Sunday, December 29, 2013
COMPASSES
Compasses are essential navigational instruments. While there are a variety of types of compasses, the card (magnetic) compass and the gyrocompass are most frequently used in boating. Magnetic compasses point to magnetic north rather than true north and the difference between them is called “variation” which differs from place to place. Onboard magnetic disturbances, called “deviation,” also affect magnetic compass readings. As charts are based on true directions, it is necessary to convert magnetic compass readings to true directions taking variation and deviation into account and vice-versa. Gyrocompasses on the other hand point to true north and are not affected by deviation and are usually found on large ocean going vessels.
The compasses in my webstore at www.mountains-and-seas.com are all magnetic compasses. Some are hand held, the rest are to be attached to the boat. The Bushnell Bear Grylls Back Track D-Tour Personal Tracker is particularly useful to hikers as it allows one to retrace one’s steps.
Friday, December 27, 2013
My Boats
My first boat was a Flying Junior (FJ), a sailing dinghy 13'3" long and 4'11" wide with a mainsail and jib and a sail area of 100 square feet. It is a fast boat and very tipsy; so, you either sail it well or you go swimming. And go swimming I did on several occasions! On the first such occasion I had my ten year old son and his friend aboard; so, you can imagine their shock and fear at finding themselves in the middle of a large Florida lake. We scrambled back aboard and continued our sail. Small boats are much more responsive and less forgiving than larger boats and hence much better boats on which to learn to sail. You make mistakes, you wind up swimming whereas on larger boats you may not even notice your mistakes. So having honed my skills on the FJ I decided that it was time for a larger boat.
Over the opposition of my wife, Anne, who felt we could not afford it, I next bought a Spectrum 22 which is no longer made. It is very similar to the better known Catalina 22, but has a shoal draft keel with a centerboard dropping out of it. With the board up she draws 18", with it down 4' 6". One of the appeals of the Spectrum 22 was its enclosed head (toilet to landlovers), but we soon discovered that it was very difficult to remove one's clothes while in the head. To use the head Anne had to open the door and stretch her legs into the companionway. Such are the luxuries of small boats! You soon learn that there is no privacy or room for modesty aboard small boats.
I named her Odyssey (Anne opposed the name, "My Love.") and she served me well for twenty years of hard and frequent use. She was advertised to sleep four, but like most boats her size slept two adults when the V-berth was filled with sleeping bags, extra sails, etc. Spending the night or several nights on her was like camping. I equipped her with the usual gear of anchors, compass, fenders, lines, lights, PFD's, VHF radio, etc., all of which are available on www.mountains-and-seas.com, and a cruising chute and a 7.5 Honda outboard.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Buying a Boat: Decisions, Decisions & Decisions
There are many power and sail boats to choose from. Some things to consider in your decision making include:
1. Where will I do most of my boating? On a local lake? Along the coast and in associated bays? On the ocean? For rivers and/or
lakes a small boat or dinghy may be best. For coastal cruising a boat 20' to 30' long may be fine, but for blue water (ocean)
boating you need a larger, sturdier and better equipped and therefore more expensive boat.
2. How will I use the boat? Day trips? Short or long cruises? Racing? Or a combination of uses? For day trips a dinghy or small
cruiser may be fine. For longer cruises and/or off-shore passages you'll probably want a larger, sturdier and more comfortable
boat. And for racing speed is the primary consideration.
3. Another consideration is the draft, i.e., the distance between the boat's waterline and the lowest point of the boat. For shallow
waters you want a boat that draws little water whereas if you expect to boat only in deep waters draft is not an issue.
4. What are the preferences of my boating companions? For example some people may not like boats that heel, i.e., tilt, and so one
would choose a multi-hulled sailboat over a monohull.
5. What is the displacement, i.e., weight of the boat? If you live inland as I do or if you expect to have the boat on a trailer to
move it from place to place, you will want a boat your vehicle can tow and which you can set up and take down easily. These
issues limit the size and weight of the boat you choose.
