ENGINE ROOM MAKEOVER ALMOST DONE

As  I mentioned several times in past posts, I wanted to spend time this winter working in the engine room of our boat.  Back in 2007, the turbo on the port engine developed a leak and allowed diesel exhaust to leak into the engine room.  Before I had realized what had happened , the exhaust had settled on every square inch of the space.  I tried to clean it up but never really had the time to do a really thorough job.  So this time I bought lots of cleaning supplies and went for it.  Many things had to be taken apart or moved to be cleaned in behind everything and your always working in tight spaces, kneeling down, and sometimes laying down on your side to reach all the corners.  After all was cleaned I painted the engines, ceiling, walls, floors, and everywhere I could get to.  Also spent some time cleaning up the wiring..Both engines had minor leaks in the cooling, oil, and fuel systems.  Those have all been addressed and various hoses, gaskets, and fittings have been replaced.   The last project was all new carpet on the floors. So just a few minor things left to take care of and she will be ready to cruise this summer.

The pictures that follow were taken after cleaning and new paint.

This is a view looking forward between the two engines.  The hoses, valves, pump, and filter is used to transfer fuel between the five fuel tanks.  The black box on the bench is a 2000 watt inverter used to supply 110 volt power when we are away from the dock and the generator is not running.  The ladder goes up into the salon.

This is the port side engine.  It is a CAT 4 cylinder turbo charged diesel engine.  This is the only engine that has a alternator on it.  It also drives a bilge pump off the front of the crankshaft.

This shot shows both engines.  The engine on the right (starboard) was the one I had all the problems with this past summer.  All the fuel injection parts are on the right side (outside) of the engine.  You have to wiggle in  and work on it while lying down on your side.

This is taken looking aft.  These are the two Racor fuel filters that protect the engines.  The small filter in the middle is for the generator and furnace.

This shows the area behind the starboard engine.  There are four large 8 volt starting batteries stored in the large box.  The other engine has it's own starting batteries.  The large black hose is the exhaust for this engine and runs into a large muffler before going out the transom.  There is a large halon automatic fire extinguisher mounted to the bulkhead.  New carpet on the floors too.

This just about concludes the cleanup.  This is going to make it so much easier to see any leaks and fix them before there is a big mess to deal with.  I am also preparing check lists so I can monitor several things and hopefully catch a problem in the early stages.

Have a good holiday everyone!!!

KEEPING BUSY IN FRIDAY HARBOR

Our boat moored in Friday Harbor

Greeting from Friday Harbor.  Pat and I have been here for six weeks now and are enjoying it so far.  The spot we are moored in looks right straight out into the bay here so we see all the pleasure boats and ferry boats coming and going.  I was surprised to see so many large super yachts so late in the season.  Many are from the British Virgin Islands.  I suspect that they are coming down from being up in Alaska for the summer and the people on board are the crew.  The owners have all flown back home.

A Otter coming into  the dock

Right across the dock from us is where all the sea planes land. It was quite busy the last part of October but has slowed up to maybe one or two a day.  This picture is of a Otter and it has a turbine engine with a reversing prop.  It was quite a sight the first time I saw a float plane go backwards.  Most of the planes we see belong to Kenmore Air in Seattle.

The ferry arriving in Friday Harbor

Of course the ferries come and go all day long.  There is one that stays overnight here and they start the engines at 5:00 am and leave at 6:00 am.
We have our car here and have rode the ferry to Anacortes three times so far for various appointments.  The ride takes about an hour.

Engine room of Aye Aye Sir

My big project this winter is a refurbishing of the engine room.  Back in 2007 I had a turbo leak exhaust into this space and I never completely got it cleaned up. So all the walls and ceiling need to be washed and repainted.  Also the engines are in need of fresh paint too.  When everything is clean and painted it's lots easier to see any leaks.  Some of the hoses will be replaced and a couple of gaskets are weeping some fluids.  About 3 weeks into the project I pinched a nerve in my back so that has slowed me down somewhat.

Our new diesel heater

The other big project this winter was to install a diesel heater in the salon.  Our existing diesel furnace heats the boat fine but the air blowing out into the salon makes way to much noise.  This little heater makes no noise at all and really heats up the salon and wheel house.  I had a fuel tank below the seating in the wheel house that had never been used and it is higher than the stove so I plumbed into it so gravity feeds the fuel to the stove ( no fuel pump required ).  I also bought a small fan to set on top of the stove.  The hot air makes the blades turn too so no power required there either. So no external power is required to operate this heater.  So far so good.










