Trip to Vancouver Island

I left Seattle yesterday on a trip to the north end of Vancouver Island. I should be gone about 5 weeks. This will be a solo trip, but Meryll is going to drive up and meet me for a few weekends, and I’ll stop in Bellingham to see brother Steve and Linny.  The route is not completely set, but the plan is to head north along the mainland, going up the Fraser River a ways, and staying in False Bay in Vancouver for a few days, then up the coast to Desolation Sound, then across to Port Hardy and down the east (inside) coast of Vancouver Island. I’m not going to go on the ocean side of the island.  I plan on posting pictures every few days when I have internet access.

I have a few new pieces of electronics aboard:

SPOT GPS will show my location and route on Google Maps, and let me send emergency messages. It needs to be pointed at the sky so I made this little mount that attaches to the cabin handrail.  I haven’t set it up yet.

WIFI amplifier and hotspot. Amplifies nearby wifi signals and creates a local wifi hotspot so all the electronics can use the connection.

 

I left Kenmore Wednesday morning and stopped in Ballard for grocery shopping. My next stop was the south end of Whidbey Island for a late lunch.
 

I anchored in Langley inlet on Whidbey Island. Everything was in bloom in this very pretty tourist town.

I have some nice pictures on my good camera, but don’t have a way to get them off yet. I will stop in Anacortes to buy a card reader.

Adding a Dolphin-Whacker

As part of getting ready for my Alaska trip I added a heavy bronze flat bar to the stem and first couple of feet of the bow. This is so I can run into logs or debris or even rocks without harming the boat. I bought a chunk of aluminum bronze from Online Metals, 1 1/2 “ x 5/8” x 8 feet long.

(Anyone know what this type of thing is actually called?)

I cut off an 18 inch chunk to practice with. Using the Hossfeld with a 6 foot cheater bar I succeeded in bending the part this much before giving up. It was just too hard. I had to bolt the table down to the floor and run stringers to the wall-mounted work bench because I was dragging the 400 pound steel welding table all over the shop.

Another view. At this point I mounted a small Mat-Gas torch, pointing at the bend,  and tried again when the bend got hot. The bar just broke at the heated spot. Then I got out the real piece and asked Barry to come over and help. With me leaning on the bender and Barry pulling on the stock, we got it to bend to the correct angle to run under the bow. I had made a plywood template of the bow earlier, and we used that to get the correct angle.

Then I drilled and countersunk mounting holes, sanded off the machining marks, and rounded the top end freehand with a grinder.The lowest mounting hole is about 8 inches above waterline to avoid holes underwater.

I mounted the thing while the boat was out of the water for a tune-up and bottom paint. The mounting holes were injected with neat epoxy to seal them. The little piece of tape is to keep it from running out. I did this a few times until the epoxy stopped being absorbed. I masked the whole area because Sikaflex wants to get everywhere!

The unit was bedded in black Sikaflex. I used 8 screws,  #14 x 3 1/2” bronze.

Here she is going back in. The bronze should tarnish dark like the rest soon enough. See how the bronze wraps under the bow a couple of feet.

May Day Trip–Port Angeles to Victoria

It was kind of spooky leaving Post Angeles. It was chilly, with a little fog in the area, and a large bank of it just to the west. Eighteen miles of actual ocean – not the enclosed spaces I’m used to.  The crossing was uneventful though,  and a bit boring with nothing to look at. The fog came in behind me and hid the US shore, with only the tops of the Olympics poking out. The Victoria ferry left just after I did, and passed so quickly it was soon out of sight in the haze. I got across before noon and had the day to explore the town. There’s so much to do here that I’m going to stay another day. See some museums and go for a bike ride.

MV Coho leaving Port Angeles on the way to Victoria:

And passing me by at 19 knots:

There were a of big ships on the Straits. The AIS really helped me know which ones were the dangerous ones – shown as black triangles:

Victoria on the way in:

I checked in through customs by phone. They were very pleasant. Then I asked for a slip at the Causeway Floats. They gave me a nice parking spot:

The view from my porthole:

I spent the rest of the day just wandering around town. It seems to be summer here:

Inside the Empress:

They do lights very nicely too:

Parliament buildings:

May Day Trip–Port Townsend to Port Angeles

Got an early start and arrived at Port Angeles at 2 PM. Tomorrow I cross the Straits into Canada, only about 12 miles.

Nothing as pretty as a wooden boat in the early morning light:

Downtown Port Townsend:

I rode the ebb tide out into the strait at a terrifying 11 miles per hour:

This is what a 4-knot current looks like running past a buoy
:

It was a perfect morning. I drifted off Protection Island for a while, listening to the bird sounds:

Dungeness light house:

Lunch!

Downtown Port Angeles is very pleasant. I rode my bike along the waterfront trail:

Past Hollywood Park, where many families were enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon:

My cool new folding bike:

May Day Trip–Home to Port Townsend

This was the first day  of a 16 day trip from Seattle up through the Gulf and San Juan Islands. 

