Friday, June 19, 2015

Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

I recall being a young kid and seeing a popular motivational poster in school offices, and lunch rooms, and the like. It said, "Attitude is Everything". The older I get the more I believe in that corny piece of propaganda little quote. Seriously. Just like the Bob Marley quote in the title. We all gotta get wet every now and then... why not at least try to enjoy the feeling, or enjoy the journey through the rain... or something.

I heard a story of Thomas Edison the other day. Thomas Edison apparently espoused an idea known as "Amor fati". The Love of Fate, or the Love of ones own fate. Basically in all things to experience a piece and love of what is happening, because it was meant to happen.... or something like that.... I don't know the deep details... but the main concept I particularly enjoy. The story teller told about Edison's factory catching fire, which was hardly insured due to over confidence in their concrete buildings. However Edison seemed to almost enjoy and was said to tell his son to get his mother so they can "enjoy the splendid colors of green and blue fire" that was consuming what was once his factory.

Like going on a zen-like walk.... whatever that means exactly. To me it means flowing through life like water gently makes it way to the sea. Not in hurry, not too slow.... just in time, and just right. And of course with a slow and steady current plenty can be accomplished in reasonable time. And we can all agree on the benefits of consistency and reliability. I can really get into these types of zones when doing mechanical type work while listening to some mood enhancing music or a good audio book. Getting into the "zone" is something I find myself continually trying to do.... and it pops up in all sorts of my activities. Programming, working on cars.... heck even in the mornings when I have a cup of coffee or tea and listen to some music, and write my ideas down.... wooo I love that zone... :-)

Every little thing is going to be alright. I remember, several years ago, being depressed and hearing thoughts like this.... and thinking... man I wish... but geez luiz.... I really do think it's true. If you don't think it is... you are certainly blowing problems out of proportion. This is probably what depression is. It's when there is some sort of chemical or other reason that you start blowing all sorts of problems out of proportion. Hmm.... interesting idea.

Lately, I've really been enjoying idea's from Simon Sinek.  Particularly this talk where he discusses neuro-transmitters and their role in happiness. Keep your brains healthy people... we don't talk about brain health enough, but it's just as important perhaps more important than the physical part of health, and of course very connected.  I love to discover new information about how the brain works, as it helps me to keep mine in optimal condition.  But not only that.  When we have a better understanding of how we work as an animal or creation or whatever... we are better able to manage/lead/govern our selves, and others.

Okay, back to the "Attitude is everything" concept I opened with.  I could say all sorts of cliche, corny things... like you can't control things that happen to you, but you can control you attitude... but I don't want to hit that horse right now.  I want to focus on one particular attitude.  The attitude of gratitude.  Author and self proclaimed "Why-Guy?" Tony Robbins loves to pound on the idea of developing our gratitude.  When we are grateful we can't be scared... when we are grateful we get hopeful.  Fearlessness and hope are pretty powerful concepts.  But not only that....

My postulate is that when we develop an attitude of gratitude we are actually increasing our "self-less neuro-transmitters", serotonin and oxytocin.  And according to Sinek, the build up of these chemicals cause us to desire (for happiness mind you) to work together and sacrifice for our own personal gain for the gain of the group.   Along with feelings of belonging, and trust, and fulfillment.   It's pretty remarkable really.  The concept that Robbins has been espousing for years, may just now be getting some scientific backing... of course it would not be the first time.  He also espouses posture and movement and it's relationship to health... which was recently backed by reproducible clinical studies.

Anyways, that all be said.  Be grateful... it's for your health!  :-)  But seriously... it may just be a great way to "hack" your neurology.   As far as I am concerned I know that after hearing and doing a bit of my own research, I do believe that these "self-less chemicals" are something that I want more of.

Interesting idea that a bit of "good living" (being good to your neighbor, loving, trust... and all that feel good stuff) is actually connected to generating these chemicals.  I think that people who have done incredible good via personal sacrifice, or great lengths of love, are actually those who have formed a strong enough neural network.  A neural network with habit loops which are rewarded and continue to get rewarded at not only at a philosophical or even a physiological level, but rather at the core biological level. 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

First time sailing - 23 second video clip


I go out on a sail, and I see something exciting!

I've only been on a sailboat one other time, and that was a day tour in Bocas Del Toro on a big catamaran.  This is my first time out, it was April 9th or 10th 2015... just now getting around to looking at doing some video editing and this is kind of a trial run.

I edited this with iMovie on my iPad... honestly I'm really impressed.  It was super easy, and really very fast... and it was nice to not have to use a desktop.


Monday, June 15, 2015

Update: De-Stepping the mast. - Success Report and Thanks to /r/sailing we got it down!

