Changing times and directions

It been a while since my last post. A lot has changed in my life in the past couple of years. My wife and I decided that living full time on a sailboat just isn't practical for our lifestyle so we are changing directions. My son left for college and is now a Junior studying accounting at Missouri State University.

In the time since my last post I have started a new business: Sea Wolf Leather and It has taken much of my time. I make custom leather items for sale on Etsy, the link is: ww.etsy.com/shop/seawolfleather , so if you have a moment, please take a look at what I make. When I decided to start Seawolf, it was to have an income source while living aboard and abroad in the confined spaces of a sailboat. Today I have a full workshop setup in a extra bedroom of my home.

Martina and I plan to build a cabin in a 25 acre wooded area in southern Missouri and set up a custom wood, metal, and leather work shop. I want to expand into making knives, swords, spears, and axes and cover them with my custom leather work.

We still want to travel as often as time and money allow, and since Martina is a German citizen, we may spend part of each year in Europe. Using our cabin as an anchor home is a good way to always have a comfortable place to return too.

Mid Winter Update

I spent most of Saturday taking all of the wooden trim off of Aquilon to bring home and refinish. Thanks to some new tools for Christmas (Thank you Mom) the job went a lot smoother. I cut a temporary door out of plywood and then covered the top of the boat with a tarp to keep the weather out. Aside from forgetting my cordless drill and needing to unscrew about a thousand screws by hand the job was done and we said goodbye to Aquilon for a few more weeks.


After I strip, sand, and refinish the trim pieces, and replace a few stripped screws, we will head back over to reinstall them. I also have some new glow plugs which I bought from a Kubota dealer, saving about $50 a piece since they don't say "marine" anywhere on them. As I write this, the new Bimini is being made and when it is finished I will reinstall it. I also plan to reinstall the traveler blocks with the cut outs on the starboard side so when I replaced the mainsail halyard and add lazy jacks, we can raise and lower the mainsail from inside the cockpit.


Lots of projects, but they are all coming together for what should be, a lot nicer looking and easier to sail, sailboat.

Schritt Tempo

Schritt Tempo is a German phrase used to explain something very slow, typically walking speed; that is my wife's description of sailing, but the slowness is the ultimate appeal. In todays world, everything we do is speed based, everything from computers to fast food. We are so ingrained with speed that we have a hard time disconnecting and enjoying something slow.





Sailing forces one to slow down and wait. Wait for the right time to tack, wait to arrive at a destination, sit back and let the slow hand of the wind move you. You might be a few hundred yards from your destination, but being at the mercy of the wind,  you may need to sail past it and tack back to arrive. Slowing life down and paying attention to what is going on around you will open your eyes to the little things we miss everyday.




When I sail I listen to the calming sound of the water running along the side of the boat, birds flying by or floating on the water, the sound of the wind in the rigging, smell the fresh air, and watch the fish jump. Even the sounds of other boaters would be drowned out when using a motorboat but can be clearly heard while sailing. Sitting and talking with my first mate, just the two of us, undisturbed by daily life, is one of the best rewards of sailing.




Sailing takes us back to an era when people had the time to think, and to dream. An age where time wasn't the only factor that mattered. How much better would our lives be if we were freed from the chains of time? I think; much better.




I am so sure of the power of slow, that I plan to name my live aboard boat: Yeah, you guessed it: Schritt Tempo. What better name than a German phrase that literally means walking pace, but is said in a sarcastic manner to imply that walking is faster than sailing. I think it is the perfect name because getting somewhere slow is the best way to actually see and experience what is around you.

That time again

It seems like just yesterday that we put Aquilon in the water and sailed her for the first time this year. Now, she sits with bare poles and no Bimini, waiting to be pulled from the water, set down on her cradle, for her long winters rest. Maybe I am just getting older, but it seems that the years slide by faster and faster, each one fading into memory. I can remember the few good sailing days we shared this year, and those memories with my first mate will be cherished.

