Maybe not the week to store a couple sheets of plywood on the coachroof..

This is good news, a quick shot of reality, and some not-so-good news...

The really hard part about living in the "H" prone area of the Caribbean is not the actual storms but the continual stress factor of keeping an eye on the weather and the hassle factor of having to work around possible outcomes.

Case in point, I wanted to buy a couple of sheets of plywood so I could finish up a bunch of projects and get started on the new dinghy. Of course, invest 93L put the plywood buying off til it's past us in whatever guise it may assume. So, not a lot of projects gettting finished this week...

That being the case, the weather at the moment is awesome and the best time to be in this area of the Caribbean is actually "H" season as the more obnoxious tourists are gone, the weather (except for those pesky "H" tings) is pretty wonderful, and I can sit on my foredeck and watch turtles cavort to my hearts content.

There's a lot to be said for simply sitting and watching turtles.

Might even get a little diving in...

Listening to Zachary Richard (a favorite on the "H" season mixtape)

So it goes...

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A bit more on crowd funding...

About that recovery, a guy making sense, and a horrific scene that makes it difficult to respect the badge...

A reader dropped me a line and pointed out that there was at least one crowd funding campaign, albeit unsuccessful, for a series of designs by George Whisstock.

Which is not to say that the crowd funding model won't work for designers of boats but it is a good example of however a designer decides to market designs, without some promotion in the mix it's just not going to take off.

Listening to Madeleine Peyroux

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Kickstarter anyone?

How the language we use is important, then again the word "accident" does seem somewhat inadequate of late, and I'll tell you I'm reading way too many stories like this these days...

Over the last couple of years I've been paying a lot of attention to the whole crowd funding thing and I've seen a lot of small companies in the film making gear business bring products to market that never would have happened without it. In my view, Kickstarter and other systems of the same ilk do make sense.

So, I have to ask myself why I have not seen much in the way of new products for sailors and cruisers coming to market via the crowd funding route?

It seems to me a near perfect venue for a designer of boats to do something creative outside the bounds of the same old same and attract a niche client base in the process but, despite the fact it seems tailor made for boat design, I don't see anyone doing it.

Why is it there's no one with clever and cunning products for sailing and cruising? I mean seriously it's not like there are not a plethora of things that could be done better on boats and since so many sailors are tinkerers and closet inventors, why are they not doing their thing on a venue that seems perfect for the enterprise?

What little stuff you do see from boat folk seems to be the "I want to go cruising please give me some money to do it with" sort which I tend to find a bit depressing and bothersome.

Personally, I've played with the idea of using Kickstarter to fund a project to study, develop, and evolve better rigs based on traditional overlooked sail designs in a real scientific manner. It seems to me that a lot more real science in sail would be no bad thing...

Maybe you just have a cool idea based on an Arduino that would improve the lot of cruisers everywhere or, just maybe, there's no one left with any good ideas anymore.

Listening to JB & the Moonshine Band

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Not quite as demented as you might think...

You can tell a lot about a country from its pizzas, a rejoinder of note, and... it's not too late to do the right thing...

I'll confess it's not easy being too far ahead of fashion and for the most part it's depressing always being right years before something becomes hip.

Takes scows for instance...

Anyone who knows me and a great number of people who don't are painfully aware that I think scows as a cruising boat make a lot of sense. Of course, most people I've preached the gospel of scows to think I'm either demented, an idiot, stupid, or a cocktail of all three. Face it, being ahead of the curve is a lot like Rodney Dangerfield's famous catch line...

"I don't get no respect..."

But fashions do tend to catch up and sometimes you get lucky to see that all-of-a-sudden folks are taking something like scows seriously. Maybe a little late to the party and a few sandwiches short of a picnic but, it's a kinda nice to find yourself being able to say I told you so...

Two, count them, two maxi scow projects (you can read all about them here)...

Sure, they're silly expensive penis substitutes but it means that if uberwealthy folks are commissioning scows it's an idea that now has some serious traction and I'm not quite the drooling stupid demented idiot waxing on about scows in the corner...

Listening to Seasick Steve

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A quick reminder...

A tuna story, safety in the skies, and yep we're an advanced civilized nation...



Listening to The Brothers of Soul

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Of no interest to trust fund babies...

This should make some folks stand up and take notice, some needful reading, and  a wake up call...

Over at Attainable Adventure Cruising they have a post that is the consumerists wet dream about how to buy a boat. I'll sum it up for you as you need to be born rich, get a better job, and/or wait till you're too old to actually go cruising because you HAVE to have the expensive boat.

Just the other day I saw a CAL 34 for sale for $5K and yes, it needed some fixing up.

That said, there's nothing that a little sweat, some smarts, an additional $3-$5K, and an avoidance of consumerism dogma wouldn't fix.

Hey presto! A serious bluewater cruiser for around $10K and you don't have to wait around till you're too old and wrinkly to enjoy it.

There are lots of people cruising in boats that cost considerably less than some folks say you need to spend. Matter of fact, in the new Practical Boat Owner there's an excellent article  "Cruising on a Shoestring" by Jill Dicken Schinas of Mollymawk fame (you really should have the Mollymawk blog/website on your reading list) that just may open your eyes...

It's a good read.

Listening to Pink Turtle

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The cost of things...

A quick look in the crystal ball, a very interesting article about trout, and 31-days...

Yesterday while doing a little shopping I could not help but look at the lobsters for sale at $39 a pound and reflect that a simple lobster snare can be put together for two or three bucks and there are lobster pretty much everywhere down here.

Just saying...

Listening to St Paul & the Broken Bones (still the best album so far this year)

So it goes...

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