Well, we really need to be making our way north...but we haven't left yet. The simple reason...we aren't quite sure where to go. Due to insurance we need to be north of Cape Hattaras by June 1st, but they don't really care where beyond that.
Right now, the controlling factor is trying to figure out where we can go so we can make some progress on the hard top project. For quite a while now I've wanted to replace the soft bimini on the boat with a hard top. The new top would provide me with a safer way to access the boom and would provide a good platform for the solar I want to add to the boat.
I've tried getting this project rolling several times now after the $15K sticker shock of the pre-fabricated top I found, but have not had much luck. Lack of reliable tradespeople have been a big issue (this project was originally on the list for the yard last year in Deltaville...where they barely accomplished anything in the course of the summer). While I'm not an expert, I think I can manage to build a fiberglass top myself (especially when most of the surface will be covered in solar panels or non-skid), but the issue there is having decent work space and access to a good welder.
I thought I might be able to get the project going while in Hammock, but the work space I thought might work out ended up not being a good option. And the welder I had hoped to use (one that did a great job on some minor welding I had done before) apparently had a stroke and I found the family was auctioning off the business when I arrived back in the area. It is very sad as a good person in the boating industry is hard to find and I'm sure he will be missed.
A blogging friend has offered to help with the project and right now that seems like the best possibility. But there are logistical issues with timing and if the yard they are stationed at can accommodate my boat (catamarans just don't fit everywhere...particularly narrow slips and Travellift bays). Throw in the fact we still have cars and it sounds like we may need them for the project and shuttling them back up the coast and storing them as we travel is another added wrinkle.
So, other than continuing cataloging everything we have and fixing things that seem to continually break on the boat, we are working on leaving as soon as we can get a plan to firm up a bit. Maybe things will fall in place tomorrow...keeping my fingers crossed.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Homeless...With Too Much Stuff
I woke up this morning and find myself, for the first time in about 23 years, homeless. At least that is how the government sees me. We closed on the house yesterday evening without even being there, having Fed-Ex'd the signed paperwork to the title company a couple days ago. So today I have no fixed address.
And yet for having no house, we still seem to have a lot of stuff. So today we spent more time trying to find places for stuff. Ever since I moved aboard, I've been using the rear berth as a storage area. The cabinet in the berth was where the previous owner had put some spares and supplies already, so it just became the defacto garage. Whenever I had larger items or things that I just didn't know where to stow, they ended up piled in that berth. So yesterday I decided I wanted to reclaim that berth...or at least most of it.
We now have two nice dry storage areas in the peaks of the two hulls, and those seemed like the perfect places. You don't really want to store heavy items in the ends of the hulls, but the space would be perfect for big and bulky items. Rolls of fabric for the dinghy chaps project and window coverings went in the hold. Other longer term project items found their way to the spaces further from the holds hatch.
A couple of the items that have been living on the berth bed were my bags of hand tools. The main reason I was storing them there is that is where I also had the dehumidifier hooked up, and I figured keeping the tools in the least humid part of the boat was a good idea. But they can't take up permanent residence on the bed, so I had to come up with another solution.
Since the port forward hold is at the opposite corner of the boat from the generator, I figured placing the tools there would help to balance out the boat (the starboard rear always sat just a little lower in the water due to the generator). But what to do about moisture and rust. I did some research and found that some people recommended linseed oil as a protectant and others suggested storing tools in boxes with DampRid or a similar product to help dehumidify the tools.
Looking into DampRid, I found the chemical they use is Calcium Chloride, which can be purchased cheaper in pool supply stores or as ice melt. The other problem is that it dissolves into solution as part of the water attracting process, which I thought might get messy and makes reuse difficult. Continuing my research I found a better option...I think. You know those little packets of stuff you find in electronics packaging and medicines? It is called silica gel (and the packets usually say "silica gel, do not eat") and it is a desiccant that doesn't dissolve. In fact, you can reuse it by drying it out in an oven at 250 degrees for a while. This sounded like a better option to me.
