Washington – Riveted

Hood Canal to Port Townsend to LaConner

Laura Domela — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 23:07:54 +0000

We had a wonderful weekend exploring Hood Canal with our friend Kathy, and we wrote all about it here on Slowboat.

We left Alderbrook on Monday morning and cruised all the way to Port Townsend (~58nm in about 8 hours). The weather was perfect, so the long cruise was chill and productive. It’s easy to work while we motor along at 7.5 kts in calm water.

Leaving Alderbrook with a view of the Olympics

We arrived in Port Townsend just before 4pm and took a walk into town and back before it got dark.

Point Hudson Marina at Port Townsend

Back on Airship after our walk, we broke out the two dozen Shigoku oysters we’d picked up the day before from Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton, did some shucking and then had those for dinner along with a salad and a cup of soup. Delicious!

Beautiful view of the sunset from Airship

We left Port Townsend yesteday morning by about 8:30am and headed for Deception Pass and LaConner. The clouds were rolling in, but it was still calm and beautiful out:

Deception Pass

We knew we’d hit Deception Pass right at max flood, but the current would be going with us and at just about 4kts, so it was really no big deal.

Looking back at the Olympic range.

We arrived in LaConner just after noon and met the folks over at American Tugs to take a look at their new model called the Waypoint 36. We’ll be writing an article or two about this new boat on Slowboat…stay tuned.

LaConner from the Swinomish Channel

Last night we had dinner in town at the tavern (LaConner Pub and Eatery) and tonight (Valentine’s Day) we’re going to have dinner over at Oyster & Thistle (one of our fave restaurants in LaConner). We’re still trying to decide whether to stay in LaConner and walk the 15 minute walk to dinner (potentially in the rain), or continue on in Airship to Anacortes and drive the 20 minutes or so. It seems to have stopped raining for the moment, but you never can be sure around here in the winter! I think we’ll stay put. We’re getting a lot of work done, and we have rain gear if it’s raining later!

Another Successful Seattle Boat Show

Laura Domela — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 00:00:13 +0000

We had a fantastic time at the Seattle Boat Show this week. Our Slowboat team gave ten different seminars spread over the eight day show, and we could not have asked for better audiences. Several sessions were standing room only! We stayed at Elliott Bay Marina the whole time and commuted back and forth to the stadium. Most of the time, the weather was horrible…rainy and windy! We were glad to have Airship all tucked into a slip on C dock.

We did get some beautiful skies and even some sun, which was a nice surprise.

While not attending the boat show, we spent some quality time with friends in the area, and managed to visit some of our favorite local spots:

Fat Bastards from Pike Place Market (we shucked ’em ourselves)

Soup dumplings at Dough Zone (shhh, we went there three times!!)

Shigokus and caesar and cava at the Taylor Shelfish Farm oyster bar

LimeBikes — public bikes for rent that you’ll find all over the city now

We took advantage of a non-rainy day to check out the on-the-water parts of the Seattle Boat Show. This is Bell Harbor:

Safeco Field structure silhouette

Yesterday we did laundry and shopped for groceries and got some more work done, and this morning we cruised an hour across to Blake Island, where we were the only boat until about an hour ago.

We immediately got out and hiked the trail that rings the island (about 4 miles). On this one hike we saw raccoons, deer, geese, herons, and eagles. It’s very “wildlifey” out here today!

The last time we were here was last year after the 2017 boat show, and the place was covered in snow!

Tomorrow I think we might head up to Poulsbo and then over the next couple days hook around into Hood Canal, making our way down to meet friends at Alderbrook next weekend. It’s nice to be back in the South Sound!

Winter Cruise to Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:47:08 +0000

We finally got back up to Airship AND the weather was cooperative (unlike the week we spent aboard in October), so we headed up to Sucia Island for a couple nights while the sun was shining and the wind was calm.

Winter cruising is so great up in this area. So much of time we have the whole place to ourselves! We did some work after we got settled, and then went for a hike before the sun set.

Nice sandstone textures on the outer rocky beach that faces Orcas Island.

Last night was quiet and clear and the stars were bright. This morning was still clear and blue with a nice big moon and some low fog off in the distance (and a bit of frost on the dock!)

We worked for most of the day, but managed to get out and hike over to Echo Bay before it got too dark and too cold.

We got a couple neighbor boats by the end of the day, and by the end of our hike the fog had really rolled in. No sunset photos tonight!

We’re going to grill up some of the salmon we caught in Alaska for a salmon taco dinner tonight, and then in the morning (after the fog burns off, I expect) we’ll figure out where we want to go next!

Also, totally unrelated, here’s a photo of my mom’s adorable new puppy, Lucca:

He’s a White Shepherd like her others, and just adorable, don’t you think?

