Ondine
In the quest to better understand the Chinese Junk sail, Betsy and I found ourselves it the company of Pat and Jeannine, on board their schooner Ondine. We enjoyed a wealth of knowledge and a beautiful sail through Ponce Inlet from New Smyrna Beach, Florida. We highly recommend the short voyage.
Had a most Excellent day, sailing with Pat, Jeanine, and Lee on the junk rigged Schooner Ondine, which does day sails our of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Pat and Jeanine have been doing this for four years and also work on the tall mast ships and do sailboat deliveries. It was a pleasure to tap into Pat’s extensive experience with this rig. When Betsy and I walked up to the boat we were both taken back by the myriad of lines running down the mast and heading off in all direction, but four hours and a hundred questions later we both think it’s a piece of cake. And I am seriously underwhelmed by the structures required to rig this boat which has done it’s share of blue water voyaging. Comparatively Seeker is a beast.
Pat
Photo courtesy of Arron Starnes https://kinja.com/aaronstarnes
Some ideas take root and grow faster than the weeds. SV Seeker is one of those ideas that started from a chance conversation about building a boat and getting it to the ocean via the Arkansas river. That was about 12 years ago and the though of sailing a boat I built across the oceans was something that scared me. …and it made me feel alive. And it still does. What’s the point of living if you don’t LIVE. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
If you are in or near Tulsa, we invite you to come see us at the Tulsa Mini Maker Faire, or stop by for a visit on Saturday, September 3rd from 10am to 2pm. –Doug
Do-It-Yourself ROV tether for 21 cents a foot, (69 cents/meter) and 300 pounds (1300 Newtons) of load. SCORE! And we are looking forward to your suggestions for improvements. Thank you for your assistance!
The old plan was to have to ROV in the water this weekend and on display at the Tulsa Maker Fair in two weeks. ….I hate that plan. Deadlines suck the enjoyment out of most everything. I understand the need for them especially when other people are counting on you, but that is not the case. This was self imposed. It did not make me work any harder or better, it just made normal work feel like pressure and failure where there was no failure. I though I had learned that lesson. Over a year ago I took down the “Count Down to Launch Clock” from the web site. That felt great. And we have worked more and completed more on the boat this year than any previous year, and did it joyfully and while taking time to learn new skills help others learn new skills. We are about enjoying life and enjoying the journey. No more deadlines. We LIVE now and sail when we are ready and the wind is blowing. We enjoy every moment. If you don’t then you miss the special things. Like those socks. Much love and appreciation to our supporters and especially the Seeker Crew. Betsy and I are off to Florida next weekend to see this thing they call an ocean and scout out a Chinese junk rigged sailboat. Jack and Bart are in charge of the boat yard.
The ROV the internet built! We got a lot of great ideas for out ROV Hull Tool. You can see them on our last post: ROV Hull Joint Tool but the one recommendation you don’t want to miss was from Eddie DaGrouch. We are not accustomed to things working on the first try. We often use the motto “We build it right, because we build it twice.” …but Bart Robinson cobbled together a tool that works like a charm.
We also had some success in getting two sonar transducers to share a Lowrance SonarHub. When successful, we will have a deep water ROV with both forward and side-scan sonar abilities a fraction of the cost of commercially available products. –Doug
“Were having a blast, making stuff work with alot of help/inspiration All of the viewers, there ideas and thoughts/comments “Do” make it happen. Your all a good mind blast and the thanks given here can’t express it fully, just know you’s folks actually matter. Dreaming isn’t a sin, delaying/denieing the dream is..Rockon Worlds Peoples, give into your dreams !!” –Bart Robinson
You’re only as dumb as the smartest person in the room. And the internet makes for a really big room. Yes, you have filter out some trolls, and inflated egos, but what is left is a great cross section of humanity and experiences. There is definitely a need to make presenting an idea safe as there is unfortunately large body of ideas that are held back because of the fear of ridicule. That is unfortunate because any idea, no mater how seemingly impractical is fuel for better ideas. The next hurdle is picking an idea. Ego is the problem. Our ideas are like children and we tend to think they are the best and the brightest in the class. Pick one idea and it’s like you have dashed the other children against the rocks. We would all do well to let go a little more. In the end there is never a best idea because the variables are constantly changing. Current skills, tools, money, time, materials, easy of use, work environment, expected end of life; these variables all randomly dance about like Red Bull fueled teenagers at a rave. So relax, the picked idea is just today’s pick for today’s variables. And as soon as it’s built and in use, an improvement will be clear and we can return to the collection of ideas.
Jeff Knox
Bret Richter
Stephen Reeve
Mark
Michael Witt
Michael Mutch
Roadsterboy
Mark Duncan
Jason Reis
Kenneth Baker
Daniel Murray
Lee Gatlin
Marcus Gaskamp
This ROV is going to be a remarkable tool for Seeker and anyone else looking to explorer beneath the waves. It’s not just another ROV with lights, cameras, and thrusters. This ROV as side scan and forward scanning sonar and can go to 3000 ft!
It’s lovely being back to work on the ROV and enjoying the air conditioning in the shop. Bart has reworked the LED light section so we can easily route the wires through it. I have the aft camera installed and more of the wiring harness and Betsy has been working out our sail plan and sharpening her sail sewing skills making a ditty bag. We have also decided to go with bamboo for the sail battens. Please let us know if you have a tall stand in your yard and your not further than 200 miles. 🙂
