Fishing line and Troling Motor Do Not Mix

Line eating trolling motor

I thought I would do a little fishing near the mouth of the canal we are on. I put the trolling motor on our dinghy and loaded up some fishing supplies a life jacket and headed out. I put one line in and started getting a second pole ready. I changed the hook, got some bate, and was just messing around in the boat when I noted that the dinghy had drifted in to the shore.  

I did not think much of it, I slid over to the motor and started it up. Suddenly the first line I had put in started running out. The real started to wiz and before I realized that the line was in the trolling motor prop the pole flew up and hit me.

Boy that motor ate the line quickly. I figured I would just go back to the dock and clear it. WRONG…I had not brought the oars. I had to take the motor off the boat and into the boat to remove the line. About 20 Min. later it was back in working order, but I was in no mood to fish. Fishing line cuts your hands better than you can cut it. I must have pulled 70’ of line off the prop shaft. By the time I got the line off the motor I had drifted about 80’ don stream and in to bank weeds.

I hand paddled the boat out of the weeds so I could use the motor. I knew better than to try to use the motor to back out of the weeds. Last year when I tried that the weeds caused the nut on the prop to un-screw and the prop came off. Than I had a paddle with me so I was not stuck. 8-)  

I have to say I got a nice rush when I thought I had got a fish, and then when the pole hit me I was mad. The whole thing was funny by the time I made it back to the dock. I had heard of people getting there line in the prop, but I thought you had to be dumb to do it.  8-) 8-) *-)

Mr. Rodger’s Sweater

Mr. Rodger’s Sweater

On our recent cold spell, I pulled out a few sweaters to keep me warm. I made a comment to my wife “just like Mr. Rodger’s”. From her reaction I guessed she as not a fan of Mr. Rodger’s. I felt the same way, but it was a sweater like the ones he had.

I did not think much about it. About mid-morning I went to the mailbox and saw the man next door getting his mail. He smiled and said “Good day Mr. Rodgers”. I gave him a look. One of his daughters ask him who Mr. Rodger’s was. He told her to goo gal it. 

That afternoon I saw that daughter and her sister and she said “That was a Nice Mr. Rodger’s sweater” and Giggled.

I do not think I will wear my sweater outside anymore. 8-)

Shroud Tensioning

Basic shroud tensioning

The shroud tension on your sailboat should be the same or balanced side to side. The shroud tension should be about 20% of the wire breaking strength for the upper shrouds and about 10% on the lower shrouds. This is a good starting point and is good for most sailing. If you race you will want to make measurements when you are sailing hard on the wind on both tacks. Then head up wind and adjust the tension. By making small adjustments and going back and forth you can then tighten the shrouds that were slack. This way you can adjust them so there is no longer slack on either tack.

You measure tensions with a Loos Gage and you should record them for reference.  If you make a major adjustment, you should re check the tension after sailing the boat a few times. You may need a small adjustment after sailing as the wires adjust to the new tension.

If you trailer your boat often and raise and lower the mast frequently, it is nice to have a reference so you can use as a quick check. 

If the shrouds and stays are not balanced, you can end up with a bent mast. You can sometimes straighten a mast that has a minor bend in it, but it is not an easy task and needs to be done slowly.

When the shrouds and stays are balanced the boat will sail better whether you notice it or not.

It is not hard to do, but it is time consuming. When you are sailing note how much slack you get when on a hard tack. It will give you an idea if you need to re-tension your rigging. 

Here are some links with more information:

http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=26f402d048e9559f7e670fe75bd8552b&p=969447

and: 

http://www.landfallnavigation.com/hlpt2.html

Retiring to a pirates way of life.

Retiring to a pirates way of life.

Winning the power ball lotto is a slim chance, and living in Florida I have a better chance of being hit by lightning than winning the lotto. I figured that no matter who won the Presidential election, nothing would majorly change. I think my best option these days is to retire and become a Pirate.

I always thought I could make a good Pirate. I like boating, can live on a meager budget, have lived on our boat for a few years, we have a boat, and I can fish for food if I have to. My wife and I really don’t need all that much.

I think it would be harder on the cats and dog then us. Cat litter would be a major concern though. It would take a year or so to get rid of all our “stuff” we don’t use and to get the boat back to where we could live on it full time.

The next year looks like it will be challenging and it will be interesting to see what blows in. I guess I will plan on a Pirates retirement if I do not get the Power Ball Lotto.  Arrg,,,

Cats take dog bed from dog!

Cats took over the cat bed.

When the weather got cooler I found the do'gs old dog bed, cleaned it up and put it in bedroom for him. The Cats found the dog bed and took it over. They would not let the dog use it!

Now, most of the time, there is one cat on the dog bed, and in the evening there are 3 or more cats on it. The poor dog has to curl up on one of the small throw rugs.

We have an old spool bed that the cats share with the dog, and the cats will share his other dog bed with him. The cats are taking advantage of the poor dog, and they will gang up one him because they out number him and know he is a wimp.

When it got real cold (for Florida) the other night Wendy and I found that we were sharing the bed with 4 cats and the dog. We were all packed on that bed like sardines in a can. We were all warm. 8-)

Two of the cats regularly curl up with the dog, but the others are iffy or will not tolerate him. One just loves to make him miserable. It is Ruff living with 9 cats if you are  dog.