Childs Hill, A Grown-Up's Mountain

 I'm quite sure I will not reach the summit, but I toil on the slope. Sailing. Shop skills. Engineering skills. The view is improving every year. As for understanding people and cultures, I'm not far above the canyon, but at least I know that.

 

 

Trump Aranges Deal for Rusian Diesel

A coward. A corrupt politician trying to sway an election. Un-American. A humiliation to the Republican Party. A humiliation of the Republican Party. Please count the American servicemen's lives that have been spent and lost in the fight against totalitarianism and communism. Trump spits on our brave men. He likes Putin because he is like Putin.

There aren't enough words for a worm like this. Further, the entire Republican Party, every Representative and Senator, has made itself culpable. No blame-shifting allowed, when you support such a man. You are hiding behind such a man.

Keeping the Gasoline Tank Cool (And protected from UV)

By law, above-ground gasoline tanks are ALWAYS painted white or silver. This minimizes solar heating and thus minimizes day/night breathing emissions. I'm a tank inspector from way back. I had a consulting business, and I've been around, over and in thousands of tanks, from 500-10,000,000 gallons. 

 E10 loves to absorb water from the atmosphere. If the water content reaches about 0.5% (more in summer, less in winter), the water will separate, taking the alcohol with it and creating a 15%-by-volume layer that won't burn. Phase separation, as this is called, is very unusual because absorption from the air is a very slow process, taking months. The usual cause, in fact, is a leaking filler cap or vent, not absorption.  It's a slow process, taking months to become important. But prudence requires closing the vent whenever the engine is not in use. Spray can sneak in through the vent.

Water absorption does NOT need to reach phase-separating levels to cause problems. At just a few hundred ppm, sludge generation increases. The gasoline becomes weakly conductive and galvanic corrosion blooms in the carb bowl (brass and aluminum are an active pair). Gasoline also evaporates, and the loss of the most volatile portions can make starting more difficult, and increase gum formation. Better to keep it sealed. 

But a sealed tank builds pressure. Over time, UV damages the tank and the tank becomes weak.  It would be nice to keep it out of the sun. Some people like Sunbrella covers. But on my boat, it would just get grungy with spilled oil, gas, lichens, and algae. 

 Paint is simpler. Since the tank is mostly covered by the seat, there was no need to paint the whole thing. If it was, I might paint the whole thing, leaving only the code stamp exposed (not on a seam).

Simple. The tank is protected from UV and stays cool. It's been seven years, 365 days per year, and the paint is still there.

  

Tiller Pilot Cover

 The leading cause of death for tiller pilots is moisture intrusion in the rain. In the UK they are common on eBay, but not here.

 A few days ago I had to take a 4-hour rainy sail to move my boat between marinas for service. After three years (Total Boat Krypton) the bottom needed anti-fouling paint, and Herrington Harbor North has decided that hauling trimarans scares them, so they won't do it anymore.  

So when the rain started, I pulled out the cover I had made from a scrap of clear vinyl snipped from an old dodger.  No sewing was required. I just folded it, somthing like wrapping a box, and popped a rivet in each of the corners. The bottom is open for ventilation. The tiller pilot stays bone dry, since it produces a small amount of heat in service, sufficient to prevent condensation and evaporate any stray drops.

You can see the buttons and use them right through the vinyl. Very easy. 

You can read the details here: https://www.practical-sailor.com/marine-electronics/no-sew-diy-tiller-pilot-cover/ 

 

Public Service Anouncments in the Election Cycle

No, they are not, Donald. These are taxpayer-funded election ads. 

This is how tyranny starts. He read the tyrant's handbook and memorized it. Please watch this docuseries on Netflix. It is an excellent history of tyrants, starting before Rome, moving through Hitler, Qaddafi, Idi Amin, North Korea, and forward. It is not about current events.

 How to Become a Tyrant, Netflix 

 

Reporting in the White House

 

 

Does he even think about what he says?

 “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” Trump added. “Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”

 No, Donald, it's not your house. You are a guest.

And the Justice Department, the toadies they are, can seem to do much better.

"The Justice Department urged a federal judge to keep CNN, Politico and MS NOW reporters off White House grounds, arguing that President Donald Trump may restrict their access over national security concerns ..."