Pat has been keeping busy with various craft projects and her knitting.  She also found a good massage therapist which helps with her fibermyalgia. Every Thursday we take our male dog Max to a training class here in town.  He has to much aggression when on the leash so we need to break him of this.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!  Russ, and Pat

END OF THE SEASON CLEAN UP

On September 17 we took the boat over to Seaview Boatyard in Bellingham for a overdue haul out   This is something that needs to be done at least every two years but we haven't done it for 3 years. (I did have a diver clean the bottom last year and replace the zincs)

This is a good place to get this done because they let you do as much of the work as we know how and help with or do the jobs we know nothing about.

Haul out time in Bellingham

Seems like every time we do this there is always more that needs attention than we had planned for.    This year we did the following:  painted the bottom, replaced all zincs, rebuilt both hydraulic steering cylinders, removed the port rudder as it was nearly impossible to move (I'm sure this is what wore out the cylinders), removed both props and sent them to a prop shop for inspection( the retaining nuts on one prop were found to be loose allowing some movement of the prop on the shaft), replaced a thru hull valve for the generator as it was stuck open and could not be closed in case of an emergency, repacked both drive shaft glands, repacked both rudder shaft glands, repacked the port stabilizer shaft gland, and realigned both engines to the drive shafts.  Most of this maintenance was planned except for the props and rudder repair.

Props, rudders, and drive shafts


On Wednesday , October 3, we finally left the boat yard, destination: Friday Harbor.  I made a stop at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes to buy some fuel.  I monitor the fuel prices on the internet and saw the prices come down a little the week before and was able to get diesel for $3.41.a.gallon plus tax.  As I was crossing Rosario Straits I could see a Coast Guard boat way up ahead of me and when I got up close they flagged me down and asked when was the last time I had a safety inspection?  I told them I never have had one and they said this was my lucky day.  Two men came aboard and spent about 1/2 hour asking questions and looking at all the required safety items we are required to have( life jackets, horn, fire extinguishers, etc.)  I have talked to people who have had bad experiences with the Coast Guard and have read stories about how rude they can be, but I am very happy to report these guys were great.  Very polite.  Of course I had checked twice this summer to make sure I was compliant so they did not find any violations.
GREAT JOB COAST GUARD!!

The sign says it all

So here we are in Friday Harbor where we will spend the winter.  They lower the rates in the winter just so they can fill their empty slips so it is much more affordable.

Tied up in Friday Harbor

Our daughters Jenny and Chrissy.  Me and Pat


So I have lots of projects planned this winter.  The engine room really needs a good clean up and that is going to be a big job.  I want to clean up the engines and repaint them, seal all the leaks, work on the wiring and plumbing system, and just make certain everything is in good working order.  I will take some before and after pictures to show you.  I am expecting a big improvement in appearance.

Pat has been finding things to keep her busy this winter.  She went to a Zumba class last night and has found a place close by to play bingo.  There is a craft store in town so that will keep her busy too.

Hope all is well with everyone.  Send us a email and let us know what you have been doing.

Russ and Pat

GREETINGS FROM SHAW ISLAND

Blind Bay, Shaw Island

Today we are anchored out in Blind Bay.  This bay is located right next to the ferry landing on Shaw Island.  We have spent several days here this summer and has turned out to be one of our favorites places.  There are no accommodations of any sorts but we did find a small dock to take the dingy to so we can walk the dogs.

Dingy dock at Blind Bay

This little dock is pretty run down but it still gets the job done.  I have learned the hard way that it's best to be able to tie up to a dock if your going to be gone awhile walking the dogs.  Over at Spencer Spit on Lopez Island, I went to shore on a outgoing tide and when I got back my dingy was high and dry.  Since the boat is to heavy with the outboard motor on it to drag  back into the water, the only thing to do is try to place some small logs under it and roll it back to the waters edge. Really not a fun job!!

Old fish boat on beach

Ever wonder what happens to old boats when no one wants them anymore?   Well I guess you just winch them up on the beach on a really high tide. This is an old commercial fishing boat that looks like it might have been a gill-netter and/or a troller.

