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Are you wondering what you should (could) do with your boat this winter while the lakes are frozen... take a look at these photos of a great looking Halman-20. Seems that whenever there’s a need, there’s someone out there to find an interesting way to address it. When it comes to boats, it’s a toss-up sometimes... especially to see what is done and how. This one will get you to thinking and that’s all it’s intended to do... don’t wait, go think now! Sure, you’ve seen plenty of Halman-20’s but you’ve not seen this one.
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Yes, it’s been quite a long time since any updates have been made to the site. There has been two primary issues with keeping up with both email and the site maintenance. The first of which was a new problem related to being able to receive emails but unable to send out a response. This issue came up early last October (2012) and at that time I could not find a working solution to the issue. It was at about that same time, I was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and since then have been almost totally “out of commission” with the full range of Chemo and Radiation treatments and am glad to say that while there are no real “cures” for cancer (especially Pancreatic) in general - I am now a “survivor” and am recovering daily to be able to resume more of my previous interests. The discovery of this issue was something of a total surprise and has obviously changed a great deal of things in my life including my work and plans for rebuilding the N-30 that I started so long ago. My focus for the near term is to catch up with all of the legitimate emails that were sent and unanswered. (The network / mail issues were resolved today) so to those who wrote and received no reply, my sincere apologies for not being able to answer sooner, but be patient and I will eventually catch up.
For those who wished to put ads on the site, I’ll send a reply and if you still want to do so, will try to accomodate your requests. Thanks in advance for your continued patience, understanding and interests in the site. - L. May
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The sailing season is drawing to a close for many so it’s time to start planning what you’re going to work on this winter to make the sailing next season even better. There’s a great group of photos and details from Cap’n Bill on the super nice job of improving the boom control on his Halman 21. Check near the bottom of the “Projects” page. You’re going to appreciate this one.
There’s also a nice photo of a “Lynaes” rebuild project just below “Cap’n Bills” photo on that same page with a link to several more really nice photos - Check out both of these projects and get some new ideas for your boat while you’re keeping warm by the stove!
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Subject: His and Her Diary for the Same Day!
Her Diary: Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. The conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; he said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it.
On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior; I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep -- I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.
His Diary: Boat wouldn’t start; Can’t figure out why ???
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Take a look at the work being done on the engine for “Atlantis” - There’s still a lot to be done yet, but it’s improving with each step of “progress” towards having a good engine to put back in the boat. Look for the link at the bottom of the “Projects” page.
At various times, several different readers have written with questions about their projects in rebuilding their engines. Most of the time, we don’t pay much attention to them if they start up, don’t smoke up the neighborhood and don’t shoot flames up and around where you may be sitting with your rum swizzler - but they will - if you don’t get your hands dirty once in a while to take care of them!
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Another entry in the “WWWTP” (What’s Wrong With This Picture) contest. Not because I like to poke fun at someones best efforts but because in all of our efforts we tend to show something that others can learn from.
When I watch someone in front of me in line with their pants hanging off the bottom half of their cheeks... I learn something and might check to see that mine are still “above the centerline” and that the belt holding them up hasn’t suddenly broken in half!
We have multiple opportunities to learn every day if we simply pay attention.
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This photo is from a boat that is listed for sale. Apparently the owners are in a hurry to sell up and solve that “four foot itius” problem again but in their haste to move on, they’re leaving several genuine mysteries and some further headaches for the new owner. Oddly enough, most photos of boats are taken to show them in their best “light” - meaning you want to buy that boat right now and put on that blazer and white hat for the social meeting tonight! You can, but you’d better find out why the green wires and the black wires and the red wires don’t have a place to call “home” and the longer you wait, the more surprises “Murphy” is going to have for you. Maybe that key is for the ignition and it’s the only one there is... and when it falls (because your first step on the deck caused the boat to heel over about 18 degrees) it will find some new home UNDER the wiring, the battery, the old oil bottles, the chain and the 32 brands of boat polish that the previous owner tried. Or maybe it’s just one he found last year and is still wondering what it will fit. Either way, it’s something to wonder about and when you’re shopping for boats, you have to ask yourself this question - Do I want to “wonder about it” at the dock or out on the water... then make your choice!
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What’s new with you.....
It’s a common phrase - one that often preceeds many good conversations and as well some that are necessarily brief - but when someone says to you “What’s new” - how you answer says a lot about you, your state of mind, your interest in dicussions at that given time and is the opening for you to reciprocate and sometimes find out more than you really wanted to know!
If you are in the process now of making some plans for a boat in your future, then the reply might be “I don’t have time to waste right now because I’m doing my “homework” on buying a boat” (not likely but possible) and if you are that intent on doing your “homework” without the benefit of companionship, coffee, a warm stove to sit around and listening to someone you can actually learn something from, then ... you’re missing the whole point! Some people are “talkers” for a variety of reasons while others manage to maintain the role of “listeners” (hopefully at the right time) and when boats are concerned, listening is good. If the boats at the marina or the rafting group you were tied up to last summer could replay the conversations they heard - WOW - You can’t even find some of that stuff on the internet! Whatever you’re planning for 2011 will require both aspects of those communication efforts - and a healthy degree of filtering capability to keep from getting overloaded with “too much stuff” and not enough “meat and potatoes” type of details. With patience and practice, you’ll develop the skills to separate the BS from the GS (Good stuff) and that’s where the learning begins.
I ran across a phrase recently that was intended for a completely different audience but it still applies and I think especially so to the sailers and builders of all types of things that are intended to float in the water...
Good decisions come from experience .... experience comes from bad decisions!
As we all gain another year or so, we can look back and appreciate some things more. Made me think about one of the first boats I ever got in and expected to go somewhere... it was made out of two car hoods (something like 1948 or 50 Chevy’s) that had been recut on the back edge and welded together so it looked more like a Umiak that had been squeezed too hard in the ice. It did float, but every stroke of the paddle tended to make it spin in circles even more - (no keel and no stability) so I guess it was from that brief learning experience, I’ve kept an interest in learning more - your emails and sometimes more extensive exchanges over time are what learning is about. My thanks to those of you who like me, are pleasantly aging students who still enjoy learning - L. May
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Are you interested in taking a vacation and picking up a Nordica-30 - maybe you can even sail back “home” - wherever that is!
Try this link - [ http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1983/nordica-cruising-sloop-2137228/langkawi/malaysia ]
Give them a call ahead of time and they can have the paperwork ready for you... You never know where you’ll find these boats!
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Quite a few months ago, I had added a small note on the N-30 page with the lat/long. coordinates generally around a harbor in the Azores where this boat was for sale. A “traveling” reader of this site sent it to me even though they were cruising aboard a considerably larger (i.e.$$$) boat, they took the time to send a couple of photos.
There’s not many N-30 owners anywhere it seems, but consider the travels this boat and crew have already made to end up for sale so for from home. This hull has some unique features that I’ve not see on many other N-30’s and must have some stories to tell - “if the hulls could talk!”
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So do you think your wife knows more about “housekeeping” than you do?
Then you better give her the keys to the boat and ask when you can visit!
Here are two good examples of paying attention to the details but in different ways.
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You can click on either of the photos and see a larger view that will show what’s basically good and then “not so good” about both views. In the case of the “battery wiring issues” - this is an obvious detail your marine surveyor should point out to you as it represents multiple violations of not only good common sense practices, it’s in violation of USCG recommendations and would likely have a serious impact as well with your local insurance agency.
The rules and regulations are created to try to help “save your bacon” whether you’re comfortable at the dock or in the middle of the worst storm you’ve seen!
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