Friday Harbor to SF Caliber 40

This was a wonderful passage with some great folks. I can’t always say that but this one was fun.

My friends at Ballard Sails mentioned they had a customer for whom they were building new sails, who would be a good candidate for GBA’s help. I reached out and was surprised to find that these blue water initiates were younger than me! It’s easy to understand why most of the folks who hire GBA are older, which makes it so refreshing to see some youngsters pursuing their bluewater dreams.

These folks were in the process of quitting their work and preparing their beautiful Caliber 40 to sail around the Pacific on a multi-year cruise. On a trip to Seattle, I asked to stop by the boat to see the project, and I was instantly impressed when i got to the boat. The boat was a bit of a mess due to projects and the highest quality black water hose was about to be used to replace the old, and there was what looked like 1000 watts of solar installed on and around a newer dodger enclosure. I didn’t need to see much more; I knew that these guys were doing it right. Before I left, I said that they might want to unplug from the dock and make sure the systems were working before casting off for Mexico. The response? It's already unplugged. The cord is for the drill.
I was sold. We shore up the billing details and scheduled some Zoom calls, and I told them that I would find a fourth crew member to make the passage to SF in September.

To make things even better, my shipmate Tom Meester, who races with me on my boat, Elsewhere in the San Juans, was going to make it!

We were set, all I had to worry about was catching that tuna I promised Tom.

Fast forward, and I head down to the Port of Friday Harbor to meet them with my go bag rolling behind me. Tom arrives on a ferry from Orcas Island, and we are off.

After we clear Cattle pass into the eastern straits the weather is a little bumpy (30+), and Nate is queasy and quiet (not a great sign), so we tuck into Port Angelies for one last shore meal.

Fog most of the day and motoring. The engine is louder than usual. Yanmars, newer ones at least, run at higher rpm as I understand it, but are efficient and vibrate less than their predecessors and some competition. The noise is a product of sound deadening or the lack thereof in this situation.

This is where noise canceling headphones really help with the noise fatigue. I’ve put earplugs in under them before to double up. I used to bring shooting ear protection because they have tech that turns them on and off when there are loud sounds. I think all boats should have some muffs for engine checks, and all sailors should pack at least earplugs.

This is boat we heard on the radio talking to the CG about their damaged steering. Seen here under emergency tiller heading into Neah Bay.

Going in and out of fog with a fishing opener gives us some good practice in discussing how the radar works and how to negotiate this kind of traffic.

Day 2

More motoring and some motorsailing. The SUP rack mounts are catching the jibsheets on jibes. These and bikes on deck are a pet peeve. Some lashing is employed to cut down on these snags.

The furthest NW corner of the lower 48.

Day 3

Jesse is sick, but some dolphins cheer him up. Jesse and his wife Chelsea, are on a watch together, and she’s having to take up the slack, but she’s doing great. I’m monitoring the situation and preparing Tom for me taking Jesse on my watch if it gets rough. So glad to have Tom there. I’ve sailed with Tom for years and know he and I can handle the whole thing if it comes to it.

That afternoon, a strange thing happened. A fairly large bird landed, and that is generous way of describing what looked like as ungraceful a crash landing as possible into our bow pulpit. I have given many land birds rides that have been blown out to sea, but never a sea bird like this aside from a Sooty Petrel in forest fire smoke at night. The other strange thing was I couldn’t identify it. This strange bird sat on the pulpit for maybe as long as 10 hours. This was enough time using our Starlink to ask around and look at pictures online to get an ID. I sent a picture to my sister who is quite a birder and who lives in Estonia and she said it was an immature Red Footed Boobie. This couldn't be because we were way out of its habitat. Well thats what it was, and in our research, a friend of Chelsea’s, suggested that we could submit it to a bird watching site in Oregon and perhaps win bird of the month because of the rarity of the sighting.

Day 4

And the fish I've been praying for is in the boat. The only person not excited is Jesse. This is understandable because fish, especially tuna, have a fishy smell, and the only thing worse than diesel exhaust for someone teetering on the edge of puking their guts out is fishy smells.

Before all this, I had noticed a few “bait balls” on the horizion so I put a handline (what cruisers call a “meat hook”) in the water and was adjusting course to pass through these patches of disturbed water that the birds were clouding around.

