Finding Treasure and the feel of greed

Its early morning with the tide out as I walk along a dark, black/grey, sandy beach. The sea is almost calm but the slight swell undulates the waters edge in a way that reminds me of the way women run their fingers through their hair, going in and then out ever so slowly. 

This vision, along with the crowing of roosters and the never ending pulsating movement of the shoreline, enhances the early morning coolness of this secret beach. You see Iam not here today to just enjoy my surroundings, Iam here to look for and collect treasure.

Lots of it.

I have been sailing the worlds oceans since I was a kid, having grown up on a sailboat from the 60s to today. During this time period of cruising about the Pacific and Atlantics waters I have had the good fortune to have had a good vessel to carry me and my crew to many great and wonderful beaches with shore lines where treasure could be found. To be a successful treasure hunter you need a good like minded crew, and a boat that can carry your loot back home.

I found my first real piece of treasure at the age of 3 in 1960 on the beach in Mission Bay in San Diego, California. It was a dead crab Skelton. Since that first find I have been an inveterent beach comber, Treasure Hunter. Growing up on a sailboat sailing off to distant islands and countrys brought me to many fantastic beaches, shorelines, hidden coves, shallow reefs with myriad pieces of beach finds to be had.

I have nurtured and refined this passion for found objects into an art form by literally turning beach finds into art that I create. Over the years my crew and I have sailed thousands of miles across oceans collecting, shorting and stowing our finds with it all eventually ending up at our home base in the Bahamas where we use it in decorating our house and property or turning it into art that we sell to finace future voyages. At least 15 tons to date have been collected from the shorelines, stowed aboard and then maybe a year or two later when we return from a sailing cruise it is unloaded to await the next leg in its life.

This morning, bent over walking along zig zagging between the low tide line and last nights upper reaches of the waters edge, finds me picking up jewels. They are everywhere. Its like Montazuma, King Soloman, and Drake used to vacation here and they just dumped their treasures on the shoreline.

I have not discovered treasure like this in a long time. My pulse is flowing as I pick up each piece that has been tossing about for untold years being polished and formed into its unique shape and color.

In no time I have collected a bucket full of centurys old sea glass that used to be glass bottles that held wine, rum, perfumes, medicine, and poison. The really black pieces are the oldest, maybe 180 plus years. The blues, ambers, light pinks, greys, greens and reds all tell a story from the past. I pour the bucket into our dinghy carefully and go back for more.

The day before found Rachel, my wife, and I along with cruising friends Tim and Gayle Evans of the ketch Wild Bird were playing with our dogs along this stretch of beach. I was collecting very old bricks that had been rolling back and forth in the surf line, slowly caressed and at times pummelled into an oval rounded smooth shape by the never ending relentless surf. These bricks find their way to the ocean by way of hurricanes, old battles and simply just being thrown into the sea. I like the human connection of the sea bricks. These I would carry back home to be used in concrete foot paths in our home base in the Bahamas. I have collected beach stones throughout the North Atlantic basin from beaches and shorelines from where all the great explorers have come and gone from as they went about their lives. On one Atlantic trip we returned to our place with over a ton of these stones we found and collected from the islands of the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries, Cape Verdes, through the West Indies and back to the Bahamas. We built our small place in the Bahamas to be our base to offload all our beach finds. A place to stow, exhibit, and use our treasures. We call our land base "Tight Spot" as it has water on three sides. The land our two houses are built on is 152 long and 31 wide. We think of it as our land Yacht with the west side, that is the Starboard side, being tied to our neighbours lands. From a life time of beach combing and collecting we can say we have a piece of most all islands in the Caribbean and Atlantic waters at our place. "yeah , St. Barts over there,  granite stones from Denmark over there" and so on.

As the four of us walked along the beach I started finding bits of sea glass, then lots of it. I had never seen so much such thick beautifully sculpted pieces. We all started picking them up off the sand. Later that evening Tim came over to our sailboat with his iPhone and Internet access to show us that the totally black pieces we had found were very rare and old. We also could see all the web sites for selling sea glass and jewelry made from and with sea glass for sale. Some raw pieces were for sale on eBay for twenty dollars. Nice jewelry was selling in the hundreds. It was getting dark. I planned on being on the beach early. That night I had visions as I dreamed of making a huge seaglass chandelier for our small house, seaglass stepping stones, jewelry, necklases, and to get as much as I could I would use a huge barge with a JCB backhoe to dig up the entire beach. Oh the treasure to be found. So much loot just lay there waiting all these years to be had. This was the first time in my life I felt greed creeping into my soul. 

Over the next several days the four of us collected seaglass. Tim and Gayle had caught the fever too.

