Coastie04

Yet the quote is "be never covered at home, especially before thy parents or strangers." Even in one's own home, it seems a bit strange to say that it's good manners to hang out in undergarments when your parents or strangers come for a visit. That led me to believe that there was some sort of 'proper' time to be uncovered, which would make sense for a hat (or, possibly a wig, overcoat, etc.). It doesn't really seem socially acceptable to entertain strangers in clothing that isn't proper (even if incomplete to some extent), whether at home or elsewhere.

Though this is only conjecture, I'd guess maybe wearing a hat is being 'covered' in this context. In the military even today, they often call the various uniform hats 'covers' and it is proper when indoors to take the hat off (unless on duty). So my guess would be that it's essentially telling people not to wear their hats in their home. Of course, for this time period it might even be extended to mean a wig, which could show off social status, so there may be further 'good manners' shown by taking it off. I'll reiterate that this is just conjecture and I have no sources to back it up.

Is that just a pirate's way of laundering money? I can imagine: "No judge, I didn't acquire that money by piracy; my shipmates did and then I won it from them fair and square."

Well, I've got a handy little cutter that's not for sale (but I could be persuaded at the right price).

And they do it so well.

Okay, I amend my comment. I was seeing double listings in the 'recent postings' section. I don't see them now, so hopefully it's fixed? Also, as for me the emoticons are rendering just fine (though if I remember correctly, didn't we have some pirate ones once upon a time?). Also I agree with Mission in general that possibly trimming down the excess categorization for the current amount of traffic would be beneficial. I don't know if you can have sub-sections and refile the less-used forums under 'archived material' or some such thing.

The only issue I see right now (in the basic format) is that some of the posts are double posted when I check 'recent posts'. Oh, and we don't have nearly the number of new, relevant posts as we did in the 'golden age of the pyracy pub'

Or another variation on the same theme:

You could even rig it somewhat like a ship would be. Below are a couple of (granted, somewhat poor pictures) of the USCGA's main flagpole. A few deadeyes and multiple shrouds staked into the ground on each side would definitely add to the nautical feel. Then you could also add a yard and/or gaff in the future if you want to fly additional flags, possibly signifying when grub is up or preparing for an engagement of some nature. Heck, maybe even having a flag to call the crew back for cleanup duties. In this one you can see the 'topmast' look just below the yard. Obviously, you would need a MUCH smaller version, but a few heavy duty stakes for the shrouds would probably hold it up fairly well, possibly with a small 'boot' attached to a planked deck on the base of the pole. Add a fife rail for the haliards with belaying pins, and you've got yourself a masterpiece.

Well, spring is always a busy season for boats. Mine stays in the water (salt, so it rarely freezes, and only surface freezing at most) year round, but luckily we've been blessed with a short and mild winter (cross fingers). So two weekends ago I took off the winter cover, last weekend I put the second battery back on board and started up the engine to make sure there weren't any problems there (there weren't once I remembered to open the fuel cocks...duh!), and took another load of the lumber and PVC that I built the winter cover with back home for summer storage (requires multiple trips with a Corolla). This weekend I'll be putting her on the grid ('fancy' careening that's much cheaper than using the boat lift) to change zincs, clean the hull and give the ablative bottom paint another coat. Then I'll finally be able to get the sails back on board just in time to start training for my summer job and hopefully go sailing as much as possible this summer. Additionally, I need to get some shrimp netting to tie to the lifelines so I can make the boat more kid friendly and hopefully get out even more this summer. And this is just for a good old fiberglass boat. There's a wishlist of projects a mile long, such as touching up the topside paint, getting the shore power checked out since it hasn't been used in a decade or so and would help with maintenance and mildew prevention, scrubbing and disinfecting pretty much the whole boat, an engine rebuild at some point in the future (a 40 year old saltwater engine is bound to need one eventually, but she's still going as strong as a 20hp diesel can), replacing the dickenson diesel stove with a propane stove and etiher a smaller diesel heater or even a propane heater since it's more conducive for the gunkhole sailing I tend to do these days. The list goes on...as time and money permits! Stay strong and remember to have a cold beverage of choice after a long day of work!

At least you still have the humors for boat maintenance. May you always keep them! Eventually, you'll probably either get frustrated and want to get out, or you'll find that you actually like the methodical nature of simply messing about with the boat.

Have you come up with a calendar yet for each day of the year? I'd happily buy such a novelty!

Congrats!

Ed, thank you for that revealing insight to English/British/Great Britain/UK political history. And thank you for not going all the way back to Roman times, though I would probably be interested I doubt I'd have the time for a full read (or I'd have done research myself-impossible with the snot nosed ship's boys I've got running around the house).

A question about the Britain vs. England, Scotland, etc. Is it at all like the individual states in the U.S. vs. federal government? Granted, it seems like the states are losing more and more power to the federal government these days, but they once were nearly autonomous 'countries'. I may be (and probably am) missing something with this.

As for steering, most smaller and medium sized ships would probably have been steered by a tiller. The larger ones may have utilized a whipstaff, much like a modern tiller extension on some racing sailboats, but directed vertically which allowed the tiller to be controlled from the deck above. The ship's wheel as we know it was not around until the early 18th Century. For the tiller, it is possible that for a larger vessel without a whipstaff, they may have also had a relieving tackle set up to assist. Whipstaff setup: Relieving tackle setup (note- it appears that the end of this tiller is attached to a whipstaff as well, so the relieving tackle is likely backup in case the whipstaff is not functioning): Another relieving tackle on weather deck:

Cheers!

