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			<title>One of the funniest threads ever...</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157125&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 11:38:00 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>....read this at your own risk...(of spitting coffee out on your keyboard...)

http://tinyurl.com/aey6fnq</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>....read this at your own risk...(of spitting coffee out on your keyboard...)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/aey6fnq" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/aey6fnq</a><br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>F.O.A.D.</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157125</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Common Sense</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157124&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 05:31:31 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>In video uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, Arthur Kellermann of the
RAND Corporation said that keeping a gun in your home was a bad way to
protect your...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><br />
In video uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, Arthur Kellermann of the<br />
RAND Corporation said that keeping a gun in your home was a bad way to<br />
protect your family.<br />
<br />
“It’s natural to want to do everything you can to keep you family<br />
safe, especially if you live in a dangerous neighborhood,” he told the<br />
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. “In a thunderstorm, it is also<br />
natural to take cover under the nearest tree, but that doesn’t make it<br />
a good idea.”<br />
<br />
Kellermann has published several studies on gun ownership, which found<br />
keeping a firearm in the home increased the odds a family member would<br />
become a homicide victim. Not surprisingly, gun rights advocates have<br />
claimed that his research is flawed.<br />
<br />
“The facts are this: While there are occasionally instances where<br />
someone uses a gun for self-defense effectively, the number of times a<br />
gun in the home is involved in the death of a child, the death of a<br />
family member, [or] the death of a visiting relative who is depressed<br />
vastly overwhelms the number of cases where a gun is used for<br />
self-defense,” he explained.<br />
<br />
“That work has been out and available for over 15 years, and multiple<br />
studies have shown homes where guns are kept are actually more likely<br />
to be the scene of a homicide or a suicide than homes in exactly the<br />
same neighborhoods without guns.”<br />
<br />
He advised those who wished to keep a gun in the home to store it in a<br />
highly secure location that couldn’t be accessed by intruders or<br />
distraught family members.<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>jps</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157124</guid>
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		<item>
			<title>Good news</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157123&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 02:53:02 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>halifax Mooseheads beat the Portland Winterhawks 7-4 tonight.
Local top prospect gets assist on first goal and then adds three of his own in the 2nd...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>halifax Mooseheads beat the Portland Winterhawks 7-4 tonight.<br />
Local top prospect gets assist on first goal and then adds three of his own in the 2nd period.<br />
<br />
Next game will be against the host team, Saskatoon Blades.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/1130349-mackinnon-has-big-night-as-halifax-wins-memorial-cup-opener" target="_blank">http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/...ial-cup-opener</a><br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[True North[_2_]]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157123</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[F.O.A.D.'s Excellent Life]]></title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157122&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 02:09:17 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>Harry Krause in his own words:

“…almost every president in my memory, and I *remember* Truman, Eisenhower (who cheated on his wife), Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon,...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Harry Krause in his own words:<br />
<br />
“…almost every president in my memory, and I *remember* Truman, Eisenhower (who cheated on his wife), Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush, lied and participated in deceit to one degree or another, and on issues far more important  than who was giving them blow jobs. <br />
 <br />
“Good lord. I met *every* president in the damned group except Bush, and I worked once for his father.” <br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>georgecboater3@gmail.com</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157122</guid>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[OH YEAH....PLEASE PAY NO ATTENTION TO DONNIE...HARRYS LITTLECOCKHOLE...HE'S JUST A SHORT-BOW-LEGGED ASSWIPE..]]></title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157119&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 22:37:20 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>That is harrys little BITCH...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>That is harrys little BITCH...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>*e#c</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157119</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Fortunately...</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157118&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 22:20:47 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>....the pig had empathy and therefore was not a Republican.

