Letter Re: Survival Architecture: Building a Retreat that is Defensible, Sustainable and Affordable

James Wesley:
On March 25, we saw a post by Phil M. indicating that “At a point of 6′ below the surface of  the earth, temperatures stays constant at around 60°F.”  This may only be true for very specific locales.  For most locations, constant ground temperature reflects the average yearly air temperature for the locale, and ground temps are only constant at a depth of about 30 ft. and below.  At depths above 30 ft., ground temperatures begin to increasingly modulate up and down following seasonal air temperature.  In areas of the world with seasonal temperature changes similar to the United States, temperatures at a 6′ depth can swing +/- ~10°F from the constant for a given locale, and at the surface, soil temps may swing as much as +/-20°F or more from the locale’s constant.  Ground temps generally reach their maximum in August and reach their minimum in February. 

For example, here in Northwest Florida, the constant ground temp at 30′ is ~69°F  (water from a 200′ well is only slightly cooler at ~67°F).   In August, the soil temperature 6′ down will be close to 79°F, and in February, temperature at that same 6′ depth will be close to 59°F.

Readers can get a general idea of what  their own U.S. locales may look like at a Virginia Tech web page.

JWR Adds: In northern latitudes, the ambient ground temperature can also be depended on for year-round food refrigeration.

Economics and Investing:

US Finances Rank Near Worst in the World: Study. (A hat tip to C.D.V. for the link.)

J.B.G. flagged this: Worst Texas Drought in 44 Years Eroding Wheat, Beef Supply as Food Rallies

Commentary from Ireland: Default or not to default? Now that’s a no-brainer

Items from The Economatrix:

Just Not in Time Manufacturing: Toyota Tells US Plants “Prepare to Shut Down” 

Breaks in Supply Chain: Disaster in Japan Sends Ripples Through Global Economy

Fed Officials See U.S. Recovery Taking Hold  

Gold Fields: Gold at $1,500 Possible 

Durable Goods Orders Fell 0.9% in February  

Odds ‘n Sods:

No Great Surprise Department: Tokyo Shops Ration Goods as Workers Injured at Nuke Plant

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More statist elitism: California: Concealed Carry For Politicians, But Not For The People. Methinks the denizens of the Sacramento Capitol Building have forgotten who it is that they represent.

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Ten minutes of exciting footage: Exclusive: France 24 Reporters from the front line in Libya. What they lack in skill, they partly make up for, with enthusiasm. This is the quintessence of “a steep learning curve.” (Thanks to Christian L. for the link.)

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My #2 Son sent this: Hack Obtains 9 Bogus Certificates for Prominent Websites; Traced to Iran. #2 Son says: “The implications are huge!”

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Reader M.E.W. sent this: Severed From the World, Villagers Survive on Tight Bonds and To-Do Lists

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What do you call looting when a government does it? Emergency plans in Louisville raise eyebrows. (Thanks to Pat M. for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee [as] a bird to your mountain?

For, lo, the wicked bend [their] bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The LORD [is] in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne [is] in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: [this shall be] the portion of their cup.

For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” – Psalm 11 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Architecture: Building a Retreat that is Defensible, Sustainable and Affordable, by Phil M.

Have you designed and built your own survival retreat yet?  If not, read on.  Designing and building a survival retreat that can provide protection can be affordable and also provide more than adequate shelter and warmth to not only keep its inhabitants alive, but comfortable.

To understand how this is achievable we must first understand what sort of materials are available and how each of them apply to defensibility, sustainability and affordability.  Secondly, we must understand how the arrangement of these materials into form, or design, can lend themselves  to defensibility, sustainability and affordability.

Materials
A major problem with conventional building materials is that they are easily penetrated by small arms fire.  As seen in this video (credit to YankeePrepper on Youtube for posting it), tests were conducted  on conventional residential building materials to see how they stood up against typical rounds from small arms fire (9mm, 5.56, .30 cal., etc.).  These conventional residential materials  could not withstand rounds that could be owned and fired by any citizen.  Additionally, conventional building materials are not always the most efficient material to consider when looking to build a structure that requires a high degree of self-sustainability.

Rammed Earth

The demonstrations see at The Box ‘o Truth web site show that the small arms rounds fired at simple boxes of sand don’t penetrate more that 6″ when fired from about 25 yards.  This report  further illustrates that a 5.56 round fired from 200 yards cannot penetrate more than 2 layers of sand bags (about 18″ deep).  But remember, we aren’t talking about loosely packed sand, we are talking about rammed earth construction or CEB (compressed earth block which is similar to adobe).  This study shows that rammed adobe construction can withstand rounds of 7.62×39 ammunition from 20 meters and sustain penetration of only 1-1/2″ to 2″.  Repairs can be made simply by slapping on more mud. Additionally, earth is fireproof making it safe against incendiary attacks.

Earth has one of the highest R-values because of its high thermal mass.  When built at least 12″-18″ thick, not only does it provide excellent ballistic protection it has the ability to retain almost all of the heat generated inside of it in the winter and keeps almost all of the heat out in the summer.  In fact, temperatures of 70 degrees can be maintained in the winter and 80 degrees in the summer with little to no air tempering (conditioning) needed.  By combining earth with a good wood burning stove and passive solar radiance for the winter and adequate ventilation in the summer even more bearable temperatures can be achieved (more on design later).

