C Is For "Coser" {To Sew} | A To Z Challenge

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a Spanish word each day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'll also share the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce it.

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Today's Spanish word is >>coser<< (to sew). And now for some random thoughts:

1 - We have a Sailrite sewing machine on our boat. They're super expensive, but lots of people swear by them. {You can read more about drinking the Koolaid and joining the Sailrite cult here.}

2 - They're industrial machines and can sew through many heavy layers of fabric, like sailcloth and sunbrella.

3 - We have a "monster wheel" which means we can use it without electricity when we're out cruising. It came in handy in the Bahamas last year when we had to repair our bimini.

4 - We're thinking about making a headsail on it this year, using one of Sailrite's kits. Sounds a bit daunting, but could be a fun challenge.

Do you know how to sew? What's your favorite word that starts with "C"?

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Check out the other folks participating in this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge here.

Our Very Own Deserted Island | Cave Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

“Come on, let’s figure out what your Myers-Briggs type is,” I said to Scott over our morning coffee. “It’ll be fun!”

“For the millionth time, Ellen, the answer is no. There’s no way I’m going to let you do that mumbo-jumbo psychology voodoo stuff on me. You can always go back and get a job in HR if you miss putting people into boxes based on personality type.”

While I shuddered at the thought of going back in working in corporate la-la land, Scott got out our Explorer Bahamas charts and pointed to an island about 30 nautical miles from where we were currently anchored on the Little Bahama Bank.

“What do you think about going to Cave Cay to hide out from the weather that’s headed our way. Lawrence told me about it back at Indiantown. You remember Lawrence, don't you? He said no one ever goes there. It will be like our very own deserted island.”

“See, I knew it! You’re an ‘I’ when it comes to Myers-Briggs. You have a preference for introversion.”

“We’ve been married for 25 years and you’ve just now figured this out?” Scott asked with derision.

“No, I’ve always known it. In fact I think I know what your type is already.”

Scott put down his coffee cup and shook his head. “I think I know what your type is too. The type that has to know what everyone else’s type is so that they can sort and catalog them.”

I didn’t like the turn the conversation was taking. It was time to change the subject. “Shouldn’t we get going? We’ve got a ways to go and I want to get the anchor down at a reasonable time.”

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Yes, back in my days back in corporate la-la land, I worked in HR in the organizational development team and one of the things we did was help people better understand themselves, the strengths they bring to their roles, how to work more effectively in teams etc. Myers-Briggs was one of the tools we used which I really liked.

If you want to know more about it, I wrote a blot post about personality type and writing styles a while back which you can check out. Maybe one day I’ll do some musings on Myers-Briggs and different types of cruisers.

But you didn’t come here to read about personality, did you? You popped by to see what we’ve been up to since we’ve been cruising in the Bahamas. So here’s the high-level scoop on what’s been happening since we crossed over from Florida:

1 – The weather sucks.

2 – Stuff broke.

3 – Sugary treats help improve one’s mood.

4 – Noseeums are evil.

5 – Sharks are scary.

I bet you want to know more, especially about the shark.

Let’s start with the shark. Because we hadn’t cleared into the Bahamas yet, we couldn’t step foot on land, but we could snorkel. Which we did. On one of our outings, Scott pointed out a 6-7' shark to me. Very helpful of him. Here’s how I reacted:

“Shark! Shark! Shark!”

All said at the top of my lungs while I kicked furiously with my flippers.

Later Scott pointed out that perhaps this wasn’t the best reaction. Screaming and making a commotion in the water makes me look like an interesting snack to sharks. The better thing to do would have been to calmly swim in the other direction. I don’t do calm very well, especially when there are sea monsters involved.

Turns out it was a nurse shark and likely to have been more scared of me than I was of him.

On our way to do some snorkeling at Cave Cay.

Let’s turn to noseeums. They aren’t scary, but they sure are annoying. And they love me. They express their love by leaving tons of tiny, itchy bites all over me. For some reason, they don’t love Scott. That’s annoying too. Misery loves company, but turns out I was the only miserable one scratching away.

I did a lot of cooking including a delicious coffee cake. I love the idea of coffee cake – not only does it have sugar in it, but it’s topped with more sugar. Yum.

I also make more nutritious things, like pita bread and hummus.

Pita bread, fresh from the grill, with olives, carrots and a little vino.

There’s a saying that cruising is fixing things in exotic locations. I had to get out our sewing machine and fix a tear on our bimini. The cool part is that I did it without electricity, using our monster wheel to manually operate the machine. Our port water tank started leaking on our way to Cave Cay and Scott sorted that out.

Half the battle in repairing a bimini is getting the canvas positioned in the machine.

 
When we weren’t busy swatting at noseeums, fixing stuff, screaming at sharks and stuffing our face, we were listening to the wind howl (we measured gusts up to 26, but I think they got higher than that) and trying to keep our balance while the waves crashed into our boat on the beam from one direction while the wind slammed at us from another. Scott doesn’t have a problem with his balance. Me, not so much and I have the bruises to prove it.

On our last day, a big catamaran came into the anchorage. They took one look at us and anchored far away. I think they might have a preference for introversion too.

