Keeping this site working

A short article on what is invloved in just keeping this site working

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Knives on a Boat

Are you still using an old warn out knife? When I found it time for a new knife, I was amazed how much knives have changed. I recently purchased about half a dozen new knives as I explored the field adding to the way too many knives I already had. I scored the Internet for recommendations. I read reviews on Amazon. I tried knives at the local WestMarine (none were acceptable). In the end there were 5 knives I liked and would recommend. There are also whole classes of knives I would stay away from.

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Knife Review -- one year later

It has been a year since I wrote the knives on a boat review. It was really a review mostly of every day carny or EDC knives with one specifically marine knife with a marlin spike. I have lived with these knives and find my favorites to be a little different than my first impressions. I still like all these knives very much but the question is, which ones do I end up using and what do I use them for. For this review, I have added short 15 second videos of the knives opening and closing so you can get a better picture of how they work. I also added a discussion on two knives I bought recently. One I returned the same day and the other I am not really sure what I am going to do with but it is so nice I just had to get it. It is a knife I have coveted since the first time I saw someone with one.

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GoPro Fogging

The promise of videos of my sailing was too good to pass up so I bought a GoPro Hero 2 shortly after they came out. I did get some good videos but all too often the images that came back would be fogged up. It got to the point that I just didn't want to bother to put the camera on the boat because I knew the videos would be fogged. I tried many things to prevent this but nothing worked until this last time.

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My GoPro will not Turn ON

My Gopro Hero 2 would not turn on. I had done nothing to it since last using it except letting it sit. I knew the battery was charged and the SD card was good because I have two GoPros. The battery worked in the other camera as did the SD card. Of course, if your GoPro does not turn on, check the battery. The first test is to remove the battery and SD card and plug in a charger using the USB cable. The red light on the front blinked and when I pressed the power switch the red light went out and the unit did not turn on. The red light flashing proved that the USB cable was good and the fact that it did not turn on proved I had a serious problem.

The solution is to update the firmware using GoPro Studio. But you must have the camera on to do this.

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Calibrate a Marine Compass

Everyone understands that a marine compass needs to be calibrated. It is easy enough to find articles on how to calibrate a marine compass but I found them lacking in two areas. First, they did not explain what was really going on such that I could understand why things were being done. Second, they all recommended you don't actually do the calibration yourself but rather hire an expert.

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Evantide Sails Again

L-36 Eventide returned to the Bay on New Year's Day 2012 after our very well photographed adventures at the 2011 Master Mariners Race. Her hull had basically been sawed through from deck to just above the water line by the other boat's chain link bobstay, and her spruce mast and boom were shattered into multiple pieces beyond repair.

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We were happy on Papoose to have won our class but sad that one of our fleet was so badly damaged. Eventide was damaged just before the start by a boat from another class.

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Eventide T-Boned in MM Regatta

"Eventide was badly damaged at the start of the 2011 Master Mariners. She is safe in her slip in Berkeley and I am making a plan and exploring options for repairs and replacement rigs. I am extremely grateful for the support of the L-36 and Master Mariners community. Damage appears to be limited to her planking and obviously her rig. I will keep the L-36 community updated as to her status. Any previous experience or advice on repairing a large section of an L-36's hull is welcome. I can be emailed directly at gregmilano (at) hotmail (dot) com. Thank you for all of your support."
Greg Milano, Eventide

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