My cutlass has a rounded tip on the end, much like you propose. I know it's not a period proper sword (closer to an 1860's cutlass than anything in the pirate period), but it was before I had the means to afford anything of real quality and before I was as enthusiastic with historically proper gear. I don't have a picture of it handy, but this pirated from the internet (I believe it is civil war era) shows a scabbard tip similar to mine, though mine is more of a ball shape instead of this more bell shaped one. Additionally, if you have the time, something like this could probably be homemade (again, this is a CW era cutlass, but I'd imagine the riveted leather scabbard could be applied to a period cutlass and look better than what usually comes with them). A little closer to period might be this 1822 pattern British infantry sword with a 'flourish' on the end instead of just a ball. The website notes that it depicts both an all metal scabbard and a metal/leather one and variations of leather/metal were often used.

Sometimes bottom paint (ablative) is designed to wear away and often can do so if you were hitting it with a powerful stream of water or scrubbing with a stiff brush. Essentially, as growth inevitably attaches to the hull, it will gradually fall off with a thin layer of the paint, leaving the active anti-growth paint underneath. For slower boats (including my 30' sailboat), the ablative paint does quite well and requires little maintenance. I would think that non ablative paint (the hard stuff) might do better if you're trailering it regularly, or even go without any true bottom paint and just paint with normal hull paint if you will be extensively using the trailer and just going for short outings. Then, it's generally easier to just give it a good washdown when you're back on the trailer or at home (the trailer and truck pulling the trailer could use a good freshwater washdown as well if you'll be in salt water). Here's a good article to help understand the different options. http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2014/april/boat-bottom-paint.asp

Well, Juneau's about as far away from Anchorage (and I believe the salmon, moose and bush co. parts) as Columbus, OH and NYC. Or, a quarter circumnavigation of Pluto...

Thank you Cassandra, but that shouldn't be necessary. Truth be told, though we live in a temperate rain forest, all of our family from the lower 48 just hear 'Alaska' and assume we live in an igloo and fight polar bears bare handed. We've got a few blankets in the closet. However, this one is a very handy size for draping over a car seat and has the nice decorative holes to help prevent babies from smothering themselves and gives him a nice 'tactile exploration' during car rides.

The holidays have been a madhouse around here, so I'm finally getting around to posting my big THANK YOU to Cassandra for the beautiful knitted (or crocheted? I'm a lubber beyond patching sail canvas) blanket. My 7 month son has been enjoying it for car rides since the day after Christmas when the elder snotty (and at 3 years, snotty in every sense of the word) relinquished it in exchange for a chocolate. MadPete: I hope you like the coffee. I can't remember if I mentioned in the card that Dead Man's Reach is actually a stretch of beach along Peril Strait near Poison Cove that I've sailed past many times. Though Alaska missed out in the golden age of piracy, you wouldn't know it from some of the place names. We have Murder Cove, Point Retreat, Traitor's Cove, Ford's Terror and many more potentially piratical names on charts around here (and a number of smugglers coves and the likes). Deadman's Reach and Poison Cove do have a nice gruesome history behind them...

And a Happy New Year as well, seeing as I even missed Boxing Day before seeing this post...

She doesn't look too bad at all, especially if she's as watertight as wooden boats can ever be. A little sanding and paint can go a long way, but at least in the short term it's cosmetic. Hull, propulsion and hardware in good condition are the priorities. Everything else can just be upgraded along the way.

I just ran across a couple of recipes in a children's book, of all places! The book is called 'The Merry History of a Christmas Pie' by Nancy Willard (copywright 1974) and has two recipes that are "from 'The English Art of Cookery', by Richard Briggs, London: 1694." One makes the modern craze of 'turducken' looks like child's play. Yorkshire Christmas Pie: Take a fine large turkey, a goose, a large fowl, a partridge, and a pigeon, and bone them all nicely: beat half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of nutmegs, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of white pepper (ground), and two large spoonfuls of salt, all mixed together; open all the fowls down the back, lay the turkey on the dresser, season it in the inside, lay the goose breast downward in the turkey, then season the goose, put the fowl the same way, then the partridge, then the pigeon, close them together, to make them look like a whole turkey, as well as you can; case and bone a hare, and cut it in pieces, with six woodcocks, moor game, or small wild fowl, all boned; make a bushel of flour with ten pounds of butter into a paste, as directed, make the bottom and sides very thick and raise it as high as you can, put in some seasoning, then lay in the turkey, breast uppermost, lay the hare on one side, and the woodcocks, moor game, or wild fowl, on the other side, sprinkle seasoning all over; put four pounds of butter on the top, lay on a thick lid, ornament the sides and top, but first rub it over with the yolk of an egg, put paper over it, and bake it in a hot oven for six hours; let stand till it is cold before you cut it. It will keep a good while. Christmas Soup: Take a leg and shin of beef and cut them small, put them into eight gallons of water, when the scum rises, skim it well, boil it for six hours, then strain it into a pan, clean out the pot, and pour your broth in again; slice the crumb of six penny loaves a quarter of an hour, then give it a boil up, and rub it through a sieve into the broth: have ready six pounds of currants well washed and picked, jar raisins picked and stoned, and two pounds of prunes, boil all these in the soup till they swell and are tender; then put in half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, and two nutmegs, all beat fine; mix them in a little cold broth first, and then put them in, with four lemons; boil it up ten minutes, keep it stirring, then put it into earthen pans, and put it by for use; when you want it make it hot, and send it in a soup dish or tureen, with crispt French bread.