Janice aboard Seaweed,
living the good life afloat...

• Fishing Pole Question (plus no-screw mounting how-to) In the last posted piece, Spinners restaurant in St. Pete (island chain), I showed you my spiffy Christmas gift bag hanging from a fishing pole in my forward cabin. Hopefully one of you will be able to help me identify the origins of said fishing pole. Also I'm going to show you my fishing pole hanger-up's. Yes, I do know there are real nice pole mounting systems sold at stores. Mine is a virtually free five-minute project.
  Categories: Boats, Fishing, Gear,
   

• Spinners restaurant in St. Pete (island chain) In the last posted piece I told you about how my friend Cheryl had taken me with her to a thrift store. Well, there was more. Prior to that fun time, Cheryl arranged a ladies luncheon at our local Spinners. The premise of Spinners is that the entire seating area of the restaurant rotates 360 degrees in the course of an hour. This was a new experience for me. I loved being included in such a unique activity.
  Categories:  Anchorages, Books, Characters, Locations,
   

• Stowing Halloween and Thanksgiving Decor. I love my life aboard Seaweed. Although the broken arm recovery has taken far longer than I anticipated, progress continues. One thing that brings me joy is celebrating holidays. I have one box that contains most of my Christmas and all of the Thanksgiving and Halloween decor. It is stored underneath my bunk in the forward cabin.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Characters, Organizing, Vignettes
   

• Mucket the Mallard Drake. Today I'll share with you a vignette about life aboard a boat in the early 1960's. Although Mucket the mallard drake was not my first pet, he was one of the more memorable ones. This is a trip down Memory Lane came about because the Kidlet mentioned seeing mallards when she was up north.
  Categories:  Boats, Characters, Locations, Memory Lane, Pets, Wild Things,
   

• Tool to Extend my Reach (back-scratcher) When living solo there are times when a spare hand or two would be a real benefit. Nobody wants to climb out of the bilge in order to retrieve a forgotten tool. Every project I start requires at least two items I did not plan on needing. One way to avoid the up/down retrieval process is by virtue of my handy-dandy reacher. Here's how you can make your own for less than $2.
  Categories: Characters, Gear, Money,
   

• VHF by my Bunk (spare radio) I love my Seaweed for the small details that make her special. One of those seemingly inconsequential items is a $5 VHF. It was purchased at a used nautical gear sale several years ago. The radio was old when purchased. This unit doesn't have all the fancy whistles and bells. That said, I believe an inexpensive second radio is just the thing for a cruising boater.
  Categories: Boats, Characters, Gear, Locations, Memory Lane,
   

• Inexpensive Handle Fix. Back in 2018 I was fortunate enough to attend a used boat gear swap in St. Petersburg, FL. I told you about that in the Nautical Swap Purchases - Handles article. The handles I bought are sturdy and well made. Then I saw what appeared to be the same thing on eBay for far less money. And that is where my tale of I-Should-Have-Known-Better begins...
  Categories: Characters, Gear, Locations, Money,
   

• Petroleum Jelly aboard a Boat. I have fought numerous battles since buying Seaweed. Trying to open various caps, covers and other threaded items can be a real challenge. More times than I care to admit I've resorted to using Vise grips, a screwdriver and/or a hammer. I always think "this time it will be different" but it seldom is. Finally I came up with a $1 solution. Here is what I do.
  Categories: Books, Characters, Gear, In the Bilges, Money,
   

• Box of Small Stuff (line) Nearly 40 years ago that man I married gave me a box one year for Christmas. It contained a collection of *Beautiful scented items including perfume. I loved it. Though the perfume is long gone, the box remains a much-used item. It has become my box of Small Stuff, along with a few accoutrements that I find most useful.
  Categories: Characters, Gear,
   

• Clean and Soften Old Ropes. One of my neighbors on the canal recently bought a trawler. The ropes were older, stiff and some had mildewed. Basically they were hard to use because of the stiffness.  The proper "money is no object" solution would be to buy brand new ropes. Here is the $3 version utilized to revitalize the old boat lines.
  Categories: Gear, In the Bilges, Money,
   

• Running the Hounds. This walk down Memory Lane is for The Writer's Block. It is response to request I made. In the vignette Hunting Nowadays I told how hunting is no longer stalking through the woods ala Daniel Boone. I asked for remembrances from my readers. Today Captain Sid tells about the world of dogs "back in the day" and currently as well. I was fascinated and hope you enjoy his writing too.
  Categories: Books, Characters, Locations, Memory Lane, Pets, Wild Things, The Writer's Block,
   

• Wild Bird Observations (night herons) One of my favorite things to do is observe nature. The native birds have been great fun to watch. Many have me quite well trained. Over time I have seen the birds interact both with each other and myself. Sometimes I am able to draw conclusions as to why they display certain behaviors. Today I'll share some insights along with pictures of my night herons, plus Ella the great blue heron.
  Categories: Books, Characters, Wild Things,
   

• Tips for Cooling the Boat. As summer arrives the heat becomes oppressive here in the humidity belt also known as the southern United States. Seaweed has an air conditioner. My friend Edwin installed it for me a couple summers back. That series of articles starts with Moby-Cool a/c cover Tweak. During the hottest days my small 5k BTU air conditioner wasn't quite enough to cool the entire boat. Here's what I have done to abate that situation.
  Categories: Boats, Books, Characters, Comfort, Galley, Gear, Locations, Unmentionables, Wild Things,
   

