Thursday, May 21, 2009

time to recharge


When it comes to boating I am the voice of caution, probably to a much higher extent than is needed. If Sam tells me to watch out for something or that something could happen I listen intently and then tend to freak out if it actually starts to happen or even the possibility becomes apparent.

One of the items Sam said we should continually watch out for on the boat was the house batteries. He told me to ensure they stay above 11.5 and to turn on the engine if they started to get below 12. Of course this made me into a battery monitor and I have constantly checked since.

Sitting on the boat one day without Sam I was working away and suddenly thought maybe I should check out the batteries since we didn't have shore power. Unfortunately they were below 12 and dropping rapidly. I hurriedly turned on the engine and it seemed like they started to go up. A little bit later I noticed the batteries charge dropping rapidly with the engine on.

Time to go into panic mode. I called Sam but of course he didn't pick up. A few minutes later after hearing my panicked voicemail he called back. I explained the situation sure that the batteries were going to have to be replaced.

Sam told me that the boat actually needed to have more power since neutral wasn't cutting it. Visions of suddenly having to try and take the boat out by myself to get it charged had me almost hyperventilating. No he assured me I could do this at the dock. Well we weren't quite at the dock we were rafted to two other boats. Taking out our boat would be one thing but 2 others at the same time plus the boats close by seemed a more difficult thing to explain to the insurance adjuster. Exactly how much could my insurance go up by?

After talking me through it several times about how to get the engine revved up while remaining in place I took the gamble though I do admit I was frantically checking to ensure I wasn't moving. I am pretty sure Sam was laughing internally but for his own self preservation I didn't hear any laughter over the phone.

Having listened much more carefully than I usually do paid off and it worked. We remained in place and very slowly the batteries began to charge. Overall it was much more stress than I wanted. Of course really Sam had just meant to watch the batteries but since they were house batteries the engine would still start even if they were dead. Though it wasn't really the time to explain it all to me then.

So now I know how to keep the batteries charged even when I am all alone on the boat. It just means this is one less thing to worry about but I have plenty of others. After all I have read lately about keels falling off so now I need to convince Sam to use his dive gear and double-check ours. Hey while you are down there Sam I think the bottom could use cleaning (which is really what I want to have him do - that keel is just a handy excuse). I think we could use that extra 1/4 knot of speed.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

why I love being on the water


1. Sitting on the deck at sunset on a pin.
2. Unexpectedly seeing orcas on the way to the San Juan Islands.
3. Taking family and friends out on our boat.
4. Having Sam make lattes on the boat in the mornings, or on a chilly evening.
5. Sitting on the low side with my book during a sail in about 10 knots of wind.
6. Driving the boat into a marina while Sam acts as the deck hand.
7. Dancing on deck to Sirius radio while motoring.
8. Watching the weather through the window above my head in the mornings while in bed.
9. Listening to the water against the boat while at anchorage.
10. Smell of the bbq and the salt water mixed together.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

opening day coug style


The first weekend in May marks the opening day of boating season in Seattle. Now we definitely open up the season before May but then in our world boating season doesn't close though maybe we don't go out every weekend in the winter months. So really I guess May might be our opening day announcing that from now until October there will be very few weekends that don't involve a boat.

I can just see the huge grin on Sam's face as he reads that and realizes that I have accepted this. Really our calendar could just say boat from here on out and be pretty accurate.

Once again we participated in the opening day parade with the Cougar Yacht Club. This year Levi and Justin came with Tanya and they were pretty excited about the parade. Plus we needed additional people to help yell out "Go Cougs" through the Montlake cut and by the log boom.

Once again it was a great day and the Cougs represented well. Levi and Justin are hooked and are looking forward to next year - as evidenced by the pictures they need a few more years to grow into their sweatshirts as well.

The only thing I don't really get is the white pants. I mean white pants aren't ever practical but on a boat it is a disaster - well mine really need to be bleached now. Makes one realize how dirty our clothes actually get and we don't normally realize. But from a distance they look pretty good so I guess that is what matters. But really I would like to work on boating opening day fashion just a bit. Wonder how I get on the fashion committee?