Dogwatch Good Old Boat's Digital SupplementDogwatch (n): For sailors, either of the 2-hour watch periods between 1600 and 2000;
For journalists, the period after going to press when staff stand by in case breaking news warrants a late edition.
Volume 2, No. 4


Nautical Vows

Wedding Vows

Asked to officiate at the wedding of sailing friends in the Caribbean, Captain Gilmore also wrote their vows…
CAPTAIN GILMORE: We are gathered here today before this beautiful sunset and in this community of faithful crewmembers to join in holy matrimony <bride’s name> and <groom’s name>, steadfast sailors and seafaring adventurers.
If anyone knows of any reason that these two should not be joined in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.
Without further ado and before either of the parties can come to their senses, we will proceed with this holy and everlasting sacrament.
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News from the Helm Mail Buoy

News from the Helm

Consider buying used, a DIY bottom-cleaning tool, magnetic north and the US government shutdown, Raymarine goes over the top. Continue reading …

Mail Buoy

In praise of the DIY boatyard, readers weigh in on the benefits of the DIY yard and tell us about their favorites.
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Seaworthy Goods Holiday Specials on Good Old Boat gear

Put it to the Readers

winter cover

By Michael Robertson

We’re told that Millennials don’t buy stuff, they rent. Instead of a Ford in the garage, they keep an Uber app on their smartphone. Instead of a shelf lined with CDs, they pay a monthly fee to stream the music they want to listen to. Will it be the same with boats?

For those of us who take pride and pleasure in maintaining and improving and messing about in boats we own, it’s a foreign concept. But for those of us who have ever figured out the sobering cost-per-hour-used figure for the boat we own, maybe there is something to renting.

Boatsetter.com is a worldwide, peer-to-peer boat-sharing site that reminds us of Airbnb. There are smaller regional sites that operate the same way, and membership-based companies exist that own and maintain fleets of boats for members to use on a cost-per-hour basis. In other words, there are lots of ways to get out on the water under sail without owning a boat.

And so I put it to the readers: Have you used one of these avenues to get out on the water? Has it, or will it, replace boat ownership for you? Or do you place a high value on walking down the dock to your boat, a nautical refuge all your own? Do you think the future will look very different in this regard, with boat ownership becoming less common? Or will ownership rates be unaffected, but more people will find a way out onto the water via peer-to-peer boat sharing?

As always, I’m at michael_r@goodoldboat.com


Book Reviews

A Drop in the OceanClick the book title for our reviews of the following books:
A Drop in the Ocean
by Jasna Tuta
(Independently Published, 2018; 192 pages;
$12.00 print, $5.99 digital)
Review by Karen LarsonThe Impractical Boat Owner
by Dave Selby
(Adlard Coles, 2017; 112 pages,
$14.00 print)
Review by Tom Wells

Poem of the Month

Terns for the Verse

Fun to watch them fly and frolic
stunts and airs and high-speed swoops,
but oh it renders me melancholic
to see my boat all covered in poops.
I hung up foils and owls and snakes
stood on the deck and waved my arms.
I thought I’d done all that it takes
everything but install alarms.
And yet each day I sadly view
Tern poops, tern poops, anew,
Tern poops, tern poops…residue.

Richard Green, Pacific Northwest sailor and owner (and part builder) of countless sailboats over his lifetime, including the pictured Jay Benford-designed 22-foot sloop he launched in 1980 after machining all the bronze fittings himself.

Have you written a sailing poem (or haiku or bawdy limerick) you want to share with Dogwatch readers? Send it to Michael_r@goodoldboat.com and it might wind up here.

MR


Sailor of the Month

Sailor of the Month - Avery

Five-year-old Ethan is our Dogwatch Sailor of the Month. Seconds before Ethan’s grandparent snapped this shot, Ethan was asked if he knew where he was going. This day was Ethan’s first time at the helm of Canigo Too, a 1982 Catalina 30.

–MR