Off Center Harbor

Passing Like a Dream

 

Most of you who follow this blog probably already know about these guys. They’ve been making and posting boat flavored videos for almost four years now. Really great stuff. They cover everything from detailed how-to’s to ride-alongs on some really wonderful boats, whether a beautiful classic sailing yacht or a little homebuilt dinghy.

And the five guys who founded OffCenterHarbor.com have the chops to do it right. Steve Stone worked in the film industry for years. Benjamin Mendlowitz is the classic wooden boat photographer almost everyone knows, as his Wooden Boat calendar hangs in offices and boat sheds all over the world. Maynard Bray was head of watercraft preservation at Mystic Seaport and has been a regular contributor to WoodenBoat magazine. Bill Mayher has had a career as a maritime writer. And Eric Blake has been building boats all his life, along both coasts, and is project manager at the Brooklin Boat Yard.

This site is subscription based, so there are no ads. (Yay!). This means that not only do you NOT get bombarded with sales pitches when all you want to do is relax and learn something, but it means they have the freedom to give their honest opinions about things without concern for which paying advertiser it might piss off. That’s both crucial and really rare when doing research, and you need to find out what really works.

In celebration of their success, they’ve provided the video above for free. You can share it with friends, post it on Facebook, whatever. And if you want to spend $40 a year to get access to more, take my word for it, it’s well worth it.

 

 

 

Chesapeake Float 2016 ~ Arrivals

 Mike’s Melonseed “Pepita”

 

“Don’t wait for me.”

“Where are you?”

“Just pulling out of the driveway. Of course. Still a lot of things to fix.”

“Oh. OK, well, call when you get here. Not sure where we’ll stop, but we’ll be back sometime tomorrow.”

Two hours later, Freeport Landing looks deserted. The sun is low, throwing long shadows across the water. A row of empty trailers lined up near the ramp. One lone boat there. Hmm, maybe someone went along as crew and left their boat. And Mike’s Melonseed is anchored off the beach. Not a soul in sight, though. Sometimes people double up for company or to lend an extra hand.

 

Continue reading “Chesapeake Float 2016 ~ Arrivals”

Steerage ~ Semi-final Rudder Repair

 

 

After seeing those new Lightnings up close, I got some ideas for how to do a few things on old #2833. Still much to learn, but it’s a start. And I got back early enough Saturday to get started. Then had all day Sunday. Two good days in a row, a new record. Main thing is to finish the kickup rudder. That’s essentially done.

John included the plans for the boat, and those came in handy for this. I could draw out the original rudder lines on plotter paper to see how Sparkman & Stephens intended it. Laying the parts down on the lines made it easy to make final decisions and adjustments.

 

  

Continue reading “Steerage ~ Semi-final Rudder Repair”

Lightning Potomac Regatta ~ Doc Gilbert 2016

Lightning Fleet #50 prepares for the Doc Gilbert races

 

With the Chesapeake Float coming less than a week off, it’s a bit disconcerting not to have had a chance for a single test sail in the Lightning. We set a record last week for most consecutive days of rain, weeks of rain, and that really set back progress on the boat. It may still be ready, barely, but I had hoped to have taken a couple of shakedown cruises by now. Lots of unknowns, and I keep finding ways to break things. Sunday morning it was the valve stem on one of the tires, which promptly went flat. I expect a handful of things to break the first time I try to sail in any wind.

I decided to try and see what I am in for, so took a drive to the near side of Washington, DC, to see some other Lightnings. Fleet 50 has an annual weekend regatta on the Potomac out of Leesylvania State Park, known as the Doc Gilbert. Was a couple of hours of driving, but well worth it. Many years ago I had some projects there with the CBYCC. The park has come a long way since then. Continue reading “Lightning Potomac Regatta ~ Doc Gilbert 2016”

Global Shipping, Visualized

This is fascinating. An interactive map of all commercial shipping worldwide in 2012.

 

 

You can pan and zoom to different parts of the world. Turn on color codes corresponding to shipping types for a dazzling visual effect. Play the audio/video for a quick tour and narration of what’s going on. Really interesting.

via Kiln via The Big Picture