Memories are made of this

October 2007
Newsletter supplement for subscribers
Memories are made of this
How did you get started sailing?
In the August 2007 newsletter we asked you,
our readers, to tell us how you got started in
sailing. We’d like to print your story in one
of our upcoming newsletters.
With fathers and mentors . . .
Here’s what Jim Caskey of Rockville, Maryland, had to say on that subject:
At 10 years of age, I first sailed with my
father in a canvas-covered gaff-rigged boat of
a dozen or so feet on Stoney Creek, a tributary
of the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore. (Earlier I had fished with him and my great-grandfather from rented rowboats on sounds of
the Jersey shore near Atlantic City. Later, he
pulled me on waterskis from our home-built
kit runabout with a 16-hp Mercury outboard.)
Alone, I sailed well downwind. But tacking
was another story. The boat’s lightweight, large
sail area/displacement ratio, unballasted
short copper fin keel — along with my fear
of capsizing and lack of skill — all conspired
against me when working to windward. A local racer, Harold “Buzz” White, took me under
his wing in the 1950s and let me help sail his
boat: Gale, a 52-foot engineless sloop. We’d
sail on Friday night from Stoney Creek where
we both lived, through the Ft. Smallwood
Road drawbridge, down the bay to the Annapolis area for racing on Saturday, and back
home again that night or on Sunday.
Gale had a canvas cabinroof, which
required frequent painting to keep it weathertight; it often had tacky paint and fresh dew
as we cast off lines on Friday evening. Buzz
also taught me how to splice. I did all the
splicing — mostly in hemp, cotton and linen
— on Gale and his subsequent boats, Temerity and Valiant.
My father and Buzz were equally competent and patient in teaching me about
the proper use of tools, “make-do” repairs,
preventive maintenance, creativity, resourcefulness, and other facets of self-sufficiency
— a hallmark of good old boat sailors — that
have served me well for a half-century. My
father’s reminders about the “right tool for
the job” and Buzz’s complaints about working
with stainless steel echo in my mind when I’m
working on my good old boat, Touch of Glass,
a 1974 Dufour 27-foot Safari dinette model,
which I’ve owned since 1979.
Inside this issue
In the news .............................2
Calendar.................................3
Looking for.............................4
Book reviews ..........................6
Baby, this boat’s
got soul (err, sole)! ................8
Mail buoy ...............................8
Excerpt from
The Practical
Encyclopedia of Boating ....12
Jim Caskey
With uncles and buddies . . .
Joe Bishop of Covington, Louisiana, has
this story about getting started in sailing:
Shortly after WW II, when I was a boy,
very poor, living with my mother and younger
sister in a tenement in Springfield, Mass., my
uncle rented a cottage for us for one week in
Continued on Page 2
What’s coming in November?
How to contact us
Michael Facius, Editor
612-605-8319
michael@goodoldboat.com
Jerry Powlas, Technical Editor
jerry@goodoldboat.com
For the love of sailboats
Just for fun
• Learning to sail
• Closing my husband’s shop
• A day on Chesapeake Bay (photo spread)
Pat Morris, Production Editor
651-797-3801
parmorris@comcast.net
Speaking seriously
What’s more
Good Old Boat Magazine
7340 Niagara Ln. N.
Maple Grove, MN 55311-2655
763-420-8923
763-420-8921 (fax)
http://www.goodoldboat.com
• Catalina 30
• Cal 30
• Tenders (kayaks and folders)
•
•
•
•
•
Docklines 101
Bluewater-capable yacht, Part 3
Install a hot shower
Make sure the current flows
Settee and table conversion
• Simple solutions: Single-handed MOB ladder; Scraper in a pinch
• Quick and easy: Wedge of silence; Stowage
solution; Anchor chain scrubber; Bucket job
How did you get started sailing, Continued from Page 1
Chatham on Cape Cod. A small boatyard was located on the
property, owned by the Dunbar family, I believe.
The Dunbars had a son, a year or two older than I was, who
invited me to sail and race with him on his catboat and his
Lightning on Mill Pond and Stage Harbor. We even capsized
during a jibe while racing. What a glorious week!
I did not sail again until after I was discharged from the
Marine Corps and was attending law school in New Orleans
during the ’60s. Some friends, who knew less than I did about
sailing, acquired an old wooden 40-foot sloop. They invited me
to go sailing because they believed all New Englanders must
know how to sail. (The night before meeting them at the dock,
I read a library book on sailing, thereby making me the most
knowledgeable man on the boat.) I’ve continued to race and
cruise ever since that time.
I have owned many boats, served as commodore, USYRU
judge, and PHRF handicapper, cruised the Caribbean and in
the Pacific, and I expect to set sail on an extended voyage as
soon as I finish refitting my present boat . . . and all because of
the kindness of my uncle and a young boy from Chatham.
Joe Bishop
With inspiration from others . . .
Ted Rensland credits Carlton Mitchell as the inspiration for
his earliest sailing dreams:
It was with great sadness that I just read of the passing of
Carlton Mitchell on July 16 at the age of 96. (Note: See associated comments in the section below –Eds.) Although I never
met the gentleman, Carlton Mitchell was the reason that I have
a good old boat and am sailing today. Please let me explain.
In 1958, I was enthralled with the National Geographic
magazine, which my parents had subscribed to for many years.
I took many trips to faraway places through its pages. Then
one day a new issue arrived with an article titled “To Europe
with a Racing Start.” It chronicled the adventures of Carlton
Mitchell as he first entered the Newport-to-Bermuda race (and
won) and then proceeded across the Atlantic Ocean in Finisterre, his beloved 38-foot yawl. To a boy of 14, this was pretty
heady stuff, the things daydreams are made of.
The fire was lit, culminating in a plan to convert whatever
rowboat (that we were going to get along with the cottage that
Dad was renting for a week that summer) into a sailboat by
means of clamp-on rudder, leeboards fitted to the oarlocks,
and a mast and boom made from roosting poles from the old
henhouse, properly painted out with brown paint and white
trim, and a sail made from an old Japanese parachute that had
been “liberated” from a warehouse in Tokyo by my uncle in the
last days of World War II.
With Dad’s help, albeit with much skepticism, we assembled
it on the boat when we got to the cottage. To the amazement
of both of us, the darned thing actually worked! Of course it
wouldn’t point worth a darn, but it did manage to beat across
(sorta), and run with, the wind.
