It’s strange how things work out sometimes. Trapped here with a flat tire at the crossroads of life and bored out of my mind, I’m just three boat lengths from one of my most important contributions to the world.
http://www.umces.edu/research-discovery/rv-rachel-carson
The R/V Rachel Carson is, depending on whether you measure by length or displacement, the world’s smallest or second smallest dynamic positioning vessel. I don’t really care which because I designed the other one as well.
UMCES does a lot of work in which they deploy and recover gear that is sitting on or fixed to the bottom. They therefore get a lot of use out of the dynamic positioning which maintains boat position and heading by a sophisticated autopilot, even if it means the boat has to move sideways or in any other direction.
They have discovered that it doesn’t work as well to drive the boat to the desired position as it does to stop a boat length or two away and put the final location into the computer. The vessel then slowly moves to and stops at the exact spot and stays there, usually within an accuracy of three feet or less. While the boat is moving the final distance, the computer is learning and calculating the wind and current forces so it settles down in position even faster than if stopped on the desired spot.
They also do a lot of coring. Core samples are often ruined by the boat drifting and putting an angle on the wire. The failure rate used to be about 20% and they now often do up to 20 cores without needing to discard even one. In fact, they have learned that they have to move the boat slightly when doing more than one core in the same spot because there is such a high probability of dropping the core into the original hole.
So why am I bored? This would be a great vacation if I had come from somewhere else but I have been hanging out in the boat’s cabin since July and there are only so many places I can walk around this small town. My back is getting better but leaning over and twisting is what aggravates it so I am frustrated at not being able to start stripping down the engine and removing equipment that impedes its removal. This would considerably reduce the labor costs so it is especially galling.
Doing financial figuring about the 4 to 5 figure outlay that lies just ahead of me has been sobering. I have a very modest income that will last as long as I can keep air going in and out. I’d stopped the payments because of the big chunk of money I got at the time I sold my business but I’ve got to restart them to get Strider going again.
I thought at the outset of this adventure that the annuity would be enough to live on the boat. I was right about that, if I live like this:
I just can’t afford to actually go anywhere or do anything when I get there. I run just about everything through my credit card now and the payments each month since leaving Portland have been larger than the annuity payments will be once I’ve restarted them. Fuel, ice, and other boat costs mean I can’t afford to drive the boat down the ICW and back each year. Outside isn’t an option at my age. I’ve lost my enthusiasm for that level of adventure and anxiety. It also wouldn’t be responsible singlehanded, at least according to my view of nautical matters, and I’ve accepted that no one is going to go cruising with me for more than an occasional week.
Keeping the boat on the hard for the winter is nearly as expensive as moving it south so that doesn’t solve anything except letting me be in the south for the winter. That’s appealing but appealing doesn’t mean much if you can’t afford it. I know absolutely for sure that I don’t want to be south of New Jersey in the summer. I just don’t like heat.
I’m going to do whatever it takes to make Strider whole again, even if it means a new engine. I’ve put too much into her and she has given me too much to just leave her in the corner of a boatyard and walk away. After that, it will be a question of whether I can justify the cost of maintaining her for daysails and short cruises around Maine and Canada. I’m just not going to cruise alone anymore except for an occasional few days to get away. Barbara is good for a week to ten days a couple times a year at best. I don’t think I’m going to replace her and I’m not sure that amount of boat usage justifies the cost of ownership at my income level.
It’s been a wonderful and amazing trip and will be for a while longer. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and self discovery is an important part of any such voyage. The most significant thing I’ve learned is that I don’t like being alone as much as I thought I did. I don’t know what comes next but, whatever it is, I know it and I will be better for having made this voyage.
http://www.umces.edu/research-discovery/rv-rachel-carson
The R/V Rachel Carson is, depending on whether you measure by length or displacement, the world’s smallest or second smallest dynamic positioning vessel. I don’t really care which because I designed the other one as well.
UMCES does a lot of work in which they deploy and recover gear that is sitting on or fixed to the bottom. They therefore get a lot of use out of the dynamic positioning which maintains boat position and heading by a sophisticated autopilot, even if it means the boat has to move sideways or in any other direction.
They have discovered that it doesn’t work as well to drive the boat to the desired position as it does to stop a boat length or two away and put the final location into the computer. The vessel then slowly moves to and stops at the exact spot and stays there, usually within an accuracy of three feet or less. While the boat is moving the final distance, the computer is learning and calculating the wind and current forces so it settles down in position even faster than if stopped on the desired spot.
They also do a lot of coring. Core samples are often ruined by the boat drifting and putting an angle on the wire. The failure rate used to be about 20% and they now often do up to 20 cores without needing to discard even one. In fact, they have learned that they have to move the boat slightly when doing more than one core in the same spot because there is such a high probability of dropping the core into the original hole.
So why am I bored? This would be a great vacation if I had come from somewhere else but I have been hanging out in the boat’s cabin since July and there are only so many places I can walk around this small town. My back is getting better but leaning over and twisting is what aggravates it so I am frustrated at not being able to start stripping down the engine and removing equipment that impedes its removal. This would considerably reduce the labor costs so it is especially galling.
Doing financial figuring about the 4 to 5 figure outlay that lies just ahead of me has been sobering. I have a very modest income that will last as long as I can keep air going in and out. I’d stopped the payments because of the big chunk of money I got at the time I sold my business but I’ve got to restart them to get Strider going again.
I thought at the outset of this adventure that the annuity would be enough to live on the boat. I was right about that, if I live like this:
I just can’t afford to actually go anywhere or do anything when I get there. I run just about everything through my credit card now and the payments each month since leaving Portland have been larger than the annuity payments will be once I’ve restarted them. Fuel, ice, and other boat costs mean I can’t afford to drive the boat down the ICW and back each year. Outside isn’t an option at my age. I’ve lost my enthusiasm for that level of adventure and anxiety. It also wouldn’t be responsible singlehanded, at least according to my view of nautical matters, and I’ve accepted that no one is going to go cruising with me for more than an occasional week.
Keeping the boat on the hard for the winter is nearly as expensive as moving it south so that doesn’t solve anything except letting me be in the south for the winter. That’s appealing but appealing doesn’t mean much if you can’t afford it. I know absolutely for sure that I don’t want to be south of New Jersey in the summer. I just don’t like heat.
I’m going to do whatever it takes to make Strider whole again, even if it means a new engine. I’ve put too much into her and she has given me too much to just leave her in the corner of a boatyard and walk away. After that, it will be a question of whether I can justify the cost of maintaining her for daysails and short cruises around Maine and Canada. I’m just not going to cruise alone anymore except for an occasional few days to get away. Barbara is good for a week to ten days a couple times a year at best. I don’t think I’m going to replace her and I’m not sure that amount of boat usage justifies the cost of ownership at my income level.
It’s been a wonderful and amazing trip and will be for a while longer. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and self discovery is an important part of any such voyage. The most significant thing I’ve learned is that I don’t like being alone as much as I thought I did. I don’t know what comes next but, whatever it is, I know it and I will be better for having made this voyage.