6. A new or used boat? A used boat will be cheaper than a new one, but it may not be in good condition. Having your prospective
used boat surveyed, especially boats with complicated mechanical and electrical systems, is a good idea.
7. And the cost of the boat, equipment, dockage and insurance. What equipment do I need and which brands are the most reliable,
best value, etc.? See my webstore at www.mountains-and-seas.com for quality gear at competitive prices.
8. Where will I keep the boat? At a local marina? In my backyard? Storage yard? Anchored on a river, lake, bay?
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Boating Instruction
Sailing
is more complicated than operating a motor boat where if all goes well
you fuel the boat, start the motor, cast off the lines and head for your
destination. With a sailboat you quickly learn a number of basics: l.
Without wind you do not sail. 2. You cannot sail directly into the wind
and if you wish to go in that direction you must sail a zig-zag course.
3. A boat with one hull, called a "monohull", will lean or "heel" in the
direction toward which the wind is blowing; heeling can be frightening
to beginners. Boats with two or three hulls, catamarans and trimarans
respectively, heel much less. 4. Boats do not have brakes and so
stopping them may be difficult. These and other considerations suggest
the wisdom of boating instruction, both on land and water.
As with many professions, one of the first things you will learn is a new vocabulary, in this case a boating vocabulary. On a sailboat every one of the myriad lines, fittings, etc., has a name and so sailing vocabulary is extensive. Did you know that on a sailboat a "sheet" is not a mattress cover, but rather a line controlling a sail? Or a "rode" is not the past tense of "ride", but the line tied to an anchor.
A number of organizations and private firms offer boating instruction, the largest of which is the United States Power Squadrons (www.usps.org, 888-367-8777)) with squadrons throughout the country. Safe boating is the primary goal of this organization and the courses, which range from basic boating to celestial navigation, are excellent and taught both in the classroom and online. The only expense for members is the cost of materials. The US Coast Guard Auxiliary (www.cgaux.org) is another group teaching boating safety.
There is, of course, no substitute for on-the-water training, available from a variety of sources including Power Squadrons, Coast Guard Flotillas, yacht clubs, private individuals and boating groups.
As with many professions, one of the first things you will learn is a new vocabulary, in this case a boating vocabulary. On a sailboat every one of the myriad lines, fittings, etc., has a name and so sailing vocabulary is extensive. Did you know that on a sailboat a "sheet" is not a mattress cover, but rather a line controlling a sail? Or a "rode" is not the past tense of "ride", but the line tied to an anchor.
A number of organizations and private firms offer boating instruction, the largest of which is the United States Power Squadrons (www.usps.org, 888-367-8777)) with squadrons throughout the country. Safe boating is the primary goal of this organization and the courses, which range from basic boating to celestial navigation, are excellent and taught both in the classroom and online. The only expense for members is the cost of materials. The US Coast Guard Auxiliary (www.cgaux.org) is another group teaching boating safety.
There is, of course, no substitute for on-the-water training, available from a variety of sources including Power Squadrons, Coast Guard Flotillas, yacht clubs, private individuals and boating groups.
BINOCULARS
Binoculars are essential boating and camping equipment. On the
water you need them to identify aids to navigation (bouys), other boats,
obstructions in the water, lighthouses, towers, etc. Camping and
hiking you need them to identify landmarks, flora and fauna. Binoculars
are indispensable for bird watchers; without them you would not be able
to see a tiny bird some distance away or identify it. There are two
types of binoculars, roof and porro prism types. The lens in roof
binoculars are in line whereas they are offset in porro prism
binoculars; generally porro prism binoculars are optically superior to
roof binoculars.
The quality of the lens and their coating (s?) is very important.
BaK-4 prisms are made of the best optical glass. The glass needs to be
coated to reduce reduce reflections. All of the binoculars on
www.mountains-and-seas.com use BaK-4 prisms and have multi-coated lenses
and all but the Pentax 7X50 marine binoculars with a built-in compass
are porro prism type.
Numbers are associated with binoculars, e.g., 7X50, 8X42, etc.
