Marine Diesel Engine Class Update

Colorful might be one way to describe our marine diesel engine instructor, although I've certainly heard a few other adjectives tossed around (curmudgeonly, cranky).  But you know what?  I like him.  He might come across as a grumpy old man, but I think deep down he's a softy.  And he does know his stuff.  His approach leans a little off-center--he frequently tells us he doesn't care what we do, because boat owners have more money than brains--but that aside, we're learning a good deal about engines.

You know how when something strikes you as funny at an inopportune time and it's all you can do to keep from cracking up?  That happened during the last class.  Aaron and I have started jotting down all the hilarious (but completely serious) things Oscar (Aaron's name for him--think "the Grouch") says.  As I was writing down "doofumflingy, also doofumflingies," I just about lost it.  Even now as I'm typing this, I have the giggles.  The juxtaposition of a grumpy old man calling parts of fuel injectors "doofumflingies" while using a pointer topped with a mini Hamburger Helper hand was too much for me.  For your amusement, here are a few gems:

• The bilge god is a son-of-a-bitch (he never returns anything)
• Worthless as tits on a warthog (hmm...)
• Runs like a raped ape (when an engine gets away from you it will run like a raped ape--I guess that's fast)
• Harder than the hogs of hell (I suppose hogs in hell would be crispy, but hard? Not so sure.)

Oh, and this isn't your typical classroom lecture setting.  Class is held on a '60s-era Alaska ferry floating just outside the Ballard Bridge.  Downstairs on the car deck is where lab is held.  The lab has a number of engines in various states of functionality that we will be testing, tearing apart and rebuilding.  Very cool.  And very useful.

The E.L. Bartlett in its heyday -- our floating classroom

The Big Seattle Boat Show

If you live in the greater Puget Sound area, chances are good that you know the Seattle Boat Show’s theme song—both the old marching band-style version and the newer, snazzier rock version. Sing it with me now, “The boat show, the boat show, the big Seattle boat show!” This year’s show runs through Saturday, February 6 at Qwest Field Events Center and on the water at South Lake Union.

Aaron and I sprang for the Big 5 Day Pass this year and have been twice already, with two more trips planned for this Friday and Saturday. We’ve carted home two bags full of pamphlets, business cards, flyers and price sheets for all the fun stuff we need (or at least really want). Aside from talking with vendors and doing research, we’ve sat in on a number of interesting seminars—how to survey your rig, man overboard techniques, sail inventory and PC navigation—and had a beer at the newly introduced beer garden (‘bout time!).

New Anchor part 3

The new anchor is ready to go! 

When I removed the old anchor from the chain I had to use a Dremel to cut off the shackle as the pin was completely seized.  So when it came time to hook up the Spade I needed a replacement.  Being budget conscious, and because of the sound they make,  my first inclination was to use a zip tie.

Something just didn’t seem right about this so I did some research.  First I found out how strong the chain is.  The chain is 3/8” G4, with a working load of 5,400 pounds.  While I could not find reliable data on the working load for a Harbor Freight brand zip tie, I suspect it is less than 5,400 pounds, and I had thus introduced a weak point in our anchoring system. 
When shackle shopping I noticed that lots of shackles don’t mention their working load limit anywhere.  Often it was only stamped with “CHINA” on it.  After checking around I heard lots of good things about Crosby brand shackles.  I looked online and found 3/8” Crosby shackle  like this:

I was pretty excited.  It looked much stronger than the zip tie and the red pin added that little extra bit of sass that anchor shackles are sorely lacking.  Unfortunately it’s only rated at 2000 pounds working load.  But wait!  Crosby makes an alloy version with a working load of 4,000 pounds.  That’s close enough to the chain’s working load for me.  Unfortunately the pin on the 3/8” Crosby G209A only comes in the regular color.  RIDICULOUS.

Nicole and I are going to take a weekend trip here pretty soon so hopefully I’ll get a chance to try it out!

New Anchor Part 2

We received the anchor and are going to get it hooked up this weekend.  I am way more excited about it than I should be!

New Anchor Part 1

After much consideration, we've decided to get a new primary anchor and settled on a Spade S120 (55lbs).  One of our neighbors happened to have a template made up for one and so I was able to fit it on the bowsprit to make sure it would fit.  Thanks Rich!

I also ordered up some new anchor shackles.  Stay tuned for the exciting pictures of  me connecting the anchor to the chain!

Merry Christmas!

One of the more frequent questions I'm asked about living aboard (behind "how do you stay warm?") is about cooking.  Yes, I cook almost every day!  And no, we don't eat beans and weenies.  Sure my range is a little smaller than what you'd find in a typical house, but it ain't no Easy-Bake Oven. :)

Here I am taking Christmas sugar cookies out of the oven.

Aaron is far and away the best sugar cookie decorator I've ever seen. 

Aren't they lovely? They're almost too pretty to eat (almost).  I'd say that Santa will be eating well on his Bella Star stop (we even have a chimney for him!), but alas, we ate all his cookies.

Merry Christmas!

Hawaii!

We're a little mad at ourselves... Why did it never occur to us to take a tropical vacation in the winter?  Why have we slogged through the cold and rain and snow and darkness year after year without a break?  Well, that won't happen again to be sure.  Our recent trip to lower latitudes has shown us the light... literally.

We spent 6 awesome nights on Maui and simply can't wait to go back.  We've been to warmer climates before, but this was different.  This was scraping the ice from our windshield before driving the airport and then not 10 hours later walking on the beach in shorts and flip flops.  This was fabulous.  We kept reminding ourselves that, yes, it's December!  See the Christmas trees in the open-air hotel lobby?  And Santa in flip flops and a lei down by the beach?  Hearing the song Mele Kalikimaka 50 times kept us in the holiday spirit, too (I can safely say that I know all the words now). :)

It's Santa!  You can't see it here, but he's wearing flip flops.  We saw the real Santa posing for pictures with the kiddies on the beach.

We didn't have any set plans for this trip, which is a real departure from my normal vacations, as those of you who know me will attest to.  We did do a few excursions, but the vast majority of the time was spent reading and lounging by the pool.  I can't even describe how wonderful it all was... So here are a few pictures that might help.

Aaron doing what he does best.

On the way up Haleakela

Hiking in the Haleakala crater--it looks like Mars!  We kept expecting to see little Spirit and Opportunity cruising around.

At the 10,000-ft. summit with the observatory and space surveillance telescope in the background (Aaron thinks it's a front)

We love Maui!

A morning walk on the beach. I think the tropics suit us. I think it would suit Bella Star, too.

Even before we left, we decided we're coming back next winter. And if we needed any more convincing, we arrived in Seattle to temperatures in the 20s. Back to reality. :)

Christmas Ship

The day after Thanksgiving is when we traditionally decorate for Christmas.  Since this is our first Christmas living aboard, we thought we'd decorate the boat.  While our tree has gone from 8 1/2 feet to 2 feet, we still put lots of decorations up, and it's pretty fricking festive aboard Bella Star right now.  We got some Christmas lights for the outside.  Gotta love these LED strings, you can hook up over 40 strings together.

As it turns out, to have effective boat lights you have to go for altitude.  Our neighbor Al hoisted himself up the mast and put a tree up there.  I think he did it to taunt us.

Okay Al.  Fine.  It is ON.  Next year, I'm blowing a paycheck on lights.  On November 26th, 2010, a new sun shall be born on K dock.