{FYI for those interested in cruising to Cave Cay, you go south from Great Sale Cay to the Sale South waypoint, then east to the West End Bars waypoint, head east some more and there it is to the south of West End Cay and Little Abaco Island. Heads up that there's some skinny water along the way.}

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Cruising Log – Wednesday, 29 March 2017 – Monday, 3 April 2017

29 MARCH
Anchor up 8:00 AM. Anchor down 5:45 PM on the banks. Sailed for little over four hours. Slow going. Very little wind. Getting nowhere fast, so put the motor back on. Bimini starting to come apart on one of the seams I didn’t restitch before we left. Lots of flying fish skipping across the water like stones someone was throwing. Dolphin! Our sail cover is a pain to get on. Nautical Miles = 31. Engine = 5 hrs 30 mins. Spending = Nil.

30 MARCH
Roly-poly night anchored on the banks. Anchor up 7:15 AM. Put the sails up and turned engine off at 8:15 AM. Lovely sail. Checked bilge at 11:30 AM - full of water. Realized our port water tank leaking. Had to put engine on and take down the sails to keep from heeling so water would stop leaking out. Anchor down at Cave Cay at 1:15 PM. Greeted by a barracuda. Sorted out the water tank, cleaned out the bilge. Nautical Miles = 29. Engine = 6 hrs 0 mins. Spending = Nil.

31 MARCH
Another roly-poly night. Waves coming one direction and slamming into our beam, wind coming from other direction (SW 15-20, gusting to 26). Anchor well dug-in. Always reassuring. Made coffee cake and bread. Snorkeling. Watched Breaking Bad and movies. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

1 APRIL
Rain in the morning. Wind subsided. Wasn’t as roly-poly. Took bimini down and repaired with our Sailrite sewing machine. Used the monster wheel, so didn’t need electricity. Sewing took less time than getting Sailrite and supplies out of the v-berth. More snorkeling. Shark heading towards me! Scott scared him off and saved my life. Bobby the Barracuda and possible stone fish also sighted. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

2 APRIL
Lots and lots of noseeum bites. Spent the day trying not to itch them. Bobby the Barracuda hung about our boat. They’re curious little creatures. Too bad about their sharp, pointy teeth. Decanted some drinking water from our jerry cans into smaller containers. More snorkeling. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

3 APRIL
Even more noseeum bites. Stupid noseeums. I bet even their own mothers don’t like them. Made pita bread and hummus. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

Do you know what your Myers-Briggs type is? Would you like to spend time anchored at a deserted island or would you prefer to be around more people?

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Wordless Wednesday | Salvaging Old Sails

 

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - The headsail on our Moody 346 sailboat is probably the original one. That makes it 30 years old. 

2 - We need to buy a new one, but we're putting off the purchase until next season. They're expensive.

3 - The previous owners had the headsail repaired before, but it needs some more help. Time to break out my trusty Sailrite sewing machine and do some restitching.  

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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July In Numbers

Clockwise from left: (1) Perhaps the most important thing I did in July - register to vote in Florida; (2) My newfound appreciation for tools; (3) The latest creature to invade our marina - vegetation that's floated down the canal from Lake Okeechobee; (4) A pouch for my iPod made from scrap material; (5) A padded case for my laptop made from more scrap material leftover from throw pillows and slipcovers on our settees.

It’s time for my usual recap of the past month in numbers. It’s a very random assortment of things that I got up to in July.

• 20 – Number of vegetarian days during July. I find that by keeping tack of my veggie days, I have a lot more of them.

• 2 – Number of days I ate beef. After four months of not eating any red meat, I broke down in spectacular fashion with taco salad one night and steak on another. While the taco salad was amazing, the steak was so-so. I can probably easily go another four months without red meat. 

• 29 – Number of days I went without any chocolaty treats. I know, I don’t believe me either. But, seriously it's true. I went on mini-chocolate cupcake eating binge for a couple of days, but then they weren't anymore left and the binge was sadly over.

• $3.25 – How much it costs to do a wash and dry at our marina. Some larger boats have washers and dryers onboard. That wouldn’t be us. I’ve got a bucket and a plunger for when we’re out cruising, but happily use washers and dryers when they’re available on land.

• 3 – The number of crafty and practical sewing projects I magicked up on my Sailrite sewing machine including a tool roll, a padded laptop case and an adorable little pouch for my iPod. iPods are tiny and can easily get lost and scratched up, so I keep it in it’s pouch when not in use. It makes me feel just a bit like a mama kangaroo, putting things in pouches to keep them safe.

• Unknown – I’m not actually sure how many things I bought on Amazon Prime Day and I probably don’t want to know. In my defense, most of the items were practical bargains and on my “to buy someday list” – like a thermometer, a solar powered light, portable water-resistant speakers for my iPod, a dry bag and batteries. I also got some colored pencils for $9.99. Not a necessity, but oodles of fun. I did show some restraint and skipped the 36 roll pack of toilet paper which surely makes up for the pencils.

• 24 – The number of wrenches we have. Ever since I did a bit of car repair, I seem to have a newfound fascination with tools. I find it disturbing. 

• 11 – The number of books I read. The usual eclectic mix of thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi and non-fiction.

