Depressingly, Encore has been on-the-hard for 3 years?

| February 27, 2024

Ever since Brenda’s shoulder, then spine and replacement hip … sailing for us has been a bit of a “let’s wait and see how her osteoporosis treatment goes.” That said, having Encore out of the water and stored for 3 years hasn’t been one of my better decisions. It is time for me to get […]

Music Monday: “That’s My Wave” by Jimmy Buffett

| August 22, 2022

While listening to Radio Margaritaville and relaxing in the backyard at the end of the day last week, another Life On The Flipside song caught my ear and started me thinking about how I’m missing sailing and the ocean. I’m not an active surfer, although “IF” I still had decent balance (see Menieres), I wouldn’t […]

Tech gadget guy mixed with someone who likes knot tying

| May 6, 2022

This is what you get when you continue to use leftover chargers from old phones (my Palm Pre) and continue to rely on sailing knot tying skills. Really just a filler post for a Tech Friday after noticing just how unique the old Palm USB plug was in design and how I ended up fidgeting […]

Missing sailing but appreciating a Cape Horn installation video

| December 6, 2020

Sometime the best part of keeping a daily blog is that provides a place to archive tidbits for future reference. The Sailing Uma “gear review” tagged YouTube clip on their channel has a fantastic installation video for the Cape Horn Wind Vane self-steering gear that I might need when taking apart ours for repair. Currently […]

What to do with a piece of cheap tarp and a Sailrite Ultrafeed?

| November 15, 2020

On one of my sailing groups, a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 user complained that the speed controller pedal was hard to regulate. I’ve found that to be true as well. Another person made the comment that they used a piece of flexible tubing/hose that gives the pedal a little more tactile feel … so I tried […]

I’m missing sailing, but here are a few new knot tying ideas

| September 20, 2020

Most people who enjoy sailing and undertake the sport/activity as a hobby, also enjoy learning how to handle the many sheets and lines (ropes) that are used aboard a sailboat. I’ve been sailing off and on my entire life and find myself relying on a few knots that I’m confident about. Oh, I also enjoy […]

Obit: A generation of small boat cruising sailors loved Larry

| September 4, 2020

Larry and Lin Pardey have been a couple of my sailing idols since I was in high school. Their life adventure, magazine articles and books have been a mainstay in keeping the cruising lifestyle close to my heart and in my dreams. I’ve posted a few times before regarding their philosophy and many skills, but […]

How long should AGM deep cycle storage batteries last?

| December 18, 2019

Although my boating life isn’t quite this bad (thanks for the photo Fatty Goodlander), it is frustrating to be dealing with what I thought was an already “fixed” problems aboard Encore. Besides not using the boat often enough, the re-fixing of problems a second time is frustrating, time consuming and costly. Back in 2013 (has […]

Why Delray Beach? – “Doors open, doors close” opportunities

| November 9, 2019

When chatting about our recent vacation to Florida with a long time customer (friend) in Akron, Ohio, he asked why we picked Delray Beach, Florida as an area to buy a condo (I detected he is beginning to think about retiring). Although I realized that I really haven’t given much thought to how we ended […]

We need to get back to doing our sailing thing #TBT

| November 7, 2019

Although we have recently returned from a nice two week vacation (Part One, Two and Three) and finishing up projects at the condo, I was reminded when looking at a post from 5 years ago for Throwback Thursday #TBT, just how relaxed we were and how much we enjoyed our time together sailing Encore (it […]

Archive: Creative Wind Scoop idea for #sailing #sailboat

| September 5, 2019

Saw this on a sailing forum and thought it would be a great sewing tidbit to add to an Encore project list. Looks simple and compact enough.

Hurricane Dorian upgraded to Category 3, but Cat 4 is likely

| August 30, 2019

As Floridians and those in the northern Bahamas prepare for Dorian, the first major hurricane to directly hit Florida’s Atlantic coast since Andrew (a Cat 5) in 1992, those of us with a vested interest out-of-state will not be sleeping well this weekend. There isn’t much we can do besides check our insurance policies and […]

If you need a workout, try #PumpSurfing

| August 6, 2019

One can only imagine (unless you have tried it), the kind of workout it would be to race past a sailing vessel on a surfboard with a pump-foil attachment? Impressive.

