[Newfie]

SJ,

You are such a Luddite, don't you know steel is the only way to go?

Mast down, getting ready to blast and paint hull next week.

[SeaGypsy]

To use a boating metaphor Newfie- one I know you can relate to: In mild climes, all boats will do the job. If you have the climate and the time to wait around for favorable winds and weather- you go for a fast light spacious bridgedeck catamaran which blends performance and comfort. When you don't have the nice climate, the close call ports, time to wait- you go for one of only 2 options- a super sturdy deepwater boat with serious weather capability and a keel, or a very light flexible unbreakable unsinkable design (Think Brent Swain Origami steel or Inuit Canoe). In either case, you don't ever rely on the high tech extras to save your skin in an emergency- they are extras- no where near as important as the actual primary vessel- the design of which has changed very little in many decades and in some cases much much longer. Sometimes, the high tech stuff does save lives. Most times it's when someone was sailing in an inherently risky vessel, in an area with state of the art rescue services. Meanwhile a well maintained yacht can last a lifetime of crossing oceans without ever actually requiring any of the really high tech gear. Of course at present the vast majority sit in port collecting weeds- high tech or otherwise.

[SeaGypsy]

Then if we have not changed in the few thousand years before the number of space colonies exceeds the carrying capacity of this our first solar system, we expand into the galaxy, and after that, other galaxies.

Would you please STFU already with your space tripe man- Tanada even started you your own special thread!

space-otsf-what-if-there-is-no-happy-ending-an-ecologist-s-pov-t68739.html

[KaiserJeep]

I happen to think that talking about boats in this the Luddite vs Technologists thread is also off topic.

But I'm certainly not going to be rude about it.

Good-bye.

[SeaGypsy]

Some people are just incapable of perceiving sub-text. (Even when it's damn obvious really). Tanada has set up a few splits, for good reason. One of them is so not every thread turns into a debate about the merits or otherwise of endeavoring to become space aliens. There is now a special thread for that. Yippeee! Now please can we have a proper conversation here?

[Newfie]

Let us hope.

[Newfie]

But, back on topic....hopefully....

Polynesians made fantastic voyages without all our fancy tech.

The difference is in the Captain and crew.

My point being that, I think the argument should not be about the technology, but the quality of the Captain and crew....in short, Humanities ability.

I suppose we could start yet another thread to dupisvuss whether humanity is evolving, or devolving.

[careinke]

But, back on topic....hopefully....

Polynesians made fantastic voyages without all our fancy tech.

They navigated by song, waves, and believe it or not, sticking your testicles in the water to check on the temperature changes. Probably not the best job in the colder areas.

[SeaGypsy]

We have plenty of Great White Sharks down here and about a million bodies for them to choose from every warm day of the year- most with zero between them and those big jaws- yet we are about 100 times more likely to be murdered by a human we have never met before and 1000 times more likely to be killed a a family member and 5000 times more likely to be killed by a car.

[Newfie]

This thread ain't drifting, it's sailing away!

[Newfie]

Gee, I feel like I'm Pirates of the Caribbean, part 3, where he wakes up someplace else.

Here we are in a whole new thread.

[PrestonSturges]

Is it just my imagination, or does nearly every large anchorage have a big trimaran with no mast or rigging that seems to be some sort of floating hobo shack? What's the story there?

[Newfie]

I think you have pretty well nailed it. It is a problem and when communities try to deal with it they frequently make things bad for legit folks also.

Living on some derelict boat, or dimply abandoning a boat is far too common. It can be a cheap way to live avoiding taxes, etc. dock fees for our big boat are about $500/ mo. That includes water, electricity and pump out.

Others anchor out and pay less.

Still others are struck by the allure of boat life are unable to do it and simply abandon the boat.

Sorta a floating Detroit abandoned house.

This whole boat discussion got started as a way to describe some ideas about technology and how it is applied. I don't know that there is interest in a boat thread, although I wouldn't mind participating any way I can.

Elsewhere when bug out boat threads came up I found that most folks could not wrap their head around the idea of using a boat as a TEMPORARY safe haven, or as a way to get to a safe haven. It's pretty darn hard to imagine a life with no land base. But in a limited context boats can provide excellent shelter and a way to get somewhere safe.

Modern boats are very reliant on modern technology, thus they have a certain life span.

Unfortunately it will not be easy to go back to the old ways, the skills and even materials are no longer available. Modern sails and ropes are products of the oil age. Old time materials won't drive new boats efficiently. Besides who here has even a clue of what a "rope walk" is?

[SeaGypsy]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nrI ... IJrc/edit#

Copy of Orlov's 'The New Age of Sail'

It does seem Newfie, we are in a tiny minority who can see the massive advantages here. Not that this is necessarily at all a bad thing IMO

[Newfie]

New book out

Nautical Prepper

William Simpson

[SeaGypsy]

http://www.bambooboat.org/#!the-project

I was involved with this for a while recently, but the people involved in France are too busy worrying about what their rich sponsors think and won't listen to the person who started the idea- ME.

(This is an area where I believe strongly in 'open source' information sharing. These people are trying to get some kind of exclusivity going and make a lot of money. I don't give a hoot about their fake propriety as the main technology is hardly at all different to what is common in many bamboo flooring manufacturer's set ups.)

[SeaGypsy]

(check your PM's Newfie )

Just found this snippet from 'Nautical Prepper'- looks like we have found another kindred spirit Newfie:

Capt. William E Simpson – The Nautical Prepper


Ahoy Fellow Preppers!

What is the number one priority of Prepping? Sometimes when I am reading blogs or posts on Twitter I am a bit confused by what a few people are writing, which others are reading and taking to heart.

