an opinionated guy that sails and camps.
The electrical system components finally arrived and I have completed the second upgrade to Sweet Pea’s electrical system. The first upgrade was done in 2010. She now how a solar panel, USB chargers, a second 12V port, stern light, new masthead light and a safer electrical panel. The distribution panel remains the one that Jerry’s staff … More Upgraded electrical system
A well regarded series of stories by M. Wylie Blanchet is known by most sailors that travel the Salish Sea. The stories cover Wylie’s adventures, and some miss-adventures, traveling the northern reaches of the Strait of Georgia to just North of Vancouver Island. She traveled this area in the 1920s and 1930s in a small … More The Curve of Time
Still waiting for many boat parts to arrive so I’ve been doing tasks as I can. I tried to find replacement parts for the old boat potti; but no pieces are available – not a surprise as it is likely the potti is a ’83 like the boat. In order to save a few bucks, … More A place to sit
While waiting for boat parts to arrive, so I can continue SWEET PEA’s recommissioning and improvements, I have been enjoying one of my favorite non-sailing activities – reading. Late last year an acquaintance, Dave Bacon, published his second book ‘Sailing From Behind the Curve’. Dave is an absolutely top-notch sailor. He knows his stuff. I’ve … More Sailing From Behind the Curve
I’m not in a part of the country that is known for sailing, or really boating. Denver does have a sailing/boating community but the local stores don’t see enough business to stock necessary items – even the local West Marine is REALLY bad about stocking. I seem to have purchased the last 3M Restorer & … More Maintenance, Cleaning and thinking
For my upcoming 2018 many months Salish Sea trip, could be up to five months on the water, I need to figure out what which ship’s stores are really needed v. what I want – I have seventeen feet of boat, that will also be shared with a cat, to carry all the stuff. I must … More Ship’s stores
Waiting for boat parts to arrive so I’ve taken advantage of the recent warm days here in Denver (65+ degrees in March!?) to make Sweet Pea look pretty. After about six hours her hull is again shiny! I really like 3M’s Marine Restorer & Wax product (#09005). I’ve used this for 10+ years and find it great for … More wax on – wax off
I try very hard to be safety conscious and especially so when sailing. Most of the time I’m sailing alone, in this case Momma Kitty doesn’t count as being a crew member as she, though good at many things, still hasn’t mastered how to helm the boat – something about not having opposable thumbs. I’m … More Be safe out there!
For the past ten years I followed Roger Taylor’s adventures in his small and simple boats Mingming and Mingming II. A bit about Roger – Roger Taylor was born by the sea, of sea-faring stock, and has been sailing for well over fifty years. As a young seaman he was shipwrecked on a remote New Zealand shore aboard … More Roger Taylor & Mingming & Mingming II
Some items need figuring prior to my 2018 Salish Sea cruise. List of optional items – Electrical – greater storage battery capacity? upgraded panel? USB charging port(s)? 12V status monitor? solar panel? Potti – larger? different type: wag bag or tank? (The potti currently on the boat is broken and I’ve not been able to … More Creating a shopping list
M17 #375 - SWEET PEA 