• 30 – I met a woman, probably in her 80s, at the VA hospital the other day. Her son has been there for 20 years, and in other facilities for 10 years prior to that. He’s blind, can’t communicate and only has limited movement of one arm. His mom has been visiting him regularly for the past 30 years, talking to him and giving him hugs. What an amazing lady. If you ever think your life isn’t all that great, just keep in mind there’s probably somebody who has it a lot tougher.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite blog posts during July:

Shopping Lists | What Do They Say about You?
Happy Birthday Mr. Blog!
Wordless Wednesday | Car Repair in Thailand

How was your July? What are you looking forward to in August?

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June In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Limoncello; (2) Plum liqueur; (3) Recycling old towels; (4) Getting crafty with my Sailrite sewing machine; (5) Cheap and cheerful frames from Walmart; (6) More kitty sitting.

Every month I do a random wrap-up in numbers of some of the things I got up to. June was a pretty quiet month at Indiantown Marina as most people have cleared out for the summer. Fortunately, my pals at MJ Sailing and Sailing Wind Spirit are still here to keep me amused, along with some other local friends. Summer officially started this month in the northern hemisphere - not that you would notice any difference in southern Florida. It's always hot and muggy here, just varying shades of hot and muggy as the seasons change.

Here's some of what happened on Tickety Boo during June, by the numbers:

• 2 - The number of homemade liqueurs I made. I'm using this recipe for the limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur). For my plum liqueur, I've basically chucked plums, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves into a jar with cheap vodka. It's kind of similar to how I made damson gin when we lived in Scotland. I'll add some sugar syrup to it later. The hard part is to wait for them to age for several months before sampling. 
• 9 - The number of things I've magicked up on my Sailrite sewing machine including some fabric liners for storage baskets, a simple case to protect my cell phone, an adorable (if I do say so myself) tangerine swirl patterned tote bag and a couple of zippered pouches. Everything was made out of scrap material from other projects. I also re-purposed an old towel, cutting it into smaller sections and binding the hems to keep them from fraying.
• 16 - The number of meatless days I had. I've been trying to do more vegetarian meals lately including dahl (curried lentils), black bean chili, pasta primavera and the ever popular PB&J on cinnamon raisin bread.
• 19 - The number of picture frames I hung up on our boat. It's cheap and cheerful way to decorate in tiny spaces.
• 15 - The number of minutes it took me to do my New Zealand taxes online. Dead easy compared to doing our US taxes. 
• Countless - The number of hours I've spent researching various boat projects, equipment etc. It can take a lot of time to even understand a subject (such as snap installation tools, varnish, chain plates, galley faucets, water filtration or safety tethers), let alone figure our what your options and potential costs are. 
• $1.06 - How much I spent on a cute pair of flip flops at the dollar store. They have colorful surfboards on them. I basically live in cheap flip flops these days, but I always feel bad when I throw a pair out after a couple of months and contribute to our landfill issues. 
• 2 - The number of bloggers I met last month - Ed and Vicky from Catching the Horizon. It almost seems like every sailing blogger ends up in Indiantown at some point or another. It was lovely to meet them while they were here putting their boat in storage.
• 3 - The number of calls I've had to make to the insurance company and doctors' offices to try to straighten out some insurance claims. And it's still not sorted. {Sigh}
• 9 - The number of books I read during June. I've always loved reading - not only is it a great escape, but I'm constantly learning something new. Like Dr Seuss said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Hope you had a wonderful June and an even better July!

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite blog posts from last month:

5 Frugal Things & The Cruising Kitty
Wordless Wednesday | Soylent Green
3 Things Kids & Writers Worry About

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Safety Tethers | Save Money By Making Your Own. Maybe.

A word of warning. If you’re not into boating, then you’ll find this blog post extremely boring. You’d be better off shutting down your computer and doing something more fun like sharpening pencils with an emery board. Even if you’re into boating, you may find this dull beyond belief. I know my eyes always glaze over and I start to search for pencils in need of sharpening when I read detailed blog posts and articles about boat equipment.

But, as safety tethers are designed to save your life (at least that’s the theory and even that’s up for debate), this might be worth a read if getting a new tether is on your list of “extremely dull but important things” to do and you’re pondering what kind to get and whether you should make it yourself.

If you do decide to carry on and read this, go get a snack first. It’s long. Really, really long.

A Safety Tether Could Save Your Life. Maybe.

So here’s the deal – sailing can be dangerous in far too many ways. I try not to think about it too much because dwelling on my fears causes me to eat too many chocolate chip cookies. But, occasionally I have to put the cookies down and think about dreadful stuff - like one of us falling off of the boat, floating away and drowning.

One of the ways to prevent this is to be tethered to your boat. A tether is basically a leash which is attached to a harness that you wear (either integrated into a PFD, aka personal flotation device, or separate) and then attached to the boat. If you fall off the boat, you’re still attached to it which makes it easier to get you back on the boat. After an ordeal like that, you’ll definitely be needing a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies.
The key takeaway is that a tether can save your life. Except when it doesn’t.

The Controversy Over Tethers. Fortunately, Not As Controversial As Gun Control.