Rammed earth can be very labor intensive.  Formwork must be erected and layers of earth are either hand or hydraulically compressed into place.  CEB on the other hand has a variety of options for machines that compress earth into blocks that are easy to manage and set into place by hand.

Salvaged Shipping Containers
The  USA annually imports more goods and materials than it exports from countries overseas.  These goods are transported in steel shipping containers which are currently stored in shipping yards.  The expense to ship these containers back empty is sometimes more costly than to sell them at scrap prices.  For the container itself and shipping,  8′ wide by 40′ long by 9’6″ high shipping container can be delivered for about $2,000-$3,000.

These containers are rated to hold tons (literally) of equipment while listing and bobbing on huge freight liners.  So for approx. $6.25 per square foot you have a structurally sound, fireproof and storm proof shell delivered to a location of your choosing.  Get some buddies who know how to weld and you can have a quick structure that you can either bury underground [with sufficient reinforcement, as previously discussed at length in SurvivalBlog], stack in multiple levels for a multi-storied structure, or build at surface grade and berm up earth alongside it.

Shipping containers come in a variety of sizes, even down to 8’x20’x8′.  These small modules could be pre-fabricated at a convenient location and could include bare necessities for living such as a sink, small oven, a commode, or even a  few bed racks.  Furthermore, something as small as 8’x20′ could be loaded onto a trailer for a bug-out type situation.  This module could be set down anywhere and act as a temporary retreat.  The best thing about shipping containers is their modularity.  As you built your survival retreat and as funds become available, you can simply add on to it and expand it by simply adding more containers.

Tire Bale Survival Retreats
This is a relatively new concept in creating wall structure for a survival retreat.  By compacting as much as 20 tires and wiring them together, very large building blocks can be made to create structure for exterior walls.  Tires can be found by going  to any recycling facility to see if they have some.  You might even be able to get them for free.  The big advantage to this type of material is that it can be very quick to erect and all one would have to do is finish it with stucco.  The tires could also be filled with sand creating a higher heat mass and better ballistic protection.

More Exotic Materials
There are variety of materials that one can use to construct a survival retreat when considering sustainability.  In a TEOTWAWKI environment there will be an abundance of materials that are no longer of use to the average person.  These materials can be scavenged and reused for the purposes of creating shelter.  For example, bottle structures have been constructed for quite a long time.  Not a very defensible material, but it does posses strong R-value.  Recycled 15″x15″ carpet tiles were use to create the walls of this survival retreat.  Discarded car windshields scavenged from a local landfill compose in a shingled manner form the roof of this community center.

Design Considerations
The arrangement of materials in a fashion that takes advantage of the natural laws of physics and the local environment is just as crucial as picking the correct materials.  By utilizing the surrounding context of the property the structure is placed on to the greatest effect you will reap many benefits.

Passive Solar Heating
Keeping warm in the winter is a life threatening challenge if there is no way to burn fuel for energy.  If there is fuel for burning it will most likely be in short supply.  One way to mitigate the amount of fuel used is to take advantage of passive solar heating.  Put simply, using the sun to generate heat and putting that heat where it needs to go. The most design way is to have as many south facing windows as possible that allow the sun in the winter to shine directly onto a thick slab floor and walls with high thermal masses.  In the summer, awnings should be placed to keep the sun from shining in through the windows.

Air Circulation
Utilizing natural air circulation to cool structures in the summer is crucial for survival as well.  The most common way to address this is by taking advantage of convection currents.  In short, heat rises,  so by allowing the heat to vent through a high point in the survival retreat allows it to escape.  But you must also allow for an air intake at a low portion of the survival retreat as well in order for cool air to be drawn in by the vacuum created from the escaping heat.  By orienting the air intakes in the direction where breezes commonly come from in the summer, air is forced into the structure causing more ventilation.

Going Underground
Building your survival retreat underground could be one of the best options if you have the time and money.  Digging big holes in the ground isn’t necessarily expensive in itself, but installing the proper system to prevent flooding in your retreat can get very costly.  However, going underground is the best way to ensure a consistent temperature in your structure.  At a point of 6′ below the surface of  the earth, temperatures stays constant at around 60°F.  Not to mention the fact that you have protection against hurricanes, tornadoes, nuclear fallout, and gunfire.

Take the High Ground
If you have land with a high point overlooking a large area of land, build there.  Throughout history forts, castles and defensive positions have always take advantage of building on the high ground for the simple reason that it is harder for an opposing force to attack uphill than it is downhill, and it is easier for a defending force to defend the high ground.  When faced with a potential threat, having the high ground could prove an invaluable advantage.

Conclusion
The purpose of this essay was to enlighten readers to building survival structures in the spirit of our ancestors.  They built with what they had and what did the most effective job.  Although there are many modern technologies that can augments these structures such as solar, wind power, and geothermal heat recycling, these are expensive technologies to add.  If the reader does not have sufficient funds for these technologies it is the hope of the writer that the materials and building techniques mentioned above will provide an edge of survivability in his or her endeavor to build a survival retreat.

Online Resources:

Firearms Penetration:
Box o’ Truth
FM 3-06.11
Yankee Prepper YouTube Clip on Rifle Terminal Ballistics

Rammed Earth and Adobe Construction:
DIY Rammed Earth
RammedEarthHomes.com
Rammed Earth Engineering
Adobe, pressed-earth, and rammed-earth industries in New Mexico

CEB Construction:
UDC Inc. CEB Page
Fernco CEB Machines
AECT Compressed Earth Block

Underground Homes:
Underground-homes.com
Undergroundhousing.com
Wikipedia’s Underground Living Page

Exotic/Alternative Materials:
Bottle Houses
The Rural Studio
Tire Bale Houses

Passive Solar Heating:
Passive-solar-design-manual
Wikipedia’s Passive Solar page
Solar Space Heating

Air Circulation:
Natural Ventilation

Shipping Container Architecture:
Zack Smith’s Shipping Container Architecture reference page
Wikipedia’s Shipping Container Architecture Page

The Basic Family Vehicle G.O.O.D. Kit, by Kirk S.

Many of the posts in this forum have discussed the vehicle Bug Out Bag (BOB), however it’s been my observation that most of them are not designed for a family.  As an example, many articles have discussed having a full change of clothes including shoes.  I can attest from my personal experience that packing a single change of clothes, including shoes, for a family of five takes a large duffle bag.  Fitting a large duffle bag inside the trunk of our vehicle along with our BOB would take up most of the room in our trunk.  Extra clothes are a part of our household Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) kit but not our BOB.  Below I’d like to offer my personal observations for creating a vehicle G.O.O.D. Kit for a family of five and the reasons why I chose those items. 

As the items that are needed in a BOB may change slightly by locality, I’d like to set the stage.  I live in Southern California but my family and I travel routinely.  We also live within fifty miles of a nuclear power plant.  Temperatures can range from 25 degrees in the winter to 125 in the summer where we travel.  As such, I’ve loaded my BOB keeping the basics in mind.  Shelter, water and food are my primary focus.  Other items can, and should, be added as weight and space permit. 

Shelter provides us a safe place from being exposed to the elements – hot, cold, windy, wet, etc.  Being exposed to extreme elements can kill people faster than not having food or water.  Children are even more susceptible.  That makes shelter a priority.  We have a total of six emergency solar type blankets in our BOB.  Three of them are the classic silver mylar style that are small enough to fit in a pant pocket.  The other three are the sturdier kind with a plastic backing as these are more durable and more resistant to tearing.  Remember that we’re preparing for as many different contingencies as possible.  Our emergency may only be a few hours such as a vehicle stuck in the snow or it may last weeks such as a societal breakdown, earthquake, or terrorist event where the only time you have is to load your family in a car and leave.  I’ve chosen six blankets, even though my family only has five members for several reasons: 1) if one blanket gets torn or destroyed, I have a backup; 2) if I have an extended family member over I can provide them some minimal protection; 3) they can provide shade in hot desert environments; and 4) it could be a good barter item.  These are small and light enough that I think it’s worth having an extra.

As a quick side note, I think it is important to be the first one out in an emergency with minimal supplies versus having a fully stocked emergency trailer but stuck in traffic with thousands of other people because you took extra time to get ready at home.  Having a tent and sleeping bags would be ideal but not if it may delay me to the point of keeping me in a danger zone.

To supplement my emergency blankets, I’ve added a heavy duty 12’x20’ tarp.  Using compression straps, this fits nicely on the outside of my backpack.  I chose brown for concealment reasons should I have to shelter in a non-urban environment.   Tarps can be used for a variety of reasons – makeshift tent, collecting rain or dew for water supplies,  privacy in a group setting, shade in the desert, etc. 

My last items to supplement for shelter are fire starters and tinder.  While technically not shelter, they do provide protection from the cold so I’ve added them as a shelter necessity.  They can be used for other purposes such as food preparation, water purification (directly through sterilization or providing charcoal), tool/weapon preparation, light, morale booster, etc.  I keep a set of storm-proof matches and a magnesium block for my fire starters.  I recommend saving the matches for times when the magnesium starter won’t work.  My own experiences with magnesium blocks and strikers is that they take patience and skill.  Practice now so that you are ready and know what to expect.  I have several sets of matches just in case I really need them but also for barter or charity.  Again, they are small and light enough that a second or third box of matches isn’t an issue in my pack.  I also keep a small box of commercial wax fire starters for tinder.  All of these are stored in a plastic Ziploc.  This helps organize my pack and also provides another level of protection from water.

After you’ve secured your shelter, the next most important thing is to acquire water.  It’s important to know where and how you can acquire water if away from your home and also how to purify it.  However, depending on your situation (having to move away from a threat, injured in a vehicle accident, etc), you may not have the time or ability to acquire water.  Water should always be included in your pack.  I use the Coast Guard approved emergency water packets that come in the 4 ounce size.  I use these for several reasons: 1) they have a 5 year shelf life; 2) they are pre-packaged in 4 ounce sizes so that they are easy to ration and use for cooking; 3) they are easy to disperse to other family members if you need to walk any distance.  Remember that water is relatively heavy – one gallon weighs eight pounds.  Redistributing that weight can be useful.; 4) I am comfortable bartering in 4 oz increments; and 5) the packaging is tough and unlikely to break as opposed to plastic water bottles that from my experience degrade and break down within two years.

I store my water in three separate containers – 1) clear plastic Nalgene bottle (wide-mouth); 2) metal water bottle; and 3) a dry sack (which holds the majority of my water.)  Again, I have multiple reasons for storing my water this way.  The most important is that if the water packages do break, I haven’t lost any water.  It’s still in a safe container and hopefully consumable.  Secondly, I can use the two water bottles as part of my purification process if I find water along the way.  There are multiple ways to purify water, which I won’t go into here.  However, some methods include UV sterilization using the sun (a clear Nalgene plastic bottle) and sterilization by boiling (the metal water container.)  The second benefit to the dry sack is that if I find a large source of potable water the dry sack is a secure way of transporting it. 

Remember, this pack is designed for a family of five.  If I use conventional wisdom, a family of five needs five gallons of water per day.  At eight pounds per gallon, that’s 40 pounds of water per day.  A three day supply would weigh 120 pounds.  And that’s just in water.  No other supplies.  This is a daunting task and not realistic for securing in a car or traveling on foot.  That being said, my packs contain 128 oz. of water.  Many references state that the bare bones basic water needs are 12 oz per day, which accounts for three water packets per person per day for two days.  Assuming I find zero water within two days, I at least have some in which to live.  This accounts for 10 pounds of weight between water and containers.

I also have iodine tablets for purifying water that I may find on my travels.  If money and space permits, I would also include a water purifier, which I don’t have yet.  My personal preference are purifiers that use ceramic filters as they usually don’t have an expiration date and their storage is unaffected by temperature.  Remember that I travel to places where the temp reaches a 125 externally.  Internal temps in a car can surpass 160 degrees which membrane filters (and many other items) have trouble dealing with and may break down.

The final must have in a basic family BOB is food.  The core of my food supply are the 3,600 calorie Datrex food rations.  I’ve chosen these for several reasons: 1) they have a five year life span; 2) a single 3,600 calorie packet takes a quarter of the space of two MREs and has more calories; 3) within the main packet, the rations are individually wrapped in smaller packets making them easier to ration; 4) the smaller individual packets make them easier to barter; 5) they have the basic food needs such as carbs, protein and fats in a balanced formula along with vitamins and minerals; 6) my family likes the taste – we get the coconut flavored ones but there are others; and 7) there’s no preparation necessary other than opening the package.  I can store five 3,600 calorie Datrex rations and only take up a moderate amount of space.

I supplement the Datrex rations with Mountain House food packages.  These do however take up a lot more space and require water for re-hydration.  While Datrex bars may keep you alive, there’s nothing like a hot tasty meal at the end of a very long day.  I’ve stored these strictly as a morale booster.  People can survive and endure a huge amount of stress if their morale is high.

All of the above items need a place to be stored and easily transported.  While some people use plastic tote bins, I’ve found it difficult to carry them anywhere but a short distance.  A decent quality backpack is my choice.  I’m currently using the CamelBak Motherlode and the 5.11 Rush 72.  I’ve found both of these to be decent quality and modular.  Using MOLLE attachments or regular straps, I can add additional items to the outside of my pack as needed. 

There are certainly more items in my packs than I’ve listed here.  Remember, this is a basic pack for a family of five.  Additional items should be added as space, weight and finances allow.  Some suggested additional items are cash (nothing larger than a $20 bill), knives, medical supplies, maps, pencil (no ink unless its indelible) and paper, gloves, sewing kit (to repair clothes and backpack or suture if critical), camp cook set, shovel, playing cards, etc.  

It’s important to manage weight.  My packs weigh approximately fifty pounds.  This is a lot of weight to carry for an entire day if we had to walk.  It’s also the upper limit to what my wife thinks she can carry.  It does my family no good to create a BOB if they can’t take it with them (especially if I’m not there to help them.)  Another consideration is the amount of space we can donate in our cars.  I also keep an empty regular school backpack in the truck with my main BOB.  This allows me to redistribute the weight and reduce the weight I carry or allow me to add additional items that I may find/barter while away from home.  The second backpack also allows the children to be help out and feel useful.

Finally, work with your family so that they know what’s in the BOB and how to use the items.  While my family isn’t into prepping as much as I am, they do support me in it.  My wife has tried on the pack to make sure she can carry it, the family has seen an inventory of what’s in the packs, the family has eaten all of the food stored, and most importantly my family understand the reasons why we have each and every item in our BOB and when they could be used.  I have received a fair amount of emergency management preparation and recovery training but my family has not.  It does my family no good if they don’t know what’s in the BOB or how to use what’s there.  And the fact is, an emergency may strike when we are not at home together. I feel much better knowing that if I’m away from my family and an emergency like an earthquake or terrorist attack strikes, then they have a much better chance of surviving.

Letter Re: Some Useful Dry Measure Figures

Jim:
How much bulk fits in a 5 gallon bucket or a #10 can? I did some research and assembled this helpful guide:

Food Item #10 Can 5 Gallon Bucket
Wheat 5 pounds 37 pounds
White Flour 4.5 pounds 33 pounds
Cornmeal 4.3 pounds 33 pounds
Popping Corn 5 pounds 37 pounds
Rolled Oats 2.5 pounds 20 pounds
White Rice 5.3 pounds 36 pounds
Spaghetti 3.9 pounds 30 pounds
Macaroni 3.1 pounds 21 pounds
Dried Beans 5.6 pounds 35 pounds
Lima Beans 5.4 pounds 35 pounds
Soy Beans 5 pounds 33 pounds
Split Peas 5 pounds 33 pounds
Lentils 5.5 pounds 35 pounds
White Sugar 5.7 pounds 35 pounds
Brown Sugar 4.42 pounds 33 pounds
Powdered Milk 3 pounds 29 pounds
Powdered Eggs 2.6 pounds 20 pounds

Regards, – K.A.F.

JWR Replies: Thanks! That is a good table for folks to print out and add to their reference binders.

Letter Re: Minimizing Magazine Confusion

Mr. Rawles:

I think your readers may benefit from a recent experience of mine at the range. I was shooting several rifles and some friends were also shooting theirs. We noticed how similar (but not interchangeable)  many of the magazines were. In a stressful critical situation it would be very easy to try [inserting] a Mini-14 magazine in a M4gery or [inserting] a FN/FAL magazine in an M1A. Obviously it is best to keep them widely separated but if unfamiliar or under-trained persons were handling them, it could be a disaster.

Our solution was to purchase a color assortment of electrician’s tape and assign a different color to a type of rifle with it’s corresponding magazines. We placed a band of tape several times around the body of the magazine at the end away from the feed mouth. We also placed a color band around the wrist of each gun stock with the color matching the magazine color just in case someone who was not as familiar or nervous in a critical situation from putting the wrong magazine in a rifle rendering it useless. Some recently purchased synthetic mags proved very difficult at a glance to determine which rifle they belonged with.

I think the same problem may arise with handguns as well and I intend to do the same coding system with them. One will have to be careful not to get the tape where it will interfere with seating the magazine into the pistol. I would be interested if anyone has found another solution. Thanks for your blog. – Marty, a Montana Prepper

JWR Replies: Similarly, the base plates on pistol magazines and the adjoining area on pistol grips can be painted various colors.

Of even more importance is not co-mingling 20 and 12 gauge shotguns! If you own any 20 gauge shotguns, I recommend that you set aside those guns and all your 20 gauge shells for “hunting and target shooting only”. Keep them locked away in a vault, if and when times ever get inimical. Leave out only your 12 gauge guns and 12 gauge shells. This will greatly reduce the risk of the dreaded 12-20 burst. Yes, for many years 20-gauge shells have been made made only in yellow, but in the excitement of a defensive shooting situation–especially in low light–mistakes can happen. (For those not familiar with the phenomenon 20 gauge shell will often go part way down the barrel of a 12 gauge shotgun. If a 12 gauge shell is then chambered behind it and fired, then “ka-blam!”)

Letter Re: Sailboats as Alternative Bugout Vehicles

Dear James:
I found the question on using a sailboat as a bug out vehicle interesting, because I have been considering the same thing.

However, there are some major things to consider.

Piracy:
• There are a few spots known for piracy today, but in reality there are many others where fishermen are not above piracy of opportunity, i.e. they are like my Viking ancestors: trade where the target is strong, raid where the target is weak.
• Western style sailboats are magnets for pirates. They reek of wealth and comfort that the locals don’t have. Plus, they stand out from the local boats, being very noticeable. • On the other hand, any major emergency that will collapse our economy will most likely be worldwide, hence after a few months, the locals will have to ditch their motor boats for sail, as they most likely won’t have fuel either.

Design and Maintenance:
• Modern western style sailboats usually are fairly high tech. Even the mechanical systems such as winches and rigging require special tools for proper maintenance. If parts go bad, one often needs access to parts and materials that most likely won’t be available. Failure of one part can lead to a whole system being rendered unusable.
• Most modern western sailboats are built with deep fin keels because such make for faster boats. However, that limits sailing to deep waters. Many times places to anchor out and/or hiding holes along a coast will be shallow, where deep keels prevent access.
• Most modern western sailboats have deep, heavy, fin keels, which means that any maintenance or repairs that require access to underwater parts of the boat, will require specialized places to haul out as such repairs can not be done on a beach by beaching the boat.
• Despite what the fancy brochures state, most modern western sailboats are not designed as all weather, world-voyaging "blue water" boats: they are designed as fair weather, coastal boats. They are designed with the expectation that the owner/sailors on them will have access to weather faxes and other warnings to avoid storms, rather than designed to sail through them. Further, it is expected that most of the people who sail them do so during the summer, when the weather tends to be the best, when ocean crossing voyages can be made without encountering storms.
• Most modern western sailboats are poorly designed for anything other than personal comfort with some storage. One is often lucky to find one with room for a dinghy on its deck, let alone any other activity. Below decks has no room for storage of any trade goods, should an emergency last long enough that long term living on a boat would be considered.

When would a boat be useful?
• If you already have one, they could go up the coast when roads are impassible, or blocked by martial law.
• As an escape from the country to go to a nearby, friendly country
• As a temporary hideout, anchored out having a natural moat, best done where one can anchor away from cities and out of sight.

Final comments: I, too, have thought about using a sailboat as a bug-out vehicle, and taking all the above into consideration, have concluded that none of the boats I have seen on the market would suffice. So I have made a design that I think I could get in the water within two weeks from start of construction, assuming electricity is around to run power tools and I have access to parts. I cannot start building yet, because I will be transferred in a few months, and I am taking the gamble that the situation won’t deteriorate that badly before that time.

Reasons for designing and building my own boat:
• Seaworthiness. Needs to be able to go out in all but the worst conditions as weather warning systems cannot be counted on. • Shallow draft. So can go into out of the way places and/or be beached for maintenance and/or repair.
• Light weight. No deep heavy keel that limits what can be done.
• Nondescript in appearance. It will look like the work boat that it is, not like a luxury yacht. As such, local bad guys are less likely to target it.
• Even where the design is sophisticated (I’ve had to write computer programs for parts of the design), construction can be done with hand tools and most repairs can be done while sailing. There are no parts on it that I cannot build myself.
• Sufficient storage space for tools, supplies and even some trade goods. There will be more space available for such storage than living space, even on a fairly small boat.

Final comments in my favor—I have the (dis)advantage of being single, I have lived overseas and speak a few languages so I can usually melt into the local populations. I have a variety of tools, including a lightweight lathe/milling machine, sail makers sewing machine (better than most for almost all other sewing as well) and the skills to use them. I have done construction, from the laying the foundation to roofing, and almost everything between including furniture. So even if I lose everything, I still have something to trade. And with a boat I have a floating factory, cargo carrier, house and hide away.

Would a sailboat be a good bug out vehicle? Think it carefully through, it may or may not fill the bill. – Richard O.

Economics and Investing:

Commentary by Robert Samuelson at Real Clear Markets: Europe’s Debt Crisis Trumps Japan Tragedy

Iowa farmland values shoot up 25% in one year. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)

Reader Greg C. flagged this: New Home Sales Dive to Record Low. (Slowest sales rate in nearly 50 years!

LFG suggested this commentary by Ted Butler: Silver Review and Outlook. Ted and I both prefer silver over gold.

Items from The Economatrix:

End Game  

Surviving A Societal Breakdown 

Investors Flock To Japanese Stocks After Quake  

Gold Just 1% Of Record Nominal High Of $1,444/Oz – Risk Of Dollar Crisis Increases By Day  

$36 Silver–The Banksters Waterloo?  

Odds ‘n Sods:

Sprouts: An ideal emergency preparedness food. (Thanks to G.P. for the link.)

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More about the politically-motivated attacks on Dr. Arthur Robinson’s family: “Lysenkoism” at OSU?

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Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended this piece: Bad*ss of the Week: Hideaki Akaiwa. (Warning: This article includes some foul language)

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Jonathan sent a link to this map: 10-Mile and 50-Mile Nuclear Evacuation Zones. (Compare that map with the data in my Recommended Retreat Areas static page, and the maps in my book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”.)

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This must have quite a story behind it: WWII machine gun found in Lithuanian mail. (BTW, there are still countless thousands of unregistered WWII guns tucked away in private homes, all over Europe.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I don’t subscribe to coincidence, Corporal. I believe that, no matter how random things might appear, there’s still a plan.” – Liam Neeson as Col. Hannibal Smith, The A-Team. (Screenplay by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom and Skip Woods)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Pack Rats and Keeping the Water Running, by Sunflower of Kansas

Background: 
You might say to yourself, I have no farm, I have no pump house, and I surely have no rats. My response to this is, “yet.” If and when the Sunflowers hit the fan (SHTF), you surely may have a rodent problem. Rodents can impact whatever integrity you may still have in regard to your utilities. That utility may be communications, electric, or as discussed in this article, water.

This is a true account about my dealings and responses to confronting troubles with Pack Rats. The purpose is to provide a few tips, not to dictate any exact method for dealing with pack rats. Pest control of these particular rodents has shown to be very important to keeping the water running at our farm house. I hope that by sharing a few of my experiences, that you will be less intimidated when confronted with an urgent task like getting the water, telephone, or backup power on line again. I have personal experience with rats impacting each of these areas. I have selected “water” to discuss, because I can address maintenance and preventative maintenance in a manner that you might be able to transfer to your own rodent dilemma someday. May you also take a little humor with you when dealing with these critters.

I have had several occasions with dealing with pack rats. My pack rats can grow bigger than the neighbor’s runt dog. Most of the time, the barn cats do a pretty good job with combating the spurts of pack rat population on our farm. There are, however, times when a structure is not suitable to opening for cat access. I must deal with the rats in other ways.

When I was still new to my pack rat troubles, I tried traditional research to seek out professional remedies. Most of the research summarized what I was already practicing. I visited the county noxious weed office for ideas, and the local hardware store for recommendations. I am also known for chatting off the ears of anyone that may have anything to offer from sharing their own experience.

In regard to other people’s experiences with pack rats, I have pretty much concluded, that there are more pack rat stories about safety hazards and costly repairs, than about remedies. Most of the stories included accounts about farm trucks catching fire, tools disappearing, electric wiring being molested, leather seats being turned to mush, and the list goes on.  

Several folks have suggested shooting the rats. (I do carry, daily.) For safety reasons, space constraints are not conducive gun fire. I carry a multi-tool type knife with me when working in the pack rat infested structures, but so far have not had the opportunity to use it as a weapon. My best plan of defense for the potential of a rat jumping at me, was to use my gloved hands and my stomping boots to crush them. So far, I have not actually stomped on any rats, it is a back up plan for personal protection, in the event the folding knife is not the best option at the time.

You might ask, why not just toss a cat into my pack rat troubles? For logistic reasons, and due to concern to exposing the cat(s) to toxic chemicals, tossing in the cats is not an option. I don‘t know about your pack rats, but mine are persistent. Even if I could make an area safe and accessible to cats, the rats would figure out the schedule and return in short order. 

Structure:
I will present my encounters and resulting maintenance solutions about pack rats by reporting upon one structure – a pump house. I have yielded some success with other structures when utilizing some of the same applications, namely: use of mothballs, and strategically placed rat poisons (under hood of trucks, under seats, near battery cables, and squeezed up in the visor).  However, the pump house turns out to be one of the most important structures to preserving the welfare of our water supply.  

Our pump house is located about a quarter mile deep into a pasture. The pump house is structured around an old hand dug well. The well is laid up with stone and covered. A modern pressure pump and other plumbing components rest nearby and  are assisted by electricity from a nearby breaker box. The walls are constructed of cedar blocks, and the roof is laid with galvanized tin. Now you have a picture of the interior of the pump house.

How I approach the exterior of the pump house is also worth describing. Basically, I approach the pump house at about waist level, remove the entry door in the metal roof, lift my leg and begin to climb in. There is a ladder that I usually bypass by just leaping in once I can clear the entry port down in.  However, when exiting the structure, I must utilize the ladder. 

So this is what happens and keeps happening when I do not keep up with needed maintenance. The pack rats get in the pump house by eating through the metal walls, eating through the wood supporting the roof, and eating through the spray foam and other  insulation. Those pack rats are awful. They like metal objects and haul in all sorts of stuff,  and pack it into the crevices of the roof and joints of the interior. Their favorite spots are stuffed into the breaker box, in the cabinet where the electric fence box is held, and around the heat lamp. Those bums even eat the hard plastic cover of the switch to the pressure tank. Last Christmas, I caught them just in time, the wiring to the Double D switch was fully exposed, but not fully chewed through.

When dealing with a switch box, or any electrical application, care must be taken. Get professional instruction. As a hint, keep a plastic insulated standard screw driver around, and seriously consider removing the breaker/fuse before handling anything that might even look like it might have electricity associated with it. This is such a serious safety issue, I will not comment on the details to how I go about the task, as your needs may be quite different. – While I am on a topic of safety, I try to remember to wear a vent mask to help lessen my exposure to harmful illnesses like the hantavirus. I usually forget the mask, and end up utilizing a piece of cloth.

Other items I utilize to help lessen hazards are the use of hand held radios. These serve as suitable communication between my husband and I. Due to his disability, he can not take the actions I am able body to do. Fortunately, he is very experienced and has a good brain. He talks me through trouble shooting tasks, and provides the guidance to reduce risk to shock and other potential accidents that I might other wise experience. During hazardous weather, electronic communications are a must. Other folks might prefer a cell phone for outside contact. At times, when I must walk to the pump house due to inaccessibility with a vehicle, I usually carry a cell phone too.
 
About every two to three months, I usually go down to check on things. To check on the pump house, all I have to do is remove the lid at the roof, and peek in. Most of the time, there is something going on as evidenced by the appearance of nests. So then it is time to hop in if I am prepped for it, otherwise, I return with the proper clothing, mask, etc.

I have tried the usual pesticide offerings for rats such as D-CON, loose bait trays, anchored bait blocks, traps, and bug bombs. For a variety of reasons, the results tend to be limited. Sure the rats eat the bait. It seems, I can hardly keep enough poison available. It is like a smorgasbord for rats on blood thinners. Now for those lovely boxes of Moth Balls. The bigger the box the better. One 24 ounce box of Enoz brand moth balls seems to work fairly well for our pump house interior measuring approximately 5x8x6 ft high. Yet, I am sort of the overkill type. I use two boxes. One of them I fully sprinkle out. The second I open and anchor down. The smell of the room is very strong and toxic, so I try to limit my exposure. 

The pack rats on our farm here in Kansas do not seem to favor moth balls, and this is good. I must caution you, that the moth balls need to be sprinkled. When I have left the moth ball box open and sitting neatly unanchored, it becomes the next big toy. On one occasion, the box was found in the process of being relocated. Don’t ask me how they do it.

Additionally, I might add a short note about snakes. I have not had that problem. A few of my neighbors have. Perhaps, I am just lucky, and perhaps the moth balls have something to do with my luck. Granted, if I had snakes, I probably would not have the intensity of pack rats to deal with. But, if I had to pick between snakes and pack rats, I would pick the rats.

Prevention:
This is a good time to present the topic of rat prevention maintenance. Basically, keep the pump house closed – don’t walk away and leave the entry door open to run back to the shop for another tool. Check the side walls, corners, overlaps and any other place you can think off for possible entry sources. Don’t get too far behind with repairing insulation. Insulation is another term or rat dessert. Also, keep an eye on the roof with layers that may begin to lift during high wind.

Now for what happens when I do not keep up with pack rat prevention and maintenance.  One fine day the water just stops running to the house. Shortly before Christmas, such a thing happened one more time. At first I misdiagnosed the problem- I thought it was an air pressure issue due to the cattle drinking from the stock tank. The real problem ended up being a ruptured line buried someplace between the pump house and the shop. Yet, when following up on the water issues, I got to inspecting the pump house. Down I went. I hauled off two 5 gallon buckets of rat waste and nesting supplies. I also hauled off a variety of plumbing supplies, some of which  I learned later were suppose to remain in the pump house for adding air to the well. I ended up tossing the contents of the buckets and was unable to retrieve them successfully. So off I went to the hardware store for more supplies and I returned to add air. The husband was not happy (note: husband is paralyzed due to stroke).

No Water:
A loss of water pressure or a loss of running water is often a sign of problems in the well house. Shortly after the Christmas event with the water line, the pipe was repaired. Two weeks passed and we were off line on water once again. Down to the pump house I go. I notice the rat trays have been reshuffled, and not much more. The temp gauge inside showed 13 or so degrees. Oops. Not good. Compared to the 8 degrees outside, the temp problem was not obvious to me until I looked at the gauge. I could feel the cold air blowing in from where the rats has chewed. I began bending my head and peaking around. Light was coming in, and some rather large holes where providing ample access to the bitter cold wind. The pressure tank was freezing up. 

Our neighbors came to lend a hand. They arrived with a propane tank and hand torch. The pressure tank is made of plastic. CW climbed in and warmed the nearby iron bench, as well as the ground around the unit. He took care to avoid a fire by removing the loose dry grasses and brush  that I had not fully emptied out prior.

After the propane heater went to work, a 1,500 Watt electric heater was carried in and turned on high. I stuffed the holes with a pair of pants that were in the car. The battery on the farm truck was froze. The 10 inches of snow that had fallen during that night and morning was varied due to drifts. I was concerned about getting the Toyota Yaris stuck. I asked the neighbors to keep an eye on me and make sure I cleared the pasture gate.

Later that day, I drove down again. It was still bitter cold. I opened the door and climbed into check the temp. The temp showed 20 degrees. Ouch. Still too cold. I take my scrap bag of quilt batting from the vehicle and begin stuffing it in anywhere I could. My multi-tool came in handy. Before leaving, I checked the heat lamp to be sure is was the right bulb – 200 watts. It was, but when the tank began to thaw earlier, it had trouble – off and on. The bulb had started to break due to the violent shaking. It was barely hanging on. Fortunately, I had one along just in case. I changed it out and hoped for the best for the temp to rise. Back at the farm house, I had every faucet on at a line trickle. Drip-drips don’t cut it when it gets too much colder than 10 above with howling wind.

Overall, the water to the farm house did ok in the days to come. The sinks and toilets kept working. The wash machine however had its issues. It is positioned on a North wall and our home is not insulated the modern way, just old dirt that blew in during the dust bowl days. Waking up to icy water in the pet’s bowls and our toilet bowls is not unheard of.

Patching Up and Wrapping Up:
So it finally warms up. I get the spray foam out. I prefer “Geocel” brand expanding foam sealant to other brands. It just handles better on metal application. I did not heed the warning label about wearing gloves this last time. The residue left the skin blackish for a few days. Avoid getting it on your face and hair too. Next time, I might consider latex free medical gloves. I keep a box on hand in the shop.

This about wraps up my story about pack rats in the pump house. I would like to  close with a brief snapshot of what happened in the Spring. Like always, I made a bunch of noise and rattled a tool on the galvanize tin roof before entering. I like to give the rats enough notice to leave if they can manage. I then paused a moment so nothing ends up jumping at me, and then preceded to enter cautiously.

It was a full house that day in the pump house. I was so aggravated, and thankfully dressed for the occasion. I could hear and see the rats at eye level once I landed in. My mouth was covered, and I wore a scarf around most my face. My clothing was thick. The gloves I wore were leather, the heavy winter type. A quick glance inside, and it was obvious that a fire hazard was in the making. Thick nests of grasses and other soft materials were snuggly stuffed between the stringers, walls, and electric outlets. The protrusions came inward as much as two feet. I was fearful as I slowly grabbed at the piles. I then took a few steps to the opening, stepped up on a metal object within, and tossed. I repeated this action 8 to 10 times.

Finally, I had had enough. There were still two rats running here and there as I moved about in clearing the debris. They remained at eye level along the top of the wall. I was ready to leave, and one of the rats wouldn’t budge. It stayed positioned on the wall ladder that I wished to climb to get the hood. I stepped around it, and gave care to where I place my hands. I’m out! I’m mad. So I lean over and grab the pest by the tail. The tail falls off in my hand, and I think to myself, “Now what?” I leave, and then later start to feel little bad about the rat’s tail. It was my intention to toss the pack rat out, not pack out with a rat’s tail. 

I hope you enjoyed this little story about my experiences with pack rats, and why they can become a serious implication to keeping the water flowing. I now try to keep extra pump house supplies on hand, such as, 200 watt bulbs, a heater, rat bait, moth balls and spray insulation. And, I can usually pick up the spray insulation on the cheap after the winter cold spell.