Wow.  Things just keep getting better and better.  We got the mast down!  Holy moly!  In our previous post: De-stepping the mast - Failure Report and Help Request we ended up getting the A-frame built, but couldn't get the mast to move.  I posted this to /r/sailing (it's a sub-reddit on www.reddit.com... check it out, it's awesome.) and got so much information.

Thank you to everyone who helped.  I really appreciated all your support and ideas.  But particularly I want to thank 'texasrigger', 'TheShayToon', and 'jdubes'.  You guys really stepped up to help me out, and I really appreciate it.

Okay, so let's just dive in:


This is a bunch of blocks and some line.  What done is I've made a block and tackle.  This is to be used as a mechanical advantage when lifting the mast.  In my previous post detailing the failure, several people on /r/sailing said I needed some 'purchase' or a mechanical advantage.  This block and tackle serves that purpose.  It provides me a sort of transmission.  I can apply 10 lbs of force on one end, and it will give me 40 lbs of lifting power.  This will make lifting the mast easier and safer.

Here we are pulling the A-frame up again.  This is our second time, and we screwed up again.  You see how the A-frame is past the spreaders on the aft side.... this isn't gonna work.... gotta take her down and lift her back up the right way again.  

Poor picture... but it was tense and excited.... the mast is actually slightly lifted right now.  We did it!!!  At this point it was just a matter of getting her safely down.  We knew we could get it down atleast if nothing else, by dropping it.  Ashley is guiding the base, as I'm applying the lifting force.  One thing to note is how are A-frame legs are attached to the deck.  There are eye-bolts on deck with a line tied to it.  That line is then tied to the legs... simple and it worked.

We start changing positions and maneuvering the mast into a resting spot.  The guys in the right hand side of the picture with the macgregor sailboat... they had a cool self made jib roller furling.  We actually gave them a hand lifting their mast as soon as we pulled our boat into the parking lot.

Oh yeah baby.  I'm pumped!!!  We just saved ourselves 500 bucks!!  

I think this picture is really pretty cool.  This is pretty much an action shot.  I was slowly lowering using the block and tackle setup, which this picture also gives a good view of how it connected at the A-frame head and the mast.

WOW!  The mast is safely on deck.  I feel like we now have dominion over this boat, and that is a really good feeling.  One thing left.  Get the wheel bearings greased.
Here is a picture of the mast step.  Completely intact as we didn't have to cut it!  There is a bunch of grimy stuff in the bottom.  The important two bits were two wires.  I ended up cutting them both.  My bet is one is a GPS wire that ran up to the top of the mast, and the other is an electric line that was running to the light on the mast.  Both of these I'll replace, as they didn't have a convenient way to disconnect, and I honestly had no idea if they worked or how to use them.

Here she is on her port side.  You can see we safely got the A-frame down and resting on the side of the deck.

Here is a good view of her starboard side.  The mast is just resting up there for now.  We will secure her down prior to hitting the road.



Proud sailboat owners.  And now we know how to take down the mast!!

Just look at that  cigarette.... will you just look at it.  Oh well.  I'll just cut it out later.  

Thursday, June 11, 2015

De-stepping the mast - Failure Report and Help Request


I was really excited to make this blog post.  Now my excitement has turned to a bit of hope.  You see, I was hoping to tell everyone how I took my mast off the Columbia 26.  But I can't tell you that.   The mast is still stepped on the deck.  However I did build a big A-Frame, hoist thingy, that I can tell you about.  Theoretically it should allow me to lift a mast off a sail boat... but that is still theory at this point.  So without further ado, let me show you the pictures, and explain as I go along.


Let's get started:

First get some long wood.

This is what the real long wood looks like.  These are 20 footers.  2x6's.  I've got a bolt with some washers at one end.  To get the bolt hole, you drill through the wood.  I just eyeballed it... also note the hat.  This is a critical feature for a bald man.  Get a hat... if you a bald... and if you aren't maybe get one... they are cool.  Also note the nice new ropes/lines the blue and the green to the left.  ropes are cool.

Here is a bigger picture of the bolt through the end of the long wood.  Also you can notice a pulley.... but in the sailing world I think these are called blocks... I don't know that seems like such a strange word.  Most sailing words make sense, this one I haven't figured out yet... but that's another story.
One thing to note... I got a big long bolt, I think it's a 3/4 inch head, but not too sure.  It' was big enough I felt good with it.  And I got two washers, and two nuts.  A washer on each outer side so the pressure is distributed, and the two nuts to act together as a adjustable length stopper... but really I don't adjust it, just tightened it down

You see the pulley's job (or the block...) is to actually be the pivot point for the line (which is also a rope, that has a specific job... that sailing term makes sense to me.) that will actually be lifting the mast, or rather the line that will supply the force (via someone pulling, or some other thing-a-majig that you use... i use me pulling).  I bought a pulley that is rated for 500 pounds.  I'm pretty sure the bolt will end up snapping before 500 pounds, but heck maybe not, I don't know... but my guess is on the bolt snapping before the pulley.


