M/V Katherine Jane

Photosynth

2012-01-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

We've been playing with a new website. I can see potential use on the website for charter clients to be able to view the inside of the boat with some clear detail. Now to make it happen!

Brass Portholes

2012-01-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

So the clear coat on brass will always fail eventually. It's one of Magic Brock's least favorite things, because once it goes, it's really a pain to deal with. Today's project began once we hung the cute little anchors which hold open the portholes. They're shiny and pretty and new. In contrast, the porthole was gungy and corroded and green. In other words, not acceptable.

So out came the sandpaper. I figured I couldn't make it worse than it was, so I might as well be reasonably aggressive. I was really hoping that they were solid brass and not plated! I started with 320 grit, which basically removed the failed clear coat and gave me the start of a warm sheen. Then I followed it with 600 grit to polish, then some Prism Polish for shine and then a coat of our very favorite wax (Carnu-B) for protection.

I got lucky - they are solid through and through. This first one cleaned up pretty well. It was a couple of hours of solid labor and my arms are a little tired.

But well worth it for the finished product! No more for today - must pace myself so that I don't get burned out on it.

Key Trick to Decluttering

2012-01-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

I like to think I'm pretty good at decluttering and keeping stuff to a minimum. It's one of the reasons boat life has been so easy and good for me. I like the way this writer put it - the bucket analogy makes perfect sense to me.

"Purge excess possessions — ruthlessly.

The more stuff you have, the harder it is to get and stay organized, because there’s less space and more laundry, more dishes and more to clean. As Tuckman said, “At some point, it becomes impossible [to organize] — you can’t organize 10 gallons of water into a 5-gallon bucket.”

More here - it doesn't just apply to people with ADD.

Zen & The Art of the Engine Room

2011-12-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

I have found that one of the things I love best about our boat is the engine room. I thoroughly enjoy taking my tools down there and just starting to clean, wax, and shine everything. The old credo about a clean engine room being the best way to find any problems is absolutely true. When we were underway this morning & I went down for an engine room check, I was immediately able to spot a tiny little oil leak out of the filter. Since everything is bright white and kept reasonable spotless, it's very easy to see when things are not as they should be. Of course, it helps that marine diesel is red and oil is black - they both jump out in stark contrast to the white.

The amount of surface area in that room is unbelievable and I do always get tired after a couple of hours without having hit even a fraction of all the possible places which I could wipe. Still, as long as we're in there fairly regularly, we stay on top of it pretty well. And like most things with the boat, I see only the flaws and things I need to do next. I think most of the world would say we do a decent job of keeping her clean. If there is such a thing as a spiritual communion with this vessel, I would say I find it especially strong as I lovingly wax all her inner workings.

Blustery Christmas Day

2011-12-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

A lovely Christmas Day - we have nowhere we must go and nothing we must do. We had been thinking about meandering over to Blake Island later in the day, but it looks like the forecast was off a bit. Instead of 1-2 foot wind waves, the Sound looks like it has blown up well beyond that, so we'll just stay tucked away in the harbor for the day at anchor.

We're cozy and warm. Not much going on down below on the KJ Crab Cam. Just a happy, quiet day for the two of us.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

View From The Dock

2011-12-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is what I see when all the Argosy boats are out making money (a very good thing!). I love, love, love my view. We are having a blissfully balmy December day in Seattle today. I went out and polished the deck brass. It's so much easier to bring it back to shiny when you stay on top of it. Luckily, Natalie loves that job too, so much of it was already in decent shape and it didn't take excessive elbow grease to get the deck plates gleaming. Think I'll go clean the windows on the outside while it's still nice - that's not something that happens too often in the winter!

Washing Machines & Ventilation

2011-12-04T14:44:00.001-08:00

One of the downsides to having your washer/dryer all-in-one unit under your bed is that when the vent connection develops a leak, the steam escapes under your bed and can potentially create mold issues. The upside is that you notice it very quickly, because when you open the cabinet under the sink, it's as though you opened a door into a steamy Amazon jungle.

The other positive side to it is that it creates a marvelous cleaning opportunity. When was the last time you completely dismantled your bed and cleaned EVERYTHING underneath it?

S/V Bill of Rights

2011-12-03T22:10:00.001-08:00

This lovely vessel is Bill of Rights. She resides in Oxnard, CA, currently doing non-profit outreach work. My amazing nephew, Nate, is educational director and First Mate aboard her. Brock, NJ, and I were lucky enough to get to stay onboard over the Thanksgiving holiday and actually got to go out sailing as well.

The crew, including Captain Stephen Taylor, were incredibly gracious hosts and made us feel so welcome. BOR is a 136' schooner, built in 1971. She is currently cared for by ATSI. We were immediately embraced as honorary crew for the week and Nat was put on Bow Watch when were cruising. The love of boats has clearly taken root in my girl, which is exactly what I had in mind when we acquired KJ.

Nat was busy and moving the whole time - climbing out on the dolphin striker, scampering up the ratlines (with safety harness, of course), polishing brass to her heart's content. Out of the three of us, I think she was the most heartbroken to leave, although I came in a close second. The weather was gorgeous; flip-flops and shorts were all we needed. I kept pointing out to Brock that KJ could live there as easily as in Seattle. Ah, but he does have a wonderful job, so we all headed back north in the end.

But not before sharing some of our knowledge of brass polishing with some of the volunteers. It's all about the products you use, so we presented them with their own tub of Prism Polish...and then proceeded to use a bunch of it up while teaching them.

We were polishing within 10 minutes of arriving and many pieces were gleaming by the time we left. We all felt it would have been wonderful to stay a few weeks and keep working on her.

She was an easy boat with which to fall completely in love. Natalie is scheming and dreaming about volunteering there during school breaks. Best.Thanksgiving. Ever.

Deck Prisms

2011-10-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

After nearly 60 years and a crack through the middle, it's no surprise that the deck prism above our galley leaks. Over the years, it's been caulked, re-caulked, and sworn at with some regularity.
I decided to try a different approach this year. Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure has had some good reviews in the forums, so I figured it was worth a try.
It took about five minutes before the drip formed, which speaks to how slow moving the product is. That's a good thing if it's going to stay in position rather than just running through the crack. It's supposed to dry clear and it was definitely sticky on my fingers ten minutes later. I'm hopeful!
I also put it on the other deck prisms, which all leak to varying degrees. None leak quite as much as this one, but there is one directly above the corner of Natalie's bunk that is annoying too. Crossing my fingers!

***UPDATE*** October 11: After some torrential rains over the last few days, I am thrilled to report that there are NO leaks from the deck prisms! It's amazing how much pleasure that gives me.

Walking Surfaces

2011-10-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I removed all of the white carpet from the forward staircase. I'm sure it was beautiful when it was first installed, but it was clear that it wasn't practical for daily wear. At the time, I painted the stairs to match, with a strip of tread at the toe.

It proved to be a good idea in theory, but violated one of my cardinal rules: walking surfaces should be dark in color. When we painted the walking surfaces of the upper deck in battleship gray, it was one of the best moves ever. The yellow cream color on the stairs did not wear as well as I would have liked and was tough to keep looking clean. Even after wiping the stairs down, they still looked grungy.

So I fixed that today. It's still paint, so it's washable. We added SharkGrip to the paint, so it will be non-slip but still easy on the bare feet. It's easier to clean than surfaces with sand-type additives. We have it in the moisture cure urethane that we have on the decks and that seems to be working out well, so I'm hopeful.

Long-standing, Mildly Annoying Storage Issues

2011-10-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

I suspect most people have them, regardless of whether theylive on land or on a boat. All those little details that just don't work wellbecause the space hasn't been optimized. Ours was in a hall closet. Itessentially holds our cleaning supplies (vacuum, broom, rags, etc).

It had never been finished, just splashed with a quick coat of primer. None of the vertical space had been used at all.

Which means that everything tended to just get piled on the floor. Rule: Everything must have a place. It's the only way you can ever get things tidy. If it doesn't have a home, it will just float from here to there, getting moved constantly or just piling up uncontrollably.

So Magic Brock added electricity, I added paint, we both added thoughtful design. Now my handheld Dyson has a permanent mount and a charging outlet so it will always be ready. Previously it lived in my stepdaughter's cabin and being a teenager, of course she unplugged it so she could plug in her phone, etc. The only problem was that she never plugged it back in. That's not a flaw on her part; that's a design flaw in the system. Now? Problem solved.

The full size Dyson also has an outlet, so it can stay plugged in as well. The cord is long enough that it will reach most of the boat from this outlet. We put a hook on the back wall so the cord can just hang loosely there and I won't have to hassle with wrapping it on the handle every time I use it. Another Rule: It has to be easy to use, or it won't get used.

I had Magic Brock add four outlets rather than the two he originally planned. Short of creating a fire hazard, you can never have too many outlets. I immediately found the perfect use for the second set. My rechargeable camera batteries have lived on the helm station. The problem was similar to the handheld vacuum - people would need the outlet, remove the batteries, charge what they needed, and never plug the rechargeables back in. So whenever I needed new batteries, I would find them discharged and unusable. (I'm beginning to see a theme here - perhaps my intense search for space solutions is really just a clever way to circumvent my family's tendency to not put things back, since I know the odds of changing the behaviors of the people I love are slim?)

And shelving gives everything else a place to go. We're working on the sea rails right now, so things won't slide off the front.
It feels good to have one of those projects done that aren't very "Important" in the grand scheme of things, but that make things function more smoothly.
I don't think I'll ever be able to sell this boat. After all the work we've put into making things luxurious and functional, I'd have a hard time starting over with another vessel that just couldn't compare to this old girl.

Update: Fixed sea rails added now so that things won't slide about when we're underway

Southern Gulf Islands

2011-10-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely trip; I'd like to say pictures will follow, but we're doing a few KJ projects today and it's more like that I will post pictures of that rather than the trip. We shall see; I may get a chance to add them.

There were thousands of jellyfish in Tod Inlet; I've never seen such a biomass. Brock thought there was a sand reef behind us as we anchored until the prop wash sent it rolling around in the water, swooshing jellyfish everywhere.

Tod Inlet was gorgeous and peaceful. We went to Butchart Gardens via dinghy.

Well, after we hung out onboard in the sunshine for a while...

We found time for gelato

Tea at Hastings House on Saltspring with the folks was lovely,

as was a drive to Mt Mitchell and the views of the surrounding islands (on a dirt road with moguls...in the Mercedes)

Small farmer stands were all over and operated on the honor system

Wallace Island needed a Katherine Jane sign,, so I made one

Brock hung it on the cabin at Conover Cove

Typical Northwest evening in the San Juans on the way back home

Happy 1st Anniversary!

2011-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

So this weekend marks our first year of married bliss. Thus, we return to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Weather is gorgeous, the boat decks are shiny, and we're going to the southern Gulf Islands in Canada for a week (just the two of us) after the show.

Life doesn't get a lot better than this.

