The FORD Lounge

[FuzzFace2]

I have a gas gauge, but it is at my left elbow and not readable when mowing.

I looked at basically the same mower as yours about 10 years ago. Would have been nice with power steering, power lift, locking rear diff, etc. But with a 60" deck it wouldn't go through my gate. Sure would have been nice on the trailers though.

Mine does have a 60" deck but I have seen think 54"decks and maybe a 48" I just don't know the widest part of the tractor with out the deck.

If it takes 3+ hours with a 60" deck I am not going smaller!

Dave ----

 

[FuzzFace2]

“What made you get a tractor over a zero turn?” Mainly cost. And I really can’t justify one. My yard is pretty easy. I can’t get this through the gate or a ZTR where I would need it. Push mower that, but it’s small enough.

I used a ZTR where I used to work. Mechanics did the yard work after most were laid off.

This thing is a Cadillac compared to the riding mower I used to have. And it’s the entry level mower!

I guess if you have to get thru a small opening then big is not the way to go.

The smallest opening I have to go thru is the small roll up garage door to the shed I keep all the yard equipment in. No yard equipment is kept in MY garage!

Dave ----

[grumpin]

“What made you get a tractor over a zero turn?” Mainly cost. And I really can’t justify one. My yard is pretty easy. I can’t get this through the gate or a ZTR where I would need it. Push mower that, but it’s small enough.

I used a ZTR where I used to work. Mechanics did the yard work after most were laid off.

This thing is a Cadillac compared to the riding mower I used to have. And it’s the entry level mower!

I guess if you have to get thru a small opening then big is not the way to go.

The smallest opening I have to go thru is the small roll up garage door to the shed I keep all the yard equipment in. No yard equipment is kept in MY garage!

Dave ----

I “need” a shed like that Dave!

[Danny G]

Might be easier said than done.

A) How much Bluewater sailing experience do you have?

B) You're likely a tiny part of a diaspora that has the same plans.

C) You have to get yourself, your boat and your family there, first.

D) I thought pirates were a problem in the keys in 1980, it's going to be a drop in the bucket.

E) There is VERY little hiding where there's NO cover. Satellites, drones and synthetic aperture radar not to mention hydrophones and magnetic detection are constantly scanning the oceans looking for smugglers, pirates and sanction skirters.

Read a few articles where people sailing full time are having a really bad time making port for supplies and not getting turned away. The ones on boats are having a really hard time right now.

[Ray Cecil]

Might be easier said than done.

A) How much Bluewater sailing experience do you have?

B) You're likely a tiny part of a diaspora that has the same plans.

C) You have to get yourself, your boat and your family there, first.

D) I thought pirates were a problem in the keys in 1980, it's going to be a drop in the bucket.

E) There is VERY little hiding where there's NO cover. Satellites, drones and synthetic aperture radar not to mention hydrophones and magnetic detection are constantly scanning the oceans looking for smugglers, pirates and sanction skirters.

Read a few articles where people sailing full time are having a really bad time making port for supplies and not getting turned away. The ones on boats are having a really hard time right now.

Meh....im watching a few sailing channels on youtube. They are doing fine catching fish, lobster, crab and taking their dinghy into port for supplies.

Im not saying its a good idea to survive SHTF out at sea....but the people per square mile ratio is favorable. Anyone with a 50-60' Catamaran can have enough supplies on board to last a year at sea. 6 months is all you need for SHTF. Most people inland will already have starved to death or killed one another.

Floating around in the bahamas wouldnt be the best place, but the ocean is huge. You can find a nice place to escape.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Might be easier said than done.

A) How much Bluewater sailing experience do you have?

B) You're likely a tiny part of a diaspora that has the same plans.

C) You have to get yourself, your boat and your family there, first.

D) I thought pirates were a problem in the keys in 1980, it's going to be a drop in the bucket.

E) There is VERY little hiding where there's NO cover. Satellites, drones and synthetic aperture radar not to mention hydrophones and magnetic detection are constantly scanning the oceans looking for smugglers, pirates and sanction skirters.

Read a few articles where people sailing full time are having a really bad time making port for supplies and not getting turned away. The ones on boats are having a really hard time right now.

I DID mention provisioning for your next landfall.

Ray, of course being in a place like the Keys, Bahamas or Antilles is not going to be safe.

But Bluewater is nothing like onshore.

You're not going to find surface fish in abundance

What you will find is the big sharks following you constantly looking for garbage, poop or anything else that goes over the side.

60' is nothing when you have 40' waves.

Hell, Battleships and Cruise Liners get tossed about.

Add a huge amount of stores (a years worth....) and you've got NO freeboard.

Ive been well out of sight of land and mostly out of reach of helicopter rescue for over a month when at sea.

When the gaz and fresh water run out its no fun.

Solar has gotten a lot better, as have de-sal units, but rationing and personal space WILL get to you.

I promise!

There's nothing to romanticize about being alone in the middle of the ocean.

At the mercy of her, the sun and storms, etc.

Your absolute insignificance WILL be made abundantly clear every waking moment of your watch.

Yeah that's right, a 24/7/365 schedule where you have to be constantly vigilant is like choosing PTSD.

Not that I wouldn't ever go on a sailing adventure again.

But I would NEVER choose the open ocean as an endless refuge from society.

[Danny G]

I DID mention provisioning for your next landfall.

Ray, of course being in a place like the Keys, Bahamas or Antilles is not going to be safe.