But how do you get a lot of silica gel without buying thousands of dollars worth of electronics or thousands of bottles of aspirin? If I had only known I could have saved all those little packets, but they are long gone. You can, however, buy it in bulk at your local craft store (Michael's or similar). But don't go in there and ask them for silica gel or a desiccant or a chemical to keep tools from rusting or you will get some strange looks. However, if you go and ask them for the stuff used to dry flowers, they will point you to a 5 pound box of the stuff. Then all I needed was a way to use it without making a mess and picking grit out of my tools.
The solution I came up with is similar to small versions of the DampRid buckets. I found some small plastic containers with screw-on lids from the dollar store, and a pair of pantyhose from the same place. I cut holes in the middle of the lids, smoothed the holes with a lighter, and cut bands of the pantyhose (also using a lighter so they wouldn't unravel) to make screens for the holes. Fill the container about half-full of silica gel, place the pantyhose over the opening, screw on the lid, and presto - one large, spill resistant desiccant pack. I found a couple storage boxes with gaskets and placed my tools in those boxes along with a couple of my desiccant jars. Hopefully that along with the oil treatment will help keep the rust at bay.
So, I've reclaimed some of the space in the berth now...at least enough I can now access the engine underneath without having to move a bunch of stuff.
One other interesting thing happened yesterday. A nice guy I met back in Colorado at ZeroToCruising's party dropped by for a visit. He is originally from the north Florida area and was visiting family. He stopped by, and I gave him a tour of our boat (even though it was a total mess right in the middle of our reorganization attempt), a tour of the marina, and then we went to lunch. Since he was a local and likes to fish, I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions because I still know almost nothing about deep sea fishing. We had a nice visit before he had to head back to his family. Thanks for stopping by David, it was good to see you again, and thanks for lunch too!
Well, I had better get back to work so we can get this boat moving north.
And yet for having no house, we still seem to have a lot of stuff. So today we spent more time trying to find places for stuff. Ever since I moved aboard, I've been using the rear berth as a storage area. The cabinet in the berth was where the previous owner had put some spares and supplies already, so it just became the defacto garage. Whenever I had larger items or things that I just didn't know where to stow, they ended up piled in that berth. So yesterday I decided I wanted to reclaim that berth...or at least most of it.
We now have two nice dry storage areas in the peaks of the two hulls, and those seemed like the perfect places. You don't really want to store heavy items in the ends of the hulls, but the space would be perfect for big and bulky items. Rolls of fabric for the dinghy chaps project and window coverings went in the hold. Other longer term project items found their way to the spaces further from the holds hatch.
 |
| It had a LOT more stuff in it when we started. |
A couple of the items that have been living on the berth bed were my bags of hand tools. The main reason I was storing them there is that is where I also had the dehumidifier hooked up, and I figured keeping the tools in the least humid part of the boat was a good idea. But they can't take up permanent residence on the bed, so I had to come up with another solution.
Since the port forward hold is at the opposite corner of the boat from the generator, I figured placing the tools there would help to balance out the boat (the starboard rear always sat just a little lower in the water due to the generator). But what to do about moisture and rust. I did some research and found that some people recommended linseed oil as a protectant and others suggested storing tools in boxes with DampRid or a similar product to help dehumidify the tools.
 |
| Anyone know where I can get a pie shaped container? |
Looking into DampRid, I found the chemical they use is Calcium Chloride, which can be purchased cheaper in pool supply stores or as ice melt. The other problem is that it dissolves into solution as part of the water attracting process, which I thought might get messy and makes reuse difficult. Continuing my research I found a better option...I think. You know those little packets of stuff you find in electronics packaging and medicines? It is called silica gel (and the packets usually say "silica gel, do not eat") and it is a desiccant that doesn't dissolve. In fact, you can reuse it by drying it out in an oven at 250 degrees for a while. This sounded like a better option to me.
But how do you get a lot of silica gel without buying thousands of dollars worth of electronics or thousands of bottles of aspirin? If I had only known I could have saved all those little packets, but they are long gone. You can, however, buy it in bulk at your local craft store (Michael's or similar). But don't go in there and ask them for silica gel or a desiccant or a chemical to keep tools from rusting or you will get some strange looks. However, if you go and ask them for the stuff used to dry flowers, they will point you to a 5 pound box of the stuff. Then all I needed was a way to use it without making a mess and picking grit out of my tools.
