At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?
OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

Frogwatch wrote:
At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?
OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

Aren't you the guy who buries this stuff in the long grass out in the
backyard? I think you'd better get over the fact that others don't do as
good a job as you...that's a moot point at the moment...hire someone to
clean the bottom of your S-2 quarterly..it doesn't cst that much..I
think we paid $50 last time we had it done...time is money and if you
don't have time, then spend the money...

If your daughter likes kayaks, then buy her one...you don't have time to
build one for her...and make sure she takes care of it, because you
don;'t have time to...

Sell whatever is in your backyard that you have not touched in the past
year...it's like old clothes..if you haven't used it, get rid of it...

How often do you use the cabin in Wyoming? If you use it as a base cmp
for your caving, then keep it but maintain it at a minimum..after all it
is camping...take the canoe out there...you ahve a skiff and maybe soon
a kayak in FL so you don;'t need a canoe there...

You're like a person that goes to a banquet after he's already eaten at
McDonald's...

On Sep 24, 11:37 am, Frogwatch wrote:
At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?
OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

Right now, I believe that I can just maintain all this myself but at
51 yrs of age, I can see a time when I cannot. Even now, I dont like
going under the S2 to de-foul like I used to all the time. In teh
past, lifting the 8 hp kicker for the Tolman woulda been easy but not
now and later...........
I'd like to make my 17 yr old son do some of it but he needs
supervision so much that I might as well do it myself. Besides, I
dont know how to do most of this stuff so how can I tell him how to do
it.
The old Dodge Ram that I use to tow the Tolman has been eating
batteries. For some reason, they wont stay charged so FINALLY, I took
out all the fuses and battery and measured across the battery
terminals. WHAT, 170 ohms? HOW? I put it all back together thinking
I'd look it over more at work. While driving I looked down at the
1000 watt amp my son had put in it and noticed that it has no "OFF"
switch the big ass power wires went right through the firewall and I
thought, I bet that little **** wired it directly to the battery.
Sure enough, it was. AAAAAAAGH, I spend all this time fixing stuff
only to have someone take time to screw it up.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 08:37:23 -0700, Frogwatch
wrote:

At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?

Dump the vehicles. I finally had to do that. Was maintaining four
vehicles that average 200,000 miles. Sold off the 76 Datsun truck
(yeah I still had one with that name badge), Declared the "kids"
officially off the dependent status so they could maintain the cars
themselves or pay to have it done. Then sold off my wifes minivan.
Now have two vehicles that average 5K miles with warranties. No car
stuff for five years of so.

Of course what helped the most was retiring. I may be able to catch
up if I can stay off this computer.

Hey, I scallop in St. Joes bay, but I'm curious, are there any scallop
beds off of St Marks or east of St. George Sound. Do you ever hear
anyone talk of scalloping over there.

Frank
OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

On Sep 24, 12:20 pm, Frank Boettcher wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 08:37:23 -0700, Frogwatch
wrote:



At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?

Dump the vehicles. I finally had to do that. Was maintaining four
vehicles that average 200,000 miles. Sold off the 76 Datsun truck
(yeah I still had one with that name badge), Declared the "kids"
officially off the dependent status so they could maintain the cars
themselves or pay to have it done. Then sold off my wifes minivan.
Now have two vehicles that average 5K miles with warranties. No car
stuff for five years of so.

Of course what helped the most was retiring. I may be able to catch
up if I can stay off this computer.

Hey, I scallop in St. Joes bay, but I'm curious, are there any scallop
beds off of St Marks or east of St. George Sound. Do you ever hear
anyone talk of scalloping over there.

Frank

OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............


Katy and Frank:

For the past 10 yrs or so, scalloping has been better off St. Marks
than in St. Joe bay. I only managed to go once this year but they
were so plentiful that most people got their limit. Basically, you go
about 2-3 miles east of the lighthouse to near the rocky areas shown
on the charts and you find em in 2-9' of water.
Sometimes people find scallops in shallow water near St Theresa.

The WY cabin is a recent addition and will be our place in Summer to
escape the FL heat. We lived out there
when first married 27 yrs ago so it has strong emotional ties for us.
Right now, you cannot find any labor in WY the employment there is so
good so I (and my son I hope) will have to work on it next summer but
themn I hope to find someone to do it. My Nissan will be moved to WY
(4wd). My son drives the old Dodge Ram cuz it is all he is insured
on. My wife drives the family car ( a newer Toyota) that I wouldnt
bother looking under the hood cuz I think it was made with alien
technology from Area 51.
I forgot to mention the sailboard. It belongs to my 20 yr old
daughter and she keeps trying to take it back to UNF in Jacksonville
with her but it won't go on her car but I did manage to fabricate a
hanging system to hang it from the rafter of the carport so it doesnt
get lost in the grass.

