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| Up a creek, got a paddle. |
Hello and Welcome
We are Jack and Jill of many trades but masters of none, and our life remains a work in progress. We think of ourselves as the lowest common denominator and proof-positive that anyone of a mind can realize their dream upon the water. Accordingly, we offer neither should nor shouldn't, but rather options for your consideration. Rules-of-thumb that anyone can apply or adapt to their own wants and needs.
Though we're mostly underway, our home port of many years is Tenakee Springs, Alaska.
So c'mon aboard! Let's tip a cup o' kindness!!
Anke and I have been sailing the archipelago of Southeast Alaska for three decades. Among its remote and wild islands, we sail engine-free by wind and water, brain and brawn. We live aboard, year round, on vessels of our own design and construction. Foraging wild foods, fuel and materials keeps us independent on a minimal budget.
Once upon a time, the ways of living as we do were unexceptional. It was an Age of Sail.
Before motorized propulsion, small vessels sailed these waters. Sailors inherited and shared knowledge of means and method. Of what wind and waters were doing when and where. And ashore, when and where to forage wild fodder. Most any old–timer was happy to sit a cheechako newbie down and set ‘em straight. But those old–timers are gone, taking much of their knowledge with them. Leaving us to reinvent and reassemble a ‘wheel’ from times long past.
Over the decades we've collected and refined (understood as simplified or even dumbed-down) attitudes, means and methods which further our independence and extend our time on the water. Many are swept together from diverse sources; some are from the School of Hard Knocks.
We are Jack and Jill of many trades but masters of none, and our life remains a work in progress. We think of ourselves as the lowest common denominator and proof-positive that anyone of a mind can realize their dream upon the water. Accordingly, we offer neither should nor shouldn't, but rather options for your consideration. Rules-of-thumb that anyone can apply or adapt to their own wants and needs.
Though we're mostly underway, our home port of many years is Tenakee Springs, Alaska.
So c'mon aboard! Let's tip a cup o' kindness!!
Dave Z and Anke (Zeiger/Wagner)
PS. A version of this post kicked off this blog in 2011. As I write in 2024, we're older, nominally wiser and potentially better-informed.
I'm starting the project of updating posts to reflect what we've learned and integrate related posts. Many of these will be collected into a series of theme-focused books appearing in the book series Simple Sailing: Means and Methods.
Stay tuned!
Hi Bryan,
ReplyDeleteDelighted you're delighted! If you see anything you'd like for your (most excellent) site, feel free to copy or link.
I'll answer your BB question from TriloBoats.
For the rest of you, visit www.SHANTYBOATLIVING.com!
I want to build a boat to live on when I retire. I stumbled into your site last week and love it! I ordered the T24 Shanty StudyPlan and the T16x4 plans package. I never built a boat before and look forward to learning your system. In the meantime I will be studying your blog!
ReplyDelete