F-4F24-9122-868638138B2A

    But.

    Double-braid splicing?

    I'm working on it.

    More accurately, I'm struggling with it.

    It's not terribly difficult.

    7A7FD0F7-2559-48F9-8B0B-F376F70B9FDC 1 105 c
    7A7FD0F7-2559-48F9-8B0B-F376F70B9FDC 1 105 c

    But. The …



  • The Stove Didn't Spark Joy

    See Preseverence. The gas didn't work on cold mornings. Jeri fixed it by wrestling the hose up into the air to slosh around a drop of condensed, cold propane so the gas could flow past it.

    Before that, however, the electric sparker on the Force10 hasn't worked for a while …


  • World's Noisiest Fan

    E0C7FCED-75BD-4295-BDEB-5BB4B896BF21 1 105 c
    E0C7FCED-75BD-4295-BDEB-5BB4B896BF21 1 105 c

    One of the earliest jobs I did on Red Ranger was replacing a hulking beast of a fan in the aft cabin. It was huge; with a wire cage and blades that had broken and were glued back together. Really.

    This is kind of a mortuary …


  • Solar Panel Life-Spans

    I've been experimenting with solar panels since 2012. (When you think about it, everything on the boat is an experiment waiting for replacement with something better.)

    BLUF

    After about eight years on deck:

    • Obsolete SunForce: not good. No longer sold.

    • Ganz semi-rigid: really good.

    • SunWize semi-rigid: weak.

    • DMSolar 158W rigid …


  • The Anti-Siphon Drippage

    We had a fabulous Groco anti-siphon loop. Emphasis on had.

    37133F3A-F149-4A0B-9C91-9500643E0A73 1 105 c
    37133F3A-F149-4A0B-9C91-9500643E0A73 1 105 c

    It was a big, bronze thing that worked nicely for about 10 years. Then. It developed a tendency to drip.

    If you're not an engine-room nerd, that's wire-reinforced 1″ hose coming into the bottom. ⅝″ coming …


  • Perseverance

    The stove doesn't work. Actually, it doesn't work reliably. You can't fix an unreliable thing without a sensible diagnosis. Why doesn't it work? And diagnostic work is very much a learned art form. Something you learn from others who've been there before you.

    047D9553-6682-4258-BFC4-5E0CA30B1030 1 105 c
    047D9553-6682-4258-BFC4-5E0CA30B1030 1 105 c

    It's all fun …


  • Second (and Final) Head-Ectomy

    Are two heads better than one?

    I've reached my limit on removing marine sanitation devices. There were two heads on Red Ranger, and I've removed them both. That's my personal limit. There's a world of pain in dealing with sanitary hose and (I hope) I'm past wrestling with it.

    The …


  • Teak Maintenance

    The cockpit has teak planks with black caulk. Very traditional looking.

    The teak wears down. The caulk splits away from the wood.

    I've been avoiding this for 10 years.

    963BE18B-5B07-440C-95E2-93DCC6E85564 1 105 c
    963BE18B-5B07-440C-95E2-93DCC6E85564 1 105 c ""

    At first, I thought all the caulk had to be carefully scraped out and replaced. It appears …


  • Deck Fillers

    Lots and lots of boats have Perko brand deck fillers. We don't. I can read "Japan" on the filler cap. And that's about it.

    Is it a Perko clone? Can I buy Perko o-rings?

    It is fundamentally different? What size o-rings do these fillers use?

    I peeled off an o-ring …


  • Solar Upgrades

    The solar panels are about 8 years old. The SunWize 24W panels seem to work, but also seem to be delaminating. It's time to upgrade. There are some nice-looking 55W panels that might fit on the foredeck without getting in the way. The Go Power! Solar Flex Solar Charging Expansion …


  • The Cribbage Board Repair

    Well over sixty years, I wandered around while my dad, grand-dad, and uncle played Cribbage, drank beer, and smoked cigars.

    CA and I have taken to playing a game every day. It's a quiet time together before we dive into reading (or writing or knitting or whatever

    F0974B6D-55AC-4226-98D9-3590930428EF 1 105 c
    F0974B6D-55AC-4226-98D9-3590930428EF 1 105 …

  • Parting Gifts

    The folks I used to work with (back when I had a day job) gave me a parting gift. Burgees.

    545261FE-9129-4F38-93B8-1F67C995FC45 1 105 c
    545261FE-9129-4F38-93B8-1F67C995FC45 1 105 c

    We had a stack of three we'd use for festive occasions:

    • The Whitby-Brewer pennant.

    • The SSCA pennant.

    • The West River Sailing Club pennant.

    Now we have …


  • The Aging Marine Sanitation Device

    We had two lovely Wilcox-Crittenden Imperial 51 MSD's on Red Ranger. We took out one to install a composting head back in 2012 (see "Painful Head-ectomy.")

    8AA24096-EED1-412D-9D7D-FB67AE36E77D 1 105 c
    8AA24096-EED1-412D-9D7D-FB67AE36E77D 1 105 c

    We've kept the other working pretty well considering it's something like 37 years old at this point. It's a heavy …


  • The Hard Dodger

    Here's a temporary hack. I think it will work for a few years. We'll see.

    We have a custom-built "Wave Stopper" hard-topped dodger. See, for example, "Annapolis VI: ‘Done'" for some information on this. It was (7 years ago) a wonderful thing. Sturdy. Dry. Clear windows. Hand-holds. Really nice. For …


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