http://www.wimp.com/pigrescue/</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>....the pig had empathy and therefore was not a Republican.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wimp.com/pigrescue/" target="_blank">http://www.wimp.com/pigrescue/</a><br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>F.O.A.D.</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157118</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Re: Older 30' cruiser -- advice?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157121&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 20:47:52 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>Hello Tom,

I just recently got a safari which is not quite ready for the water yet. From what I know of it I am pleased with my choice and encouraged by...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Hello Tom,<br />
<br />
I just recently got a safari which is not quite ready for the water yet. From what I know of it I am pleased with my choice and encouraged by comments such as yours. I wondered in your time with this boat had you any issues with the skeg which is so narrow and a bit insubstantial looking. My boat is out of the water, the skeg feels a bit weak and I am wondering about removing and reattaching it but dont know what it is constructed on. I also am considering bracing the skeg with a length of stainless bar or tubing running from the deepest tip of the skeg fowards at about a 45 degree angle to the hull.<br />
Any pearls of wisdom gratefully accepted!<br />
Regards<br />
Ger  On Tuesday, 17 September 1996 08:00:00 UTC+1, Tom Forhan  wrote:<font color="blue"><i><font color="green"><i><br />
&gt; &gt; Robert Clark wrote:<font color="darkred"><i><br />
&gt; &gt; &gt;<br />
&gt; &gt; &gt; What do you folks think is the best, older (read that to mean<br />
&gt; &gt; &gt; &quot;inexpensive&quot;) sailboat for cruising, that has a seaworthy design &gt; &gt; &gt;and is no more than about 30' long?</i></font></i></font><br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; If you are looking for a more modern design, check out Dufours.<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; These are seaworthy fin keel-skeg rudder boats, which have sucessfully<br />
&gt; completed numerous off-shore passages: a Dufour 27 did well in a couple<br />
&gt; of OSTAR races in the late '70s. <br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; They all feature internal fiberglass hull liners, so no mildew problems<br />
&gt; and they are easy to keep clean if you are a liveaboard. Interiors are<br />
&gt; done in ribbon-stripe plywood, and look very elegant. Rigging is<br />
&gt; conventional, and parts are not a problem from a good chandlery. Engines <br />
&gt; tend to be Volvo diesels; very reliable. Hulls are moderate fin keels,<br />
&gt; with some IOR influence. Topside appearance is modern, and clearly<br />
&gt; European.<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; The were built in France, and while enough were sold in the US for you<br />
&gt; to find one, they are clearly &quot;off-brand&quot; and so you can get a really<br />
&gt; good deal if you shop around. They were imported into the US during the<br />
&gt; '70s and early '80s.<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Specific models that might meet your needs, and recent asking prices<br />
&gt; I have seen:<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Dufour 27 Safari: A modern, trunk cabin, galley amid-ships facing<br />
&gt; dinette, quarter berth aft, double berth forward,  -$7,500<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Dufour 27: A flush-deck design, galley aft, more interior room than<br />
&gt; the Safari model and more reserve bouyancy, this was the model that <br />
&gt; did the OSTAR. Double berth forward, dinette facing a settee berth,<br />
&gt; galley aft, no quarterberth. Living space much greater than, say, an<br />
&gt; Alberg 30. -$8,500.<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Dufour Arpege: 30 feet, quarter berths on both sides, dinette facing<br />
&gt; galley, head may be in forepeak, memory is vague on this one. Numerous<br />
&gt; transatlantic passages. $14,000<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Dufour 31: A later design, very spacious interior for its size, many<br />
&gt; have three cabin layouts with a small double quarter-berth cabin aft,<br />
&gt; galley accross from this, dinette and facing a single settee berth, full<br />
&gt; width head, and double berth forward.$19,000<br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; I lived aboard and sailed the eastern seaboard and Bahamas in a Dufour<br />
&gt; 27 for several years. They are fine boats in the racer-cruiser mode, and<br />
&gt; great values on today's market. <br />
&gt; <br />
&gt; Good luck,<br />
&gt; Tom F.</i></font><br />
<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Cruising</category>
			<dc:creator>gherican@gmail.com</dc:creator>
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		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Hopefully, Dickson, no one is going to read your vile crap</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157117&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 20:45:42 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>Now, shup up and go spend that welfare cheque before Giselle takes it for the groceries, rent or hydro payment.</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Now, shup up and go spend that welfare cheque before Giselle takes it for the groceries, rent or hydro payment.<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[True North[_2_]]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157117</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Cap Cana Marina and Resort...</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157116&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 20:29:19 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>....in the Dominican Republic:   Two Thumbs Up.

