Hellooo?

[Terry Cox]

Quiet, sooo quiet. All the PNW cruisers must be tied up with getting their boats ready for the new season and have had no time to contribute here. Cleaning, sorting, repairing, etc. My boating buddy, Colin, tried to start his engine last week, but the starter motor would not spin. He hired a mechanic to install his spare motor and it fired right up after sitting dormant during the winter months while he sauntered about in Mexico. Turns out it was a bad solenoid wire. I still need to wash the winter gunk that has accumulated top side, and have my diver install zincs, scrape the mussels off of the keel and check the hull condition.

What about you? What's on your to-do list to prepare for the new season?

 

[jlp0217]

Glad to see you here today Terry. I have been thinking of trying to get ahold of one of you Shelter Bay residents for some local knowledge. I am planning on joining the Everett Yacht Club's Labor Day Weekend Cruise to LaConner. I have never been in the Swinomish Channel and am concerned with the shallow water and shoaling, and the minus tides in the early afternoons on the 26 & 27th. I draw 6' and airdraft is 70'. Anything I should be concerned about if I stay near mid channel via GPS chartplotter? I believe the channel floods in from both ends to somewhere in the middle, correct? And river current probably makes high slack somewhat before high tide and low slack somewhat after low tide?

Jim Parks

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi Jim, great to hear from you. You should have no problem transiting the Channel. I wrote an article about my experiences with it over the years. Just some cautionary advise detailed in the link that follows:

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/transiting-the-ditch-er-swinomish-channel.176907/

• The Rainbow Bridge at La conner has a 75’9” clearance (the cables have a 72′ clearance)
• The highway 20 Twin Bridges bridge further north has a 75′ clearance.

 

[Mark Maulden]

I'm done. Several shakedowns and everything is fine. Headed north in a month. I acquired a duplicate engine and tearing it down for spare parts..

 

[Terry Cox]

Wow. A lot of spare parts to stow. Perhaps the appliances (starter, alternator, pumps, etc.) most important and likely first to fail.

Still have the Broughtons on your summer bucket list? Make sure Alert Bay Cultural Center on Cormorant Island is among your stops.

John has moved out of the hospital and into his daughter's house in Sedro Wooly. Slow recovery, but on the mend. Seems to have his diarrhea problem solved, a good thing.

 

[jlp0217]

Hi Jim, great to hear from you. You should have no problem transiting the Channel. I wrote an article about my experiences with it over the years. Just some cautionary advise detailed in the link that follows:

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/transiting-the-ditch-er-swinomish-channel.176907/

• The Rainbow Bridge at La conner has a 75’9” clearance (the cables have a 72′ clearance)
• The highway 20 Twin Bridges bridge further north has a 75′ clearance.

Thanks Terry
I didn't think air draft would be a problem, but the minus tide at what would be convenient arrival times could be. Thanks for the link to the write-up. I had read it when it was posted, but wasn't expecting to head that way then, so didn't save a link to it, and couldn't remember where I'd read it. But I knew there were a couple of you that keep boats at Shelter Bay on the forum.
Thanks again,
Jim Parks

 

[Hello Below]

All the PNW cruisers must be tied up with getting their boats ready for the new season and have had no time to contribute here. Cleaning, sorting, repairing, etc.

Yup. Washing - done, cleaning - done, waxing done and projects done. Off at 09:30 tomorrow to make slack at Porlier Pass then on to Desolation Sound for 2 - 4 weeks. Weather looks great, snow pack should be melting giving awesome water runoff and crowds (both US and Canadian) should be minimal. Winds look a little fresh in the strait (NW 20-30 kts). We will see.

 

[Terry Cox]

Have a safe journey. Porlier Pass always interesting. Be sure to spend at least a night or two in Roscoe Bay. Enter and leave close to high water due to a very thin entrance.

 

[Gene S]

Good luck and smooth sailing. In 2 weeks I have a week off and am thinking of exploring South of Tacoma.

 

[Terry Cox]

Spent four hours scrubbing the winter off of Belle-Vie this past Saturday. She shines right up. Ready for the season. My oldest son and his two urchins have decided to come up from Texas after all. They want to cruise around the San Juan Islands for two weeks. They will be here June 30 through July 14. Looking forward to it.

Our diver appeared to do his work below the waterline. Scraped a thick layer of mussels off the keel, a few barnacles from the prop, installed zincs, speed wheel spins freely, and the prop shaft, strut and rudder solid.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Cool!! We did the diver thing about three wks ago. No hard stuff and said paint would last another yr. now we have 12" hairy slime stuff growing at the waterline under the bow. We leave for Garrison Bay thur and then up to the Broughtons. I"ll hit the entire bottom with my homemade scrubber beforehand. Rudder is also covered so I"ll have to figure that one out. Maybe just the deck brush from stern ladder. Most of it would probably come off after a few days.

 

[Gene S]

Well, I finally did it. I have all week off and I am exploring south of Tacoma. Right now im sitting off Sandy pt Anderson is. Made it through the narrows except I could have tried it an hour later. Little bit of wind now at anchor. Looking at the map trying to decide where to tomorrow.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Octopus Islands few days ago. See if a pic comes through

 

[Mark Maulden]

Ok how do u reply with a pic?

 

[Meriachee]

When you type the reply, you click on the box "Upload a File" and away you go.

Watch, however, where the cursor is, you might just find yourself inadvertently inserting a picture into the middle of a word.....

 

[Mark Maulden]

Thats what i did......

 

[Mark Maulden]

Trying again.

 

[Mark Maulden]

And again??

 

[Mark Maulden]

Last time

 

[Meriachee]

@Phil Herring is the guy, he'll see this and can guide you further.
Could be an unsupported file type, too big, not round enough or any of 100 other little things.