The solution I came up with is similar to small versions of the DampRid buckets. I found some small plastic containers with screw-on lids from the dollar store, and a pair of pantyhose from the same place. I cut holes in the middle of the lids, smoothed the holes with a lighter, and cut bands of the pantyhose (also using a lighter so they wouldn't unravel) to make screens for the holes. Fill the container about half-full of silica gel, place the pantyhose over the opening, screw on the lid, and presto - one large, spill resistant desiccant pack. I found a couple storage boxes with gaskets and placed my tools in those boxes along with a couple of my desiccant jars. Hopefully that along with the oil treatment will help keep the rust at bay.
 |
| Homemade desiccant jars |
So, I've reclaimed some of the space in the berth now...at least enough I can now access the engine underneath without having to move a bunch of stuff.
 |
| Hold filling up. |
One other interesting thing happened yesterday. A nice guy I met back in Colorado at ZeroToCruising's party dropped by for a visit. He is originally from the north Florida area and was visiting family. He stopped by, and I gave him a tour of our boat (even though it was a total mess right in the middle of our reorganization attempt), a tour of the marina, and then we went to lunch. Since he was a local and likes to fish, I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions because I still know almost nothing about deep sea fishing. We had a nice visit before he had to head back to his family. Thanks for stopping by David, it was good to see you again, and thanks for lunch too!
Well, I had better get back to work so we can get this boat moving north.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Did Someone Mention Crazy?
The other day I mentioned that things have been a bit crazy here as we prepare to make our way out of the hurricane box my insurance company has defined in our policy. Well, karma or life or whatever it is, decided to show me that, where there is a little crazy, there can always be more.
On Monday we started installing lifeline netting on our boat. Lifeline netting can usually be found on cruising boats that have either kids or pets. We have the latter and would like to keep them on board, especially after Madison's little adventure off the dock the other day. While the videos and instructions all make it sound easy, it took us most of a day to do about 2/3 of one side of the boat. Getting the spacing right and working around curves and hardware can be a pain. I don't even want to know how many times we threaded something, didn't like it, unthreaded, and retried.
So, on day two of what was supposed to be a half-day project, we were making better progress and completed installing the same amount of netting that took us all day Monday in about 3 hours. It was at this point that I needed to go find some clips to allow me to unhook the netting where there are gates in the lifelines (being able to use the gates seems like a good thing). I went to every hardware store in town (two towns, four stores actually) but couldn't find a plastic clip I could use to tie to the netting. Finally, I found a set of cheap bungee cords at a local Dollar Tree and decided to scavenge the plastic clips from those cords.
While we were out shopping, I got a call from our realtor who told me the appraisal on the house we are selling had finally been done (we previously had to alter the contract due to the inability to get an appraiser out in a more reasonable time frame...I guess they are busy in Denver these days). The good news was that the appraisal came back at the sale price, so we had cleared the last big hurdle before closing. The bad news is that, as late as it had been, the likelihood of an early closing was close to nil.
Of course, about 15 minutes later I got another call from the agent telling me they now think they can close on Friday. This Friday. Oh no! We were suddenly in a panic to see how we could get the paperwork sent to us, signed, and returned to Colorado in time for a Friday closing (for some reason, Colorado doesn't allow for electronic signatures and only blue ink on paper is acceptable). Oh, and did I mention that some of the documents need to be notarized? We come up with a plan to have the title company email us the documents so we could print them here, sign, and then next-day mail them.
So, netting project on hold, we start searching for options to print the paperwork and find a notary. We even bought a printer in case we couldn't find another option. Fortunately the resort we are staying at has a business center (a computer with printer) and even has a notary on staff, so we thought we were in good shape. Well...until the package from the title company arrived (conveniently at 7pm local time...or 5pm Colorado time). Included in the instructions was a note that it had to be printed on legal-sized paper.
Naturally, the business center doesn't have legal paper. We run around looking for legal paper and the only office store in town (along with the other big box stores that might have some) were out. About this time I felt like I was banging my head on a brick wall. Then we found out that while the local Staples didn't have any legal paper in stock, the copy center could print them for us. (I guess the copy center doesn't get their legal paper from the same source as the rest of the store). We get the documents printed out and make our way back home for the night.