http://www.marinacapcana.com/

This place is *really* nice, and like most things in the DR,
reasonably priced....</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>....in the Dominican Republic:   Two Thumbs Up.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.marinacapcana.com/" target="_blank">http://www.marinacapcana.com/</a><br />
<br />
This place is *really* nice, and like most things in the DR,<br />
reasonably priced.  Fishing is good also.  We haven't caught anything<br />
in a while but the guys with the big sportfishing boats are doing OK.<br />
<br />
We had a few really big strikes a week ago coming west from St Martin<br />
to the BVI but they were too big for us to handle.   One of them<br />
striped 100 yards of line off the reel before it jammed and the 250 #<br />
leader broke off.  The other managed to break off the hook at the lure<br />
attachment.  At least I still have the lure with bite marks to show<br />
for that one.<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>Wayne B</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157116</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Cap Cana Marina and Resort...</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157120&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 20:29:19 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>....in the Dominican Republic:   Two Thumbs Up.

http://www.marinacapcana.com/

This place is *really* nice, and like most things in the DR,
reasonably priced....</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>....in the Dominican Republic:   Two Thumbs Up.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.marinacapcana.com/" target="_blank">http://www.marinacapcana.com/</a><br />
<br />
This place is *really* nice, and like most things in the DR,<br />
reasonably priced.  Fishing is good also.  We haven't caught anything<br />
in a while but the guys with the big sportfishing boats are doing OK.<br />
<br />
We had a few really big strikes a week ago coming west from St Martin<br />
to the BVI but they were too big for us to handle.   One of them<br />
striped 100 yards of line off the reel before it jammed and the 250 #<br />
leader broke off.  The other managed to break off the hook at the lure<br />
attachment.  At least I still have the lure with bite marks to show<br />
for that one.<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Cruising</category>
			<dc:creator>Wayne B</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157120</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>HOPEFULLY, KRAUSE...NO ONE IS GOING TO EVEN READ YOUR INANE, CLIP nPASTE SHIT.</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157115&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 20:21:57 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>NOW, **** OFF AND DIE, YOU FAT, GREASY ****.</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>NOW, **** OFF AND DIE, YOU FAT, GREASY ****.<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>*e#c</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157115</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title>Apple comes through for me...again.</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157113&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 18:20:07 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>The on-off switch on my iPhone 5 misbehaved once in a while. You could 
press it and nothing would happen. Maybe once every 50 times, no biggie.

So, I was in...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>The on-off switch on my iPhone 5 misbehaved once in a while. You could <br />
press it and nothing would happen. Maybe once every 50 times, no biggie.<br />
<br />
So, I was in Annapolis near the local Apple store this morning and when <br />
the store opened at 10 am, I asked if one of the techies could see if <br />
there was a speck of dirt stuck under part of the switch, or maybe just <br />
replace the switch.<br />
<br />
&quot;We'll just give you a new phone,&quot; he said. He transferred my SIM card <br />
to a new phone, I &quot;registered it,&quot; and then downloaded the nightly <br />
backup I do from the Cloud, and, in 20 minutes, I was on my way. The <br />
&quot;old&quot; phones are shipped to an Apple depot, where they are taken apart, <br />
fixed, and sold as refurbished phones.<br />
<br />
I don't know what was wrong with the switch and...I don't care. :)<br />
<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator>F.O.A.D.</dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157113</guid>
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		<item>
			<title>Hey JPS, We Need To Ban All SUVs</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157111&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 16:43:10 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/may/17/boy-15-run-over-suv-and-killed-during-theft-ipad/
#axzz2TeJ6jTSZ</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/may/17/boy-15-run-over-suv-and-killed-during-theft-ipad/" target="_blank">http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013...ng-theft-ipad/</a><br />
#axzz2TeJ6jTSZ<br />
</div>

]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4">General</category>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[BAR[_2_]]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157111</guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Whole lotta shakin' goin' on, revisited - Part 3...]]></title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157112&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 16:07:15 GMT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Whole lotta shakin' goin' on, revisited - Part 3...

