Captain Exams and a Captain's Chair 

Glad it's done for now. Speaking of the Great Lakes, I was expecting a question about the all-around stern lights used there. : )

That's when an Ensign comes in handy!

Ditto, Minus the coin....

Exactly : )

Works good. Ya just have to get it all off before you try to weld on it.

Maybe. But I think I really don't want it reacting to each and every wave.

First off; rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wiser men. Secondly, those are not laws. There are plenty of stupid laws without you needing to make shit up. Third, an oath forced on you is horse shit from the start.

"...the duties required of me by the *laws* of the United States...". Regulations are not laws. Regulators are not legislators.

I was also on that U Boat as a child in the 80's.... When it was still parked outside. They dug a huge hole probably 10-15 years ago and it's now inside an underground room attached to the museum.

That is interesting. Do they still have the mine shaft I wonder?@@SlipFitGarage

It’s pretty much the same thing. Just don’t touch it for a bit once you’re done.

Nice pick of gods for that prayer. Thanks. : )

: )

As I've grown older, I appreciate the reply even more "Peace and long life"

It depends on the time of year and the weather. For the past week, I have been running on just half of the panels. I have one side off for repairs and upgrade to the wiring.

Good on ya

I think it would be a bit like having a sledge hammer swinging back an forth.

I thought about something like that, but I don’t think I want it responding to every wave. People have to walk around beside it to.

@@SVSeeker I am just spit balling here, maybe a spring on either side. Not one of the heavy-duty springs. Just something to avoid the jerking. Just an idea. Watching your video's gets the old Brain going lol.

If you mean an overhead rail gantry it's because of the head room. Once you add a even a low profile trolly and winch the working lift height was not sufficient for things like the generator. So we have strategically positioned pad eyes for that and the deck crane can access a lot of the space as well.

So you are willing to submit to government oversite in your life when the government can save some money?

You pay for the search and rescue though. And obviously the government is funded by your taxes. ​@@SVSeeker

Sometimes. How can the government save money in this instance?

In this case, search and rescue, the volunteers and the government pay for it. Ultimately the taxpayers. I guess we could simply say no EPIRB and you're on your own. Or, no EPIRB, and if you have to be rescued, you pay the bill (old school searches cost millions). When you can't pay, the taxpayers are on the hook anyway. In search, time is the enemy. If we can look at a position signal and go there, tens of thousands of man hours are saved and critically, victims lives are saved. In the past it was too common to find crash sites or sunken boats after it was too late for the victims. Today, the chances are vastly better if an EPIRB or ELT is present. Yes, they cost a lot, but they save victims and volunteer lives, time, and public money. So, when rational, I am OK with the government telling me what to do. I believe this is one of those cases. Of course, we can agree to disagree.

So why are you "submitting to government oversight" by getting a captain's license, especially after years and years of insisting that Seeker/you don't need a license and they're just a piece of paper?

Yes. It's a lot cheaper and many times more likely to succeed. But you can just as easy make a determination that searching for a target with a 1% chance of success is simply a waste of time and allow people the freedom to do as they please. Because next time the gadget might be $1000 that you'd need to put into food and housing and so your government effectively bans you from your favorite fishing ground 2.5 miles offshore. When you know the prevailing set and drift will put you back on the beach in time to walk home for dinner. Because once they start.... ...well you can look around and see where it leads.

@@SVSeeker In a society the individual has rights, but also has responsibilities to society as a whole (no one likes those though). Society has decided that bodies washing up on the beach is less than optimal and since there isn't a database of names with 'don't bother rescuing this guy' against them, some 19 year old kids in a Coast Guard launch will put to sea and risk their lives to bring you back, dead or alive, even when the odds are less than 1%. The least you can do is give them better odds. No one likes spending money on safety equipment, I'll bet the accountants at Harland & Wolff were asking if they really needed all those lifeboats on the Titanic, I mean, what are the chances of ever actually using them?

@@hoyks1 First off those 19-year-old kids love the opportunity to do that job. That is why they joined. So don't force them to be wimps. We need young men trained to be dangerous men. And so you want to control what others do based on a desire to provide poor training for people who want to be skilled rescuers? I agree that we have responsibilities to our society. And I believe that it is our responsibility it to protect the freedoms of my neighbors not to regulate their lives.

Thank you so much!

Yeah, something like that would be good. It’s got to be made working be tucked back out of the way too.

@@SVSeeker 3d printed step, dynema spliced hangers and a 3d printed slot catch under the seat to stow the step. You are a mad genius sir.

We had a lot of immigrants changing their names. : ) Damage Control is not new.

Sorry. You have to use a tablet.

Weeeee! : )

Great suggestion. I would add that the slit can be extended as much as necessary. Just leave enough material to "hinge."

Thanks, you too!

Live like you will die tomorrow. Learn like you will live forever. : )

Got that one for $400 but that company is out of business. Likely why it was only $400.

@@SVSeeker yeah, I've been on boats that have that flip up seat design so you can keep your feet under you during rough rides with the arms cradling you to the sides, never thought of one that swings as you roll for a sail boat so that's a cool idea how you did it and should be interesting(might get a little weird standing? but anything holding you in place a bit makes it far less of a fatigue) .... my powered cabin cruiser doesn't need anything that fancy, just something that makes it as tall sitting as when standing - its got a two person bench seat there now, and all of the above deck seat vinyl has to be redone so I'd like to redesign/replace all of it we had a big storm last year that crushed a section of docks at the marina, so sank a lot of boats tied to it in their slips, thought maybe I could salvage some seating, but the insurance companies hauled everything away and they wouldn't let anyone near them looking for parts

@@BenjaminT.Minkler That's a shame. It's not going to do anyone any good in the landfill.

Thanks! 👍

But your idea works lol

Not sure I’d really want that. We got a nice thing going on here.