Because Boats Need Ventilation Too

2011-08-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

We changed out the passive ventilation scoop that goes into the pantry.

Now it will be active, solar powered, and it should exchange 1000+cf per hour. That will help minimize any dampness in the forward areas. We don't have any real problem with that, as this is not an unattended vessel, but as they say, you can't have too much ventilation!

KJ Underway

2011-08-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

This summer, while KJ was out on charter, we received several shots from local photographers of her underway. Those are always so nice to have & impossible to get yourself. These two are from Alasdair Turner.

Thanks to all who sent them along to us!

Oddly Shaped Boat Mattresses

2011-08-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

ODDLY SHAPED BOAT MATTRESSES

· They're not particularly comfortable. Or pretty. I'm not saying you should let humans sleep on them if they're looking for a good night's sleep.

But just maybe:
your dog needs a luxe, vinyl covered mattress set
your kid wants to launch things from his fort and needs a crash pad or two
you need a bunch of foam for some crafty project
you have other ideas for two ugly, cracked, vinyl covered foam mattresses that measure 84"L x 30"W x 6" deep

Please come get them; I'm sure they're perfect for what you have in mind, as long as it's not restful slumber.

Location: Westlake

· it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

I love Craigslist. These went within a couple of hours. Please, people, come get my unwanted things so I don't have to haul them to the dump. Best part is that they're being recycled into outdoor cushions by a crafty local lady. And we're trying some new configurations that promise to be much more comfortable for our guests.

**********NOTE: The new beds are waaaayyy more comfy. Excellent call on getting rid of the old ones!

Busy, busy month

2011-07-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

It all started with us having a few bareboat charters lined up this this year through ABC Yacht Charters. Thrilled about that (it helps us a lot when KJ helps pay for herself - this is our current reality, plus she's really fun to share with people who appreciate her beauty), we planned all sorts of ways to spend the money - about 3x over.

Then came the phone call Saturday morning at 7:30 am - the chartplotter was acting strange and not working. We had checked her out to the charter clients the afternoon before at 3pm and everything was working fine then. Of course my thought was that it must be user error (though it seemed odd, given the fact that they seemed like pretty smart guys). Up to Anacortes, only to discover that half the screen was blacking out, the machine was just cycling over and over without booting...yeah, it was clearly done.

Enter the new, sexy, and only $6K Mr. Raymarine e120w:

We got it installed as quickly as we possibly could & sent the guests on their merry way into the San Juans and Canada. Then I had to spend the next week listening to Brock who was jonesing hard for his new toy. Nothing like buying your man the most cutting edge tech toy you can - then giving it to someone else for the first week! We're both glad to have it onboard though and it will be worth it in the long run (even though it was NOT on my list of how to put the charter money back into KJ).

Then came the next charter. We had a two day reset in between the charters (it was going to be three, but we encouraged the guests to take an extra day in exchange for the inconvenience of the failed electronics - I'm glad it worked for their schedule) and headed off into the islands to clean and polish the boat.

The above picture was not part of that plan.

The steel rudder on this 59 year old vessel was filled with oil back in 1952, presumably to decrease corrosion in the interior. All well and good, until she develops a tiny leak on the top trailing edge of said rudder...and threatens to leave oil slicks wherever we go. Clearly not an acceptable situation.

So we got her out of the water STAT. Yay to the guys at La Conner Maritime Service - Mike and crew made it the most pleasant hour I never hoped to spend hauling my girl out of the water. Mind you, we were now three hours prior to the next charter and I should have been fluffing the comforters and putting chocolates on the pillows --- not holding my finger in the hole that Brock drilled in the rudder to drain out the 25 gallons of oil that was inside.

It was the longest day I can remember in a long time. We were exhausted when it was over, but I had to agree when Brock looked at me and declared "Together, we are unstoppable." We can both work our asses off to get an emergency handled.

There were a few restful and relaxing moments prior to that $700 expense (again, not on my list for how to spend charter money, but that seems to be how emergency funds go - there's always something that comes up!).

The islands were beautiful as always and we are looking forward to our own week of cruising in the Gulf Islands, just the two of us, in September.

Have Skills, Will Travel

2011-07-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

While KJ is out on charter, I've taken my always-improving finishing skills and used them on my folks' 1950 vintage redwood tables. They've been refinished a few times over the years, but were looking pretty tired and had some black patches from failed varnish. I *wish* I'd taken before pictures, but I forgot.

Using my favorite product (Tufshield), I put four coats of base on them, followed by two of the top coat after a good sanding progression from 60 grit to 220 --- with NO injuries this time. I think that means I'm cleared to use the power tools without supervision again. That scar on my arm is going to be there for quite some time as a reminder to always pay attention. I just think of it as my blood bond with Katherine Jane - that extra level of love and commitment as measured by scar tissue.

Galley update

2011-07-11T21:20:00.001-07:00

We did finish it - I completely forgot to post pictures, as we've been maniacally busy for the past several weeks. So in the interest of tidying up that loose end, here's the finished product.

Our Golden Ticket

2011-06-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

We were boarded by the US Coast Guard last night. It was so much fun; I was really glad they decided to come aboard. Danny was with us and he is convinced that he wants to join up with the USCG when he is old enough. When I told their crew that, they chatted with him for a while and I think that it only strengthened his resolve.

I gave them a tour of the boat so I could show off my fantastic engine room and, of course, the hot tub too. No violations on our Golden Ticket (which made sense - with Brock as my captain, there's really not a chance that anything would be less than perfect). I wasn't even worried as they came over - it's not like getting pulled over by the cops when you know you probably were speeding just a tiny bit and are going to pay for it. No, this was more like a party. With cool boats.

I think Danny had a pretty good time - he was a ton of help, drove the boat for a while, and cleaned up quite a bit pre-charter. Such an awesome kid.

My only mishap for the week was the discovery that one shouldn't sand one's arm with a power sander. Has actually taken quite a while to begin to scab over and it's been fairly painful in the meantime. I'm thinking this one is going to scar for a while. That old adage that it only takes a moment of inattention? Yeah, that's true.

So we're up in Anacortes for Sunday/Monday, happy to have KJ going out for a while. Next post? From Lake Roesiger, I'm sure.

Galley - Mostly There

2011-05-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Still need some trim (special trip to the fancy wood store), but all in all, I'm happy with it. The dishes were extra clean and shiny; the slight haze on the glasses is gone completely. The ice maker makes happy noises as it harvests the little bullet-shaped cubes. It's on slide-out drawer hardware, so it tucks neatly away, but pulls out smoothly for easy access to the ice. There's also a small amount of vertical storage on the lower right for the cutting board, cookie sheets, etc.

I am a satisfied woman tonight. Brock & I really make a great team, better and better as time goes on & we learn more about how the other works. We think a lot alike.It's really fun living on a boat with him.

Galley update

2011-05-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

So our second fridge died a while back and we've been contemplating what we would replace it with. It didn't seem necessary to put another fridge in, as we get by quite well with a single small one. I find that I'm more aware of everything that's in there and frequently clean it out and wipe it down since it's not a big undertaking.

This is the hole we're going to be filling. Choosing our appliances was very much based on size - and I mean to the 1/2 inch. There was one that claimed to be 17-1/2 inches on one website, while the same model was described as 18-1/2 on another website. That's an important difference in the boat world!

I am so spoiled; I don't think Brock sees the value of an ice maker quite like I do. It's a bit about the luxury for me (like the hot water on the aft deck spigot). No, it's not absolutely necessary to have for survival...but wouldn't it be nice to have ice in the glass when you're out at anchor in the Gulf Islands? We do fill the coolers before we go and there is a full size chest freezer in the lazarette, so it's not as though I'm particularly deprived or incapable of acquiring more ice. But it's just a lovely little touch of luxury. He does agree that it is a nice touch for charter clients (which is how I get my way on many of the over-the-top features for KJ) and I think he likes the aspect of being able to top off the coolers when we're out fishing (like next weekend!!).

It really is all about "flourishing" for me, not just surviving. Easy to do when you live on a small scale. I find ways to do it when backpacking and I've found ways to do it living in the modest footprint of a boat.

And then there's my itty bitty dishwasher which I am ridiculously excited about. It claims to do four place settings, but I'm pretty good at Tetris-style problems. I'm happy that it will use less water for the dishes; I have never been able to train myself to do the fill the sink, then rinse thing. The water is basically always on when I'm washing, so this will minimize our usage of that resource. Plus the super hot water (130F wash, 264F rinse at the intense cycle) is sure to sterilize things - not every day, but every once in a while.

So the power tools are going this morning and the sawdust is flying. I love this stuff!

Seriously, lady?

2011-04-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

The nerve of some people can be quite breath-taking at times. Magic Brock and I were home for the evening, settling in, making dinner, the usual.

And Brock says "Hey, there's a lady out there taking your palm tree." Now, this isn't a fancy palm tree by any means. It was just a little houseplant that I thought might be happy to be outside for the summer, surrounded by the little flowers Nity and I seeded a few weeks ago. It's just a little pocket garden, unobtrusively placed on the shore by a girl who occasionally misses digging in the dirt and "prettifying" her world. Who would think it was in danger of being stolen?

But there she was, clearly removing it.

I am not a particularly confrontational person; in fact, I will go out of my way to avoid conflict if at all reasonable. But there is a line that you just Do. Not Cross. And clearly, my plant was on this side of that line.

I think Brock was quite surprised to see my put on my flip-flops and march out there to confront the thief. I was reasonably pleasant but firm about the whole thing; she was obviously embarrassed about being caught (I'm sure it never occurred to her that there was a possibility that a protective gardener would appear out of nowhere).

Funniest part was when she tried to claim that she was "just moving it up here because it didn't look healthy" in it's previous location. Fine, then why did you wrap the root ball in plastic?

All's well that ends well and I still have my plant. Which I now have to re-plant. While my mind boggles at the audacity of people who think they can just take whatever they want.

Sheesh.

Splicing AmSteel

2011-04-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

My tools. Yes, the Diet Coke is definitely needed. This is gonna require some paying attention.

Note the furrowed brow. That's the paying attention part. I have always wanted to splice lines so I can make my dad proud. He's kind of a knot geek. Weird how that sort of thing seems genetic; I got that one and the map geek gene. And now I have my own fid!

I think my Auntie Diane must have had a lot to do with it too - although she was trying to teach my how to knit and crochet when I was little and that certainly didn't take, I think the basic skills must have been learned. I just chose to manifest them in my own way.

On top is the wire rope & hook we were replacing on the electric winch for the dinghy. It's always creaked and groaned rather disturbingly. While I suspect it's probably still plenty strong, it was really nice that the new line made no unsettling noises when we raised the dinghy back up onto the top deck.

It's made of 3/16 AmSteel (Samthane coated 12 strand SK-60 Dyneema) which is rated for 5,000 pounds. Much easier to handle, won't rust and just looks better all around. Given that the dinghy/motor combo is probably around 1,000 lbs, we've got a safety margin of 5:1. Which is more than adequate for a non-live load. And yes, I'm proud of my eye splice. Now I'm all excited to get some twine and begin whipping things for show. I bet even our shoelaces will have eyes spliced into them before long!

