Friday, December 14, 2012



I wish you could have been there :)

Thanks for watching, please feel free to comment and subscribe.

Dean

Monday, December 10, 2012



The first friday in December.

Every year for the last 17 (as best we can remember) my friends and I have been making 48 gallons of bean with ham soup, to pass out to the public.



The City of Petoskey Michigan has an open house every year, they close off the streets, the merchants hand out food and drinks, music in the streets and the lighting of the giant Christmas Tree in the park.

Our Dad's started making it back in the 60's for the Petoskey Snowmobile Club for fundaising.  We learned from them, built our own pot and haven't looked back :)



The downtown merchants provide us with the ingredients and provide the time and expertise :))

We end up passing out about 750 cups of soup in a matter of 2 hours once we start dipping, at 6pm when they light the Christmas Tree.

This year, since me and my friends joined the OddFellows Lodge 282 in Petoskey, we thought we would represent them at the bean pot.  It worked great, we had some say: my Dad and Grampa were Oddfellows, and they asked, what is the Oddfellows anyway?



That is just what we were hoping would happen, generate some intrest in the club.  We hope to help keep the Petoskey Lodge from folding, it has been here since 1885 non stop.

The weather was almost to nice, for a Christmas event, but we will take it.  The streets were packed and the music was jammin.

I have a video loading to You Tube, I will post it as soon as it completes.

Thanks, Dean

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Hey Everybody,

Not alot going on up here this time of year.  Just been getting the place ready for winter, putting away the hoses, tiller, mower, bla,bla,bla.

We have had one project going on weekends, building a Tiny House, on a trailer.  It is 8' x 20' with a sleeping loft.

The goal is to get it to just a plywood box stage for the winter, then he will start looking for windows, doors and stuff like that.  He bought an old camper for the stove, furnace, hot water heater, holding tanks, freshwater tanks, electrical panes and all that stuff.

This is where we stand as of yesterday Sunday Oct. 28th.

enjoy



Feel free to be a follower of my blog, and subscribe.

Later, Dean

Friday, October 12, 2012

Sleety Sh::tty stuff comming down



I guess the day is here, it is time to put the shrink wrap back on the big wood boat (needs a name bad) for the winter.

I had a few friends over last night to work on Marks tiny house, so I had some help moving the windshield back down to the bow.  The shriinkwrap should roll right back on, at least that is my plan at this point.

Stay tuned, I will try to get some photo's and video of the wrap wrestling session :)

Dean

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Headliner removal on the 63 Owens Classic

All the carpet has been ripped out and I bleached the entire interior :0

Then one thing led to another and down came the headliner!!

Thanks for watching and feel free to comment,

Dean

A look at the wood hull from the inside






This video is a little long but it gives a great look at the belly of the big wood boat.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I threw a bottle overboard


WOW!  Now this is a great story! :)

I got an email the other day, the header said "I found your bottle".



I thought, what? Although those who know me, do know I have thrown bottles overboard with a note in them before.  I opened the mail and this is what it said:

9/10/2012

 Hi
I'm from Portugal, Caldas da Rainha, and last week I went to the island of Azores, Sao Miguel to a little vacations.
I found your bottle in Mosteiros, a seacoast village.

Cynthia Surgy
--------------------------------------------------------

That just floored me!!!  Should I believe her?  I must, because she had  my email, and I always put it on the notes.  I google earthed the azores and about freaked out!  Wow !

So I replied back:

WOW ! Are you serious??  If it is the one I am thinking of, I tossed it overboard off the coast of New York City in Oct. of 2010.  If possible could you take a picture of the bottle and the note, so I know it is not a hoax, I guess it's not because you got my email.

More details please, Thanks Dean
ps. I think I have a You Tube of me tossing it overboard, I will look for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well I didn't take a video of it getting tossed overboard, and I later realized that it was actually tossed over, out off Atlantic City on our offshore run to Cape MayNJ.  I got to thinking back, we were weathered in at AC for 5 days due to wind.