The next morning we look over the documents and find a number of mistakes. Did I mention that we had an appointment with the notary at 9 am...which is 7 am Colorado time...and before the title company would be open? How is it that a title company, whose only job is to get legal paperwork details right, does this one task so poorly? Adding to the pressure is the fact that, if there is any hope of closing on Friday, the paperwork needs to be Fed-Ex'd that day. We postpone the appointment with the notary and make a bunch of phone calls to the title company and the realtor. We finally get a hold of Equity Title Associates, and they tell us they will get the missing papers to us in 15 minutes. After not seeing them for one and a half hours, we call back and suddenly the missing paperwork doesn't exist because they are waiting for information from the lender. Then the story became that they are working on it and will have it to us shortly. Finally, we are able to procure the missing paperwork, get everything signed and notarized, and make the trip over to the Fed-Ex facility we found to drop it all off. We can only hope we found all the title companies mistakes and the closing goes off as planned.
Now, where were we? Oh yeah, back to the netting that has been hanging half-installed on the boat. We finally managed to get all of it installed, and it only took 3 calendar days. We are also working on plans for the trip north. It doesn't seem like we'll have much time to do any sightseeing as we head north. With all the misfires trying to get the hard-top bimini project going, I'm trying to find someone north of Cape Hatteras where we can spend a few weeks and get the top made. If anyone knows of a good welder or fiberglass person on the coast anywhere north of the Carolinas, let me know.
As a tropical depression passes us by (earlier than normal and threatening to be the first named storm of the season), we continue making plans to head north starting in just a couple more days. Yeah...just a bit crazy.
On Monday we started installing lifeline netting on our boat. Lifeline netting can usually be found on cruising boats that have either kids or pets. We have the latter and would like to keep them on board, especially after Madison's little adventure off the dock the other day. While the videos and instructions all make it sound easy, it took us most of a day to do about 2/3 of one side of the boat. Getting the spacing right and working around curves and hardware can be a pain. I don't even want to know how many times we threaded something, didn't like it, unthreaded, and retried.
 |
| All we managed to install the first day |
So, on day two of what was supposed to be a half-day project, we were making better progress and completed installing the same amount of netting that took us all day Monday in about 3 hours. It was at this point that I needed to go find some clips to allow me to unhook the netting where there are gates in the lifelines (being able to use the gates seems like a good thing). I went to every hardware store in town (two towns, four stores actually) but couldn't find a plastic clip I could use to tie to the netting. Finally, I found a set of cheap bungee cords at a local Dollar Tree and decided to scavenge the plastic clips from those cords.
 |
| Trying to figure out proper spacing during the install. |
While we were out shopping, I got a call from our realtor who told me the appraisal on the house we are selling had finally been done (we previously had to alter the contract due to the inability to get an appraiser out in a more reasonable time frame...I guess they are busy in Denver these days). The good news was that the appraisal came back at the sale price, so we had cleared the last big hurdle before closing. The bad news is that, as late as it had been, the likelihood of an early closing was close to nil.
Of course, about 15 minutes later I got another call from the agent telling me they now think they can close on Friday. This Friday. Oh no! We were suddenly in a panic to see how we could get the paperwork sent to us, signed, and returned to Colorado in time for a Friday closing (for some reason, Colorado doesn't allow for electronic signatures and only blue ink on paper is acceptable). Oh, and did I mention that some of the documents need to be notarized? We come up with a plan to have the title company email us the documents so we could print them here, sign, and then next-day mail them.
So, netting project on hold, we start searching for options to print the paperwork and find a notary. We even bought a printer in case we couldn't find another option. Fortunately the resort we are staying at has a business center (a computer with printer) and even has a notary on staff, so we thought we were in good shape. Well...until the package from the title company arrived (conveniently at 7pm local time...or 5pm Colorado time). Included in the instructions was a note that it had to be printed on legal-sized paper.
Naturally, the business center doesn't have legal paper. We run around looking for legal paper and the only office store in town (along with the other big box stores that might have some) were out. About this time I felt like I was banging my head on a brick wall. Then we found out that while the local Staples didn't have any legal paper in stock, the copy center could print them for us. (I guess the copy center doesn't get their legal paper from the same source as the rest of the store). We get the documents printed out and make our way back home for the night.
