DIY 6- to 8-inch Screw-Out Deck Plate Wrench

In this case, there is no good commercial option. As common as these are, I have no idea why.

My F-24 trimaran has 8 of these hatches on the outriggers (amas), and when sailed in spirited conditions, they go underwater a lot. The hulls pant a little with the water pressure, and unless snugged down, they leak a lot. It can be gallons per hour. Snugged down properly, they get stuck. Keep em' clean, keep em' lubed, they can still stick.

  

Beckson makes a crappy wrench. People tap them with blocks of wood, use oversized Crescent wrenches, and even metal pin spanners, all of which can be damaging. 

 The solution is a DIY wrench made with custom fitted stubs that fit the pockets, bolted or screwed to a wooden handle. A bad picture, but there will be a better article in Practical Sailor.

 

New America

And now from the same guy, "Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA. So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!"

Third-grade diction and multiple mistakes. A sub-adolescent taunt, on both Truth Social and the White House X account, obviously intended to distract. "Look at me, holding this shiny ball." People fall for that. And of course, no one in the White House is embarrassed, or rather, they won't show it. I guess, working in (some positions-- there are many very good people) the White House is embarrassing on the face of it these days. 

This is disappointing, disturbing, and frankly terrifying. We have an unstable man with his finger on the button.

 ---

I promise, the next post will be about sailing. But there comes a point when keeping quiet is complicity. This is not OK.

Gulf of America. Lake America.

The President is now pretending that he can change the name of Lake Ontario by signing an executive order, the obvious result being another humiliation United States citizens on the world stage. He ebarrasses himself once again, but is increasingly oblivious to the obvious. Let's just call it what it is.

Diminished mental capacity. 

America was strong. Past tense. Now we are medium and trending downwards. It's hard to be strong with no friends.

 ---- 

 Just as with the Gulf of America change, Google Maps went right along with this embarrassing change. Wimps.

 I prefer Mapquest anyway. Use Mapquest.

 ---

 

So why did the UN choose this time, of major global strife and instability, to vote on a map? Rather obviously, it was a poke at someone who believes he can unilaterally rename stuff, like the Straights of Hormuz. That made it worthwhile, beyond the Equal Earth reasoning. Basically, he is being ignored, and it bugs him. 

 

 

Charging Lithium

 A year ago, I made the leap to lithium (LiFePO4). My lead AGM gave up the ghost, the result of a failed solar panel allowing it to go flat for too long. It was also long in the tooth. I wrenched my shoulder maneuvering it out of its hold, which was horribly located, so the decision was significantly based on its being half the weight. 

 I'd read up on lithium. I picked one that had been vetted by a battery expert I trust. The BMS (battery management system) would cut off charging below freezing, which can be an issue for me. We've all been told that charging below freezing is bad, resulting in lithium plating. But ...

1. 32F has no particular significance to a system that does not contain water. It sounds like just a number that is easy to remember.
2. I have read in several places that, in fact, it is a soft number, and that what matters is tapering off the charge rate at low temperatures. That at some low rate, charging in the cold is non-damaging. 

One source said 0.05C (5% of battery capacity) may be considered safe. My panel can only charge 0.025C on the best of days, and typically more like 0.010C in the winter, when this would matter. 

 C= charging rate/capacity. Many of the studies were done at C=1 to 3, meaning that a battery could be fully recharged in 20-60 minutes. That's FAST for solar systems. I doubt many sailors can recharge the bank in less than 5 hours, and most, more like 10-20 hours (C=0.1 to 0.05).

 

 

It's never clear how far you can extrapolate data without more  testing, but it seems clear from the above graph that at very low charging rates, the effect of temperature on plating (low temperatures) and side reactions (high temperatures) are much less than at common charging rates. While it is convenient to repower you EV, cell phone, or device in an hour or less (C=1 to 3), that has no application to sailors charging from solar (C=0.1 to 0.05 or less). I'm guessing that curve is pretty flat, and that even if it is not, the cycles at C=0.025 at 32 F are probably better than C=1 at 20C. 

 

How about those apples? Nothing for sailors to worry about. 

 

Someone asked about copper fouling

They seemed to think that copper oxide or copper oxychloride were somehow different, because. obviously, bronze props foul. 

These pipes were in the water for a year. The only one with no hard grow (zero) is the plain pipe with no anode. 

Where did they think the idea of copper sheathing came from? 

 I think they slept through chemistry class. 

 

Does it feel like current events in the middle east were PLANNED to perminantly close the Straights of Homuz ...

 ... to the sole benefit of US Big Oil? I think so. This seems ... obvious.

We have radicalized countless people in the Gaza and Iran. How could we not have? With the rise of drone-based munitions, it won't take much to harass most anything, forever, including the Straights. You don't have to close them air tight to convince shippers to make other plans and to increase shipping costs. That is all that is needed.

Drawing out the war in the Ukraine serves the same purpose; US oil and LNG exports to Europe have surged. The longer it lasts, the hotter it gets, the longer it will take for Europe and Russia to normalize relations.

It seems we have intentionally created a new "warm" war, that won't end, at the cost of many lives, at huge cost to the taxpayer,  to the sole benefit of Big Oil.

 ----

 I can see this. It seems ... Obvious. The only alternative is that Donald Trumps is massively stupid. Possible. But I think corrupt and self-serving is far more plausible and likely.

 Can we afford such intentional mismanagement of world events? Forget your politics. By the time all is said and done, your PERSONAL share is going to be a new car. Bullshit.

A Little Known Cameo from the Sixth Sence

 Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Eagle at the Masthead

Bald eagles were very nearly extinct when I was a boy. The first one I saw in wild was under a bridge in my 20s. Now they have become so common as to become destructive pests in the marina. 

  

 

This bird was less damaging (1" = 1' scale model of my F-24, made from rebar and 3/16" wire):

 

 

The carnage: I'm not anti-eagle, but For the last two years I've given up on wind instruments aloft, after replacing two vanes, only to have them destroyed. I've been using shroud ribbons and bow vanes, which work very well.

  

 

Paint Mixer / Stir

The ones they sell at the store are for lightweight paints that only need a lightweight re-mix.  They are not for heavy anti-fouling paints that have settled copper. They can handle high viscosity and they are a bear to clean.

 I had to mix 30 paints for this project.

 

 

My go-to mixer for most paints is NOT the commercial version (left), but the simple paddle turbine (right), common in labs and industry, but not at paint stores. I have access to all sorts of mixers and sometimes fabricate my own. The one on the right is best. Also, notice how easily it is wiped clean (it's been used hundreds of times, maybe more). I've made small ones to fit into touch-up and craft paint jars. Start in the middle, work your way down and around, and tilt occasionally to mix top-to-bottom. Very fast to mix heavy stuff, and easy to wipe clean. 

 

 

 

 

 

Corsair 760 Speed Polar

 Not an F-24 (a bit faster), but relatable.

 [Note. This was generated by a velocity prediction program, not testing, so that is that. Typically, they are optimistic, assuming flat water, perfect sails, an empty boat, and  glass-smooth hull with no anti-fouling paint. You can subtract 0.5-1 knots, depending on the point of sail, although I've been very close to this.]