New Years

Tug and tow w/ Mount Baker in the background

After a few weeks of holiday travel involving planes and trains and automobiles, we finally got the chance to head out on the boat for a couple of days.  The original plan of a longer trip was revised after a look at the below-freezing temperatures forecast for the weekend.  We want to work the bugs out of our various systems in preparation for a few years in Alaska, but better to ease into this cold weather lifestyle.

The weekend turned out to be gorgeous in spite of the chilly temps.  Our revised plan had us making the relatively quick trip to Poulsbo in the company of our friends Jason and Christy on S/V Hello World.  Good company, good food, good wine, no better way to ring in the new year.  It was slightly disappointing that both the bakery and the used gear store were closed New Years Day, but the bars were open to make up for it, and we did sneak in a trip to the bakery the following morning before heading back to Seattle.

Olympic Mountains

Mount Rainier, first sunrise of 2011

Here's wishing everyone a Happy 2011, and to all our boating friends, see you out on the water.

October in a nutshell

When we repainted the hull of the boat, we had to remove the name and hailing port off the transom. Soon after leaving the boat yard we ordered our new vinyl graphics, and they sat on the boat for weeks waiting for us to find some ambition. Last Saturday that ambition crept up and caught Nicole and I by surprise, and our boat once again has a name and a place.

Shortly after applying the boat graphics, we headed out on the boat, across the sound to Port Madison for our cruising club halloween cruise. The weather forecast was a bit intimidating for the weekend and consequently the turnout was less than usual, but the club house was warm and cozy and the food was good. We ended up winning the pumpkin carving contest, part of the prize being a nice bottle of wine. We are trying to reduce our wine stores on the boat before heading to Canada in the spring, and by drinking one bottle with dinner and then winning one right after, we may have to try different tactics.

On Sunday, it turned out they got the forecast right, and it was a bit lumpy bringing the boat back home. About mid-Sound we were registering steady 27 knot winds with gusts just over 38 knots. This was the first bad weather we have been out in since acquiring our new shipmate, and Hope seemed more annoyed than scared, and thankfully didn't show any signs of being sick.

Afloat

The boat went back in the water Saturday afternoon on the 4th. No issues so far with any of the work we did in the yard. Happily the boat is not leaking and moves in the direction we want it to. We spent a day in Everett just in case there was an issue, and then headed back to Seattle to settle into our new slip a bit further north in the same marina. Since then we have been working to clean up the boat after our time in the yard and take care of a few last projects in preparation of the second half of our survey. Once the survey is done I have to wrap up some work issues and pack to head back to MN for a few days. Nicole is, has been, and will continue to work each day while I'm gone so we can live this luxurious life we have become accustom to. Our kitty, Hope, continues to goof off and does nothing to contribute to the financial security of our family; it may be about time to give her a stern talking-to.

Seeing red, finally

Yesterday we got a break in the weather and finished the last coat of red for the topsides. The white stripe will have to wait until we are back in the water, it's actually easier to do from the dock anyway. Splash date tomorrow morning (Saturday) so I need to get moving on the last few projects before we leave our beautiful temporary neighborhood in the boatyard. We'll probably take a couple days to get back to Seattle to take advantage of the holiday weekend, and hopefully by then our new slip will be vacant.

My wife, the rock star

Throughout this whole boat yard process Nicole has either been working hard on the boat or off seeing to her real job, some days both. This past weekend we sanded the hull, prepped it for paint, and painted the red area on Saturday. It was a long day but it wouldn't have happened without both of us. On Sunday the weather got in the way of a second coat of paint, and that really took a toll on my motivation. Nicole, on the other hand, spent the day sanding and prepping the hull again so it is ready for paint when the weather cooperates. I am certainly a lucky man, which begs the question "Why would I risk all that just to post a pic?" How could I resist.

A Prop-er Job

Anyone that has spent time working in the boatyard knows that any small step forward is followed by two or three steps back. Part of our to-do list in the yard was to change out our propeller for a nifty new folding version, guaranteed to increase motoring performance, decrease drag while sailing, make us better looking to members of the opposite sex......... you get the picture. I'm sure it will do all that and more, but first it needs to be installed. We also needed to replace the prop shaft seal to decrease the water coming into the boat, so the prop shaft was removed. Turns out the flexible coupler between the prop shaft and transmission needed to be replaced as well, and while the prop shaft was out I might as well swap out the cutlass bearing (a rubber sleeve that holds the prop shaft in place). Without going into too much detail, the new prop fit on the shaft but was shipped with the wrong retaining nut, so a new nut had to be machined and sent to us (from New Zealand). The cutlass bearing wouldn't fit in the shaft tube and had to be machined down to size (thanks Tor). The prop was actually too big and hit on the rudder, so the flexible coupler had to be swapped out for a smaller size. The steel coupler on the prop shaft was the wrong part and had to be machined to fit the flexible coupler (thanks again Tor). Lastly, the seal was too big and had to be swapped out for a smaller version, after which it was still a difficult two person job to install. One step forward, five steps back, but in the end it is all installed and looks sexy as hell. Now I just hope everything works if we ever go back in the water.

Black and white and red all-over

Slowly making progress in the yard. Welded new studs on the hull for zincs, then gave the bottom a couple coats of black to cover up the pretty orange. Next up, prep the white and red on the hull for a touch-up coat or two, and reinstall the prop shaft and new prop. The surveyor will be here Thursday and as soon as he is done we are off to Port Angeles for the Metal Boat Festival. Unfortunately the boat won't quite be ready for the trip so Baraka will have to sit this one out.