Friday Funny 11-10/2023 (Fresh Water Falls in Salt Water Bays)

 

The blog has been quiet for awhile, mainly because we ventured into areas where there wasn't a cell signal for hot spot internet usage, and we haven’t jumped on the Starlink bandwagon yet. We've been exploring SE Alaska for nine years, and we still have many areas that we haven’t seen yet. This year, we cruised a few places we knew, but many that were new to us.

Though we had a fairly sunny, and warm summer, we had just enough rain to make the waterfalls spectacular.

Shrimp Bay

Two waterfalls

Enjoying a closeup kayak ride

Port Walter

A braided waterfall

Deep Cove

Before rain

After rain

Gut Bay

Many falls at once

Red Bluff Bay

Chatham Strait

Baranof Warm Springs

Seemed like it was a "Waterfall Cruise", there were usually multiples in almost every bay we were in. The scenery is usually spectacular in N. America's largest rainforest.

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Five year bottom paint?

We cruise N Pacific waters above 56°N. Aggressive hard growth (mainly barnacles and mussels) is very normal here. 

Water temps (°F) vary from mid 30's in some of the glaciated fjords, to as high as the low 50's in the Gulf of Alaska- with seasonal variations. You can see barnacles, mussels, etc. on the rocks at low tide everywhere. 

We can even judge the depth of tide by which intertidal growth layers are visible. (Sounds like fodder for a future post...)

Sometimes those cruising warmer waters think hard growth in minimized in cooler water. It isn't. Anyone who takes their dinghy (or kayak, etc.) to shore in these parts can attest to the razor sharp growth attached to any hard surface that spends at least part of the time underwater... 

The following photo we took in Jul-2022 demonstrates an extreme example of this. The image shows a small portion of Margerie Glacier (a tidewater, or fixed glacier at 59°N; 137°W), and barnacles growing on the (fairly) recently exposed adjacent bedrock. I can assure you this is not tepid water...

 

What antifouling paint do we use? Divers cleaning other boat hulls in the harbor often ask us this since ours has yet to need cleaning.

The owner of a commercial fishing boat across from our slip told us about a time he couldn't back out of his slip. He thought his transmission had malfunctioned. A diver revealed he had over a foot of mussels and barnacles coating both sides of his 48 inch 4 blade prop. All was well after the diver used a spud bar to peel off the growth- which had accumulated over 5 months of sitting at the dock in winter. 

We first applied this ablative antifouling paint in Apr-2017. 

Our next haulout was 4 years later in May 2021 (because we needed an insurance survey.)

Note that Denali Rose spends all of her time in the water- except during routine, ~1 week haulouts every few years. 

Following are a couple of photos of the hull as it is still dripping from being hauled-out after sitting at the dock for 4 months over winter: (4 years and 1 month since it was last painted...)

Denali Rose is 50 ft. OAL. This is the smallest travel lift in the yard @ 150 tons.  
We prefer it when our boat looks like a toy in the travelift...

Pre-pressure wash image demonstrating the clean hull [after 49 months in the water full time] with hard growth on some of the metal components.

We coat UW metals with Pettit Prop Coat. It lasts us about 3+ years when overcoated with Hydrocoat per the manufacturer's directions.

Note a bit of greenish slime on the hull and keel from sitting unmoving at the dock for 4 months over winter...

In the above pre-pressure wash images, you can see the 4 year old black Hydrocoat paint would likely have lasted at least another year, but there was some hard growth on some of the underwater (UW) metals (which represents about 13 months growth since the last time a diver cleaned the zinc spray coated UW metals and replaced the anodes. No diver hull cleaning. Ever.)

We have never had a diver clean the bottom since we started using Hydrocoat, but every year or two we do have a diver renew the anodes and remove any hard growth on underwater metals as needed. (We inspect the hull every 6 months or so using a GoPro camera mounted on a boat pole.)

Of course, since we were hauled out for the insurance survey, we renewed the bottom paint in May 2021.

We started using water-based Pettit Hydrocoat ablative bottom paint  in Apr-2017. (NOT the ECO version without copper...) We re-applied Hydrocoat during our insurance survey haulout  4 years later (in May-2021) the day after the above photos were taken. (And the hull is still pristine as of the publishing of this post on 19-Jan-2023...)

