New Cushions

We have been waiting a year for this.  The cushions weren't as much an issue to me as they were to Kerry.  I was more focused on the systems.  She is more focused on comfort and beauty. I like comfort and beauty so, this is a good match.

The original cushions were pretty beat.  Not only were they less than beautiful, they were also very worn.  The foam was completely bottomed out.  The best recipe for an ass that is completely asleep is to sit on the salon cushions for about thirty minutes.

The old beige cushions.

As you can see, they weren't that bad, but they look better than they are.

It was a long process.  The first company we called ended up being this distracted (took a phone call from another customer while measuring our boat) guy who blew us away with his estimate.

It was $8,000.

What?

Oh, oops, he made a math mistake.  It's really $6,700 instead.

And does that include the 15% materials discount.

Oh, he forgot that too.

Sorry, see ya.  Mistakes or trying to take us on the cost; it's the same difference to us.

So we called Pam at Vashon Portage Canvas.  We saw her work at the Boats Afloat show back in September.  Pam came out, measured the boat and provided us with a real reasonable estimate.  We had a lot of discussion on the right foam and fabric.  Bob Perry, the designer of the boat suggested we go with different colors for the base and the back.  We decided to try that out and found a combination that we liked.  Kerry loves rich colors and I see no reason not to indulge her.

First she stopped by with just the foam, to make sure it all fit.

Kerry is very happy...new foam!

Then we waited for her to complete the fabric.  It arrived today.

We chose a burgandy faux leather for the bases and a red/orange/gold material for the backs.  We ended up spending quite a bit on the fabric to get the hightest quality (durability/stain resistance) we could.  We think it's worth it.

The starboard sette in the main salon.

The port sette.

Note the buttons.  We decided to use the base fabric for the buttons on the backs.  It turned out great.

The chart table.

All in all I think we are going to be very happy with this.  The foam is perfect.  It doesn't bottom out at all. It's very comfy.  While the fabric is not your usual beige/blue we have seen on so many boats, it really works in the teak interior of Brigadoon.

Thanks to Bob Perry for his suggestions, to Pam for the work, and to Kerry for her inspiration and drive around this project.  Now we feel like we can really entertain in comfort and style.

One Year with my Princess on Brigadoon

My princess moved onto a boat with me one year ago.

I call her my princess as our little joke because, in very many ways, she is very comfort oriented. She is not into camping, hiking, etc.

Yet, one year ago, we closed on Brigadoon.

A few days later, we spent out first night aboard.




All I had to do was figure out how to keep things comfy and cozy.




Since then, Brigadoon has been our only home. Kerry has taken sailing lessons on her own and learned to pilot Brigadoon.  She's darn good at it too.  Best first mate evah!



She's helped me work on systems, upgrade the upholstery (it comes this week, we think) and order new sails. She has been through a few challenging things, here and there but, for a princess, she's pretty damn happy on this boat.

And, it makes a great prop for Halloween.  May I introduce Granwel O'Malley, the pirate queen of Ireland.




I couldn't be more fortunate or more happy.

Life does not suck on a boat. 

One Year (Kerry's view)

Most of the time Donn writes about our adventures and his musings on our life on the boat.  Today I feel like chiming in a bit.

One year ago today, we closed on Brigadoon, were handed the keys and motored the short distance from the broker's dock to our new home.  Life since then has been nothing short of amazing.  Let me list the ways...

1. Simplifying and purging my belongings down to what I *really* need and want has helped me get really clearheaded about my spending habits and shunning clutter.
2. I thought I would miss some of the creature comforts of a land-based home more than I do.
3. Adventure on a boat can be found anywhere from sailing through 6 foot waves in Puget Sound, to losing our engine a little too close to the shipping lanes, to simply waking up in the middle of a windstorm at the "safety" of our own dock.
4. I truly think our boat is one of the most beautiful environments I've ever lived in.
5. I have been learning - and will continue to learn how to be the best sailing crew I possibly can.
6. Entertaining guests in such a small cozy space yields wonderful conversations and fellowship.
7. I am constantly in awe of our amazing view and the nature that surrounds us, even in the heart of our city.
8. I am also constantly in awe of the skills Donn has and continues to collect around fixing and maintaining our boat.  I know Brigadoon will be well cared for and become even more beautiful over time as he and I continue to update her and keep her running smoothly.
9. Since selling most of my physical library of books, I am slowly adding to my new digital library on my Kindle.  I love my evenings reading on the boat!
10. As Tom Petty would say... "the future is wide open".