Thus was born a love of sailing and the sea resulting in four
years in “Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club” during the ’Nam era, which
allowed me the opportunity to make a circumnavigation, cross
the equator, and receive a two-year humanities course in about
six months via the ports of call that we made. As soon as I got
out in 1968, I started building a small Sunfish-type boat from
plans in Popular Mechanics. (Yup, I used the same parachute
sail). Then came a career in the Grand Rapids Fire Dept. and a
12-foot wooden lapstrake daysailer that was seakindly enough
to haul me, along with a wife and a very hesitant Irish setter,
out through the breakwater in Holland, Michigan, and on down
the coast about two to three miles for picnics and swimming.
Personal reasons came up, and I sold the boat and “went into
drydock” for about 25 years until last year, when I came back
to the water once more.
I am now retired after 35 years in the fire service and have
See Pferd, a 22-foot Seafarer. We are again in search of new
waters and new adventures, even if it’s only out to Lake Michigan for another picnic. This love of sailing and all it entails, I
owe to a long-ago article by Carlton Mitchell that prompted a
14-year-old boy to dream.
Ted Rensland
In the news
The passing of another legend
As the last newsletter went to press, we learned that Carlton
Mitchell, a sailing legend, died in late June at the age of 96.
Carlton’s name will be forever entwined with Finisterre,
designed by Olin Stephens, as well as with Carib, John Alden’s
Malabar XII, and Caribee, designed by Phil Rhodes. A writer
as well as a sailor, he wrote several books, including Islands
to Windward, Passages East, Beyond Horizons, Isles of the
Caribbees, and The Wind Knows No Boundaries.
Carlton won three consecutive Newport-to-Bermuda Races,
three SORC championships, two Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing
Association high-point trophies, and was the navigator aboard
the 12-meter yacht, Weatherly, for the early trials of the 1958
America’s Cup. This outstanding writer, photographer, and
yachtsman will be missed.
For more information about this remarkable man, refer to
these sites: <http://www.cruisingworld.com/under-way/endof-an-era-53307.html> and <http://bermudarace.com/Default
Permissions/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/28/Default.aspx> and
<http://www.mysticseaport.org/Library/Manuscripts/coll/
coll250/coll250.html>.
MyBoatsGear.com
Another new boating site is born every day. Here’s one worth
looking into: MyBoatsGear.com is a boating gear resource for
boaters. Mike Hobson, founder of the site, points out that the
site does not sell products, so it can provide information and
user reviews without bias. While it will not evaluate products,
the site will publish opinions offered by boaters who use the
products. In addition, Mike is offering a regular newsletter
with new gear and trends.
A former boatbuilder and boat broker, Mike says, “Manufac-
2 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
turers do not pay to place their products on the site. Our aim is
to provide the information on what’s available, new, interesting, different, and sometimes extraordinary.”
Nominations Sought for Rod Stephens Trophy
The Cruising Club of America is seeking nominations for
its annually awarded Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding
Seamanship. It was presented to the CCA by 21 of Stephens’
shipmates and friends as a perpetual trophy to recognize an
act of seamanship that “significantly contributes to the safety
of a yacht or one or more individuals at sea.”
Suggestions and candidates from all nations and in all aspects of boating are welcome. The deadline for nominations is
October 15, 2007. To submit a nomination, contact Robert Van
Blaricom, Awards Chairman, 679 Hawthorne Drive, Tiburon,
CA 04020, or janebobvb@comcast.net.
Do you have TV aboard?
Don Launer, a former TV master control engineer with ABCTV, writes to tell us:
Sailors who have an on-board television that receives its signal off-air from a mast-mounted TV/FM antenna, will find that
their TV may no longer work soon. In February 2009, the normal
analog TV service, which we have used since the 1940s, will be
eliminated and replaced with digital broadcasting. If your TV is
not equipped to receive digital TV, a converter will be necessary.
If you use cable-TV at a marina or have satellite-TV — using
either an on-board or dock-mounted dish — this converter box
will not be necessary since this conversion will be incorporated into that paid-for service. If your on-board TV was purchased several years ago, however, and you receive programs
from a TV antenna, chances are that a converter will be neces-
sary. Most of these converters cost less than $100.
Since July 2006, digital tuners have been required on all TV
sets over 35 inches and, since March 2007, all TVs have been required to include a digital tuner. However, a dealer’s inventory
of non-digital TV sets can still be sold.
If your old TV has an input for a converter box, then that’s
the easy answer. Alternately, you can use another appliance,
such as a digital video-cassette recorder or DVD player, that
contains a digital tuner to feed into your analog TV.
For more on the changeover: <http://dtv.gov>.
Recreational boating threat
BoatU.S. reports that every recreational craft, including
dinghies, may be treated like large ships, which must carry
a permit for normal operational discharges. Further information can be found on the BoatU.S. website <http://boatus.
com/gov>:
For 34 years the federal Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has exempted discharges from recreational boats from
the Clean Water Act permit system. Regretfully, a recent court
ruling cancelled this permit exemption. The EPA is required by
the court decision to develop and implement, by September 30,
2008, a national permit system for all vessels in the U.S.
We have been working to get the exemption reinstated for
recreational boats. Fortunately, the Recreational Boating Act
of 2007 (H.R. 2550) has been introduced by Representatives
Gene Taylor (D-Miss) and Candice Miller (R-Mich) which
would protect recreational boats from being swept into this
unnecessary and expensive permitting system.
It is critically important that H.R. 2550 be passed. Please
contact your congressman and senators today to ask that they
support H.R. 2550.
Calendar
Exhibit celebrates Jerry Milgram
Annapolis Boat Show
The innovative career of Jerry Milgram, an MIT ocean engineer who designed the last U.S. winner of the America’s Cup,
pioneered oil spill cleanup, and investigated dozens of notorious marine accidents as a “sea-going Sherlock Holmes,” is the
focus of an exhibition in the MIT Museum’s Compton Gallery
through February 3, 2008. For more, go to <http://web.mit.
edu/museum/exhibitions/compton.html>.
October 4-8, 2007
Annapolis, Md.
For more information on the 38th United States Sailboat Show,
go to <http://www.usboat.com>. The Good Old Boat folks will
be there in Booth N-3. See you there!
ABYC offers a certification courses
November 9-11, 2007
Melbourne, Fla.
The 32nd Annual Melbourne Convention and Annual General
Meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at the Eau
Gallie Civic Center (EGCC). For more information or to register online, go to <http://www.sscca.org> or call 954-771-5660.
The courses include diesel engine, marine corrosion, and basic
marine electric. Dates, location and course descriptions can be
found at <http://www.abycinc.org/calendar/indes.cfm>.