Tom thought we ought to increase our chances with another line, and right after he put his line in my line, hooked a fish, then as I pulled it in, bang, Tom had one too! Unfortunately, my fish got off, and as he was pulling his fish in, I asked Chelsea if they had a bonker, and was blown away to be passed a brand new gaff! I got the fish in the cockpit and said my thanks, and we got about bleeding and cutting the fish into steaks. The only downside was that the fridge was full, and we were down one eater, so we had to cook some right away. Everyone got a chance to try their tuna recipes eventually, but Tom, who cooked first, blew everyone away right out the gate, and we had a wonderful lunch. Seasoned blackened tuna on rice and arugula. Did I mention Tom used to own a restaurant and is a chef?

It was so good that even our sick sailor started to perk up and decided to have some after the good smells got to him.

We could have kept fishing and I’m sure pulled out hundreds of pounds of fish because we just kept going through bait ball after bait ball.

Day 5

And calm, so calm, Jesse felt up to making breakfast. Its amazing the apatite of a sailor who has shaken off their seasickness. We are staying ahead of the weather at this point, and I’m glad we got south before the 15 knot southerly was forecast for the area.

Happy boat. Chelsea vacuumed. Tight ship.

Looks like 20 plus NNW by midnight for rounding Cape Mendocino. Headed straight for Eureka to set up the broad reach out and be ready for the 25 knots there, but nothing but rolling so far.

Tried to sail and gave up

Day 6

Wind filled to 30 for a bit on the last watch, and the main got loose. Inmast furling requires a mandrel inside the mast and a system where, while the outhaul is pulling the sail out, a furling line controls this unfurling. There is an auto-release in the system if it loads up too much, where, if reefed, it will undo and furl out. There is an additional locking device on this system. Unfortunately you have to go to the mast to do it, which in my mind almost cancels out the advantage of and inmast furling system where its main virtue is that can be “furled from the cockpit”

Beautiful conditions for entering the bay.

Got in before happy hour ended. Perfect.

Ketchican Alaska to Seattle on a 50 ft Steel Scow

When I was first contacted about this and looked at the survey I thought it was a really cool boat but that I would not be able to find crew. It was as “un-yacht-y” vessel as I could imagine but after looking at the additional pictures I realized that there was one person who could appreciate it.

Doug Simmons checkin out our ride for the next week.

I dont know many sailors that could have started this old 2 stroke Evenrude.

I met Doug and came to know him during the pandemic when I saw him on his boat out on Griffin Bay when we were not supposed to leave the dock. He was in his 70s Islander 28 sailing out of Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez Island and I was on my Moore 24 and we both were flying our yellow Q flags as a quiet protest of the lockdown. I instantly recognized a fellow feral scallywag who would not be kept from sailing on Sunday. We have since gotten to know each other over many Sunday raft ups off Turn Island half way between our home ports. Doug used to run a piledriving crew who were responsible for building many of the piers and ferry docks in the Salish sea. The fact that this was a work scow was probably more appealing to Doug than if it had been a yacht. Doug hadn’t cruised the waters north of the San Juans so it wasnt hard to get him aboard. I do feel a little bad though because I promised a scenic summer cruise through waters of the Great Bear Rainforest, Broughton Archipelago, and Desolation Sound but it turned out to be a week of working in an engine room.

Its whats on the inside that counts sometimes. Having lived on a sailboat for years in the NW I have come to appreciate the light and views you get from powerboats. This vessel is a great example of the joys of a great view while inside.

The other crew member was David English who I’ve known my whole life was the older kid that lived next door when I was little. Dave is a brilliant engineer and adventurer had also never done this passage. I figured these two would get each other and be good for conversation but also good with comfortable silence..and if it came to it.. be a very handy team if we had to fix something in remote waters.

The new owner was planning to live aboard the boat on Lake Union in Seattle part time. Kind of like a apartment in the city. Quite a different life than the boat had seen with its former owner where it served as a platform for Bear Hunting Business. This may sound very strange but it isn’t as unusual as you might think in Alaska. I was once hired to deliver a boat to Valdez Alaska for a guy who had a similar business.

The business card of the former owner and the work the boat did under its last ownership.

I asked if the owner wanted to go before I agreed to do the job and found crew and he said no but then invited himself aboard at the last minute when he met us at the boat.

Its hard to explain why this is frustrating. He was a nice guy on the phone but it changes the dynamic and although the crew said they were okay with it we had to share a cabin and after days of not cooking or helping work on the boat it was beginning to test my patience. When he originally said he wanted to go I asked him if he was going to participate with shipboard duties and he said yes. He did not even do dishes..

