Search results

We looked at a bunch of clubs when our kids were young, and the range of responses was from, uh, kids? To we love ‘em. The various membership types were also interesting running from HE’s the member (that’s been changed) to both are members with full voting rights that go with the boat. When...

I have a friend who was pumping out his new to him boat that geyserd on him. All over him. So be very careful about venting. I repurposed my direct overboard fitting to be a second vent after eliminating the Y valve. My next change will be to move the original vent closer to the tank with less...

Be patient, pushing won’t help.

I was boarded or had floating boat to boat conversations with CBP, the Washington State fish cops and USGG personnel several times with our prior boat. Every time everyone was respectful and polite, except one fish cop who was yelling at me about fending off their boat to prevent damage to...

I had one of mine drilled and pinned for about $75. I filled the remaining gap with wicking locktite. Three years and 450 hours later it’s still tight.

We have a mile long no wake zone to transit on our way up or down the Snohomish River in western Washington. There’s a boat ramp at the upriver end of the zone and those are the operators who consistently “go slow”- about eight or nine - and lay down a wake that will swamp low lying villages...

We have been members of the Edmonds Yacht Club since 1988. When I was searching for a club I had a few specific criteria. Number one was they had to welcome kids. Ours were 11, 7 and twin two year olds. The club had to have equal membership for captain and first mate and it had to be a cruising...

My interpretation of USCG Rule 20 (Lights and Shapes) is that any lighting that obscures the visibility of a vessels navigation lights is not allowed. Seems pretty straightforward to me, no headlights, no running with a flood light. There are further local laws restricting the use of accent...

Another book that may be a bit tough to find is “Gunkholing in the San Juan’s”. It’s a bit old, but offers a bit different perspective on the islands and has a historical touch to it. A week is barely enough to get started. You may want to run the cost numbers for towing you boat out here...

I agree with waiting. I also strongly suggest you join a club. Depending on the club you will often get the benefit of a network of cruising, navigation and maintenance in addition to the social side. Find a group that you are comfortable with. Very few Yacht Clubs are the Blue Blazer standing...

On all of my boats I mount a 6-10” cleat vertically a few inches in from the transom corner. I split the distance between the rub rail and the top of the swim step. This gives a minimal distance between the boat cleat and dock cleat or bull rail. When I step aboard. Most of the time the line...

I started using leTonquines number one a few years ago. I cleaned and sanded the wood then put down seven coats of leTonq. Since then I fill scratches as they happen, maybe a light sanding. I put on another coat every six months or so because it’s an oil and the teak absorbs it. All I do for...

Yeah, sure, youbetcha with looking at a lot of layouts. You might even charter a couple of layouts that you are liking. On our ten year search we kept coming back to one style. Things like a cockpit deck close to dock height. I don’t want to carry a set of steps to get on and off of a flush deck...

There are several nice marinas in Olympia. Swantown is one I’ve visited and enjoyed. The south sound has lots of cruising destinations, however, if you are looking at cruising farther north, it becomes incremental. If the central sound is the focus, then Elliot Bay is a great choice followed by...

To add to Dvarholy’s post, I found the exhaust overheat sensor, aka bimetal snap disk for my Onan MDKD - which is the same one used on cars to control electric radiator fans - for $15 instead of $112.

We have completed installing the “Brewcoat” epoxy to the inside of our aluminum tank. I’ve flushed the tank a couple of times and am satisfied with the results. The water tastes like, well, water. The epoxy was reasonably easy to work with, but, like all coatings, messy. Time will tell if it...

Welcome from Mukilteo. You should investigate joining a yacht club. It isn’t about standing around in white slacks an blue blazers holding a beverage and trying to have others be impressed. Far from it. It’s about helping and being helped in all phases and activities that have to do with boating.

When the State of Washington petitioned the EPA to make, basically, everything easy of Port Angeles a NDZ for any Vessel, I called the appropriate office in Olympia and was able to talk to the person charged with writing the enforcement implementation. The discomfort level in her voice was very...

I’m doing heavy internal maintenance on my 30 year old aluminum tank that’s probably used city water since day one. Last year it got so the dust and pebbles were clogging the strainer and filter constantly. It was surprising to me how little internal damage there was for the quantity of pebbles...

Be sure to do the cheese factory tour. They sell cheese curds in the store that are kinda like cheese balls and are a great snack. Then there’s the ice cream......

Plus one about joining a yacht club. Find one that you and the Admiral feel comfortable. Reciprocal moorage with other clubs is a common benefit, but the network of where to go, how to fix something and somewhat organized cruises are valuable.

I think you may run afoul of the ABYC wiring standards. For instance, if you extended it in your home you could run the ends into a 2x4” electrical box and use wire nuts to connect the wires. However, all boat connections must be mechanical and sealed, so that seems to say you could use a marine...

I used Awlwood on my previous boat. The difficulty for me was the minimum temperature for application, but I was able to work around that. When we bought the current boat, the teak really needed attention and although I was happy with the results from the Awlwood, the heat issue made it a...

Looks like time for a VB.

Jeff, try calling Sure Marine in Seattle and ask them if they know of someone. Sunchaser makes a good point about the energizing sequence. It may be that the sure wire board does a ground fault when off, similar to what inverters do, and the time it takes to open the fault is too long. The...