Haksaw76

1969 vw bug.

2017-07-03T20:51:00.002-07:00

Pictures of when I bought it in Maine . Same owner since 1971 , he worked at a vw dealer in Kentucky and it came in on trade with 25 k on odometer. Has dealer option alloy rims vw turtle backs .

Fuel gauge is not accurate.

Drive on way home , was very bumpy from flat spots on tires .

Has a 1970 Ghia front beam with disc brakes.

Block is from. 73 beetle 1600 cc he used the single port 1500 cc upper.

camp in Vermont A frame

2017-06-30T04:28:00.001-07:00

A lot of hard wood for heating house.

peavy

Dead

fall. They peavey with log lift saves chains and back.

New stihl professional grade saw , wow a great saw.

Rear view of camp after extensive tree clearing

Cooking on the Eco Zoom rocket stove . This thing is awesome with a cast iron skillet. It really matches all the hype. The only down side is cleanup with cast iron. Very dirty and you need to oil after every use to avoid rust. But well worth it. While in Vermont we eat very healthy buying fresh vegetable and chicken locally.

Knee walls going in after gutting the place. I used the cheap planking from Home Depot . Only draw back is it is not smooth and dries a lot smaller leaving gaps. But it is very hard once dried. Better for lower wall areas.

Shelving area with u s b outlet. Led can light above with switch going in next to outlet. Pressure tank will be going below.

Knee wall.

Eco Zoom with chicken and vegetables. I always cook with coconut oil.

family

2017-03-27T18:13:00.002-07:00

Camp in Vermont

2017-03-18T18:51:00.002-07:00

This is our camp in central Vermont. It's been a lot of work. Metal roof , gutted inside , new plumbing and outside shower. Plus clearing a over grown lot.

metal roof going on, outside shower completed

Summer 2012 Potter 19 sailing

2012-07-16T19:03:00.001-07:00

Launching Salem Harbor 2012

Off Gloucester

Gloucester Mass

Florida Keys Nov. 2011 Potter 19

2012-04-14T15:08:00.001-07:00

Florida Keys Nov. 2011 Potter 19

2012-04-14T10:59:00.001-07:00

2012-04-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sailing overnight Salem, Boston September 2011 Potter 19

2012-04-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Overnight trip with Chris in the Potter 19, great sunsets stayed off Nahant. Let her off on shore in morning.

Revere beach from Lynn/ Nahant harbor

View of Boston off Manchester Ma

On way back to Salem harbor next day.

November Florida Keys Trip

2011-11-09T02:21:00.001-08:00

Below is link to my location on Google Maps
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0yrlcuEjy8KNp8DpLR07sE2OPnz0eZ5nn

Going around a key on Atlantic Side

Bird off State Park just on Atlantic Side of bridge. Dropped mast with block and tackle to get under. Would not have done if sea was not as calm.

Alligator Reef and Light House, moored off light and snorkeled. The wave swells were very steep and did not stay long because was getting sea sick, first time had that happen. The coral and fish are great at this location.
Water was very clear.

Water is clear and blue

Alligator Reef Light

Downwind run about 16 knots of wind very easy sailing

Marathon City Marina, Very clean and well run, spending night after three days on the HOOK.

Spending another two days here till wind dies, real hardship but thats life.

My GPS Spot Location

2011-11-09T02:11:00.001-08:00

https://login.findmespot.com/spot-main-web/locations/history.html

The Camp Maine Off the Grid Solar powered

2011-09-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Pond Frozen over 2010

Lady Slippers (the pink flower above) are all over the area of the camp. The are actually a orchid.

The end of the Dock

View from across the pond

Board walk made out of cedar

Blue berries are all around

The port of Belfast is 18 miles away great place, upscale.

Corn field near camp

September sail trip Nahant, Revere, Salem, Gloucester

2011-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sunset over Revere from Nahant at anchor , great place to sleep.

Another shot of Revere.

sailboats off Marblehead

Boston from Manchester by the Sea.

sail 2011

2011-08-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

First sail of new boat. Out rack with 5 watt solar panel wired into a charger controller, new sheets , jib/lapper and some fittings. Still working out the bugs.

Off Marblehead MA

Boston skyline to the south.

Revere shyline from Nahant were I anchored for the night.

Graves Light.

2008 Trip to Mexico Desert

2011-07-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

On May 4th 2008, myself and my good friend Kurt (high school) crossed into Cuidad Acuna from Del Rio Texas. We both rode KLR 650 motorcycles which are enduro's. We spent 90 % of the time off pavement in the outback of the Mexican Desert. The trip centered around visiting the Acuna Mines. One a old volcano, and the other a deep hole. We also rode through the Melon Tunnel and countless small off the grid cattle towns.

Kurt and I loading up a few feet from border.

Just into Acuna the day before Cinco de mayo

Last of the pavement and Kurts bike keeps stalling out. We both figured it out after a couple of hours. No other issues. Except the coming crash.

First town in desert. Kurts bike still acting up

These kids live a hard life. We gave them US coins.

Staged Hollywood shot

This little place was in the middle of nothing one town from no where. The old man was not
interested in talking with us.