Been here awhile!!!

When you see the boat from the bow it's obvious it was been here for many years.  There is grass and even small trees growing out of it.  Fixer-upper anyone???

Home on Shaw Island

I really enjoy walking the roads on Shaw Island.  It seems like a really laid back place.  From what I've read there is a real shortage of fresh water and that is why there are so few people who live here. Every evening we see several deer grazing in the fields (and peoples front yards).  Every one seems to have a orchard and the deer keep the limbs trimmed up.

Apple tree.  Just loaded!!

The only store on the island.

Split rail cedar fence along road

Old farm house at head of the bay

It's really hard to believe that summer is fast coming to a close.  We left April 1st. so we've been out 4 1/2 months now.  The engines are running perfect.  We are hoping to maybe pull the boat out of the water before winter gets here and paint the bottom and other maintenance issues.We would like to go to Alaska again next spring so would like to be ready to go.  I plan to clean up the engine room this winter: paint the engines, remove old wiring, fix all leaks, paint walls and ceiling, fix any issues I find.

We will be spending this winter in Friday Harbor.  They have most every thing we will need close at hand.  They also have a Carquest and NAPA parts stores.  Since I have worked for both maybe I can get a part time job.  We will bring our car over and park it at the marina so we will have transportation back to Marysville if we need it.

That's about it for now.  Hope all is well with everyone.  Send us a email and let us know what you have been doing.  See ya,  Russ, Pat, Maddie, Max.

UPDATES FROM THE SAN JUANS

Sunset at Prevost Harbor

I am always kidding people by telling them they should "buy a boat and have fun."  This really didn't apply so far this month.  We have spent 22 days so far tied in port having engine problems looked at.  We went into Anacortes on May 29 expecting to maybe be there one to two days.  After all, I called the people who are specialists in Cat engines.  They should have it fixed in no time.  When we left on June 14 the engine was still not fixed.  We did everything the mechanic and I could think of and nothing fixed the problem.  (Maybe I should have stayed out of it)  I finally told him to I couldn't afford to go any further and I would just run it as is.  So we left and went to Friday Harbor to pick up friends for the weekend.  This past Sunday when we got back to port I discovered alot of fuel in the drip pan under the other engine.  One of the things we had done previously was to swap the fuel transfer pumps between the two engines and now this pump was leaking fuel.  I tried twice to rebuild the pump waiting several days for parts.  Finally I had them send me a used pump from Spokane and I put it on last night.  The good engine is now working like it should again.  But we still have a bad miss in the starboard engine.  The only good news out of this whole mess is that NC Machine says they are not going to charge me for the work they have done so far as nothing has been fixed yet.  I could not believe it!!  As soon as they have a new plan in place they will call us to come back in for a second try.

New paint on decks

In the meantime I have been doing some painting when the weather permits.  I found a deck paint at Ace Hardware and painted most all of the decks a light beige color.  They look brand new again.

Fresh paint on the anchor chain

I also pulled all the anchor chain out of the chain locker and repainted some of the links on it.  This is how I can tell how much chain I have out when I anchor.  Every 25 feet some of the links are painted.  There will be one group, two groups, or three groups of links painted and they will be different colors.  So for example if I see three blue groups of links I know I have let out 200 feet of chain.

Boat races in Anacortes

While we were in Anacortes they had their yearly Waterfront Festival.  One of the activities is a boat building contest.  Each team only has about $200.00 they can spend and one day to complete their boats.  Then they are raced down a course they set up in the marina.  All the boats are powered by hand.  No motors.  The winner was The Northwestern seen at the left in the picture.  For those of you who watch Deadliest Catch you may recognize the name.  We had a front row seat as they went right past the back of our boat.  As you can see there were alot of people rooting for there favorite team.

Yacht "After Eight"

We've seen a few mega yachts this year.  This is a picture of the yacht "After Eight."  The people who own it are from British Columbia and is 150 feet long.  It was for sale on the internet a few years ago for $28,000000.








I guess that gets you guys up to date on what we've been doing.  Will post again when there is some good news about the engine to report.Hope all is well with everyone.  Love to get emails from you all.
                Russ and Pat

SHRIMP SEASON IN THE SAN JUANS

Fresh shrimp for dinner tonight!!