Let's focus on "security concerns." Either (a) your people are releasing classified information, which is both unlikely and also an internal problem, or (b) the press saying negative things about the administration is treasonous, simply because they disagree with you. Really, it is the latter. You could argue that making the country sound divided and mentioning potential weaknesses is bad for national security; but this forces the leap to saying the administration has the right to control the narrative in all things, and that takes Donald so far past the First Amendment it's just criminal.

I hope this goes to the Supreme Court. He'll get stomped. I've seen a lot in the prior four-year term, and even more in the past 20 months, and this once again goes beyond the pale. The President does NOT get to control the narrative. If he can't take the heat, that speaks to both megalomania and clinical narcissism.

 Say what your think needs to be said.  Check your facts, and then say it. I wish I could keep this a strictly-sail blog, but I've got to say what I have to say. We have a rogue administrator with unrestricted power. A tyrant that believes he is unbounded by law.

  

 

Big Oil

1. An invasion/interference in Venezuela.  An oil deal in progress. Venezuela has 17% of the world's reserves, more than any other country. Not great oil, and hard to get to, but we will.
2. A war that closes the Straights of Hormuz.
3. A war that closes the Bab-el-Mandeb (Red Sea). The US had forces in position that could have impacted this quick movment, but not one strike was made. Either a major f__k-up, or intentional. Too major, I think, to have been accidental.
4. Conversation about ending the war very soon. I'm thinking that is because our objectives, items 2 and 3 above, will be complete.

And so a large portion of the world's supply of oil will be constricted, possibly for decades. 

• Iran is not defeated but rather enraged and positioned to choke the straits. Drones will make it easy.
• By military arm-twisting and bribery, we will have secured oil from Venezuela. 
• The price of oil will soar, allowing Big Oil to print money. Yes, we could restrict exports, but the administration has made no effort to do that and will not. 

This, by the way, is part of why the war in Ukraine was not interesting. No benefit to us. Even among liberals, I think there is a sense that this is Europe's problem first, ours only second.

The business in Gaza is nuts, from the music festival start to where we are now. I think the timing was convenient for the above "conspiracy theory," but probably only that.

Pipelines will be built to the Mediterranean. That will take time.  The straits will become less relevant within 2-5 years. Some already exist, and I am sure they are looking to upgrade this capacity. Not so good for China, but they will find a way.

So is my Big Oil conspiracy theory good for the US or not? It's not nice or globally neighborly, but financially, it's not clear. It depends on how you are invested, to be sure, and how you are employed.  Some benefits will spill beyond big oil, and fuel prices will be up for a while.

But I don't see current events as random.  I see greedy, certainly corrupt, politics. We elected a casino guy--what should we have expected?

 -----

Today Trump asked the Ukraine to stop targeting Russian diesel production. It could cause a shortage. Isn't the hypocrisy in that just mind rattling?  Another example of "watch the shiny ball" to distract people from the important stuff. Unfortunately, there are gullible people.

 ----- 

 

Yes, I am posting more politics. Free speech.  What happens when the people do nothing and say nothing? I hope to get back to sailing and tinkering. I'm retired now. That is what I should be doing. But it's raining today.

Hothouse Earth

All the conversation focuses on the next 50 years, because we don't care about people other than ourselves and our generation. I understand. I'm not going to turn the AC off because of something 300 years from now. Having no grandchildren, I don't even have a genetic imperative. Tough luck, folks. The problem is that CO2 is rising to extinction-level event heights, and doing it faster than ever before.

Note: The middle road is not going to happen. We will continue burning fuels, perhaps at a slower rate, until they are gone.  In 10 million years, natural processes will sequester the CO2 and something unpredictable will follow. Of course, that may happen anyway. We're just urging it along; something that might have happened in 100,000 years or 10,000,000 years will happen in a few centuries. We're not good at waiting.

 

 Temperature is going to do the same thing. That means "hothouse" temperatures that, on their own, are nearly unsurvivable. More to the point, ocean temperatures rise, oxygen solubility in water falls, pH drops, and the ocean becomes a very different place. 

 

 

I'd love to go on ice for 500 years to see how the movie ends. I don't think I'd want to live there, but I am curious. The math paints an interesting picture.

 I'm not sayin' there is anything we can do about it. It's like watching an alcoholic or addict crash. Mostly, they have to hit bottom, to where there are no alternatives, and most of the time, they don't change things then. We're going to see this even more clearly in another 50 years, and we still won't do anything, and it's going to crash. We're going to burn all the fossil fuel we can. At most we will stretch it out by a geologically unimportant wink of time.