We left you, still at anchor in Ft. Lauderdale's Lake Sylvia, reluctantly
preparing to come north to Vero...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Whole lotta shakin' goin' on, revisited - Part 3...<br />
<br />
We left you, still at anchor in Ft. Lauderdale's Lake Sylvia, reluctantly<br />
preparing to come north to Vero Beach, to take a ball for the time we would<br />
be gone to GA to do family stuff.  It was reluctantly in that we'd fully<br />
expected to get into the Keys, and maybe even to the Dry Tortugas.  If you<br />
read our prior, you know we took a month to sort out the stuff which had<br />
taken place - thank you very much; we're blessed! - at anchor each time we<br />
came in from the three times we moved the boat, and just ran out of time.<br />
The winds would be on our nose if we didn't get under way, and we detest<br />
&quot;driving&quot; (running the motor, even if we had the sails up, which we could<br />
have done, but we'd have depended on successfully doing a great number of<br />
tacks to avoid the Gulf Stream, which would NOT have been any fun in a<br />
northerly, stiff, breeze), so, we made ready for our return.<br />
<br />
On February 26th, there were very brisk winds in a favorable direction, so<br />
we pulled up our anchor at 11AM.  This time wasn't nearly the same as our<br />
first two departures.  It was STUCK, good, from all the wind and tide<br />
changes.  It did come up, but not without some persuasion.  Once up, it was<br />
like a giant shovel - hard packed &quot;stuff&quot; (I don't know whether I can call<br />
it sand), complete with a lot of (big) clams) filled the scoop.  My<br />
salt-water washdown hose wasn't making a dent in this, so I lowered the<br />
anchor into the water, thinking that our slow speed would have enough water<br />
rushing by, as Lydia took us out to the ICW, to get it cleaned off.<br />
<br />
Not so much!  Up/down/up/down with the depth, and as Lydia turned the corner<br />
for the ICW and picked up speed a little, lots more water.  Eventually, it<br />
did come clean, but it was plain to see that there was no way we were going<br />
to drag in Lake Sylvia, as we thought we were doing in the beginning of our<br />
time here!<br />
<br />
Once again, this time more a matter of getting our anchor up, we waited on<br />
the bridge.  We'd not made the 11AM opening, of course, but for whatever<br />
reason, I gather the 30-minute intervals aren't particularly hour-and-half<br />
sensitive, as it seemed forever before the arms went down, and even more<br />
before the bridge came up, as we played dodge-em, in the heavy outgoing tide<br />
current, with the other traffic not constrained by height.  None the less,<br />
we did get through, and by 11:45 had our sails up.  By noon, we were out of<br />
the inlet.<br />
<br />
This promised to be a rollicking good sail, as the winds were a bit nasty at<br />
18-25 knots, which would make for 5-7' seas.  We rolled out the genoa (we<br />
started on the main only) at 12:15PM and settled into our initial course of<br />
021° with 5-10 knots of apparent wind.  Hm.  Maybe the wind isn't so high as<br />
the forecast, after all.  In the relatively light winds, we were making 7+<br />
knots both SOG (speed over ground) and TTW (through the water.)  Maybe our<br />
gauges are calibrated properly, after all!<br />
<br />
As always in sailing, everything changes, so by 12:30, we'd turned upwind a<br />
bit as the wind was dying and clocking; it was now only 6-9 knots apparent,<br />
but we were entering the Gulf Stream, we presumed, as we were now making<br />
8.2-9.1 knots, again both SOG and TTW on our new course of 025°, with the<br />
wind on our starboard quarter at about 120°.  Either that, or, again, we<br />
were marveling at our new-found speeds.<br />
<br />
The wind continued to clock, so we jibed and went to a beam reach.  NOW the<br />
winds WERE 15-25 knots, but we were rewarded with consistent speeds of over<br />
10 knots, and a top of 12.7 (pix in the shakedown portion of the 2011-2012<br />
refit gallery, if you click the link below).  We were averaging 8.9 knots to<br />
this point!<br />
<br />
By 5:30, when the wind was expected to clock even further the forecasts were<br />
saying 220° with seas at 6-8' and confused.  We'd had a great sunny day,<br />
along with all that wind, and our batteries, which had started at 80% of<br />
capacity, were now up past 90% courtesy of our solar panels and wind<br />
generator putting out about 100 AmpHours more than we were using with our<br />
autopilot, chartplotter, instruments, refrigeration and whatever else was<br />
running.  With the sun down, we barely held our own :{))<br />
<br />
6:30 saw the wind clock again, bringing the apparent wind to about 60° on<br />