The very short (6 days) shrimp season just finished up on Sunday. I thought I knew what I was doing but found out there is always more to learn.
Here in the San Juans there is alot of current to contend with.  The problem I have had is the float I have attached to the shrimp pot will go under the water when the current is running real hard and may not come back up for several hours or even the next day. But we did get some really nice shrimp.The limit is 80 and we got three limits this past weekend.  The season is open all year in Canada so will wait until we go there to catch some more.

Working on craft projects

This is picture of Pat working on one of her craft projects at Jones Island. She has outlined the shape of star fish on a board and found small brightly colored rocks on the beach to glue on the board.  Next she gave the rocks a coat of clear finish to make the colors "pop" and painted some seaweed in the backgrounds. Max and Maddie are keeping guard over the process.

Deer Harbor

This picture is of Deer Harbor on Orcas Island.  This was one of my favorite places to come when I was a kid in the 1950's.  I could always count on my grandmother to have a little bit of bacon that I would use for bait to catch bullheads with. There was a abandoned fish cannery across the bay and we would fish for rock cod next to the piling under the cannery.  But what I remember most was collecting pop bottles and beer bottles to cash in at the store to buy candy and fishing gear.  There was a dance hall here and every Sunday morning we would scour the field next to it for beer bottles. One time I found a six pack of unopened beer and sold it to my mom for a dollar.  I really scored that day!!!

Friday Harbor

This is Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island.  We go in here about every 10 days or so to get supplies and do the laundry.  This is a fun place to come to because there is always so much going on here.  The ferry terminal is right next to the marina and the sea planes have their own dock here also.  There is a US customs dock here so there are always many boats coming in to clear customs.  It's a short walk up town to all the shops.  Pretty much everything you need is here.  We are thinking about staying here this winter.

Landing craft

If you live on a island up here and need a tractor, backhoe, or building materials, and you have no ferry service to your island, this is how you would get your supplies.  This is a landing craft and as long as you have a beach he can land on, you could get most anything you would need.  I have seen all kinds of vehicles on these.  Here you can see several trucks on this load.






I am once again having a problem with a miss in one of the engines so we are going into Anacortes this coming Tuesday to have a diesel mechanic have a look at it. I called NC Machine as they are the CAT specialists in the Northwest and will know best how to fix it. It is a fuel problem I am almost sure of but I have run out of things to try myself.  Time to call in the big guns!!

  Hope all is well with everyone. If you have time send us a email and let us know what you've been doing.

Stuart Island

Prevost  Harbor ,Stuart Island

Stuart Island is probably our most favorite place in the San Juan Islands.  It lies just 3 miles from Canada and consists for two separate bays, Reid Harbor and Prevost Harbor.  Our favorite is Prevost  as it is a little more protected from the winds and has lots of room to anchor out.  So far this year we have already spent 14 nights here.  A short 5 minute walk across the island gets you from one bay to the other.

Hiking on Stuart Island

There are several miles of hiking trails on the island so the dogs really like it here also.  Russ has even lost a few pounds as a result of all the dog walks.

Wind blown logs on Stuart Island

On one day six of us and four dogs hiked out to the light house at the point.  What a fabulous view of Boundary Pass that divides Canada and the US.  This light house has been here since the 1800's.   Lots of big ships pass by here every day on there way from overseas to Vancouver.

School house

Stuart Island has it's own one room school house. What a neat place.  The flowers were in bloom the day we were here here and the humming birds were everywhere.  There were also several bird houses scattered around the property.

Storage shed

This is a small storage shed next to the school. Notice all the firewood that heats the school in the colder months.  There was a satilite dish on the roof . Not sure if it was for TV or internet service.

Maddy and Max

On May 5 the shrimp season opened . I probably shouldn't tell about me doing this stupid trick but not every day is a glorious adventure.  I went out at 7:00 am when the fishing started and dropped the first pot in after carefully watching my depth finder to make sure I had enough line to reach the bottom.  Well. the current was really running hard and the wind was blowing so it was a little rough.  I thought I was in about 300 feet of water but after letting out 400 feet of line the pot never hit bottom.  I was drifting so fast that I could not hang on to the pot any longer before I had it attached to the pot marker.  So I lost everything.