The next morning we look over the documents and find a number of mistakes. Did I mention that we had an appointment with the notary at 9 am...which is 7 am Colorado time...and before the title company would be open? How is it that a title company, whose only job is to get legal paperwork details right, does this one task so poorly? Adding to the pressure is the fact that, if there is any hope of closing on Friday, the paperwork needs to be Fed-Ex'd that day. We postpone the appointment with the notary and make a bunch of phone calls to the title company and the realtor. We finally get a hold of Equity Title Associates, and they tell us they will get the missing papers to us in 15 minutes. After not seeing them for one and a half hours, we call back and suddenly the missing paperwork doesn't exist because they are waiting for information from the lender. Then the story became that they are working on it and will have it to us shortly. Finally, we are able to procure the missing paperwork, get everything signed and notarized, and make the trip over to the Fed-Ex facility we found to drop it all off. We can only hope we found all the title companies mistakes and the closing goes off as planned.
Now, where were we? Oh yeah, back to the netting that has been hanging half-installed on the boat. We finally managed to get all of it installed, and it only took 3 calendar days. We are also working on plans for the trip north. It doesn't seem like we'll have much time to do any sightseeing as we head north. With all the misfires trying to get the hard-top bimini project going, I'm trying to find someone north of Cape Hatteras where we can spend a few weeks and get the top made. If anyone knows of a good welder or fiberglass person on the coast anywhere north of the Carolinas, let me know.
 |
| Hopefully that will help keep the dogs and gear on board. |
As a tropical depression passes us by (earlier than normal and threatening to be the first named storm of the season), we continue making plans to head north starting in just a couple more days. Yeah...just a bit crazy.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Public Service Announcement
Just a quick public service announcement today. Things always seem to take longer on a boat. Even if you watch a how-to video and it seems really easy, it will take at least 4x longer than you planned...and usually more like 8x longer.
Yeah, I should have the lifeline netting installed in a few hours....so far a few has been about 8 hours and I'm almost half way done.
Yeah, I should have the lifeline netting installed in a few hours....so far a few has been about 8 hours and I'm almost half way done.
Just Another Crazy Week
If there is one term to describe how it has felt since I got back to the boat with my wife and the dogs...the word has been crazy. The sailing vessel Rover is again under a bit of a time crunch. We have to get moving north before our floating chariot turns back into a pumpkin (O.K....until our insurance is happy with our location for the upcoming "H" season). The past couple weeks we have been trying to move my wife and the last of our worldly possessions onto the boat, do some of the more important repairs and upgrades that required two hands, and get everything organized and ready to make Rover actually rove again.
Thanks to some recent rebedding work, we have reclaimed the two large storage areas in the peaks of the hulls from the leaks that have prevented storage there until now. Of course, figuring out how to store items and what to store where has been a challenge. Numerous trips to stores to find storage boxes to keep holds organized has eaten up a lot of time. So has keeping a log of what we are putting where so we can find it again when needed.
We have also been trying a few new things to see how we like them on the boat. We got a couple of relatively inexpensive folding bikes. In order to try slowing down the effects of the corrosive sailing environment, we treated the bikes (as best we could) both internally and externally using car wax and/or linseed oil. We also tried a clothes washing machine, but after it didn't meet our expectations, we returned it. Meanwhile, we bought a bucket and plunger so we can do some laundry as needed without having to lug everything to a laundromat.
Since we didn't get around to mat-training our dogs (or tray-training or whatever you would call getting them to "potty" on a carpeted tray) before we got to the boat, we decided we had better get started on that as well. You can actually buy pre-made potty mats, but they seem a bit pricey for a tray and a replacable grass pad. I know others recommend getting a tray from a dog crate and a remnant of fake turf carpet, but I wasn't sure how long one of those would last. We ended up buying a plastic tray normally placed under a water heater and putting some fake grass in it that we found as a remnant at the local big box home improvement store and made one for under $20. The tray even comes with a pre-made hole in the side for tying the "dunking" line on. So far Madison has been unimpressed, but after trying a couple of tricks to see if we can make some progress, Tucker "watered" it this morning (good boy!).