Ketchican is a wonderful Alaskan town and well stocked as remote towns go. We provisioned and looked at the route ahead to negotiate weather and tides. The low freeboard and flat bow necessitated we avoid rough stuff and the border crossing would require that we head quite a way out of our way to Prince Rupert.

TimeZero

Underway to Prince Rupert to clear into Canada and do the rest of provisioning we get accustomed to the nav software “TimeZero”.

It is a newly installed nav system and displayed on a computer monitor. This is typical with commercial vessels, not so much with smaller private vessels. Setting way points isn't something I do often as I think it is better to have the crew as ‘hands on’ with the autopilot as possible. These waters call for a different approach. The courses we lay meander through fjords and archipelagos where there are many twists and turns and it is easy to lose your bearings. Also the tides in this area are powerful and need to be negotiated with careful timing so planning ahead and plotting in the morning is key. I brought about 20 pounds of cruising guides with me so we could be sure to have the best understanding of our options for layover and anchorage. I chose not to navigate at night because of the number of trees and logs in the water. The days are long this far north in the summer so the down time would be short. This means that we had to try and get as much distance in light as possible everyday. And as many anchorages as there are in those waters there are still long stretches with no options to stop. This and we needed to time a few tidal gates. 

We were coming into Prince Rupert just as it was getting dark and clearing customs isnt as straight forward as you would hope being that this is the only port to clear back into US waters. Navionics shows a dock on the approach that has been defunct for a while and the actual clearing dock isn't clear. The bata suggests a series of docks that allow clearance. When I came though on my race boat returning from the Race to Alaska the only spot available was past town a ways and a long walk into the stores. 

Prince Rupert is major hub in an otherwise

We lucked out and a breakwater tie at the end of a dock was available. I called the customs number before landing to get advice and announce our arrival and was met with the words of the least informed Canadian customs official i have ever spoken to. She told me a few confusing and conflicting things, the most confusing being that we needed to report every time we dropped anchor on our way through Canadian waters. The exchange ended in our clearance without inspection. 

Unfortunately as we were docking the port engine died. 

It started up but it did not bode well in the beginning of a 700 nm trip though very remote waters.  

The most likely culprit for a situation like this is fuel filters clogging up due to old fuel. This was very likely because the vessel had a 3500 gal fuel capacity. 

Unfortunately the fuel filters on the vessel are very old housings and there are no spare filters aboard or available anywhere but ebay…There was actually very little info on these filters. 

My delivery application asks customers to list the equipment aboard and the owner had said there were spares. I remember following up asking specifically if the vessel had spare filters, belt, impellers and fluids and was told that it did. This is a serious problem. There are no spare filters and there are no filters available for these housings in PR. 

I discuss with the crew and we decide to buy new Racor housing and filters before heading south. The problem with caring 3500 gallons of fuel is the fuel gets old and in addition to growing critters it collects water from condensation with eventually sings to the bottom of the tanks where the pick up tubes are and once you get in rough water this is stirred up and causes the filter to clog and engine to die. 

I have too much experience doing intensive engine work on boats I'm supposed to just be moving so there is as much built up frustration about this as there is savvy. First thing i have learned is that despite the time pressure you are under you have to remember you are not in a city and things do not run quickly or efficiently however one of the great things is that because you are not in a city your problems are a form of entertainment to the locals and these locals are very resourceful people. So the best approach when trying to tackle a job like this without waiting for things to be mailed in is to take the time to explain the entire situation (without the rush) to everyone you can. The guy working at the hardware store knows the guy that makes the custom fuel hoses and knows that he is in a nearby town till tomorrow but that he would come in on the weekend or stay late to help out some wayward southerners like us. 

A few days of running around and conflicting info and people digging around in the back we have the parts to install two beautiful new Racor filters in a convenient location (as opposed to the former location). 

The owner has asthma so he doesn't want to be exposed to any fumes so me and the crew do all the work. 

Once underway we try to figure out the fuel tank routing. We are getting info from the new owner, the former owner, and eventually the designer and builder. 

Mislabeling 5000

The labels on the hard lines in the engine room turned out to be courtesy of the former owner and wrong and the space between the gravity pulloff on the side of the built in tanks ends up being attached to L shaped pick ups making it even more likely we will pick up sediment. We can feel the sludge when we “dip the tanks” (use a stick that is marked to measure the levels. 