Sorry. I don't have a solution or suggestion.  I belive the only real solution is to have fewer children and just let it happen. Rather fatalistic, to be sure. Human nature can't make the turn. Just watch politics, for a read on the public nerve. Most don't look beyond next year, and very few look seriously beyond their own mortality. If they do, it's like a person standing on the beach staring at a tsunami, knowing that it is already too late to run. I doubt the universe will notice.

 You can get this at the library. A very good read, about the 6 billion year history of CO2.

The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World – A Natural History of Climate and the Future of Life

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXLM5617?lv=shuf&channelId=510&plpRedirect=mhFallback

 

It Seems We Have a Foe That is Stragically Smarter Than Us---Houthis Closing off the Red Sea

Even my conservative side finds Trump unaffordable.  And it's not just him. He has a Congress full of lickspittle toadies with no shame.

I can't say that I am surprised.  I was wondering when this would come. I'm not surprised. What does surprise me a little is that apparently neither the US or Saudi Arabia saw it coming. That's a stratigic and military f__k up of epic proportion. We had assets on-site.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/analysis-houthi-advance-yemen-puts-131834732.html

 

If the Red Sea is cut off, that could be quite something for oil prices. I wonder what Europe will think of Trump's machinations then.  In fact, I wonder if Trump is not content to see the second straight close, to the considerable benefit of US big oil. They're printing money. 

 

Unreal. Actually, both real and sad, given our leadership. If things are going fine and the market is happy ... let's screw things up to make a buck.

$500 Obamacare Rebate Before November

PLEASE remember who pledged to dismantle Obamacare and who has worked tirelessly to reduce Obamacare subsidies (increase rates). 

He is a pathological liar, hoping people are gullible. He does not think the rules of hinesty aply to him in any way. He is trying to bribe people to get votes. And he will do whatever it takes to reduce Obamacare subsidies (increase rates) as soon as the elections are over. 

He's scared. And he's doing his usual schtick and jive. So transparent.

Think it through. 

Hanger Holder

A trivial DIY project I put together about 30 years ago, but it became sufficiently popular with the family that I ended up making about six of them, some decorated by budding elementary school artists (our kids). A simple modification of a common uniform service tool.

Just some scrap 3/8-inch plywood cut to shape, sanded, held together with drywall screws, and painted.  Not beautiful nor perfectly crafted, but very handy. We keep almost all of our clothes on hangers (double rods in every closet), so we have a lot of hangers. Taking the hangers out of the closet frees up space in the closet.

 

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

rev. 9-10-2026 

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.

 

 

----- 

In fact, after further searching, there was a guy who marketed a version milled from King Starboard, out of his garage. That was 14 years ago, and the website is gone.

Easy Out Deck Plate Removal Tool 

  

 

 

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 Trump 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.

---

rev.  9-12-2026

 Now the Red Sea is closing. Not surprised. Same story.

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.]

 

Point of Sail

We've all seen the graphic below, in some form. The right side shows the point in terms of apparent wind (direction indicated by a flag on the boat), and the left side shows the true direction, sometimes indicated by waves. The right side is traditional. 

First, the obvious "error." Directions are all in terms of apparent wind, except for close-hauled. And the first thing we see, right at the top, is a 90-degree no-sail zone based on true wind, not apparent wind. An agreed-upon misrepresentation. The actual apparent wind when close-hauled is more like 26-35 degrees, depending on conditions and the boat, so the chart cheats on that one.  Why? Because the term close hauled does not tell us where we are going, which apparently matters. 

The second problem is that of clarity. On most boats, basing it on apparent wind makes sense, we think. That is what you trim for. But in the case of a performance catamaran sailing close-hauled, if we simply bear off 10-30 degrees, boat speed doubles, the sails don't really need re-trimmed, though we could crack the sheets a few inches for best speed. We are now sailing at 80 degrees to the true wind. The apparent wind has moved aft a little (not much). But as far as the chart is concerned, we are still close-hauled, in terms of sheet position
 and apparent wind. Bear off a few degrees more (90-100 true), we crack the sheets just a little (the traveler is still centered), and soon we find ourselves sailing at 18 knots with the apparent wind little different than it was close-hauled. A slower boat, on the other hand, is clearly on a close reach. 

