Bare Feet or Shoes?

 I'm firmly in the shoes camp. I've stubbed to many toes and even on my beach cat, years ago, I prefered wet suit boots if the wind was up at all. Better grip. But iron sailor in past went barefoot in the rigging around the Horn (leather soles were more dangerous than cold toes--I bet they would have scooped up rubber-soled trainers in a heartbeat) and the debate continues in some circles.

I wonder if this has ever been systematically tested.

• I'd bet dinner that the correct sole will out grip skin on every surface. I doubt it even merits serious discussion.
• I've heard of studio dancing, but always with the caveat that the feet can't be sweaty. Boats get rain and seawater on them, so forget that.
• Surfing feels better with bare feet, but the reason is nerve endings. You can feel the board better. I've surfed with wet suit boots, and the traction was the same or better, but the feel was less. But I was also not cringing with fear every step, wondering if I was going to cream something. If you slide on a board you just fall, so toe protection, pain, and fear don't enter in. Also, the deck of a surfboard is optimized (soft wax) for bare feet. I doubt anyone spreads surf wax on the their side decks. Without a good coating of surf wax, a board is slicker than eel shit.
• I've heard you can "feel" more with bare feet. I sailed a beach cat for a decade, winter and summer, and I can honestly say I never felt bare feet were better. If there was serious wind, boots for 100% certain. Better traction. The only reason for bare feet was casual days of beach bumming or incinerator heat and light winds.
• I've known of a rock rock climbing problems that are done bare foot, but only because a toe needs to fit in a very specific hole. Weird stuff, climbers consider it very, very fringe. 99.999% of the time shoes are better.
• Deck shoes should be thin-soled for feel and so that they conform over and around ropes. Not the best for tennis or miles of walking, but that is what true performance deck shoes are. "Boat shoes," as distinct from deck shoes, never appealed to me. I'm not into style. Multi-court shoes and trainers can certainly work on decks, but the soles are thicker than optimum to allow padding for running and jumping. I don't run or jump on a boat, at least not the the point where additional padding is required. I do wear orthodics for flat feet. I have multiple pairs, some for higher impact sports, including hiking, and some thin for sailing, cycling, and skating/skiing.
• There is always the matter of skin cancer and covering up. Some are deniers. I admit to wearing multi-strap sandals on some of the hottest days ... with thick sunscreen.
  

December is just a few days away, so I'm not going to be testing any of that anytime soon.

Stove Top Heater

 Every fall someone re-posts the idea of heating the cabin with a flower pot on the stove. I was smart enough to test this at home, where the pot shattered, throwing hot bits around the kitchen. It is an unsafe idea that might wok sort of and might get you burned or your boat damaged. Just no.

 As long as the link stays live, here is the article I wrote for Good Old Boat about an improved stove top heater. This was written about 5 years ago, and I would not change a thing. It works. Stove Top Cabin Heater

 

The concept was simplicity itself:

• We already have an engineered heat source with fuel supply, regulation, and a safe base.
• The Dickenson Cozy Cabin Heater was/is nothing more than a burner, heat transfer space, and a properly sized flue.
• A stainless stew pot serves for the heat transfer space, though perhaps not quite on the stoves highest setting.
  
• A 1-inch flue is a good match for a typical burner, though perhaps not on the highest setting. 
• All of the exhaust will go up the flue. If the flue is the correct length, it will be no more than 100C where it penetrates the deck. No problem. Test and insulate as needed. The highest setting might allow some exhaust to go under the pot and out into the cabin. You can feel this with your fingers near the edge. Adjust.
  
• You can still cook, though more slowly, on the top of the inverted pot. The aluminum skirt conserves heat, for the pot, helps heat the room (more surface) and keeps the cooking pot safe. 
• A very low fan (I use one made to run off the USB port of a PC) helps distribute the heat. it will cook my F-24 in 20 minutes after which I turn it down. This is at about 35-40F.
  

I would turn it off before leaving or sleeping. But if the cabin furniture is warm, the cabin will stay warm for a while. Getting the furniture warm is important.

• The interior volume is about 300 ft^3, or about twenty pounds of air. The cabin furnishings weigh several hundred pounds. It is the furnishings that absorb the heat and keep the cabin warm. Kind of obvious, even though common sense tells us that the air is what we must heat.
   

Deck Level Wind Indicators

Rev. 11-27-2024

Eagles have landed on my boat and eaten three Windexes. They play with them, like a cat.For now, I'm done giving them toys.

 

 

 

So I've started testing deck-level flies. I've been using pulpit flies for years on all of my boats (beach cat, Stiletto, PDQ, and F-24) and like them. The location has to be careful chosen and I used something different on each boat.

Now I'm looking at shroud ribbons and flies. I didn't like them on other boats, but they seem to suit my F-24. 

 

 

Two DIY versions, top, then Nautos and Davis Wind-Tel.

We after a few sails we trimmed the long ribbon to about 10 inches, more like the others. The excess length just made it flutter more and harder to read.

In fact, I'm liking all of them at first blush. I imagine I will stay with the one that holds-up best.

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The top DIY is on with Velcro. It does not spin, so it can wrap, but it always unwinds when the wind drops in a jibe. The second uses a DIY polyethylene spool (10 minute lathe project for the pair) for easier rotation, making it slightly more sensitive than the Nautos ribbon, but maybe not enough to matter. 

 

The Davis Wind-Tel ($65 per pair) is out of production, but there is lots of old stock around.  The Nautos Tell Tails are cheap ($10 for two sets) and though potentially fragile, work pretty darn well. Being able to spin vs. tied on really does help.

 

Any ideas? I'll test anything.

On the concequences of being "Protected"

From the King and I, the "It is a Puzzelment" monolog:

 

Shall I join with other nations in alliance?
If allies are weak, am I not best alone?
If allies are strong with power to protect me
Might they not protect me out of all I own?

 

You don't get protected without losing freedom as part of the deal. This is the same with individual freedom. Historically, it just doesn't work that way. Freedom is better. We can protect ourselves, as a group.