All Tucked In (but not for long!)

Laura Domela — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 19:57:44 +0000

Before leaving Victoria on Tuesday, Kevin and I walked over to old town to get some breakfast at Jam Cafe. A local had recommended this spot earlier in the week, and I in turn had passed that recommendation on to boat neighbors Jeff and Kim a few days prior (hi guys!!). Jeff and Kim went for brunch on Sunday and raved about it, so we really had no choice but to check it out before leaving, and we’re glad we did! The food was delicious, and we’ll definitely go back next time we’re in town. (I had an off-menu special — pulled pork on a crunchy tortilla, topped with poached eggs and some sauce I forgot what kind and avocado and I dunno what else but it was amazing, and Kevin had a “Charlie Bowl”–Jam’s version of a hash with crumbled biscuit, hash browns, diced ham, bacon, corn salsa, peas, green onions, cheddar and sausage gravy topped with two sunny side eggs. I liked mine the best.)

The cruise back to Anacortes from Victoria was foggy then sunny but the whole time calm calm calm!

The forecast for Tuesday for the Strait of Juan de Fuca was spot-on…and a great day to cross back into the U.S. We cleared U.S. Customs easily and by phone (yay Nexus!) and returned to Anacortes right around 4pm.

In the morning, we got up fairly early to start the process of cleaning and unpacking. I began by washing Airship, and Kevin went to see if the truck would start. Unfortunately, the battery was dead, in spite of the solar trickle charger we’d left on it (the one that worked great last summer), so he took it (in a dock cart) over to a local shop to have charged and/or replaced if that didn’t work. (That worked…battery’s great and the truck started fine with it after a couple hours of charging.)

After Airship was shiny, we needed to address the leak in the dinghy. We thought we’d found the tiny pinprick hole (ahem, someone wasn’t careful with their fishhook!) and patched it successfully, but the port side was still slowly losing air. We removed the outboard and took it in a cart up to the truck (we’ll take it back to the shop where we bought it for its annual maintenance) and then pulled the dinghy up onto the dock for inspection. After spraying soapy water all around the area on and adjacent to the first hole we patched, we found TWO more tiny pinpricks that were leaking air. One patch covered them both, and we think we’re good to go. (Be careful of those fishhooks!)

While we were working on finding the leak, we also started a bit of dinghy cleaning…which turned into a whole ‘nother project. We’d never been able to find anything that worked WELL for cleaning the dinghy…everything we tried required SO. MUCH. SCRUBBING! Our dinghy is mounted on a davit off the swim step, and the port bow of it gets a bit of exhaust while under way, and that gray builds up fast. For some reason, we’d never tried (until now) this cleaner that West Marine carries, called (creatively): Inflatable Boat Cleaner (and Protectant…comes in a two-pack).

We used one entire bottle of the cleaner and went back for two more — it worked so well!! We’re going to have a clean dinghy from now on!

So, after washing Airship (which is always a good way to quell any thoughts of a bigger boat…at least for a day or so), scrubbing the Zodiac, removing the outboard, several trips to deal with the truck battery issue, and I don’t know how many trips hauling stuff in dock carts to the truck, cleaning the interior of Airship so she’s all ready for whatever comes next…we were ready to head back to Portland…at 5:30pm. We stopped for dinner at Coa Mexican Eatery in Mt. Vernon (figuring the longer we waited, the less traffic through Seattle we’d hit…plus, those prawns!) and returned to Portland just after 10:30pm. We unloaded the truck, had a glass of wine, and then hit the sack. Long day!

After some work trips and a couple photo shoots in my studio here in Portland over the next two weeks, we’ll be heading back up to meet friends in the San Juans. I already can’t wait. We have a lovely home here in Portland, but my heart is on the water.

Last Night at Cypress Head (I made shakshuka!)

Laura Domela — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 17:20:06 +0000

Yesterday afternoon after a bunch of work on the boat (both “work work” and “boat work”) we dinghied over to Eagle Harbor and went on another hike before dinner.

The weather yesterday could not have been better. We even had a cocktail on the top deck!

For dinner, I made a version of Shakshuka that I mashed up from a couple different recipes online. I added spinach and a little leftover pulled pork to our version, and it was amazing! Definitely a keeper! I should have taken a photo, but I didn’t. Here’s a recipe with a photo though…it looked kinda like that.

I sauteed some shallots and garlic in olive oil, then added cayenne, cumin, paprika, and red chili flakes to that. Then, some fresh diced tomato as well as a big can of organic crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper, and a couple big handfuls of spinach. I let that bubble a while on the stovetop, and when the bread was almost ready (crusty sourdough garlic bread) I cracked four eggs into the bubbling tomato mixture and let them poach on the stovetop. When eggs were soft-poached, I sprinkled a handful of shaved parmesan over the top, and then pulled out a big spoonful for each of us…served in a bowl with a side of crusty bread for dunking. Heavenly! Will definitely make this again. (Well, and I’m about to use the leftovers for breakfast. Great for any time of day, really.)