Our next haulout is currently planned for 5 years after the last painting in May-2021; spring of 2026.

Stay tuned...

Of course, YMMV...

PS: Other advantages of using a water based (low VOC) bottom paint include we can have it mailed USPS-  which is typically our most ecconomical shipping choice in remote locations. And we can use it to coat through-hull transducers that specify water-based antifouling paint only. (Most potted transducers.)

PPS: What about bottom paint considerations in areas with warmer waters?

In case you aren't familiar with Practical Sailor's [continental US] regional bottom paint testing results, here is a representative article that may be useful. (Scroll to bottom to see extensive rating tables...)

Jamestown Distributors [JD] also conducted bottom paint surveys for several years in a row, and I found this recap article in case it is of interest.

Following are a couple of informative graphics from the JD article linked above:






I couldn't find their live Google map, but I remember you could drill-in and read individual submissions, so asking JD for access may prove useful if you are interested in what boaters reported using (and their ratings) in specific regions of the world.



I recall using a hard, high copper bottom paint (Trinidad?) when I spent 7 years in the S Pacific tropics decades ago on a different boat. Cleaning the bottom monthly was good exercise...


More FWIW info.

Friday Funny 11-20/2020 (Petersburg Harbor)

 If my hands are positioned wrong on the keys, I get, Frodau Fimmu. Fascinating huh? Yes, well, these days I can be easily entertained. 

During our stay in Petersburg, we have been catching up with good friends Robin, and Jim. We consider them to be a part of our small, trusted social circle, and allow each other inside our 6ft radius. I've even gotten a hug, JOY! I made a new dinghy cover for them, and it was a fairly easy project. 

Petersburg is located at the beginning of the Wrangell Narrows. 

The Petersburg North Harbor doesn't have a breakwater, so the boat traffic in the Narrows affects the boats tied in the harbor, and we are in a slip that is next to the outside. 

Also, depending on the state of the tide, we've seen the current running from zero to six knots, and some incredible whirlpools, it makes for sporty docking procedures if you don't arrive at the correct time.

All kinds of boats traverse the Narrows, commercial fishing, private sail, cabin cruisers, trawlers, and skiffs, tugs, and barges, and the Alaska ferry.

Commercial fishing vessel

The Rainforest Islander, a Wrangell owned small ferry for cars, cargo, and people among the SE islands.

Tug and barge

In case you needed to see the size, compare the barge to the dump truck parked on top of the load.

Cabin cruiser speedster, he's in a hurry to get to his fishing hole.😁

Everyone creates a decent wake, but those tugs, and barges are really fun. (not) The tugs have a bow, and stern wake, and the barge has a bow, and stern wake, that's four altogether, and wheee, watch us all pitch, and roll. The key is fenders, lots of fenders between us, and the dock.

In addition to the multiple boat wakes we get a day, we have been visited by some unwelcome items.

A clump of bull kelp, weeds, wood, and whatever else.

Bill, and Jim pulled a kelp pile back out into the Narrows.

A pile of wood the guys retrieved out of the water next to our bow. It would bang into the boat during a wake. 

The biggest ewwwww so far, someone threw a recent deer hide in the water to be washed out. It didn't.

We watched this guy carefully.

Bill encouraged it to move on out.

Which it did.

The best part about being on the outside of the dock, is that we get an almost full view of the scenery, and wildlife.

A constant stream of gulls, water fowl, and eagles.

This has become Gus's new spot;

1. Because he enjoys watching the swirling water, and the birds.

2. Probably should be 1. he is sitting directly over the heat vent, hmmmm warm.

Bonus points for guessing this mystery item.

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Friday Funny 01-10/20 (Winter is Not Just Coming, It"s Here!)

It's not just me either, we're a hacking, blowing, achey duo. This means I have no ambition to write a post, I just want to watch Netflix, and drink hot liquids.

Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating with us, I have been out shoveling snow more days than I want to remember since the first of the month. My lungs are feeling better than Bill's, so I've kept our dock finger clean, and made sure the water hose, and power cord are free, and clear. I even dug out the car last Monday, but it's covered in snow again. The harbor staff clean the main docks with a 4-wheeler, and snowplow. Now NOAA has us in a "winter storm warning", with heavy snow from 6:00pm Thursday to 3:00pm Friday with up to 10 additional inches. When we have dug ourselves out of that, the temperatures are going to drop into the single digits, as low as 5degrees. WTH! I'm pretty sure I read a prognosticator's report about how we were supposed to have a mild winter. OH SO WRONG! I know, I'm whining, and you are a captive audience, so you can just click on the X and close the page if you'd like. See you next time.

All cleaned up, and ready for the next dump of snow.

One of days out shoveling I looked north, and this is what I saw:

Black clouds!

Then when I looked south this was the view:

Blue sky, and the sun setting.

Weird.

Here is the weather map Bill posted on our Facebook, Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Add caption

Bill rallied yesterday, and went shopping. He found that even though the barge comes in on Tuesday, most of the shelves were getting quite bare. Everyone here is stocking up, and preparing for winter storms, and the possibility that the next barge will be delayed. I'm doing my part today, getting all the laundry done, and going out to shovel snow as soon as there is a small break. Then I'll top up the water tanks, so we'll be ready.

The power went off this morning, in Wrangell, and Petersburg, which is on the next island north. The local power provider switched over to the diesel generators, from the hydroelectric feed, and got everyone back online. 

Icicles!

Bill helped our neighbor put in a new diesel heater on his boat, the heater appears to be working well, insulation, not so much. Most boats don't have much from the manufacturer, usually you have to put it in yourself.

So yes, Fairbanks, where we moved from, has been having sub -20/-30/-40's, and I'm glad to be out of that, but we're having our Alaskan winter challenges here also. 

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Friday Funny 12-13/19 (Fun Stuff instead of Superstition)

Go to sleep!

The Deep Sea, made by Neal Agarwal is one of the coolest websites I have ever seen. If you are interested in the ocean, and marine life, check it out. Don't forget to keep scrolling until you get to the end. It's fascinating! This graphic is at Neal.fun, check it out for other interesting, interactive fun. I loved the "Share This Page" content, read all the way to the bottom, and click on one, it's worth a chuckle. 

When I'm on the water, whether in Denali Rose, some other boat, or my kayak, I don't like to think about what's under me, it freaks me out. I know, that's weird, but I only concentrate on the surface.

Another good video, that's all about salmon, is this one, "Salmon 101, Three Things Everyone Should Know About Salmon" it's produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Alaska Department of Fish & Game, produced this ebook, "Alaska's Wild Salmon", beautiful photos, and terrific information about our state fish. It's long, but worth the time to read, and it's free!

If you would like news, stories, photos, and recipes for all things Salmon, click here, to subscribe to the "Five Bites of Salmon" newsletter. 

And now for something strange, an octopus hanging onto an eagle at CBC, Canadian News.

Of course, I couldn't go away without a "Friday the 13th" reference. 

Not scary.

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.

Friday Funny 10-25/19 (Vote for FAT!)

The Entrance to BEARS!

I've written about bears, and Katmai Natl Park and Preserve before, and here's an update on the latest bear contest. (Previous posts here, and here.)

Every year the folks at the Park have a "fat bear" contest, and allow voting online as to which bear has bulked up the most for the upcoming hibernation. If you like their Facebook page, you can also be a part of celebrating fat.  Click Here

They use a grid approach over several weeks to narrow down the choices.

We were acquainted with 747 when we visited June, 2012. It's good to see he's still going strong.

Our photo of 747, taken from the bear viewing platform.

He usually kept the youngsters at bay when he was fishing. All it took was a look from him, and they would back on down the river to less desirable spots.

Not as many fish to find in this shallow eddy.

And now for the winner of this year's contest...  HOLLY.

435, aka Holly

That is one fat bear! Read about it here at Anchorage Daily News. She is obviously a very successful fisherbear.

Elsie taking a nap.

The usual cat photo, Elsie isn't a fat cat though. She used to be a much heavier, and a more imposing animal, especially when she puffed up all of that long hair. She would chase fearful dogs up the driveway in our "land" days. Now that she's elderly, she has become much skinnier.

As always, we enjoy hearing from you, either here in comments or on our Facebook Denali Rose Sailboat page.