I polished up Splendid’s commissioning plate 
I wanted to show you what all my decks look like. My smile is so long it impairs my vision and I can’t see straight. Splendid is really shaping up. 
I was flat in the $ department and decided to sell my iridium satellite phone. I will need one again for long passages but for the moment I needed the cash more. I sold my Motorola 9505a phone with data kit, 12v & 110 charger, 3 batteries, and a deck mounted antenna for $800.00. It was a really good deal for the buyer and I really needed the money so it all worked out in the end. $250 of it went to Price Smart (Costco) for food, it was really time to do some stocking up and the rest will go into the fuel tank and for some other provisions. For a 
brief moment I was almost a thousandaire (LOL). That being said I never feel broke with a full tank of diesel and a pantry packed with provisions, not to mention a cute girlfriend.
I also took a small job in the anchorage and I must say, I really don’t like doing boat work for other people!
A German boat came into the anchorage without a working motor or windlass. The owner knows nothing about boats (more money than brains/knowledge) and needed some help on a Sunday sorting out his problems. I told him my rate on a Sunday is $50/hr, and $40.00 during the week, he agreed. I brought over my tools and battery load tester. I tested his starting battery and it was dead, I troubleshot his windlass (bad 24v reversing solenoid), and installed my spare starting battery so he could charge his house bank in the meantime. I spent 2 hours on his boat on Sunday. He had guests aboard and was very anxious to get to the San Blas. I asked if he had a way to start the engine from the house bank as his boat isn’t wired that way. I told him if he wanted me to I could install a selector switch so in an emergency he could flip it and start his engine off of the house 
bank in the future. He said he wanted it. I loaned him my spare starting battery and told him he could borrow it for a few weeks if he wanted to bring his guests to the San Blas ASAP. I let him know I was off to Panama City the following day and could pick him up a new starting battery, selector switch & cables for the job. Anyway, I spent quite a while on the phone tracking down parts for the windlass (no joy), another hour getting to a store in Panama where I could buy his parts for the wiring project. I called him to ask if he would rather have the $70.00 Perco switch or the $55.00 BlueSea selector switch. He thought the price of the switches were outrageous and didn’t want to do the project anymore. He told me a switch like that was 
about $20.00 in Germany (Fat chance), not to mention that we are a few thousand miles away from his country. Then I took an hour out of my way to go to Colon (no charge) and spent another 45 minutes buying his starting battery. I called him and asked if he wanted me to pick him up some jumper cables (35.00) to be able to start his engine off of his house bank without having to buy the switch and he thought it was a practical and cheaper alternative (BTW he’s in a 1/2 million dollar boat). So I didn’t charge him for my time trying to get his wiring & switch project sorted out, since he decided not to go that way, or the hour I spent on the internet finding the parts for his windlass (at his request), and I lugged, delivered, and installed his starting battery. When I presented him with a modest $148.00 bill ($100 for the two hours on his boat on Sunday, only an hour $40 for all the 
running around and delivering his battery and the $8 I had to spend on taxis specifically for his requests) and he had a conniption and told me he could have done all this work himself. He didn’t want to pay me anything. So after an altercation he rudely threw me a $100.00 bill in front of his guests and let me know that was all he was going to pay. I know he was stressed-out that there is no 24v reversible solenoid locally and wants to get his guests to San Blas, but that is no excuse to be an asshole. Funnily enough I have a friend 
here who was kind of willing to sell him his spare 24v solenoid (favor to me) but after he screwed me for $48.00 he isn’t interested anymore. The German will be sitting in the anchorage for another 3 weeks when he could have been off the following day.
I guess the moral of this story is that cruisers should, for the most part, be able to maintain & repair their own boats. I’m having a friend help with some canvas work as I’m not so good with a sewing machine but you get the idea. The German guy’s electric problems were simple and he should have 
been able to do his own diagnosis & repairs and I think he was embarrassed in front of his friends that he couldn’t. He didn’t even know what a solenoid was and when he checked his starting battery he only tested the voltage and not the amperage load.
I have a homework assignment for anyone who feels they may need to “man-up” on their boat skills: buy Nigel Calde’s book “Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual”. Everything on a boat is straight-forward and not rocket science. One does need a little patience to study, research, 
and the coconuts/tools to do their own projects. Knowledge in boat systems is a crucial and valuable investment for anyone who wants to spend their life on the sea.
Carla and I have replaced the headliner ($20.00) in the aft cabin and it looks fantastic. I also spent the rest of the day fixing the outboard on the dinghy and moving and reinstalling my SSB radios. I’m going to get an ipod touch and dedicate it to the SSB so it can download weatherfax a few times a day. I wont have to stress/worry about burning 5hrs of laptop amps as the iphone burns next to nothing, pretty cool!