Here’s the breakfast version, as the eggs are poaching (we’re doing without the bread this morning):

More Cypress Island

Laura Domela — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 18:07:36 +0000

We were going to head back to Portland today, but instead, we decided to spend another night out at Cypress. We have a few more organizational projects to do, and it’s nice out here, and we still have enough food and wine and it’s Friday, and well, you know how it is.

This morning after breakfast we took the dinghy out for some noodling around (breaking in the new outboard) and then hiked around on Cypress Head for a bit.

The mosses are growing like crazy out here. Love these colors!

Cypress Island has some great boat-in campsites out on Cypress Head. Not a bad view from here:

Oh yeah, I forgot to post these yesterday. While working on Airship in Anacortes yesterday, a huge heron landed on the top side of the dinghy. It was a more colorful one than usual, with browns and blues and grays and whites. I moved very slowly and picked up the camera. I took one quick shot and then inched closer to see if I could get a more unobstructed one….

…but apparently I wasn’t stealthy enough. You can kinda see the (blurry) brown on his wing/shoulders….oh well.

Boat Projects, and Another Night at Cypress Island

Laura Domela — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 03:44:33 +0000

We spent the past two days working on boat projects in Anacortes, and finished up today with enough time to head out to Cypress Island for another night. Always good to test things after maintenance projects.

As soon as we grabbed a mooring ball, I suggested Kevin take up the drone for some photos. Here’s what he got:

Not that much later, we noticed a bit more drama in the sky, so I snapped these two shots…

And then Kevin took the Mavic up again for a few more aerial shots:

I’m glad we came out here tonight…our original plan was to just stay in the marina and go up to Anthony’s for cocktails and seafood. This is much better. We are grilling shrimp and chicken for tacos and sauteeing some zucchini with tomatoes and crispy shallots.

Here’s a list of the some of the boat projects we’ve accomplished while in Anacortes this week:

Install new outboard on the dinghy (vroom!!)
Install new dinghy seat (with storage!)
Change main engine secondary fuel filter
Change main engine zincs
Change generator primary fuel filter
Change generator raw water impeller
Replace macerator pump
Gather new miscellaneous spare parts

The changing of the main engine’s secondary fuel filter was a doozy of a job. The dang thing wouldn’t budge, even with a good strap wrench and plenty of muscle. The strap wrench was eventually denting the thing, and eventually (after Googling the issue and calling Cap Sante Marine for advice) we resorted to stabbing a screwdriver through the entire filter and then ALSO using the strap wrench to finally twist it free. I wonder how long it’ll smell like diesel in here.
:-\

Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, No Whales

Laura Domela — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:33:21 +0000

We arrived at Roche Harbor yesterday afternoon after a nice cruise over from Sucia Island. We coordinated with Bruce and Dorsey (American Tug “Esmeralde”) and decided to meet up at McMillin’s later on for dinner (photo above taken from our table in the restaurant…not a bad view!) We had a lovely time with many hilarious stories and laughs (and delicious food!) Back on the dock behind Airship, the moon was rising behind the “Our Lady of Good Voyage” chapel:

This morning we went up to the Lime Kiln Cafe for breakfast and then left around the same time as Esmeralde. It was sunny and even a little warm out!

We both decided to take the long way around the west side of San Juan Island in hopes of seeing some whales, but no such luck. We listened to the “whale watch channel” (78) but it sounded like the commercial outfits weren’t have much luck either. One captain said they saw a Minke whale for a little bit, but that’s it. (Truthfully, as far as whale sightings go, Minkes are kind of boring. I know, I sound snooty and all “Oh, so zillions of humpbacks surrounding your boat in SE Alaska has jaded you or something” and you’re right. It has.)

Here’s a photo of Esmeralde with the Cattle Pass Lighthouse and Mount Baker (but no whales):

Anyway, it was a great day on the water. We went all the way back to Anacortes to pick up a thing we ordered (a storage seat for the dinghy…we’ll report in after we have it fully installed) and we might head out again for the night…maybe just somewhere close like Cypress Island. We’ll see. It’s getting late and our projects here are not yet finished. Gotta go with the flow!

Shallow Bay at Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 17:39:21 +0000

We’ve been in Anacortes for a few days gathering spares and checking things off our “projects to do on Airship before heading to Alaska next month” list, but we got enough done and the wind finally stopped, so yesterday morning we left the slip and cruised out to Sucia Island.