port, a close reach.  Apparent winds were now 15-20 as we moved forward into<br />
them at 9 knots on our course of 332°, still charging along toward our<br />
destination.<br />
<br />
8PM found us out of the Gulf Stream and fighting a 1.5-2 knot<br />
counter-current in diminishing winds of only 12-16 knots, still on a 60°<br />
apparent wind close reach heading of 315° - but we were STILL making 10<br />
knots TTW and 8 knots SOG.<br />
<br />
More changes, shortly the wind both backed, to make the apparent wind about<br />
90°, a beam reach, and dropped, to only about 10 knots.  Along with the drop<br />
in the wind, the seas eased, which was nicer to ride in, but the<br />
counter-current and wind drop meant that OUR speed also dropped, to 7.5-8.3<br />
knots TTW, but only about 6 knots SOG.  However, all was very well as we<br />
flew along, and we had our hook in place, right out in front of the USCG<br />
station, where we'd parked over 2 years ago after our 480-mile passage from<br />
Ragged Island, at 9:30PM.<br />
<br />
In the end, we covered 93 nautical miles in 10 hours, which counted the time<br />
we were waiting for the bridge in Ft. Lauderdale, and accomplishing<br />
anchorages with the attendant wandering around at relatively low speeds in<br />
inlets and inland meanderings in both areas.  Our trip calculator showed an<br />
AVERAGE SOG of 8.7 knots, with which we are well pleased.<br />
<br />
So, here we are again, in Ft. Pierce.  A wedding and visits to children and<br />
grandchildren beckons, and we have a mooring ball waiting for us in Vero<br />
Beach, where a professional will check out Flying Pig for the next month, as<br />
well as give us a ride in and back out when we return.  However...<br />
<br />
We have a Raymarine chartplotter which uses Navionics chips for the software<br />
for the charts.  Navionics' orientation for our chip is to cover only<br />
southern FL while it's also covering all of Mexico, South America, and<br />
points in between.  The coverage extending North ends EXACTLY at the marina<br />
where we did our refit.  That means that we'll not have any electronic<br />
charts at the helm for that portion of the trip, which is entirely in the<br />
ICW (Intra-Coastal Waterway).  We detest the ICW for a variety of reasons,<br />
including that most of the time you have to be driving, not sailing, and, in<br />
particular that's true for us with our 7' draft which, in the ICW, can<br />
result in a grounding if you don't pay VERY close attention to detail.<br />
<br />
I'm amused at us, because we came to chartplotters late; our norm was a gps<br />
and a flat-paper chart to tell us where we were, and a compass to steer us,<br />
in general.  Yet, when faced with the possibility of navigating an inland<br />
waterway without proper charts on the screen, we quail and shake in our<br />
boots.  Of course, those of you who know me well will know that I have not<br />
just one redundancy for navigation (paper charts), but I'd not be<br />
comfortable without at least one or more additional.<br />
<br />
And thus it was that we used one of the three electronic charting programs I<br />
have on my computer to navigate our way up the ICW to our mooring ball.  Of<br />
course, the trip was entirely uneventful, but I'm all for overpreparation as<br />
compared to being unpleasantly surprised.  We found the mooring field with<br />
no difficulty.<br />
<br />
The first ball to which we were directed seemed to be occupied, so we were<br />
invited to take another, which we did.  Fortunately, we arrived at nearly<br />
full slack so didn't have a lot of current to deal with, and Lydia put me<br />
right over the ball and its pendant.  A reach down with the boat hook, a<br />
quick snub to a cleat, and we have arrived.  The usual alterations and<br />
adjustments happened by lowering the dinghy, installing the outboard, and<br />
taking a dock line forward to the mooring ball.  Attaching it to the massive<br />
stainless steel ring on which THEIR polypropylene rope was secured, I<br />
loose-hung it as I cleated it off on the other side of the boat from the<br />
mooring pendant.  In the unlikely event of a failure of THEIR line, not ours<br />
would take the load, with theirs failing before ours, and ours would secure.<br />
<br />
This is a tidal &quot;river&quot; (really just the space in between the mainland and<br />
the barrier island), so there is a change of direction at least twice a day.<br />
Still, it's entirely safe, and we set about getting ready to take our<br />
venerable, nay, ancient, thousand-dollar car, now 2 years from when we got<br />
it for an expected 6 week stay, and pushing 298K miles, to and from both<br />
North and South GA over the next 5 weeks.<br />
<br />
As we were going to be gone from the boat for over a month, and uncertain as<br />
