This week I had the pleasure of sampling the customer support of 2 well-known tech companies. The first was a company I will call X, which had mysteriously started billing Helenas credit card monthly for online services. The second was Apple, after Helenas Mac Mini bit the dust.
Company X is a large one, and many tech companies seem to emulate its service practices, so it is really representative of a large number of companies.
On the face of it, Xs service was slick, high-tech, and hip. What this means is that every operator is young, fast, and multi-tasking. I have no doubt that these hipsters were handling 2 or even 3 calls at a time. You can tell, because you never seem to have their full attention. Every question is followed by a pause, presumably as they switch back to your call. These young multi-taskers seem bright and helpful, and Im sure they felt highly productive, but really, their main purpose seems to be moving you along to the next person in the service chain.
And these chains have loops. You think you are making progress as you move from the general operator, to the billing department, to tech support, to the accounts department, and then all of a sudden you are routed back to the general operator, who tries to push you back into the Circle of Frustration as fast as possible.
And the chain is broken! At each step, you need to start from square one, giving them your name, address, phone number, describing the problem, explaining that, yes, youd already talked to the billing department, no, they had just forward me to you...
It is almost as if X has hired a bunch of untrained kids whos job it is to forward you to the next kid, until you give up and hang up.
Helena did give up when she tried, and handed the problem to me. I was more persistent and insistent, and finally broke out of the Circle of Frustration to reach someone who could actually help me. That was 70 minutes later.
Apple was a different story. Helenas disk drive died this weekend and needed to be repaired ASAP. I unplugged the computer (its about the size of a book) and drove it down to the Apple Store. I was met by the equivalent of a blue-shirted general operator, who made eye contact, asked one or two questions, and touched the iPad he was holding several times. He then told me that a service agent would be with me in a moment, and calmly showed me where to stand (this was in a JAMMED Apple store on a Saturday night, mind you.)
45 seconds later, a female service agent was at my elbow. Remarkably, she did not repeat the same basic questions. Instead, she made eye contact, and then used her iPad to scan the barcode on the back of the broken computer.
Then she asked me two or three more detailed questions about my computer and problem, touched her iPad mysteriously, and calmly walked me over to the Genius Bar.
There, another Apple employee took a form off a printer and handed it to her. The form was preprinted with all my contact and case info.
I signed the form as requested, she took the computer out of my hand and slipped it into a bag with copies of the paper work, and told me it would be fixed on Tuesday.
Total elapse time: perhaps 5 minutes.
"What does this have to do with boatbuilding?" I can hear you asking.
Just this: the X approach to problem solving is to multi-task -- to work on a bunch of problems simultaneously, to work as fast as possible, to flit from one problem to the next -- seeming to do a lot, but actually to get nothing done.
In contrast, the Apple employees worked slower. They were not in a rush. They made eye contact. When they were working with you, they were only working with you, and no one else. I had the feeling that these kids had nothing to do that was more important than solving my problem.
And solve it they did. Slowly, calmly, methodically. There was no multi-tasking, no flitting about. By focusing on just me, on just my problem, for a few moments, they solved my problem. Not in 70 minutes, but in 5.
Focus. Calmness. No multi-tasking.
This struck me, because in the face of a long boatbuilding to-do list, Ive adopted the same focused strategy. Tackle one problem at a time and work at it -- calmly (mostly!), without distraction -- until its done.
Sometimes its frustrating, because some tasks take a long (long!) time, but eventually, if you stick to it, you will finish.
All this is a long way to say, Ive finally installed my boomkin!
I gathered all the parts, tools, and fasteners needed (I made a check list, to be sure) and rowed out to the Blue Moon to do the install.
I didnt take any blow-by-blow pictures during the assembly, because most of the time my hands were covered with Dophinite bedding compound, which is sticky and seems to get everywhere.
Here is a shot that shows the two plates which hold the spars together, and provide bases for the sheet block and boomkin stay. If you click on the picture, you can also see the stay.
Heres an overhead shot with some more detail.
You can see that I have a bit too much tension on the stay in this photo.
Next year, I hope to replace my painted bowsprit (which I had to shorten by a foot during my voyage up the coast), with a new varnished one, to match the boomkin. I wont be using hickory, though!
You might have noticed in the overhead photo above, Ive already started work replacing my rotted mast partner. The old part is cut away, and Ive already laminated up a replacement piece. Now I just need to fit it and cut it to shape. Hope to have the details and pics next time.
Meanwhile, focus, focus, focus!
>>> Next Episode: Mast Partner
Company X is a large one, and many tech companies seem to emulate its service practices, so it is really representative of a large number of companies.
On the face of it, Xs service was slick, high-tech, and hip. What this means is that every operator is young, fast, and multi-tasking. I have no doubt that these hipsters were handling 2 or even 3 calls at a time. You can tell, because you never seem to have their full attention. Every question is followed by a pause, presumably as they switch back to your call. These young multi-taskers seem bright and helpful, and Im sure they felt highly productive, but really, their main purpose seems to be moving you along to the next person in the service chain.
And these chains have loops. You think you are making progress as you move from the general operator, to the billing department, to tech support, to the accounts department, and then all of a sudden you are routed back to the general operator, who tries to push you back into the Circle of Frustration as fast as possible.