That last one is in some ways the most important.  This past year we have started forming and discussing our future.  A future made possible because of Brigadoon and what she can offer us in terms of travel and adventure.  I feel like my focus has gotten really specific, my priorities have subtly shifted, and my objectives are clear and bright.  It's a really good and satisfying feeling.

I'm looking forward to what year two has in store for us.  More trips and adventures, more upgrades, and continuing to value and cherish this life I get to share with my incredible Captain and Love.

Home...

The glassy waters of Lake Union reflect the lights of the city.
They reflect my dreams.
Long ago, I drew pictures of a sailing craft that I would build,
to sail away.
Those dreams were slain, silent, in the indifference of my family, of my then love.

Today, I live in a yacht there that is possible.
Where I can sail the whole world if it is my desire.
I am grateful for that.
For my dreams.
In Reality.
Today.

The wakes of passing boats gently rock my Brigadoon.
Reminding me of the bosom of the waters that cradle me.

It is home.
With my love,  it is home.

"Allowed...." Allowed!

Disclaimer: Yes, I know everyone should read every word of every document from every company from which it is received. Sometimes we don't.

So a "friend" of mine found the following in his boat insurance policy:

"It is warranted that a USCG licensed captain must be aboard your yacht whenever it is being operated and whose license and resume must be on file with us. This warranty will remain in effect until we have received and reviewed a Proficiency Letter which should include the number of hours logged jointly, from the USCG Captain and written notification of the removal of this warranty has been issued by us."

"WTF? Logged training hours? This isn't a general aviation aircraft." says the owner of the boat (who also has a PP-ASEL certificate from the FAA), who has been operating it for almost a year, in fresh and salt water, raising bridges, going through locks, docking in challenging conditions, sailing in all sorts of conditions, navigating shipping lanes, etc -- just fine.


so....


It's me.

I'm not happy about this. Frankly, it pisses me off.

I wasn't aware this was in my policy.

I learned to sail when I was nine. My father taught me.

I was sailing a myriad of daysailers all my youth, from sunfish to hobie cats, to larger boats.

I've rigged and sailed an El Toro, a Sunfish, a Sailfish, Hobies 14 and 16, a Luger Leeward, built a kit boat, including mast and sails, and owned and sailed a San Juan 21 for half a decade, sailing it in weather that would scare the shit out of most sailers. I have even single handed the thing through both the small and big locks in Seattle, in 1995.

I *taught* people to sail, in Fremont, Califorina, in Biloxi, Mississippi, in Lake Washington.

I helped a friend of mine, who really didn't know his O'Day 30, take it through the Snohomish Channel to Lake Washington.

I helped another friend, take his power boat from Everett, through the same channel, to Anachortes, stopping him from running it aground entering Cap Sante' because he cut the first buoy,

I've never capsized a boat, after my father taught me how to right one after he did it to me.

I've never lost a person overboard.

Never hit a dock, a piling, or another boat.

Never run aground.

I know this may jinx me but, I'm a pretty damn cautious sailor.

I'll make mistakes, I'm sure but, they are going to be pretty unique and out there and, get this; I'll learn from them.

When I read the "you are not allowed...."

I have operated police vehicles at high speed on a EVOC course, I've driven a one-ton pickup truck with heavy armor at 90mph in total darkness in Iraq, I have set good times at Sears Point on both cars and motorcycles, I have a goddamn Private Pilot Single Engine Land certificate for god sakes and you are questioning my right to "operate" my sailboat?

I can't tell you how entertaining it was to watch the damn power boaters smash into boats and docks in Pt. Townsend on my last trip. Where is their Captain's Signoff?

How dare you? Not allowed? You may say I'm not covered if I damage the boat. You may say that you may purchase coverage at high expense if I don't but, how dare you write that I am not *allowed* to operate my boat? Not allowed?

Brigadoon is *my* goddamn boat and and I'm the f'in Captain. Period.

Well, I got pissed.

I think this got missed, screwed up, in all the activity of finding, offering on, financing, buying and insuring Brigadoon.

I think it's time to write a goddamn sailing resume.

Ya know...to prove I can handle my own damn boat.

Can you tell this bugged me? I might apologize for my language; tomorrow. 

Safety Decisions: Knives

As a sailor, motorcyclist, motorcycle safety trainer, camper and security
professional (not credential-ism here, just letting you know from whence my
opinion springs), I have always supported making the best decisions on what
safety gear to use.

Whether it be a motorcycle helmet, a ballistic vest, or a PFD, it's best to make
decisions that are informed by facts and data. Informed decisions are,
hopefully, free of emotion, or assertions not based on any fact.