to how things would do (recall our starter battery and questions about the<br />
house battery from our launch day), we opened the refrigerator and freezer,<br />
taking it all to the house where Lydia's mother is staying with the son of<br />
her two best high school buddies, and turned off everything other than the<br />
bilge pumps.<br />
<br />
In the course of our in-and-out travels taking food and clothing in to<br />
shore, I was amused to see that the freezer took 3 days to defrost, even<br />
with both doors open.  Obviously our insulation was doing the job we wanted!<br />
Unfortunately, all that lovely new weatherstripping I had so lovingly put on<br />
before we restarted the refrigerator in the yard, after our bottom job (we<br />
have a keel cooler which needed to be free and open, and, while we were<br />
painting, not hot, which it was during operation, as that's where the heat<br />
removed from the system goes in ours), was the wrong stuff, allowing a great<br />
deal  of moisture-in-the-air to enter, necessitating that defrosting after<br />
only 5 weeks.  We'd also, later, see that what goes around comes around;<br />
just as it takes a great long while to get warm, it would take a long time<br />
to get cold again.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself...<br />
<br />
More shakedown, and the need to have the refrigeration turned off being<br />
timely, I replaced the gasketing on the freezer door before we left.  Just<br />
like everything else which has needed attention since we got back in the<br />
water, it's happened at a time which doesn't involve anxiety at sea.<br />
<br />
The replacement gasketing on the freezer door appeared to be ideal, being<br />
sort of &quot;C&quot; shaped (see pix in the shakedown section of the 2011-2012 refit<br />
gallery by clicking the link below), and very flexible as well as &quot;taller&quot;<br />
than the stuff I'd just put in, but had now torn out, as it made a VERY snug<br />
seal, with the attendant squeaky noises (the thin, softest part contacting<br />
the walls on the way down) for verification.  The change also included my<br />
mounting those gaskets on the doors, rather than the stops.  So far, so<br />
good.<br />
<br />
So, we return from our trip, and, before we start provisioning, I also do<br />
the refrigerator door in the same fashion.  As I write this, 5 weeks out<br />
from starting the system up (story below), it looks as though I'll have to<br />
do some tweaking, but otherwise it's awesome.  Only a cruiser could enjoy<br />
what those on land take for granted, but we sure did/do!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, both doors mounted, now, I turn on the system.  What's this???<br />
The thermostats' digital readouts haven't moved for hours!  After<br />
defrosting, which includes my using my heat gun to melt the ice on the<br />
evaporator plate, with the freezer at 70 or more degrees, it moves so fast<br />
you can literally watch it.  But, nothing.<br />
<br />
Well, once again, if we're going to have a failure, it's happened at the<br />
best possible time, with us at mooring and still endowed with that same car<br />
which Lydia proclaims, daily (for more than 2 years now) will die<br />
immediately, but hasn't, including the 3k or so miles we put on it in the<br />
prior 5 weeks.<br />
<br />
So, I get out my refrigeration gear and give it a shot of 134a, the<br />
replacement for freon.  Ah, it's moving!  But, why not before?  Surely it<br />
must have lost its charge?  Unless there was damage to the system, the only<br />
possibility would be a seal (O-ring) failure.  The last such instance, I<br />
could tell by wiping my finger around the joint, feeling it to be slightly<br />
oily.  As refrigeration systems use oil as a lubricant, it was a good<br />
indicator.<br />
<br />
Now that there was some pressure and cooling going on, I did the same<br />
(without pressure and gas moving in the system, the suspended oil wouldn't<br />
come out of a failing seal), but came up empty.  Perhaps it just needed that<br />
little bit of oil and pressure to reseat the O-ring...<br />
<br />
I have the proper tools to do an evacuation, and can, still, should it prove<br />
necessary, but if a little is good, more is better, especially since the<br />
system isn't cooling nearly as much as it should.  Ok, another shot.<br />
<br />
Same story, so another shot.  No change, but I thought I'd better leave the<br />
system alone for a while.  The pressure line was hot, the return line was<br />
cool, and the temps were coming down, SLOOOOOWLY.<br />
<br />
But, then, they stopped.  And, the temps started up, slowly.  OY!  Back into<br />
the engine room again, I'm embarrassed to say that I determine that I've<br />
