Fifth Stage of Being a Codger
June 25th, 2009Acceptance
I replaced my beloved fishing glasses today. And I am bummed.
Why is it that every product I take a liking to gets discontinued? I guess it’s because I’m getting old fast, and by the time I realize I like something, it’s been on the market for a quarter of a century.
I used to wear Flying Fisherman sunglasses on the boat. They cost $12.95, the lenses were glass, they were polarized, they were the right color, and it didn’t bother me at all that they looked hideous. I kept a spare pair on hand, just in case they got discontinued. We started fishing again this year (I think we took all of last year off), and when I looked for my favorite glasses, they were gone. I don’t know if someone stole them, or what. You would have to be a pretty sorry thief to be satisfied with beat-up fishing glasses that look like something a doctor might make you wear. Whatever the deal is, they’re gone.
My dad is having some work done on his boat. The right engine has been running hot, so he had a mechanic run acid through it and change both of his raw water impellers. We ran by a marine supply store to look for gasket material for sea strainers, and while I was there, I bit the bullet and bought new glasses.
Naturally the ones I like are no longer available. I got some squinty ones that will probably be better in practice. But I want the old ones!
I look like a complete idiot when I fish. I wear a lavender dress shirt I got at an outlet store. I wear a horrible straw hat, held on with a chin strap. I do not care. I hate the sun so much it’s hard to describe it, and I also hate sunblock, so I cover everything I can. I wish I knew where to get a burqa with an embroidered sailfish on it.
I’m taking more of an interest in the boat these days. My dad spends a lot of time fooling with it now, so it’s a good excuse to get together and do things. And now that I’m somewhat tool-proficient, I can do a lot more. I need to make a knob for the starboard head; I guess I could fire up the lathe and give that a try. The brass is already here.
He thinks he may be able to con our boat guy (“boat guy” and “mechanic” are two different things) to take us out for yellowtail this weekend. That would be great. The wind is going to be from the west, so dolphin fishing is likely to be lame. I’d love to get some yellowtail, or some big snapper and grouper big enough to cut into fingers.
We ought to try to get some amberjacks. Some people won’t eat them because they get worms in their tails, but the worms are big and white, and you don’t have to eat the part with the worms. You can spot it and remove it. Let’s be serious. Fish have all sorts of parasites. The great thing about AJs is that they’re considerate enough to have parasites you can see and get rid of. With other fish, you enjoy your sushi and then find out later that you have toxoplasmosis or a tapeworm 30 feet long. Or ciguatera. That’s fun.
I love amberjack. I don’t know why more people don’t like it. Other than the giant worms.
The mill is still in shipping limbo. I guess I should email the seller and see if he has any idea which continent it’s on. I need to make a square hole for the toilet knob; I guess I can grind a tool and mount it on the lathe headstock and use it like a broach. It will take forever to open up the hole, but it will give a beautiful result. It will be a shame to put it in a sweaty little room where people pee.
Making the body of the knob would be easier on the mill. I figure a cross shape is easiest. I can make it by drilling four big holes in a disk and then opening them up to make it a cross. This would take like ten minutes on a mill. On a lathe, I have to find a way to chuck it, and locating the centers of the holes will be fun with no DRO. How I’ll open the holes up, I can’t even guess.
Another option is to take a short cylinder of 304 stainless and put a square hole in the middle. Not elegant, but it will last, and it will give lots of leverage.
There are a lot of things a machinist/woodworker could do to improve the boat. Example: replace the engine room hatch covers. Two of these–the ones you use to get in and out all the time–are very heavy. The frames are some kind of hardwood, and I would guess that the panels are one-inch-plus marine hardwood. They weigh maybe 35 pounds each. My dad does not need to be lifting those, and they don’t need to be that heavy. Sheet aluminum would be more than strong enough. I could make the panels and then screw them to wooden frames, or if I wanted to do a better job, I could use aluminum for everything. I’d have to insulate it well, but that’s not a problem.
I also want to make a part for his anchor chocks, so he can use “mud palms” (look it up) and still chock the anchor. By the way, if you need an anchor, I can’t recommend Fortress brand anchors highly enough. I’ve had the galvanized kind, and Fortress aluminum anchors are so much better, it’s not even worth discussing. They bite fast and hold like you would not believe.
I’m hoping to have a garage day tomorrow. Maybe I can get that knob started. Or at least make a mess and enjoy the air conditioning and the stereo. I have all sorts of metal to play with now, so I have no excuse for not generating swarf.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:20 PM
I caught some amberjack in Jacksonville a couple years ago. Didn’t notice worms, and they were delicious!