I agree with Katy, we really need to get somebody to dive and scrape
the boat but growing up sorta "financially challenged" spending money
on something so frivolous is alien to both me and my wife. We really
have to get somebody else to do it, I agree.

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
ps.com...
At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them. I
believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.
Yesterday, we wanted to go sailing but after I had de-fouled the prop
by going overboard in the canal, the engine overheated. Dang, I knew
I shoulda had the bottom painted thsi year (its been 4 years, a long
time in N. FL.). Engine intake was clogged with fouling and I couldnt
find a piece of stiff wire long enough to run through the intake from
inside (I wasnt going back in that nasty water again). So, sometime
this week, I gotta take time offa work and go to the coast and do
this, oughta replace the impeller at same time, scrape barnacles too.
My prop is just about shot from corrosion and dings so I'll haveta
sail her about 40 miles sometime in early Oct to have her hauled, prop
replaced, I will paint the bottom, and replace cutless bearing.
Somehow this week, I gotta set up caving gear for 5 people cuz my 20
yr old daughter has decided she wants to take her new BF on a caving
trip (gotta take the younger kids too).
Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give. Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?
OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............


Your life is focused on crap and maintaining the crap. Those "toys" are no
longer tools that are an extension of yourself but rather a time consuming
form of bondage. What is it that is important in your life? What is it that
you want to do? Are you using all this fixing up old stuff to avoid actually
doing something? Is fighting life on too many fronts diluting your
efforts/clouding your vision?

The stuff you have is merely an end product of your mental organization and
executive function. Take a long hard honest look at yourself and your
priorities. Once you have that straight everything else is simple. Learn to
trust others, learn to live with their mistakes and learn to let go.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:58:49 -0700, Frogwatch
wrote:



Katy and Frank:

For the past 10 yrs or so, scalloping has been better off St. Marks
than in St. Joe bay. I only managed to go once this year but they
were so plentiful that most people got their limit. Basically, you go
about 2-3 miles east of the lighthouse to near the rocky areas shown
on the charts and you find em in 2-9' of water.
Sometimes people find scallops in shallow water near St Theresa.


Good to know. I think I may come over there next season if for no
other reason to get a change of scenery. I did well in St. Joe's this
year though, the couple of times I got to go.

Frank

Frogwatch wrote:
At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them.

Yep. It is the curse of prosperity.
You simply cannot have everything; and even if you could, you wouldn't
have a place to put it.



believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.

Part of your problem is partly that you built your homebuilt boats out
of wood.
It's great stuff, but it is biodegradable.




Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give.

Yep.
My predicition is that it will be either your spine or your kidneys.


.... Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?

Obvious- Give up the "stuff" you like the least. The stuff that has
gotten in the worst shape already is a prime candidate for culling
out, after all it got that way because you have cared for it less.


Frank Boettcher wrote:
Dump the vehicles. I finally had to do that. Was maintaining four
vehicles that average 200,000 miles.

Might not be too bad, depending on what they are and how they've been
cared for.


Now have two vehicles that average 5K miles with warranties. No car
stuff for five years of so.


You hope.

I lost my enthusiasm for maintaining old cars when I realized that
1- I would have to buy an increasing number of specialized expensive
tools useless for any other jobs
2- cars are easily replaceable and cheap; the newer they are, the
cheaper and more reliable they are....
3- in addition to #2 newer cars are considerably safer
4- I make more money working than an auto mechanic, so unless I enjoy
auto maintenance (which I did back my sports-car days but not for
years since) there is an actual cash loss for every minute I expend on
it.



OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

Go and hit yourself over the head.
Unless she is interested in BUILDING a boat, go buy her one. You can
buy a better kayak than you can build anyway (assuming you know the
basic characteristics you want in such craft), and your time is more
valuable than that of a kayak-builder (see #4 above).


Frogwatch wrote:

The WY cabin is a recent addition and will be our place in Summer to
escape the FL heat. We lived out there
when first married 27 yrs ago so it has strong emotional ties for us.

Sounds good.

I recommend a long retreat up there. You will return envigorated and
will be able to assess the toys you haven't seen months with fresh
eyes.




I agree with Katy, we really need to get somebody to dive and scrape
the boat but growing up sorta "financially challenged" spending money
on something so frivolous is alien to both me and my wife. We really
have to get somebody else to do it, I agree.

But if it is necessary to the function of the vessel (and it is), then
it isn't frivolous.