  We made the dash out of there, got to Cape May and the wind blew for another few days, so, we left with the hi-outgoing tide, and with the wind, it just shot out offshore and kept going!
I was soooo anxious to hear back from her, my mind was just racing!

A few hours later I got this email:

Yes, I have pictures and I just put the note on my scan.
I was just looking from some natural pool, of sea in Mosteiros and in a little space where some wood and garbage were, I saw a bottle and I said to my mother: look, a bottle, It would be so cool if it had a message, just like in movies.She just made a joke and when I looked better I saw that the bottle really had a note :)
Really, a youtube? I would like to see that.

Sorry for my english, Cynthia
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are the photos she sent, you really gotta love the smart phones with cameras nowdays!!  What luck that I get photos of the mariner itself, being rescued from the sea a year and 11 months after being cast away!!


 You can see the note and the tape around the top

Just a few hitchhikers


I wondered how sweaty the note would get riding inside the bottle for so long.  Not bad.


A few years ago I tossed one overboard when we were under the Mackinaw Bridge (Michigan) and it was found about a month later, only 17 miles south east of the bridge, but it was still cool to hear from the people.
While on our trip of a liftime, I also tossed one over in the middle of Lake Huron and Lake Erie, with no response yet.
I don't know where this will go from hear, but I think it tops off our voyage in the best of ways!!!  
Good Karma !!!

blowinganddrifting with Dean Bachelor

please feel free to be my first follower, and feel free to comment

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I WALKED THE MACKINAW BRIDGE !!!!

Cross this one off my Bucket List!! 



A cute story here,  this started a couple months ago.  I had been watching some Appalation (sp) Trail videos on you tube, wondering if someday I would attempt something like that.  Well, I got to thinking about the trail that runs through Michigan not far from my house, The North Country Trail.  The NCT runs from Main to Minnesota, 4,600 miles.  I got to thinking maybe I would just start with the Emmet County section, 40 miles, not all at once obvoiusly, just short segments over a long period of time, a long, long period of time :) 

So, I mentioned it to some friends, nothing big, then as Labor Day approached, we got to talking about walking the Mackinaw Bridge.

Chrissy stated, to my complete surprise, I have already walked it !!
I about passed out, after being together for some 30 years I had never known that, and in fact, she has done it TWICE!!

So when I got an offer to go with some friends this year I jumped at the chance.  Laura and Baily Johnson went last year, and invited me this year.
She picked me up at 7:15 am, we drove to Mackinaw and got on the fleet of school buses that haul you up over the bridge to St. Ignace.  The walk starts there on the North side and you walk South. It is about 5.5 miles not counting the 2 miles you walk from the car and back to the car.

It was pretty cool, after driving almost every kind of vehicle over it, and my boat under it, to walk over it!!!

I got sore legs about 3/4's of the way, but made it ok.  The next day I was even more sore!!

Point being, now I have walked the only section of the 4,600 mile NCT that can only be walked once a year (as if I would ever attempt the entire thing) and it marks the first segment of my hike across Emmet County.  I guess I will just keep going southbound too.
Who knows when I will walk again, but you can be sure I will let you know.

Enjoy the video,

Dean

please feel free to click on follow, comment or contact me anytime.

Thursday, August 16, 2012




Hey Everybody,

I have been having a blast watching the baby hummingbirds on my feeder.  I see them dive bomboming each other and chasing each other around.  I think with the adults and babys there are about 5 or 6 hanging around.



I have gone out and stood by the sunflower and taken these pics.


I will have some video on You Tube sometime soon, our connection is so bad it is taking 765 minutes to load :((

Please feel free to be the first to subscribe to this blog, a prize will be awarded to the first one :)  and I have some dandy prizes at my disposal :)

Later, Dean

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Hey everybody, how are ya? 

