The quest for the perfect bimini

It all started one day when sitting under a bimini that covered only half the cockpit. The sun was shining and I was sitting in the 8" of remaining shade under the bimini. You must understand that my boat has a cockpit that is typically the envy of everyone at the anchorage. The existing bimini frame and cover was just not big enough to provide enough shade much less protection against the ever present rain showers in the islands. I knew I had a problem.

Like most things in my life, when I become aware of a problem my mind goes into hyperdrive to find an answer. This answer came to me when I was in the Abacos. While crossing the sea of Abaco I broke my dingy davits (story for another post). I had taken them off of the boat and walked with the davits to the boat yard / nearest welding shop (@3 mile walk). As I was getting close to the welding shop and was thinking how heavy the davits really were, I noticed a large pile of aluminum tubing in the corner of the boat yard. In the pile there was a 10' X 14' binimi frame off of a sports fisherman that was wrecked during a hurricane. Of course I did not know how big my cockpit really was so I trekked back to the boat, measured the cockpit, trekked back to the yard, measured the frame, noticed that I had not realized the frame was not quite square, trekked back to the boat, trekked back to the yard... Yes I was in shape and I was fairly certain that the frame would fit my boat. Now to the minor detail of who owned this frame. I asked around the yard and everyone thought the welding shop owned the frame. When I talked with the shop they did not know which ones belonged to the welding shop and which were "being stored" for customers. Only the owner could answer this question and he would be back in a few days.

Not to be deterred I called and called getting the same message. The owner would be back in a few days. I finally decided to show up at the welding shop and stage a sit in. When I arrived they told me that the owner's brother was there and could help me. (his name is Kyle and he does a great job welding aluminum if you are ever in need around the Abacos Bahamas). He was not quite sure but thought the top I wanted belonged to the shop. Finally the owner came back and confirmed he did own the top and it was for sale. He told me to make an offer. Now remember this is a 10' X 14' aluminum frame that is stout enough to hold two hammocks easily. Being a cruiser I offered him $1,500 installed on the boat. He went for the $1,500 but I had to pay the installation ($900 when it was all done).

I brought the boat to the yard and they proceeded to align the frame and make legs. It was 2-3 days of work for $900 and in the end it came out nice. I was even told that the original cost to make the frame was over $20K. In essence I got a deal.

With the frame mounted I stretched a tarp across it and proceeded back to the US. I knew I had gotten a deal when I had to spend a couple of days at Great Sail before making the crossing. It was @ 2 foot chop in the harbor with 20-30 other boats. I rigged the hammocks and we read books while waiting for a weather window. After a day we started to hear a little radio chatter about how comfortable we looked while everyone else was getting pounded around by the waves. I had rigged the hammocks at a slight angle to the bow that allowed the waves to rock the hammocks as the bow rose and fell. It was quite nice.

When I arrived back in the states I had a cover made for the frame. The bimini has two legs up front and uses the boom crutch as the support in the rear. I have been told the boom crutch is oversized and seems very substantial so I am not too concerned.
I also had them install a wire chase so I could have overhead instruments and rope lights in the bimini. (you can just see them on the right). I also had the windshield built so it was a little recessed. This allows me to still see out when it is raining.

Here are some other pictures of the underside of the Bimini.
Looking Aft
(the wheel is attached with Velcro when I am in port - I have been considering making a 'port wheel for when I am at anchor)
Looking Toward Bow

Boat Ball

Boatball (Copyright Grace 2008) is a game that is best played on one of the hot days when there is no wind. You know the type, all of the kids sit around telling you how hot it is every 15 minutes. All ages can play boatball and, best of all, you play in the water. First you will need a life preserver for each person playing. We use these to float in the field. Typically we ride these like a saddle by turning them upside down and floating on them.

You will also need a wiffel bat (a hollow plastic bat), wiffel ball (light plastic ball), and one boat. It is important that you pick a wiffel ball and bat that floats. Don't pick a wiffel ball that has a lot of holes in it or you will have a very short game of boatball. Usually Dollar Store (the shop of first resort for all consumables on our boat) has the best selection. If you have aspirations for a scholarship to Annapolis for boat ball you might be better off purchasing high end equipment at some place like WalMart or Toys R US.

The rules are simple. First anchor the boat in water deeper than 6' and turn off the engine. One person is the batter. Everyone else is in the field. The person that is at bat floats on their life preserver in front a towel hung from the lifeline (home plate). Preferably home plate is @ 3/4 down the boat from the bow (Just to clarify - closer to the stern than the bow).