But Bluewater is nothing like onshore.

You're not going to find surface fish in abundance

What you will find is the big sharks following you constantly looking for garbage, poop or anything else that goes over the side.

60' is nothing when you have 40' waves.

Hell, Battleships and Cruise Liners get tossed about.

Add a huge amount of stores (a years worth....) and you've got NO freeboard.

Ive been well out of sight of land and mostly out of reach of helicopter rescue for over a month when at sea.

When the gaz and fresh water run out its no fun.

Solar has gotten a lot better, as have de-sal units, but rationing and personal space WILL get to you.

I promise!

There's nothing to romanticize about being alone in the middle of the ocean.

At the mercy of her, the sun and storms, etc.

Your absolute insignificance WILL be made abundantly clear every waking moment of your watch.

Yeah that's right, a 24/7/365 schedule where you have to be constantly vigilant is like choosing PTSD.

Not that I wouldn't ever go on a sailing adventure again.

But I would NEVER choose the open ocean as an endless refuge from society.

You forgot the unrelenting heat and humidity. Stay at sea is actually what my father in law wants to due in retirement.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/small-boats-stuck-at-sea-covid-19/index.html

“We had to leave Puerto Rico because they closed down all marina services and we had some problems with our boat,” he said. “If a technician got caught coming out to your boat, they got fined $5,000.”

[Rembrant]

60' is nothing when you have 40' waves.

Hell, Battleships and Cruise Liners get tossed about.

I have to go offshore with my work every now and then, and I've seen 40' waves, and bigger in the North Atlantic. I was once on an FPSO about 200 miles from shore, and that vessel at almost 1000' long, sure was rockin' and rollin'. They were measuring the waves near the rig with a wave rider, and they were hitting 16m (trough to crest). The week prior to my arrival they were hitting 21m, and even the hardened regulars were nervous and strapping everything down...lol. I've also been out there when the seas were pretty calm and peaceful.

The spookiest thing for me was watching the supply boat in that particular storm. At 275' long, that thing was bobbing around like an empty beer can...lol. Those guys are pretty tough. They do 30 days at a time, and in the winter the north Atlantic can be rough for days or weeks on end.

Here's a video from the same FPSO that I was on.

I've spent my whole life next to the ocean, and I honestly have very little interest in spending any amount of time on it other than when my employment requires me to...lol.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

60' is nothing when you have 40' waves.

Hell, Battleships and Cruise Liners get tossed about.

I have to go offshore with my work every now and then, and I've seen 40' waves, and bigger in the North Atlantic. I was once on an FPSO about 200 miles from shore, and that vessel at almost 1000' long, sure was rockin' and rollin'. They were measuring the waves near the rig with a wave rider, and they were hitting 16m (trough to crest). The week prior to my arrival they were hitting 21m, and even the hardened regulars were nervous and strapping everything down...lol. I've also been out there when the seas were pretty calm and peaceful.

The spookiest thing for me was watching the supply boat in that particular storm. At 275' long, that thing was bobbing around like an empty beer can...lol. Those guys are pretty tough. They do 30 days at a time, and in the winter the north Atlantic can be rough for days or weeks on end.

Here's a video from the same FPSO that I was on.

I've spent my whole life next to the ocean, and I honestly have very little interest in spending any amount of time on it other than when my employment requires me to...lol.

Wow, what a great video Cory!

Those guys are fearless and insane in equal parts.

I don't want to know what a 65-70' wave is like!

Yeah, it's not just the North Atlantic.

South Atlantic hurricane season is end of June through November.

The Caribbean doesn't get spared, and waves are worse as they move to shallow water because they start breaking.

Look at the cyclone that just ripped through Kolkata and Bangladesh.

The Capes of Horn and Hope are all that plus a rip tide bigger than you can imagine.

It's been calculated that hurricanes have the kinetic energy of millions of atomic bombs.

That one could fill mankinds energy needs for a year,

I've been 400+ miles offshore surfing an Ocean 70 down the fronts of waves.

No idea how high they were. No radio, before satellite communications and beyond the reach of helicopters.

"Batten down the hatches!"

Mother nature is no joke.

 

[Rembrant]

Wow, what a great video Cory!

Those guys are fearless and insane in equal parts.

Funny story: That offshore trip when the waves were 16m, I flew out there for a couple days worth of work, and ended up staying for 8 days...lol. Once the weather turns bad, they cancel the choppers, and then as the flights get delayed/backed up, contractors like me fall to the bottom of the priority list. Crew always take priority, so they'll let a guy like me sit around for days waiting for an opening. It's not a big deal and I can laugh about it in hindsight, but being stuck out there in the winter is not my idea of fun at all...lol. When I went last year, I went out and back on a supply vessel. The fog was too thick for the choppers.

I have a lot of respect for the men that work at sea, and I know a lot of them. Waves aside, working in oil and gas would be a luxury compared to some. The fishing vessels ride those same waves up here, working 12 hr days for a month straight. The big clam trawlers are large enough when they come in after a month they have 400 ton of cargo, packaged, boxed, and already frozen. Being on the vessels when they're tied up is enough for me...lol.

I was actually scheduled to renew my offshore safety training next week but just cancelled it yesterday. Part of the training they strap you in the "dunker" chopper simulator, drop it in the water and roll it upside down. You have to do it 5 times in a row from different seating positions, and with and without breathing apparatus. This place is just a couple miles from my work.