Maintenance: Hydraulic Steering Woes

We loved keeping the boat at the Port of Anacortes this year, but unfortunately the slip next to ours was often occupied by transients. We think that one of those transients hit our outboard when docking, which damaged the Jenny G's hydraulic steering.

(c) Teleflex Marine

Having found a seal that was out of place, I ordered a replacement part and had it installed by a trusted mechanic. However, on our return voyage "down South" for the winter, I realized that this wasn't the sole problem and we still have a leak.

So, the Jenny G is at another repair yard on the Lake Washington Ship Canal awaiting diagnosis. Stay tuned for more info.

Anchorage: De Courcy Island, BC

Ever hear of a stern-tie? You use this when the depth requires a scope that creates more swing room than is possible. In Gulf Island anchorages, which are often deep coves between underwater rock ridges, stern ties are a way to allow more boats into a small cove than would otherwise be possible. They do it by sinking eye bolts into the rock walls of the cove so that boaters can run a line from their stern to the eye, which stabilizes the boat in one position, reducing the need for a large scope. We were able to try several stern-ties this year but Pirate's Cove was the first.

And of course first tries are always ugly. Conveniently for me, I've chosen a photo that makes me look as close to a C. C. Filson model as I'm ever going to get and prevents you from figuring out exactly which profanity I'm spewing at the moment.

Nevertheless, on a warm, lazy boating afternoon, all things eventually get done and we were tucked into a pocket in the cliffs for the evening. Except for the sweat beads leaping upward and outward from me like a sprinkler. So, for the third time in my life, I went swimming in Canada.

There is a phenomenon in mountaineering called altitude memory, where spending time at a given altitude creates a physical "memory" that supposedly makes the climber more able to return to that altitude in the future. I have no idea if that's true, but my only real-life experience was in having an easier time climbing Mount Shasta (14,179') about a year after reaching the summit of Mount Rainier (14,411'). I wonder if the same phenomenon exists for cold-water swimming. I actually enjoyed swimming the 64 degree water in Pirate's Cove this year, without a flotation vest. Last year's Montague Bay swim was about the achievement of swimming in Canada, but not the fun of 62 degree water.

And finally, my mother would agree that Lastly, no vacation is complete without a tacky photograph of someone standing in front of the sign that says where you are. This one is for you, Mom.

Life: At Portland Island, BC

Perhaps it's human nature to find security in confinement. But with the sunset at my back, baby seals surfacing to check out our dinghy, and a bottle of Bordeaux wine waiting for us on the dinette, why am I not a full time boat bum?

In her obscure, but interesting book, Voyaging on a Modest Income, Annie Hill espouses the same philosophy as many wealthy entrepreneurs: the best income comes from assets, not wages. As she set out to become a boat bum 30+ years ago, she reflected on her disinterest in being what she called a "wage slave," i.e., someone working a job they don't like in order to purchase things to distract themselves.

Over the past few years, The Admiral and I have dramatically curtailed our need for stuff so that we can pay off the mortgage early and contribute to our savings so that we have asset-based income. If this blog suddenly stops in about ten years, we did it. Until then, stay tuned for more posts...

Anchorage: Prevost Island

We've been to Prevost Island once before. Last year, on the day that Seattle had its record high of 106 degrees, we tried to escape the heat in Montague Bay by taking a swim in very cold 64 degree water. That worked for a little while until our 88 degree pilothouse started roasting us again and we had nowhere to hide. So, we made a run for anywhere-but-Montague at sunset (and witnessed a beautiful sunset to boot). After a quick read in the cruising guide, we picked a very small cove on Prevost's Southern end despite a warning about exposure to ferry wakes. With our shallow draft, though, I can nudge way back into a small cove, which makes up for our small size making us very susceptible to movement. When morning came, we hadn't been disturbed by a single wake, so we made a mental note to come back some day. And so we did. Parks Canada describes Prevost Island:

National park reserve lands are located on both the north and south shores of Prevost Island. The majority of the island, however, remains in the hands of the descendants of Digby de Burgh—the man who bought the island in the 1920s. They continue to farm and raise sheep on the island. The island is largely unchanged from what would have existed a century ago, and contains large cedar and arbutus groves.

We anchored in Annette Bay for the evening, then motored to James Bay the next morning. The little National Park beach has a clean composting toilet and some pleasant trails to walk, which we've come to think of as the centerpiece of a good anchorage. So we've made another mental note to come back again...

Anchorage: Telegraph Harbour, Thetis Island, BC

Copyright © 2005 Telegraph Harbour Marina

Though we think of "defection" as something that is to the US, we had a desire to defect to Canada when we visited Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island! As you can see above, the harbor is in a beautiful nook between Thetis and Kuper Island, and the facilities and grounds of the Telegraph Harbour Marina are outstanding and very casual-resort-like in their feel.