From home plate you have first base (if the batter touches the stern of the boat and they get a single), second base (if the batter touches the bow of the boat and they get a double), third base (if the batter touches the anchor line they get a triple), and a home run (if the batter swims all the way around the boat and gets back to home plate they get a home run. The batter has to make up his mind which way they want to swim and get there before someone in the field gets to the ball, retrieves it. and hits the boat with the ball (they actually have to hit the boat with the ball - I can't tell you how many times someone has thrown the ball over the boat).

In the field there is a pitcher and everyone else is a fielder. The pitcher pitches the ball to the batter. Don't go crazy with pitching. Most of the time we don't keep track of strikes. When the batter hits the ball they have a decision to make. They can go toward the stern for an easy single or they can head for the bow for more bases. Remember if they go for a home run they will be behind the boat for approximately half the time and will not know the status of the ball (also it is a really long way!!!). It is perfectly acceptable if you start for a base and have not touched it to change your mind and go for another. This typically happens when someone misses the boat when throwing the ball.

When the batter gets to a base he establishes a ghost man (they must yell "Ghost man on [name of the base]. For instance they yell "GHOST MAN ON SECOND". They can then go back to bat again. In order for a ghost man to score someone has to push them over home plate. This can either be the batter, like what happens if the next hit is a home run, or it can be another ghost man, for example a ghost man on second only moves to thrid when the batter hits a subsequent double.

The batting order is established by time honored methods. It can either be youngest to oldest or the fistual double elimination selection method (eni, mini, might, moe). We typically allow two outs per batter (the inning gets long with three outs). We also establish a max runs per inning (usually 5). You can play until everyone has had X number of times at bat or to a max total score. You can take breaks when playing boatball after all they have a seventh inning streatch in baseball.

You will learn a couple of things playing boatball - the water line really needs to be scrubbed, it is a long way to the bow of the boat when you are swimming as fast as you can, it is amazing how tired you get floating around all day with intermittent amounts of effort, and it is amazing how good the food is after playing several hours of boat ball.

The most important rule is - have fun.

Having fun

When cruising and sailing to distant locations it is always a high priority to have fun. Often times we find different ways to have fun like running photography contests, making conch horns, spear fishing, scavenger hunts, bocci ball tournaments, etc. However, one of the best things to do in a harbor is... Oh wait, I have not sworn you in yet.

In order to read the remainder of this post you must place your fingers on the following keys:

B I [B] L E (if it makes you feel any better you can place two fingers on the B key)

Now read the following:

I (state your name) do solemnly swear that the information I read in this blog will not be used to ruin someone's fun. Because I know how this trick works does not give me the right or title to be a real tool and announce over the radio, drinks the next day, or divulge in any other way the trick. I will merely sit back and smile knowingly. If I violate this sacred oath may I suddenly become allergic to rum drinks, my packing gland will weep uncontrollably, and I will get a sun tan that will make everyone laugh.

Ok - now that you are officially sworn in. What you will need is a night with no moon (this means either a full cloud cover or new moon), a fair breeze, a parachute kite (These are the extremely stable type of kites that will fly in a little amount of wind. Also, they tend to be able to lift a small payload.), a couple of bracelet or necklace glow in the dark sticks (Dollar store usually sells these during the summer months. If possible pick the glow sticks that are not the standard colors -green being the most recognizable).

Ok - if you have already caught on to what we are going to do stop laughing. You would have fallen for this if you had not read this.

You take the glow sticks break them to start them glowing and bend them into unusual shapes. I like to tie them in a knot or bend them in a "L" shape. Now securely fasten two or three of these onto the kite.

Now remember DON'T CALL ATTENTION TO YOURSELF. Launch the kite over the harbor. Let the string out a little to get the kite away from your boat and up over the harbor. Then casually announce over the radio (a cruiser net works the best) "hey does anyone else see that UFO over xxxxx harbor". Sit back and listen to the everyone give their own interpretation of what they see.

Since the dark night takes away much of the frame of reference most people think the kite is much farther away than it actually is. You might hear one boat say it is over the shore while another will swear it is over the distant island group. Remember each one of these boats are seeing it from a different angle so their perspective puts it at a different place. If the fervor gets high enough you might want to helpfully add "I see a bunch of them all around".Now keep in mind, the first rule of cruising sailboats is - sailors like a good story. Usually the passage of time makes a story even better. My father has a few stories about me that are old enough that I actually die in end. He will straight faced tell them with me sitting in the room. Which brings me to the second rule of cruising sailboats - don't let facts or physics get in the way of a good story. Think of this as a present to the other boats - you are giving some of these cruiser one of the best stories in their lives. The best thing is everyone else on their boat will swear they saw the UFO also - because they really did. Nothing adds to an unbelievable story more than a good witness or two.

