Small jobs making a big difference & newsletter update

After surviving Storm Floris we had the excitement ;) of swapping stuff between boat and storage container and a trip to Aldi for fresh food. Then we managed four quick improvements to life on board.

Reusing

We have muddled through for a long time with a "table top" for our Lagun table leg that was originally the double bed insert from the original aft cabin. Now we have a new table top cut from the extension leaf of my parents old dining table. It is a much better shape (with rounded corners) and has great memories.

At some point, we are going to need to coat it in epoxy to protect it, but that won't change the memories. I'm using it now for my keyboard and mouse as I sit on the starboard sofa with the 40" TV turned to face me (I was able to lie back with my feet up and watch a film earlier, really comfy). That is made easier by our second bit of progress.

Fixed computers and wiring.

So far, when sitting in the Nook++ using my Geeokom mini PC, the cables and PC have all been hanging loose. We haven't set up Jane's before on the boat. Now, these might not have a permanent place on the boat (although mine is a lot faster at video editing than my laptop), we do already have them (about 18 months old), and I should be able to wire things to run them directly from the DC system.

Currently, we don't have a DC system installed, so while the boat is in the boatyard, everything is running off 230V AC. But we have used extension leads a bit randomly. I found mounting plates for the Geeokom mini PCs and now we have this:

The wiring needs some cable ties and we need to fix the power transformers in place but this is a lot better. We just switch the HDMI cable and keyboard+mouse USB wireless dongle between the machines and we are ready to use them. We have another screen (12volt) and keyboard+mouse in the store so we can setup for simultaneous use later.

Nook++ improvements

Next two little improvements to the Nook++

First, a better fitting shelf (the first of about 6 on the port hull side).

Second, I've made it easier to get in and out around the Nook++ table. Just cut down the ends of the bolts and reduced the size of the plywood to which the hinges are bolted. Scapes less likely and a little more knee room as you enter.

Now that the outboard end of the table is bolted in place, I might cut this down further to only two hinges, but this is already an improvement.

Newsletter/Membership update

We are still learning how Ghost works, and so are having to adjust things a bit. The current goal is to have two "newsletters" (and everyone makes their own choice about what to get).

One is the update email for new posts (like this if you got it by email). I will ensure there is never more than one per day of these, so if we have multiple posts, there will still only be one update email, and the next day's update email will include links to the extra posts.

The second is the weekly(ish) newsletter that we aim to send out every Sunday. There will be two versions of this (I am still learning how to do that in Ghost). Paid-up members will get the full weekly newsletter and it will include a list of all the posts that week (so you won't miss out if you choose only one email per week). Everyone on the Free Tier who is subscribed to the weekly(ish) newsletter will get the list of posts and an excerpt of the full newsletter.

Ghost also allows you to get responses to your comments by email.

To configure your emails, you need to:

1. Sign in: We don't use passwords (none to remember). Instead whenever Ghost forgets you are "Signed in" it will send you a "Secure sign in link for Sustainable Sailing" email, click the "Sign in to Sustainable Sailing" button and you will be welcomed back personally.
2. Click the "Acccount" button top right of every page
3. Click "Manage" next to "Emails: Update your preferences" and select which emails you want to get.

You can change your email preferences at any time; changes will take immediate effect. So remember:

"Sustainable Sailing Updates
New content from SustainableSailing"
is a maximum of one email per day containing the first post of that day (with a link to extra posts from the previous day)

"Sustainable Sailing Newsletter (paid-up members)
Our weekly(ish) Newsletter for all Early Bird Members to keep you up-to-date with everything SustainableSailing"
is a maximum of one email per week, if you are a paid member it will be a full newsletter, otherwise it will be a list of posts for the week and an excerpt of the main newsletter.

"Comments
Get notified when someone replies to your comment"
What it says on the tin ;-)

Hopefully, this clarifies things! Let us know in the comments or by email if not.

RSS

We also have a full RSS support if you use an RSS Feed reader (if you know you know, if not don't worry).

Social Media

• Ghost puts out automatic updates to Mastodon at @blog@sustainablesailing.net
• We manually put posts on the SustainableSailing FaceBook Page not always immediately.
• We put more updates on Mastodon @SustainableSailing@mas.to