Kitchen Ideas when you would rather be on a boat

| August 3, 2019

A filler photo tidbit for today’s post, but this creative kitchen island idea from one of my sailing groups caught my eye. It “would” have worked in our kitchen … I’m just not sure I could have pulled it off without adding a mast! 🙂

When all is well, life is good, even if it is not always as planned

| March 2, 2019

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Enjoyed a few days of Florida sunshine aboard Encore last week

| February 10, 2019

I enjoyed the warm sunshine and working on a few project on Encore this past week. It was a delayed trip due to a flight cancelation, but thankful my schedule is pretty flexible. It would have been nice to stay longer and to have had Brenda with me, but "ya got to do what you […]

Music Monday: Starting with a change for 2019 – Kenny Chesney

| January 7, 2019

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Looking back at to our early years of sailing Brenich #TBT

| July 12, 2018

While adding a photo to a post about Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn on Put In Bay earlier this week, I had a few more from our pre-kid days that might make for a good Throwback Thursday #TBT post. So here are a couple more sailing on Lake Erie from 1985 aboard Brenich our Baba 30. […]

Will motion exercises on land aid in preventing seasickness?

| June 1, 2018

Tom Hoskins wrote an interesting article on "Overcoming Seasickness by Habituation On Land" and although parts of it seems humorous (lamp shade and swings), the testing of motion sickness on land makes a good deal of sense … especially the testing the meds one might try when going sailing. Better to know in advance how […]

It looks like SV Encore will be switching boat slips again

| March 8, 2018

Encore lost her slip last year at Harbortown Marina when I haul for some TLC during hurricane season in 2017 and I was glad Daniel our dockmaster made room for us last month when we relaunched. It’s great to have Encore is back in the water, but I miss the quieter dock we had previously. […]

Music Monday: Sailing by Christopher Cross for obvious reasons

| February 26, 2018

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The week that was – Encore is back in the water

| February 17, 2018

To the non-boat owner, having a sailboat sitting out of the water "on the hard" might seem like an inexpensive way to "park" a boat for a while? Well let me tell you that is not even close to being true, at least at a working yard. Several months ago I had such grand plans […]

Drones on boats, a good idea?

| January 29, 2018

My friend Jeff is planning on ordering a DJI Mavic Pro this weekend. I sent him a recent article that has him pondering models. Jokingly I sent him this ani.gif suggesting he let me borrow it when I head to the boat … to which he replied, “Sure, if you put down a $1000 deposit. […]

Enjoyable Cruising World article by influential sailor Lin Pardey

| November 10, 2017

There is not a single "cruising" sailor my age who hasn’t been influenced one way or another by Lin and Larry Pardey. Their "go small, go simple, go now" sailing books, videos and decades of article contributions to the sailing community have been huge for generations of dreamers and sailors. I really enjoyed a recent […]

How to tie a cleat hitch video by APS Advisor #sailing

| August 28, 2017

Good visual video advice on How to tie a cleat hitch from APS – three different options and reasons for each. Half Wrap Cleat Hitch Full Wrap Cleat Hitch Multi Wrap Cleat Hitch

A stop in Georgia with friends Mark and Dar Jones

| July 19, 2017

A bit of a catch-up and thank you post to a sailing friend and loyal blog reader Mark Jones for giving me an overnight rest stop outside of Savannah, Georgia last weekend on my drive home from Florida; your hospitality and friendship is very much appreciated. Actually I have been looking forward to seeing Dar […]

Once upon a time, we did sail on Lake Erie #TBT

| June 1, 2017

After searching through directories of a couple older computers looking for a document unrelated to the photo above, I ran across this picture of our family on our sailboat Tulla from the miid-1990s. I may have posted something (???) in a sailing related post years ago, but don’t think so? Anyway ia #TBT (ThrowBackThursday) post […]

Every Vloging sailor needs a friend and a schtick

| March 25, 2017

Just when you think you’ve heard and read it all when it comes to sailing and telling the story … Guirec Soudée and his chicken Monique goes one step further. Crazy. The adventure of Monique & Guirec Our adventure is going global! Thank you all for your support! Notre aventure se mondialise! Merci à tous […]

Hammock time on a sailboat from Sailing Britaly

| March 17, 2017

The eye of a good photographer and interest to apply the science

| December 19, 2016

Admittedly I’m proud of my kids and enjoy seeing them living their lives … especially when a few of my interests rise to the top. In Taylor‘s case, he has expand on our mutual interest in backpacking and photography on his trip to Hawaii last month.   Memory Road: In 7th grade I had an […]

Archiving a sailing route planning site — fastseas.com

| November 24, 2016

On the recommendation of Carolyn Goodlander (wife of Fatty Goodlander), I’m giving the FastSeas.com weather routing and passage planning online tool a try. Not that I’m planning a bluewater passage to Bermuda just yet, but it is interesting how technology has changed route planning. Where it seems to help is in tweaking departure dates and […]

