Boat Builder Blunders

There is a popular quote in the book "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame - "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats"
However I think dear old Mr. Grahame may have changed his tune if he owned one of today's popular boat brands touted as "premium".

Over at The Marine Installer's Rant, a blog I thoroughly enjoy, Mr. Bishop documents some of the horrible circumstances he has to face on boats doing electronic installations. Some of his insights are brilliantly documented, and these need to be compiled in a book, then shipped to every builder on the planet.

You can see the contrast in values of most of today's boat builders compared to the builders who truly understand what it takes to own and operate a boat.
Superficial Glitz and Glam over Maintainability,
Layout over Accessibility,
Technology over Usability and Longevity.

Most people will measure quality by values on the left, when true quality is always measured by the values on the right. My advice to you, be careful what you are valuing when you are looking for your next boat, and hold builders and current owners to a higher standard.

I am thankful that Mr. Tollefson, the maker of my Tollycraft, leaned more to the right of these values above, and I hope to maintain those values in my next boat.

Here is Mr. Bishops post.
The Top Ten Things That Make My Life Difficult

Out of the Rat Race

Tomorrow Somewhere New from Dark Rye on Vimeo

I wanted to find a great way to let people know our future plans. Maybe a nice inspirational writeup or a video, however finding the time to do such a thing is hard to come by. Then today this video popped up on my Facebook feed. This is it! This captures what we have deep rooted in the core of our beings; the freedom, simplicity, and adventure that my Wife and I value so much. We are on the same road as the family in this very well executed video... except swap out the Airstream for a Trawler Yacht, and the "no date night" thing for date night every night. We have sold most of our belongings, at least the things that anchor us to a place. Our home is also sold. We are waiting for our boat to sell, and the right boat to come our way. We are slowly but surely finding our way out of the rat race. We don't know if it will work, or how long term it will be, but we are going to try to make a go at it. I once said to someone, the worst thing that can happen is if the plan fails, I come back and do what everyone else does. Then he said something that stuck with me ever since... "the only thing worse than failing, is not trying".

The C-Shel is For Sale

Yes, the time has come, our Tolly is for sale. It is with mixed feelings that we are doing this. This Tollycraft 34 Sport Sedan has been a joy to own. I may even go as far to say this boat has changed our lives in a lot of respects. However, there are plans and dreams almost within reach that will include a C-Shel 2.0, and we are looking forward to the future.

If you are interested in a 34 Tollycraft, look no further. Check out the for sale link above, or click here.

That's Boating!

Whether motor, sail, or paddle, there is something magical that happens when we step aboard a boat. The day ahead is filled with endless possibilities; a chance encounter with a monster of the deep, treasures on a remote island, or just breathing in the intoxicating breeze off the water, filling our heads with dreams that only seem possible when you are afloat. For us that "get it", and let our inner child roam free, our eyes are opened, and we smile, as if by some sort of miracle, it is instantly revealed to us, the secrets of a happy life.

Freedom, Adventure, Simplicity,

C-Shel

How to Get Rid of Mold & Mildew from Boat Canvas

I'm going to tell you the number one best way to remove mold and mildew from your boat canvas, or any canvas material for that matter. It will not use any harsh chemicals, toxic smelling products, or highly labour intensive proceedures. You will only be using fresh water and a little bit of arm movement.

I have the type of canvas on my boat that does not breath all that well, it has some sort of coating underneath that makes it extremely waterproof, but when the canvas is closed up, it traps moisture, and therefore mold can grow. I have spent many labor intensive hours trying many products to remove mold and mildew, from expensive made for boat products, to bleach, ajax, vinegar, and pine-sol. Some of those solutions worked to a degree, but I was never completely satisfied.

So while putting on my canvas one spring getting ready for launch, I noticed that my canvas once again was not its cleanest. Later that day, a good friend was walking into the boat yard with a sale item they bought at a local hardware store. It was actually a small handheld Shark Steamer.

I can't remember how I got the new steamer out of her hands and onto my flybridge trying out different attachments, but I did, and after 5 minutes of use, I left the boat yard to go and purchase my own steamer.

The process was as follows. Use a small bristle brush attachment where the steam still comes out with some force, and you are able to lightly brush the fibres of the canvas as the steam is doing its work on the mold. When an area of about 3'x3' is done, take a clean cotton rag and wipe down the area. Repeat if necessary. That's it.  Just take a look at the before an after pictures.

Before

After

I have never had as good a result with any other product or solution. It isn't like new in my case because my canvas is older, and the mold has discolored the canvas backing just a little, but it is 99.9% better than it was. Every boat owner with canvas, needs a small steamer like this one. I wonder what else this little steamer will come in handy for?

Feel This Moment, A 2012 Boating Recap Video

C-Shel's splash date is set for May 10th, so here's to a great 2013 boating season! May you have lots of those special boating moments this summer.

The Anchorage Channel Launch

With inspiration from the likes of the Sunset Channel and the Aquarium Channel on cable, comes the Anchorage Channel... not really a channel but series of anchorage videos put in a YouTube playlist. :)

Last year we started mounting the HD camera and taking video of the sights and sounds of sunset anchorages. We have a few from around the Rideau and St. Lawrence to upload, but first in line is of course one of our favorite anchorages on the Rideau, Nobels Bay.  This is a peaceful 10 minute video of the sunset as we are swinging on the hook to enjoy on a big screen in HD, for times when you are not boating but wish you were. For best results, hopefully you have some way to sling YouTube video to your TV, like an Apple TV, a WDTV, or similar.

If you have a video of an anchorage at sunset from anywhere in the world, let us know about it, I'd love to consider adding it to our YouTube Playlist.