Glen-L Gathering of Boatbuilders
October 26-28, 2007
Lake Guntersville State Park
Guntersville, Ala.
Builders from the Boatbuilder online forum have organized
this first-ever event. For more information, contact Gayle
Brantuk at 562-630-6258 or go to their website: <http://www.
Glen-L.com>.
Seven Seas Cruising Association – Melbourne
Convention
Toronto International Boat Show
January 12-20, 2008
Toronto, Canada
The 50th annual Toronto International Boat Show will be held
at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place. More information can be found at <http://www.torontoboatshow.com>.
3 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
Looking for
Poacher update
The amazing thing about the “Good Old Boat community of
sailors” is that it is a community with a great deal of knowledge spread over many experienced sailors. Together we
are a formidable database. The Looking For column in this
newsletter scores answers about long-forgotten boats and
logos with regularity. The note below, published in the February 2007 newsletter but still posted online (and, therefore,
cataloged by the search engines’ spiders), is a good example.
Early this year Dave vanZon wrote:
Symbol help
I just got a sail with
a logo I don’t recognize and I didn’t see
it on your sailboat
class association
list <http://goodold
boat.com:8080/
GOBWeb/GOBAssociations?search_heading=1>. Does anyone
know what it is?
Salty Rob
saltyrob@hotmail.com
Poacher 6.4
I am trying to find a Freedom Cat-Ketch called Poacher 6.4; I
have a story plus pictures published in 1980 in Boat Test magazine from England. I also have a story plus pictures from the
July 1, 1982, Boston Globe, saying it was built by Willie Richardson of Liverpool, England, and by Parker Dawson Corp. in
Hingham, Massachusetts. I have built a 40-inch model from
the pictures in the stories. However, mast size, dagger board
placement, and cabin layout are still questions. I would like to
find someone who owns one, or has pictures or old prints. Is it
possible you can help me?
Parts for Palmer engines
We have had a request for information about getting parts for
Palmer engines. Palmer made a 4-cylinder flathead engine,
which was installed in some good old boats. It was similar to
the Atomic 4. Anyone out there who knows about getting parts
for the Palmer, please contact me.
Jerry Powlas
jerry@goodoldboat.com
Sea Scooter info wanted
Dave vanZon
I have an old sailing dinghy that used
to be raced in the Seattle area. It’s
called a Scooter and I’m pretty sure it
was used by the Sea Scouts.
The name plaque says, “Monty
Morton’s Seattle Sea Scooter.” My
father purchased it in the ’60s. I have
found little info online. Has anyone
heard of this boat?
Recently we heard from Richard Gooderick:
Poacher details
I was Googling “Poacher” and came across this letter in your
February edition. If Dave has an email address, I will be pleased
to send him some photos of my Poacher. I probably have the
contact details for the designer somewhere at home too. And I
have a copy of the original brochure. It’s a fun little boat.
Richard Gooderick
We did not have an email
address for Dave (he had
mailed his request.) But
we did mail Richard’s response to the address that
was listed in the February issue. There has been
no further follow-up. Let
us hope that contact was
made!
Christine Vasshus
Christine_b_1967@yahoo.com
Where are Dave Autrey’s cutters?
Dave Autry may not have been formally trained as a boatwright,
but he instinctively knew what a good boat should look like.
Anyone who has ever seen one of his BlueWater 14s or Blackwatch 19s will agree there is just something “right” about them.
Some people are blessed that way: they see something in their
mind’s eye and somehow manage to recreate that vision with
their hands. It all seems completely enigmatic. How could a
printer build boats like these?
Good Old Boat magazine is partially responsible for my
obsession with these classic little cruisers. I first saw one in
2003 on Lake Champlain. If she had been resting at anchor out
in the bay, I might have escaped with little more than an appreciation of a neat little boat out there. Instead, she rested on a
cradle in the Lighthouse Marina boatyard, waiting for a buyer.
As she was out of her natural element, I was able to view the
complete shape Dave had crafted, both above and below the
waterline. I was immediately smitten. After returning home,
my first Internet search turned up the Good Old Boat website
and the January 1999 issue featuring Gerry Cotter’s Ocarina,
#73. I’ve been a subscriber ever since.
For the next few weeks I spent many hours researching
the boat and was rather surprised at how little information
4 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
A changing market and increasing
was available. No listings appeared
difficulty procuring the quality hardon any of the classified pages; there
ware used in his designs eventually
didn’t seem to be any other published
articles; and most Internet search
drove the decision to stop accepting
new boat orders in April 1981. The final
requests returned links to the famous
British Infantry Regiment or tartan
three boats were completed on July 9,
1981. Before Dave closed up shop, 81
plaid clothing. The only other site I
stumbled upon that offered anything
Blackwatch Cutters and 44 gaff-rigged
BlueWaters had been completed.
at all was Shorty Pen’s Pocket Cruiser
Guide <http://www.shortypen.com/
After several months, my initial
preoccupation with the boat on Lake
boats/pocket/>, which had three BlackChamplain moderated somewhat.
watch photos.
My more pragmatic self managed to
The Good Old Boat site listed Phil
convince my more impetuous side
Thullen as the owner’s association
that the last thing I really needed was
contact, and I was able to reach him.
a sailboat. There were so many more
Phil had very little additional informaimportant concerns — my job, college
tion to offer. However, he did share
tuitions, household expenses — excitDave Autry’s email address. Dave and
I have exchanged many emails since,
ing things like that. Besides, I’d never
and he always seems genuinely pleased
actually sailed before! Purchasing my
to share information on his boats, Bluefirst boat and learning to sail at age 50
Water Boatworks, and any other topic. The Blackwatch design will have been with us for 30 seemed too much akin to a midlife criyears in 2009. It would be a wonderful tribute to Dave sis for my comfort. Most men just buy
BlueWater Boatworks of Amarillo,
Texas, began as a happy accident. Dave Autry and his boats if a gathering of the fleet and apa motorcycle and stop getting haircuts!
In time, I began to believe that I was
was hand-building a boat that was
propriate anniversary celebration can be organized,
destined to become the BlueWater for
completely over the urge to buy the
but where are the boats? Please contact Dave
boat, any boat. It was a painful process
his kids. The hull design — rendered
McFate, pictured above in his own Blackwatch.
completely without the typical lofting
not unlike the twelve steps advocated
by Alcoholics Anonymous: “Hi. My name is Dave and I really
— caught the attention of some locals, and several offered to
purchase one of the boats, if he would be willing to build more.
want to buy a Blackwatch cutter . . .”