In 2011, Christopher Reddish, a well known sailboat racer went overboard during a nighttime sail change and drowned before he was retrieved. He had been wearing an integrated PFD/harness and a tether. One of the contributing factors to his death was the length of his tether which allowed him to be washed overboard where he was dragged along the side the boat while his head slid underwater.

Since this accident, some people have argued that if you go overboard, you’re more likely to survive if you aren’t tethered to the boat. Personally, I still think tethers are a critical piece of safety equipment. What’s important is to use a short tether to ideally keep you in the boat or if you do go overboard to keep you out of the water as much as possible.

Dissecting A Tether. Much Less Messy Than Dissecting A Frog.

Okay, enough controversy. How does a tether work anyway? Let’s dissect one and see. We’ll use the one our boat came with as an example - a 6’ (2m) long West Marine Standard Safety Tether.

Here’s what to look for:

1 – The end that clips to the boat – snap or double action safety?

Snap hooks are easy to attach, but can be difficult to detach when under load. They can also accidentally release. Double action safety hooks/carabiners are easy to attach and detach and they won’t release accidentally. I’ll take double action safety over an ordinary snap any day of the week.

2 – How many legs – one or two?

I like having two legs attached to my body and I’d prefer if my harness came with two as well. The beauty of having two legs is that you’re always attached to the boat. One leg stays clipped to the boat while you move about and clip the other leg to another point on the boat. The other advantage of having two legs is that one can be longer than the other (obviously not ideal when it comes to human legs, but we’re talking tethers here). It’s safer if you use the shortest length possible. You can use the shorter leg when you’re up on the foredeck or attached to something stationary and the longer leg when you’re moving about the boat.

3 – The end that clips to your harness – snap shackle or cow-hitch?

Some tethers are clipped onto your harness with a snap shackle which you pull open by the lanyard. Others are tied on with a cow-hitch, which can only be released under load by cutting it with a knife. I’m sure there are advantages to using a cow-hitch, but if I fell overboard I don’t think I’d have the presence of mind to cut the tether, assuming I had a knife with me (although our Spinlock PFDs have integrated harnesses and an emergency knife).

It’s Time For A New Tether, Don’t Take It Personally.

While our West Marine Standard Safety Tether is a lovely shade of blue, it has some issues. In addition to using a snap hook to attach to the boat, only having one leg and not being retractable, it also isn’t compliant with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) standards due to the lack of a built-in stress indicator. When your harness is stressed to the point of needing a replacement, a flag is exposed so that you know you need to get a new one. This isn’t the kind of stress that comes from working long hours and then coming home to crying children. It’s what happens when there's too much load placed on the tether which will cause it to break. There wouldn't be enough chocolate chip cookies in the world to make that situation any better.

Geez Louise. These Things Are Expensive.

Okay. So, we all agree. A new tether is needed. Ideally, two new tethers are needed – one for each of us. We do have another tether that we brought back with us from New Zealand which is better than our West Marine one, but it only has one leg and I'd prefer to have two two-legged ones. But, goodness gracious, some of these tethers are so expensive! To give you an idea, here are some of the ones I looked at:

West Marine Standard Safety Tether

This is the one we currently have which sells at West Marine for $114.99. It doesn’t have the features we want and isn’t ISAF compliant, so we won’t be buying another one of these, but it’s a good reference point in terms of cost.

West Marine ISAF Specification Double Safety Tether

Another West Marine product, this one will set you back $179.99. It ticks the right boxes – ISAF compliant, two legs (one short and one long, both of which are retractable), a snap shackle at the harness end and double action safety hooks at the boat end.

Wichard Dual Safety Tether

This retails for $339.30, but you can pick it up for $190.99 at Defender. It’s ISAF compliant, has two legs (one fixed 3’ (1m) line and one retractable 6’ (2m) line), a snap shackle at the harness end and fluorescent double action safety hooks at the boat end. Wichard has a good reputation for their marine hardware, which is reflected in the cost of this tether.

Kong ISAF Double Safety Harness Tether

After looking at the prices of the Wichard tether, I was feeling a bit faint. Then I read about the Kong tethers, which are based on mountain climbing technology. These are a lot cheaper – you can pick up a Kong harness with two retractable legs (one short and one long) for $81.55 at Jamestown Distributors. It’s ISAF compliant, has a snap shackle at the harness end and double action Kong Tango carabiners at the boat end. Anytime you add marine to the front of any product name, the price goes sky high. Could the Kong tethers be cheaper because they didn’t start out as marine products?

Sailrite Tether Expandable Kit with Double Leg

Rather than buy a ready made harness, I thought I could save some money by making my own. So when I saw that I could get a kit from Sailrite for tether for only $66.95, I got excited. But is it too good to be true? This kit comes with the webbing and elastic you need (one leg is retractable and one is fixed), plus one Suncor snap shackle for the harness end and two Suncor carabiner hooks for the boat end. Because it uses carabiner hooks instead of double action safety hooks/carabiners, I’ve scratched this off my list as an option as the carabiner hooks can accidentally release. The quality of the Suncor hardware is also a question mark as it is cast as opposed to forged, like Wichard. Forged stainless steel is stronger and will deform before it breaks.

But, I Can Still Get Crafty With My Sailrite.