Here we are so far.  Boards are attached with bolt, washers, and nut, and with a pulley in between.


Now we drill another set of holes through the wood.  These holes are about four feet from the top.  These holes are for the lines (ropes) to run through that hold tension towards the aft of the boat.

Here you can see the distance of the holes to the top of the A-Frame.  

Now lets get some rope, and give it a job.... which if I'm correct this turns the "rope" into a "line".  Whatever, just attach them like this.  Two for one direction, and one for the other.

Here the A-Frame is in an action shot on the ground.  Ashley is holding the forward tension line, and I've got back two attached.  The idea is that you put a line through the pulley and lift up the mast.

We decided that the long wood wasn't strong enough.  So we added another 2x6  - just 16 foot ones though.  

This time we only got 16 footers.  And we attached them like a "L" shape.  A "T" shape would have been probably better structurally... but it would have been more difficult to fold up into a nice and neat little portable mast crane thingy.

Ooh yeah.... look at that beautiful folding action.  Of course this is crazy pre-optimized.  We don't even know if it will work yet.  But if it does... wow this is cool.

Here we are hoisting the crane thingy up with the jib halyard.  Not difficult with two people.  

Bad news blues... My camera died at the point I needed to continue taking pictures of our progress.  However, the progress didn't get too much farther.  As even after we released all the standing rigging, we were unable to move the mast, even when I put all my weight on the pulley rope which was hoisting the mast. The mast is clearly still somehow attached to the deck.  Update: We have successfully got the mast off.  Click here to view the blog post. 

Here is one more shot of the a-frame on the boat.  I got this with Ashley's phone as mine had died.  
UPDATE: We have successfully got the mast off. Click here to view the blog post.
This is the mast, the mast step, and the deck.  It looks like I may be able to cleanly cut through the mast step, without effecting the mast.  It doesn't look like the mast sits inside the step or the deck.  Atleast not from what I can tell.

Another picture of the mast step area... I've included about 6 of these pictures... so there are no more "cool" pictures.. just mast step area pictures that way someone may help me to determine the best course of action.  Should I cut or should I pay money?  I'm really a DIY and feel like I'd learn a bunch from cutting.  Hopefully save 540 bucks.  I mean heck how much does a new mast cost?

Yeah that's probably the best question I should be asking.  How much doe a new mast cost?  I mean if it's less than what I can get his one de-stepped... wouldn't it just make sense to "CHOP IT DOWN".... to this one?  Perhaps that's another possibility I should check into prior to paying 540 an hour.


Even if I ended up ruining the base of this one... which there is no real reason to think that at this point... all though there is no reason to believe to strongly in the converse either.

Ok, almost there.  Now this shot gives me the reason to believe that I should be able to cut into the mast step without hitting the mast.  What do you think?

Last one.  Probably shouldn't have put it with all the others.  But I did.  So what.  Who cares... you made it this far.  I mean I appreciate it and all... but this is my blog... I can put up any stupid pictures I want.... ok I'm just kidding and rambiling now.  Thanks for looking at all these pictures.  Hope you enjoyed them.  I've got some more text that I wrote not as a caption, but as the body of the blog below these pictures.  Be sure to check that out too... I mean if you want and stuff.



Ashley and I tried to build an "A-Frame" and attach it with lines and then hoist the mast off, however we found out that the mast must be some how be attached to the boat.... Somehow other than the standing rigging, of which we removed all of it.... Fore and back stays, and the port and starboard pairs of side shrouds (she only has two shrouds per side, as apposed to some boats I've seen with 3 per side.)  My guess is the step is either glued or somehow bolted to the mast or deck...

I've included a bunch of pictures of where the mast meets the deck, and wondering what others think.  Should I just try to cut through the step with a reciprocating saw?  That's what I'm thinking right now.  Setup the A-Frame hoist, and then put lifting tension on the mast, then start slowly cutting through the mast step.  My other option is to start paying 540 bucks an hour for a crane operator and a sailboat rigger. Probably only take an hour, but still, that's a lot of money.
UPDATE: We have successfully got the mast off. Click here to view the blog post.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Our condo : )

TMegan, this is mostly for you! I was thinking of you tonight when I posted this :)
From our balcony. pictures never do enough justice.
our makeshift couch : )




celebrating EKU style--fireball.