Flotsam & Jetsam
Your letters and such...
Following our article on Boat Tents we received a couple more images. Longtime SCA columnist Hugh Horton writes:
This was up Crystal River on a 5 day cruise, maybe 1990. Across the River this night, on the right, a manatee or two slept in that slight cove, & were snoring every time I woke. I tried to stay awake just for the fun of hearing them. About 25 miles SE of Cedar Key.
Paul Bargren shares this photo below and says:
This shows the tent setup on my Core Sound 17. The dodger pulls back into place on bows, then the back half of the tent zips on to that and ties on to the mizzen mast. (There's just a stub mast in place here for use by the tailors.) The back of the tent drops down to the seats and floor. There is some screening in the back side of the tent. I have sitting headroom inside, and about as much room overall as a two-person pup tent. Setup is less than 5 minutes, and I can fold the whole thing onto the foredeck. I more or less designed it; Harken Canvas near Milwaukee built it and had some good suggestions along the way. Unfortunately, Harken Canvas is no longer in operation. They did great work.
Here are contributors Gary and Karen Sack with another postcard from their travels. Gary writes:
From the tidal mudflats of the Thames estuary ... to the bridge of London ...to Windsor Castle ...to the quiet Thames as she wanders the English countryside.
I have sent this on Karen’s phone because mine seems to have stopped sending emails. She also gets credit for most of the photos and you might check out her blog at:
http://OuradventureswithYendor.wordpress.com
Reader Steffan Baker asks:
How do I know what type of rope to buy for each use on my sailing dory? Is there a book you recommend. I fear West Marine wants me to buys things I don’t need.
There are some good rope selection articles online, but here is one articles we did a few years ago:
Selecting Rope for Small Craft
If you’re anything like me you’ve probably found choosing line for your sailboat, especially running rigging, a little like selecting the best cell phone plan—which is to say it sometimes seems intentionally complicated and you’re not sure if you’re ending up with exactly what you need.
Boat Names and other Crimes
As a rule, sailors aren’t responsible for the worst boat names out there, but we’ve all seen vessel names that make us cringe—just imagine having to hail the Coast Guard over your VHF.
Here are a few real boat names, for better or (mostly) worse. We’ll let you decided which is which.
Feel free to to share your own stories about worst or best boat names, or even naming conventions, below. —Eds
SEA SECTION
NAUTI BOUY
THE GREAT GATSEA
OFFSHORE DRILLING
BOUYS AND GILLS
B-YACHT-CH
MARIE HUANA
SHIP FACED
SLOW MOCEAN
KNOT A CLEW
SOTALLY TOBER
ECSTASEA
WET AND SLOPPY
NEVER AGAIN II
SMUG DRUGGLER
NICE PAIR (Catamaran)
BUSINESS TRIP
BOW MOVEMENT
THE COD FATHER
UNSINKABLE II
SUNK COST
•SCA•
These names give some class to the famous "Boaty McBoatface" from England
SAMPAGUITA was incomprehensible on the radio and inherited. Also, unpronounceable to 99% of English-only speakers.
SAMPATHECANOE is a salute to SAMPAGUITA, absolutely ridiculous, but absolutely unique.
I do appreciate the less serious.
On the flip side, GRACE and SERENITY are names I would absolutely change. Way too common for my taste. (Sorry, GRACE and SERENITY owners. - I'm even a Firefly fan.)