And while I agree whole-heartedly with you that the only way to ensure
any job is done right is to do it yourself, you have to learn to
either delegate or retreat to a log cabin by a pond and limit yourself
to sailing small simple craft.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:05:27 -0700, wrote this
crap:

Yep. It is the curse of prosperity.
You simply cannot have everything; and even if you could, you wouldn't
have a place to put it.


That's why you need a safety deposit box.

I've got more there than everything he owns.




I'm Horvath and I approve of this post.

On Sep 24, 6:05 pm, wrote:
Frogwatch wrote:
At some point, you exceed the optimum number of "toys" so that your
ability to maintain them begins to exceed your time to use them.

Yep. It is the curse of prosperity.
You simply cannot have everything; and even if you could, you wouldn't
have a place to put it.

believe this has happed to me. With two small homebuilt sailboats and
a 28' S2 sailboat, a homebuilt dinghy, a 20' Tolman Skiff (homeebuilt)
and a canoe, a 100 yr old log cabin in Wyoming that needs rebuilding,
an old Nissan truck with 309,000 miles on it that I love and a need to
maintain camping and caving equipment (did I mention a 20 yr old Dodge
Ram I inherited), I have no time to use any of it.

Part of your problem is partly that you built your homebuilt boats out
of wood.
It's great stuff, but it is biodegradable.

Somehow, I think that I can do all of this if I optimally use each
evening and weekend to do stuff but something has to give.

Yep.
My predicition is that it will be either your spine or your kidneys.

.... Money has
not been an issue because I do all the work myself cuz I dont like the
work anybody esle does and I have built 4 of my boats and my truck was
paid off 16 yrs ago. What should I give up to make room for doing
stuff?

Obvious- Give up the "stuff" you like the least. The stuff that has
gotten in the worst shape already is a prime candidate for culling
out, after all it got that way because you have cared for it less.

Frank Boettcher wrote:
Dump the vehicles. I finally had to do that. Was maintaining four
vehicles that average 200,000 miles.

Might not be too bad, depending on what they are and how they've been
cared for.

Now have two vehicles that average 5K miles with warranties. No car
stuff for five years of so.

You hope.

I lost my enthusiasm for maintaining old cars when I realized that
1- I would have to buy an increasing number of specialized expensive
tools useless for any other jobs
2- cars are easily replaceable and cheap; the newer they are, the
cheaper and more reliable they are....
3- in addition to #2 newer cars are considerably safer
4- I make more money working than an auto mechanic, so unless I enjoy
auto maintenance (which I did back my sports-car days but not for
years since) there is an actual cash loss for every minute I expend on
it.



OH, I have this notion of building a kayak for my 11 yr old daughter
cuz she likes kayaks............

Go and hit yourself over the head.
Unless she is interested in BUILDING a boat, go buy her one. You can
buy a better kayak than you can build anyway (assuming you know the
basic characteristics you want in such craft), and your time is more
valuable than that of a kayak-builder (see #4 above).

Frogwatch wrote:

The WY cabin is a recent addition and will be our place in Summer to
escape the FL heat. We lived out there
when first married 27 yrs ago so it has strong emotional ties for us.

Sounds good.

I recommend a long retreat up there. You will return envigorated and
will be able to assess the toys you haven't seen months with fresh
eyes.



I agree with Katy, we really need to get somebody to dive and scrape
the boat but growing up sorta "financially challenged" spending money
on something so frivolous is alien to both me and my wife. We really
have to get somebody else to do it, I agree.

But if it is necessary to the function of the vessel (and it is), then
it isn't frivolous.

And while I agree whole-heartedly with you that the only way to ensure
any job is done right is to do it yourself, you have to learn to
either delegate or retreat to a log cabin by a pond and limit yourself
to sailing small simple craft.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

The wooden boats have not given too much trouble since I learned to
saturate the wood with epoxy.
Basically, building the boats is sorta therapy. I suffer (or more
like I benefit from) from an amazingly short attention span so I am
unable to deal with ANY passive entertainment (except reading) meaning
I have not been to a movie, concert or even watched TV for about 3
years. This means LOTS of free time that would be spent doing that
stuff that I spend building the boat and working on my old truck,
etc. Of course, you can imagine I am ready to jump overboard after a
few hours of a long sailing passage (yup, same horizon, 10 minutes
later, no change, 10 minutes later... ad infinitum).
When I read about people who go off on long sailing trips, I wonder if
there is something wrong with me or something wrong with them cuz I'd
go nuts after a few days.

For Frank:

I am amazed at how clear the water is off of St. Marks, as clear at
St. Joe in spite of the salt marshes and weird sea life like I
remember St. Joe had many years ago. Unfortunately, I can no longer
snorkel cuz I cannot see under water. I keep thinking I will buy a
pair of prescription goggles but havent done it yet.