I managed to get through it without too much emotional
With an apparent demand for the design, Dave used his origidamage. I remained “sober” for over a year, but then the May
nal hull as a plug, manufactured a mold for additional boats,
2004 issue of Good Old Boat arrived in my mailbox. Ocarina
and BlueWater Boatworks was launched.
Dave completed the first BlueWater 14 in February 1977. Dewas on the cover. To say I fell off the wagon would be a gross
mand for the boats was encouraging and a larger version was
understatement; I went completely nuts! Once again, I was
plunged into a frantic effort to secure a Blackwatch for myself.
soon in the works. The Blackwatch hull would be about 4 feet
longer than the BlueWater with a waterline length of 17 feet 6
A logical reaction? Probably not. A textbook example of male
midlife crisis? Perhaps. But I really didn’t care. Russ Downinches. The boat was originally envisioned as a cat ketch with
free-standing fiberglass masts. Efforts to turn out the tapered
ing’s boat was still available, and a deal was struck. Thus it
fiberglass masts were not entirely successful, therefore Blackwas that #77 was trailered to Ohio from Lake Champlain later
that summer.
watch #1 was initially rigged with two stayed aluminum masts.
During the next two summers I worked on the boat, read evThis first boat was completed early in 1979. Although the ketch
sailed beautifully, the masts proved to be unstable, and Dave
erything I could find about sailing, and carried on a lively cordecided to change the rig to the now familiar and wonderfully
respondence with Dave Autry. It’s been a privilege to be able
romantic cutter configuration.
to talk things over with the designer/builder. Many late hours
There is still some confusion on what the boats should apwere also invested trying to locate as many other Blackwatch
owners as possible to compare notes and swap stories.
propriately be called. BlueWater Boatworks originally marketThe result of that effort has been both exhilarating and
ed the boats as the Blackwatch 24; in fact, the serial number
disappointing. I have managed to locate only eight of Dave’s 81
of each boat begins with BWH24. This is interesting since the
cutters thus far.
specifications list the overall length as 22 feet 7 inches, and a
So, where are the other 73 Blackwatch Cutters? If
length on deck of 18 feet 6 inches. However, total length from
you have one berthed next to you, please let the owners know
the tip of the bowsprit to the trailing edge of the rudder was
we’re looking for them. If you own one, or if you used to own
just under 24 feet. According to Dave, calling the design a 24
one, I’d truly love to hear from you.
was primarily a marketing move. Dave incorporated only the
highest quality hardware in his boats and, as a result, they
Dave McFate
were more expensive than competitor’s boats of similar hull
12820 Schreiber Rd.
length. The list price for a Blackwatch was $15,000 in 1981,
Valley View, OH 44125
more in line with the cost of a typical 24-footer.
djmcfate@adelphia.net, davem@iotech.com
5 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
Book reviews
Lessons from My Good Old Boat, by
Don Launer (Sheridan House 2007; 288
pages; $23.95)
Review by Karen Larson
Minneapolis, Minn.
It is a true pleasure working with Don
Launer as a member of the Good Old
Boat team. His articles go back almost to
our first issue, since it was very early in
our formation that he discovered us. We
recognized immediately the great value
of Don’s contributions and made him a contributing editor
without having met him in person.
Later, we did meet at a boat show, and some time after that
we spent several days with Don when we decided to feature
this very competent sailor and the boat he built from a bare
hull. The story of Don and Delphinus appears in our January
2006 issue.
Within an hour spent aboard Delphinus, my husband and
magazine co-founder, Jerry Powlas, fell deeply in love with
Don’s Lazy Jack 32. This is a boat which sails as it should and
is set up and outfitted as one should be for minimal effort and
maximum sailing. From bow to stern, Delphinus is a clear
testament to Don’s skills as a craftsman and sailor.
The great many articles he has prepared for Good Old Boat
also speak volumes (if you’ll pardon the pun) about Don’s
ability to communicate the knowledge he has gained over
many decades spent sailing. And they say even more about the
breadth and depth of this sailor. He is a master in every way,
and we’re delighted to offer a regular forum for Don Launer
and his nautical talents.
This collection of the articles he has written over the years,
mostly but not solely for Good Old Boat, makes the scope of
his experience evident. Upon thumbing through this book, you
are likely to ask, “Is there any nautical theme Don hasn’t yet
addressed?”
We hope the answer will be, “Yes,” although we have the
same nagging doubts you do. If, after a lifetime of sailing and
boatbuilding, he has left nothing out of this collection of his
work, what remains for the next issue of Good Old Boat and
the one after that? As you enjoy this book, think of this as one
collection which will eventually need an update. Like all good
old boats, it is a work in progress. We hope Delphinus has
many more lessons in store for Captain Don Launer.
A Step by Step Guide to the Basics
of Sailing with Penny Whiting, by
Bennett Marine Video (newly available
in the U.S. 2007; 80 minutes; $34.95)
Review by Karen Larson
Minneapolis, Minn.
For those who have sailed a time or two
and are committed to learning more
about our favorite water-based activity,
Bennett Marine Video has introduced
a practical sail-training DVD that was first produced in New
Zealand. Called A Step by Step Guide to the Basics of Sailing
with Penny Whiting, this 80-minute movie features wellknown New Zealand sailor and instructor, Penny Whiting.
A longtime sailing school owner, Penny has perfected her
training course, starting with parts of the boat, knots, and fittings and moving on to bending on the sails, getting underway,
and hoisting sail. She covers points of sail, tacking and jibing,
reefing the main and hanking on jibs as well as using a furler,
handling a man-overboard emergency, and much more.
Penny delivers all these concepts in a simple, matter-of-fact
manner and demonstrates how easy it is to learn the skills by
having three students aboard her training vessel. These students are learning as she demonstrates sailing skills for them
as well as for the audience behind the video camera. This is a
good tactic; most new sailors are likely to feel that if these students can learn to tie a bowline, bend on and hoist the main, or
tack and jibe, so can they.
One of the nicest parts of Penny’s presentation is that
lovely New Zealand accent but, at the same time, because she
is from New Zealand her U.S. DVD students are put at a small
disadvantage. This is only because her sailing terminology and
even her methodology varies to a slight degree from ours. She
ties a reef knot when we tie a square knot. Not a problem. But
who knew that we’d run a figure-eight-style cleat hitch around
a horn cleat differently than they do in New Zealand? Still,
sailing is sailing the world over, and Penny is out to increase
the number of sailors no matter what country they call home.
We’re in favor of that!