Two weekends ago, we spent a day pulling down the sails, folding, and storing them. We also took down the Bimini: The canvas top has to be replaced over the winter after weathering one too many Midwest thunderstorms. We also have wood to sand and varnish, power wash and paint the bottom, wash and wax the boat, winterize the engine, change the oil and filters, and generally clean and store all of the gear. There's a lot of work to do on a sailboat, but for me it is both relaxing and rewarding. There is, after all,  nothing more majestic than a well maintained boat under sail.

Well, the boat didn't come out as planned. The engine wasn't pumping water and the marina owner was worried about overheating. So this weekend I went back over to the lake and replaced the impeller on the water pump and then drove the boat over to be pulled out. 

While on the crane the boat almost fell when the rear straps slipped on the muddy hull. It was definately a "pucker" moment. After having the bottom cleaned and repositioning the straps, Aquilon was set down on her cradle. I winterized the engine and stored all her gear and said goodbye to the old girl. 

Update: the Bimini is at the upholstery shop, so Aquilon will be sporting a nice new hat in the spring. I also plan to pull most of the teak off of the deck and redo it over the winter months. After the power wash we found some areas on the hull that need repainted too. Lots of work ahead before we splash her next season. But I'm up for the challenge and already looking forward to next year.

Call me Crazy

When I tell people that I want to sell all of my worldly possessions, i.e. house, vehicles, furniture, etc.: Basically anything that won't fit into a boat, and is considered useful enough to put on said boat, they either think I am crazy or a fool. Its understandable that they think that way, after all, the ocean is a big scary place where all manor of misfortune can befall a sailor. There are storms to consider, pirates, floating debris, and large sea life, that can all end ones dream in a heartbeat. But there are also dangers on land as well, and if you're into odds, then its best to gamble on going to sea.


Outside of the obvious dangers of a life aboard, there is also the constant maintenance and repair of a boat in a marine/ salt water environment. Something is always going to need repair or replacement. I'm not really concerned by the need to repair or replace things; I have been a mechanic my whole life and have a lifetimes worth of tools collected to meet just about any challenge. Although, working on my sons Camaro has had me questioning my ability lately; no wonder GM went bankrupt; but that's another story.


My biggest fear is the fear of running out of money. Although the wind is free and travel by sail inexpensive, there are many costs that most people don't even consider. Slip fees, mooring fees, fuel, and even water in some areas are always more expensive in the marine world. Food, insurance, health insurance, phone service, are all still needed and when you have a small budget, they become a constant worry. To ease my fears I've planned for twice the amount that most live aboards are spending, so our launch date will be pushed back until we have enough saved.


You have probably seen the credit card commercials where they price this or that and then tell you what's priceless. The priceless part of this plan, for me, is to wake up and sit in the cockpit of my boat in a harbor in Greece or Turkey or any of a thousand other old places in the world that is accessable by water, and drink my coffee while watching an ancient harbor come to life, the sights and smells that have surrounded these places for thousands of years. The history that will surround me, to sit where Homer sat, or Achilles, or the Caesars. To walk the markets and taste the local fare, to sit in an open air cafe and people watch across the centuries old plazas and wonder what stories those cobble stones could tell.

For me the hassles and dangers are small in comparison to what all I might see and experience. The world is large and full of different people and cultures, foods and drink, and I want to visit them. When I was a young man in the army stationed in Germany, many fellow soldiers referred to the U.S. As the world, they said they couldnt wait until their tour was up to return to the world. Well, I have a different view. I see the world as the rest of the planet and I'm not narrow minded enough to think Americans are better than anyone else. 

For now, I will continue to save and plan and dream, and hopefully, in a few short years, Martina and I will point our bow east and never look back.

