A Kiwi couple's cruising adventures on America's Great Loop and around the coast of New Zealand

Sunday 10 June 2012

The last post


Not the bugle call for fallen comrades….. just the last opportunity I will have to put up a post before D-Day. It will be quick note with reflection on the planning and preparation process.

“Just do it” they all say. This is all very well if you live in the same country and/or your boat is a few miles, or states away. Even then, I have noticed from those that blog, the new Loopers who live close by never actually seem to get away on the dates they anticipated anyway. From halfway round the world preparation is that much more daunting and time just flies by like you wouldn’t believe.

Should we have taken longer to prepare? I don’t think so, and as I said on an earlier posting, we’d probably have been in just as much turmoil on departure if we had had an extra 2 weeks or even months, for that matter. And at our stage of life the guy with the black hoodie and scythe is standing way too close to delay anything on one’s bucket list for too long.

Should we have committed to a date so early? Absolutely!! Committing to a date and subsequent travel arrangements is a huge inducement to avoid procrastination. To not set a date invites the possibility of it all getting too hard and putting it off until the “time is right”, which may result in never doing it at all.

Would I do it differently, knowing what I know now? Quite likely, but then at the beginning I didn’t know what I know now, so it’s of little consequence anyway.

In two more days we’ll be off and “just doing it”. Great Loop, here we come!




7 comments:

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  2. A belated thought about your (much) earlier post about water heater plumbing: I have seen two reasons why engine plumbing has not been routed to the HWH. One is that it creates three more points where leakage could occur (the two hoses and internal to the HWH itself), with potential impact on engine capability. The other is to decrease potential for scalding. Not a defense, just an observation. Cheers, -Chris (M/V Ranger, Silverton 42C)

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    1. Provided good installation and maintenance practices are observed, the connection of the heater to the engine should cause no more potential for leakage than any other part of the engine coolant system, and any risk is far outweighed by the benefit of "free" hot water. particularly if you cruise and anchor out a lot.
      Scalding risk can (and should) be minimised by the installation of a tempering (thermostatic mixing) valve set at a temperature that reduces scalding risk. I don't know if they are in common use in the USA, but such a valve, set to 55 degrees C (130F), is a legal requirement in New Zealand on all water heaters in houses, for precisely that reason.

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    2. Agree, hence "not a defense" :)

      Hope progress on your initial projects is letting you enjoy some free time by now!

      Cheers, -Chris (M/V Ranger, Silverton 42C, www.silvertonclub.com)

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  3. Have a great trip, take your time and enjoy! Your about to take in some of the best of what America has to offer. Its an amazing trip and the people you come across on the waterways are wonderful.
    http://sweetpeatrawler.blogspot.com/

    Jim and Dale

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  4. We are very excited for you. I am looking forward to reading your blog. Who knows, perhaps Alan and I might see you and Carolyn when you get to Chicago.

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