I started this post on May 26 and this is as far as I got (pretend you’re reading this a week ago):
‘Last night was my first night sleeping aboard Lady of the Blues and upon waking up (about an hour ago) it took a good minute of thinking to realize that for the first time in over a decade (maybe a lot longer) I slept right on through the night without waking up for no good reason. By rough calculation we’re talking about a tad under 8 hours of solid unconsciousness, and several remembered dreams.’
Whence I’m writing, shot a moment ago.
Although I’m tied up at a marina (sounds weird to have a ‘marina’ on a lake, seeing that there isn’t anything ‘marine’ about where I am) as opposed to at anchor (‘on the hook’), which is where I intend to be most if not all nights once Lady is squared away and ready for extended, self-sufficient cruising, I suspect that the serenity of my nap last night was due to the gentle motion and the subconscious perception of a body of water just a couple feet below my skull, notwithstanding that this lake is in no way the equivalent of… well, to use the same term as in my first memoir… Big Blue.
Full disclosure: I’d only written the first paragraph above on the morning of my first wake up. I meant to keep rolling but the previous owner showed up to help with outfitting the boat and anyway I was extremely distracted by the list of stuff that needs to be done before I’m going anywhere. You have to have been around boats to understand the emphasis I just put on the words the list. 
The list is why I haven’t gotten around to posting this until now. The list isn’t so much ‘stuff to do’ – at least not to me – as it is an estimate of time until departure. Realistically, I’m looking at a month, depending on Steve’s whims. Steve is the aforementioned previous owner and I believe I lucked out with him, although he occasionally worries me regarding things he does not know about the boat he sold me – one example being the fresh water tank, which he didn’t know the boat had. Here’s how it more or less went:
Me: Where’s the fresh water tank?
Steve: Ain’t never seen it. I just bring bottled water along when I go out.
Me: But there’s a tank somewhere, right? I mean there has to be.
Steve: Ain’t never seen it.
I’ll leave it at that for now, conversationally, except to emphasize that Steve is a ‘good ‘ol boy’ of few words (and rare grins), although I have come to like him and trust him. Without his mechanical knowledge – when in the Air Force he tuned up F-18 fighter jets – and most especially his local knowledge, the list would only get longer as I sit here and I’d never get free of the damn dock.
Addendum: The idea that a houseboat would have no fresh water tank made no sense to me so I spent a good bit of time searching for it. That it took me a week to find it was mainly due to my assumption that it would be low down, probably in the bilge somewhere or under the bed or settee, as it is in all the boats and ships I’ve been on. This is to keep the center of gravity low (there’s a nautical term here like ‘center of effort’ or some such), which dampens rolling. My epiphany came when I realize that there was a space above the fridge that was sealed off; this made no sense either; storage space is a premium on nautical crafts of any sort.
I noticed the unused space while hanging one of the few works of art I cart around with me wherever and however I go: An inscribed photograph by a friend of mine from Montauk, Peter Beard. Beard is famous not only his photographs (especially of Africa and elephants) but for the art he adds to them. In the case of the elephant photo he gave me, he inscribed, ‘For Allan,’ then added a wonderful passage about how the elephant was king the African savanna until some ‘cunning mortal’ invented ‘the magic dust called gunpowder.’ (If you want a treat go to Peter’s website and look at his art.)
I decided to drill into the space above the fridge to make sure it was empty and came upon the tap-ring of metal. Bingo! I rushed to the upper deck and moved the useless couch I hadn’t yet discarded and yep, underneath, there it was, the filler cap. I had searched everywhere but up there for the tank intake. They’d fitted the water tank where I least expected it, i.e., high up. Although I consider it a dumb move on the part of the designer, the big advantage is that you need no water pump. The two sinks are gravity fed.
Steve is one of those good ‘ol boys that isn’t much impressed by intellectual types; didn’t care that I’d written books and movies and even made a movie all by my ownself (I gave him a Water Time DVD and he watched ‘some of it.’) Now, though, I have him. Whenever we’re fixing this or fiddling with that, or cutting wood, say, for the custom book shelves he’s building me, and I screw up or don’t know something and he gives me one of his ‘looks,’ I smile and say, or imply, ‘Maybe so, but it took a Yankee writer to show a good ol’ boy where the water tank is on a boat he’s owned for 20 years.’ (I only said this once. You want to be careful with some folks’ egos, especially if you need their help.)
Hey, it just occurred to me that you all might have no interest in this boat stuff. Well, I think told you that this blog might evolve into something different due to my new lifestyle. Not that I’m going to go on and on about boat life, here or in videos. I tried watching Youtubes of boat folks and they were even more boring than ‘RV Life’ vids. Christ, water going by and wifey saying, ‘There’s water going by.’