Which brings me to a digression: The Admiral knows that my real motivation for anchoring out is cheapness - yes, I know that boating is inherently un-cheap - and I found a new way to extend that for this trip. In bays like Telegraph Harbour, the magic combination of extremely well-protected harbor with a marina that doesn't span the entire harbor (as it usually does when the marina exists only because of an artificial breakwater) is a sure-fire way to skip transient moorage charges. Plus, we don't feel bad, since we're likely to spend an equivalent amount at the marina on coffees, ice creams, or anything else that allows us the chance to get off the boat and wander the grounds.

Anyway, back to the main story: In addition to the wonderful Telegraph Harbour marina, the Thetis Island Marina is also reachable by rowed dinghy and has a pub with great Canadian beer. We found the two marinas coexisted perfected since Thetis Island Marina served beer in the evenings and Telegraph Harbour Marina served fresh scones in the morning. No destructive competition! From either marina's dinghy docks, you can enjoy beautiful walks with stunning views in all directions. Our favorite view, as seen at right, was looking Westward toward Vancouver Island with its dramatic mountain peaks indicating that these waterways are about as fjord-like as can be found in this part of the world. In short, this is a destination highly recommended by Cap'n Will and the Admiral.

Marina: Port of Nanaimo

The Jenny G set a new Northern-most port reached this year: Nanaimo, BC. Although we'd been there once before, by BC Ferry from Horseshoe Bay, nothing compares to approaching a new port in your own vessel.

Reaching Nanaimo from the South means transiting Dodd Narrows, which is certainly built up as a dangerous passage, but we didn't have too much trouble since the Jenny G is an outboard-powered planing hull. Look carefully in the lower left hand corner of the photo at left and you can see a standing wave that's just broken against the Jenny G's port bow. Fortunately for us, the current was with us, so we were making about 9 knots at 1200rpm when this photo was taken (1200 rpm usually gets me 3-4 knots with no current). I can see how the yacht crowd with sailboat-style displacement hulls would fear these currents, but the passage is still a few hundred feet wide, so make your own evaluation of the danger.

The port itself is nice, although plan on waiting a long time for a slip assignment if you don't already have reservations. This aspect of their operation definitely needs improvement. However, the fuel dock is great and we found the bathroom/shower facilities to be in excellent condition. The port is protected by an artificial breakwater that extends beyond the natural land protection, so views from the boardwalk back to the marina and town really made the Jenny G seem like she'd arrived in a fashionable place (though she looked a bit unfashionable with the raft looking like a big blue hamburger patty sitting on the pilothouse roof!).

Copyright © 2009 Gina’s Mexican Cafe

Our favorite part was wandering around town and finding a little Mexican place that served great food called Gina's Mexican Cafe. They have a review posted outside the door and we took a chance that was well worth it. Highly recommended if you want to wander a few blocks past the tourist area densely concentrated around the port.

Overall, Nanaimo isn't a destination in and of itself, but it's a great halfway point for a Gulf Islands tour or the jump point to more exotic portions of the Inside Passage like Princess Louisa Inlet. Ahh, there's always next year.....

Maintenance: Adding a Shoe Bungee

Admittedly, this was a little project, but the Admiral and I have always been puzzled as to why we need so many pairs of shoes for boating. Doesn't matter if we're out for the day or a week, we apparently need to compete with Eva Peron.

So, after a quick primer on YouTube on how to make your own netting, I produced this handy little bungee net to go against the hull between the dinette seats. Now, all our shoes are tidy and out of the way!

Maintenance: Adding Cabinetry

Before our annual week-on-the-boat this year, I finally motivated myself to execute on an old idea: Convert two of Jenny G's storage spaces to wooden cabinetry.

The first idea was to convert the passive ice box below the helm seat to two drawers. One large drawer for a powered cooler and a small drawer for cutlery. After carefully taking measures several times and spending the weekend ahead making the cabinets, they were finally ready for installation.

Wow, I couldn't believe how many compound curves exist in a boat hull. Of course, as an amateur woodworker, I knew it would take me longer to fit them than a professional, but I didn't anticipate using the first two days of our vacation to get it done.

The main culprit for all the work was a brace, installed at the factory, to support the old icebox. Turns out that the brace wasn't level, but visually I couldn't tell that its slope increased from front to back, so I ended up sanding the drawers more than they needed to be but not enough to ruin the look. The most complicated trimming I did was to round the forward corner of the back edge on the cutlery drawer because I measured the depth at the aft side of the box, not realizing how quickly the hull is curving in toward the bow at the helm.

However, they are installed and finished now and we really enjoy having our forks and knives in a real drawer instead of a pouch inside the galley.

The second idea was to replace the inside face of the forward dinette cabinet with a door and create a divider for the compartment itself. Since I had the factory panel as home as a model, I was able to cut the compound curves with my table saw and jig saw and, to spoil the plot, the frame installed in five minutes...a full one day, seven hours, and fifty-five minutes faster than the drawers.

Now, The Admiral and I can store a few articles of clothing on the boat, so that we will no longer have to move luggage around each night for bed.

Were these upgrades worth the time? Only more time will tell as we get used to having them. I'd like to think I would be faster the next time, but we have upgraded the one of one boats that we own.

There is one last idea: Replace the rear dinette inside face with a small drawer and face to cover the water tank. If I get really bored this fall.....