Floating

Welcome to the rainy season!

Well at least if you live in Florida. It is raining right now. I sort of like it when it rains at night. It is soothing. At least to me.

But - the rain totally kills the satellite TV signal. Which sucks. I was watching some crap about how the universe began and then the signal just cuts out. It is almost like the universe wants to keep its secrets to itself, and does not want me to know too much about how it all came to be.

So the universe sent the rain, to mess up the satellite TV signal. Better than the universe sending a massive solar flare that takes out the satellites I suppose.

In other news, I have created a pro and con list for a life at sea.

PROS:
no lawn to mow
no trees / hedges to trim
no neighbors
no barking dogs
no assholes knocking on the door trying to sell me Omaha steaks
no chance at all of stepping in dog shit when I walk out the front door
I can fish anytime I want
I can have a live bait pen in my "front yard"
I can use a dingy to get around, which would be really cool
The party spot on Monument Island is always just a short ride away
I can pee off my porch if I get drunk
when the power goes off, I will not even notice it
If I get a wild hair up my ass, I can set sail for the Bahamas and bring my house with me.

CONS:
my house can sink
If it is raining and I need to go somewhere, I will get soaked because I will need to use a dingy to get to land, and then go to the vehicle - at which time there is no way I will still be dry.
hurricanes will suck even more than they already do
assholes throwing out a wake will rock my house
when it is raining and the wind is blowing like it is right now, the house will rock back and forth which could lead to sea sickness
friends will find it to be a pain in the ass to come visit
birds will shit all over everything, so I will be always cleaning up bird shit. Unless the cats can keep the birds away.
the boat will have to be hauled out every so often for bottom painting and whatnot. Bottom paint is expensive. Like a hundred bucks or more a gallon.
I will not have a lot of space.


There may be more pros and/or cons too. I still do not know if the current situation will allow a floating lifestyle.

And now.....for a NEW TV SHOW DISCOVERY!!!

This show is on the G4 network, DirecTV channel 354. From the network that brings you Ninja Warrior comes another wacky import from Japan! It is called "Unbeatable Banzuke". In this show, people have to impossible things. Like complete an obstacle course standing on their hands. Or challenge the "quick muscle" champion to see who can do the most push ups in 3 minutes (the champ pulls off over 200). And other wacky things.

The craziest thing is that there does not seem to be ANY fabulous prizes. No money. No million dollar recording contract. No washer and drier. No new kitchen. No new car. No vacation package in Hawaii. Nothing.

Apparently, if you win all you get is honor - which in America has no cash value.

The Sailboat

So there have been many comments about the sailboat. Which I do not have yet. Just an idea! No, just a dream at this point. The picture above is close to what I would like to get. This one looks like it is a lot of cabin and just a small open space in the back. But the size looks about right.

I would be looking for something in the 25 foot class. Not too big, not too small. It would need a kicker engine because I can not actually sail yet, so I would need the engine to get the boat into safe water so that I could learn to sail without crashing into anyone or running aground. A manageable boat to learn the ancient art of sail on.

This is what is known as a "full keel" boat. As you can see, below the waterline there is a full keel that is fixed. This adds stability to the boat when it is under sail. It also adds weight. The keel is also a lot of the ballast. There may also be water ballast tanks that you fill or empty depending on the winds. The stronger the wind, the more ballast you need. I think. The reason being that as the wind pushes on the sails, the boat will "keel over" or "lean" to one side. The keel keeps the boat from overturning. So the more keel you have, the less the boat will end up leaning and the better it will track.

Those are the advantages. The disadvantages are that the boat has a fixed draft so you can only run in water so shallow. If you have a 4 foot draft, you must ALWAYS stay in more than 4 feet of water. And if you are in 6 feet of water with 4 foot seas, you could till hit the bottom because the waves vary the depth. Or there could be a rock underwater. If you have to get the boat on a trailer to move it (like when a hurricane comes) or to haul it out for maintenance (keeping a boat in the salt water requires this) - then you have a hard time doing so. You can not just use any boat ramp. You have to use a lift. This is because the boat has a fixed draft.

This is a swing keel sailboat. As you can see, it is on a trailer. With a swing keel, you can retract the keel and run in much shallower water. And you can trailer the boat a lot easier too. But there are drawbacks. You lose some of that stability. You may keel over more in any given wind conditions. There is less fixed ballast.

And then there is the issue of more things to go wrong. The swing keel is a mechanical part that uses either a motor OR a rope and pulleys and hinges and stuff to operate. Any of these parts can fail - and when they do you get pissed off.

I guess it all depends on how and where I will keep the boat at. If I am going to keep it in the water than Ill go full keel. If it is going to live on a trailer than Ill get a swing keel. Really I am leaning to a swing keel anyway no matter what. Even if it ends up in the water, I can store the trailer somewhere. Or haul it out when it is not being used.

The real bottom line is what can I find that fits the budget. When I know what the budget can be. The used market will have more to say than I do about what I get. If I find a good deal on a nice boat with a swing keel - then swing keel it is. If it is a full keel then full keel it is.

The best part of all is the simplicity of a sailboat. If the cabin does not stink and the furniture is not ripped up and/or gross, then that is fine. If the sails look good and the rigging is not ratty than that is good. The wiring will be simple to redo. Drop the mast, run some new wires to the mast light (easy) snake more wire to the side lights (easy) and then if there are any cabin lights replace those wires too. All easy.

And the engine is disposable. The type of boat I am looking at will have a small outboard. No more than 10 hp. You do not need much for a kicker.

When I can do this, I probably will. I am crazy enough. It would be a nice cheap weekend getaway to sail off in the bay, drop anchor, and just chill somewhere. If I have a longer weekend, or take vacation time, then I can take an extended sailing trip to the Keys. The hotel room will pretty much go where I go.