But not like me. I kept finding myself looking down as I walked everywhere, looking for a really perfect piece. I swam with a snorkel and mask along the shoreline in the gentle surf picking the pieces out of the shifting sands, beach pebbles, and stones like brightly painted Easter eggs off the grass. It was so easy and so much fun. I could not stop. How much did I really need? I wanted it all.

I looked online  to research seaglass. So much information! What all the seaglass people were promoting was that Daimonds are made by nature and then crafted by man, but seaglass is made by man and then crafted by nature. Excellent marketing. Quickly I came to realize that to sell seaglass I would have to be a very creative  jeweler, and make some very unique pieces of art to make money. This I will do. 

I have happily gotten over my greed. But not totally. I want to go back and anchor at this beach again for a few more days collecting as you never know what might come rolling out of the surf. Plus this place is so good the four of us have taken an oath not to share its location. But if you see the Hogfish Maximuis anchored close to a beautiful beach and Iam ashore hunched over walking slowly with a bucket in my hand then go get yours and we can compare finds at dusk.

A jewel sits waiting to be found

Walking the beach looking

Treasures in between the stones

The first haul of loot

Diving up more loot

A days treasure hunting finds

All Mine!!!!

Bottle bottoms, stoppers and nice big thick seaglass

So many colours in Rachels sample

Another pile, the blue chunks turn dark green when put to the light

In seaglass lingo they call the outer worn surface " frosting"

Where do I store my treasure till I get home? In modern day sea plastic 

Found on the beach of course

Rocks drying off before storing in Madiera

A nice haul of beach finds from about the Atlantic islands

Our place "Tight Spot" today

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Fire in the hole

The minute I opened the door leading from the  back deck in to the salon, the faint smell of oil got my attention. After having spent the last 30 years earning my living owning and operating heavy equipment, one has to put trusts in what our various senses are telling us. Odors such as the faint smell of coolant as its vaporized while running down a hot engine block, the smell fuel makes as it comes in to contact with hot exhaust, the smell of brakes getting hot and making its way into a cab after motoring down a long grade. Most times, the odors of  machinery tells the story long before the gauge registers a problem...stop and investigate. On this particular day, I was coming in to the boat after topping of the power steering reservoir the  previous night.  Not having tightend one of the lines that passed through a bulkhead fitting allowed 3.5 gallons of oil to drain in to the bilge over night, and the odor I noticed as I entered the boat alerted me to a problem. 

Having the exhaust finally fitted and landed took a few days as I sourced parts. The biggest slow down on the exhaust was deciding on what material to use as a liner within the exhaust stack, then getting that material to the boat. Self adhesive, high performance heat shield was what I chose to use, and for the most part Im happy with the product. I can for sure say that it sticks like crazy and theres no second  chance regarding alignment.  Besides deflecting radiant heat, this product will help with harmonic noise bouncing around the exhaust stack. I only lined the exhaust side of the stack, but I have plans to also line the intake side of the stack.

On my last post I had mentioned making some righteous exhaust hanger brackets. I dont think well be calling theses righteous, but they do the job of securing the horizontal exhaust pipe simply and robustly. I didnt know if the hanger would transfer dangerous heat to the ceiling, so I bored a couple of one inch holes in the hangers to  help cool them. Little things sometimes make a big difference. 

With the exhaust hung and secure, the next item was to commission the steering system, and give myself something to write about for my first paragraph regarding the oil leak. The steering system is powered by a gear that runs off the engine cam shaft, and is identical to what one would find on a heavy duty truck or road tractor. Since all the steering plumbing had been installed two years ago, getting it ready to go only involved installing the rudder, filling the reservoir with oil, and installing the steering wheel. The rudder bolts are going to get another look from me as the nuts are not the correct type. I had planned on using nylock nuts, but my bolts are too short for that, and if I go the nylock route, Ill have to order new bolts. Gregg, at Washington Marine suggested keeping the same bolts but tack welding the nuts and bolts to the flange. Tack welding might be the way to go as I dont think over kill is a bad thing when making sure ones rudder is secure.  

With the steering system full, crank case oil full, coolant full, and gear box oil full, it was time to fire the engine.  Moving two valves on the fuel delivery lines, and throwing a toggle switch, placed my back yard boat builder designed fuel lift pump system in service, and fuel was soon flowing in to the filters. With fuel flowing out the primary and secondary filter bleed valve, I quickly cracked the fuel line at the injector pump and fuel was soon flowing out that fitting. After closing the line at the injection pump, the little lift pump started to load up as it was beginning to dead head from hitting the injection pump. The sound of the lift pump dead heading told me the fuel system was full, as the little lift pump did not have enough ass to push fuel through the injection pump. Past experience has taught me to go ahead and crack the six injectors on the head and begin cranking the engine. With the engine cranking, I closed two injectors, and she began to fire. Closing the next injector caused the engine to run without the starter, and with the closing of the last three, she was sounding sweet. Having the external lift pump to help bleed the system turned bleeding the fuel system job into a quick, and easy, two minute job. 