Fact Finding Mission

On Saturday I drove to Kemah Texas. I was on a mission to see several sailboats that I have been researching as possible live aboards, and all them were in one marina in Kemah. What I didn't know was that the boats that I considered best for us, turned out to be less than desirable. I now know that we need at least 42 feet to be comfortable and 45 would be better. I also know that just because a boat is built to round cape horn, it isn't necessarily the most comfortable to live on. We found a boat that is a compromise between comfort and safety, fully equipped and ready to live on, and most important, it fits the all important amount that we are willing to spend for a boat. Unfortunately, it will still be several years before we are able to purchase a boat and live on it, but now we know what we need and can focus our search in the right direction.


The boat we fell in love with is a Morgan 45. Its a center cockpit cruising sailboat with in mast furling mainsail and roller furling headsail. It has a molded in swim platform with built in steps for ease of boarding from a dinghy. It has a full size bed aft and a roomy stateroom, reverse cycle heat and air conditioning, and built in diesel generator. It is missing a few things that I consider "must haves" to live aboard comfortably: A water maker, although it is plumbed for one, wind generator and solar panels would also need to be added for true on the hook living. It also needs the electronics upgraded to include AIS. I also want to add an on demand water heater to do away with the old engine heated hot water heater. Even with the cost of adding these options we would be under the budget that I have set for our live aboard boat and would have all the comforts of home.


Even though I will continue to crunch numbers and try to justify buying this sailboat, I know its too early and wouldn't make a lot of sense for us. I still like to imagine that she's mine and what I would do to make her the perfect boat. Dreaming of sailing off into the deep blue is, after all, how our quest started. The salesman told us that boats as nice as the Morgan only come on the market about every five years. That's about perfect timing for us and the next one might be mine.

Cave ab homine unius libri (Beware the man of one book)

It has been said that a person who reads, lives a thousand lives and a person that doesn't, lives but one. Anyone who reads; and while reading, places themselves into the story would agree with that statement. I have always been a reader, preferring history or historic fiction, although I will read anything that's interesting and keeps my attention. Through my reading I have learned of ancient lands and peoples once as high and mighty as we see ourselves. Most have been lost to time, war, and sometimes stupidity. It is those links with the past that give me the passion to travel, and to visit the hollowed ground where our ancestors once lived, loved, and died.

 I have lived many lives in my conscious mind while reading. I have experienced joy, passion, excitement, heart ache, pain, and even death. Reading is an escape from ones own reality, but it can also be as real and as tangible as our everyday lives: It all depends on the reader and their depth of emotion while reading; how into the story they let themselves go. Imagine yourself on a medieval battlefield surrounded by the enemy. You are part of a shield wall surrounded by your friends and family, standing shoulder to shoulder defending each other. The reader has a choice, to either read on to the next sentence, or they can smell the breath of the enemy in front of them, choke on the smoke from a nearby fire, feel the weight of weapons and armor, and experience the fatigue left as their adrenaline starts to fade. That is what being a part of the story means; living the written word.

For one person to write a story, and another, completely unknown to the writer, to read it and feel its emotional meaning is what separates us from other beasts, we have a conscious mind that has endless potential, to dream, and to create. These are gifts from God, or Gods, depending on what you believe; but sadly, some would use these same gifts to suppress our feeling and emotions through politics and religion; burning the very books that give us the freedom to explore our minds. With the rise of Christianity  much of the vast wealth of knowledge that came from the classical world was lost to fire or hidden and never found.

The Greeks believed that true wisdom was found inside our own minds, and philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, and the arts, flowed for theirs. The Romans, although ruthless, connected the world in a way that only has been matched after the industrial revolution, their knowledge and that from millennia before them was largely lost after the fall of Rome. The dark ages followed and people became slaves; slaves of one book; the church and land owners keeping what knowledge that was left to themselves. Average people had to struggle to free themselves and re-learn all of the things that the ancients had known so many years before. It would take another thousand years to reach the age of enlightenment, and another thousand to get us to where we are now.

With the electronic age we have all of the knowledge of the entire planet at our finger tips, we can expand our minds and dream things that no one that came before us could. Don't keep your head in the sand and ignore the gifts that we have, don't live one life, through one book.. Let your mind wander and dream, and when you dream reach out and grasp it and live a life worthy of a book that others would read and live.