If we turn another 45 degrees and put up the (flat) chute, the apparent wind is still well forward of the bow, between a close reach and a beam reach, but we are sailing over windspeed, the main is still sheeted close, and the traveler down only 6 to 12 inches. In fact, we seldom sail deeper that this. The apparent wind is never aft of the beam, so strictly speaking, we never sail on a broad reach or down wind. That seems odd, since that "close reach" is our fastest VMG downwind course.  A slower boat, of course, will have the wind aft of the beam, the boom well-eased, and will use the vang to keep the boom down. Coincidentally, this catamaran does not have a vang; it doesn't need one.

----

On my first beach catamaran (faster than the roto-molded beach rental stuff they sell now) I learned to call courses by the true wind direction.  My second boat, a turboed Stiletto 27 (saw 24 knots once, not surfing), was just as fast. Both were faster than the wind on any reaching course. Through several more boats, I have kept this nomenclature. So have my multihull-sailing buddies. 

• Windward/Close Hauled. The same either way. As high as you can go with good speed.
• Beam Reach. True wind on the beam, sails pretty tight, going fast.
• Broad Reach.  True wind on the quarter, apparent wind on the beam to well forward. Maybe a chute, with the traveler down a little. Maybe a jib, Barberhauled out and forward and the traveler well down.
• Dead-Down-Wind. Main and jib are wing-and-wing. There is no reason to sail a course between wind on the beam and wing-and-wing, because the flow does not attach and they are all slower than dead-down-wind, wing-and-wing. 

 

 

Next I sailed a cruising cat (PDQ 32/34, but it was also turboed, much faster than the condomarans you see creeping around (I never pushed it past 14 knots, but I think there was a good bit left). My current ride is a Corsair F-24 MKI trimaran, slower than the first two, but faster than the PDQ (I've seen 16-18 knots with the reacher many times).

 ---

But even if I transitioned to slower boats, and even when I'm sailing with reefs I don't need and going slow, in my head I still use the same true-wind-based nomenclature system. It relates to where I'm going in relation to the wind, not how I've set the sails, and that makes more sense to me. I know how to set the sails for best speed.

To each his own. I've always found the apparent wind-based system misleading in both the close reach and broad reach realms.  To me, it's a beam reach when the true wind is striking the beam, whether we're well trimmed and moving or sitting still. For example, I'm sitting still, with sails out and flogging. The apparent wind is on the beam. As I sheet in and the boat accelerates, and without turning one degree, I will go through beam reach, close reach, and very nearly close hauled without changing sails or course. What do I tell the helmsman? "Keep the true wind on the beam" or "beam reach." The latter seems simpler. A close reach means nearly close hauled. A broad reach means apparent wind on the beam for best downwind VMG. Obviously, if I mean a compass course, I can say that, but more often the rule is "broad reach, as she goes," meaning keep the wind on the beam and the sails drawing as set. Since we never sail a broad reach based on apparent wind or downwind, what use are those terms to me? None.

---

I guess I'm wrong. To me, this is more clear.

Birthright Citizenship

 I can understand the feeling that citizenship should mean something (I'm not sure how much--we'll come back to that). However, it should not be a political football, which it surely is. My question is, notwithstanding marriage and naturalization, what makes someone a citizen?

Your parents were citizens. Perhaps they were granted citizenship by naturalization or marriage, but that is clearly the minority case. You presume you are a citizen because you presume your parents are citizens because they .... As you see, this goes on and on. The naturalization process began in 1790, and the visa process began in 1917, but both have gone through many iterations. Records are lost. Many simply never went through the hoops. Slaves were imported, and the records, once they got here, are unreliable. I'd take a wild guess that at 80-90% of the people here couldn't prove anything, and that it would present a considerable expense to many of those that could (genealogy research).  Is the ability to do or fund or research a condition of citizenship? I think not.

An enormous practical problem. Unsolvable, in any practical sense, I think.

Assign a future cut-off date to birthright citizenship.  Still a huge practical problem, but not so different from voter logs and social security.

But what right does a country have, really, to restrict citizenship? The Americas were found by the First People, and they worked for it. Then the others came and stole it in a murderous fashion.every land, every where, in every corner of the world, was taken at the point of a sword. No fairness. I don't feel that I'm entitled to this place than those who would come and join us. As far as the "my ancestors built this land," that's a stinking pile of malarkey. Everyone's ancestors built something or didn't build something, but that wasn't you. The American dream, after all, is built on what YOU can do. Let other people build their history. And by the way, we need the help. The real measure of citizenship is did you work for it? But how do we measure "work?"