I wouldn’t recommend this DVD for someone who is totally
unfamiliar with sailing. It’s not a true introductory video;
there’s too much detail presented in 80 minutes for the true
novice. But I would highly recommend this DVD for someone
who has been exposed to sailing and wants to learn more.
World Voyagers, the True Story of a
Veterinarian, a Renaissance man, and
Stewart the Cat, by Amy P. Wood, Philip
J. Shelton and Stewart P. Wood (Book Orchard Press, Inc., 2007; 432 pages; $29.95)
Review by Susan Lynn Kingsbury
Moreno Valley, Calif.
Author Amy Wood stated that she wanted
to write a book that told the true story
— not one with fluff — and she indeed
accomplishes this feat with World Voyagers, an all-encompassing detailed account of a three-year circumnavigation aboard
Iwalani.
Although this book is lengthy, it reads like a daily log or blog
(which is where Amy and Phil originally posted the details of
their trip online), and it allows the reader to ultimately become
part of the crew, sailing right along with Phil, Amy and Stewart. It’s easy to forget you’re just “reading” about being places
like the Bahamas, Jamaica, Panama, the Marquesas, Australia
and South Africa (just to name a few), as Amy unequivocally
“takes you there.”
6 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
She shares all the joys, pitfalls, sights, smells, experiences,
and enough of herself with us to make us feel like we really are
encountering the adventure firsthand. You’ll feel the seasickness she hides from her husband Phil, find yourself waking up
every four hours to do your watch, and even crying along with
them when they lose their beloved pet at sea.
But you’ll also feel the warm sun on your skin as you sail
naked in the tropics, see waters in multiple amazing shades of
blue, meet interesting people from all corners of the world, and
get up close and personal with lions and many other furred,
feathered, and finned wildlife. Then, once in home port again,
you’ll feel a true sense of accomplishment.
Well, actually, it’s Amy and Phil who succeed in doing something they had a burning desire in their hearts to do. “It was a
goal we could not abandon,” Amy writes.
They see it through — and you are right there with them.
And despite all the obstacles, from an ex-wife and family who
need them at home, to health issues and uncooperative winds,
weather, and currents, Amy and Phil not only chase the wind to
fulfill their dream, but succeed in catching it and telling the tale.
Don’t expect a lot of flowery language and poetic descriptions of this three-year trek. What you will get, though, is a
100-percent, hands-on, authentic account of bluewater sailing.
Whether you are a coastal cruiser, bluewater cruiser, sailing
novice, or just enjoy reading about a great adventure, you are
guaranteed to enjoy sharing Amy, Phil, and Stewart’s journey
across the deep blue sea.
Hard Aground…Again: Inspiration
for the Navigationally Challenged and
Spiritually Stuck, by Eddie Jones
(Winoca Press, 2006; 148 pages; $14.95)
Review by Kristen Brochmann
New York, N.Y.
In Hard Aground . . . Again, Eddie Jones
sends dispatches from the creeks, mudflats and sounds of the Carolina coast. The
chapters are gathered from his magazine columns and can be
read as separate stories. Fans of Dave Barry will understand
the southern comic voice that Eddie uses very well. He is part
good ol’ boy and part tent-revival preacher, telling stories
about hapless navigation, cranky outboards, and other cruising foibles and drawing life lessons from them. He tells these
stories in an easy conversational tone, as if the reader were
sitting next to him on the rusted Wal-Mart lawn chairs that he
uses for deck seats while watching the sun go down over the
swamp grass and hummocks.
In the prologue he calls himself a “recovering boataholic”
who wishes “boating wasn’t my passion.” His dreams of blue
water and distant islands are grounded by a large family and a
small bank account. But he lives the dream as much as he can
in whatever boat he can borrow from friends or “borrow” from
the bank. He makes the best of tough situations that occur
frequently, mostly because of his lackluster navigation.
When the bank takes back a boat, he makes do with a
friend’s Sunfish. That his anchorage is a mud flat or that he
seems to hit every sandbar and crab pot in the Neuse River
leaves him undaunted. He is the cheapest guy in the marina,
known well by the gas dock owner and waitress at the local
diner. These setbacks inspire him to see the larger picture as
reflected in his Christian faith. He reminds himself that Saint
Paul, in his cruise around the Mediterranean, had to swim to
shore more than once after a shipwreck. The point is that “running aground is nothing to be ashamed of, but staying stuck is.”
He applies lessons to each story. Talking about his experiences with VHF and NOAA weather reports, he says, “intercessory prayer can be a little like the VHF radio,” and he offers a
list of tips on radio use, many of which “can be applied to your
prayer life as well.”
The invocations to prayer and Christian life lessons are
not for everyone. Some do not go to the nautical bookshelf for
Christian meditation and prayer focus. But if readers want
their humor straight, they can skip the last few paragraphs and
still get a good yarn with a Carolina flavor. And besides, a little
prayer and Scripture can’t hurt. You never know from where
inspiration might come.
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7 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
Baby, this boat’s got soul (err, sole)!
Once again, we didn’t see the “big picture”
by Karen Larson
I
DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO.
I SELDOM DO. ONE
innocent thing often leads to another not-so-innocent one.
Life’s like that.
Mystic, our C&C 30 Mk I, has a very practical standard
cabin sole made of a fiberglass pan with deck-style non-skid
built in. No teak and holly for her. I love the look of teak and
holly, but at least we don’t have to worry when we drop down
into Mystic’s cabin wet and dripping or when the entire interior runs with condensation.
So I was unprepared for the series of events with our project boat, the C&C Mega 30, which sits in our backyard undergoing a transformation. She has a floor grating similar to what
you might find in some cockpits. This grating had withstood 20
years of traffic and was looking rather battered.
It became my job to renew the Mega’s sole while Jerry
messed about with the more serious tasks of designing and
building two water tanks, a holding tank, and bulkheads; installing plumbing, wiring, and a motor mount and PowerTiller
modification; and managing other technical matters.
One summer while we were cruising in Ontario’s North
Channel, I heard about the Ultimate Sole products from a Wisconsin sailor. Roger Lautenbach is a true woodworker and a
fussy boatowner. When he said he was nuts about the Ultimate
Sole product and demonstrated its non-slip characteristics
while standing in socks in his cabin on a 40-percent incline, I
became a believer.
So at the Annapolis boat show that fall, I met Frank Brennan of Ultimate Marine Products and took home what it would
take to refinish our cabin grating. Nearly a year went by before
it was time to do this work, as other projects inched along in
the interior of the Mega.