And another happy thing was the recovery of the deck chair that had blown off the upper deck (it has been crazy-windy this year, along with unseasonably wet and cool). Underwater camera, downrigger, gaff, and a boat hook to control the contraption - poof, we have our chair back. Nice job, boys. They were proud too - we celebrate the small stuff here.

Pumps

2011-03-29T20:57:00.001-07:00

As I contemplated once again the perennial question "Why is there always a pump breaking?" I finally decided to do a casual count of the pumps onboard KJ. When we finished a top-of-the-head rough survey, the number we came up with?

29.

No wonder it seems like there is always one abruptly ending its useful life! Ultimately, they're all just consumable parts of the boat, destined to wear out with use. There are vacuum pumps, water pumps, hydraulic pumps, bilge pumps, fuel pumps, air pumps, injection pumps...the list goes on and on and on.

Most of them cost $200-300 each. There are a few at each end of the spectrum. Shower sump pumps run us a measly $20-30 - I delight when the news Brock delivers is that a small pump has gone out. I dread the day a $900 injection pump bites the dust.

And I thank the stars every single day that my husband is capable of dealing with all of them. And teaching me as we go. I couldn't have been luckier than when he tumbled into my life.

Spring? It Must Be Time For More Projects!

2011-03-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Finished the salon table. Yes, Travis and Maggie, this pic is for you; it's another result from Parks SuperGlaze. What I can tell you from this learning curve is that it took two tries and it is NOT perfect. The bar we did first was easy - no problems, essentially flawless. On the first round with this table, I think I failed to mix the two parts well enough. We had a bunch of bubbles with the bar (which we popped with toothpicks & they disappeared permanently) and I was zealously attempting to minimize the amount of air that got into the mix this time around. In my gingerness, I ended up with a table that didn't cure. Although some of it hardened, there were multiple places that were still sticky two days later. Do-over!

Luckily it came up in pretty much one big sheet and required only a minimum of sanding to be back at Ground Zero. 100% acetone is my friend too.

So for Round Two, I mixed much more vigorously, which of course led to bubbles. Brock was a fan of the popping-them-with-toothpicks approach; I was more enamored with the hairdryer approach. Both seemed effective, but there were a lot of bubbles. After about 1/2 hour, the stuff was clearly reaching it's don't-mess-with-me-anymore point, so we let it be and hoped for self-leveling anti-bubbleness.

For the most part it turned out OK. For the first several days, all I could see were the flaws (some bubbles became permanent residents & there's one area that didn't level out and is a bit of a divot). You do have to be looking for them though, and the overall impression when you walk into the salon is WOW. I think the downside of owning a wooden boat is that you learn to be constantly looking for the problems so you can stay on top of them - and you can miss the beauty of the whole thing if you're focused on the imperfections. Trying to keep that in mind, I do appreciate how beautiful KJ is.

The dinghy was today's project. There's a difference between cleaning and detailing. The little RIB was surface clean, but when I started going over it with a Magic Eraser (my favorite!), I figured out quickly that I would be changing the color of the whole boat before I was done. I will be continuing the project tomorrow on the bottom. It's very tedious, but will be well worth it when she looks like new again.

Brock has finished installing the aft deck speakers and they sounds great! So nice to have the volume the same both inside and outside, or just playing on one or the other. He's working on the hot tub again - we're spraying a final gel coat finish tomorrow. Oh yeah, also had to replace the GPS antenna. The outflow of cash never ends!

Time Lapse - Through The Locks On KJ

2011-03-06T21:49:00.001-08:00

Oooh, shiny!

2011-02-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

The bar between the galley and the salon. Lightly sanded in prep for a new coating. I've never been quite satisfied with the coatings we've had on it. They've never been quite hard enough, just a subtle softness to the finish. Today was time for a new product I simply had to try when I saw it: Super Glaze, made by Rustoleum.

We covered it so that we wouldn't get any dust or debris in it while it cured. And so we'd quit messing with it (we popped some of the air bubble with toothpicks after we first poured it, but there comes a point in the curing where you just need to quit screwing around with it!).

I am extremely pleased with the final result. It is truly mirror-like. Plus I think it's going to be very hard, as the product is designed for bar tops. Salon table is curing now - pics to follow. For now, it's hot tub time!

Busting a Myth About Living On A Boat

2011-02-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

OK, people, this picture? It was taken OUTSIDE of the boat.

Inside the boat, we are cozy and toasty warm. I think the most common observation from landlubbers about living onboard in the winter is "Wow, that must be really cold, being on a boat this time of year." I get that surprisingly frequently.

We don't actually live on a 22 foot Bayliner with a cuddy cabin. People who live on their boats have sources of comfortable heat in varying forms.

Granted, when I was battling the diesel furnace in the pre-Brock times, it got cold onboard. But then, I suspect a house would too, if the furnace weren't working.

I generally keep it at 70-72 degrees in the salon, 68 in the staterooms. I even have the hot tub on the upper deck. I am at least as warm as you are living in your house.

I may be crazy on some levels, but I demand my physical creature comforts. This life is really, really good - no suffering required!

2011-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

Magic Brock has installed a couple of new systems on KJ this week. First one is the new camera system. We now have views of the engine room, side decks, aft views from lower deck and upper deck, plus the main forward view with an infrared spotlight (helpful for spotting crab pots at night as we make our way into anchorages).

The monitor has a DVR system for recording. We haven't figured out how to access it remotely online, but that is something we can do in the future - just have to figure out the settings.

He mounted it rather nicely with a flip-down monitor that's seamless when not in use. The anemometer is also up and functioning (screen mounted on the left).

He finished the speaker system on the aft deck too. It's integrated into the whole sound system, so we can now have the same volume inside as well as out (rather than blasting the inside system to be able to hear it on deck).

It's been a week of pulling wires around the boat. I've nearly managed to clean up the disaster that he leaves in his wake (not a complaint; that's just my job). And it'll be nice having the new features onboard.

KJ cam, anyone?

Brock & Jamie's Blustery Day

2010-12-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Went out crabbing, had a lovely time. Spent the night in Port Madison, quite peaceful, thanks for asking. Home today? Less so:

Forecasts? I'm pretty sure that on this boat, weather is a Boy Job. At least it always has been. I may need to take over. To be fair, Brock did check it last night and it said 10-20 kts this afternoon. Apparently the forecast changed. It was 25-35 with 4-6 ft waves.

Highlights of our adventurous crossing from Port Madison to Shilshole:

Dinghy came out of the cradle up on top. Thought we were going to lose it for a minute, but it was still secured by the cable and settled pretty flat because of the cold
SSB antenna snapped the holder and was dragging in the water
I did go rescue it and got electrocuted by the Christmas lights when I grabbed the rail. Yes, of course I was wearing my life jacket. Seriously, it was that bad out there.
Wii & other electronics ended up downstairs. We did not anticipate well on this one & failed to adequately "pre-fall" the cabin. Even if we had, this was the worst I've seen and I probably wouldn't have done as thorough a job as was required by conditions. It's a new bar set for me.
Fridge opened. I'd been meaning to clean it out anyway. Just not all in one moment
Corel shatters. Who knew? Never lost any of those plates before. Those and the plastic wine glasses. Haven't broken those before either
Keys from the wireless keyboard ended up scattered around the salon. Don't have a clue how that happened, but we did recover them

Looks like some cleaning ahead!

KJ Fish Cam

2010-11-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hi, yes, I'm still here. Magic Brock pointed out today that I've missed both October and November for any posts whatsoever. Guess settling into married bliss just takes the focus off blogging? In an attempt to correct that, here are a few shots from our underwater camera. It's on a 60' cable and when we're out crabbing, hanging out, or whatever, we just hang it near the bottom to see what's below us:

Seastars are abundant, of course. We usually drag at least one up on the crab pots when we pull them. Heavy suckers!

Dungeness that decided to fight with the camera. Are they territorial or did we just run into him and irritate him? Who knows?

Cutest little flounder decided to follow the camera for a while. Not sure what he was thinking, but he was definitely interested in it.

All right, off to the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker Performance!

All's Well

2010-09-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

And a good time was had by all. Wedding went perfectly, Canada was awesome. We had a humpback come hang out with us for about 1/2 hour one afternoon as we were trolling for salmon. We cut the engines and just drifted - he stayed with us, seemingly interested in the boat? Who knows, but it was lovely.

Engines are running flawlessly again - more post later!

Not A Great Start To The Weekend

2010-08-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

Fuel leaking out of the injector pump. Which was all well and good, albeit potentially expensive. Then a piece of one of the tools broke off & disappeared into the engine. So instead of an injector pump, it's looking more like dismantling the front end of the engine.

I'm putting on my best Search and Rescue eyeballs and going looking too.

The day started with a not good phone call from the fire department at 7 am: http://kirkland.komonews.com/content/fire-damages-historic-argosy-cruise-ship-kirkland-marina

This is my favorite Argosy boat & Brock's baby. He oversaw the refit and knows every last bolt on that thing. We don't know the extent of the damage yet, but it's significant.

Rough day all around.

Camping in the Potholes Reservoir

2010-08-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Headed over to the Potholes Reservoir in Eastern Washington for the Perseid meteor shower (caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle) last weekend. It's been a long standing tradition for the kids and I to seek out a non-light polluted location for the show, some years with better luck than others. This year was not bad; the moon set early and was only a sliver. Downside was that Moses Lake had more light nearby than I had hoped, but it was still a great show. We also had our Mutual of Omaha moment when we were out for a cruise in the little boat ~ hundreds and hundreds of American White Pelicans, taking off all around us.

Magic Brock caught his first real bass (apparently there had been a little 2-inch one in his remote history, but this was the first one that counted). Pippy would have been so proud of him. I thought it was delicious, breaded and fried over the campfire. It's a little weird that I'm the only one in our family who really enjoys fish. The kids don't care for it and Brock just prefers catching, rather than eating (which makes absolutely no sense to me - the whole POINT of catching a fish is to eat it, no?).

We all got what we needed, whether it was fishing, swimming, digging holes in the sand, or just relaxing. There's sand in everything, of course, but that's to be expected!

Blue Angels 2010

2010-08-08T17:16:00.001-07:00

Another successful weekend enjoying the Blue Angels out on the water! The weather was not particularly wonderful this year, but it meant the low show which Magic Brock prefers. More low passes, etc.

The ladies warmed their feet as needed in the hot tub.

Some of the guys warmed everything in the hot tub.

We nailed our position this year ~ final pass was directly over the boat & was spectacular.

Now it's on to more wedding & "honeymoon" prep. Honeymoon is going to be a week up in Barkley Sound off the coast of Vancouver Island, fishing for halibut & salmon. We'll have some friends with us, so it will be a lot of fun. We're going to throw about a thousand gallons of diesel onboard this week, but we're registered for the wedding at Morrison's Fuel Dock in Lake Union. After all, we certainly don't need "stuff."