The vessel has two detroit 671 which are very common engines and are quite thirsty (11 gph) so my concerns are not quelled too much by our new filters. Instead visions of us losing both engines in a high current area give me some stress. This makes me investigate the ground tackle. The vessel has a huge anchor and hydraulic windlass but only 200 feet of chain. This is minimal for this area because anchorages are often 50 feet deep. 4 to 1 is okay  but there is wind in the forecast ahead and if we lose power we will be in deep water with little hope of the anchor catching before we hit the rocky shore. 

Windlass work

Our first stop from PR is Curlew Bay on Fin Island. The gypsy is locking when we try to use the windlass clutch to lower the anchor so we use the reverse operation with the hydraulics to lower the big anchor. Once it's down we disassemble the clutch and see if we can replace the friction cone and regrease everything. 

We also get skunked trying to crab which is hard to believe in this remote anchorage. 

Dave on one of the starboard tanks

The next day we see how the scow performs in some small beam seas. The low side decks are awash and the motion is snappy. We stop at a battered reservation fuel dock in a place called Klemtu. A few elders are situated up top of the headwall and are entertaining themselves watching the bustle at the fuel dock on a sunny day. Some jokes are cracked about the current US administration after a brief and failed attempt to not look American. (NOTE: convert to liters your estimated fuel requirements before you pull up, asking for gallons is a dead give away) We push for Dyer Cove on Reginald Island. A beautiful place and what looks like a fishing paradise. The next jump is another exposed hop. Despite getting some swell relief behind the Goose Group the swells show us we wouldn't want to be out in too much seas in that flat bottom boat. The packing glands are old style and drip into a sump that has no bilge pump. Instead of a bilge pump with a float switch like regular designs we have to flip a switch to activate a pump that pulls a belt off one of the engines and use a big hose to vacuum out the water from tupperware containers under the stuffing boxes. This goes with every other engine room check. 

The next leg is the last exposed leg and we pull into Miles inlet just as its getting dark. This is a magical place. There is a narrow inlet to a small anchorage that sits between two tidal rivers. There is just enough room to turn around this 50 footer. 

Just came out of a fog bank and into this tiny entrance

As the tide ebbs the water froths and the wind blows these little froth islands around. One of the most beautiful spots in the 700 miles. Dont tell anyone.

Next stop Port Hardy. I looked at flights to Seattle for the owner who was dealing with drama from his kids and family back home and he flies out. I grab some fresh provisions and things we missed in PR while the boys put 800 gal onboard.

Not in Kansas any more Toto

Some of our work to figure the 3500 gal fuel tank design.

Now everyone has their own cabin and the vibe feels much better. The tank design is still baffling us all. There are 6 tanks built into the steel hull and they sit at different heights to the waterline so we are trying to correlate the fuel manifold and sight glasses to the fuel we have onboard. 

Heading south to Port Neville; a small wayside with a dock and the ruins of a postoffice outpost not so long ago left. 

The dock is full as to be expected, arriving at the last minute so we anchor behind some aluminum purse seiners. 

The next push gets us through Race Passage; an infamous tidal gate and often very windy cut. Some of the most drama documented on the R2AK is in this narrow stretch. We are visited by a huge pod of dolphins. 

The weather window we were so lucky to have for this delivery and that was largely squandered in our laydays working on the boat in PR has run out. We come out of the narrow confines of the part of the inside passage most dominated by tidal currents into a mixture of fog and smoke coming from a big fire in port alberni on the other side of Vancouver island. The fog eventually gives way to a building southly. We are now in the northern waters of the Straits of Georgia and the bows of the scow are throwing water into misty sheets covering the windows. We have been using “Rain X” to help with visibility as there are no wipers. It allows for visibility about %50 of the time. We are going to have to find a place to wait out the southerly gale that is building. I choose Courtenay with the hope that we will be able to get ashore but after poring through the cruising guides I decide there is too much fetch and as we will be setting the anchor in the dark for the first time that it's better to drop the hook a little south east of the town in the lee of Denman Island. 

Anchor down and anchor alarms on; we use the down time to do some laundry. There is a full size washer and dryer in the engine room. 

The scenery is very different in this area. It feels like the waters we came from are very far away. Industrial scenes seem so foreign after even our short sojourn through the wilds of BC.

5am wake up and 10 anchor down catches up. Almost better having a set watch on 24 hour deliveries.

Doug is getting calls from his kids who are visiting Lopez and I can tell he is ready to get home. I discuss with Dave if we are okay to drop him off in the San Juans and continue alone and he's fine with it. The rest of the passage is uneventful and we arrive in Seattle at the Shilshole Marina in temp moorage. 