Obit: I am going to miss sailing advice from Mark Handley

| September 12, 2016

Unfortunately when one faces cancer, the outcome isn’t always what we want. It is a terrible disease and one which we can only hope medical science will eventually cure … the sooner the better. I’ve corresponded with Judy and Mark Handley for many years via email and Winlink (email via Amateur Radio) and we have […]

The Obscure But Ultimately Very Useful Halyard Knot

| June 19, 2016

Unknown to many sailors, the halyard knot is nonetheless an elegant compact knot that is particularly handy to know about if you need to bend a line on to some sort of shackle or clip (a halyard shackle being the eponymous example) on a more-or-less permanent basis, but are too lazy (or ignorant) to be […]

Archive: Flag flying protocol for cruising on boats

| May 20, 2016

Read and email from an ActiveCaptain.com the other day and wanted to archive it as information/discussion when talking about "flag flying" protocol.   >>> The Flag Advisor – 1 >>> Nearly every cruising boat on the water flies one or more flags. But get into a discussion about flag etiquette and rules, and no one […]

TechFriday: A digital thermometer is a must have gadget

| April 8, 2016

On our last trip out sailing on Encore I noticed the Volvo was running hotter than it should be. My first thought was a lack of cooling water flowing in through the new smaller strainer, but then it was possible the coolant was low — I added about a quart. After returning home I also […]

Donna Lange Makes Landfall

| March 31, 2016

Solo ’round-the-world sailor Donna Lange is safely at anchor west of the Panama Canal after lousy weather stymied her non-stop circumnavigation via the Cape Horn. She detoured after suffering damage and lose of her electronics and will head for a Rhode Island completion after passing through the canal. Her initial plan was to be the […]

Reefing tips from SailingTotem blog

| March 19, 2016

When do you reef? How should you reef? What are some excellent ways to screw it up? A few thoughts from Jamie (filtered through fun with salty sayings and his fondness for puns). Many witty phrases… Source: Reefing, by and large

Escaping for a minute while writing lunchtime Python scripts

| February 25, 2016

The American Pi blog was due for an update (including on MyDesultoryBlog.com too!) and thought escaping for a minute to gaze into water and sky of the right color for this dreary February afternoon was a good idea. Why am I still in Cincinnati again?

Where there is more wind aloft, sail like these ladies!

| February 2, 2016

I really wanted to title this “blonds have more fun” but unfortunately the members of this fine crew are brunette. On the other hand, the skipper may be detecting a little more wind aloft??? 🙂

A little earbud knot tying humor

| December 20, 2015

This well done graphic has probably be around for a while since the Apple earbud looks to be the older type … but I thought the knot tying humor was pretty funny.

Tania Aebi’s semi-famous Varuna sailboat in the marina

| November 19, 2015

I know semi-famous boats can end up anywhere, but ever since I saw Robert Mandry's Tinkerbelle (Ohio) when I was a young boy dreaming of sailing … and Robin Lee Graham's Dove on our honeymoon after idolizing his adventure as a teenager … I keep my eyes open. Low and behold, Tania Aebi's Contessa 26 […]

Donna Lange Keepin’ On sailing south near west African coast

| September 12, 2015

A few years back I was somewhat attentive to following a sailing friend, Donna Lange, complete her solo sail around the world. I’ve been less tuned in on her “Sail Twice Around” voyage due to being more focused on my wife’s injury and father’s passing. It is time to catch up a little bit. Donna […]

Super Sailing Yacht of Russian billionaire under construction

| September 8, 2015

A 140 meter (450+ feet) Super “Sailing” Yacht is currently being built in Germany for a Russian billionaire. The very white tenth longest private yacht ever produced is currently being built in a German shipyard and has been dubbed the “White Pearl.” The tallest of three masts on this super “sailing” yacht is expected to […]

Have scientists found a cure for seasickness?

| September 7, 2015

Imperial College London scientists are developing a device that will plug into a mobile phone and deliver a short shock to the head via a set of electrodes. They hope it will be on sale within five years. Source: Have scientists found a cure for seasickness?

Archive: Reefing sails by Quantum and Cruising World

| August 22, 2015

Wanted to archive this short article from Quantum Sails on the Cruising World website … good info Taking your friends and family out for a day cruise is just about the best way we can think of to enjoy the fall colors that are about to start painting the northern parts of the U.S. But […]

Celebrating my birthday with some great #TBT memories

| May 7, 2015

   Another year older and hopefully wiser (birthdays seems to happen too often) and am still trying to live and love life to the fullest. On this ThrowBack Thursday (TBT) I’ll include a couple photos and even an Elton John YouTube song from “just”  a few years ago (cough, cough). The Brenich photos were from […]

