Elegua

It’s great to read about people being successful. I’m assuming that re-entry will be either harder after 50, or heretically, an undesired outcome, and am planning as such. I want to make sure I can get to the end without being a burden. Kids are now launched so I must launch us. I did a gap year before matriculating University because I assumed it’d be much harder later in life. It changed the course of my life and career for the better in a significant way. My current career would not have happened without it and some parts of the world I visited might not be open again in my lifetime. Done right I believe these are transformative experiences.

A decent staysail will get you most of what a self-tacking jib will get you and be more flexible overall. I think the argument that electric will make you a better sailor is a silly one. There's no reason you can't or shouldn't sail that way with a diesel. Buy a boat that can sail to windward and don't put so much crap on the back. Buy a backgammon board.

My first car was a 1980 GL wagon. In the US they die of rust before anything else. That may be true, but running and purchasing small diesels will get more dear and difficult as time goes on as the automotive and agricultural market dries up. Sure, commercial fishing will be using diesel for some time to come, but they don't use small diesels. At least not in the US. Emerging markets are a direct truck transplant market. Use 3rd gear only after 4th has burned up.

Ah, If I only had a penny for the number of fancy boat I've seen getting their fancy guts pulled out in the yard while going to my shitbox for a sail. Diesels are on the way out as automotive goes electric, but there seems to be a significant amount of maturing still to be done. Question is, who is going to do it?

I inherited a big hole for a radar and a radio on the bulkhead. Sure it's nice to have it under the dodger, but holes mean more leaks and fiberglass work when it comes time to replace. I did put my knee into the radar once. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of everything on the binnacle. The swivel mount idea seems a nice compromise. I'm going to try the wireless from the XB-8000 to see how many permanent fixtures I can avoid.

I use those to lash my dink to the deck.

Arches are good as long as you don't all Deadliest Catch with it.

Fold down could mean a boarding wave might bend your stanchions or break your panels. I have weather cloths and make sure they tear off before they break anything.

Exactly. She's totally been forced into this position by a violent patriarchal society that only value her for her fake boobs. /s

Do the "gull wings" come off for passages?

Sort of a Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance kind of dude... His videos on outboard repairs are spot-on.

I wanted to call it Loick in the hopes it would steer better/faster, but my daughter supplied some artwork and we ended up with "Mr. Happy". He bobbles around trying very diligently, if not fully competently, to keep us on course. Some might say it was user error, but Mr. Happy never complains.

The method in the article posted by ProaSailor is one. Pelagic, now that it’s owned by Scanmar, has a dedicated unit for the Monitor. So you get a pretty sophisticated autopilot.

Music sucks...downvote.