The first number indicates the degree of magnification, e.g., in 7X50
binoculars the object appears seven times closer than it does to the
naked eye. The second refers to the diameter of the forward looking
lens in millimeters, in this example 50 millimeters. Increasing the
magnification would seem desirable; however, higher magnification limits
the field of vision and tends to make it dimmer. Also it is hard to
hold binoculars with higher magnification steady enough to avoid a
blurred image. A 7X50 binocular is ideal on the water and is standard
in navies & militaries.
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Challenge, Adventure and Fun on Land and Sea
ANCHORS
Everyone knows about anchors; they are used to fasten things to
something else. Anchors are particularly important on boats to attach
the boat to the bottom of the sea, lake or river. To stop for lunch,
overnight or to moor your boat you need an anchor. You also need an
anchor in emergency situations like the time I and a friend were caught
in a tropical storm on the Little Bahama Bank. The wind was so strong
that the dinghy that we were pulling was lifted out of the water and was
twirling like a propellor. Fortunately we had a storm (large) anchor
on board and after untangling the line, being careful not to be caught
up in it, safely anchored.
There are a number of types of anchors useful in different
situations. Desirable features include good holding power in all bottom
conditions and not breaking out in shifting winds and tides.
Fluke style anchors are good in sand and mud, but not good in
weeds, rocks or hard sand or clay. They are light in weight and very
popular, but tend to break out in shifting winds and tides. The
aluminum Fortress anchor (www.mountains-and-seas.com) with its excellent
holding power, life-time warranty and adjustable fluke angle is the
best performing example of its kind.
Plow style anchors are heavier than fluke style anchors and are
shaped as the name implies and hold well on most bottoms except deep mud
and tend not to break out with changes in wind and tides.
Grapnel anchors are good for such small boats as canoes, dinghies,
etc. The folding type is very compact and easy to store.
In choosing an anchor consider the size of your boat and the bottom
conditions where you will be boating. Also it is wise to carry an
extra anchor or two on board.
Anchors are attached first to a chain which because of its weight
tends to pull horizontally on the anchor helping to set it and then to a
line, called a rode. A ratio of 7 to 1 between length of rode and
water depth is usually sufficient; however, in extreme conditions the
ratio should be increased. In the situation mentioned above we let out
all the available line.
In anchoring many boaters throw their anchor; however, the
recommended procedure is to drop it vertically and then to back down on
it with the motor, wind or tide to set it. Be careful not to get your
feet entangled in the rode as it plays out.
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Challenge, Adventure and Fun on Land and Sea
Challenge, Adventure and Fun on Land and Sea
Bob the Boater’s Blog
I am a retired clinical psychologist who has spent his professional
life treating adults, particularly male veterans, supervising graduate
psychology students and doing some formal teaching. Sailing has been my
primary recreation and so in my retirement, needing additional income,
I developed a website and webstore, www.mountains-and-seas.com,
selling boating and camping equipment. In this blog I propose to
recount my sailing adventures , reporting on the challenges, the joys
and also on the mistakes I’ve made and describing the products in my
webstore and their uses. Also I will occasionally report on my few
camping experiences.
I have been a boater, primarily a sailor, for over thirty years. I
have taught sailing and been a leader in local boating groups. Most of
my boating has been done on lakes and along the coast, but I have also
done a moderate amount of blue water sailing. Sailing has been a
challenge, a source alternatively of relaxation, excitement and
pleasure.
In the late 1960’s I first went sailing in Maine’s Penobscot Bay and I
can tell you that the water is cold. Jumping in is a good way to test
your heart. If you don’t die of shock, you’re in good shape. While it
was not a consideration in our move to Gainesville, Florida, the sailing
season there is much longer than it is in Maine. My next sailing
experience was on a local lake noted for its shallow water, muck-filled
bottom and its alligators and snakes. Staying in the boat on that lake
is very important! I was hooked and I’ve subsequently come to believe
that sailing can become an addiction, albeit a healthy one. Addiction
or not in any case I’ve frequently felt the “need” to go sailing.
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