After watching the engine run for a few minutes, and checking for leaks, I moved up to the helm to see if the steering system was operating. Engine powered steering is awesome. As soon as I began to move the wheel, I could instantly tell it was  working. I cranked the wheel over three and a half times, and I felt the rudder slam in to the external rudder stops. Another three and a half turns the other way, and  the rudder slam into the other stop. Now I have to find some rubber  or a pad of sorts for the corner of the rudder, as the force of the rudder hitting the stop is taking off paint.  Ill go ahead and say this again for all that did not hear... 3.5 turns of the wheel hard over to hard over.... awesome.

All the insulating and sound abatement Ive been doing during the build seems to have paid off. With the engine running at a healthy 1700 rpm, one can easily carry on and hear a soft conversation in the wheel house. Id like to get a decibel meter to see just how loud the engine is. With the engine at a  high idle, the loudest part about the engine is the rattle of the exhaust rain cap flapping.

The punch out list is growing by the day, and a lot of the list can be done when I start doing sea trial. I ordered bottom paint from the boat yard today, and if the weather cuts us some slack, I should have the bottom painted by this time next week. I also ordered control cables from the boat yard, so if push came to shove, I could drop her in the water within the next two weeks.

Cheers

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And now back to the trailer

Remember the trailer? This one, the one that almost killed us?

We left the shantyboat hull pretty complete. Now that the boat is ready to be flipped, we turn our attention back to the trailer.

It is really a rusty, janky old thing. Ive owned it for fifteen years or so, or sorta owned it since I bought it with Sean for our Burning Man theme camp, the Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet. Its been stolen and recovered, broken and repaired on the road. We used to haul that thing back and forth loaded to the gills over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, taking our lives into our own hands. Then we realized that if we stored it in the desert, we could save wear and tear on our mortality. So there it stayed for about ten years.

When the camp realized it could buy a shipping container and have it dropped off at their campsite every year without the hassle of dealing with That Trailer, the poor thing got abandoned for a few years out in the Nevada wilds. You remember that I drove out to the desert with Alex to rescue our friend the trailer, a trip with nearly fatal results.

So here it is, a 20 foot flatbed, maybe suited to my shantyboat, maybe not, needing suspension work, a coat of paint, deck repair, and maybe some repair welds.

The first thing I did was fire up my cutting torch and cut off the weird distinctive triangle things, and ground down the cuts. I always assumed they were there as a token gesture to structural reinforcement.

I replaced all the deck bolts that had rusted through, grinding off and replacing any that had loosened. The deck needed about 50 new bolts. This alone made the deck much more stable.

I gave all the metal on the entire trailer, top and bottom, a new coat of Rust-Oleum. I had to get suited up to prevent myself from being painted too thoroughly, climbing under the trailer and applying paint overhead.

It looked pretty good when I was done. Though crawling around under the trailer, I saw several places where the metal was cracked, principally around the lateral beam that joined the two pairs of leaf springs on either side.

For a while, Id been sweating how to make the skids that would hold up the boat. I considered using recycled railroad ties since I could get them for free at the local trainyard, but their height and condition were too inconsistent. Eventually I got a ridiculous deal from a friend at the local lumberyard who found me some 6x6 treated lumber seconds that had a barely perceptible twist or were split a bit at one end.

I positioned the skids so one set would lie just inside of the skegs, and the other set so they lay at the outside edge of the trailer, as far out as could be secured. I figured this would support the boat along the stringers as well as give it side-to-side stability, something I thought would be extra important as we were trucking down the highway.

I drilled bolt holes through the skids and into the support brackets under the trailer.

I put big long 8 inch carriage bolts through the skids. For extra measure, I painted the bottom and tops of the carriage bolts. Lawrence joined me for a bit and serenaded me with excellent banjo tunes.

To prevent the skids from damaging the surface of the hull, I chamfered the sharp edges of the skids with my skill saw.

I cut the ends of each skid at an angle to guide the skegs while the boat was being trailered. Though honestly, I dont think the skegs at the back of the boat will be anywhere near the skids, since that end of the trailer will be deep under water and the back of the boat high above it during a boat launch or trailering. But it seemed like a good idea.

Then I covered the skids with indoor/outdoor low-pile carpet, stapling and using roofing nails at the edges.

The result was surprisingly legit looking.

Then Jen and I sat on the trailer and had a beer.  Something about this trailer makes you want to sit on it and have a drink.  Whats that about?

Next, the superhero of heavy duty welding flies the trailer high into the sky and melts it with his heat ray vision!