Dropping Doug off in friday harbor but not before a picture

Port Townsend to Astoria J 109

A wonderful sporty little boat and a nice bit of weather to do it.

Sleep is work

So nice to have a dodger. These race boat deliveries usually dont have dodgers or much in the way of comforts. In the past I think the convention was to have part of the crew deliver the boat home after the race. That may be less and less so. We can hope..

The only hick up was that the engine didn’t start when we first got to the boat. The gear shift assemblage was looking pretty tired and after crawling into the lazaret for a closer look I realized it was the wires that prevent you form starting the engine in gear that were corroded. Once bypassed it started right up.

Amazing sailing across the bar on this one. The Coast Gaurd recommend that you motor but many sailboats like this one don’t motor half as well as they sail.

Cutwater 288 Bellingham to FR

These boats and Ranger Tugs have really taken off in recent years. One thing is for sure; they are a lot more maneuverable than other 300,000 dollar boats.

I helped to owners pick this boat up from the broker last year and due to supply chain issues it didnt come with the davits installed. I brought the boat over with a friend so they could be installed by the dealer. Boy was it a trial getting home. Next time Im flying.

Anacortes to LA Day 18

Point Conception is the last cape to worry about on the coast and we get by it in calm weather.

However a small craft advisory coming.We finally got into some wind and turned off engine… Unfortunately when the speed dropped below the amount we needed to get in before dark we went to start the engine. It did not turn over..

Its the starter this time.

Beyond ready to drop the mic.

One more tow and we are done.

The process of getting a tow from these big chains like Towboat US is a little frustrating. There is a central router and you cant really speak to the captain that is going to tow you until you answer a million questions and if you are trying to call a few companies this really takes a while. If you are in a situation like this call early and call around.

We get the boat into the slip thanks to some very fine boat handling by our tow boat’s skipper. The crew head home and I stay a day more to go over the boat from stem to stern with the owner showing what he needs to address before leaving the dock again.

Big thanks to the crew! It took over a dozen people to make this happen. The crew on the boat, the electrician, the mechanics. the shore support that drove us and our parts around all came together and made it happen.

The sailmakers that went over the sails

The crew of 6 sailors

Jon Palmer who lent us tools and taxied us around PA

Mary and her friend in Westport who brought the new alternator

The tech for Balmar

The Electrician Christian who worked over time

Capt Lars for advice on crab gear and how to avoid it

Tom’s sister who drove us around LA

Alls well that ends well

Grateful to have this guy onboard. Tom Muir AKA Tommie Sox!

Anacortes to LA Day 12

Heading into Coos Bay. Lost second reef line in the night. (Should have kept old cables from the transmission because we could have used then to pull reef line through the boom again.)

Cross bar at 10:20 autopilot not functioning right.

We are heading in because the weather has deteriorated and we will not get around the cape before it hits.

The crew have to get back to their lives and have given so much to this helping get the boat this far.

I will hang out on the boat and reach out to potential crew to finish the trip. Fortunately Tom and Max are going to come back for the rest of the trip. This short notice recrewing is a real challenge though. People of course need notice to join on these passages so it seriously limits who we can get. We could do the rest of the trip with the three of us but we still have three capes to go and a boat that is proving to be worn out in more ways than one.

I decide to head up the river to the “City of Coos Bay” rather than Charleston the little fishing port close to the entrance. Coos Bay is a very charming little coastal town with a two big linear docks a short walk to everything. When we arrived the guys split off to rent a car and Tom and I found City Hall to pay for moorage.



Anacortes to LA Day 11

We left at 6:30 after running the engine to confirm the batteries were charging. No leaks of coolant or oil from the manifold the only issue was it was going to be the sea state running to due to max ebb at 7:30. These bars should be negotiated before slack or on the flood but if you are heading out you can get away with going on the ebb in calm weather. However you must be committed because turning around is not really and option.

Popping wheelies on the Grays Harbor Bar.

Steep 8 footers and water on the deck with a little through the forhatch. Then upon successfully catching the drone Har Rai when walking forward to the cockpit drone in one hand and remote in the other fell onto the side deck and dropped the drone. It bounced before it went overboard and in his despair lost his glasses as well. It can not be said enough. “one hand for the ship and one hand for the sailor.” Madison was standing by on the aft deck and could have carried the remote while Har Rai carried the drone.