Every single piece of safety gear has a drawback that has to be dealt with.
Every single decision surrounding safety gear is an equation where we weigh the
costs/benefits in order to come to a decision. Everything has a price of
admission.

Sometimes it's cost, sometimes it's comfort (physical/emotional), sometimes it's
fashion.

When making choices about safety gear, the biggest mistake I have seen people
make, is focusing on one drawback, one negative, at the expense of supporting
evidence for it's use.

I would strongly suggest that peer pressure, fashion, or worrying about looking
like a dork, should not be part of any equation. Ever.

Inflatable PFD choices are not free of this decision process.

Both of the following are true:

1) Manually operated PFDs will not open unless manually deployed. This is
considered a bonus for those that think this is important.

2) Manually operated PFDs cannot be deployed if you are unconscious (struck by a
boom, stumble and hit your head, pass out from something else) when you fall
overboard.

If the contributing factors for the deaths of the sailors in the Mac race were
automatically operating PFDs, combined with being tangled in the tethers,
trapping them under a boat, one lesson may be the inclusion of an effective
knife to:

a) cut the tether
b) deflate the PFD if necessary

If you are going to get a knife to mitigate this issue, I'd suggest the
simplest, most rugged, most effective, most cost effective, fixed blade knife
you can get. I got this one for my wife. I think it's an excellent knife, for
many reasons. In my opinion, some of them are:

1) There is no opening mechanism to operate.
2) There is no opening mechanism to fail.
3) The knife is very rugged.
4) It is stored in and deployed from a very secure and rugged sheath.
5) Notice no pointy end. It's not easy to stab yourself, or others, with this
knife.
6) The serrated edge is very very sharp and, in my opinion, would be effective
in cutting.
7) It's inexpensive -- you can buy more than one.


http://www.gerbergear.com/Outdoor/Knives/River-Shorty-Knife_05640

On Globalization

Understanding that globalization exists and choosing when and how to participate in it are two different things.

Since we are defending globalization, I'll weigh in on that subject. 

Yes, I know my cell phone is made in China by many, many very little hands, attached to bodies that never sit, who do the same little motion every day, for sometimes 18 hours a day. If I require a cell phone I have no choice in the matter, really. None of the companies that provide cell phone service make a phone locally. That choice is not available. 

Additionally if I want an iPad or an iPhone (I don't and won't own either one) I have to buy one manufactured by 300,000 to 450,000 workers (many of them very very young) who are employed in Shenzhen at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a cramped, walled campus sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City" or "iPod City". This would be the factory where they put up suicide nets and made workers sign non-suicide pacts.

Now I'm not saying this is what your sail manufacturer is like. I'm using this as an example of being aware of where our STUFF comes from and the impact of using price as a primary driver for obtaining that STUFF.

The nice thing is, I have other choices when it comes to other things. There is a plethora of things, necessities, luxuries, that I can buy that aren't manufactured in (your words): "Sri Lanka rather than China. Labor laws are much looser in Sri Lanka and costs are a lot lower there."

I see that and I get to ask myself some interesting questions about the value of cost savings (I get cheap STUFF!) when weighed against doing business with a company that outsources to a country because the labor laws are looser than -- China. China, where Foxconn works people 18 hours a day and they sleep 15 to a room?

I get to decide if I want to live in, what seems to me, an "I gots mine" and "and damn who made my stuff as long as I save money" mentality. That's the way I look at it. Others may see it differently.

What it really comes down to is that I have choices. That means I have chosen to pay attention to where my STUFF is built, by whom, and under what conditions. I take notice of companies that talk about savings through utilizing economies of scale without mentioning *where* their STUFF is made. My choosing to purchase locally where I can, with most of that money going locally, to workers here, who work under fair labor laws is, in my opinion, a good thing. I like doing it. I can do it. It's *my* money.

If the expression of this makes some company, or representative of a company defensive, well, that isn't my problem.

Back to boaty stuff. While I have no control over where Brigadoon was built thirty years ago, I do have some control over what I put on her now.

All things being equal in the ethical business person department -- leaving aside the ethics of manufacturing in "Sri Lanka rather than China. Labor laws are much looser in Sri Lanka and costs are a lot lower there." -- this customer sees a clear benefit in choosing the company that is located here. This customer sees an advantage in a company that manufactures their product here. This customer likes a company who will come to my boat (not ask me to measure my own sails to save money) to ensure the product is right. This customer also really really likes the fact that I can visit the actual factory/loft where my sails are being made, talk to the workers, and know that, if I have any problems, I know where to go.

All things being equal, of course.