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Shantyboat on the Mississippi

In July, we are bringing the shantyboat across country to launch in the Mississippi River on an art and history expedition:

Thanks to espressobuzz for the historic photo

A journey to rediscover the lost narratives of river people, river communities, and the river itself. 

Secret History is an anthro-historical artists journey through the history of a river. It weaves together threads of adventure, history, art, and story. 

We take to the river, Those forgotten waterways that flow through most towns, hidden behind levees, shoved underground or behind the seediest neighborhood.

Just a few generations ago, there were whole communities of people living right on the river in shantyboats. And people living in the bottomlands that flood every spring. Now mostly all gone.

We are fundraising right now to help make the project happen. There is also a beautiful video we produced to give you a lyrical flavor of the project.

Support A Secret History of American River People Kickstarter

The Kickstarter campaign is critical for launching the Secret History expedition. It will help pay for final outfitting of the shantyboat and transporting it across country. It will make sure we have decent audio-video equipment to record our interviews in the river communities we visit.

Thanks for helping support the project.

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Celebrating Belle Starr On the Water

At the end of a very productive week, we find the sloop-rigged cutter Belle Starr in the water for the first time in many years.

Belle Starr, as you know, is a Stone Horse, built in wood, as originally designed by Sam Crocker. This classic was designed in 1931. Less than forty were built before production was interrupted by WWII. Some of the original wood models are still sailing.
An additional 150 fiberglass Stone Horse models were built by Edey and Duff between 1969 and the early 1990s.

The defining feature of the Stone Horse 23 is her raised, flush foredeck and integral coamings. Twenty three feet on deck, the overall length of the Stone Horse is 28’-3” with a bowsprit and boomkin. The hull has a full keel with hard-chined sections and a transom-hung rudder.

After a year and a half in the shop, Belle Starr touched water this week at family-owned Zittles Marina, outside Olympia, Washington. The launch was flawless, stepping the mast went smoothly and the boat sat pretty on her lines. Its fair to say, this deserves a celebration.

With an enormous amount of help from friends and the professionals at Zittles, this project has reached a milestone. My very good friends, Doug Follet of Olympia, his brother Steve, from Vermont, and Dougs son, Ian, of Seattle, all chipped in to make two days of rigging and outfitting go smoothly. My heart-felt thanks to these generous men!



Launch Day for Belle Starr from doryman on Vimeo.

The four of us took the cutter out for a trial sail and wouldnt you know, a calm day of 3-4 knot breezes suddenly built to 15 knots. We turned around and headed back but there was enough time to see what could be done to finish the rigging.




test sail from doryman on Vimeo.

Belle Starr behaved like a thoroughbred. Look for updates, right here, in the days and weeks to come. She is bound for adventure...

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Boat of the week 7

The Weymouth Ferry.

I wish I had a video of the ferryman ferrygliding this boat across the harbour. Effortless.
The design looks as if it was conceived before health and safety regulations forced the ferryman to overload the boat with life rings. Theres a very neat inner transom that snugly accommodates one ring. The others compete for space with paying passengers.

These boats earn their keep. Whilst they might just be a small extravagance (50p) for the grockles (South Coast for tourist) they also save a walk around the harbour. In the five minutes I watched £5 of trade went across the harbour. Not bad going.
There was only one running when I was there last week. I dont know if they all work in peak season.

Theyre wonderfully utilitarian. Have a look at the square section blue-painted seat posts. No fancy turned pillars here.

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Kees Prins and the Loon Design

Our friend Kees is at it again. He is a prolific boat builder and designer and a genius in my book. The modified Ed Davis Surf Dory, Sparrow, that graces the header of this weblog is one of his creations.

Another fine cruising dinghy he designed and built is the Townsend Tern, belonging to Chelcie and Kathy Liu of Port Townsend. He was instrumental in building the first Welsford Scamp and perhaps is best known today for his adaptation of an Iain Oughtred Fulmar dinghy  into the micro-cruiser Fetch.

This winter, while instructing boatbuilding at the Great Lakes Boat Building School, located in the Les Cheneaux Islands of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Kees has been working on his own design for a double-ended mini-cruiser called the Loon. What better occupation in a land where winter night is longer than the day? The UP is one of the rare places in the contiguous United States where its common to see the Aurora Borealis on a clear winter night. A frozen winter wonderland, not fit for man nor beast, but thats just one opinion...

The Loon is still in design stages and you are witness to the genius of the man behind her conception. If you study the drawings and models posted here, it will become readily apparent what I mean. You all know how much Doryman loves a double-ended sea vessel. One day he might be compelled to build a Loon, because she might be just the most perfectly conceived small trailerable cruiser available today.

Congratulations, Kees on a job well done! We look forward to the completed plans.
Anyone interested in developed plans for Loon should contact me soon.  Ill be sure Kees hears about it.

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