Blog

[Kensblog] It’s starting to look like a boat!

6/9/2019
Williams, Kenneth
589 views

Greetings all! Roberta and I are still awaiting the delivery of our new boat. This will be our first summer to be stuck on land in over twenty years. Even though we miss our boat, I must admit we are looking forward to a summer on land. As much as we love boating it will be good to take a break. That isn't to say we haven't been thinking about boating! Hardly a day goes by that we don't have an email from the factory building our new boat or one of our various experts with questions about the ...

4/2/2019
Williams, Kenneth
1884 views

Greetings all! It has been twenty years since Roberta and I had a summer where we weren't living on a boat. Sans Souci (our Nordhavn) sold quickly and our new boat won't be delivered until next Spring. It feels strange being stuck on land. I regularly monitor several boating blogs and discussion groups, but haven't participated in any of the discussions recently. It feels like I am now outside the boating community looking in. That said, Roberta and I wanted this. We've talked for a while ab...

1/2/2019
admin
3019 views

Greetings all! They say the two happiest days in a boaters life are: 1) The day they take delivery of a new boat 2) The day they sell the boat I can confirm the first of these sayings, but am struggling with the second. Sans Souci, our beautiful Nordhavn 68, now has a new owner. We are proud that Sans Souci's reputation, extensive upgrades and amazing condition allowed her to sell so quickly, but sorry to see her go. The closest analogue to this mixture of sadness and joy would be when we se...

11/26/2018
Williams, Kenneth
3172 views

Greetings all! For those of you who may have missed my last blog entry, the quick story is that Roberta and I have listed Sans Souci for sale and are in the process of ordering a new boat. The quick reason is that we are planning to cruise 'the Great Loop' (an inland journey on America's rivers). We chose our Nordhavn 68 as the best possible boat for ocean crossing and now we're building a boat that is built for a completely different flavor of cruising. We're now deep into the process of or...

Comments
Harris, Britt 6/14/2019 Glad to see you and Roberta are having fun! Thanks for keeping in touch with everyone, and thank you again for creating some of my favorite games when I grew up ---Reply posted by admin on 6/14/2019 Thank you! We miss the Sierra days! But ... retirement definitely has its advantages...
rcrogers6 6/9/2019 Ken, Roberta's gray is going to make folks think that you are law enforcement or the Navy.?? You could guarantee that misapprehension by placing a white or black two-digit number on the bows. "33" would be my favorite. Shiny gray metallic might disabuse people of your "official" appearance.
rcrogers6 6/9/2019 Ken, although I am NOT advocating the Ultra, Ultra offers: bow roller assemblies, swivels, and chain. Perhaps GB need not fabricate anything? I assume that the chain is stainless. Do your experts think that your windless should be electric or hydraulic? The best way to self-rescue from a grounding (usually mud, but also sand) is to take an anchor out astern or off the bow and inch oneself off. Using the dinghy alongside often works, but those winches exert far more force. I recall your saying that you will have sheet winches aft to aid in docking.
rcrogers6 6/9/2019 Don't forget the Groco intake scoops with the removable screens to permit cleaning. In my brief ICW experience from New Bern to Annapolis and back. My ordinary A/C intake got clogged by tissue, a minnow, and a Tampon. On your future boat, I think that the only active intakes at rest will be the A/C and generator intakes. I have assumed that your toilets will be fresh water flush. Your radar can be used to see the ICW markers including those without radar reflectors (my commercial radar sees those w/o reflectors.) The charts may not reflect the actual position of the channel, but the radar will. In NC at least, ICW junctions with local channels are confusing in a few spots. If you are lucky enough to be behind a tug, they will serve as guides. Because I talk to tugs in a respectful tone and ask them "Where do you want me?" they often offered me advice and once a 6000 HP towboat pulled me off some stumps when my rudder arm broke and I went charging off outside the channel! They said that they would not have stopped had I been "one of those speeding sportfishermen." WORD.
jsschieff 6/9/2019 As someone else mentioned, you may want to take a look at the Ultra anchors. They appear to hold extremely well, be well-engineered and the stainless steel finish is quite spiffy. ---Reply posted by admin on 6/9/2019 GB recommended an Ultra anchor. Unfortunately, the Ultra that fits the existing bowsprit is borderline acceptable. I'm working with them now to see if a larger anchor, preferably Rocna, can fit on the bow. It's tough to swap anchors after years of experience with a particular anchor. In all scenarios, I want an anchor that is one or two sizes up from the manufacturer's sizing guide.
rcrogers6 6/9/2019 I've seen videos of some Steeler yachts and a few others and they are painted a dark silver similar to Roberta's gray. Wirth a look. Although I too have relied upon my oversized Rocna, I've seen mention of the Turkish Ultra anchor. Bright stainless with the general Roca appearance (no rollbar) but with a weighted tip. Interesting, buy pricey. ---Reply posted by admin on 6/9/2019 When we were in Europe we saw a lot of Ultra anchors. My recollection is that it is very similar to the Spade anchor that John Harries recommends on the Morgan's Cloud website. GB is struggling to fit an anchor of the size I'd like (Rocna or Ultra) onto the bow. It will require modification to the bowsprit, so we're still trying to find an anchor that is as large as I like and can be made to fit on the bow of the boat.