And the prose in their blogs is more of the same. I can’t figure it. With RV life or boat life, who cares about someone else’s life unless they are doing something unique and/or have a real flair in how they string words or images together.
When Beard’s house burnt down in the ’70s many negatives were lost, including for this one. It’s a valuable piece.
There’s this guy calls himself ‘Slim Potatohead’ — this is just for example — and Logan and I ran into him at a state park campground a couple months ago. Logan recognized him from his YT videos; we shared a campfire that night. Meanwhile, I’d looked him up. Makes a living doing Youtube ‘on the road hints’ and interviews. Gets like 80,000 hits, has subscribers up there in six figures. And the comments! Holy shit. People are poised like ‘Sean’ or whomever the state troll is assigned to my blog; they just can’t wait for another vid from ol’ Slim. I couldn’t get through even one.
At the campfire Logan noticed that Slim made a point of not being interested in my history as a writer and how I’d made a full-length documentary about a road trip and that it was on YT. No curiosity at all. This is what happens with people who think a lot of themselves. If it’s not about them, who cares? (Me, I didn’t care; I grilled Slim and learned a few things about how YT works. Notwithstanding this blog, I’d rather learn something than blab stuff about myself that I already know.)
Speaking of boring, I had better wrap this up. To sum up my plan: Get the boat ready (installing a solar array being high on the list) and do a shake down cruise of a couple weeks on this lake (in central Virginia), then put Lady on a flatbed behind a big rig truck after cleaning and painting her bottom; then 145 miles to the Intracoastal Waterway near Virginia Beach. Ever see those ‘Wide Load’ caravans on a highway? That’ll be us, hopefully with Gus and me in the boat for the trip, since I’ll have no vehicle (see postscript).
The Rubber Tramp life has got to go. Anyone interested?
Then the plan is to do ‘The Great Loop.’ Don’t know what that is? Neither did I until a few days ago. As soon as I realize what it is, I knew I had to do it. Look it up (don’t bother with the YT vids).
That’s the plan. More blogs to come but remember I’m pretty distracted by the list.
I’m thinking of doing an Open Letter to Joe Rogan, who apparently is the most listened to interviewer on the planet; it’s said he got over a billion (with a ‘b’) Youtube views last year. Yeah, you can probably already see what I have in mind. To get an idea, you might look up his early videos, especially those involving Jan Irvin. Then suddenly old Joe became what he is now.
Allan
Okay, important (to me) postscript. Some of you may be wondering how I can afford a houseboat and an RV. Well, I can’t. In fact I’m in serious trouble financially. (It’s gonna cost like $3,000 to ship Lady!) I have to sell the RV and I will sell it cheap. It’s a 2008 Four Winds, class C, 27 feet (I think). Some minor dings and I pulled out the generator but everything works. The engine hums. The solar array is worth $1,000, or makes up for the generator (which I never used anyway). It’s ‘Low’ list value is just under $14,000. High list is like $18k.
And I’m near Bedford, VA. I know. Pain in the ass. But I will let it go for $10,000. I paid $28,000 in 2014. Please don’t ask detailed questions unless you are serious. Use allan at banditobooks.com. (I’ll include 4 months worth of freeze dried food, for when Mad Max shows up.)
Stashed in the back of the rig: sorely needed found money…
Also! In cleaning out the rig I came across a box I had forgotten about, full of silver dollars I’d bought around 2002. A local guy, friend of Steve, offered $45 each for my lot of 33. That’s $1,485. I know they are worth more from scanning eBay. I’ll include photos here but they are mostly from the 1880s. One from 1879 and one from 1904, one from 1900. They are professionally graded MS63, which is very high grade. The mints are mostly San Francisco, Phillie, and New Orleans. No Carson Cities (which are worth $200 or more). I’m looking to sell the lot. Make an offer.
It would really help. I’d not sell them except for my dire straights. They are a great hedge against the dollar collapse, which is inevitable, as most of you here know.
Oh. Another catastrophe that maybe someone can advise on: My main Macbook Pro is down. Black screen. Beeps three times and repeats. I have a lot of photos and such on it. Bummer. It’s backed up on an external HD that I don’t trust. Advice? You can use allan at banditobooks.com for this one too, so as not to bore the folks more than already have today.
One last thing (I promise): Someone suggested I get another drone for the boat cruising. He’s seen some of my footage. Great idea. Can’t afford it right now. But any contributions will now go into the ‘drone kitty’ instead of $3.25 a month for gas money.
https://youtu.be/nP6Cdk343J4
This young man has some good YouTube videos, that give useful tips on moneitizing youtube. Thought it might be helpful to you. Good lucky with you adventures.
Rachel
Glad you took the plunge (no pun intended) for a lifestyle change Allan, i must admit i am no expert on boats however i live on a fibre glass boat myself, previously i lived on a couple of wooden boats.