It started raining and Kurt was warned by the Trooper to slow down. He

crashed and ripped up his bike and shoulder. The good news is he can get his bike running after a hit from a RPG-7.

After first night out. We always tried to stay on terrain feature away from a trail and not use a lot of light.

Cool abandoned town. One house looked occupied but no one around. Mexicans are very religious and always have areas for Saints.

Pretty cool.

This is when we made are way into the hills. Kurt has a back brace on. Or is it part of his Nacho Libre out fit?

Water troth, We meet two guys building a rain water catch further down the trail.

Kurt with cigerillio

Cool caves on cliff

Lot of huge cliffs.
Cattle ranch with hanger and air strip. horse in pen, and no one around.

Next town we bought sodas off these kids. No store and solar for electric. On house was using the car to charge the batteries.

These guys lent us tools and sold us gas. Very honest people.

Smaller mine shafts, temps over 100F

Great picture facing North

Favorite picture.

Plastic explosive all over ground

Tried to go North towards La Linda on US border, road was washed out and gated

Ranch hand riding out on horse to meet us. He had a family living in those buildings, he worked as a hand on a bigger cattle farm.

Kurt looking chipper.

Mining buildings, a family lives here but did not appear.

Entry down into mine.

Hollywood shot

Huge and awesome for a New England-er to see

wooooooooooooooo

Red dot is me

The Dude, Duderama, Duderino

2008 Trip to Mexico Desert

2011-07-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

On May 4th 2008 myself and a good friend from my highschool days crossed from Del Rio Texas into Acuna Mexico. Our trip was planned to spend 90% of the time away from civilization. We visited the Acuna mine that is a old volcano and another deep hole mine. We also road through the Melone Tunnel and went to Muiz Quiz.

March 2011 Sailing trip to Key West in Potter 15

2011-07-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Parking lot in Taverner Key near the put in. It was a long ride down from Boston. This boat was originally Larry Brown's Boat and came with a signed copy of his of his sailing book. I had sailed the Keys in this boat in April 2010 with a friend and had a good time. This prior trip was my first sailing experience and we could barely figure out how to rig the boat. Many sails and a year later I returned with a much better rigged and outfitted boat.

I ended up putting two twist and lock ports in the rear of the cockpit seats where you hardly sit. I drilled a small hole in the center of the screw on lid and tided a rope to it that hangs down into the interior. On it I attached other ropes using cheap aluminum carabiners. This way I can store a lot of smaller ropes and they never get tangled.

In this picture you can see part of the crew awaken after almost carrying out a mutiny the first day. This picture shows the green line of the jib down haul and the lock down cleat. All lines running to the rear set up. And the wood slider top I built too provide a platform for two water proof LED lights, a big kayak compass and a 5 watt solar panel (not in photo) that charges my AGM battery. I installed navigation lights (LED) on the front top of the cabin, LED red and white interior cabin light, and two LED bait well lights at the rear of the transom were the old Potter data plate was . These transom lights illuminate the cockpit and sail controls for night time sailing. The navigation and bait well lights are Atwood brand from Walmart. I also added a boom vang and changed the main sheet from the companionway door to the rear of the cockpit.

In this image you can see the addition of a foot hold and one loop of a swim ladder rope to get back on the boat, it is below the name of the boat.

In this picture you can see the rear traveler and main sheet set up. It really freed up a lot of room in the already small cockpit. This picture is taken on the Atlantic side east of Lois Key. We were on a very fast down win run and had one reef in the main. It would have been better to run with just the jib because the wind and seas really picked up and we had to run over some shallow coral to get closer to shore. The Garmin GPS was some. The maps are more detailed than the charts.

The above picture is at the end of our first day which we stayed at Fiesta Key. You can see the 3 inch PVC anchor holder on the bow pulpit. This was a quick fix for not having a anchor holder.

Fiesta Key was a little run down but had hot showers, a bathroom and good bar with live music.

After leaving Fiesta Key we stayed on the Gulf side and continued south. I brought my Sears 19.2 volt work radio with the $80 Lithium battery. It lasted the whole trip. It also has a Ipod jack. You can also see the blue and red line with the lock down below the companionway door. Blue is to lift the keel up and red is to lock it down in bad weather. This is a great addition for me who single hands a lot and can know stay in the cockpit to adjust the keel. My first mate is covered up because she was getting sun poisoning due to her fair skin. In Key West we purchased Under Armor brand SPF / sun blocking clothes.

In this picture you can see the white cutting boards on the rudder I used to strengthen it. I used one on each side and bonded them to the rudder with 5200 and ss screws. The key was were we stayed on day two. It is covered with birds so we stayed on the boat to sleep. It smelled so we called it bird shit key.

The sunset at Bird shit key.

The below picture is of the down wind run that started on day three and became very intense at times. I forgot to tie off the main sail after reefing for a good part of the trip.

At the Seven mile bridge crossing a pod of Dolphins joined us. They swam along and across the front wake of the tiny Potter for a half and hour. What a treat for New Englanders in the beginning of March. Right after this we watched a huge sting ray swim close to the surface over a patch of white sand. We are still south on the Gulf side.

