Diesel Electric to the Rescue
I’ve been participating in an Internet Trawler Forum discussion over the past six weeks regarding electric/diesel propulsion and how it might be applied to our craft. There was a lot of “never happen” talk among the group.
Then, your January issue was delivered to me and Chuck Husick’s article, Trickle-Down Power Theory, told me that it could, indeed, be done. I’d like to ask Chuck to give my group more information. I’d appreciate it if you would forward this e-mail to him and keep those great issues coming my way. Those who want to participate in the forum should click on mvpatriciaann.blogspot.com.
Mike Dickens
Amelia Island, FL
Ed. Note: Will do, Mike, and it may interest you to know that Siemens has finally decided to publicize their part in this project. BTW, for those of you thinking along the same lines, Mike is a liveaboard trawler owner.
Alas, poor Albin. . .
What’s to happen to the over 900 buyers of ALBIN boats? They seem to have closed shop. Please check this out and give us the poop!
Capt. Neal E. Pleasant
Clear Lake Shores, TX
Ed. Note: The customer service department phone number and e-mail service has been suspended, so we checked with the builder’s engine supplier, Volvo-Penta, and determined that Albin Marine is not currently building any models. Principals in the company are holding out the possibility of restructuring. A check with the company in Cos Cob, Connecticut, found a spokesman who said there have been no filings for bankruptcy but confirmed Albin is closed. Disposition of molds, spares, catalogues, etc. are still up in the air. Stay tuned.
Rules of the Road
I write an ongoing blog dedicated to explaining the USCG Navigation Rules in a more clear and understandable manner. I have lectured on the Rules for the past three years at boat shows and marina seminars and as a result of the questions raised, decided to create the blog. I invite you to visit The Captain’s Corner at:
americanboatcaptains.com/blog.html.
Charles J. Morris
American Boat Captains, LLC
Ed. Note: Anyone who starts a blog with Rule #7 piques my interest.
A Dave Rave. . .
I just received my copy of the February issue and loved the article by Dave LeBoutellier about his 90-day cruise, anchoring in the Bahamas. I would love to do the same thing.
Karl Sydor
Deerfield Beach, FL
Ed. Note: Karl, privacy is one thing, but Dave’s dogs are quite another, as the chew bones on the foredeck of Aphrodite will attest!
For the record, we put these two gentlemen in touch. Dave is busily working on a guide to the lesser known facts of the New River, which he hopes to finish before his next Bahamas sojourn.
Sail, Ho!
I understand that Southern Boating is primarily a powerboat publication, and although a sailor, I have enjoyed it immensely lo these last 30 years. In a manner of speaking, we all love “sailing,” by rag or power. For me sailing serves a deeper need. It restores some of those basic values lost while we compete with each other and yield to “progress.” Sailing your own boat is one of the few remaining honest endeavors for modern man. It allows one to regain some of that pioneering independence most Americans have lost somewhere along the way. Sailing requires me to understand and work in harmony with nature, which also, on occasion, reminds me that she is still the most powerful force on earth.
Perhaps pioneer woman and author Laura Ingalls Wilder said it best: “A conflict with nature and the elements is a clean fight, so different from a struggles against man and his modern, maddening contrivances.” This is why I sail.
Dick Carter
Brownsboro, AL