Creative Anchoring: Everything about Anchors and Anchoring

| March 28, 2015

One of my favorite sailing authors Fatty Goodlander has a new book, Creative Anchoring: Everything about Anchors and Anchoring, and it is now available. With some travel ahead I opted to purchase and download the ebook to my iPad for $9.99 at Amazon. Fatty's writing style is always entertaining be it a magazine article, sailing […]

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

| March 22, 2015

Last year about this time I had mentally decided that Brenda and I would be cruising the Bahamas aboard our sailboaat Encore in March 2015, but as “life happens” those dreams were not meant to be. As the year progressed, both of our surviving parents had health concerns requiring more of our attention, Encore started […]

Sailing Encore with the one I love doesn’t get any better

| October 27, 2014

What a wonderful life. I’ll let our video speak for itself. "God is good, God is good all the time. All the time God is good."  from the movie God is NOT Dead. But it applies …

Prepping project for my next trip to work on Encore

| October 20, 2014

An “easy to put off” project on any sailboat is marking rode or chain for the anchor. I added a purchased yellow tab to our previous boat Brenich’s nylon rode, but haven’t figured out how I was going to mark the all chain on Encore. Earlier this year I save a copy (testing iCloud Pages […]

Learning about Dinghy-Tow – an option to towing or davits

| September 17, 2014

A small Canadian company called Davron Marine Products has an innovative stainless steel, block and line option for half lifting and half towing an inflatable dinghy for boating. Their Dinghy-Tow system looks simple and do-able. I’ve been pondering adding davits that would work with our Cape Horn self-steering gear for Encore since 2012. What ever […]

Polyester rope for halyards is not suppose to be this stiff

| September 3, 2014

One of the reasons, besides age and appearance, that I replaced the halyards on our sailboat this year was due to the stiffness of the double braided line. Here’s me holding up the line demonstrating just how “stiff” this old mainsail halyard was. Question: Is there a way to find out what kind of rope […]

The new halyards for Encore are ready for splicing

| August 23, 2014

The convenient way to replace running rigging on sailboats are to purchase lines pre-made for a particular boat at places like SailboatOwners.com.  Of course that would be the “easy” way, but it does discourage upgrading shackles and thimbles or whipping and splicing your own lines. Since our Encore is strictly a cruising sailboat, the premium […]

Still loving the Sof Sole insoles for my Sperry Top-siders

| August 7, 2014

Another year with the Sof Sole inserts in a couple pairs of my well worn Sperry Top-siders. Too bad I’m not making a commission on either the insoles or the shoes, but that doesn’t prevent me from recommending them. If you’ve “smelled up” your original Sperry insoles, or just need a little more cushion, consider […]

A frequent question: What about an Australian Cattle Dog?

| August 6, 2014

I recently chimed on a forum question regarding dogs for sailboats and a member wanting input on an Australian Cattle Dog. Since we’ve had Tootsie for 16 years now (below), I felt qualified to offer an opinion … besides I wanted an excuse to archive her recent photo. Our “beast” has been a wonderful addition […]

Archive: Organizing lines aboard Encore and blogging code

| June 16, 2014

Some time ago I purchase a couple Command Brand Bundlers with the idea that I could use them for cords and coils and then a few months ago I saw a fellow sailor using them on a boat to organize lines. I’m not sure how well they will stand up to the sun and elements, […]

Summer reading: As Long As It’s Fun by Herb McCormick

| June 7, 2014

I’ve probably read every book the Pardey’s ever published as the information help me learn about cruising and our first boat and caring for a spruce mast and boom. They were, and are, inspirational when it comes to “go small, go simple and go now” philosophy even though it has been challenging to incorporated the […]

Archiving: Looking for pieces and parts for the autopilot

| April 4, 2014

Posting a couple reminder photos so that I remember to research replacing “at least” the rubber parts and belt for the wheel steering motor. Hopefully there is a rebuild kit available for the ST4000 that I upgraded the electronics to the Raymarine SPX-5 Wheel Drive or a way to find some salvage parts as Encore’s […]

Another boat project in the works: Air Conditioning on the cheap

| March 25, 2014

While I should be spending a few more evening hours working on taxes, I’ve instead been tinkering around on another boat improvement. This time I’m working to re-shelve one of the hanging lockers in order to install a removable 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner/Heat pump on the cheap. After reviewing all the more robust and expensive […]

What’s the difference between Jury Rig and Jerry Rig?

| March 6, 2014

Earlier this week I used a term in the title of a post, “Jury rigging SeaTalk connections on marine electronics,” and was sent an email questioning me about using the term Jury-Rig instead of Jerry Rig. Jury-Rig is the term used in my nautical books and magazines and I’ve adopted that, but  I like the […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog