Re: Sunk Micro . . .
What a gentle reminder for us amateur boatbuilders!It was a relief to
read that no bodies were lost with the sinking......although it is
difficult for me to imagine conditions rough enough to swamp a MICRO
yet not so rough(apparently!) to trigger a few neurons in the"good
seamanship/common sense" department of the skippers' cerebral cortex
that would have seen ALL hatches secured.......in the closed position.
Admittedly,the MICRO does possess the qualities of a larger boat such
as comfort,easier motion,incredible stability and is
even self-righting.However,the prudent skipper must remain wary
despite the luxuries,of four things;1)The MICRO is still a small
boat,2)Wind and waves are still capable of overwhelming a
MICRO,3)The ballast keel of the MICRO is still made of lots of lead
and 4)The skipper is responsible for the safety of his crew/passengers
and vessel.
I recall many a fine "coffee break" spent laying underneath my
unfinished MICRO,enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and a smoke,while
gazing at that gorgeous chunk of lead all fastened up to the bottom of
the boat.All sorts of peacefull images would be conjured up,including
that warm-all-over feeling one can sometimes get just thinking about
never having to find oneself dumped into cold polluted water ever
again by some unballasted dinghy.Running parallel with that happy
thought was one that said,"I'd better never swamp her or else I'm
going to be up to my chin in shit".To ensure I never forget that last
sentence,I chose to forgo the prescribed floatation and use those
spaces for more storage.
Well,since her launching in the summer of 1993,I've had a few good
scares thrown at me by the mighty St.Lawrence River but no great
mishap and while it may be true that God looks after fools(I'm still
here,afterall!) I have yet to see it written anywhere that he must
also take care of boats,cars,planes,campfires etc ....
Where is all of this heading to? To one big wish!
That we all have enough wisdom to trust the skilled efforts of our
famous designer and his fleet of proven designs.That we all
endeavour to build our boats to the very best of our abilities.That we
have the patience and perseverance to see our building efforts through
to the end.That we at least make the time to learn and practice safe
boating skills.That our summers be filled with happy boating
adventures either alone or with those dear to us and finally,when all
hell seems to be breaking loose all around us and our thoughts become
flooded with dark scenarios,that we all have the intestinal fortitude
to say,"Would you mind awfully to close the bleeding hatch,dear!"
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,keeping up the intestinal fortitude with daily rations
of oat bran and getting the old tool box ready for spring fit out,on
the shores of the St.Lawrence...........
read that no bodies were lost with the sinking......although it is
difficult for me to imagine conditions rough enough to swamp a MICRO
yet not so rough(apparently!) to trigger a few neurons in the"good
seamanship/common sense" department of the skippers' cerebral cortex
that would have seen ALL hatches secured.......in the closed position.
Admittedly,the MICRO does possess the qualities of a larger boat such
as comfort,easier motion,incredible stability and is
even self-righting.However,the prudent skipper must remain wary
despite the luxuries,of four things;1)The MICRO is still a small
boat,2)Wind and waves are still capable of overwhelming a
MICRO,3)The ballast keel of the MICRO is still made of lots of lead
and 4)The skipper is responsible for the safety of his crew/passengers
and vessel.
I recall many a fine "coffee break" spent laying underneath my
unfinished MICRO,enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and a smoke,while
gazing at that gorgeous chunk of lead all fastened up to the bottom of
the boat.All sorts of peacefull images would be conjured up,including
that warm-all-over feeling one can sometimes get just thinking about
never having to find oneself dumped into cold polluted water ever
again by some unballasted dinghy.Running parallel with that happy
thought was one that said,"I'd better never swamp her or else I'm
going to be up to my chin in shit".To ensure I never forget that last
sentence,I chose to forgo the prescribed floatation and use those
spaces for more storage.
Well,since her launching in the summer of 1993,I've had a few good
scares thrown at me by the mighty St.Lawrence River but no great
mishap and while it may be true that God looks after fools(I'm still
here,afterall!) I have yet to see it written anywhere that he must
also take care of boats,cars,planes,campfires etc ....
Where is all of this heading to? To one big wish!
That we all have enough wisdom to trust the skilled efforts of our
famous designer and his fleet of proven designs.That we all
endeavour to build our boats to the very best of our abilities.That we
have the patience and perseverance to see our building efforts through
to the end.That we at least make the time to learn and practice safe
boating skills.That our summers be filled with happy boating
adventures either alone or with those dear to us and finally,when all
hell seems to be breaking loose all around us and our thoughts become
flooded with dark scenarios,that we all have the intestinal fortitude
to say,"Would you mind awfully to close the bleeding hatch,dear!"
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,keeping up the intestinal fortitude with daily rations
of oat bran and getting the old tool box ready for spring fit out,on
the shores of the St.Lawrence...........
--- In bolger@y..., "Samson Family" <Bill.Samson@t...> wrote:
> Chuck Leiweber wrote:
> > sold a Micro to a guy in Corpus Christi,
> >Texas. The guy promptly sank it in the Gulf of Mexico. He went
offshore
> >with the cockpit hatch open.
>
> We don't often hear about Bolger boats meeting an untimely end.
Hopefully
> the captain and crew were OK?
>
> It brings to mind the guy, about 10 or 12 years ago I suppose, who
built
> four (or was it five?) self-steering Micros and sent them off across
the
> Atlantic (west to east) - as an artistic 'happening'. I don't
remember
> hearing about whether they survived the trip.
>
> Any of the old farts come across this event?
>
> Bill Samson
Yes, I too am hoping that some enlightened Micro sailor would
address this issue prior to my own sinking in Nantucket sound takes
place.
Progress is steady and slow on the Micro Firefly. I guess a little
more time will be spent on hatches that close real tight!
David Jost
address this issue prior to my own sinking in Nantucket sound takes
place.
Progress is steady and slow on the Micro Firefly. I guess a little
more time will be spent on hatches that close real tight!
David Jost
I thought the boat went to Bill Derby in Ft. Worth? He used to participate
on the Chris Noto list, then he ran a list for a while, called 'Woodboats' I
think.
Where was I when he sank it? That seems like it would have been great fodder
for discussion. Did it actually go to the bottom? I always figured a Micro
would be at least neutrally buoyant even without additional flotation.
Inquiring minds want to know!
JB
on the Chris Noto list, then he ran a list for a while, called 'Woodboats' I
think.
Where was I when he sank it? That seems like it would have been great fodder
for discussion. Did it actually go to the bottom? I always figured a Micro
would be at least neutrally buoyant even without additional flotation.
Inquiring minds want to know!
JB
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Leinweber" <chuck@...>
To: <bolger@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: [bolger] Sunk Micro . . .
|
| > We don't often hear about Bolger boats meeting an untimely end.
Hopefully
| > the captain and crew were OK?
| >
| > Bill Samson
| >
| Apparently the captain and three passengers were Ok.
|
| Chuck
|
|
|
| Bolger rules!!!
| - no cursing, flaming, trolling, or spamming
| - no flogging dead horses
| - add something: take "thanks!" and "ditto!" posts off-list.
| - stay on topic and punctuate
| - add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts
| - To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
|
|
| Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
|
> We don't often hear about Bolger boats meeting an untimely end. HopefullyApparently the captain and three passengers were Ok.
> the captain and crew were OK?
>
> Bill Samson
>
Chuck
Chuck Leiweber wrote:
the captain and crew were OK?
It brings to mind the guy, about 10 or 12 years ago I suppose, who built
four (or was it five?) self-steering Micros and sent them off across the
Atlantic (west to east) - as an artistic 'happening'. I don't remember
hearing about whether they survived the trip.
Any of the old farts come across this event?
Bill Samson
> sold a Micro to a guy in Corpus Christi,We don't often hear about Bolger boats meeting an untimely end. Hopefully
>Texas. The guy promptly sank it in the Gulf of Mexico. He went offshore
>with the cockpit hatch open.
the captain and crew were OK?
It brings to mind the guy, about 10 or 12 years ago I suppose, who built
four (or was it five?) self-steering Micros and sent them off across the
Atlantic (west to east) - as an artistic 'happening'. I don't remember
hearing about whether they survived the trip.
Any of the old farts come across this event?
Bill Samson