MASSIVELY overcharged the system.  The return line has ice on it all the way<br />
back to the joint of which I was suspicious before!<br />
<br />
The standard for our system is to have the line exiting the bulkhead be no<br />
more than cold, and certainly not iced.  So, bit by bit, I took out charge,<br />
and, like the dawn of the end of the ice age, the ice retreated.  When it<br />
got to the point (over several days - I didn't do anything &quot;large&quot; or<br />
quickly in order not to have to add 134a again) that the line out of the<br />
bulkhead was cool, I waited.<br />
<br />
Sure enough, SLOOOWLY the temps came down, and then, over the next couple of<br />
days, it inched its way down to our design temperatures.  And, it's been<br />
fine ever since.  Ever the headscratcher, I finally deduced that, just as it<br />
took days for the ice to melt during the &quot;organic&quot; (no heat assistance)<br />
defrosting, that having been due to the &quot;cold flywheel&quot; of  6&quot; of foam<br />
insulation slowly absorbing heat, that same insulation required that long to<br />
get cold again.  Once the box is chilled, the contents can stay like that<br />
with very little extra effort at removing heat.<br />
<br />
So, still preparing for our East coast tour when we leave Vero Beach, our<br />
new chartplotter chip arrives.  We install it just prior to a day trip down<br />
to Ft. Pierce and back.  WHAT!!!  No info, just a block representation of<br />
where we are!!!  I do a check, and it shows as a &quot;Platinum&quot; chart, whereas<br />
the box, and my order, was for a &quot;Gold&quot; chart.  Maybe that's the problem;<br />
ours is a relatively older (in electronics' terms) chartplotter, and the<br />
software doesn't know what to do with the chart.  That had been the case in<br />
our other chart, but a firmware upgrade took care of that issue.<br />
Unfortunately, we knew that we had the last update issued, so this chip<br />
wouldn't work.<br />
<br />
Oh, well, another anchored problem to solve. When we get back from the<br />
daycruise, we'll contact Navionics (the chart maker, the ONLY one our<br />
plotter supports, dangit!) and get an exchange.  In the meantime, out come<br />
the paper charts, our computer charts, and eyeball model 1.0, which will be<br />
fine for our meander down the ICW, and we make ready to depart, which<br />
includes our motoring slowly ahead to take the tension off our lines.  By<br />
the time that's done, and I get ready for maneuvering among the moored boats<br />
to get to the channel, I notice that the chartplotter, still on all this<br />
time, has suddenly gotten smarter, and all the usual info and detail is<br />
there in all its glory.<br />
<br />
I presume that it was a matter of all of the charts loading into the<br />
plotter's memory, and not available in detail when first initiated, because<br />
I can think of no other reason for the behavior.  None the less, it works,<br />
and there's another shakedown squawklist item which can be marked off.<br />
<br />
All that remains is for us to finish provisioning, decide whether or not to<br />
take the dreaded &quot;ditch&quot; (ICW, with all its motoring), or to go outside (in<br />
the ocean, where there a very few inlets we can use in case of trouble for<br />
an awful lot of miles), in a boat we've not yet, at least in my mind,<br />
thoroughly shaken down, and leave.<br />
<br />
So, we'll do that, and catch you next time.  Until then, Stay Tuned!<br />
<br />
L8R<br />
<br />
Skip<br />
<br />
Morgan 461 #2<br />
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC<br />
See our galleries at <a href="http://www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery" target="_blank">www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery</a> !<br />
Follow us at <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog" target="_blank">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog</a><br />
and/or <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog" target="_blank">http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog</a><br />
<br />
When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land.<br />
- Dr. Samuel Johnson<br />
<br />
<br />
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Flying Pig[_2_]]]></dc:creator>
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			<title>NL - Friesland - various pictures - File 10 of 10 - morefryslan-10.jpg (1/1)</title>
			<link>http://www.boatbanter.com/showthread.php?t=157106&amp;goto=newpost</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 May 2013 07:21:48 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category domain="http://www.boatbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24">Tall Ship Photos</category>
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