Freshly harvested razor clams for dinner thanks to Mary Tom’s friend!

Anacortes to LA Day 10 Lay day for the boys

Went over expenses and found almost $4000 in provisions, meals, parts, fuel, and moorage. This was getting concerning in addition to the extra time this was taking so I called the owner and caught up on payment. It is always hard when people relatively new to boating buy a boat and have a budget in mind and things cost more then what they allocated for it. To make it worse in cases like this; all before they have had the opportunity to enjoy the boat. One good thing that was coming out of all this tribulation was that Har Rai was beginning to doubt the prospect of boat ownership. He had hired me prior to this trip to look at some boats with him and was posed to buy a boat to take his family out and share his love of sailing on. We did a test sail on a sweet little J28 and he was having a survey done while we were on this trip. Rick from Salty Boys Boat works who replaced the transmission in Port Townsend said he was doing a mechanical survey in the same marina as the J28 and offered to take a look at it pro bono. This proved to be a blessing as he found a broken motor mount and a few other things that made the asking price too high. The sellers, it turned out, did not want to negotiate and Har Rai walked away, or dodged a bullet. 

Met up with a rockstar crabber friend of mine Capt Lars and later in the day he showed this his boat just two boats down from our slip.

Capt Lars’ boat

Lars told us about lost pots how rival crabbers steal from other people pots.  

The electrician “Christian” is scheduled to return to install the alternator. The unit was purchased from Fisheries Supply in Seattle and was transported via a of Tom’s friend Mary who happened to be meeting up with her friend in Olympia and who was coming down from Everett. I guess Mary and her friend meet each other part way regularly to stay in touch. If we had it sent by Fisheries we would have lost another day at least.

It takes a village and contacts in every port is a god send.

Alternator in by 18:00 OT for Xian.

not looking forward ..

looking ahead

Anacortes to LA Day 9

At 3 am the night before, we found out that the batteries were not charging and even after shutting everything down, the engine died just after we crossed the bar going into Westport. This is because the fuel pump and solenoid need power to keep the engine running, and although there were two alternators on the engine (one for the start battery and one for the house bank), they share a regulator and because the solenoid needs power to open the fuel line and keep it open during operation. After the engine died we sailed back and forth until a boat came out to tow us in. I was tempted to sail the boat in because I know the marina well, and the wind was favorable, but fishing boats were coming and going, and the entrance was tight with poor visibility around the breakwater. This is a tough one because part of me knows I can get the boat on the dock without the tow and save the owner some money, but part of me knows that if I’m coming in and there is a collision, I’m liable as the licensed captain. Most marinas do not allow sailing in. This is the question of “can you” vs “should you”. I spoke at length with Capt Ray McCormack (link below) after he sunk a boat in Mexico about this issue exactly. It is easy to see yourself as many customers do, ie: “get a boat from A to B, whatever the risk, despite whatever stops working”. I want to help however my skills allow, but the primary reason I’m hired to move the boat is to make prudent decisions and only “cowboy” and ”jury rig” when all other options have been exhausted.

Once in we speak with an electrician at Balmar and learn that the Alternator went out of production 25 years ago. He advises us to clear the regulator’s computer by switching the battery type to lead acid and then back to lithium. This is easier said than done. To keep their regulators resistant to the marine environment, the components are encased in resin so you have to use a special Balmar screwdriver with a little magnet on the back to cycle through the menu while referring to the manual. We run a dockside test, and it appears to be charging.

Some local color at the chandlery

Cast off at 10

Minus amps found just before the bar after working fine last night at the dock.

Turn around and head back to the dock.

Did some extra work at the dock while trying to coordinate a new alternator ASAP.

Fixed the batten on the stack pack.

Pad eye for lee cloth aft installed

Tuned lowers

Watered up

Tightened belts 

Fueled up

Fix of oil manifold noted leak

Noted leak of coolant 

New alternator coming

Ray McCormack interview

Anacortes to LA Day 8 birthday offshore

20 miles offshore FIRE!

“Hey skipper theres some smoke in the aft cabin you should have a look at I think something is on fire.” I run into the aft cabin and the crew start singing happy birthday holding a cupcake with a candle in it.

What a great bunch of guys.

We are running down the meandering 70 fathom line (420 feet) to avoid crabbing gear. I know this is the depth most likely safe from fouling our prop because I spoke to my friend Capt Lars who fishes this coastline.