At last my turn came. I read the instructions on the cans,
consulted the Ultimate Marine website <http://www.ultimatesole.com>, and had a phone conversation with Frank. In all of
this, I was interested in doing the project correctly so that the
non-slip characteristics of this magic chemistry wouldn’t be
compromised in any way.
Never did I consider that this floor grating was about to look
like a million-dollar sole on a good old boat worth a mere fraction of a million. But by the time I had applied the last coat of
this incredible material, my whole attitude about the Mega had
changed. The Ultimate Sole High Gloss Finish flowed on like
satin with very few of the hassles of varnish, self-leveled without
between-coat sanding, and looked like, well, a million dollars.
I never thought that anyone might ever enter the cabin of the
Mega, look around, and exclaim, “I love your cabin sole!” But
now I realize that they might. As I was applying that final gorgeous coating, I began pondering philosophical questions such
as, “Is the rest of our work on this boat up to this level?” and
“Does a ten-thousand-dollar boat deserve a million-dollar sole?”
And finally, when it was installed in the boat, I asked Jerry
quite seriously, “We’re not really going to walk on this, are we?”
As for its non-slip properties, those remain untested until
the project boat is launched. But the safety aspect of the Ultimate Sole is the reason I started down this slippery slope.
Wait! Scratch that last sentence. The safety aspect of the
Ultimate Sole is the reason I started down this path.
Mail buoy
About that Black Fly dinghy . . .
I was reading the article by Richard Smith, “The Joy of Rowing” (July 2007), and would love to find a set of plans for the
Plat Montfort Black Fly he talks about building. I searched the
Internet forever and failed to come up with anything.
Curt Daggy
Richard Smith responds
It’s been about seven years since I ordered a set of plans from
Platt Montfort for his elegant little Black Fly (a.k.a. Buffalo
Gnat) dinghy. You can find information on plans for this and
other geodesic boats online from <http://www.gaboats.com/
boats/blackfly8.html>.
Bear in mind, though, that these are fabric-covered boats
and considerable work is required to convert the drawings to
other forms of construction. I built forms from the body plan
as a basis for ¼-inch strip planking that I covered with epoxysaturated fiberglass cloth. The transoms are ¾-inch cedar
planks. I altered the seating arrangement, gunwale, and knee
details, added floorboards, and changed other details to suit
my needs and taste. There’s not much left of Platt’s original
concept . . . except those lovely lines.
At the time of building the mightily revised Black Fly, I also
considered at least two other round-bottom boats suitable
for strip planking. These were designed by William Atkin and
required far less in the way of plan alteration to build.
One is Petey Dink, a very small 6-foot 6-inch pram and the
other is Handy Andy, an 8-foot sailing dinghy. Plans can be
ordered from Mrs. Pat Atkin at: APatkin@aol.com. Billy Atkin
has put some lovely tumblehome into these little beauties and
just now I feel the itch to build one or the other.
Richard Smith
I think I’m in love
On the lower left corner of Page 11 in the July 2007 issue is a
beautiful sailboat in the picture along with a dinghy. Could you
tell me what kind of sailboat that is? I think I’m in love.
8 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
Jim Birmingham
Back to Richard Smith again
The boat you admire is an Ericson Cruising 31. If you’d like more
information you can check out <http://e31.no-ip.com/index.asp>.
That will put you in touch with Glyn Judson, who knows
about all there is to know about this good old boat.
Richard Smith
gantwoodworker/woodworker/dingy%20building%20pages/
boat_building_page%201.htm>.
The June 2007 issue featured Richard Smith’s article
about dinghies and included contact information for Danny
Greene, Dynamite Payson, and Atkin designs.
In addition, there will be more on dinghies in the November 2007 issue. It seems we’ve got the same fever.
Dealing with mildew on canvas
I love your magazine! I’ve been a subscriber almost from the
start. I recently bought my first good old boat, my first boat
period. She’s an International Folkboat, which I’ve named
Serenade and I dearly love. It seems like I am spending a little
more time working on her than I am sailing her at this point,
but I expect that to balance out in the near future.
I’ve replaced the outboard and the standing rigging and
done a lot of cleaning, which leads us to the question. She has
a light-colored dodger and it has some mildew. I brought it
home and gave it a good scrub with laundry detergent, but that
didn’t do much to the black mildew stains. What will clean her
up and what do you recommend for waterproofing?
Jeff Burkhart
Another pretty dinghy
Don Godshall sent this photo with a note:
This dink is made from Jersey cedar, white oak frames,
fastened with copper and bronze. It is my own design and built
from a half-model I carved. It weighs 95 pounds without floorboards and motor.
Editors
Nestor connection
I own a Westsail 32, which as you may know, does not have the
room to store a full-sized dinghy on deck. A number of years
ago, plans were available for a lovely nesting dinghy called The
Nestor Pram. Is that any relation to Gregg Nestor?
Leo Krusack
Gregg Nestor replies
I wish I could claim ownership or knowledge of the Nestor
Pram, but I cannot. Now that my interest has been peaked, I
just may begin a search and see what I can discover.
I’m sure that there are similar nesting-type dinghies available. One that comes to mind is the Niccolls Lite NN10-11.
When assembled, it is just over 10 feet long and has a capacity
of 500 pounds <http://www.niccollslite.net>. It’s made by the
Niccolls Company of Delta, British Columbia.
If you don’t want fiberglass, check out B and B Yacht
Designs, <http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com>. This is a kit
company, and they have a nesting dinghy. Good luck.
Gregg Nestor
The Good Old Boat network of sailors has been buzzing with
feverish interest in nesting dinghies for several months.
Previous newsletters list sources galore. (If you missed all
this, we hope you’ve been asleep, out cruising, or are new to
our community of sailors.)
Previous newsletters with links include the February,
April, and June 2007 newsletters. Here’s a link to all previous newsletters: <http://www.goodoldboat.com/nletter.html>.
A wonderful folding dinghy was featured in our September 2003 issue. To visit the author’s site and read a reprint
of that article, go to <http://www.johndanicic.com/arro-
Matt Grant of Sailrite replies
Assuming the material is Sunbrella, here is everything you
need to know:
Cleaning – One of the best ways to keep Sunbrella fabrics looking good and to delay the need for deep or vigorous cleanings is
to hose off fabrics monthly with fresh water. This will help prevent dirt from becoming deeply imbedded in the fabric. In most
environments, a thorough cleaning will be needed every two to
three years. When it’s time for a thorough cleaning, Sunbrella
fabrics can be cleaned while still on a boat or, size permitting,
they can be removed for cleaning in a washing machine.