And the chain is broken! At each step, you need to start from square one, giving them your name, address, phone number, describing the problem, explaining that, yes, youd already talked to the billing department, no, they had just forward me to you...
It is almost as if X has hired a bunch of untrained kids whos job it is to forward you to the next kid, until you give up and hang up.
Helena did give up when she tried, and handed the problem to me. I was more persistent and insistent, and finally broke out of the Circle of Frustration to reach someone who could actually help me. That was 70 minutes later.
Apple was a different story. Helenas disk drive died this weekend and needed to be repaired ASAP. I unplugged the computer (its about the size of a book) and drove it down to the Apple Store. I was met by the equivalent of a blue-shirted general operator, who made eye contact, asked one or two questions, and touched the iPad he was holding several times. He then told me that a service agent would be with me in a moment, and calmly showed me where to stand (this was in a JAMMED Apple store on a Saturday night, mind you.)
45 seconds later, a female service agent was at my elbow. Remarkably, she did not repeat the same basic questions. Instead, she made eye contact, and then used her iPad to scan the barcode on the back of the broken computer.
Then she asked me two or three more detailed questions about my computer and problem, touched her iPad mysteriously, and calmly walked me over to the Genius Bar.
There, another Apple employee took a form off a printer and handed it to her. The form was preprinted with all my contact and case info.
I signed the form as requested, she took the computer out of my hand and slipped it into a bag with copies of the paper work, and told me it would be fixed on Tuesday.
Total elapse time: perhaps 5 minutes.
"What does this have to do with boatbuilding?" I can hear you asking.
Just this: the X approach to problem solving is to multi-task -- to work on a bunch of problems simultaneously, to work as fast as possible, to flit from one problem to the next -- seeming to do a lot, but actually to get nothing done.
In contrast, the Apple employees worked slower. They were not in a rush. They made eye contact. When they were working with you, they were only working with you, and no one else. I had the feeling that these kids had nothing to do that was more important than solving my problem.
And solve it they did. Slowly, calmly, methodically. There was no multi-tasking, no flitting about. By focusing on just me, on just my problem, for a few moments, they solved my problem. Not in 70 minutes, but in 5.
Focus. Calmness. No multi-tasking.
This struck me, because in the face of a long boatbuilding to-do list, Ive adopted the same focused strategy. Tackle one problem at a time and work at it -- calmly (mostly!), without distraction -- until its done.
Sometimes its frustrating, because some tasks take a long (long!) time, but eventually, if you stick to it, you will finish.
All this is a long way to say, Ive finally installed my boomkin!
I gathered all the parts, tools, and fasteners needed (I made a check list, to be sure) and rowed out to the Blue Moon to do the install.
I didnt take any blow-by-blow pictures during the assembly, because most of the time my hands were covered with Dophinite bedding compound, which is sticky and seems to get everywhere.
Here is a shot that shows the two plates which hold the spars together, and provide bases for the sheet block and boomkin stay. If you click on the picture, you can also see the stay.
Heres an overhead shot with some more detail.
The new boomkin is a foot longer than the old boomkin, so the wire stay was not long enough. I puzzled over this problem for awhile, and then hit on the simple idea of inserting a foot of galvanized anchor chain into the line with a shackle.
So from the tang on the transom, there is a foot of chain, then a turnbuckle, and then the steel wire. The turnbuckle makes it easy to adjust the tension on the boomkin. Not much is needed; just enough to snug it up. Ive actually got a bit too much tension on it in these photos. I took some off, later.
Some of my readers have wondered how the boomkins are attached inboard. Heres a photo of the simple arrangement.
This is why the boomkin goes from round (to fit through round hole in transom and into round bracket), to hexagonal, to square (to make it easier to affix the brackets.)
Finally, here are a couple photos to show how the lines of the boomkin work with the Blue Moons lines. As one of the guys at the yacht club said, the boomkin looks like its always been there.
You can see that I have a bit too much tension on the stay in this photo.
Next year, I hope to replace my painted bowsprit (which I had to shorten by a foot during my voyage up the coast), with a new varnished one, to match the boomkin. I wont be using hickory, though!
You might have noticed in the overhead photo above, Ive already started work replacing my rotted mast partner. The old part is cut away, and Ive already laminated up a replacement piece. Now I just need to fit it and cut it to shape. Hope to have the details and pics next time.
Meanwhile, focus, focus, focus!
>>> Next Episode: Mast Partner
Horn Island offers miles of usually deserted white sand beaches and pine forests
Marshes like this are found throughout the interior of the island, making it difficult to hike across the island except in a few places.
Heres a shot of the "galley" on Element, a two-burner propane stove on deck. This worked great even in the 15-20 knot winds I experienced the first night anchored out, due to the windscreen formed by the stoves lid. Dishes were easily done in a bucket of seawater, followed by a fresh water rinse. Stainless steel cookware is the way to go.
Every night of the trip I had perfect sunsets like this. I anchored far enough out to avoid the mosquitoes that are thick at night on the beaches, so at night I burned a white L.E.D. anchor light just in case any powerboaters cruised through the area. This portable L.E.D. light was great. I burned it all night for three nights without having to replace the AA batteries. When I get to the point of outfitting Element II for cruising, all navigation and interior lighting will be L.E.D.
Element anchored off Horn Island. 