This video is us right before the seven mile bridge. I had a "keyzee" jazz station playing.

Sorry about it tilting. I was using my Ipod video camera and should have kept it straight.

On the third day we stayed south of the Bahia Honda bridge in a protected cove. It was a "worm moon" and the tides were very low. The winds were also very bad. We were told by many that this was uncommon. At night we drifted out to the center of the cove and set anchor to sleep, away from the bugs and people. Great place. Good swimming.

You can see the black hand pumped solar shower out getting warm. This garden sprayer device worked great.

Cove at dusk.

The next day the wind on the Gulf side really picked up and came a little out of the west as well as the north. We sailed and motored north through the Bahia Honda bridge to the Atlantic side to avoid the harsh wind. I believe it shifted about a hour after we sailed over and was getting very harsh.

In this photo I had just reefed the main and forgot to tie it off. It look like it has the stays too loose. My first mate and I dawned our life vests, got the door ready and radio after the wind really picked up. The waves started to crest over the transom so we changed course to get closer to shore. The tide was very shallow and we had to run fast over coral reefs. The Potter was great with its shallow draft. If I had to due it again I would have just run under the jib. Later in the trip thats what I did. The accuracy and detail of the GPS was a great aid. The water was a awesome color. We had a sea turtle pass under us and fighter jets dog fighting over head.

Heading south on the Atlantic side.

Moving along south of Lois Key.

This is when we pulled into Boca Chica on the Atlantic side. It was the first protected area we could find after the wind really picked up. I had to get out and pull the boat over the sand bars. As we pulled into the cove I noticed no one on the beach had cloths on. It was a nude beach on a Navy Base, as a former Army guy I got a chuckle out of it. We ended up having a great time collecting sponges and shells on shore and hung out until dark. Then we slept on the boat. The tide came in as it was getting dark. My first mate wanted to stay a extra day at this location and we should have. It was very pretty and only had a few beach goers due to its remoteness.

Thats me setting the anchors and ties off "Fearless" for the night.

Sun going down, tide coming in. We are almost to Key West.

We always tried to eat and cook on land. I bought a Rubber Maid hard Box at Walmart that we kept the food and stove in. We call it or vittles box. Like all Potter sailors everything had to go in the cockpit at night.

Me cooking.

Sun going down.

Fearless at night. I put a lot of reflective tape on the boat and a red piece at the top of the mast. I felt it may help us from getting run over. It also helps when trailering at night.

After we left Boca Chica I did not want to sail around the south side of Key West. Instead I found a river that had a dug out channel to a marina. I sailed into it and dropped sail and started the motor. At the end of the channel was a bridge that was very low. We motored next to it and tried to measure the height. I was tried and wanted to get across so in the very center I gunned the engine and went for it. Chris closed her eyes as the Windex scraped so slightly. We made it and were in Key West bay. This bay has power lines running down it which most sail boats can not go under. The Potter 15 laughs at comments like this. As we entered the bay I was very tired. Chris had not yet sailed on the trip and the wind / crazy tides of 8 hours a day of sailing had made me tired. I put up the jib only and asked her to sail. As I was sleeping Chris woke me worried about how she was sailing. I told her she was doing great and try and let me sleep for a couple. She woke me again and said that paratroopers in BDU's had jumped out of a plane and were on both sides of the boat. I chuckled and conitnued to sleep. When I heard a plane right over the boat and she said more are dropping it got my attention. For a minute I thought she had sailed to Cuba while I slept for a whole day. It ended up being the US Army Scuba School.

Soldiers being recovered by Zodiacs in the North side of Key West Bay.

We continued on a down wind run by Jib only (slow) to Garrison Bite Marina in Key West.

As we pulled into the Marina in Key West a Manatee came and greeted us. He was as large as the Potter. The next day he came back with his "lady" and kid.

Very sweet animal.

We went into the marina office and they asked were we sailed from. They then asked how long our boat was. The lady did not believe us at first. The people in Key West could not be more friendly. A guy on the dock lent us his bike. Everyone was so laid back and easy going. Not like the uptight Pilgrims in Boston.

Old Key West building.

The best place in Key West we visited was Hemingway's house. It is a great building that has not been touched. He was such a interesting person who I have read more about. He had a herd of pterodactyl cats which still live on the grounds (descendants) .

I learned a lot from the trip. The Potter was great for sailing over shallow coral and sand bars. It was nice to be able and not have to sail Hawk Channel. I have made further improvements to the boat. The GPS was key. We change plans and adjusted on the fly because the charts on it are so good. The depth markings on the map helped out a lot although the crazy tides made low tide lower than posted. A Potter 19 would have been better but the Forrester would not have pulled it w/o brakes. The P 15 was great but I have sense bought a Tacoma 4 cylinder and have been looking at P19's Montgomery's and Precision 165/18. Hope you enjoyed this trip. For time sake I left out some of the side like traveling up canals ect.

7/24/11 I just purchased a 1996 Potter 19 and have sold Fearless. We are planning another trip to the Keys on the Potter 19.