Friday Funny 05/26 (Buying a Boat),

Perfectly sized.

That fella bought a boat that was just right for him.

Monday, next week will be the "anniversary" date for our purchase of Denali Rose. It's been three years, and it seems like both yesterday, and ages ago.

This was Bill's 5th sailboat, and he already had a good idea of what he wanted in his next boat. I'm the noob, but we had quite a few good discussions about what a sound, comfortable boat would look like, from both our perspectives.

Advise anyone?

This book, How Not to Buy a Cruising Boat, was not out when we were shopping for our boat. I haven't read it, so I can't say anything about it, but it has received good reviews.

Good advice here.

 This is the book Bill had around the house, Inspecting the Aging Sailboat.

I got this link off of Cruiser's Forum, Marine Survey 101, How to do your own Marine Survey. It's about all the different systems onboard, and what to look for, as well as what to look out for. I didn't have it, when we were boat shopping, but after reading it, I'm more knowledgable about Denali Rose. Important: even though you go shopping for a boat with information, it's always best to get a competent, professional survey done. They know the how, what, when, and your insurance company will need a current survey too.

Checking for soundness.

Probably not a good deal.

We looked at boats for three years on both coasts, and even contemplated going to Italy to see one. Bill had narrowed down the search of make, model, and size to Nauticat 40s and 43s. There aren't that many of them for sale.

Can you say "name change" anyone? Nauticat 43

While we were visiting friends in Maryland, we took a couple of days and  drove to Myrtle Beach to see this Nauticat 43. Toots Sea could have used some TLC, and needed too much work for how much time we wanted to put into it.

Nauticat 44

Then we drove to Oriental, NC. (which I loved, by the way), and took a look at Pelagia. We weren't really interested in the '44, but we had never been aboard one, so it was worth the time to stop. You can really see the difference in the stern between the 43, an offshore, ocean vessel, which was designed by the noted ship designers, Sparkman and Stephens, and the 44, which is more of a "motor sailer".

On another trip, we looked at boats in Deale, Maryland. We went onboard a 38ft Nauticat, which again, was not really on the list, but worth the investigation. The dealer looked down his nose at us when Bill said we had a trailerable sailboat, the MacGregor. (He was a bit snobbish.) The 38footer was a nice, clean boat though. We also looked at another Nauticat 43 in a different yard. This boat didn't have a name, had been repaired from a collision, leaking teak decks, and two inches of standing water inside in the pilothouse. Uh, thanks, but no thanks. This dealer wanted us to look at a couple of non-Nauticat boats, which we did, but we didn't find anything that measured up. It was a good idea to look at all kinds of boats, because this helped us confirm what we didn't want, as well as confirmed what we did.

Renaissance, Nauticat 40

We stopped in Seattle to look at a couple of boats that were on our list. Renaissance, in Anacortes, Washington, was a 40ft Nauticat. Doesn't she look like Denali Rose? She was clean, well maintained, and beautiful inside, and out. We liked the layout of the pullman berth forward, instead of a v-berth, and the full U-shaped lower dinette area. The difference in three feet less, means no third cabin, and no dedicated shower stall. She also had teak decks, and though they were very well cared for, that put her further down on the short-list.

Guess what happened next?!

For Sale!

Back in Seattle at Lake Union.

A first "in-person" size up.

We got our first physical look into what we had been seeing in the Yachtworld advertisement.

We bought her!

Was it fate, was it destiny? Well, maybe, but it was also finding the right one that met our criteria. It's been worth the discussions, investigations, and the time it took to find our floating home. We will probably have some kind of small celebration, commemorating our "boat anniversary". Congratulations to us!

Keeping calm, and patient in boat buying is a good thing.

Susan, aka Fred, Jack, Donna, and Bill

They say that the two happiest days for a boat owner's life is the day they buy a boat, and the day they sell a boat. Here we are, a happy foursome, having just bought and sold Denali Rose.

We enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments, or on our Denali Rose Sailboat facebook page.

Friday Funny 05/19 (Sunburn)

Pop Pop! (I love popcorn!)

Yes, it does actually get sunny enough in Wrangell to get a sunburn. So, even though we live in the largest national rainforest, the Tongass, Nat'l Forest, the sun does make appearances.