Then I went in a little closer to shore and let down my next pot in 235 feet of water. Now this line was 300 feet long so I should have had plenty of extra line and I had it hooked to the marker.  But because of the strong currents the marker went under the surface, never to be seen again.

Soooo. Two shrimp pots lost along with the lines, markers, and extra led balls for added weight, all gone. About $300 worth of gear!!!  Needless to say we aren't eating any shrimp this week.  But we did get some nice oysters last week and we wave caught several nice ling cod also. Very good eating.

Tonight we are back in Friday Harbor.  Did the laundry and bought groceries.  Pat got some new hiking boots and I am pricing new shrimp pots!!!!.  Hope all is well with everyone.  Russ and Pat

JONES ISLAND STATE PARK

       On Monday morning, April 16, we moved over to Jones Island State Park.  It's really a treat to stay here as it is so busy in the summer months that we never can get in here.  Today we have been the only boat here all day.
Jones Island is located 1/2 mile off the Southwest tip of Orcas Island.  It is 188 acres and is accessible only by boat.  We are staying in the cove on the north side which has a brand new dock.  On the south side of the island is a shallow bay and the remains of an old apple orchard.  A 1/2 mile trail connects the two.

A small herd of black tail deer live here and you can sometimes even pet them.  In 1990 a hugh wind storm blew thru here and knocked down hundreds of trees .Here are some more pictures of the island.

Trees knocked down in 1990

 

Most of the trees are down on the hillside

                                                       
 

Black tail deer

                                                                     

The walking trail on Jones Island

We are really impressed with all the new improvements here at Jones Island State Park.  The new dock is absolutely built to last forever.  The camping spots have really been upgraded and the trails are really nice.      The following pictures show what I'm talking about.

Picnic shelter for larger groups

Restrooms are all wheel chair friendly

A water tower that supplies several locations on the island

 
T

This shelter has four bunk beds

 

WE SAW LOTS OF INTERESTING BOATS TODAY

The tug Lindsey Foss

In a short 1.5 hour cruise we saw 4 interesting vessels today.
  This first picture is the tug Lindsey Foss.  This is a sister ship to the Garth Foss which we saw last week.  This tug was built in 1994 and is 137 feet long.  It's home port is Seattle . This boat also has two 4000hp engines.  I would not want to be buying the fuel for this baby!!!

Oil tanker Polar Discovery

                                                                                       

This ship is the oil tanker Polar Discovery.  It was built in 2003 and is 894 feet long and has a beam of 151 feet.  This vessel is used primarily to bring crude oil down here from Alaska.  She can hold 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil!!
 The small red vessel tied along side is a water taxi that runs from Anacortes out to these ships several time a day. The tanker is sitting very low in the water so it has not been off-loaded yet.

The tug Liberty

This is a very unusual vessel to see in our waters.    This is the last of three new tugs built for Crowley Maritime by Dakota Creek Industries here is Anacortes.  Powered by two 8,000 hp diesels this tug will be used to push 650 long oil barges.  It sure looks very tall for its length.  These tugs are currently the largest in the world for their class.

The ferry Elwha

Right next to the tug Liberty was the Washington State Ferry Elwha.  It is hard to tell in this photo but it is actually out of the water.  It is on a floating dry dock.  These dry docks are filled with water so they submerge and the vessel can be floated on to it.  Then the water is pumped out of the dry dock and it rises along with the ferry   It looks like it is getting it's bottom painted.  This ferry is 382 feet long and 73 feet wide.  It has a capacity of 2500 passengers.

On Thursday morning we arrived at James Island, just across the straits from Anacortes.  There is a state park here with a dock with just enough room for 2 boats. Shortly after arriving this 61 foot sail boat came in with 26 kids aboard. These kids were all 7th graders and were from Colorado and have been out all week on a science trip. I wasn't sure how quiet the night would be but they were all in bed by 9:00pm.
   After dinner we took the dogs for a walk and got caught in a rain storm.  We were all just soaked when we got back.  When we were back on the dock Max fell overboard when trying to jump on to the boat.  He was completely under the water when I lifted him out.  Good thing I still had a leash tied to him.

Friday turned out to be the warmest day so far.  The sun was out most all day.  Really felt good. had the place to our selves all day. That's about it for now. Would love to here from you guys. Either send me an email or you can post a comment on the blog. See ya. Russ