One other thing we recently purchased for the dogs were new harnesses. Basic collars are OK for suburban living I guess, but I wanted something a little better for them when they don't have their life jackets on. Tucker has always been able to slip out of a collar when he really wanted to, and I was thinking that something I could grab easily by hand or with a boat hook if necessary would be a good idea. We have safety harnesses so I figured the dogs should too. We found a Kong Comfort Harness that has a handle loop at the top of the harness, and it seemed like a perfect solution.
Little did I know that two days later we'd be putting the harness to the test. This morning as we were getting ready to make another run to yet another store, our older dog decided to try visiting another dog that was on the dock below. Unfortunately Madison wasn't on the dock at the time, she was on the sea wall. And when she leaned a little too far over the edge of the wall, she slipped and fell into the water in between the wall and the dock. I'm glad to say that the handle performed as it should, and I was able to quickly pluck her out of the water by hand. Other than wet, Madison was fine. I'll definitely recommend buying a harness like this for anyone who plans to take a dog near the water...especially a naturally curious and fearless dog. Thanks for adding just a little more crazy to the day, Madison.
Now that the stanchions are fixed, I think we'll be installing the safety netting on the lifelines today...to keep Madison (and Tucker) on board.
Thanks to some recent rebedding work, we have reclaimed the two large storage areas in the peaks of the hulls from the leaks that have prevented storage there until now. Of course, figuring out how to store items and what to store where has been a challenge. Numerous trips to stores to find storage boxes to keep holds organized has eaten up a lot of time. So has keeping a log of what we are putting where so we can find it again when needed.
We have also been trying a few new things to see how we like them on the boat. We got a couple of relatively inexpensive folding bikes. In order to try slowing down the effects of the corrosive sailing environment, we treated the bikes (as best we could) both internally and externally using car wax and/or linseed oil. We also tried a clothes washing machine, but after it didn't meet our expectations, we returned it. Meanwhile, we bought a bucket and plunger so we can do some laundry as needed without having to lug everything to a laundromat.
 |
| A true cruisers clothes washer...under $5 |
Since we didn't get around to mat-training our dogs (or tray-training or whatever you would call getting them to "potty" on a carpeted tray) before we got to the boat, we decided we had better get started on that as well. You can actually buy pre-made potty mats, but they seem a bit pricey for a tray and a replacable grass pad. I know others recommend getting a tray from a dog crate and a remnant of fake turf carpet, but I wasn't sure how long one of those would last. We ended up buying a plastic tray normally placed under a water heater and putting some fake grass in it that we found as a remnant at the local big box home improvement store and made one for under $20. The tray even comes with a pre-made hole in the side for tying the "dunking" line on. So far Madison has been unimpressed, but after trying a couple of tricks to see if we can make some progress, Tucker "watered" it this morning (good boy!).
One other thing we recently purchased for the dogs were new harnesses. Basic collars are OK for suburban living I guess, but I wanted something a little better for them when they don't have their life jackets on. Tucker has always been able to slip out of a collar when he really wanted to, and I was thinking that something I could grab easily by hand or with a boat hook if necessary would be a good idea. We have safety harnesses so I figured the dogs should too. We found a Kong Comfort Harness that has a handle loop at the top of the harness, and it seemed like a perfect solution.
 |
| Madison showing off her new safety harness |
Little did I know that two days later we'd be putting the harness to the test. This morning as we were getting ready to make another run to yet another store, our older dog decided to try visiting another dog that was on the dock below. Unfortunately Madison wasn't on the dock at the time, she was on the sea wall. And when she leaned a little too far over the edge of the wall, she slipped and fell into the water in between the wall and the dock. I'm glad to say that the handle performed as it should, and I was able to quickly pluck her out of the water by hand. Other than wet, Madison was fine. I'll definitely recommend buying a harness like this for anyone who plans to take a dog near the water...especially a naturally curious and fearless dog. Thanks for adding just a little more crazy to the day, Madison.
Now that the stanchions are fixed, I think we'll be installing the safety netting on the lifelines today...to keep Madison (and Tucker) on board.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Bikes!