From my chair, the number-one objective has always been about maximizing the odds of surviving any disaster; as in ‘staying alive’. So I find myself asking the question; if surviving is truly the number-one goal and priority, why do so many Preppers adopt paradigms and tactics that actually lower their chances of survival long term?

It seems that some Preppers are possibly unknowingly lowering their odds for actual post-disaster long-term survival!

Preppers lower their odds for survival in several ways:

1. They are not making a candid assessment of their own abilities; financially, mentally and physically, and adopt the wrong survival strategy (paradigm). None of us are ‘John J. Rambo’. So his strategy is not your strategy.

2. Some Preppers are buying supplies and equipment without having any first-hand experience with those products and equipment…over time. And even worse yet, buying supplies and equipment supporting a survival paradigm that limits their odds for surviving. In real survival situations, time grinds away at you and all your preps. It’s amazing what happens over many months/years, as opposed to a few weeks.

3. Methods and strategies; some Preppers are accumulating their information from unknown third parties (no-name Bloggers without any actual verifiable experience or credentials). For all anyone knows, some of these Survival-Prepper Bloggers might not have even been as much as a Cub Scout, let alone a ‘survival expert‘. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that some of these Bloggers regurgitate what they have read as if it was their own. Still others just aggregate information leaving you on your own to try to determine what’s chaff and what’s wheat. And that’s certainly fair, but figuring out what’s – what is not an easy mission.

And all of that leading many Preppers to adopt survival strategies that require the planned utilization (and costs) of guns as a result of defects in the selected survival paradigm itself. As any experienced soldier will tell you; planning to engage other armed combatants, for any reason, is not the way to enhance your life expectancy.

I want to make my personal position crystal-clear; I have the utmost respect, admiration and appreciation for our military men and women (my son-in-law, is a U.S. Marine Corps sniper and one of my personal heroes). I am also an unyielding advocate of the Constitution and all of the unalienable rights granted to U.S. Citizens therein.

My Two Rules For Preppers {;-)

*Rule One: Don’t Get Dead! (your preps are useless)

*Rule Two: Don’t engage in any activity that will result in the violation of Rule One.

If Preppers adopt any strategy that requires planning on conflict, then there is already a defect in the plan. Engaging in combat for any reason places Preppers at risk for serious casualties. The strategy that eliminates or minimizes serious risks such as combat is the superior survival strategy, period.

I have experience, but I don’t have all the answers. With regard to Nautical Prepping, I have proven my thesis in the field over a period of years. I don’t hide behind an avatar and I do have (and provide) verifiable experience and credentials demonstrating my basic proficiencies. SEE: http://williamesimpson.com/bio

That said, I am hoping that through my website, articles and books, I can share some hard earned knowledge with interested Preppers looking for solid survival solutions and advice that is based upon real field experience and success.

Expedition Sailors prepare and then travel to distant and remote locations and live totally off the grid at sea and at remote locations for weeks and months at a time as a matter of the ‘normal’ course of operations. The objective is not to displace or defeat an enemy of the State, but to safely survive long-term, usually with some comfort. The knowledge gained from that experience is unprecedented in any other life experience or profession. It’s like doing something everyday for a living; you just get good at it. And with the right guidance, anyone can become proficient in these skills.

There are many lessons from the sea and expedition sailing that have relevant applications to terrestrial Prepping. As one of many examples to be made; most Preppers have never had to make drinking water using using a water-maker, or deal with water collection and purification systems that operate using solar and wind power. Some of the survival and life support systems and equipment being marketed and sold to Preppers have no long-term track records with regard to endurance and performance. In offshore and expedition sailing, even some of the equipment marketed there, which is quite expensive, fails far too soon, leaving some poor sailor in a real pickle. In a real disaster, where your life depends on the equipment’s performance and endurance, it’s important to know how to separate quality from junk. But how do you do that? Well, I learned by installing, servicing and using all kinds of equipment and systems long-term at sea and in remote wilderness locations, as well as by seeing (and repairing) the failed equipment of other expedition sailors. Over decades of field operations, I gained experience in equipment failure analysis, and as a result I can make recommendations for equipment that I know will last.

Most expedition boats and ships use many of the same systems, methodologies and equipment that most Preppers will require in a disaster or long-term post-disaster scenarios. Solar Panels, wind generators, deep-cycle batteries, water production and filtration systems, water pressure systems, lighting systems, air ventilation systems, sanitation systems, food storage and preservation systems, food provisioning, food collection (harvesting sea foods, hunting & fishing), long-range and short-range communications and navigation systems, personal hygiene, medical supplies and first-aid that works, morale, sleeping accommodations, clothing, surveillance and counter surveillance systems, defensive systems and so forth. As a ship’s captain, operating for many years in remote areas and at remote islands, I have dealt with these, and many other issues on a daily basis and over the 20+ year span of my career.

One of my goals using this website, and especially my books, will be to get into details and real-life uses and examples of equipment, systems, methods and strategies that work. I will also do periodic product, strategy and equipment reviews as new ideas come to light, offering my opinions, and those reviews will be available on this website.

Currently, FEMA recommends 3 days worth of food and water (“72-hour kit”) as part of their disaster recommendations at their website: http://www.ready.gov/basic-disaster-supplies-kit

Given what we have seen recently with Hurricane Sandy and with Katrina in 2005, that recommendation is highly uninformed, and was clearly written by someone who had no genuine actual experience. Do you think that if we were to ask any one of the millions people who were without electricity and water during Sandy for weeks, that they would agree with that FEMA recommendation? Of course not! Experience from the most recent disasters clearly shows that emergency supplies should be equal to several weeks as a minimum (I personally recommend several months worth of emergency supplies).

That’s what I am talking about here; it’s all about knowledge based on relevant real-world experience.

Fair Winds & Seas! Capt. Bill

Capt. William E. Simpson – USMM