• Diverting Portlight Drips (paper towel edition) The last article Saving on Kleenex (handkerchiefs) I shared with you why I stopped buying *Kleenex. In this piece I'll describe how I keep my roll of disposable paper towels dry. The roll resides under the portlight in my head. That window is open most of the time. Rain happens. Here is how I prevent damp paper towels for just a dollar.
  Categories: Galley, Gear, Money, Unmentionables,
   

• Saving on Kleenex (handkerchiefs) Budgets often fail not because of extravagant purchases. A plethora of lower cost throw-away goods bought regularly can add up to a large expense. In other words, it is not always the big ticket items that cause a shortage of cash. One thing I stopped buying is tissues. Brands such as Kleenex or Puffs with Aloe were my favorites.
  Categories: Comfort, Gear, Money,
   

• Broken Arm Lessons. My friends all know that one of my mantras is to never do anything when tired. That means that at the first signs of being tired, I quit. Nothing good ever comes when I press on. Inevitably I end up with poor results. On the 14th of April I thought that rule no longer applied to me. After all, I'm experienced AND smart. Except I was not.
  Categories: Characters, Gear, Locations, Pets, Security,
   

• Dating for Boaters (summary) This is a multi-part series for those seeking a cruising partner. This summary has all five parts on one page. Some of my boat friends are on slow connections. For them shorter length articles are easier open. If you prefer your articles in smaller bite-sized pieces, click any of the following links: Dating for Boaters - Part 1, and Dating for Boaters - Part 2, and Dating for Boaters - Part 3, and Dating for Boaters - Part 4,  and Dating for Boaters - Part 5.
  Categories: Anchorages,  Boat Talk, Boats, Books, Characters, Galley, Gear, Locations, Pets,  Relationships, Security, Wild Things,
   

• Dating for Boaters - Part 5. Finding someone to share the cruising world with can be difficult. Putting your entire boating life on hold because you haven't got a partner is not a good idea. Instead, get out here and look around. There are single folks on boats, albeit mostly men. Women have experienced those described in the If the Deck Shoe Fits article. You can surely do better than that!
  Categories: Boat Talk, Boats, Characters, Locations, Pets, Relationships, Wild Things,
   

• Dating for Boaters - Part 4. Few people like to be completely alone. We are social creatures. Some however have higher standards and lower tolerances for fools. Personally, I believe boaters are among the most fascinating people on the planet. They (you/we) have taken a different path than the norm. I rather like that.
  Categories: Boats, Characters, Locations, Pets, Relationships, Security,
   

• Dating for Boaters - Part 3. Finding someone to share the journey afloat is not so easy. This is Part 3 of a series for those seeking a cruising partner. Seeing a sea turtle pop up his head is so much more satisfying when you can say "did you see that?" to someone you care about. I had that with my Bob, albeit via the telephone. Since then though, well, I miss Bob. You met Bob in the Time Stopped article.
  Categories: Anchorages,  Boats, Characters, Gear, Locations, Relationships,
   

• Dating for Boaters - Part 2. This is Part 2 of a requested series. A sailor asked how to find a cruising partner. I can totally understand the desire to share this  experience with others. Here is my advice to that gent:
  Boat Talk, Boats, Characters, Locations, Relationships,
   

• Dating for Boaters - Part 1. A long time subscriber on the Pacific coast asked how to find a lady to share his journey afloat. He wants to find a partner to cruise with aboard his boat. Frankly it can get lonesome out here. I believe it is easier to find someone when you are based shore-side versus living *on the hook. Here's how I would find The One.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Boats, Books, Characters, Galley, Relationships, Wild Things,
   

• Best Choice Washer. Over the years I have changed the way I do laundry aboard Seaweed. About a year ago I decided to buy a portable washer. On Amazon I found one for just $55. My experience with said unit has been both frustrating and fabulous. Today I'll share my triumphs and the not-so-great details of Blue.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Comfort, Gear, Memory Lane, Unmentionables,
   

• Battery Cap Fiasco. As described in the Battery Check and Cheater Method article, I check my batteries each month. When one batt showed a higher temperature than the rest, I investigated. Part of that meant removing the cap. That's when things took a turn for the worse. Here's what happened, and the steps taken to ameliorate the situation should I ever make this mistake again.
  Categories: Gear, In the Bilges,
   

• Catalytic Heater Won't Light Remedy. As the temperatures plummet, I have a solution for those of you with the Coleman catalytic heaters that don't light easily. I too had that problem with my original heater. Because I was sure the first one was broken I threw it away. The replacement developed the same issue. Here's how I solved the hard-to-light heater fiasco aboard Seaweed.
  Categories: Characters, Galley, Gear, In the Bilges, Locations,
   

• Frog and the Red Tide. Soloist life aboard Seaweed can be interesting. One particular thing I enjoy is the variety that each new day brings. Today I might spend blitzing on new Kindle books, while tomorrow might find me in the bilges. I believe the mental stimulation is good for me. Sometimes though I'm a bit too stimulated. Here's what happened recently.
  Categories: Characters, Galley, Locations, Money, Wild Things,
   

• Battery Check and Cheater Method. Aboard Seaweed I inspect my batteries the first week of each month. But checking each cell, load testing, and more all takes time. Sometimes I just want the job done. It is important to do this monthly, at least for folks like me using inexpensive lead acid batteries from Walmart. After six months of testing I am confident my  "cheater" method  is working well. Here is what I do.
  Categories: Boat Talk, Characters, Gear, In the Bilges, Locations, Memory Lane,

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