 I get the problem of wide open boarders. You need a valve.  That can and is done by regulation, not amendment. 

A hornet's nest.  An amendment will not happen. We can't get 2/3 to agree it's Tuesday. And if it did happen, it would have to be detailed to be fair. But details change as societies change, and the details should not be subject tot the whims of political winds. In today's (and the future) environment, every syllable would be measured not by fairness, but by voter count.  

---

 We have the 14th amendment because of the most ghastly act of civil rights violation the world has ever seen; about 12 million in the transatlantic trade alone, plus all of their descendants. It's not just quietly going away. 

The 14th amendment has become a fundamental and positive characteristic of the United States, just as the Constitution is our bedrock. Birthright citizenship is something we should be proud of. It doesn't need fixed. 

Dolphins near Deale

 When I began sailing 40 years ago, dolphins were something you only saw on the ocean or the very lower Chesapeake Bay. In the last 5 years they've become commonplace all the way up to the Bay Bridge, and farther. The last two times out I've had company, sometimes so close you hear them breathe,. 

 A change in water temperatures? I don't see why that would matter, given their range. A change in the migration patterns of the food supply, possibly temperature-influenced? Maybe, but fish populations have always been cyclical.  

 

Not enough information to say. But fun. It seems they are around most on days where the wind is light and the sailing dull, so the company is appreciated.
 

Coating Concrete -- the Reflecting Pool

rev 6-27-2026

 In my career, I've been involved in quite a few large concrete petrol tank containment coating projects, new and refurbishment. I've been involved in coating concrete wastewater tanks. Occasionally, something went wrong. I'm not guessing.

 There are many things that can result in peeling, all preventable.

• The concrete was not dry. Concrete absorbs water, and in the ground like that, takes considerable time to dry. They rushed it. (The prior contractor refused to bid because they felt the timeline was too short.)
• Incompatible with previous coating. The prior coating was asphaltic, and for the pretty blue polyurethane to stick, it would have required complete removal. I bet they missed some patches. If they missed a lot, there will be a lot of pealing. I'm guessing, he wanted pretty blue and 
• Asphaltic coatings don't come in pretty blue. Mostly, they come in black. But Trump insisted.
• The contractor, selected by a no-bid (corrupt), no due diligence process, is a pool contractor, not an industrial coatings contractor, and he was not familiar with asphalt coatings or how they are applied. 
• The prior contractor refused the bid because they did not have a pretty blue product they considered to be compatible with the prior coating. 
• Assorted application errors. Incorrect mixing is common. This would also explain patchy peeling.

Maybe all of these. It does not have to be one thing. Poor contractor engineering supervision is the common thread. And rushing.

The repairs are going to be very expensive. Lots of surface prep. They should probably remove the entire coating and start over. A real screw-up. I know, I've seen it before. Trump needs to own the whole thing. He picked the contractor.

By the way, scratching it with a knife is not a cause. If I key the paint on your car it won't peel. That's just dumb and defies the plainest common sense. Just a blatant misdirection play rooted in untruth. Obvious. Not surprising. Better to just own the problem and fix it. I would respect that. It's not uncommon for concrete re-lining jobs to go sideways when they are rushed, and this one was unrealistically rushed by an inexperienced contractor. The older the concrete, the more likely. 

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Also, to add enough peroxide to make a difference in a 50 million pound pool of water (which is also constantly exchanged with Potomac river water through the tidal basin--separate subject) would require at least 10 ppm as peroxide, or about  50 x 10 x (1/0.12) = 4200 gallon jugs of peroxide. A few gallons from the water's edge changed anything. It would require a tanker load. Several of the wastewater plants I work with have bulk tanks because the get it by the tanker. No one buys jugs. Just ridiculous. Someone must have been yelling at the poor guy to "Do something!"

Kayak Boarding

 I love kayaking from my F-24, but my one knee, injured badly in college, is getting worse. If it's choppy, I could use a little help. 

 This was the original concept. An arm that would give me something to do "dips" with. I steer the kayak between the hulls from behind, close to the port ama, with the cockpit just behind the cross beam. I push down on the gunwales, just enough to scoot my butt up on the deck of the kayak, and then use the port ama and the assist arm to press up enough to get my feet fully under me. From there, if you have good balance, it is a simple matter to stand up and step up. It's a little more complicated in waves.