Making your own tether looks dead easy – check out this Sailrite video to get an idea of what’s involved. I don’t need a kit to make my own – all I need to do is source the components separately. The 2” tubular webbing, 1” white elastic and 2” tape are straightforward buys. The real challenge is around what hardware to use and this is where the costs start to mount up.

I priced out two options – one based on the Wichard tether and one based on the Kong tether – and compared the cost of making my own to buying a ready-made tether.

Here’s the numbers for all you nerds out there. (Note: I already have tape, thread and needles so they’re not included in the pricing.)

WICHARD TYPE TETHER

2” Tubular Webbing – 11 feet @ $1.10 foot from Sailrite = $12.10
1” White Elastic – 6 feet @ $0.35 foot from Sailrite = $2.10
Wichard Double Action Safety Hook Florescent (#2454) 2 @ $53.51 from Mauri Pro = $106.62
Wichard Quick Opening Snap Shackle (#2471) 1 @ $41.15 from Mauri Pro = $41.15

TOTAL to make = $161.97
COST to buy ready made from Defender = $190.99
SAVINGS = $29.09

THE SCOOP…It would be worth making my own to save $30. I don’t think the project would take long and I have the time to get crafty with tether making. But, is going with Wichard hardware worth it?

KONG TYPE TETHER

2” Tubular Webbing – 11 feet @ $1.10 foot from Sailrite = $12.10
1” White Elastic – 6 feet @ $0.35 foot from Sailrite = $2.10
Kong Tango Carabiner Red – 2 @ $25.90 from Jamestown Distributors = $51.80
Suncor 2-5/8” Snap Shackle – 1 @ $12.99 from Defender = $12.99

TOTAL to make = $78.99
COST to buy ready made from Jamestown Distributors = $81.55
SAVINGS = $2.56

THE SCOOP…I’m not sure what type of shackle they use for the Kong tether, but it has to be a relatively inexpensive one to be able to sell a ready made tether for $81.55. They could be using a Kong 57mm snap shackle, but I couldn't easily find a US dealer of this. I priced this out using a Suncor snap shackle, which enabled me to get the cost down to less than it would cost to buy a ready made one – but, only by $2.56. Given the fact that there would be shipping costs for both the Kong Carabiners and the Suncor Snap Shackle and the fact that the price I got for the snap shackle is a closeout price at Defender and they might sell out, the savings isn’t really there. It would be cheaper to buy a ready made one. But, what’s the quality of the Kong hardware like? Are there any safety issues? Why is it cheaper than the Wichard stuff? These are the types of questions that keep me up at night.

So, What Do You Think?

What kind of safety tether do you have (or are thinking of getting?) Have you made your own? What do you think about the Kong vs. Wichard tethers? What would you do? Have you had any chocolate chip cookies or brownies today? If not, why?

Resources

If you just can’t get enough technical talk about tethers, here are some articles you might want to check out.

• On Too Long a Lead: How Your Lifejacket Harness Could Kill You – Yachting World
• Is It Safe to Use a Tether – Practical Boat Owner
• A Second Look at Safety Tethers – Practical Sailor
• Safety Harnesses, Tethers and Jacklines – West Marine
• Blue Water Sailors Review Tethers Underway – Practical Sailor (this one is subscriber only so I haven’t read it - I'd love to know what it says)
• Jackline, Clip-in Points and Tethers - Evans Starzinger
• Discussion of Wichard vs. Suncor - The Wooden Boat Forum
• MOB Lifesaving Lessons Learned at Sea - Yachting Monthly

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S Is For Sailrite | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, Nancy's beau, Ned Nickerson, surprised the girls, along with his friends Dave and Burt. Over chocolate cake and lemonade, Nancy told them about her plan to sneak aboard Party Time and look for clues.

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“Was that Ned we saw?” Shelley asked Nancy, as she and Marvin tied up their dinghy to the back of their boat.

“Yes, he’s crewing on one of the boats during the regatta, along with Burt and Dave, two of his friends from college.”

“Oh, that’s lovely, dear. He’s such a handsome young man. Did you offer them any cake and lemonade?”

“We sure did. They thought it was delicious and said to say thank you. We’re going to see them later at the barbeque.”

Bess muttered, “That’s not all we’re going to do at the barbeque. Tell them about your plan to sneak aboard Party Palace.” Nancy shushed Bess and turned to Shelley. “Bess was just asking if you have a sewing machine onboard. She was offering to repair your Q flag.”

“Of course, I have a heavy duty Sailrite. It’s wonderful for boat projects. Come on down below, Bess, and I’ll get it out for you.”

While Bess and Shelley worked on sewing the Q flag, George and Nancy talked about what clues might be aboard Party Palace. They agreed that if Nancy could find the list of what goods were stolen and how much they were sold for, they would have a solid case against Captain Gus and his gang.

“Look what a lovely job Bess did,” said Shelley as she held up the mended Q flag. Bess smiled. “It was nothing. Your sewing machine made it so easy. I’d love to have one just like it”

“Maybe you should learn to sail first, before you go buying a sewing machine for boat projects,” George said with a smirk on her face.

Before Bess could argue back, Marvin came out of the aft cabin, nodded appreciatively at the Q flag and said, “Right, we better get a move on. The barbeque is going to start soon.”