My boat is moored on a freshwater canal and as far as iv’e discovered it is not crucial to do what we call anti-fouling on a fibre glass boat it is merely a big money earner for commercial boatyards who often advise customers to have it done every year(well they would wouldnt they,) nearly everyone ive met said that moving a fibre glass boat from freshwater to seawater seems to keep the hull in good condition.
the only thing iv’e noticed that i do get a small amount of water in my bilge because of condensation thats why i have a multifuel stove in my main cabin.
If i was going to have my hull repainted i would use one of the new marine paints with nano copper, the job would probably last for 20 years.
Anyways good luck with the kitting out repairs etc Regards James
Good advice, James. Thanks. The bottom has growth now but you’re right, when I switch to salt water it will die and drop off. If I keep moving I may not have barnacle trouble so maybe you’re right about painting. I’ll look into it.
From the port side to the starboard
and from transom to bow,
we are covered with invading bivalves.
They latched on when we were harbored
and nobody knows how
to remove them and get the ship clear.
(cho)
Barnacles, barnacles,
Give me a friggin’ damn crowbar.
Barnacles, barnacles,
Soon they will eat this whole bay!
—courtesy Tom Smith’s A Pirate Christmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqLk86d02AA
‘Tis not the season but the spirit.
Right on Brother! The water will be great for you. The more I read about it, the more questions I have. A magnificently simple molecule, but so complex, esp. with it’s memory and life changing qualities.
Alan Re MacBookPro, 3 beeps that is an error code for a Ram problem…. do YT search for MacBook error code beeps. I’m PC guy but it’s usually an easy DIY fix, mayber re-seat the Ram or you need a new Ram chip. Sail on, Sail on, Sailor… I know you will but just in case get the engine mechanical’s checked out, if it hasn’t been used for that long, if that mother goes….
Thanks, but I tried all that, even on the phone with Apple. Gonna have to bring it in. Meanwhile I can’t access my final cut stuff. I do have it on a Passport HD but I’m not sure how to find what I need via the ‘Time Machine’ back up I used. Gonna give it another try today.
That sucks you have to sell the RV. The boat looks comfy. There is nothing like a great night of natural sleep when you have trouble sleeping.
Not 100% sure for fresh water but I know in salt water if you have a steel Hull you have to protect it from yours and other people’s electronics or your Hull could disappear in no time….
yes, it’s called electrolysis but my boat is fiberglass….
Allan, thank you for turning me on to the work of Peter Beard …. I was inspired …..
Yes, anyone reading this should go to his site (link in post) and check out his art. That he inscribed the elephant photo to me was a great honor…
Best wishes on your latest journey, look forward to sharing a bit of the ride.
God Bless
I’m all in on the future Weisbecker Flotilla Holiday
trip.
Bon Voyage My Friend and Aloha
For every boat there are two lists; the A list and the B list. The A list includes the bare minimum to make the boat seaworthy. The B list includes everything else and is never fully completed. I hope you put the drone on the A list.
Thanks for sharing the boat stuff with your pictures, video and words. I enjoyed this blog entry more than most. I read every word without losing consciousness. That’s a first for me. 🙂
I can’t wait to see you traveling on the great loop. Gotta wait. Take care.
Excellent Allen. On your journey navigating the Great Loop, you will be coming up, (or down) the Indian River lagoon. Perfect for viewing the launches at the space center. I think I said a while back I would buy you dinner if you ever made it out this way. Offer still stands.
Good luck, Allan, I’m dead envious!
Wait! What? No swinging a sledge hammer against the bulkheads? I thought that was always item number one on the “list”, lol.
Congratulations on your new boat. While I do realize that style of boat is generally referred to as a houseboat, in the biz, we euphemistically refer to any floating living room that never leaves the marina as a “houseboat”. If you can, and actually will, get underway, and make way, on your own power then you sir have an actual boat. And, with proper workmanship and careful attention to your “list”, you might actually have a yacht.
But I wouldn’t count on it…
And, because I just can’t help myself, center of effort is the center of all aerodynamic forces acting on a vessel. Generally applicable to sails, but with your houseboat style superstructure you will not be immune to these forces. The center of lateral resistance is the center of hydrodynamic forces acting on the hull. When these two points are in perfect vertical alignment (never happens) you will enjoy neutral helm. If the CE is in front of the CLR you will have lee helm (potentially dangerous). If the CE is behind the CLR you will have weather helm. Again this is much more pronounced and important on sailing vessels, but you will do well to recognize your boats tendencies before trying to navigate some of the narrower sections of “the ditch”.
And center of gravity is correct terminology. It relates to the center of buoyancy and the meta center to determine the stability of your boat. Since you are basically on a barge, you are probably fine but having an elevated water tank is unusual. You might consider determining if that unique feature is by design or was added by a previous owner.
