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"Knots and Crosses" by Ian Rankin

We had a lot of great reviews on the old ClubReading website. And so those don’t go to waste, (and so we have some fresh content here occasionally), I’m going to post an old review now and again for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

“Knots and Crosses” by Ian Rankin is a classic noir crime mystery, set in 1980’s Edinburgh. Ian Rankin’s recurring police detective, John Rebus makes his debut in this story about serial killing and revenge.

"The Town and the City" Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac’s first published novel, The Town and the City is a story of monumental scope and great emotional depth. The book’s jacket cover talks about Kerouac’s idolization of Thomas Wolfe and this book reflects that interest. The story is about choices and regrets. It’s also about a generation robbed of choices and left wondering and apathetic and lost. The book tells the story of a family growing up in a small New Hampshire town pre-World War II and follows the family through war and loss.

Ornament

A friend gave me this cool metal sailboat ornament to decorate the boat for the holiday. Love it! I’ll have to find it a permanent home.

Coffee!

I’m surprised more of my posts aren’t coffee related. Nice fresh pot for some weekend boat work.

Recent Travel Drinking

I haven’t posted in a while, and want to get back to recording my thoughts and fun hobby activities.

I was recently in Pensacola for a week of work, and had the pleasure of visiting a fun whisky bar, Old Hickory Whiskey Bar.

Some of my favorites.

Rigging Repairs

Rigging repairs on the boat are done. Nothing major, I had a short list of items I wanted repaired/replaced. The secondary supports for the port and starboard spreaders, and the running backstays. All done and everything is looking great!

The work was done by Jason of Argonaut Rigging. Great vendor! Highly recommend him.

Ten Year Plan Number Plate

s/v Ten Year Plan received it’s official number plate today. U.S. Coast Guard documented boats are assigned a lifetime documentation number. The requirements are the number be affixed to the interior of the boat in such a way as altering them would damage the numbers or the hull. Folks solve this problem in a varieties of ways, including wooden plaques, plastic or metal carved plates.

A friend of mine, Al, owns the AutoMetalSkin company, and offered to make a number plate for me. Using a jewelers saw, he cut out the numbers from a sheet of metal, then using his unique finishing process, coated the number plate with brass. He left it exposed, without a clear coat, so we can watch the metal patina over time. See the video below to see more of the reveal process.

Vive la vida y deja vivir

New Boat Arrives

My new Tender arrived today. So of course I had to set it up in my living room. 😁

It’s easy inflate and it all fits in the provided bag. It’s the PHP-310 Air Floor Inflatable from West Marine.

Looking forward to many years of service from this great little boat.

The question has come up several times regarding what to call the little boat. Is it a tender, or a dinghy, a zodiac or a skiff? Here’s a rough definition of each as I understand them:

Comfort Without the Bulk

When I was looking to redo the V-Berth on my boat, I researched mattress options, and ran across several ‘under-mattress’ systems and ended up going with the Froli Modular SleepSystems.

The big challenge is ventilation under the mattress.

Affordable and well made
Easy to follow instructions
Easy to assemble and use
Comfortable and adjustable
Great ventilation.

As others have noted, it can be a wrestling match with the Froli to get to the lockers under the cushions in the V-Berth. What has worked for me so far is keeping the overall pieces small enough to handle, instead of creating one large connected piece, I have three smaller pieces: One on port, one for the bench starboard locker cushion, and one for the center key piece.