 

The final version looks like this. It was welded from a salvaged IKEA bedframe, and padded with strips of exercise room foam tile glued on with Barge Cement (heavy duty contact cement foe shoe repair). It just hooks over the beam, slipping between the laces.  Folds for storage, less than 1-pound. A morning welding project. 

 

 

 

Is the Choice Between Roll Bar and Non-roll Bar Anchors Necesarily Binary?

 A roll bar is just a righting mechanism. Non-roll bar anchors can have wings that go pretty high.

 

 

 

So, when do wings become a roll bar?  Unsurprisingly, this rolls upright just the same as a roll bar. In fact, the wings are probably a little taller than they need to be.

 

Why would this possibly be better?

• Grass and trash can slide up and out, rather than become trapped.
• The turning action is better, because the wings are canted slightly inwards.
• The drag is slightly less, thus deeper burying is possible.
• The upwards levering of the toe is less because the useless mid-section is removed.

Downsides?

•  Not as strong. High strength steel is a must.
• Slightly more complex manufacture. 
• It does not solve the roll bar fit problem.
• Could more easily snag the rode unless well buried. 

Just brainstorming with you. 

 

Pausing the Gas Tax

Wow. We found free money. Note: I am socially very liberal and financially very conservative.

First, the obvious. The money to fix roads has to come from somewhere. Gas taxes. Debt. The general fund, which probably means debt. 

Interestingly, this has bipartisan support. The reason, obviously enough, is that politicians are cowards. Mid-terms are coming, and the general rule is "it's the economy, stupid." You don't want to get blamed for well, reality. Running up the credit card is always easier. 

 Reality is hard to sell. Wars have consequences. Spending has consequences. I' not sayin' a balanced budget is always the healthy answer. That's a long discussion, and there are complex answers. But sometimes it seems we just don't try. Lies are easier.

Marking Rode. Chain or Nylon.

 Chain is easily marked with paint. For yacht chain, a cardboard box helps.

 

Marking Chain 

 

As for rope, latex paint works just fine. It does not weaken the rode. Even if the paint chips a little, the rope is still conspicuously stained. The box trick still works. 

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 Don't overmark the rode. If you have a windlass, a long mark 10 feet before the anchor gives notice it is close. Otherwise, the first mark can be at the least rode you would ever use, about 50 feet for most sailors.  After that, it's not precision math; every 25 feet is more than enough, perhaps 50 feet. The fewer marks, the less there is to remember.

Chesapeake Area Galvinizing

 Anchors and chains could last nearly forever, but the galvanizing wears and corrodes away.  The minimum is rather high (300-600 pounds, depending on the amount of cleanup), but if you have a large anchor and long chain, you might make the minimum. Combined with a dockmate, you should have enough.

 

Baltimore Galvinizing. $0.50/pound for prep if rusty (like old chain) $0.50/pound for galvanizing, $300 minimum. A couple of anchors and a few hundred feet of chain will get you there. https://www.baltimoregalv.com/

 

We're Getting Older

 In 2017 industry prognosticators projected that the average (mode) owner would be about 65 by 2025.

 

 

In 2024 the average median age was 60, and the average mode was ... 64. If you look at how the average has moved 20 years older in 20 years, I think that means it's us guys. 

 

 So what happens when we age-out, and it looks like the big hits start in the next 10 years? It's obvious why DIY magazines like Good Old Boat collapsed, and why every other boating media outlet has moved on-line and to selling big boats. People have the disposable income, but they're just not spending it on boating. I get that. It's kinda dumb.

 I hear that West Marine is discussing chapter 11.  I see more empty slips. Oh well. I'm still having fun.

A Slow Rockfish Season

 I don't think I've ever seen so few boats out on opening day. Only one out of Deale, and I saw a lot of long faces. None out of Chesapeake Beach, or possibly I missed it. Very few private boats, no more than 1-2 visible within 10 miles, most of the time.  

The population is way off, as low as it was during the closure years in the early 80s. You can only keep one fish, 19-24 inches. No fun. I'm guessing no good fishing for 7-10 years. Really, I guess it's been 15 years since I rated the fishing as good. 

I'd hate to be in the charter business. I guess I need to take my trolling gear off the boat, and just sail and kayak. Oh well. Maybe the summer spot fishing will be good, but I'm not that into it.  Sounds like freshwater will be the thing. I'll be 65 in a few weeks, so the license just got cheaper. Time to get a lifetime freshwater licence, I think. Just $25.