Nice to have you back on the water again. Look forward to following your progress…
Nice summation of forces, and yeah the water tank being up over the fridge freaked me out but i assure you it was by original design — not too bright in my estimation and I worry about other, unseen things that might not be right, plus the age of the hull — about half a century in the sun is not good for anything, including fiberglass (glass hull, etc.). How I know the tank is built in is that you can’t get to it without tearing out a bulkhead (which is also dumb, IMO). When I put water in the tank, the gravity feed worked fine (as gravity does) but the copper tubing (why copper?) on the way to the galley had split, no doubt from freezing over a winter, so there’s that on THE LIST.
We haven’t installed the solar array yet and the boat has no wiring diagram or any design specs and I can’t find em online. Bummer. I have to figure out how to properly have the 110 connected to the 12 volt lithium battery that’s fed by the 4 solar panels. I have an Inverter of course (4,000 watts, maybe too big?) but it needs to go directly to the shore power gizmo (I think) so everything gets juice from it (lights, micro wave, fridge, etc.). What I can’t see is how to charge the 12 battery when I am running the portable generator i’m lashing to the deck. (It just plugs into the shore power receptacle). Using a plug in trickle charger seems weird and wasteful but I don’t see an option. (The engine batteries are separate from the lithium and I’ll put in an isolator running to the lithium batt so it charges when the engine is running.) Steve is a great mechanic and carpenter and all around jury rigger but he’s light on electrical stuff and so am I.
Advice is welcome.
If you’re looking for the best marine solar ( or batteries (AGM and LiOn), refrigeration and A/C) look here… https://www.coastalclimatecontrol.com/. I’ve even written a song about it (See my YT). Rob Warren is the owner, a former English seaman with tones of knowledge and experience. We’re just up the road from you in Bowie MD. Check out his blog too…lot’s of free info. Good luck Allen.
Thanks, will check the site but I’ve already bought the Renogy stuff and a lithium battery (almost 900 bucks, ouch). I do need advice on setting it up tho.
Glad to hear you’re on the water Allan.
I just finished reading A Speck in The Ocean and Black Wave. Both stories of misadventures on the high seas.😱
The former story I’m guessing you are personally familiar with from the Montauk days.
Looking forward to your wonderful seafaring stories with none of the life and death drama. 🙏
Looked up the Great Loop — oo, cool!
I note if you go south from Virginia Beach, that would put you traveling upriver on the Mississippi later. But if you turn left out of Virginia Beach, I’ll buy you a beer if you reach Annapolis before July 20.
Gotta turn right out of VA Beach, but thanks for the offer. I’ll let you know where I’ll put her in the water. Might be close… I’m looking at Colonial Heights, a marina there, in VA.
Yeah, I’ll do a post on The Great Loop but briefly it’s about 6,000 miles of inland waterways going from Maine to the Keys then around the west coast of Florida then up the various rivers to the Great Lakes and then back thru the Erie Canal to where you started. Amazing. I might try to duplicate Lewis and Clark’s journey west, as far as I can go. Maybe make a film about the trip (this time I mean it). Gotta find the cheapest good camera drone – finances being my #1 worry — no doubt about it.
But I’ll meanwhile not forget to point out the lies we’re being told.
Don’t think we’re going to see an imminent crash in the dollar in the next year or so (I trade a few currencies) as the other major currencies like the Australian dollar – under pressure with China (trade war) , Euro – weakening economy ,Brexit and Pound – Brexit are all weak which means for a strong US dollar … Gold usually takes off with global conflict and is currently looking strong to go higher. QE is a major risk as it’s created an artificial market and markets don’t like uncertainty which leads to lack of liquidity which leads to volatility (showing signs now) ….
Major global changes have historically been brought about by major conflict . The first world war was initiated and European citizens weaponized to remove the system of monarchy rule and bring in democracy .
God only knows where they’re going to take us next , my guess is the removal of nation states to a global governance of some type (I can’t see it being communist or Marxist , more probable is the Austrian economics school framework) but for citizens to accept a global governance things really do have to turn to shit and I think we’re seeing multiple future crises being engineered right now ……
Mmmm, okay, you could be right, esp your final sentence.
Yeah, as I said in my email to you – and Steve should know this — is that ‘good ol’ boy’ is the equivalent of ‘bub’ where I come from — a little fishing village in NY. ‘Bub’ means a stand up guy, not a hick or some such. Anyway, make Steve bring you around so you can meet my true best friend, my dog Gus. And you have my permission to tease him about the water tank.
Maybe if he gets uppity with you, say, ‘Oh yeah, what about the water tank?’
There are several things wrong with the post but when I try to correct it or add captions (like to the elephant-wall images), my formatting gets all screwed up — Yesterday I ‘upgraded’ to High Sierra with Apple on the phone. Goddamn them for not warning me about repercussions. Now my WordPress is a mess.