Don't get me started on Alaska land ownership, that's another discussion, for another day. (Soapbox)

I'm still in the scrubbing mode, and this week, while the sun was shining, I was in the inflatable dinghy floating around Denali Rose. My project this week was to clean, and polish the hull. We have a painted hull, not a colored gel-coat. 

I tied the dinghy off to the stanchions, and worked on a section at a time. The order of my cleaning: wet it down with water, use the toothbrush to clean the green stuff out from under the edges of the metal on the rub-rail, put on Spotless Stainless on the stubborn rust spots, use a small bit of Soft Scrub to clean the hull, rinse off, apply FSR on the stubborn stains on the paint, rinse all of the remaining cleaners off, apply Awlgrip polish, buff, (by hand), push back, admire, move dinghy to next set of stanchions. 

Supplies laid out in the dinghy.

The blue bucket is just for carrying everything, the red bucket has fresh water to rinse the sponges, each sponge is for a different cleaner, and the white container, is a hand-pump pressure washer. 

Tied off to the side, even with this, it's an arm/shoulder workout to hold next to the hull, while pushing against it as I clean.

This is where the sunburn occurs.....

A "farmer's tan".

After a day in the dinghy with the sun reflecting off of the water, (I sort of forgot), this is what my arm looked like the next morning. Ouch. I wore long sleeves after that.

Polished!

It's worth the effort for Denali Rose to be clean. She looks much better!

I took a break from scrubbing, to repair a neighbor's fly-bridge cover. Bill is still pulling wiring inside, so I set up my sewing machine on the dock. I attracted quite a bit of attention as people walked by. 

Sewing on the dock.

Organized chaos.

This is where my sewing table is usually located. When you pull up the sole, (boat talk for floor), you see all of the spare parts that came with Denali Rose. Bill is inventorying them, and deciding whether to keep, put in storage, or sell. 

Meat burning.

As soon as I get my sewing machine back in it's place inside, I can get back to sewing the new sail covers, and weather cloths. I'm looking forward to seeing Denali Rose in her new colors, all clean and shiny.

We enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Denali Rose Sailboat facebook page.

The Rest of the Story - Swimming

Did she or didn't she? I know the tension, and suspense is unbearable!

I started swim lessons three weeks ago, with classes every Wednesday, and Saturday. I filled my water time with lap swim on Tuesdays for practice, and water aerobics on Friday. I feel fully water-logged.

In addition to the goggles, and swim cap we received at our first lesson, we also got a snorkel tube at our last lesson. Neat-o swag.

We did different kinds of drills over the course of three weeks. We practiced breathing techniques with rotation from side to side, and kick boards, (breathe in with your mouth, out through your nose). Learned proper underwater gliding form, (arms extended, chin tucked in, legs together). Treading water means "egg beater legs", with swirly arms/hands.  We trained with flippers, and without, for leg kicks that are done at the hip joint, not at the knees, and "loosey, goosey" ankles.

We used a pull buoy, which is a float you grip with your thighs, helps your legs to float while you concentrate on your stroke with your arms, (get those elbows up, and skim the water with your fingers).

It's a cool training device, it works!

I learned that if I felt things weren't going right, (too much flailing), I could stop, float, reset my position and my mind, and start up again. I didn't have to feel tense, I could just relax, take a moment, catch a breath, and know it's all okay. I don't need to grab the side, or stand up. This is a big step for me.

My classmates were fun, and we enjoyed the camaraderie. I couldn't have attended this class without you, Kathy, and Maria! We spent some of our water time laughing with each other. (Notice I said with, not at.) Our instructors were helpful, knowledgable, and encouraging, Wrangell has the best! Thanks Kate, and Bruce, you were awesome! I remarked to them, that even though I have had swim lessons before, I've never had anyone break down the steps, and give such complete instructions. I have a really good understanding of how it all works now. Head knowledge, which needs practice, practice, practice for that muscle memory.

The last lesson, required a jump into the pool at the deep end, come to the surface, tread water for a minute, and swim 25yards, the length of the pool. Did I do it???????

Well?!?

Did I get a t-shirt, and what did it look like?

Learned to swim!

Go me! You're never to old to learn!

We enjoy comments here, or on our Denali Rose Sailboat facebook page.

Friday Funny 05/12 (Mother's Day, of course)

With adulthood comes realization.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers everywhere. 

I found some funny downloadable cards for you, just in case they fit your need.

Maybe your Mother likes wacky humor. 