Distracted by thoughts of hamburgers and frankfurters hot off the grill, Bess hopped into the dinghy and thought to herself that maybe sailing wasn’t so bad after all. After all, there always seemed to be plenty of snacks and treats involved.

Tune in on Saturday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – T is for Toe Rail.

****

Our trusty blue (and very expensive) Sailrite sewing machine. You can see the swatches that they send with your new machine to show that its been tested, adjusted properly and can sew through heavy material.

We've spent a fair chunk of change on things for our boat since we bought her last year and one of those things was a Sailrite sewing machine. It's an industrial machine, popular with boaters. I really debated whether to get one of these and would have long conversations with a friend of mine at the marina about the pros and cons of a Sailrite versus other sewing machines. In the end, I drank the koolaid and joined the Sailrite cult.

So far, I've made a few things for our boat and there are a few more things I need to make over the coming months. It's kind of fun to do some arts and crafts type of boat projects. Sure beats draining a fuel filter any day of the week.

When word gets out in a marina that you have a Sailrite sewing machine, you suddenly become very popular. I've had a few people borrow my machine for various projects. Because I'm a novice sewer, it's been really educational to pick their brains and see how they do their projects. Unlike with dressmaking where you can buy a pattern, most boat projects don't have patterns. Everything is one of a kind and you kind of have to figure it out as you go. One of my friends is making dinghy chaps (which are going to look amazing when they're done) and I've been watching her like a hawk to see how she does it so that I can make my own at some point. (Dinghy chaps are like cute outfits which you dress your dinghy up in to keep it from disintegrating due to the harsh sunlight.)

If you're interested in sewing machines, you can read my review of Sailrite and lookalike machines here. If you're not interested in sewing machines, you can read about the time I accidentally sent my friend porn about sewing machine here. Emphasis on the accidentally. And, don't worry, it's a G-rated post, despite the subject matter.

Do you sew? What types of things do you make and what kind of machine do you have? Have you ever accidentally sent someone an embarrassing email?

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Sewing Madness | Boat Projects On My Sailrite

One of the more expensive things we bought for our new boat was a Sailrite sewing machine. It cost us over $700 to drink the Koolaid and join the Sailrite cult. (You can read more about the decision process and other machines we considered here.) In exchange, we got a shiny, blue hunk of metal which promised to transform our boat into a fabric covered wonderland.

Considering how much we spent on our Sailrite back in August, I've been trying to put it to good use and recoup some of the cost. I've written posts on the Spartan green slipcovers I made for the settees in our saloon and the crazy kiwi and fishy throw pillows I stiched up.

But, there are also some other projects I've magicked up over the past several months, which I thought I'd document here on the blog so that: (a) I keep track of what I've done; (b) you don't think I've been a total slacker when it comes to boat projects since Scott's been gone; and (c) the folks at Sailrite see this post and, after one too many rum-laced eggnogs, think I'm such a fabulous seamstress that they offer me a lifetime 75% discount on everything they sell.

If you're into sewing projects, have a look below. If you're not, and I totally get it, then turn off the computer, pour yourself your own rum-laced eggnog, put some holiday music on and spend some time with your loved ones.

CLOTHES STORAGE CONTAINER



We don't have a ton of good storage space on our boat for clothes. One of these days, I'd like Scott to put some shelves in the hanging locker in our aft cabin (which we use as our bedroom) so that we can stack folded clothes in there. Right now, it's set up for hanging up clothes, but since I don't have a proper job these days, I don't have too many clothes that need to be hung up.

Since we started traveling around by tiny camper and boat, I don't have the most glamorous of wardrobes. There isn't even an iron on our boat - that will give you a sense of how little of a fashionista I am. Because I don't have a good place to store my folded t-shirts, shorts and tank tops, I've been piling them up on the settees in our aft cabin. It looks awful - an untidy mess of clothes just waiting to tumble all over the place when the boat moves.

So, I had this idea to sew up some sort of cute storage container which I could put my clothes in, hide them from view and tidy the place up. I thought about creating something like those packing cubes you see which people use to organize their clothes in their luggage. What I ended up with wasn't quite like what I pictured in my head. But, isn't that always the way. In my head, I have frizz-free hair which is thick and luxurious. In reality, not so much.

I basically ended up with a rectangular box made out of a floral print I got on sale and lined with some blue duck cloth. I made a bottom panel, four side panels and stitched the whole thing together. Using the same principle, I made a lid which I attached to the box at the back so that it folds back. I'm planning on adding velcro on the sides of the lid and box to keep it closed securely.

I don't like that it turned out so floppy. It's okay when it's full of clothes, which helps give it structure. But when it's empty or partially filled, it flops down all over the place. Ick. I'm thinking of opening up the side panels and adding some sort of plastic inserts at some point to give it some structure. But, in the meantime, things look a teeny bit tidier on Tickety Boo. Just don't look in the v-berth. That will scare even the least organized person among you.

FRIDGE MAT COVER

The previous owners had a foam mat which they placed on top of the fridge. For those of you not familiar with typical fridges on boat, you might not realize that they often open up from the top. It's a crazy system - you open up the fridge, lean over and poke around everything trying to find that last bell pepper that you know is in there somewhere. Usually, all you find is a can of beer you forgot about, wilted celery and some mysterious oozing liquid from something that spilled. The key is to drink the beer quickly and forget about the mystery ooze. Save that problem for another day.

