Pixie the Boat - Mistakes
Education
We learn by our mistakes. I'm not perfect, but
I'm perfect for me (thanks, Grace). So, here
are notable mistakes from my messing about with Pixie the Boat.
Do Something, Even It It's Wrong
This goes directly against my (sporadic) upbringing to not do something
unless I do it right. More conventionally, "If you're going to do
something, do it right the first time." Well, this approach can
be quite paralyzing when entering unknown realms. I suspect that
to move along with boats, we need to just do it and be willing to do it
again if at first we don't succeed. Do a little research on the
project at hand, then do it. Do it again, but right, if you need
to. Don't sink the boat.
I
Got a Pocket Full of Austenite
No matter how cool it appears, Austenite is NOT "cool!"
in the context
of stainless steel that you want to be gone. The best cure here
is prevention. Do not make Austenite in the first place.
Here's how I have learned to drill stainless steel bolts and
such. Acquire a cordless drill / screwdriver with high
and low speed settings. Charge the batteries fully. Select
the low speed setting (fast = hot =
Austenite = bad). Select a regular old sharp high-speed steel
drill bit. Spray it with WD-40. Drill on low speed, spray,
drill, spray, drill, etc. until done. Too much time and $45 for a
machine shop later, these mostly don't have austenite in them and
they're no longer where I specifically don't want them.
Cosmetics & Sub-Functions
If the boat won't float, don't mess around replacing cosmetic wood,
buying a GPS unit, converting the stove from alcohol to propane.
These are not my mistakes, but ones that should be avoided
anyway. The boat came with lots of stuff for future
projects. Buy what you need when you need it with cash.
Don't use credit as cash is
currency (not money) and compounding interest does not mix well
with holes in the water. At first, only throw the currency you
need to throw into your water hole to keep it a hole instead of
water. Then you can do the pretties and pleasants.
Palmetto Bugs
OK. If you're in Florida, cockroaches get pretty big and they get
pretty sounding names like "Palmetto." Here's the mistake:
Some Palmetto Bugs are small enough to climb into the mouth of a beer
bottle (boca de una botella de cerveza). If you're working on
your boat in Florida and you have had to set your beer bottle down to
perform actual work, look inside for one or more Palmetto Bugs before
taking the next gulp. Unfortunately this is my mistake.
Fortunately I was able to eject said Palmetto Bug with great, spraying
force before it passed my epiglottis. Also, fortunately, I had
another beer. And, unfortunately, I remember the entire event
very well, including the arc described by the ejected, tumbling
Palmetto Bug with little drops of beer traveling in similar arcs around
it and the general hacking, spitting, and searching for the listerine
afterward. Egad. Would my wife ever kiss me again if she
knew?
Bidness
On an abstract level, products are composed of constituent products and
their constituent materials. Human technology in a capitalist
society is a pyramid of increasingly complex products with a foundation
in natural elements and knowledge wrought from science. There's
not much room at Wal-Mart for religion other than as an advertising
ploy. I'm too subtle here - I mean that Wal-Mart does not operate
on beliefs, it operates on knowledge. Knowledge is what comes
from science. Beliefs are just that grey, soupy fog we encounter
when we don't know something but feel that it might be right or that
the risk is too high of us not believing it if it turns out to be right
after all. Science = knowledge. Religion = Belief.
These two concepts are not opposed, they're simply near each other on a
continuum that goes from "Huh?" all the way to "Like, Duh." So
what's the big stink?
Oops. Beer is a slippery staircase up to the soapbox. But
it's not evil...
It's a known and unfortunate fact for us consumers that any product
that has had the keyword "marine" applied to it will have a
significantly higher asking price than the very same product that fails
to mention the golden "marine" application. Within the "marine"
product spectrum, West Marine can probably sell us the most expensive
abstract concept that is not a "boat." Take for example
fiberglass boat cleaning products. They seem to cost around
$15-$20 from West Marine. However, the products at your local
grocery store for cleaning the gelcoat on fiberglass bathtubs (hmm,
scritch-scritch-scritch) tend to be around $5 for the same bottle with
a different label. The math results in money left over for
beer. As a side note, on page 223 of the hard copy 2007
West Marine Annual Catalog, there is a stainless steel anchor that
you can buy for $229,500 (Extra shipping costs may apply). I am
embarrassed to let on that this price is more than my current annual
salary. However, in 2005 the highest household income in
our municipality did not exceed $200k, so there's hope. I'm
obviously a few rungs down on the socio-economic ladder, and would
definitely stay within my current quantum orbit if I had a sudden and
significant money infusion. But, West Marine I cannot afford.
So, what's the mistake? Well, there are numerous
moral and pecuniary mistakes swirling around here, but
the less offensive to this crowd is in purchasing a range of boat stuff
from West Marine. Here's what I've learned so far - find a local
chandlery, find the owner, and ask her if she can get and sell you the
stuff that you would otherwise get from West Marine. As my
Chica-san (that's "girlfriend" in spanish-japanese) points out, there
is never an isolated "Win-Win" situation because there is always a
loser (and thus you can dispense with another annoying cliche' at the
end of the day going forward). You win, the chandlery owner wins,
and West Marine loses. This is OK and subject matter for an
entirely different rant. In the meantime, West Marine provides a
modicum of research value through their website and catalog so you
know generally what kind of stuff is available for your boat.
Boats = Good. Not Boats = Not Good. Simple math, right?
Off soapbox, more beer now...
What, That's It?
Oh, you know more mistakes will be forthcoming. Even the ones I
shouldn't tell you about. Just be patient. I'll make them
(or discover that I've already made them) and document them here.
Updated 22 September 2007