He has also advised us to stay in the shipping lane if we approach West Port as opposed to the smaller boat channel to the south of the shipping lane. This is because the boats that catch the gear and continue into port deposit these pots in the shallower water of the channel. This too proves to be good council. 

I tell thte crew we will stop in Westport for fuel and to let the bigger seas left over from the last blow subside. 

1:30 am no pots sighted 

We need to cross the bar in the daylight flood because of pots. The next bar we can make due to tide in this time frame is Newport but I think it will put us in 13 footers.

Note the contour lines.

All really fun stuff happens offshore at 3 am..

The boat is proving to be a bit of a broach coach.

The winds forecast haven’t appeared 

Supposed to be 20 now

Need to regain some faith in the boat 

3am

Lost charging from alternators (due to regulator failure). Eventually the engine dies because the fuel shutoff solenoid needs power to stay open and is internal so impossible to override.

Anacortes to LA Day 7

Doing 8+ now 6:50 riding an ebb.

Well, it’s been almost a week of tribulation and hard work from the crew and others to get us back on the water. We have experienced a number of mechanical issues since we got to the boat and are very glad to be underway. Special thanks to the crew of Salty Boys Boat Works and family for dropping everything and coming out to replace the transmission of this newly purchased boat. This expensive mishap certainly demonstrates the importance of getting a mechanical survey from a trusted mechanic prior to buying a boat and or planning a passage of any distance. 

We set aside just over two weeks for this delivery to LA. We have eaten up a lot of that time working on the boat. If weather cooperates, we may still make it in our allotted time. But if not, we will do everything we can to get as close to the destination as possible. This crew has raised to the occasion making up for the boat’s deficiencies. I can say I am deeply honored to call these gentleman shipmates. Over these last days at any given time there were three projects underway at once and while the owner was complaining about the cost, having professionals do this work instead of volunteers would have been very expensive. Currently, we are motoring in positive current out the Strait of Juan De Fuca in sunshine and light breeze, the new transmission is working beautifully and spirits are high. The forecast on the coast has shown weather beginning to settle into Westerly whereas only a few weeks ago we were seeing Southerly‘s of Gale force with some regularity. Pilot charts that show the statistical probability of different wind directions at strengths showed a marked difference between the historical weather for March and April. Originally the owner had wanted us to take the boat south in March, but I said we have a better chance of favorable weather in April. I had been watching it closely ever since wondering if the statistical data representing April or March was based on mid month or the beginning. 

Max

Tomorrow is my birthday and I couldn’t imagine a better bunch of gentlemen to spend with doing something we all love.

I get a lot of pleasure out of putting Crews like these together and introducing these shipmates of mine to each other.

I have been so busy putting out fires that I had to keep pushing back a scheduled zoom interview with a past customer who is an example of a customer who is now a close shipmate and one of the best things about this work. He was a delivery customer who is now in the South Pacific cruising on the boat I helped him and his partner move many years ago now. Hopefully, we will get time to have our catch up call soon. Some of this crew have sailed with him and it would be nice to have a reunion of sorts if only through our Starlinks.

Tatoosh Island and the furthest NW point of the lower 48.

Anacortes to LA Day 6

10 o’clock finding out the wrong dampener plate was picked up using the old dampener plate which is oversized and would void the warranty.

Trans cooler (dunzo)

Part of the boat’s former exhaust line.

new gear

Full court press on running new gear cables and a broken bolt to put it past dinner time.

Madison Rawley


HarRai Khalsa

Tom Muir

Some think that “PT” stands for Port Townsend but I know it stands for Pizza Town.

Boy are still working on drilling out broken screw in upper cable mount at 7



 

Anacortes to LA Day 5

PT

9 am after an awesome breakfast at the Blue Moose (one of the two restaurants inside the boat yard) and back to boat to measure the transmission and use the photo rpm gauge we got in PA to confirm the gear ratio.

Found the rpm confirming what the surveyor noted (not sure sure how he did this as the trans cooler was mounted the the ID plate).

Rick called to confirm that the transmission was what was on survey and asked for pictures of the trans cooler 

Jamie Rick’s helper said throughhull was loose and pack gland bellows were not set right.

A thorough mechanical survey would have caught that this was the original transmission with an adaptor mating it to an engine of twice the recommended horsepower.

Rick impressed the crew by the speed with which his team removed this transmission from its tiny cramped space and impressed them just as much by jumping to the dock from the deck with it in hand.