When cleaning:
• Use a mild natural soap if possible. For tough stains, a liquid
detergent may need to be used. If so, reapplication of a water
repellant will be necessary, such a 303 Fabric Guard.
• Water should be cold to lukewarm (never more than 100º F).
• Air dry only. Never apply heat to Sunbrella fabrics.
If you are cleaning Sunbrella while on a frame or boat:
• Brush off loose dirt.
• Hose down.
• Prepare a cleaning mixture of water and mild, natural soap.
• Use a soft bristle brush to clean.
• Allow soap to soak in.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Air dry.
If stubborn stains persist, use a diluted chlorine bleach/
soap mixture for spot cleaning of mildew and similar stains:
• Prepare a special cleaning mixture: 4 ounces (½ cup) chlorine
bleach, 2 ounces (¼ cup) of natural soap, 1 gallon of water.
• Clean with soft bristle brush.
• Allow mixture to soak for up to 20 minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Air dry.
• Repeat if necessary.
9 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
Remember to protect the area around your Sunbrella if using a
bleach solution.
If the fabric will fit in a washing machine:
• Use only natural soaps if possible. For tough stains a liquid
detergent may need to be used. If so, reapplication of a water
repellant will be necessary, such a 303 Fabric Guard.
• Wash and rinse in cold water.
• Air dry. Never put Sunbrella fabrics in your dryer.
Re-treating the fabric – As part of the finishing process,
Sunbrella fabrics are treated with a fluorocarbon finish, which
enhances water repellency. This finish is designed to last for
several years, but must be replenished after a thorough cleaning. Based on test results, the manufacturer recommends 303
High Tech Fabric Guard as the preferred treatment product for
Sunbrella fabrics. Fabrics should be retreated after thorough
cleaning or after five years of use.
Applying 303 High Tech Fabric Guard:
303 should be applied to Sunbrella fabrics after each thorough
cleaning, which typically removes the original fluorocarbon
finish and reduces the fabric’s water repellency. After cleaning
the fabric, allow it to air dry completely and then apply 303 in
a thin, even coat. After allowing the first coat of 303 to air dry,
apply a second thin, even coating of 303. Two light coatings
are more effective in restoring fabric water resistance than a
single heavy coating. A 16-ounce bottle provides coverage of
up to approximately 50 square feet of lightweight fabric.
303 Aerospace Cleaner:
Endorsed for cleaning Sunbrella is 303’s Aerospace Cleaner—
super-concentrated and super-safe, this cleaner exceeds EPA
standards for biodegradability and can be used for many other
cleaning jobs.
I hope this helps. You can purchase the Fabric Guard and the
303 Aerospace Cleaner at <http://www.sailrite.com>.
Matt Grant, Sailrite
ALSI 12 body filler
The Good Old Boat editors asked friend and fellow sailor,
Bill Barth, to test some filler material that arrived in the
Good Old Boat headquarters earlier this summer. The product was sent by Team Parasol, the makers of several very
interesting flexible and non-flexible fillers. We mentioned
their flexible metal filler, called Alsiflex, in the June 2007
newsletter. Here’s Bill’s report about their ALSI 12 filler:
This filler can be used on areas that require volume filling
and strength. It will repair rusted areas, cracked motor blocks,
and pipes. ALSI 12 can be drilled, tapped, and filed. ALSI 12 is a
polyester putty that is mixed with a hardener. The hardener is
mixed at 2 percent volume to the filler. As it sets up very quickly,
a little experience is needed so you get the timing right.
My experience with this product was the repair of a corroded exhaust pipe just past where the coolant water enters
the exhaust system and then goes into the hydro-lift muffler.
I wouldn’t have noticed the leak except that I had just put a
hatch in the cockpit floor of my Cape Dory 28 so that I could
more easily service the stuffing box. The pictures show the
area of the repair. It appears from the photos that the area is
easy to reach, but it was a one-hand long-arm reach. The first
photo shows the area with the water wiped off. The second
shows the area patched. It is not a pretty patch, but the engine
has run about seven hours and there has been no further leak.
Bill Barth
For more on this product, visit <http://www.Parasolinc.
com>. Bill noted that a very small tube of hardener accompanies a rather large can of putty. Mixing can’t be too precise (a spoonful or glob of this plus a couple of drops of that),
but the final result seems to work out nonetheless. In some
ways, he says, it reminds him of a high-quality Bondo.
Save those magazines
I wanted to let you know that your magazine is very helpful. A
recent (September 2006) issue featured an article on tuning a
sailboat and one on the Paceship PY23, which I sail. The tuning
article was great and very helpful but also referred to a video
with Brian Toss. I bought that, too, and it was also very helpful. I
have launched the boat and tuned it and it sails better than ever.
Richard Huint
Leave an issue on board next time?
Thanks for the great article on the merits of “the knot” (July
2007). After being pushed over the edge with jibsheet shackles hanging up on our shrouds, one day I resorted to simple
bowlines, which worked great. I stowed them in that condition
(less shackles) after the sail. The next time out, the boat’s coowners discovered the “unshackled” sheets while preparing to
sail and had to locate the shackles — clearly not (pun intended) skilled at knots. I’m all over your thoughts on the “simple
and elegant solution.”
Arnie Wilenken
What about plague or pestilence?
This serves as official notice that I have mailed my renewal
check to Good Old Boat, the only magazine I subscribe to.
There will be only two excuses acceptable for any interruption
of my joy in seeing each new issue:
• Global thermonuclear war; or
• A meteor collision destroys the earth.
Good Old Boat is the best reading investment I’ve ever made.
Barry Marcus
Sign me (and my 1978 Yamaha) up
I just received my first copy of your magazine and all I can say is
“Wow!” I am attempting the final work on the restoration of my
10 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
1978 Yamaha MS24 motorsailer. Guess your
article on woodworking was written for me
. . . teak work is the final stage. I am also attempting the teak floorboards . . . and there’s
your article. The last step of my restoration?
Mainsail upgrade . . . and magically, your
article appears on mainsail upgrades. What a
great magazine for old boat owners. All I can
say is: “Sign me up for three years.”
I’m sending a photo of this rare little motorsailer. It is unique in that it has a windshield, swim platform, wheel steering, and a
1-cylinder 8-hp diesel Yanmar. I think these
features were rare in a boat less than 30 feet
in the late ’70s. Only a handful were sold in
the U.S. back then due to the cost of the diesel and that it was a
little-known “Yamaha sailboat.”
