Not A bad decision... A SERIES of bad decisions

Bounty awash

Some of you may remember a short post I made a while back concerning the loss of the tall ship Bounty.

The question I asked in that post, "... why did the Captain of the Bounty put her off of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" in a hurricane?" still remains.  But now it is at least partially answered.  Of course, since Captain Walbridge went down with the ship, we will never know the entire story.

I recently ran across this account of the Coast Guard inquiry into the sinking.  It reveals that the decision to go to sea in the face of the hurricane was not only a bad decision, but one of many bad decisions that led to the sinking.  Amazingly, it was not even the final bad decision.

I have a friend who is involved in the Tall Ship scene on the East Coast.  When the Bounty sank, I commiserated with him.  His surprising response was that she was a movie prop that was to be burned and sunk after the filming was over. He said that the one time he saw her, she was being kept afloat with her bilge pumps, and she had two of three of them running continuously.  Given the testimony at the inquest, I'd have to say that the loss may not have been a surprise to those in the know.

Read the account.  It is sobering.

Not A bad decision... A SERIES of bad decisions

Wire strippers

A little while back, Drew posted an article on crimpers.  As usual, any article about tools featuring one I don't have sets me off in a bout of tool envy.  Like as not, it will cause adamant rationalization, and finally result in a trip to a place that sells the tool in question.

Drew's article is no exception.  I have been doing my crimping with a pair of pliers-type crimpers that I bought more than 30 years ago to crimp the 10-gauge 220V power terminals on a submersible well pump that would be installed 100+ feet below the water surface.  Now I'm gonna have to make that trip to the tool store.

But turnabout is fair play.

I noticed in Drew's article that he uses a pair of those stamped sheet metal wire strippers.  Like the pliers-type crimpers, these are OK, but there's a better tool choice:

These things are just wonderful.  They:

• Strip any common-sized wire
• Self-adjust to the wire size and insulation thickness
• Require only one hand for operation (great in tight spaces)
• Produce repeatable strip lengths

To use is simplicity itself.  First, set the little red stop to produce the strip length you require.  Insert the wire:

Squeeze the handles, and voilà!  The wire is stripped to the desired length without nicking the conductor.

No tool is perfect.  Here are a few caveats to go with this one:

• I'd say the upper size limit for this is probably 10 gauge wire, maybe 8 gauge if the insulation is thin
• With very light gauge wire (28 gauge), sometimes one of the conductor strands departs with the stripped insulation
• If you are stripping nylon-coated wire (TFFN/THHN), you will likely have to strip it once for the nylon coating and once for the insulation.

Now get thee to a tool store!

Wire strippers

Missed marketing opportunity

I was going to start this post with an image of a spot bandage that was a smiley face.  Guess what I couldn't find?  Spot bandages that are smiley faces. 

But to the point:  Monday's operation was a success.  I am at home and getting around OK, albeit carefully.  I am very much on a pain medication regime, which means that coherency is not a strong point right now.  But the pain meds are working.

Just wanted to let you all know that all is well and as expected, and that I will be rejoining the bloggosphere - just don't know when yet.

bob

Missed marketing opportunity

Out of it

When you read this, I will likely be unconscious, thanks to modern anesthesiology - better living thru chemistry!  I am having a spinal fusion , adding L3 to my already fused L4/L5.

Since responsible bloggers don't post whilst on morphine and oxycodone, this space will be strangely quiet for a week or two.

But don't change that dial - Windborne will be back!

Out of it