The next day you might hear other cruisers debating the UFO phenomenon. Remember you have sworn on the bible keys not to ruin the illusion. The story might even grow to include sightings of aliens or perhaps in a couple of days you might want to break out your Elvis mask and show up at the dingy dock right at dusk.

Remember this is all in good fun. Resist the temptation to make fun of other cruisers and NEVER do the trick more than one night. Let their imaginations run wild. Hopefully you will give them a story they can publish in 'Latitudes and Attitudes'.


UPDATE - UPDATE - UPDATE
December and January of 2008-2009 I was in the Abacos Bahamas. My brother was visiting and we were in a VERY dark harbor (I will not say which to protect myself and others). We were sitting out looking at the stars and enjoying the wind when he said "let's fly the UFO kite". We got the glow sticks attached and let the kite go. in this harbor our boat was toward the end of the anchorage and there was only one boat behind us (downwind). The kite was right over his mast (@100'). We called on the radio - "Anyone else see that UFO" then sat back to enjoy the night. About 5 minutes later all of the lights came on on the boat behind us. He pulled up anchor and went up in the middle of the other boats in the anchorage and dropped anchor again. I guess he thought the aliens would only get the last boat in line. I really felt bad for causing him to move. I am sure he is telling how the aliens almost got me story and amazing his audience. Remember you oath. It is just between you and I. Don't tell anyone else.

The naming of a vessel

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Grace. I thought we would get to know each other by telling you a story of how I was named. First let me introduce you to my boat slave (he calls himself by many other titles - owner, captain, la la la). Boat slave is a most fitting of titles because when he is not with me he is thinking of me and when I take him on an adventure he is truly happy, he spends most of his spare time on projects around the boat. Here he is posing with his father behind my wheel.



When he first purchased me from a very nice family he was asked for a name. Since it only took 24 hours from the time he first laid eyes on me to the time he bought me he had not given this issue a lot of thought. He had looked at other CSYs around the country and had not found any that caused his breath to catch - that is until he met me. It was love at first sight (for him - He was on a probation period with me). When he went to the closing he did not understand I am a US documented vessel and as such I require a name. His last boat was a Hunter 34 named "The Office" (how cute). When he was informed by the lady processing the paperwork he needed a name for me, he froze. I was secure back at my dock waiting for him so I was not there but I am sure he gave her his 'deer in the headlights' look and muttered "The Office". What was he thinking. Had he not seen me? Do I look like an office. I have seen the Hunter 34s out sailing and I have nothing against them, but couldn't they train him better.

I will tell you now, when I first heard the name I was not please and there was no way he was going to plaster that across my stern! I found him, I would find another if he kept up with that foolishness.

Well to make a long story short. I finally convinced him "The Office" would not work so he spent more than a millisecond thinking about another name and came up with the Grace - now that fits me. It looks good across my stern. I even have it etched in my table. When you visit me you can't help but know my name (he has it everywhere - shirts, towels, etched on cabinets, etched on the table, etc). He told me he selected the name because of the line in Amazing Grace.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...

we have already come.

T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...

and Grace will lead us home.

I was touched - the name fit like a glove. I even let him put it on my stern.

I have done a little more research and found that Grace has a special meaning in Greek mythology.

The Graces of Greek mythology are three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty. The daughters of the god Zeus and the nymph Eurynome, they were named Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Youth and Beauty). The Graces presided over banquets, dances, and all other pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals.

That is a better description of me. I have multiple different personalities - I can be strong and reliable, warm and spacious, or fun and adventurous. After the bad start my boat slave came through and chose the right name for me.

My boat slave even had a priest christen me with the new name. I even had a christening party where he had someone play Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, then several readings, and finally had his friend Emily lead everyone in singing Amazing Grace.

He is so thoughtful, he gave me three conch horns for my christening. Cruisers use these conch horns to 'blow down the sun'. It is truly beautiful to hear a harbor full of boats at sunset signaling the day is over. There is one conch horn for each of the Graces in Greek mythology. He had a gold plated for Aglaia (splendor), a silver plated one for Thalia (youth and beauty), and a funny looking long one for Euphorsyne (mirth). Both Aglaia and Thalia had a beautiful tone and at first Euphorsyne only croaked when she was blown. At the christening my boat slave's nephew Chris tried blowing Euphorsyne and the most beautiful sound came out, but my boat slave could only make her croak. I guess Euphorsyne has a name that fits as well.

After his original misstart naming me "the office" (I shutter) he has redeemed himself. My name fits.

Let this be a lesson to everyone - a name has fit your boat. Don't try naming it something that fits you and not your boat. I have seen power boats with names like Reel Men. I can't imagine living my life with that across my back end. Don't rush it, your boat will let you know the right name in its own time.