Having some sort of insulation on top of your fridge is a great idea - it keeps the coldness in and saves on energy required to keep the fridge at the right temperature to provide perfectly chilled beer. The original foam mat was utilitarian, but boring. We don't do boring on Tickety Boo. And why should we, when we have a trusty Sailrite sewing machine that can transform our lives. Or at least, transform a foam met.

I made a simple cover for the foam mat out of some colorful oilcloth, slid the mat in, sewed up the edge and admired it while sipping on my beer. A very simple project which brightens up the galley.

CURTAINS

The previous owner had sewn some nautically themed curtains for the head (aka bathroom). They're perfectly fine, but not my cup of tea. So, I whipped up some new ones using this weird tangerine swirl fabric. I really shouldn't be allowed to look at fabric online with a credit card handy.

Another simple project. Basically, each curtain consisted of a panel of weird tangerine swirl lined with plain white broadcloth. I hemmed up the top and bottom so that fishing line could be inserted all the way around both curtains and tied onto hooks on the window. I didn't quite get it tight enough at the top so it droops a little bit. Something to add to the list of fix this one of these days projects. Using fishing line is a great idea because it is almost invisible. I can't take credit for that - I just copied what the previous owner did.

FENDER COVERS

Making covers for our fenders was one of the earliest projects I did. Scott calls them fender frocks. They're basically little outfits you put on your fenders to protect your boat. I made these ones out of boat blanket, which is kind of like a thick felty material that is often also used as carpeting in cars, campers and even boats. All you do is make a tube with hems at the bottom and the top with line sewn in so you can cinch it up and Bob's your uncle. The Sailrite sewed through the thick material like a dream. Dead easy

MARKET TOTE BAG

This market tote bag was the very first project I made on our Sailrite. I used to do some home sewing many, many years back, but I was really out of practice when we got our Sailrite. So, I picked a project from the wonderful tutorial videos that Sailrite has on their website, grabbed a cheap remnant at Walmart, watched the video a million times and went at it.

It's actually a good first project to practice on. I got to monkey around with trying to make straight seams (not always easy!), used seamstick tape to baste my seams before sewing, zig-zagged my raw edges to keep them from fraying and sewed through multiple layers of materials. While it doesn't look like the most professional of bags, it was a good learning experience, was inexpensive to make and its functional.

Next up on my sewing project list is a new cover for our Magma grill, another clothes storage box, hatch covers, a duvet cover and repairs to our bimini and dodger. I'm also thinking of making some pencil bags and the like out of the scrap material I have left over.

Are you a sewer? What kind of things have you been magicking up lately?

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Making Throw Pillows For Our Boat & Cute Cat Models

You know how they always get pretty girls in short skirts or bikinis to stand next to the cars at auto shows? These girls can make even the most boring soccer mom minivan look sexy and glamorous. Of course, let's be honest, no one is really looking at the cars when there are scantily clad chickadees nearby.

We seem to have a shortage of hot girls on our boat (and trust me, this middle aged lady isn't getting into a short skirt or bikini anytime soon), so I decided to go with something even better - cute cat models! 

See that cat in the picture up there? That's Evy. She belongs to some friends of ours and came by for a visit the other day. Isn't she adorable? Evy is like the feline equivalent of a hot car model - she's so cute that you don't even realize that there are pillows next to her. If you closed your eyes now, I bet you could remember that Evy is gray. But, would you remember the color and the pattern of the fabric covering the pillows?

Some of you might recall that I made Spartan green slipcovers for the settees in our saloon a while back on our Sailrite sewing machine. I wanted to recover the throw pillows that the previous owners had left behind so that they would coordinate with the slipcovers. So, when I wasn't busy trying to solve the Case of the Slowly Sinking Ship last month, I was busy recovering these throw pillows, along with making some for our cockpit. 

Originally, I was thinking of using this fabric for the saloon pillows. Yes, it's pretty kitschy, but I figured it would detract from the slipcovers. 

Here's a top tip - never, ever show your husband fabric and ask him what he thinks of it. I sent Scott a picture of this fabric and asked him what he thought. His response, "Hmm...that's interesting." This is code for, "Are you nuts? What are you thinking? You're not seriously going to make throw cushions out of this, are you?"

I'm thinking of making a skirt out of this fabric now. Or maybe Scott would like a Hawaiian shirt?

It's important to learn from your mistakes. Next, I bought this fabric. This time, I didn't show it to Scott before I turned it into covers for our throw pillows.

It's kind of weird too. It reminds me of psychedelic kiwi fruit slices. I don't really care for kiwi fruit. If you serve it to me at brunch, I'll eat it. It's not like beetroot, kumara or avocado, which I'll stealthily put in my napkin or feed to the cat when you aren't looking. Kiwi fruit isn't the worst thing in the world, but I'm not a big fan. 

So, why did I get this fabric considering my feelings about kiwi fruit? That's a great question. 