Ever since I started living on the boat, I realized that having a bicycle would be a good thing. Thus far I've had a car to help get me from place to place, but eventually the plan is not to have one. It is a pain to move the car whenever you move the boat and, well, they don't float, so taking it down island isn't a possibility. There have been a number of times, even with the car, I would have rather had a bike. In Brunswick it was just as easy to go downtown on a bicycle as it was in a car. Just getting around a marina is often easier and faster on a bike.
I've been a bit hesitant to get one for a couple reasons. First is rust. Coming from a state where humidity levels above 50% would be considered pretty humid and there are no corrosive salts to contend with, I was worried that any bike would turn to a pile of rust on a boat. The other issue is simply where to put the things. While I would have loved to keep our crossover bikes, they could have only been stored out on deck. A folding bicycle would be better as we could store them in one of the spare berths, but I wondered how well they worked since I hadn't ever used one.
I had been keeping an eye on Craigslist for a while now and what I was finding was that the only folding bikes that seemed to come up were the rather expensive ones...and even used they wanted a pretty hefty price. I'm sure the bikes are worth it, but I'm not sure I know how to take care of an $800 bicycle, even if I can get it for $300~400. If anyone has any tips for combating rust on such things, please let me know (I've heard recommendations for all sorts of things from linseed oil, waxes, and WD-40...and equal numbers saying to never use the exact same things).
Well, remember that trip to Camping World? The reason we were there wasn't to find a washing machine, but instead the purpose was to look at some inexpensive folding bikes they carry, see if we could ride one, and generally try to determine if they were worth having. We figured we would find some folding bikes to try when we were down here in Florida, but the only places we've found that carry them are West Marine and Camping World. Since Camping World had a bike for $140 on sale (about 1/4 the price of the used ones or the ones at West Marine), we decided we would go check them out. After a brief test ride, we decided to take a couple home.
The bikes we got are the Adventurer 6-speed folding bike. While not the best quality, they were reasonable quality and I think would serve our purpose well. They are a steel and alloy frame as best I can tell, so rust may be an issue if the paint chips and on exposed parts (like the chain). They ride fairly well for a small folding bicycle with a short wheel base. Given the size of the bike, seat adjustment is a bit limited and I could probably use an additional inch myself, but most under 5'11" or so should be OK with the fit. The derailleurs are Shimano..at least a recognizable name. The bike comes with fenders and a carrier rack, two reasonable features for land transportation for a cruiser.
Buying a bike from Camping World (or any other non-bike specific shop) can be an issue for those not knowledgeable in bicycle repair and maintenance. The bike came in the original box with no setup or tuning. When we got them home I had to adjust the derailleurs to get them to shift correctly and adjust the brakes to get them to stop squeaking and work properly (one of the pads was actually loose). One of the bikes had a brake cable adjustment that was cross threaded and we had to go back to Camping World where they let me swap the part out on their floor model (which had another issue with the handlebar so we couldn't just swap the entire bike). But, after getting everything set up, I've been pleased with the initial use of the bikes.
As I hinted to above, I don't get full leg extension, but it is pretty close...and something I can live with for a folding bike. The 6 speeds seem to be about right for the bike. I was able to take it over the nearby ICW fixed bridge (65' height at center) comfortably in first gear. 5th or 6th gears seem to be good for flat to slightly downhill cruising. In general I don't seem to miss the lack of an additional 15 gears to choose from on a larger bike. The wheel base is short, so it feels just a bit less stable than a full size bike, but I only really have any issue with it during slow speed maneuvering and am still able to ride it up and down the dock ramps without feeling like I'm going to crash.
So, if I can keep it from rusting apart, I think we have a reasonable solution for now. Given the price, it seems like a good bike to "learn about" living with bikes on a boat even if we make some mistakes and they do rust apart. Now, should I go try to find some Boeshield, ACF-50, or linseed oil to coat the thing....hmm....
I've been a bit hesitant to get one for a couple reasons. First is rust. Coming from a state where humidity levels above 50% would be considered pretty humid and there are no corrosive salts to contend with, I was worried that any bike would turn to a pile of rust on a boat. The other issue is simply where to put the things. While I would have loved to keep our crossover bikes, they could have only been stored out on deck. A folding bicycle would be better as we could store them in one of the spare berths, but I wondered how well they worked since I hadn't ever used one.