Comments

Harris, Britt 6/14/2019

Glad to see you and Roberta are having fun! Thanks for keeping in touch with everyone, and thank you again for creating some of my favorite games when I grew up

---Reply posted by admin on 6/14/2019

Thank you!

We miss the Sierra days! But ... retirement definitely has its advantages...

rcrogers6 6/9/2019

Ken, Roberta's gray is going to make folks think that you are law enforcement or the Navy.?? You could guarantee that misapprehension by placing a white or black two-digit number on the bows. "33" would be my favorite. Shiny gray metallic might disabuse people of your "official" appearance.

rcrogers6 6/9/2019

Ken, although I am NOT advocating the Ultra, Ultra offers: bow roller assemblies, swivels, and chain. Perhaps GB need not fabricate anything? I assume that the chain is stainless. Do your experts think that your windless should be electric or hydraulic? The best way to self-rescue from a grounding (usually mud, but also sand) is to take an anchor out astern or off the bow and inch oneself off. Using the dinghy alongside often works, but those winches exert far more force. I recall your saying that you will have sheet winches aft to aid in docking.

rcrogers6 6/9/2019

Don't forget the Groco intake scoops with the removable screens to permit cleaning. In my brief ICW experience from New Bern to Annapolis and back. My ordinary A/C intake got clogged by tissue, a minnow, and a Tampon. On your future boat, I think that the only active intakes at rest will be the A/C and generator intakes. I have assumed that your toilets will be fresh water flush.

Your radar can be used to see the ICW markers including those without radar reflectors (my commercial radar sees those w/o reflectors.) The charts may not reflect the actual position of the channel, but the radar will. In NC at least, ICW junctions with local channels are confusing in a few spots. If you are lucky enough to be behind a tug, they will serve as guides. Because I talk to tugs in a respectful tone and ask them "Where do you want me?" they often offered me advice and once a 6000 HP towboat pulled me off some stumps when my rudder arm broke and I went charging off outside the channel! They said that they would not have stopped had I been "one of those speeding sportfishermen." WORD.

jsschieff 6/9/2019

As someone else mentioned, you may want to take a look at the Ultra anchors. They appear to hold extremely well, be well-engineered and the stainless steel finish is quite spiffy.

---Reply posted by admin on 6/9/2019

GB recommended an Ultra anchor. Unfortunately, the Ultra that fits the existing bowsprit is borderline acceptable. I'm working with them now to see if a larger anchor, preferably Rocna, can fit on the bow.

It's tough to swap anchors after years of experience with a particular anchor.

In all scenarios, I want an anchor that is one or two sizes up from the manufacturer's sizing guide.

rcrogers6 6/9/2019

I've seen videos of some Steeler yachts and a few others and they are painted a dark silver similar to Roberta's gray. Wirth a look. Although I too have relied upon my oversized Rocna, I've seen mention of the Turkish Ultra anchor. Bright stainless with the general Roca appearance (no rollbar) but with a weighted tip. Interesting, buy pricey.

---Reply posted by admin on 6/9/2019

When we were in Europe we saw a lot of Ultra anchors. My recollection is that it is very similar to the Spade anchor that John Harries recommends on the Morgan's Cloud website.

GB is struggling to fit an anchor of the size I'd like (Rocna or Ultra) onto the bow. It will require modification to the bowsprit, so we're still trying to find an anchor that is as large as I like and can be made to fit on the bow of the boat.

Posted to Facebook

Posted to Twitter

[Kensblog] It’s starting to look like a boat!

[Kensblog] The first pictures are here!

[KensBlog] Boatless in Seattle

[KensBlog] Many decisions to make

Comments

Quick Updates

LINKS