Well, I went and did it :)  I put a table out by the road for my veggies.  My first roadside stand.  Hard to say what will develope from it but what the heck.

I actually made 5 dollars on onions, within the first 15 min. of setting up the table, even though it was Uncle Al :) they needed some to go with the pickles Aunt Barb was making.

After months of training the fast growing vines, the morning glorys, four o clocks and sweet peas are finally showing their glory :)



Thanks for stopping by my blog, at least I hope someone is reading them :)
I just learned the a friend from way back followed our sailblog,
Mike Kuna
thanks for following, but why didn't you ever comment ?  brat !!

More to come, stay tuned and feel free to be the first to subscribe

Later, Dean

Tuesday, August 7, 2012




Hey believe it or not, we closed up for a couple days and got out of town!!!

My nephew Adam got married to Christa down in Frankenmuth Michigan.  Mom, Chrissy, me, Stelly and Mr. Pitman got in the car and headed down after work on friday.  It was awesome, the dogs were good in the room, the weather was hot and sunny and the beer was cold and fresh, because the reception was at the brewrey!!

The wedding and reception went without a glitch and everyone had a good time, good food and a great show, the way they did the ceremonys.



So here we are back at work and making more pickles, I have a batch of 21 day sweets going on thier 9th. day, yesterday I made a batch of sandwich dills.  Last week we made a batch of bread n butter pickles.
So, the corn is starting to take off and develope some ears, the brocolli is getting big, waiting on heads though.  I will have a ton of tomatoes before long too.

So, off to work :)

Dean

Please feel free to subscribe to my blog, you could be the first, as I have NO followers.  Sometimes it feels like I write this crap for no reason.
I guess if I have no followers, what's the point of it all ? 

Monday, July 23, 2012

July is beautiful in Bachelor Valley

We have been eating from the garden every day :)  Things are really starting to produce, and it is just going to get better !!!

This video is a little long, but I do end up getting some potatoes

Enjoy, Capt. Dean

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Happy 4th. of July 2012

Let's take a stroll :)


Thanks for watching, please feel free to join my blog and subscribe.  Comments are always welcome too.

Dean

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I took this from my office, through the window.


A few minutes later this guy was on the ground under the feeder.

This was on June 15th. 2012
And this is 10 days later on the 25th.

Just a short blog today, gotta get some batteries for the camera.

Enjoy, Capt. Dean

Monday, June 18, 2012


                            I decided to trailer it myself :)


Ha, not really, as I was walking down to take some pics of the boat with the windshield in place and the canvas installed when I saw the above photo op. :)


                             The windshield and canvas.

Finally and update for ya,  I got the bimini poles and canvas all sorted out.  I got some dock sections ready to install too.

My friend Mark loaned me a ship to shore radio, so I charged up a battery, hauled it up on deck, plugged it all in and YAY loud and clear.  I can hear boats and marinas from Boyne City, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and even all the way out to Beaver Island and Grays Reef Passage, all from 4 to 30 miles away!!

Petoskey at my finger and Beaver Isl. is about 30 miles to the north west.



We gave a few more tours and drank a few more beers aboard over the weekend.

The more I look at it, the more I like it.  I got to thinking about the detail they put into these boats, then I think of back in the sixties it was all about SPACE and SPACE TRAVEL this baby looks like a rocket ship to me. 


The cleats



The stantion bases are 7 sided.



The crown style tops with swept back cast fittings.




The engine air intake ram tubes and clearance light.
We are anxious to start checking out the systems onboard.  We have decided that I need to install a couple batteries and see if the toilets work, and see if I can adapt a sewer drain system.  If it doesn't have an overboard pump out, that would be the first thing I will install.  Not that I will pump out onto the ground, but maybe dig a whole, burry a barrol and run a piece of pipe out from there, just so we can pee onboard.