Water Off The Boat

2010-07-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's all about keeping the fresh water off the boat, as water = rot on a wooden yacht. To that end, we replaced the upper deck drain holes. Seen above is the old drain on the right and the new drain on the left. It should move a lot more water off the top deck efficiently. The old ones had a tendency to clog. If we didn't get around to cleaning them out frequently (and really, in the middle of winter during the 7 months of pouring rain, who wants to climb up to the top deck and clear the drains?), they would end up keeping standing water on the aft upper deck area. We've had to fight a bit of rot there already and I know that these inadequate drains were the reason.

So now there are shiny brass bigger holes. Which makes me & KJ happy.

Fire On The Boat

2010-07-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

And in a really great way!

Propane firepit has turned the boat into near perfection. We had s'mores tonight with friends onboard. It changes the whole ambiance of an evening, even with the crummy "summer" weather we've been having.

In fact, it's nearly 11:00 and I'm still out here. Just got out of the hot tub and am just relaxing by the fire.

This is what Flourishing looks like.

Black Streaks On The Boat

2010-05-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

If you own a boat, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Those grimy black streaks - I don't even know what they are. But they are both common and annoying. Regular soap doesn't get them off, the "black streak remover" they sell is expensive and not particularly effective, and plain elbow grease is not even all that great.

But voila! As we were cleaning the lazarette, I came across some Soft Scrub. I had heard something good about it years ago, so I bought some for the boat, but hadn't thought twice about it in a long time. It's definitely not good on fiberglass and probably wouldn't make a suitable day-to-day cleaner even on paint.

But the aluminum bulwarks sure shined up nice and pretty with just a little effort.

It was good that the weather finally cleared a bit so we can continue getting on top of the chore list. Every spring, it's a big job.

Coat Of Paint Helps Almost Anything

2010-05-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

After getting rid of the boxes on the floor (one of my pet peeves - too easy to forget what's in them), we realized that a new coat of paint was in order.

Getting better and better down there. I think I'll touch up the sides of the hull with some white. It still won't be as pretty as the engine room, but it's not bad for a lazarette.

Funny part is that after we organized the tool box and got rid of some more stuff, we barely needed the second shelf. It looks really nice to have clean, horizontal space not jammed with clutter. Ahhhh, time to take the rest of the day off!

58 Years of a Junk Drawer

2010-05-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Everybody has one. Usually when people move out of their houses every 5-7 years, they clean it out and probably throw most of it away. However, on a boat, frequently things get passed from owner to owner. I imagine the tool box in the lazarette has been there for quite a few KJ owners. It was certainly full when I acquired her. There are literally drawers that all look like this. Piles and piles of stuff.

I'm pretty sure no one has thrown much away for the last 58 years, using the "well, we might need it someday" mentality. Which is all well and good up to a point. You may be out in the Pacific someday when your Name-That-Part breaks and all you have to work with is what is in the tool box.

But I've been on board for nearly 4 years now. And I've learned a few things during that time. Namely, A) we'll NEVER need that many screws. Never. and B) if you can't find it, it's not much use.

Keeping this in mind, I forced poor, over-worked Brock to add a second shelf on top of the first. I just know we'll need it as we bring things back down from the hot tub project (yes, we're still cleaning up from that).

And with boundless energy, we began the attack.

Sorting took hours, but now we will be able to find the things we need when we need them.

And almost everything has a home.

We're still not done, but it's time for a rest now.

Shelving

2010-05-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

As we continued the seemingly never-ending Clean Up After The Hot Tub Project, one thing became glaringly obvious to me.

Our lazarette still needs some additional organization, despite last years overhaul.

We were sitting on the aft deck, looking around at the piles of stuff (power tools, sandpaper, paint, the usual) and Brock was telling me how overwhelmed he felt by everything we need to do to get the boat back to show condition. I realized that a significant part of the problem is that he uses the same things over and over, but has to take the lazarette apart to get to them every time. All of the power tools are "supposed" to be in the bottom drawer of the tool chest, which they barely fit in and where the cords get into a tangled mess frequently.

As reluctant as I was to begin another project right on the heels of finishing the 3 month hot tub extravaganza, I knew we needed to do something conclusive to fix the situation.

Off to Home Depot we went.

The result? Horizontal space.

Once the paint dries, every power tool can have its own home. Taking things out & putting them away should be much less of an ordeal now.

Ironbark Repair

2010-05-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

KJ has ironbark on her bow for added protection against log strikes, etc. Recently, one plank popped loose. That was a bit alarming at first, as Brock was worried about bad wood underneath (that constant lurking fear of any wooden boat owner). Luckily, it was just old original fasteners (square nails). I suppose they have the right to rust out after 58 years. We removed the ones that we could get to, got the stubborn ones back in their places, and added some nice new silicon bronze screws to do the job right for another 50 years.

Brock made the project easier by heeling the boat over to port with the help of the dinghy so that we could get the planking just a little higher above water level.

Raft up! The little concrete float here is pretty handy, although it's a constant battle to keep it away from the finished surfaces of not only our boat, but the neighbor as well. Which is where my job comes in. Brock does the labor, as usual, and I keep the float where it's supposed to be. As he's pushing against KJ to pry and lever things, I attempt (more or less successfully) to apply the same amount of pressure by pulling on that rope attached to KJ so we don't go bouncing from boat to boat.

Next haulout, we will go through and refasten all of the ironbark. Add it to that neverending list!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

To all you moms out there ~ I wish you a wonderful and relaxing day!

Cheers~

Jamie

Goin' To The Boat Show And We're Gonna Get Married...

2010-05-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

We've decided on the Wooden Boat Festival in September for our wedding this year! We agreed that it will be just immediate family; I'm always shocked at the way a guest list can get out of hand so quickly. You invite one person, then there's the next, and oh by the way, I love them too and so they simply must come and so on and so on.

With a limited budget (after all, fuel doesn't jump into the tanks without the aid of money either), we've decided that tiny will be just perfect for us. And the added bonus to that is I almost have the planning done now too, by virtue of not needing to do much!

I can't wait to be Mrs. Brock! Only a few short months away...

Yes, We're Still Here

2010-04-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Whew - busy month. Headed down to California a few weeks ago for Brock's birthday. Redwoods, Palm Springs, San Diego. We came back up through Sonora, Angels Camp & Calaveras County ~ absolutely gorgeous places neither of us had been before.

It was nice to get away just the two of us on a Road Trip. We do those so well together!

Meanwhile, back at home, the hot tub has been a much bigger project than we originally anticipated, but well worth it. We're getting down to the final parts of the project now.

Here's the hot tub lid being lifted with a pneumatic ram, because the princess shouldn't have to do any more than flip a switch when she wants to use her upper deck hot tub. Still a work in progress - need to dial in the air pressure so the speed is smooth and secure the lid to the lifting arms so it doesn't fall back onto the stacks. Then some paint on everything, tidy the place up and it should be great!

If you'll excuse me, I need to go check the temperature again. It seems perfect, but you just never know!

Date Weekend

2010-03-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

It started with a fantastic view from our room in Lake Chelan.

It included wildlife as we went driving on some backroads (pheasant, deer, quail, etc).

It had some top open warm weather.

And it ended with us coming home and filling the new hot tub. It's heating right now (84 degrees and counting). I can't imagine a better ending to a great weekend!

Home Depot Gets Kudos For Paying Attention

2010-03-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

Work continues into the night. Brock is skimming and sanding the final coats of glass. He's driven to get this project done, which is a really great thing.

And I must give credit to Home Depot for paying attention to that crazy thing called the blogosphere. Thanks, Stephanie (see comment on last post). I will give her some details on the interaction and I end up feeling heard as a customer. And yes, Home Depot is very convenient and the disappointing experience will not deter us from going back.

In the meantime, Brock is hoping to get gel coat laid down on the next day he has time to work on this. And my Copper Bond epoxy solution (to replace the solder) worked perfectly ~ I get the credit for the heat exchanger fix!

Most Unhelpful Home Depot Guy Ever

2010-03-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

As the day goes on, Brock finally gives up on the heat exchanger thing and sends me to Home Depot instead. You gotta love that ~ when he reaches the end of his rope with it, he thinks I'm going to do better? I'll try to take it as a compliment, I guess. So I pack up Thing One and off we go.

On the way, we discuss the plan. Which is to give the damsel-in-distress routine a whirl. SB is shocked and appalled that his capable mother would use this approach, until I explain to him that it's only one tool in a full arsenal of tools. He thinks it's a bit unfair that he won't ever be able to use that approach and we proceed to discuss the need for general competence in life.

Which is exactly what we didn't find today at the North Seattle Home Depot. I brought the heat exchanger with me. Brock has had trouble with both 1" and 1-1/4" copper, neither of which fit quite right. When I tell the guy what I need (a 90 degree ending in 3/4" male pipe thread), he just shrugs and says "I don't know how to hook it up. It must be a proprietary size or something. You'll have to contact the manufacturer." When I asked if he had any ideas at all or direction for us, he just said "Nope." Does he look at it? No. Does he think it through at all? No. Does he even pretend to care about this customer? Yeah, no.

I think I actually rolled my eyes at him (which I'm usually too polite to do; however, he really took the prize for Lack Of Customer Service) and said "Yeah thanks, we'll figure it out from here."

So we did. Put together a little system that I hope will work, along with a bit of Copper Bond, since the solder isn't working at all. We shall see...

HT Days 5 and 6

2010-03-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

Mostly a bunch of grinding and sanding and layers of fiberglass, along with sweating of copper joints on the heat exchanger and other miscellaneous mechanical stuff. I realized last weekend that this was a bigger project than I had originally anticipated.

It took Brock until this weekend to reach that same conclusion. He's arguing with the heat exchanger right now. It has the tiniest leak around one of the fittings, so he's re-sweating the joint (can I say it that way? You know what I mean). It's been just a bugger of a job. Last comment I heard was "Do you know how close this thing is to flying into the water?" There's always gotta be that one difficult part!

Most all of the mechanical is done on the project - pumps, wiring, plumbing from the engine room and back, etc. We should get to gel coat this afternoon, as he put the final layer of fiberglass down early this morning.

Revisiting the shop of Industrial Strength Dean, it appears that things are going well there. This is the small part of the lid with all of the patches and plates removed. That's where you end up from 58 years of random modifications.

Soon it will look like the bigger part of the lid which already had it's new steel in place. Much improved.

Happy Birthday, Surrogate Babies of Mine!

2010-02-28T18:21:00.001-08:00

I just realized that the twins are two as of today! Goodness, time flies. I called them up to discover that they're watching Bugs Bunny tonight (apparently they get to watch cartoons on Sundays) and having some cake before bed.

Sounds like a pretty good second birthday to me!

HT Day 4

2010-02-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

Work continues on the tub and the rest of the boat is getting a bit messy. Despite my efforts, sawdust continues to accumulate along with debris. I'm going up for another round of Cleanup now, which sounds like a really easy job until you actually do it. But we are getting somewhere. The dividing wall went in last night, so we can start to see how it's going to come together. Brock will be fiberglassing that wall today and may get a second round of glass on the rest of it as well.

I don't know that the picture does it justice, but the water level will be about chin deep when you're sitting on the bottom. There's room for both of us and a shallow shelf to sit on if you get too hot and want to cool off your torso. Back to work now...

HT Day 3 - Perseverance Despite The Rain

2010-02-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

My job is still Cleanup Girl. Plus I've added on the job of running cache. There's nothing like a well-organized bunch of materials to help make a job go smoother. It was always one of my favorite roles in Search and Rescue as well, because I think it's important for speed and fluidity of an operation.

So far, I think Brock is under-appreciative of that role; he's used to just having bags of stuff and empty boxes around that he has to continually paw through to find what he's looking for. Nonetheless, I will continue, because it at least decreases the hillbilly look we've started to have on the aft deck this week. And I can flip the tarp over it all when we're not here, but we're ready to rock and roll when we want to.

Brock is continuing to work under the tarp. It's pretty well set up there, but it sure was nicer in the sunshine we had last week! We're devoting this entire weekend to the project, so we should make some good progress. It's not an insignificant job and will probably take at least another weekend beyond this one. But we're getting closer to anchoring out and watching the stars from the hot tub on the upper deck!

(Addendum: Brock says it is very helpful when I keep things organized; he's just never had a woman who is so helpful on projects. We're a good team.)

Hot Tub Project Day Two

2010-02-21T12:58:00.001-08:00

Nope, it's not a small project. Definitely not a one weekend kind of thing.

But progress is being made. This was still early this morning, so there's been a bit done since then. But between cooking and cleaning up and fetching tools, I haven't had a chance for more photos. You may notice that in this picture, the stacks are completely gone.

And Industrial Strength Dean has a truck worthy of Monroe ~ looks totally smokin' with those stacks, don't you think? Anyway, Dean is taking them home and adding 2 feet onto their length so they will no longer be at face level when you walk by them. He's also going to put them all in a straight line so it look tidier. Apparently that's important to the boys. I couldn't care less about this part of their scheme, but am happy to go along with it since it's getting me what I want in the end. I am hopeful that it will be less diesel-ey when we're underway and people are sitting on the upper aft deck. That would be a win.

Time For Another Magic Brock Project

2010-02-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

Because, really, I can't slow him down, nor would I want to. All I can do is direct his unceasing energy in productive ways. It works well for both of us!

We are finally installing the hot tub on the upper deck. The super-cool part about it is that it will not change KJ's look at all. You won't even know it's there unless you open the lid. It's just a small soaking tub, but definitely big enough for the two of us (and that's the perfect number as far as I'm concerned!).

Right now, we're producing all sorts of metal shavings, wood shavings, and random other debris. My role is essentially Clean-up Girl. I come upstairs and run the shop vac behind Brock every hour or so. It's not a bad deal.

As far as heat? No, it's not being run off of the engine stacks. It's connected into the Hurricance diesel furnace that now works all the time, with Brock around. There's some heat exchanger thing and a skimmer filter and so on. But that will all come after the fiberglass, which is the next fun stuff. Apparently it means all manner of sanding. I do know that we bought 3 different grits, which I can translate into much labor (after my few years of varnish experience). And yes, it's adequately supported from below. We'll have an emergency dump valve at the base, in case we need to get rid of the water in a hurry for some reason. It's about 150 gallons, I think. Further pictures as events warrant.

Happy Valentine's Day, Babe!

2010-02-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

You know it's True Love when I give up a perfectly good day of sleeping in and instead I get up at 6am to drive 3-1/2 hours to the Columbia River near Bonneville to go sit in a boat for hours in 40 degree weather punctuated by rain.

We got a little wet on the ride up river. This wasn't rain; it was the huge waves coming over the bow as we smashed our way through the chop. I was laughing pretty hard at this point; if I'm geared up for a day of "suffering" and physically prepared, I tend to enjoy it rather thoroughly.

Brock really likes fishing. We used sand shrimp and smelt. The shrimp were definitely the winners.

Too small to keep, this sturgeon only measured 34". The legal range is 38"-54". Back into the water he went.

This guy was a solid 40". We didn't have the whacking stick with us, so Brock just put him in the bottom of the boat for the ride home. I guess we know why this species is still around after 200 million years ~ these suckers are bulletproof. He was still alive 7 hours later and looked at me quite reproachfully as we took him out of the boat. I started to feel a bit guilty and briefly considered releasing him into Lake Union (well, I didn't think it SERIOUSLY). I begged Brock to please put him out of my misery and he was quickly dispatched after multiple hard blows. Oog ~ these are the moments I consider being a vegetarian. Until I remember how much I like fish.

It was great having Brock's little boat out again. He's had it since he was 16 and just loves it. Good times!

Random January Collection

2010-01-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend found us down in Portland, visiting with some of our favorite friends. After a weekend of being spoiled with incredibly high thread count sheets (thanks, Chase!) and much other pampering, Brock and I took a quick trip out to Astoria, OR. I think if I had to go back to living on land someday, that might be a place where I could do it. We checked out the Maritime Museum there - highly recommend for any of you salty types in the area. There was fantastic history, along with the lightship Columbia. We didn't get to go aboard unfortunately; weather was rough and tides were too high. And sometime when we get a chance? Cannery Pier Hotel is definitely on our list of places to stay.

Inside, there was a great display of a ling cod. When Brock and I were up in the San Juans at one point, we went out fishing in the dinghy. He didn't bring a net along. Of course he was catching in his usual efficient fashion (I am pleased to say that he doesn't just fish, he really catches!). The line was particularly heavy on one pull. It turned out he had caught a rockfish, which had then in turn been chomped on by a big ol' ling cod. So he gets them to the surface & we figure out what's going on, but we have no way to land this duo. The ling cod is only staying there because it's got the rockfish lodged in its jaws and it's not letting go. So Brock looks at me and says "Make a noose." Being compliant and not exactly figuring out what he has in mind, I comply. Then he says "OK, now put that around it's head. Oh, and watch out for the teeth!"

Really? Are you kidding me? Do I look like I fell off the turnip truck yesterday? So I tell him "How about I'LL hold the rod and YOU put the noose around it's head?" Needless to say, nobody actually wanted that job and in the end, the ling cod let go and lived to swim another day. That was sure one tattered and torn rockfish by the time he was in the boat!

The pilot boats were very cool. I bet those guys can sure tell some stories over a beer or two!

This is a puppy we came perilously close to adopting a few weeks ago. Somehow we managed to keep our heads and realize that there are many reasons it's not the right time for a dog for us, but WOW. We were both head-over-heels for this little guy. He's a Corgi-Boston Terrier mix: long body/short stubby legs/huge bat-ears of a Corgi, coloring of a Boston, and just the greatest little personality ever. But truly, Roomba is a better choice for us at this point.

And this is my guy, driving the 180' Royal on a Sunday morning. And in keeping with the Magic Brock nature, he was, of course, cleaning windows. That's my guy!

Noises At Night

2010-01-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

That whole thing with the hyper-alert hearing onboard? Very helpful. I woke up from a solid sleep last night to the water pump running. It shouldn't generally go on at night - we're not using any water, so the pressure should remain the same in the tank. Occasionally if it's on the edge of the correct pressure, it will cycle through once and that doesn't always wake me up.

But last night it awakened me and then continued to run. My Magic Brock came in handy again - I just nudged him and muttered that the water pump had been running for a long time. So he hopped out of bed and headed out to the dock to figure out that the bottom of the water timer had blown off and we were draining all of our water from our tanks back onto the dock.

I suppose that's what you might expect from a plastic device, but it's frustrating just the same. I'm wondering if I should look for a heavier duty one, but didn't see anything when we were originally looking that would make me think it was tougher than the rest.

Birthday Post

2009-12-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

See how quickly you can catch up on blogging with a slide show? Poof, now you have it. My birthday weekend was marvelous. We road-tripped down to the Long Beach area to watch the ocean for a few days - no cell service, no internet, just hanging with my three favorite people in the world.

I dragged everyone through the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center for my birthday. They couldn't argue, so that was a bonus! It turned out to be even more fascinating than I had hoped. Half the center is dedicated to the nautical world around the Columbia River bar. Two thousand large ships have been lost there since 1792, thus the nickname "Graveyard of the Pacific" (which actually stretches up and down the coast a bit). We watched an autoliner make its way into the channel, along with a 68 foot fishing vessel leaving the river.

The perspective I have as my nautical experience increases is very different from what it was a few years back. Now watching that little vessel wallow and push through the incoming tide was very personal to me. That was seriously Big Water and it was a relatively nice day in December. Brock and I have decided that we will head back there when a big storm is expected and just sit for hours in the LCIC - the view is amazing.

I also received what may very well be the 2nd best birthday present in my whole life. The very best was my brand new car on my 18th birthday - that's not likely to be topped ever (thanks, Mom!). This one was also from my mother - a new Kindle 2.

Which means we now have the capacity for a tremendous ship's library! One of the most difficult things about moving onboard was giving up so many, many books. It took time after time of going through them and culling them, then repeating the process again and again. I was helped by a friend of mine who simply said, "Here's your box. When it's full, you're done. No more books than that." What an agonizing process! I appreciated his help very much, but to this day, consider giving up those books to be my biggest sacrifice in transformation to a liveaboard.

And now there is a bright, bright light in the world as I can retrieve old favorites electronically and discover new ones more easily. It's not the same as having a book in your hand; there is certainly a difference that takes some getting used to. But I am embracing it fully, as it allows me freedom to have a gazillion books around again.

If only I can get it back out of my daughter's hands, that is...

Christmas Post

2009-12-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

I'm so far behind on posting now that I am going to simply wipe the slate clean with a couple of slide shows and start with good intentions for the New Year. This was Christmas at the Gilman's, my in-laws-to-be. Brock's mom had the marvelous idea of getting a bunch of foam dart guns, boomerangs, and other aerial toys. We raced to the park as soon as we opened it.

Only to discover that being raised as an only child was detrimental to my sense of "fair play" or whatever they were trying to call it. Apparently, you're supposed to shoot below the neck.

My killer instincts told me to shoot for the face. What can I say?

William Garden

2009-12-17T19:22:00.001-08:00

I was honored today to receive a response to a note I sent to Bill Garden, the designer of this boat. I had written a couple months ago, with a few pictures of KJ as she is now. She was designed in 1952; Bill is in his 90's now. He very kindly wrote back to me, remembering the boat as "a good husky boat and well built." He last saw her about 50 years ago in Newport Beach.

The handwritten note will definitely be framed and hanging in the wheelhouse.

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-16T20:54:00.001-08:00

It was an evening of great local things and people. The Christmas Ships were at the Hiram M. Chittendam Locks. Brock and I have our little "couple traditions" for this show, which always includes a peanut butter & chocolate milkshake from Totem House for him.

One of our local favorites, the 173 foot Feadship Ice Bear was coming back in. She typically resides in Lake Union alongside Daedalus, Boeing's corporate yacht. It looked as though they'd been out for a while, as there was soot above the genny exhaust. As Brock said, they usually wash those boats fairly often and well, so it was a giveaway that she'd been underway for a while.

One of our favorite lock operators was on duty too, so it was good to see him.

A good night really, which we needed. After my dear friend Asa died last week, it's been hard to get much into the holiday spirit. He was a regular reader of the blog (checking up on me, as he called it) and it's very sad to write a post I know he won't read.

The Water Situation Update

2009-12-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

So we re-filled to 27+ inches last Sunday. From what we know about the tanks (through hearsay only), that means 800 gallons. We're at 16 1/2 inches after one week. We've been conservative on water, but not drastically so. I've modified my dish-washing habits. Brock has shortened his showers. Even S2b took a radically brief shower by his standards.

Things are still quite frozen around here. This photo of Snoqualmie Falls was on King 5 today.

Cliff Mass thinks it'll be warming up by Monday evening, so hopefully we will be able to fill up in the next few days. I never bet on the weather though, so we'll continue our conservative measures until we actually get water turned back on.

Looking at the Tank Tender closely for the first time, either our two water tanks are nothing near square or the person who wrote the measurements on the wall was really bad at math.

3/4 full should equal 20.25 inches, not 16 1/2

1/2 should be 13.5, not 11

1/4 should be 6.75, not 5 1/2

Given how far off they were on the fuel tanks, I'm thinking I should just crawl in and take some measurements of the water tanks. Or better yet, I can send my Magic Brock in...On the other hand, we've made it this long without needing to know. Perhaps we'll just continue with our rough figures. Yeah, that sounds reasonable for now.

Thank you, my boating community

2009-12-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Because Katherine Jane now has the recommended $12 water timer which limits the amount of city water that can possibly come onboard. And because he is always thinking of my comfort, Brock has the water pump on as backup, so if we reach that magic gallon-o-meter number while I'm in the shower, I'll have backup so that I can finish shaving my legs.

There was the moon coming up over the lake tonight. Reminding me just why I love being onboard.

And the ships are all decorated for the holidays. Golden Eagle is a local boat, done up really well. Probably time to start thinking about some decorations for Miss KJ.

***UPDATE*** And wouldn't you know it...less than 24 hours after we get our new toy, they turn off the water to the docks because of freezing temperatures, so now we have no city water! The unfortunate part is that we had originally had 27 inches of water (800 gallons), but with the water pump on, when they turned off the city water, we were back-feeding the system. Which left us with only 19 inches of water. Still enough for quite a while, but we're being aware of our usage during this freeze. Brock is restricted to Navy showers. Mine are already short enough that I'm not on restriction. I'm very efficient. Stewbie? Yeah, you're on restriction, kid.

Google Searches

2009-11-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

I'm always amused at some of the searches which bring new visitors to the blog. Today's gems included "katie jane live hot" - sorry, guys, I'm pretty sure my blog was NOT what you were after. Hope you had better luck on another site.

And then there was "Does Brock have worms?"

Really? Umm...No. Not as far as I know anyway. But thanks for asking. I think I'm most intrigued by the fact that we were the number one link on Google for that search.

Huh.

Happy Turkey Weekend To All

2009-11-27T19:25:00.001-08:00

Had a lovely Thanksgiving evening out at the lake with the whole family, including my mom and grandma. We played spoons, ate pumpkin pie, and Nity & I went kayaking this morning. She likes to just go out to the middle of the lake and float, which coincidentally enough, I also love to do. So we just hung out there and had very Zen mom/daughter time on the water.

It was good to have some Zen onboard, because we then headed down to Westlake Center for the lighting of the Macy's Star. I had forgotten how much I dislike crowds...and pointlessly long extravaganza shows...and well, we had a good time anyway. Our friend Katy was singing with the Seattle Women's Chorus and they were great.

It's a decent start to another holiday season - not my favorite time of year, but one I generally manage to survive.

City Water

2009-11-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

This week's Magic Brock Project gives us a teed connection with city water which creates all sorts of cool things...

We have actual water pressure now. Showers are a whole new world with fantastic pressure.
We're prolonging the life of KJ's water pump, as now it will be used when we're away from the dock and at anchor, but not for every day activities.
When guests are onboard, they won't be rudely awakened by the water pump going off if somebody is up early trying to make coffee or shower. In the forward cabins, that's LOUD. You're welcome, NJ!
As the freezing time of year approaches, we can always have our onboard tanks topped off. Then, when they shut off the water at the dock without notice, we'll be well-prepared to last a few weeks without having to find alternate water sources.

The potential downside? If there were to be a leak onboard, there is an unending supply of pressurized water & theoretically the boat could sink if the bilge pumps also failed & nobody noticed. Not so likely that all of those things would go wrong at once, but for best practice, we will make a habit of shutting off the water at the hose bib on the dock when we leave.

2009-11-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Well, Grainger is closed on the weekend, so that killed the project I had in mind for the day. We instead continued with further cleaning of the lazarette. Those big old 34" diameter, 33" props that were stored away don't do this boat any good at all anymore. We haven't found anyone we know who might need them (they're awfully specific), so tossed them up on Craigslist (after hauling them up through the deck hatch, which wasn't easy).

I can't imagine that we'll get someone who actually needs them for boating purposes, so we offered them up as yard art as well. If no one bites, we can at least scrap them at $1.30/lb. That seems a shame. Wonder if I could take a small bit and have it fashioned into some trinket (ring, tiny propeller pendant or earrings) as part of KJ history?

Large Locks Maintenance

2009-11-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

The large locks are closed for maintenance for about 2 weeks. They're completely empty of water, so we took the kidlets down to check them out last night. Unfortunately, none of my photos turned out. It was impressive though, so if you're in the Seattle area looking for something to do today, that's not a bad outing. Lots of water being released as well - 5 spillways are open.

There were a couple of small coho in the fish ladder. Nity found the eggs interesting.

And now we're on to Project KJ Saturday - there's always some way we can be improving this thing!

October in the San Juans

2009-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

It's been an awfully busy few weeks. We took my father to the San Juan Islands on Katherine Jane. He always wants to ride the ferries when he's here. Like, every single day. Again. And then the next day. It's been that way for 17 years, so Brock and I figured there couldn't be anything better than a private yacht of his own for days and days.

The theory seemed to have merit.

We got Miss Jo-Jo up at 3:00 am for the Orionid meteor showers. Well, actually, Brock got me up first, because it was crystal clear and calm and perfect outside. And then I had to explain to him about the proper way to wake people up in the middle of the night, which was not the way he did it at first (think: gentle). Dad was already up, of course. So I went to include the kids. SB was definitely uninterested in some freakin' star show, but NJ got up, somewhat begrudgingly. I tried all the gentle, encouraging techniques for getting her dressed warmly and up on deck.

We stepped outside and *poof* half the sky was covered in clouds and the visibility continued to deteriorate fast. NJ managed to get in some good sarcastic jibes about people who drag other people out of bed to look at cloudy nights, but even she managed to catch a glimpse of 5+ shooting stars. And we had hot cider. So it wasn't a total loss from her perspective.

We found Dad his own private island and left him on it for several hours when the closeness started to get to him (he lives on 16 acres next to a 4870 acre state park with nobody in it except him and my step-mom ~ his hermit instincts are sharply honed). Blind Island State Park was pretty much perfect for him. Three acres, all to himself.

We joined him eventually, bringing freshly baked scones with strawberry jam.

The dryer requires us to run the generator, so we decided to try an alternative and save some fuel. Heck, we were running the main engines anyway. Might as well use the heat for something good! It worked quite well & the clothes didn't even smell too badly of diesel. We volunteered Dad's clothes for the experiment. Thanks, Dad!

Onward to Jones Island, one of our very favorites. We climbed to the top of the island...

and climbed down to the base through the tide pools. It was a Forced Death March for Nity after she found the most perfect, best beach in the whole world and then we made her leave it. Sorry, Nit!

Sunrise as we left the islands was reportedly beautiful. I was, of course, asleep.

We came home a day early because of incoming stormy weather - no sense bucking 30-40 mph winds all the way up Admiralty Inlet. Within 15 minutes of arriving at the dock, we hit the road again, off to stay at Ocean Shores to watch the storm. It was blowing like crazy.

Finished it off with a drive the next day to Lake Quinault. We circled the lake & encountered a herd of 30 or so elk. And encountered some really big trees. My dad got to sit on a wet log in the woods.

So I think overall it was a very good visit.

Sunday Evening Projects

2009-10-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

The captain had a whim tonight. The aft deck has always been somewhat inadequately lit for hanging out on after dark. I've dealt with it by bringing candles out and having a little string of tiki lights, but it's just been something that's bugged us. Barbecuing is next to impossible without a flashlight. So we went on an excursion to the local hardware store...

And bought some supplies.

One of my favorite things about us is the way we work together on projects. We both have MacGyver brains and are constantly coming up with creative ways of accomplishing things. Brock's "cheap bone" is a huge influence, yet he has learned to listen to me when there is the time and place for a more expensive, quality approach. His initial thought was to throw up a plastic J channel and put some rope lighting in it. At $1.98 for 8 feet, that would certainly have been the economical way to go.

But it's KJ. And she's classy and quality and workmanship in every way. And so we decided to make our own channel for the lighting. And put some ornate trim on it. Once it's painted white, I think it will blend beautifully into the style of the boat.

And the effect at night - wow. It's a very welcoming indirect light, perfect for entertaining. With some paint and tidying, we have a great outdoor room after dark.

Total time from concept to working product? Three hours. Nice job, Magic Brock!

Not-My-Two Update

2009-10-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Still adorable! They're 20 months now ~ walking, running, talking (in their special twin language mostly).

Little Jamie came and climbed right up in my lap, no shyness at all. Such dolls! It's always amazing to see this little family I had such a huge part in creating. Being a surrogate mom was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

The Story of KJ's Rudder

2009-10-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

She's been a "bit of a dog" around the docks ever since I've had her - her handling more than a little sluggish and slow to respond. We've pieced together some of the reasons why and no, nowhere on the list is the phrase "Bill Garden is an idiot." He designed the boat as she should have been in 1952. One rudder, given the sailing rig. One rudder, big enough to catch the wash from the large 33" x 34" propellers.

Ah, but wait, my astute readers! Remember that refit she had a few years ago? The one where they put new engines onboard? When they changed the prop size to 20" x 22"? But somehow neglected to foresee the part where none of the wash from the faster, smaller props was actually reaching the rudder anymore?

Enter my Magic Brock, and the Uber-Talented Welding Twins, Dean and Joe. Some sheet metal, a good old wire feed welder, little bit o' time and *POOF*!

An extended, articulated, hinged, mechanical fin that now catches the prop wash!

I've seen it built, in action, and throughout the whole process. I *still* don't get quite how it works.

Anthropomorphization

2009-10-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

To a very high degree, as my daughter would point out. She's fond of noting Mama's quirks and peculiarities.

And yet I can't help but think that my darling Katherine Jane prefers her bath water WARM. She seems...happier...when I scrub her down with nice, toasty water to cleanse all of that coarse, gritty salt off of her.

Brock is off at a meeting tonight and I'm caring for our girl in all the ways she needs after being out and about, playing in the salty, cold water of the Sound. It's past dark, but that in no way negates the need to get that grating debris rinsed off right away. And so I was out there, communing with my beloved wooden boat. Just the two of us. And the warm water from the hose.

From a logical perspective, I'm quite certain that I must be correct. Salt dissolves more quickly in warm water than cold, right?

Solubility is function of temperature of solvent.

The solubility of a given solute in a given solvent typically depends on temperature. For many solids dissolved in liquid water, the solubility increases with temperature up to 100 °C.

Consensus seems to be that at a simple level, yes, warm water dissolves salt mo' bettah than cold water (and it gets non-simple in a hurry:

But the basic thing that I noticed?

KJ really likes her warm baths. And I like it when she's happy.

The Cherry On Top

2009-10-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Of an incredible weekend:

It's tough to take good wildlife photos with a point and shoot, but here's my best attempt for the day.

We got into the middle of a pod of orcas this evening. It was absolutely incredible. We were crossing the traffic lanes when we saw them breaching to the south. I saw one come completely out of the water - that was a first for me. Earlier, the radio was chattering about them being just north of Blake Island, so we knew they were in the area.

We got outside of the shipping lanes and waited for them to pass us. They were spread out all across the water and there was no way to avoid their path, so we cut the engines and floated as they came closer. At one point, a group of 8 came within 20 feet of the stern of the boat, in a row. I'll have to find out more about behavior - they were shoulder-to-shoulder (or whatever one would call that ) and swimming in perfect unison. Hunting, perhaps? No words to describe it ~ we are so lucky to live here in the Northwest. My dad is visiting from Ohio in a few weeks & we will take him to the San Juans. Hopefully, we will find the pods there as well.

We Have It Good

2009-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

The cam lock system worked! Not that we're surprised. Now we have enough fuel onboard for heat for the winter and some playtime too.

The only hitch in the giddy-up came later when we were transferring the fuel from port to starboard tank to level out the boat. I went down to do an engine room check and discovered fuel pouring off of the starboard tank. Guess we didn't factor in the fact that even when just using the transfer pump, the starboard tank still only has that stupid little 3/8" vent. The system got pressurized and it started to leak out of the tee on top.

Easily fixed (plug the 3/8 tube and open the fuel fill on that side - voila, new vent) and we didn't lose very much at all. Just a bit of clean-up with the absorbent pads and we were good.

That's the main reason to have an immaculate engine room. Anything amiss shows up instantly when there's not gunge and muck to hide it. The pink fuel pouring over the white tank was immediately obvious.

We had Brock's work-partner and his family onboard one night. Lotsa fun, good food at night, fishing in the morning. Megan did catch one silver that was too small to keep (which was what she wanted, being a non-violent earth mother type). She caught, she threw it back, all was well.

Then we dropped them off and headed out to one of our favorite little anchorages for the night.

Port Madison is the closest cute little hideaway we have. It feels miles and miles away from anywhere. When we've only got one night outside the locks, that's usually our choice.

And the rest of Sunday? Fishing, football, and reading on the aft deck. Doesn't suck!

On The Water For The Weekend

2009-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Pretty iffy Internets where we are going, so pics must wait until we return...but we are out enjoying a blissful, calm, sunny afternoon on the sound.

Hope you're having a good one too!

Tonight's Magic Brock Adventure...

2009-10-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

...begins with a hole in the fuel tank...

...and a wicked cute smile from the captain...

...and then the drilling commences. I hid upstairs from the ungodly noises.

We had to move all the fuel from one tank into the other and now Katherine Jane is heeled over pretty hard to starboard. It's very "Poseidon Adventure" climbing up the stairs and hanging from the walls.

A few weeks ago, we turned KJ around in her slip and I thought that was really weird and disorienting. Wasn't nuthin' compared to being on her side. I think the hardest part for my brain is the "not moving" part. On some level, I keep expecting her to lean back over on the other side of the wave. The angle is not the freaky part - it's the lack of movement WITH the angle.

So it goes a lot like this: I'm fine. I'm dizzy. I'm fine. I can't stand up. I'm fine. Hold onto something. I'm fine. Are we done yet?

We're adding a fuel fill and a fuel vent to the port tank so that we can fuel at a much faster rate without the Geyser of Diesel effect that we have now. Anybody remember a few years ago when I got a faceful of diesel the very first time we put fuel in KJ? I kept thinking it must have been my fault, something I did wrong, heck, I don't even know anything about boats after all. Turns out it wasn't my fault at all.

The vent for the 1500 gallon fuel tanks is one 3/8" copper pipe. High volume of liquid in...air goes where?

It only took fuel spraying up at Brock's shirt once before it was decided that we would be fixing that problem, once and for all.

Enter tonight's festivities.

There were many pieces to choose from.

And a disappearing Brock.

Well, almost. I could still see his knees as he stood in a garbage bag inside the tank. Which did fail slightly and left him a little diesel-y. We'll just be throwing the pants out, thank you very much.

What is it with boys and their quirks? At 8:10, as he broke the second drill bit, I asked him if he wanted me to run to the local hardware store to pick up a few more just in case. After all, the tank is made of 5/16 steel. And the Home Depot does close at 9:00. No, no, don't think I'll need it, he says.

At 8:40, he breaks the last drill bit with two holes left to drill. Suddenly, the ball is in my court. I dash out the door, zoom down to the store, arrive with 7 minutes to spare.

I took pictures of him by just shoving the camera through the hole and aiming in the direction it seemed he was likely facing. You can see the new fill spout on the interior of the tank on the left side.

Finally, at the end:

Finished cam-locks! (Well, they'll need paint and clean-up, but they are operational!) So now we'll be able to take on fuel much more quickly and safely, with less risk of those pesky EPA reports and fines. And we'll also be able to get fuel at more commercial places with higher gpm requirements, which translates to saving money over the course of a 3,000 gallon fill.

Back to level now, please.

And Another Thing I'm Not Really Good At

2009-10-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

I picked 'em by name. I picked 'em by looks. I picked them completely randomly without looking at them. I picked 'em by stats.

I was consistent in my inability to pick a winner. Someone should be able to turn that into profit simply by betting against me.

On the plus side, the bugle guy (no, I don't know if it's a bugle...I have no idea) played "Fly Me To The Moon" just for Miss NJ. And Brock *almost* got an Exacta.

It was fun. Not sure I need to go back again, but it was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Brunch on the Royal

2009-10-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Lovely morning - second deck to ourselves, many Mimosas, gorgeous (if windy) weather.

The young ones swore they weren't going to have any fun. I think they lied.

It's good to be engaged to a man who wakes up with brilliant ideas every day. I can't wait for the day when I get to call him my husband!

From the WBF

2009-09-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Just to give you a non-numeric idea of how many people came onboard Katherine Jane at the Wooden Boat Festival, I offer this photo. Brock and I decided long ago that we were NOT going to begin polishing the rails. They are bronze and would luster up to a beautiful, warm, golden color. However, the upkeep would simply not be worth it ~ neither one of us has the inclination to polish for three hours a week. And so we have been accustomed to the natural verdigris.

During the festival, people boarded on the starboard side and used the handrails as they stepped from Elmore to KJ. It wasn't until after the festival that we noticed that they had managed to polish the bronze to golden beauty, simply by the sheer number of hands to touch it. Wow.

If you prefer a numerical estimate, I would guesstimate that we had easily over a thousand people on the boat that weekend. There were 15,000 through the gates and if even 10% boarded the boats, that puts us at 1500. There were hours every day when we had no less than 20-30 onboard the whole time. I made arrows and signs for a Self-Guided Tour, which cut down slightly on the number of times we had to answer the same questions. I couldn't have done it without my awesome crew, who would take over when I started to get overwhelmed by the vast numbers of people filing through my home.

This, Rob, is for you. You and I both arrived at the idea that the rod holders would make ideal vases...and they did. Liz came through with some very pretty fall bouquets and I now think I need flowers onboard a lot more often! Gives her that extra touch of class...

We Now Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

2009-09-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nope, I don't really know what happened. But I went in and tweaked some settings and *poof* there we are again.

Did you miss me??

And Other Reasons I Can't Live Without Him

2009-09-19T21:37:00.001-07:00

Found a bad plank in the bow; it was basically disintegrating, as they all do after enough time. Luckily it hadn't got to any of the other planks around it. That is, of course, because Brock constantly has eyes open for every piece of wood on this entire boat.

Before I knew it...Bad wood out, new 2 1/2" fir back in place. He pounded in cotton, followed by filling the seam with 5200. Now we'll let it weather for a few days. That may allow it to blend in a bit (although nothing like 57 years of use!) and then we'll seal it back up.

Just another day in the life of owning a wooden beauty.

Obsessive behavior

2009-09-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

New toys can completely occupy an afternoon.

These are My Brock's eyes.

This is the Space Needle from the boat...WITHOUT A TRIPOD! Not perfect, but a good bit better than I could have achieved with the old camera.

Brock wanted to play with ghost pictures. Although the Lumix really is just a point-and-shoot (no ability to adjust aperture, exposure, etc.), it has some fun modes that will allow me to accomplish most of what I want to do. Yay!

Random thoughts and pics

2009-09-19T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is the first submarine I've ever seen in the Puget Sound area. Navy Unit 42, I believe it was, listening to VHF 16.

Took this one as we ran around downtown today. We first stopped at the Fisheries Supply swap meet and found 50' of Katherine Jane sized dock line for $15. SCORE!

Then we made a stop at Captain's Nautical Supplies - OMG, heaven on earth! They have everything I've ever wanted, I think. Books and charts and globes and charts and telescopes and sextants and charts and did I mention the charts-on-demand that they can custom print? Wow. Drool city. We did pick up a splicing manual.

Then we went and replaced my camera. Finally! The old one went TU quite some time ago and I've been meaning to get around to it. I've been borrowing a co-workers for the interim, but really needed to return it to her. So we went and picked up a Panasonic Lumix ZS1. Considered lower-end models, but comparing them all side by side (and taking the same pic so we really had apples to apples), there was no doubt that this one was worth it. I've had Perma-Grin on my face all day since then (would you like to see my macro pictures of Brock's shoelaces? I didn't think so...). He's splicing lines (cussing just a little - left-hand strand over the first strand, under then center strand and over the right-hand strand...but where's the first strand? Isn't that the left-hand strand in a three strand line? He'll get it, I'm sure) and I'm reading camera manuals.

That, and the Huskies beat USC! Does it get any better than this for a quiet Saturday afternoon?

My Newest Luxury

2009-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hot AND cold running water on my aft deck. I waved my Magic Brock at the project and *poof* there it was.

He initially tried to convince me that cold would be adequate. So I had to explain about the sense of luxury and being spoiled that comes with things that are just a bit above-and-beyond average. I've coveted a hot external spigot ever since the days of Carolyn, Dodie, and Julie's beach house on Camano Island. And I finally have one!

It was truly decadent the other day when I was washing the salt off the boat (per the great Rebecca Wittman, salt crystals = thousands of tiny heat guns reflecting the suns rays onto your varnish) and there was warm water rinsing over my toes. Mmmmm, pleasure!

2009-09-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

We are at the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend.

Best comment so far?
"Is she steel?"

Takes all kinds. That being said, she's getting tons of positive attention for the captain's intense attention to detail. Rather rewarding and ego-gratifying. Lots of fun this weekend.

I think the most surreal moment was when I went down to my stateroom and found a guy taking a picture of my bed. That felt...umm, odd. Then a few moments later, we were up to 5 guys and 2 girls in my bedroom - a new personal record, definitely.

M/V Sea Comber

2009-09-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Recognize her? Yep - that's our KJ in her previous incarnation as a charter vessel in Alaska, prior to having her masts cut down. I was going through old documents today, as I'm putting together her history. It's fun to look at the differences ~ the 2 Zodiacs up top, the enclosure on the aft deck, obviously the masts (ooh, I wish they hadn't cut those down - I can just envision a crow's nest up top for my cozy spot. Even SB thought that would be fun!).

The Varnishing Saga Continues

2009-08-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's getting there. It's got the base coat on and a few layers of topcoat past this. You can still see some grain in it though, which mars the mirror finish effect I'd like. So we'll hit it with some 220 grit, then some 400, and strain the last coat to see if we can get it closer to perfect. Either way, it's in good enough shape for the Wooden Boat Festival in a few weeks.

We put metal primer stuff on the anchor chain and painted the warning marks on it again (they become visible at the hawsepipe when the anchor is at the waterline, so that you don't slam the anchor fluke first into the side of the boat). Hopefully the paint will last a bit longer on it with that prep. Plus the primer is so pretty, I have an idea that we should paint the 300 feet of chain (well, maybe 150' anyway). Shiny is good!

Slaying the Mighty Humpies

2009-08-30T12:57:00.001-07:00

We caught real fish this time around.

Eighteen of them actually. But with five licenses onboard, that wasn't even the limit. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay and keep catching them. That work thing always gets in the way. I would be so good at being independently wealthy!

This is the Captain's Happy Place. The salmon were jumping all over, the sunset was gorgeous.

I think anywhere on the boat is Nity's Happy Place.

And the fish were all processed and vacuum-packed before we even hit the dock. Good times!

Down To Bare Wood

2009-08-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

And now begins the layering up of varnish. The Tufshield has both a Base Coat and then a glossy Top Coat. We did get a coat of base on it yesterday after this picture and it is going to be quite stunning, I think. The plan is 4 coats of base, followed by a couple of top and see where we're at. That's supposed to give you the look of 10-12 layers of straight varnish. We shall see.

Brock is off driving the Royal today, so I'm left to my own devices. Hopefully that won't result in any Jamie-adventures. I'll try to behave and follow the rules and not drop anything!

Mahogany Continued

2009-08-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

We're getting there. Have chemically stripped all of the wood down to bare. Brock will lightly sand with 90 grit now, I will follow along behind him with 120 grit, then we'll end it with 400 grit for that perfectly smooth finish. It's all that grunt prep work for now, which is one of the life lessons I've always worked on. At 39 with a classic yacht to care for, I seem to finally be getting it, with the right encouragement (by which I mean, a man who will not let me get by with anything less!).

After today's efforts comes the fun part! I was originally going to go with Epifanes clear polyurethane, as Brock has had good luck with their products and forums are highly complimentary as well. But when we were at Fisheries Supply (one of my very favorite places on earth), their staff was extremely enthusiastic about the Tufshield products in our Northwest environment. It's expensive, but with boats, what isn't? They steered us well in the past with the Top Secret products, so we decided to go with their experience.

Alright, now I'm just stalling. I can hear the captain out there, rustling electrical cords and banging about. So I'm off to assist. At least it's nice and overcast.

OK, Woodworking People, I Need Some Help

2009-08-17T18:59:00.001-07:00

It's time for some annual varnish and we've been taking it down a bit more to bare wood. The caprail is made of Honduras mahogany. Previously I've been able to get away with just a light sanding and a topcoat of varnish. But in several spots, we've needed to get down to the wood itself.

And there's my problem. Wherever we sand, the amber color (the varnish) disappears and is replaced by a darker reddish color (on the left in the above photo - the natural color of the wood). Either of which would be fine, but the combination of patchwork colors is completely unacceptable.

So my questions are:
1.) Why is this happening?
2.) How did they get it to the golden amber color?
3.) Am I going to have to take the whole frippin' thing down to wood and live with a reddish caprail from here forward?

The ideas we've kicked around tonight have ranged from chemical strippers to heat guns (Brock doesn't think I have the patience for that, but if it works without sacrificing any wood, he might be surprised). I've read Wittman, who deplores sanding more than anything when doing brightwork and I can be a disciple and learn to heat/scrape.

Anybody out there understand WHY my mahogany is going red on me? Is that it's natural color? It would probably be spectacular that way as well (I love my dark cherry floors, after all). But I just don't get it.

****More research later...OK, so apparently Honduras mahogany is naturally a "coppery-brown" reddish wood. I still can't figure out how they got it blonde. A stain? I do like the blonde look, but don't want the "blonde-russet patchwork quilt after years of varnish repairs" which was described by some folks. Russet OR blonde. Not both.

Meanwhile, Brock has acquired both heat gun/scraper and a gallon of chemical stripper. Evidently, we each get a five-foot section and we'll "race" to see who gets done first. I may have to remind him that the quality of the job matters as well. There's little doubt in my mind that chemicals will be faster.

++++ Later again...ooooh, my new very favorite friend ~ the heat gun! Wow, that was truly awesome, the varnish just came right off of her sweet and easy. And for all of the detail areas (window frames, etc), well, I'm never going back to any other lame techniques. That is much too easy (no dripping of chemicals, blowing of sawdust)! I'm thinking the mahogany is just going to be darker than it was. Which is fine with me as long as it's consistent. Should actually be quite lovely, I think. But HOW DID THEY GET IT BLONDE IN THE FIRST PLACE???

And Catching More Is Even Better!

2009-08-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

They're practically jumping in the boat now! And I learned an important lesson: Never get between a fisherman and the rod that just kicked out of the downrigger. OUCH! I have bruises!

Catching Is Much Better Than Fishing

2009-08-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Got ourselves some dinner for tonight! A well-deserved reward for a long week's worth of work. Nice job, Dean-o! And the Dall's porpoises jumping right near the side of the boat is an added treat. This is indeed why I live on a boat!

Haulout 2009

2009-08-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

SPLASH! After days of grueling work (some of us more than others), we have improved KJ in some big ways. Her bottom is freshly painted. It was actually in great shape when she came out of the water, much better than I had expected, which was a nice surprise. No growth, bottom paint in good shape. It was just the waterline where the bottom paint had sloughed off that looked pretty crummy. The rest was really good.

MAJOR kudos to Dean and Joe, our master welders, for their incredible rudder modification (which will be a post unto itself ~ it's genius, really). And to Kris and Danny for their unflagging efforts in painting and keeping the crew fed while I was at work. And to Clark for his expert and diligent sanding & painting. To Brock, with whom without I could never, ever do this. (How you appeared in my life when I needed you the most and made my personal Fairy Tale Happy Ending a reality is unbelievable magic.) Brock designed the rudder modifications with Dean ~ watching the two of them brainstorm something is an incredible thing. We managed to stay almost within budget (maybe over by just a little, but pretty close). Dean said I've pretty much figured out the perfect way to do the whole boat thing: I had to work every day this week and would mostly appear in the evening to applaud the progress that was made daily.

I did show up to paint the bottom of the keel; it was sort of my penance for having to be at my day job and not be here for a lot of the grunt work. I figured crawling around on the ground to get to the very bottomest bits more than made up for it, really. I discovered that I really love bottom painting ~ it's total Jamie style. None of that "tape it off, be neat and precise and tidy and don't get any paint on anything else." Nope, it's the "Just get it on everything you see" approach. I have that skill.

So now we're at anchor again, ready to slay the pink salmon in the morning. I'm anticipating a well-deserved sleep-in while Brock and Dean fish. I'm so very, very content.

OK, not too much work yet

2009-08-10T21:56:00.001-07:00

Other than some really grueling fishing. Brock even had to move inside when it got too blustery out. SB thought it was hilarious to fish from inside the house.

We all thought his first salmon was hilarious too. OK, work shall commence in the morning!

The Busiest Week Ever Is Coming

2009-08-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

IT'S HAULOUT TIME!! OK, people, this is it. We have the next five days mapped out to the minute. Cure time, second coats, welding schedule...It all begins at 8:15 tomorrow morning when KJ comes out of the water.

Just for an update: all the bad wood was removed from that corner & my man has it remodeled. His skills will be very handy in the coming days.

We all had a great time playing on the water again this weekend.

Now we're done playing and it's WORK, WORK, WORK!

C'mon, kid, I said WORK!

Sharks After Dark Approaches!

2009-08-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight at 9:00 on Discovery Channel! Potential glimpses of M/V Katherine Jane on Sharks After Dark. I'm pretty excited about it, while also being well aware that we may not even get a peek at her.

We're off to watch over at a friend's house ~ cross your fingers!

Hot Summer Nights

2009-08-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's been so hot here lately that when I looked at the thermometer on the helm station today and it read 87 degrees, my brain registered that as "Oh wow, it's really cooling off!" We've been out enjoying the boat constantly ~ swimming in Lake Washington, jumping off the top deck, anchoring out overnight, chartering for the Blue Angels. Good times.

There have been company parties, swimming at Golden Gardens (OK, just a quick dunk really ~ even on a 100 degree day, the sound is still cold!), mucho beach volleyball.

We've camped on the beach at La Push, doing the whole Twilight tour in Forks (yes, I've read all the books! I'm a good Twilight Mom), hauling our bear canister along with us.

The captain has been fishing ~ caught 2 sturgeon, both too small, but hey, he had a blast anyway!

And me? I'm looking forward to our next big project in a couple of weeks: the haul-out of Katherine Jane. My camera finally died yesterday (it's been awfully well-used over the past several years), so I'm not sure yet how I'll bring you the play-by-play, but I'll figure something out. Happy Summer, everyone!