I had been keeping an eye on Craigslist for a while now and what I was finding was that the only folding bikes that seemed to come up were the rather expensive ones...and even used they wanted a pretty hefty price. I'm sure the bikes are worth it, but I'm not sure I know how to take care of an $800 bicycle, even if I can get it for $300~400. If anyone has any tips for combating rust on such things, please let me know (I've heard recommendations for all sorts of things from linseed oil, waxes, and WD-40...and equal numbers saying to never use the exact same things).
Well, remember that trip to Camping World? The reason we were there wasn't to find a washing machine, but instead the purpose was to look at some inexpensive folding bikes they carry, see if we could ride one, and generally try to determine if they were worth having. We figured we would find some folding bikes to try when we were down here in Florida, but the only places we've found that carry them are West Marine and Camping World. Since Camping World had a bike for $140 on sale (about 1/4 the price of the used ones or the ones at West Marine), we decided we would go check them out. After a brief test ride, we decided to take a couple home.
The bikes we got are the Adventurer 6-speed folding bike. While not the best quality, they were reasonable quality and I think would serve our purpose well. They are a steel and alloy frame as best I can tell, so rust may be an issue if the paint chips and on exposed parts (like the chain). They ride fairly well for a small folding bicycle with a short wheel base. Given the size of the bike, seat adjustment is a bit limited and I could probably use an additional inch myself, but most under 5'11" or so should be OK with the fit. The derailleurs are Shimano..at least a recognizable name. The bike comes with fenders and a carrier rack, two reasonable features for land transportation for a cruiser.
Buying a bike from Camping World (or any other non-bike specific shop) can be an issue for those not knowledgeable in bicycle repair and maintenance. The bike came in the original box with no setup or tuning. When we got them home I had to adjust the derailleurs to get them to shift correctly and adjust the brakes to get them to stop squeaking and work properly (one of the pads was actually loose). One of the bikes had a brake cable adjustment that was cross threaded and we had to go back to Camping World where they let me swap the part out on their floor model (which had another issue with the handlebar so we couldn't just swap the entire bike). But, after getting everything set up, I've been pleased with the initial use of the bikes.
As I hinted to above, I don't get full leg extension, but it is pretty close...and something I can live with for a folding bike. The 6 speeds seem to be about right for the bike. I was able to take it over the nearby ICW fixed bridge (65' height at center) comfortably in first gear. 5th or 6th gears seem to be good for flat to slightly downhill cruising. In general I don't seem to miss the lack of an additional 15 gears to choose from on a larger bike. The wheel base is short, so it feels just a bit less stable than a full size bike, but I only really have any issue with it during slow speed maneuvering and am still able to ride it up and down the dock ramps without feeling like I'm going to crash.
So, if I can keep it from rusting apart, I think we have a reasonable solution for now. Given the price, it seems like a good bike to "learn about" living with bikes on a boat even if we make some mistakes and they do rust apart. Now, should I go try to find some Boeshield, ACF-50, or linseed oil to coat the thing....hmm....
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
For Dogs That Don't Like Water...
I've long held the belief that our dogs just weren't all that fond of water. But after taking them to the beach many of the days we've been here, it seems I was wrong. They really like the beach and playing in the surf.
I think they are adjusting to beach and salt life just fine...
So, I guess it is just fresh water...or more likely baths...they don't like. They don't seem all that thrilled at the rinse showers at the beach but put up with it for the chance to go play in the surf. I think the sea may have even shaven a couple years off of how Madison (our 11 year old - the darker one) feels. It had been a while since I've seen her chase Tucker around.
I'm glad they are enjoying themselves.
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| Who me...wet...nah. |
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| What water? |
So, I guess it is just fresh water...or more likely baths...they don't like. They don't seem all that thrilled at the rinse showers at the beach but put up with it for the chance to go play in the surf. I think the sea may have even shaven a couple years off of how Madison (our 11 year old - the darker one) feels. It had been a while since I've seen her chase Tucker around.
I'm glad they are enjoying themselves.
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