I hope to be in San Blas in 3 weeks trying to stir up a few bucks for my refrigeration & watermaker projects while shooting my film. I have mostly everything I need for these two projects but need about $1000 in supplies, membranes, and insulation.
I had a chat with a friend about “minimalism” and in the Anny Hill (Voyaging on a Small Income) sense of the word I’m not as minimalistic as some. That being said there are some modern technologies (solar panels, icebox insulation, and R/O systems) that really increase a cruisers luxuries. I like fresh food & vegetables, and want a reliable water source. I certainty don’t believe in excessive electronics. Wind direction computers are my favorite. I still haven’t figured out why I would need a computer to tell me which way the wind is blowing (LOL)? Some think minimalism means having little, I believe it is a unique and personal balance of time and freedom.
Life aboard Splendid is…, well…, Splendid.
Peace, Love, and Coconuts
– alex
Unfortunately, I do not live in paradise and I have to endure lots of ‘people’. The other day a friend of mine, and I were discussing the temperment/attitude of water people versus land people and we made an observation from one side of the spectrum. Since we live near water (within 25miles) we see both kinds of people and it seems that water people are happier, healthier, and (in most cases) friendlier.
I was just wondering, has that been your experience? Excluding the absolute moron you recently encountered, of course.
BTW, the boat looks amazing!
Hey Alex! Your hard work is really paying off! I love the polished commissioning plate. Everything is looking great! Kudos to Carla for helping you bust out the projects. Hope you guys have a blast in the San Blas =)
B. Hinton,
I think there are many different types of people. Some connected to the mountain, some to the desert, some to the city, some to the shore, and some to the sea. At 4 years old I was tearing pictures os sailboats out of magazines and obsessed with Jacques Cousteau (spelling). I believe people should live where their heart leads them. Splendid is my church and the sea my God so I feel very much at home wherever we go. The key is not to be herded by the matrix and led by the dollar.
M. Glover, thanks for the kind words, she is looking good Eah? :)
The boat is looking AMAZING. Hard to believe it’s the same one.
Oh, by the way, I should have my T3i in the next few weeks. I was also thinking about getting a 17-55mm lense. I’m trying to cover all my bases and minimize expenses. I feel I need some short field and long shots and that seems to be a good balance. What are your feelings on this?
The boat is looking AMAZING! Hard to believe it’s the same boat.
Oh, by the way, I should have my T3i sometime in the next few weeks. I was also thinking about getting a 17-55mm for self-commontary and long shots. What is your opinion on this?
Also, I wanted to discuss a possible charter in the winter. You can e-mail me and we can talk about this.
Cheers.
Lucky I’d go with a fast 50mm for commentary. You can feel free to email me at alexdorsey at gmail about any charter stuff.
Guys, I may have found a cable available for the iPhone weatherfax connection:
http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-mic-a22.htm
I’m really excited about this as one can receive weather fax all over the world for free if you have black cats wfax app, a hundred dollar receiver, and an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and a cable from audio out of the receiver to mic I’n on the iPhone.
Really cool!!!!!!!
Lucky on, I second Alex on his lens choice. A 50mm f1.8 is faster and less than $100 while the 17-55mm is over $1,000. Also IMHO a prime lens should out last a zoom in a marine corrosive environment.
Alex, your boat looks amazing!
I have an 18-135 which is my only lens. My next lens will be a 50mm 1.8 or preferabley a 1.4. I really enjoy the DSLR for taking nice video but also use a flip and gopro.
Hey Alex. Good news, I motered my sailboat about 20 nautical miles (chart), and I had the best time. I live in the pacific northwast and I did not know that porpoise frequent this area. Amazing. My journey started in a safeish harbor called Holmes Harbor, and I was aiming at Seacrest marina (small and quiet), what a time! My buddie was good enough to accompany me in his carver while I motered through all sorts of conditions. It started off calm with small chop, and as I left the harbor I started bucking. About 4 foot waves cresting my little 25 Pearson, my legs are still sore. After about an hour of stearing into those guys, and I left the passage into a less hectic area, the sun came out. The clouds seemed to be at arms distance and I watched a sea lion freekin’ jump out of the water in front of me. I motered into a very calm area and I watched the clouds cruise by. I am not kidding when I say that I saw a lion with a mane ( in the clouds ), watch me put along. He was on his side and had his head turned to me. I looked at that until I needed to look for debris again, then he was gone. Needless to say I had an awsome time. My boat is tied up at harbor and I payed for a haul out next week. On the hard as we say. I will send some pictures soon.
Is it just me, or has the spelling on your ships log gotten better since youve known Carla? Just kidding man.
Hey Alex boat looking great , fantastic woman keep living the dream forget the German
wanker !