After looking at a gazillion fabric choices online and not being able to make up my mind, this one whispered to me in a hypnotic voice, "Go on, order me. You know you want to. I'll make you happy. Plus, I'm on sale. You know you love a good sale. Don't listen to what those other fabrics are saying. Sure, they look cute, but that's Satan talking through them. You don't want to buy fabric from the devil and put your soul in immortal danger, do you?"

And that's how I ended up with two yards of psychedelic kiwi fruit inspired indoor/outdoor fabric. Here's what it looks like next to the old throw pillows. Nothing wrong with the shell fabric, but it just wasn't my thing. Psychedelic kiwi fruit, on the other hand, is totally my thing. Especially when the voices in my head tell me it is. 

Pillow covers are a pretty simple and straightforward sewing project. I had made some years ago, so I just refreshed myself with a home sewing book on the technique and seam allowances required.

One of the tricks to making pillow covers fit well is to round the corners of fabric. You fold your fabric into quarters, make a mark half way down between the corner and fold on each side and then another mark 1/2" from each edge. Then it's a simple matter of tapering the fabric from each point.

 
Instead of making knife-edge pillows where the front and the back are the same size and are sewn up with a single seam around the edge, I decided to go with a lapped closure so that I could easily remove the pillow covers as needed for cleaning. We spill things often. Plus, there seems to be an awful lot of cat hair on everything these days. So, being able to quickly clean the pillow covers is a real bonus.

To do this, the back of each pillow consisted of two pieces with hemmed edges which overlap each other. I made each piece long enough so there was enough of an overlap for the back to stay closed without the need for velcro, snaps or buttons.

Here's Min modeling the crazy kiwi cushions. She's gorgeous, isn't she? She spent the day with me while her humans were showing their boat to prospective buyers. She's a Canadian cat and bi-lingual. She ignores commands from humans in both English and French. I'm definitely getting a Crazy Cat Lady reputation at the marina. Tickety Boo is turning into the local kitty-cat day care center. It works out well - I get my cat fix without the long-term hassles of litter box cleaning.

For our cockpit throw pillows, I had to start from scratch when it came to pillow inserts. Sure, I could have bought some pre-made inserts, but that would have been a little pricey. Instead, I decided to use Jody's brilliant trick of cutting up bed pillows and making your own pillow inserts. So much cheaper and really simple! Check out her post here on Where the Coconuts Grow to get the scoop. I love the fabric she used too.

I picked up some inexpensive pillows at Walmart, cut them apart at one end, pulled the stuffing out, resized them, put the stuffing back in and sewed up the seams. I turned one king size pillow into two rectangular throw pillows and two standard size pillows into square pillows.

The stuffing looks weird when it comes out of the pillow. Sometimes, it's best not to think too much about what they put in these things. 

For the cockpit cushions, I decided to go with a fish pattern in an outdoor fabric. I used the same technique as I did for the saloon cushions.

Do you notice the seamstick in the picture below? I love this stuff. Seamstick is magic when it comes to seams. I don't have an iron, so I can't press seams. Instead, I just put on some of this double sided tape, fold the seam over, press down with my fingers and Bob's your uncle. You can sew right through the stuff. 

And here's how they turned out with Georgie the Sailing Cat modeling them. Cat models can be kind of difficult to work with at times. They're always demanding belly rubs and treats.

PROJECT DETAILS & COSTS

Overall, it cost $62.72 to make six saloon cushions and four cockpit cushions. To keep costs down, I waited until fabric went on sale and I made my own pillow inserts for the cockpit which saved heaps of money. For example, if I had bought a pre-made 20 x 20" pillow insert it would have cost around $17. Making one from a bed pillow only cost me $2.74. The hassle of making my own was well worth the savings.

Here's how the cost breaks down and details of what fabrics and notions I used.

FABRIC | Total Cost = $46.44

Saloon Cushions - I used 2 yards of Solarium Beringer Spring which I bought online at Joann Fabrics. This is an indoor/outdoor polyester fabric which is 54" wide. It normally goes for $21.99 / yard, but I waited for it to go on sale and got it half off for $10.99 / yard.

Cockpit Cushions - I used 2 1/2 yards of P Kaufmann Indoor/Outdoor Fish Tale Navy Blue. This is an outdoor polyester fabric which is 54" wide. I had originally bought 1 yard on sale for $7.99 / yard at Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon when I was visiting my family. It was originally going for $21.99 / yard, so this was a great sale. I should have bought more. I liked the fabric so much that I decided to order some more when I saw it was on sale at Fabric.com for $10.98. It now looks like this may be a discontinued fabric, so if you like it too, you can probably pick it up cheap now.

PILLOW INSERTS | Total Cost = $11.48

Saloon Cushions - I used the six original 18 x 18" cushions that the previous owner had left on the boat so the cost was free.

Cockpit Cushions - I made pillow inserts from microfiber bed pillows I got at Walmart. One queen size pillow on sale for $6 and two standard size pillows on sale for $2.74 each. I made two 20 x 15" pillow inserts from the queen size pillow and one 20 x 20" pillow insert from each of the standard size pillows.

NOTIONS | Total Cost = $4.80

I used a #16 needle on my Sailrite sewing machine, which I already had and which I'll reuse for other projects. I used one spool of white upholstery thread ($4.60) and about 20 cents worth of seamstick 1/4" basting tape ($4.95 for 50 yards at Sailrite).

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