Here is the website you can download from, and they have more if one of these isn't quite right.

People magazine published an interesting article about the origins of the day. Anna Jarvis, in her home state of West Virginia, was focused on trying to prevent infant mortality by improving sanitary medical conditions for women and children. In 1868, she created Mother's Friendship Day in West Virginia to bring Confederate, and Union mothers together. After her own mother died, she created a Mother's Day, and started the tradition of sending white carnations. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the second Sunday of May as the official Mother's Day. Then the greeting card companies, and florists got ahold of the holiday, and commercialism took over. Anna Jarvis spent most of the rest of her life boycotting, and organizing protests against Mother's Day, saying that commercialism had kidnapped the real meaning behind the holiday.

Since I am unable to actually speak to my Mother, I still honor her anyway. I have previously written about my parents, and the way they have influenced my life. I don't remember if Mom enjoyed boats, but I'm sure she would have welcomed the adventure of a visit to Denali Rose.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Mom's love never ends.

I also honor my beautiful daughter-in-law, who takes care of her family, through my son's active military career, my three grandsons, and is studying for her nursing license. She's a BUSY women.

Happy Mother's Day Veronica!

The hidden cape goes with the "eyes in the back of the head". Roni, I know you have one of these!

Here's a suggestion to avoid the commercialism

A sweet sentiment.

However you celebrate, with an e-card, a phone call, a restaurant meal, or a day away from chores, have a good one!

We enjoy comments here, or on our Denali Rose facebook page.

This is for the birds...

We are now classifying Eagles as another hazard to navigation [instruments at least...]

I took the following photos of a friend's boat from our deck yesterday evening... [If all those lights and instruments have to be replaced he is out ~$800 + a fun trip to the masthead...]

What about our boat? So far the eagles are into us for $650 as they took out our wind direction indicator [part of anemometer…] We haven’t installed the solid state no moving parts eagle-resistant replacement yet and its cable yet…

Friday Funny 05/05 (Scrubbing the Boat)

Yup, the boat.

After our two weeks out of the water in the work yard, Denali Rose was filthy. Our neighbor was sandblasting, and even though he had tented it off with visqueen, and duct tape, so much dust still came our way.

We have a small electric pressure washer, and it has taken me three days to do the deck.

Pressure washed vs not pressure washed, you can see the difference.

Now, I'm getting out the cleaner, and using the scrub brush.

Hard at work.

Here is our selection of brushes. They are a variety of stiffness, and some fit in your hand, while others screw onto on a handle. I'm sure we have too many, because I have only used the blue hand brush, and a sponge, and none of the rest.

Do we need nine brushes?

The non-skid, and deck paint are in need of a refresh, I think that the day it's totally white again will be the day we repaint it. I vote for grey though, I'm done with white. Re-doing the deck is on the "project list", but not this summer's list. It's about priorities, and we can only do so much, and then it is time to get off of the dock, and go enjoy Southeast Alaska.

The stainless is up next, I did one piece, and decided to move on to another project. There is just soooo much stainless, and I can only work on it in small doses before I get overwhelmed.

AND IF, you get all of your chores done......

One set of fender holders covered in cleaner.

Brush it on, let it sit, and rinse off with water. It works fairly well.

The kayaks needed the green washed off, and 303 UV protector rubbed on. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on them. One more scrubbing project done.

Clean and shiny.

Crud, (literally), Bill opened up one of the overhead hatches in the pilothouse to get a breeze. There's a whole new area of green to eliminate that I missed.

Quick! Close the hatch, and hide it!

On a different subject,

It fits!

My replacement Dubarry boots have arrived, and they fit perfectly. I'm really going to enjoy wearing them.

I don't need a Duke to check if they fit.

PS. I don't have a fairy godmother, (that I know about anyway.) If I did, I wouldn't need a new dress, or glass slippers, I would ask her to scrub the boat!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!

For those of you who are Cinderella fans, (like me, did you guess)? Here's the video.

What about this? Is Elsie related to Lucifer?

Lucifer, the stepmother's cat.

Comparison:

Elsie, (black cat), and Gus, (tabby), awaiting their escape through the companionway doors.

Do you enjoy scrubbing? 

Are you doing spring cleaning? 

What is your favorite Disney movie? 

We enjoy hearing from you, either in comments here or on our Denali Rose Sailboat facebook page.