The wind was forecast to pick back up and be from the SE, so we briefly checked out Fossil Bay, but ended up moored over in Shallow Bay instead. Kevin was itchin’ to try out the new outboard and it was a little choppy in Fossil Bay for that. We dinghied around (“Vrooom!!”) a bit, then went for a walk on shore.

Echo Bay, on the west side of the island:

Bone on the beach:

Airship, from the beach:

Back at Airship, Kevin took the Mavic up for some aerial photos:

Last night for dinner I made Thai chicken lettuce wrap/taco things and they were delicious! (I marinated some chicken breast for an hour in soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, lime, garlic, shallots, cilantro, and then grilled it, then put that in some butter lettuce shells topped with a gochujang slaw made with cabbage, apples, gochujang, sesame oil, and apple cider vinegar, then topped with a little lime and sour cream.) I should have taken a photo but I didn’t.

The wind had calmed down quite a bit so we motored over to Fox Cove in the new fast dinghy, then walked over to Fossil Cove to say hi to fellow Airstreamers and new American Tug 395 owners Dorsey and Bruce (here from Rhode Island to take delivery of their new boat). We met them in Anacortes after communicating online for some time. Their new boat is just beautiful and it’s been fun getting to know them.

It was pretty calm over here until about 3am and then the wind came back. The slappy, rolly waves tossed us around a little and made for a few hours of…well, not sleep. Turns out it wasn’t so sheltered in here after all. But now the sun is out and the clouds are not quite as thick. There are a few eagles in the trees nearest us on shore, and occasionally, a seal surfaces. All is good!

Happy Monday!

Boat Projects, Cypress Island, and Night 550

Laura Domela — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 02:50:48 +0000

We spent a few days in Anacortes doing some boat projects and general things like cleaning and reorganizing cupboards (which included ditching stuff we aren’t using…good to do this when you spend a lot of time in a small space). It’s so easy to keep adding more things to the boat (or the Airstream) that you think you’ll use, or you use once and then forget about. It’s nice to periodically take stock of what you don’t need and remove it, opening up space to do it again and again, many more times.

Anyway, on Friday late afternoon after re-plumbing the way the engine coolant routes through the hot water heater (more on that below), we decided to head over to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island for the night. It was late in the day but we calculated we’d arrive not long after sunset (still light enough to avoid crab traps).

Great day to be on the water…glad we made it out!

We grabbed a mooring ball and spent a nice night gently rocking. This was our 550th night aboard Airship since the end of September 2014. I’d say we’re getting some use out of our boat, wouldn’t you?

Yesterday morning was gray and drizzly, and after a bit of work and some breakfast, we took the long way back to Cap Sante by heading north around Sinclair Island and then on the east side of Guemes.

Up ahead what looked like a long log turned out to be a tight group of cormorants. I’ve never seen this many this close together floating around in a group like this.

Cloud-makers (okay, not really) in Padilla Bay:

Okay, now here’s all about what we did with the coolant plumbing!

Our boat came from the factory (we’re assuming for safety/liability reasons) with a regulator that bypassed the engine coolant from flowing through the water heater if the temperature was greater than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. We think the intention was to prevent the water from getting heated to over 120 degrees, but the result seemed to be that as soon as the engine warmed up to normal operating temperature (around 189-190 degrees F), this stopped any coolant from flowing through the water heater at all. So, we could run the boat for 4 or 5 hours and arrive at our destination with the water in the hot water tank still cold. Furthermore, when our coolant system was pressuring up, we were getting some coolant leaks around the fittings of this regulator. So we decided that we could be careful not to scald ourselves with possibly too-hot hot water and we took the regulator out of the loop. We routed the heater hoses directly through the water heater (actually the way the water heater is designed to be used.) Now, after cruising for a couple of hours, we arrive at our destination with 140 degree water.

Additionally, we had noticed that our coolant overflow reservoir was neither increasing or decreasing, meaning there was no flow (overflow) between it and the engine, and we suspected we might have a bad pressure cap. The pressure cap is supposed to open up when the coolant expands, letting excess coolant into the overflow tank. Then when the engine cools off, coolant goes the other way, back into the cooling system. We went to replace the cap and discovered that it was a ridiculously high 145 kPa (kilopascals…about 21 psi/pounds per square inch). We decided to try a lower pressure pressure cap because in our installation we don’t ever put that heavy a heat load on the engine, and the reason for having a higher pressure cap would be to let the cooling system tolerate a higher heat load. Anyway, now the coolant is going back and forth between the engine and the overflow reservoir as it should, there are no more leaks, and we have hot water that we make while underway. Win-win! (Also, Kevin went a little OCD in the engine room with the zip ties while I got in there with the Dyson and some wet paper towels and the engine room is SO. SHINY. I should have taken a photo for you.)