 

 Not worth going out for Rockfish, not for a while, in my opinion. Let them recover.

 

 

Even More Anchor Testing

 The long version (over 40 pages) will, I believe, be in Practical Sailor.

 I built a 9-pound version, suitable for my F-24 MKI. Today I tested it in sand and mud, and it exceeded expectations. It easily held the same 500 pounds in the ooze/mud that 35- 45-pound anchors have in prior testing. It set every time, it reset every time, and came up pretty clean.

 It fills my need, replacing an Excel and Northill.

 

 Alloy Excel #1 on the left, 9-pound Chesapeake anchor on the right. All it cost was some welding rod, since I have a lot of scrap.

  

 Rolling in. In practice, it always lands right side up, just because of the balance. But I tipped it a few times, just to be sure.

 

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I coated mine with industrial polyurethane. I parkerized first, then two coats, then post cured at 170F for 8 hours. It's holding up well and makes the anchor slippery. But galvinizing would be better, I just didn't have nearly enough to make the minimum (my 9 pounds vs. 600 pounds of new anchors minimum).

 

 Baltimore Galvinizing. $0.50/pound for prep if rusty (like old chain) $0.50/pound for galvanizing, $300 minimum. A couple of anchors and a few hundred feet of chain will get you there. https://www.baltimoregalv.com/

 

Replacing the water tube.

 About 1/4-mile from the dock the motor began to overheat. I nursed it back to the dock, stopping occasionally for it to cool. I took the motor home, removed the lower unit to replace the impellor (it had been some years), ad found the water tube had brooken loose at the top. The brass dezinced and it snapped off, so no water to the motor. 

 A little head scratching and Googling later, I determined that the powerhead had to come off to replace it. 

  

It comes up into that notch on the right, held by a grommet I removed. the pee hole is visible lower right.

 It seems like everything has to come apart. Covers. Controls.Reconnecting the shift bar is the worst part. 

 Run like a top now. 

 

More Anchor Testing

 It finally got warm enough to spend a day on the water, in-and-out of a kayak, and generally getting wet.

My modular testing system provides for over 100 possible combinations, but thankfully, many were eliminated early on as dead-ends. The convex fore-aft and convex toe-to-heel flukes disappointed; they did not penetrate the firm base layer well. Small differences in angle matter, but testing can be confined to combinations that showed promise. The Claw, Guardian (pivoting fluke), and Mantus anchors were tested as known reference points, since we have tested these at the same locations before.

So which combination is showing the most promise in layered Chesapeake mud? 

• The Guardian is VERY strong (>200 pounds, probably 500 pounds but we stopped at 200 pounds) when it reaches the firm layer, but in mucky areas it set less than half the time and never reset.
• The Claw never achieved anything we could call a "set." typically holding was 15-25 pounds, or less.
• The Mantus did well when it reached the firm layer, which was about 75% of the time. Holding was typically 80-120 pounds. If it did not reach the firm layer, holding was 35-45 pounds. 
• The odd looking split toe, no-roll bar anchor to the right is the winner so far. It set over 90% of the time, and holding was 120 to >200 pounds when it did. Getting it out of the bottom was a chore.  When it didn't reach the firm layer, it still held more than any other combination.

Why? I'm guessing at these things, based on testing in other configurations:

• The high shank helped it get deeper, through the muck. The Mantus penetrated a little more reliably with this shank too.  No-roll-bar seems to be an asset in muck.
• The roll bar did have a small advantage resetting in sand.  Let's not throw the baby out with the bath--except for very deep muck, it is likely the superior design. 
• Sharp toe. The split reduces the angle of the point. The Knox anchor (also split toe) is sharpened to a chisel instead of a point, and that is what we tested first, and it did well, about the same as the Mantus. Then we welded on a point and performance increased dramatically. 
• Angle. The fluke angle is a few degrees greater than the Mantus. We tested the Mantus with a greater angle, but it did not penetrate as well. We  tested the split-toe with the same angle as the Mantus, and it did well, but when we increased the angle it did better. The exceptional penitrating properties of the slit toe better tolerate the steeper (stronger) angle.
• They all set like lightning and securely in sand. The hold is over 50x the anchor weight (except for the Claw). All reset reliably except for the Guardian. If sized for mud, sand is not a problem.  

 

There are many more fine points. There will be a long (series?) of article in Practical Sailor covering all of this, but that is the gist of it.  

 The next step is to make a full-size version and test that all over this summer.