The sun is deadly. It is my enemy and I must gird myself against its death rays. Especially when I’m in Florida. Long pants, long sleeves, I don’t care. Better than loosing a couple of layers of skin painfully.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:37 PM
On the hatch covers, stop by an auto parts store and look over the sealed gas cylinders for lifting car hoods. Wander an auto junkyard and examine the relationships between the hood hinge points and cylinder attach points. This could work.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:45 PM
There are a lot of things a machinist/woodworker could do to improve the boat. Example: replace the engine room hatch covers.
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I read that and immediately thought “Fiberglass!”
http://www.jbwilco.com/Cozyweb/chapters_4_fuse_bulkheads.htm
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Some Clark foam and a three layers of BID fiberglass cloth on the top and bottom (six total) would be incredibly strong and very light.
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Clark foam:
http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_cat.php/subid=9804/index.html
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BID Fiberglass:
http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_cat.php/subid=8484/index.html
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Resin and Hardener:
http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_detail.php/pid=5207~subid=11591/index.html
http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_detail.php/pid=5074~subid=11591/index.html
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Of course you’ll probably consider this to be too involved, but I’d find it fun!
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Okay, yeah…maybe the Aluminum is a better idea…
June 25th, 2009 at 10:48 PM
A Guy Harvey burqa, I love it!
Fortress Anchors are better than the original the galvanized Danforth style anchors. They have a much better warranty also. If you ever need a nice present for your Dad, get him an anchor windlass that he can control from the bridge. They really make anchoring a pleasure. You just sit up there on the bridge and flip a switch, anchor goes down. Flip the switch again and the anchor comes up.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:43 AM
Agree 100% on amberjack. And the sun.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:41 AM
I have never seen a fully automatic windlass for a boat of this type. The one he has requires the person on the bow to run it, and you have to stand up there keeping a strain on the line to make it work. I shudder to think what an automatic job would cost. My guess: $4K.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:11 AM
The only thing I hate more than the Florida sun is the Florida humidity, which makes covering up for protection against the giant ball of radiation difficult and uncomfortable, at least for me. Of course, the sun gets pretty fierce up here in Virginia, and it’s also pretty humid, but… there’s only what, a couple more months of this until it starts to get cooler? Also it still goes down to like the 60s at night.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:38 AM
Steve, you won’t want to have any kind of sheet metal engine hatch covers. The oil-canning, drumming and acoustic resonance off of those would be absolutely unbearable. There’s a reason they’re thick, solid and heavy.
If you look at commercial vessels in a similar size range, such as long-line snapper boats or small yard tugs, you’ll note that the similar sized hatch covers are diamond plate steel, usually about 3/16″ thick, reinforced with tack welded angle iron or square tubing. And, they dog tight into matched hatch frames for watertight integrity. You’ll also tend to see that they have a coil spring assist built into the hinge. They’re still resonance factories, but nowhere near what a sheet of aluminum would be.
While there’s no need for all that, commenter Ritchie has the exact-right solution. Gas assist struts. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200, proceed directly to the auto parts store and get’cha some.
Be sure to fabricate stainless steel or brass mounting plates for both the hatch and deck ends of the struts to spread the (very considerable) forces. Those plates need to be a good 10″ long with a generous number of holes for screws or mounting bolts. Spread the load, and prevent stress-cracking from not having enough fastener points.
By the way, what powerplants are aboard? Cummins, Cat, Detroit or ???
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
June 26th, 2009 at 9:45 AM
I’m not sure you understand what I’m describing. This is not a pair of hatch covers out on a deck. It’s two insulated panes with wooden frames over a hole in the floor of a salon. They’ll be covered with carpeting and carpet padding.
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Struts aren’t going to work. They would make life miserable. What I need is light panels that can be moved out of the way easily. Vibration and noise won’t pose any problems.
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The reason these are heavy is that they were built in the Stone Age. Light panels will work much better.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:02 PM
I had a power windlass on my 32′ Sea Ray but the drum only held like 150′ of marginal line. Most of the time it was a manual windlass because it would drop the anchor and then decide to quit working while I motored up to the anchor and pulled and coiled line on the bow–exciting while solo boating. I agree that Aluminum anchors rule.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Maybe you could make a pair of these:
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mods/multimedia/2007/06/gallery_steampunk?slide=17&slideView=1
June 26th, 2009 at 4:08 PM
I am still surprised that we haven’t seen the 30 foot long tapeworms as some big Hollywood diet fad yet.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
I caught an amberjack during my only adult fishing experience, courtesy of Dan from Madison (pbuh). Cleaned it myself. There were lots of worms in the head and tail, but I cut them out. I stumbled onto a stir-fry recipe that turned out great (it’s posted somewhere on 26th Parallel). So I would say, do not hesitate to catch and eat amberjack.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:28 PM
I just bought a Guardian anchor for my 17′ boat – same maker, same functionality as the Fortress, but not as polished and pretty, but quite a bit cheaper.