By installing the batteries and hooking up some shore power, I can start checking interior lights, horns, buttons, pumps and all the rest of the stuff.  I don't know if the stove is capable of shore power or not, probably it is but will have to ck it out.  Same with the fridge.

So, I am looking forward to getting the dock set up in a ramp type set up, for easy on and off for everyone.


Later, Capt. Dean

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Sunday, June 10, 2012




Things are planted, we got some rain, and now we just sit back and wait.  Yeah, right. 



I made a bit of a change to the apperance of Lake Michigan Boarders, put some shape into the ends of the garden, trying to jazz up the look when you drive up to the building (as jazzy as rocks dirt can get :)  ).  As you know I am a use what ya got type o guy, all these rocks and containers were here quite awhile, I just moved em around on the property.  I got to looking around in the barn last fall and noticed I had a mountian of containers, so what do I put in them?  The blue sage that is already blooming in the giant patch growing in the garden!!!

I have wildflowers spread in the area just in front of the building, and on the garden end, flowers, herbs, onions, and all kinds of stuff.
 


All the potatoes are growing like crazy, popcorn is doing great, waiting for carrotts, radishes and peppers all lagging behind.  I like to start tomatoes and peppers from seed and also buy some plants.



No movement on the big boat except I do have a line on a section of dock to put up next to it, for easier in and out. 

This is graduation weekend, and some weddings and stuff so we have a nice full weekend of dogs, 11 for a couple days $$  We need it too, cuz we have a beef ordered up and it should be ready soon.

Enough for now, a nice sunny sunday (ck out day$) gotta go,   Bye,

 Capt. Dean

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The 1963 Owens Tahitian 40' double cabin cruiser is home in Petoskey Michigan.

We loaded it up on the big hydraulic trailer on tues. May 29th. 2012 and then brought it home the next day.  Scott (previous owner and hauler) was able to pull right in where I hoped he could, leveled it up and set it down just as nice as can be.

You know how you feel (alot of you know) when you can't do it all fast enough!!! Ugh, gotta love it !!

I took a bucket of soapy water and the shop vac aboard and in a couple hours, had it looking pretty good in the main salon.

Maybe I should digress abit for ya'll? 

The previous owner had the boat for over 20 years in Traverse City Mi.  in 1994 he sold it, in 1996 he had to take it back, for whatever reasons you can imagin, but 2 were lack of payment and lack of proper care for the boat.  He took it back, recommisioned the engines and generator to be sure they were operational (lack of proper care) and then he de-commisioned them properly.
Then at some point he started some reconditioning process.  He re-seated all the windows and some other stuff I'm not even sure of yet.

Anyway, that is where the bucket of soapy water came in, it was covered in construction dust, sanding dust, dirt, parts, pieces, overspray, leaves, sticks and twigs, no problem for me, I like to find them like that.
I cleaned the TOILETS, that is big if you have seen the first video I took of the way I found it back in dec.

This was before the cleaning :(

We do not plan to spend any real money on anything for starters, it will be big enough just going through each of the engines, and the water and waste systems, determine what works and what doesn't.  Make a list of what doesn't and research what repairs,/restoration will be proper.

Wow, just like cleaning, I can't type enough, fast enough, so I will leave it here for now.

Ck in often, please comment and subscribe :)

I still have the sailblog too, I will use that for any sailing we do with our friends this summer, and for any updates on Rubaiyat as the summer progresses.
http://sailblogs.com/member/blowinganddrifting.com/
Capt. Dean

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Big Wood Boat

Hey Ya'll, 

here is the big boat I bought.  This blog will be full of it as things progress.  The Garden will be a big feature too.

Enjoy !



It is a 1963 Owens Tahitian 40' double cabin cruiser

Here is a closer look











Thanks for stopping bye, PLEASE feel free to comment and subscribe !!

Thanks, Capt. Dean

The first blog for practice.

Hello, My name is Dean Bachelor, this is my first blog, here on blogspot. 

testing 1,2,3, :)