Larry Nichols
We’re sure someone will ask why the main on this Yamaha
has a Santana logo or sail insignia. We’re wondering too.
Stay tuned for the rest of the story in a future newsletter.
Radar reception question
During a recent cruise, we decided to spend a lay day in a
secluded cove while waiting for “torrential” rains and nasty
winds to blow through. We were joined by several other Mainebased cruising boats that entered the anchorage seeking shelter. During the course of the day, we all gathered to commiserate about the weather and share our experiences.
As each of us had picked our way into the anchorage in a
pea-soup fog, the talk turned to our respective journeys and our
encounters in the fog with other vessels, particularly commercial
fishing vessels. We had all used radar as a safeguard to try to
pick out nearby vessels that might be traveling on an “approaching” course, if not a downright collision course. Our discussion
included observations about the various and different types of
radar reflectors we each employed. These ranged from none at
all to the typical aluminum multi-sided reflectors that are usually
hauled aloft via a flag halyard, as well as a couple of the newer
type reflectors that are permanently mounted aloft on a spar.
One of the other boat’s masters posited that although he
generally deployed a radar reflector, he believed that none was
actually necessary if you were actively using radar aboard the
boat. He argued/theorized that if his radar reflector’s purpose
was to ensure that a radar signal was reflected back to another
vessel’s radar receiver, that the best possible indicator of his
vessel’s presence would be the radar signals being transmitted
by his own radar unit, which he believed would be “received”
by another vessel’s radar, thus identifying his presence.
My understanding of radar operation is that it transmits and
receives a signal on a very specific frequency, and then identifies
and locates “targets” when the radar signal is reflected or returned from the “target” back to the radar receiver. The location
of the “target” is determined by the bearing of the reflected/returned signal and the timing interval between when the signal
was transmitted and when it was received again by the radar
unit. This establishes bearing and distance off. I strongly suspect that radar units either do not transmit on the same identical frequency, or that their signals are encoded so that they will
not receive a signal emanating from another radar unit. The notion that a functioning radar unit will produce a “target” signal
for another radar unit seems totally incorrect,
and ignores the “timing” factor necessary for
determining distance off (the receiving radar
unit would have no way to identify how long
it took for the incoming signal from another
radar unit to reach it).
Although I did not argue with this cruiser’s contentions, I found them highly suspect
and likely to be dangerously incorrect. Perhaps Jerry Powlas might care to comment on
this matter and eliminate any confusion that
might exist among other boaters who may
have heard, or believed, similar notions.
Ralph Pears
Response from the technical editor
There are many military devices that can see radar and detect
its direction, but when I was in the military (100 years ago)
these devices had to transmit to know what that range was.
There are no civilian radars that I’m aware of that can see each
other by seeing their signals. There are devices called racons,
which manage to send a coded signal to civilian radars that
does give both range and bearing. I think this is a transponder
that somehow uses the incoming signal as part of the process.
Anyway, you can see a racon buoy on your civilian radar
screen. Why you do not have interference from other radars, I
do not know.
You are right though: if you don’t have the timing right, you
can’t get the range.
We used that fact to confuse enemy missiles by sending
back a strong signal that was phased correctly, and of proper
frequency, but with a different Doppler shift, so the missile
would think we were farther away than we really were. That
was in the crude days of ECM, or electronic countermeasures.
Then there was ECCM and ECCCM . . .
Jerry Powlas, Technical editor
Two additions from the not-so-technical editor
What is it with radar anyway? Is this a guy thing? A military
thing? I believe I have finally trained Jerry to stop referring to
the ships we see on our radar screen as “targets.” After all, we
have no intention of shooting them, do we?
Perhaps those who were trained in the military see those
blips as “targets,” but the “targets” themselves might be less
than enthusiastic with that description.
Jerry and I are trying out a more peaceful term on our boat.
These days we refer to those little blips of light not as ships
(which of course they really are) but rather as “contacts.”
I can live with that.
Targets are from Mars.
Contacts are from Venus.
And one thing more:
Ralph sent a photo of his
boat (below) with these
comments: “Blessed is a
1979 Cheoy Lee Clipper 36,
designed by Bill Luders.”
She’s a beauty. Now,
there’s something we can
all agree about.
Karen Larson, Editor
11 Good Old Boat Newsletter October 2007
How it all got started, and why you still need one there
S
ailors have long believed a coin under the mast brings luck.
This ritual is believed to have started with the Romans,
whose custom it was to place a coin in the mouth of a dead
person to pay Charon, the boatman who ferried the souls of
the dead across the River Styx to Hades. Hades, in those days,
was simply the home of the dead, not the specific domain of
Satan in the modern colloquial sense.
Of course, there may be some of you who are convinced
that you are headed for hell anyway, no matter what happens.
So you might want to forgo the coin placing ritual and spend
the money instead on wild women, liquor, poker, new gear for
the boat, and other sinful pleasures. What’s to lose?
More cautious boaters will realize that placing a coin under
the mast is another way to earn points for the black box in
which your boat’s luck is stored. It’s a cheap price to pay.
Skeptics should note that even the U.S. Navy takes this
ritual seriously. Officers of the USS New Orleans, launched in
1933, placed 33 coins—pennies, nickels, and dimes—under her
foremast and mainmast. All were carefully placed heads up.
And the destroyer USS Higgins, commissioned in April 1999,
had 11 coins specially selected for her mast stepping, some of
them very rare and going back to Roman times.
But you don’t need to use rare or expensive coins. In fact, in
the days of wooden ships, when even skilled artisans earned
comparatively little, it was regarded as imprudent to use gold.
Besides, there wasn’t much point in paying Charon more than
he could find change for. Rather, select a coin that means
something to you, one that was minted in the year the boat was
launched, perhaps, or one from the year you were born.
Incidentally, most people glue the coin in place with epoxy
or 3M 5200 these days, but one thing does worry me: how
Charon can get it if the need arises.
7340 Niagara Lane North
Maple Grove, MN 55311-2655
Coin Under Mast
Change Service Requested
by John Vigor
Note: This went to subscribers with email addresses
in early October. If you’re getting this by mail,
either you’ve requested a printed version or we
don’t have a current email address for you. We’d
much rather send this by email. If that works for
you, please contact us with your email address:
(mark@goodoldboat.com).
Excerpts from The Practical
Encyclopedia of Boating
John Vigor’s book, The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating, is
available from the Good Old Boat Bookshelf for $29.95; 352
pages (hardcover).
PRSRT STD
U.S.POSTAGE
PAID
GRAND FORKS,
ND
Permit No. 322