It was a nice, uneventful trip to Port Townsend. Light winds, mostly sunny. I still have a pretty bad cold,  so it’s nice to get here fairly early, take it easy for a while, and go to bed early.

A couple of brave yakkers on the Ship Canal:

Goldeneyes just outside the Locks:
 

Poor little guy – didn’t stand a chance:

Bush Point marker. Almost 3 knots of current against me through this area:

Always lots of interesting restoration projects in Port Townsend:

Pretty boats everywhere you look:

Kiwi Grip Non-Skid

I finally put down non-skid on the outside decks. I’ve been meaning to do it since I launched, almost two years ago, but every time I had a nice sunny day I went boating instead of tackling this messy, uncomfortable task. It was a dumb thing to postpone so long.

I used Kiwi Grip, which is a thick, water-based paste that you trowel down and roll with a special roller to add the texture. Most of these steps would still apply when using paint with grit mixed in. I like this stuff because the texture is smoother than with grit, so it’s easier on the feet and doesn’t get quite as dirty.  They say not to apply when it’s a very warm day, or in direct sun.  Wash the desks before starting to tape.

Add extra tape on the edges – this stuff is messy and hard to get off if it goes outside the lines.

Make each section a coupIe of square feet so you can do each one in one pass. I moved the cross-pieces around a few times to find a pattern I liked, using natural stopping points and dividing larger areas equally. I stood on the cabin top to make sure everything looked OK. Try to add the tape in short pieces and in reverse order of how you will fill them in, so you can easily remove the tape after each section. Have a plan on where to put the wet, gooey pieces of tape when you pull them up. A helper would have been nice.

I sanded the large areas with 150 grip with the power sander, then used the 150 grit sanding block sponge along the edges of the tape. Get the type of block with very square corners.

With the sanding sponge, sand right up to the edge of the tape to get the little area that the tape edge protects from the sander. Try to sight from a low angle to see if any shiny spots remain.  This step is important because the stuff might start peeling up along the edges if it doesn’t bond.  Vacuum and wash with alcohol before starting the Kiwi Grip application.

Application tools. Get the special roller when you buy the non-skid.  I used this small-v trowel this time and was happy with the amount of material it left. Bigger grooves leave too much stuff.  I applied the material right out of the can.

Trowel it on until the grooves are very even and there are no lumps or thin spots. Scoop any remainder back into the can.

Roll and roll until the groove pattern is completely gone. Roll slowly or you will splatter. (You will spatter anyway. Carry a damp sponge to clean it up before it hardens.) Remove the tape from each section after rolling, especially if it’s a warm day. Rinse the roller after each couple of sections if it starts to load or the texture pattern will be different.

Looks pretty!

Preliminary Boat Trip Plan

Sixteen days, 400 miles, clockwise. 

Red is Meryll loop

 

Day	Date	Overnight Stops	Daily Miles	Running Miles
Fri	April 20	Kingston	18	27	From Carillon after work
Sat	21	Sequim	43	70	Via Port Townsend & Protection Island
Sun	22	Port Angeles	26	96	Via Dungeness Spit
Mon	23	Victoria	21	127
Tue	24	Sidney	26	153	Via Sidney Spit
Wed	25	Ganges	16	169
Thu	26	Saturna	15	184
Fri	27	Sucia	17	201	Via Tumbo and Patos (alt Roche Hbr customs)
Sat	28	Bellingham	23	224	Via Matia and Lummi
Sun	29	Cypress Island	14	238	Eagle harbor
Mon	30	Deer Harbor	18	256	Via Wasp Passage and Yellow Island
Tue	May 1	Sucia	14	270
Wed	2	Bellingham	21	291
Thu	3	Cypress Island	18	309	Eagle harbor
Fri	4	Watmaugh Bay	23	332	Via Olga and Spencer Spit
Sat	5	Port Ludlow	36	368	Via Port Townsend
Sun	6	Home	40	408	Via Kingston and Shilshole

West From Seattle

I made this for my friend Carol, but it seems nice enough to save.It’s what’s out there to the West of Seattle. (Links to a bigger version)

Spring Maintenance

Haulout on a perfect early Spring morning:

 

Bow Repair

– we ran into a dock and a floating log in the past month.

First, I cut out all cracked and splintered fiberglass and wood:

Taped the area and made a little work space:

Sealed the wood with epoxy, then filled the rest with epoxy-based filler:

Took a little break after all that work:

Sanded smooth and washed with solvent:

Painted it black:

Painted the bottom paint:

Changed the lower unit oil:

She’s ready to start the cruising season!

Bird Pictures

I bought a new camera.  A Nikon D5100, and a nice 55-300 mm zoom lens. I spent a couple of hours playing with it.

Killdeer

Blue heron