Salty Boy’s Boat Works (dream team)

“Miles” apprentice

Cool kids table. Sirens next!

Anacortes to LA Day 4

8am at it

Parts pick up

The new port running light is installed by Tom. Max and I do the dockside set up on the autopilot and we head out to do the sea trial calibration. 

I move to inspecting some of the chafe spots Tom is concerned about. I had noticed that the spinnaker halyards showed chafe where they had been allowed to hit the spreaders, but hadn’t been concerned about it myself. Tom ran his own rigging company for 15 years, so I listened to him and ran a messenger so we could get a better look at it before going up. The chafe was barely into the cover, and it was core dependent line, but I’m glad I decided to go aloft because the U bolt that held the spinnaker halyard block to the masthead crane had a nut that was in the process of spinning off, and I was effectively hanging on one nut.

Some jobs require a lucky hat.

Outboard nut is backed off. Hard to see here. these are not “nylock” nuts because they are supposed to be hammered with a pin to prevent this. Pro Tip: get a rigging survey when you buy a boat.

The most dangerous job here is going to a height you wouldn’t survive a fall from. The second most dangerous job is being under a person working. I use lanyards when I can but never pull a tool out until people below are clear. If you are on the deck move slowly if the boat is small and tender and always watch the person aloft.

We cast off with hard won confidence and by 14:30 the transmission starts slipping.  We disconnect the cable from the transmission to confirm that it wasn’t because it just wasn’t engaging all the way and find that it was in fact engaging and that the transmission was just failing. 

Slipped again, then tried extending the arm by removing the binnacle attach point and adding quarter inch throw, then tried removing entirely and pushing arm on the transmission all the way down.

Tom looked up the Hurth transmission finding that “when they go they go” Rick confirmed and added that they don’t bother rebuilding the kind we had. 

Not the first retreat from the ocean but a far better time to find out than off the coast.

We turn back dejected but happy to use the now building Southwesterly that the 30 knot coastal winds is bringing us. We are fighting an ebb and the chop gives us a taste of of how the boat will preform in the ocean with a following breeze…a bit of a “Tilt’n Hilton” but not quite a “Broach Coach”.

I inform owner that Rick can get a new transmission installed at emergency rate the following day and have us back on the water in a day or two. The owner agrees and we sail past PA for Port Townsend. I call Odin Smith a shipmate and rigger colleague that lives aboard in Boat Haven that we may have to sail in and to advise us on wind strength in the harbor and if the outside linear dock is clear. He says it only 10 knots in the marina, the dock is clear, and offers to come out if we need a hand. 

PT is a more convenient place for the repair and a more interesting place to spend free time.. that free time unfortunately never presents itself at least to this captain. (However he does find time for a slice of his much loved Waterfront Pizza and a pint at the Sirens bar.)

Anacortes to LA Day 3

PA work

In the engine room we found that the custom alternator bracket that the former owner had made was missing one of its four bolts and that there was an air line used to connect the coolant reservoir and that subsequently coolant had been leaking onto the starter terminals.

We consult Rick from Salty Boys Boat Works and he advises we buy a manual oil pressure gauge so we can confirm our oil pressure. We do and it is high so high that he is concerned about our success. I call Ben Stickle from Cook Engine in Portland for a second opinion and he recommends we change the oil. He goes on to recommend we get the engine hot and add diesel to the oil for the last few minutes of running to act as a solvint to break down any thicker oil residue. The old was changed (allegedly) along with the impeller. There is no sign of this as there is no date written on the oil filter. (you should do this) We buy oil and a filter and borrow an oil change pump from the gentlemen at the marina office and change the oil. They advise us to put in an order at fisheries before 3:00 so anything we need is there in the morning. 

Oil pressure?

External oil pressure gauge we installed.

While I was doing this, Madison and Tom had started to clean the terminals on the starter.  Max was checking the deck plugs to see if the spotlight worked, and Har Rai was removing the plug from the main halyard’s electric mast winch. 

Electric winches can be handy on bigger boats but having the switch in the cockpit behind a full canvas enclosure is very awkward.

Leaky gasket found after replacing the coolant overflow hose with spec.

After cleaning the terminals and running the engine, Madison noticed that the coolant cap was leaking. So we added a cap to the list. Fortunately this is not a special Perkins part and it was easily sourced locally. 

Got off the dock and did see a trial test on autopilot in the bay.

The oil change and flush reduced the psi to 59 at WOT (wide open throttle) when it had been 70 psi at cruise RPM.