Contentment: best word to describe living aboard

A few weeks after we moved aboard we looked at each other and smiled. "What are you feeling right now?" I asked my wife. She thought for a minute and answered, "Content."

I think about that a lot over the last few months. While we have had some frustrations -- I'm thinking plumbing right now -- the overall feeling is contentment. Perhaps that's why I haven't been as regular at posting to this blog. It's not that there isn't a lot of exciting things to post about, there is. We are still busy getting the boat ready. The last few months have been a blur of buying and installing gear that will turn Oceanus into our own escape module to take us places we now only dream about.

Impulse, another Columbia 43, fitted with a Hydrovane.

We recently took delivery of our new Hydrovane, an auto-steering device that uses the wind to keep the boat on course so you can do other things. The Hydrovane is made in Nottingham, England. Yes, that Nottingham: Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest, Sheriff of, and so on. This prompted Virginia to name our newest crew member Maid Marian. Sadly, the Maid must remain in her boxes for a couple more weeks while we continue to work on more pressing matters, but it's exciting to have her onboard nonetheless.

One of Ocean's 11 winches clean and ready for lubricating. 

I continue to work on the wiring and plumbing. We now have running water, but hot running water is still in the works. Wiring and plumbing is frustrating, difficult work for me, so I intersperse it with fun stuff, like servicing the 12 winches aboard Oceanus, finishing up some woodworking projects or rehabbing our dinghy.

Tethys getting new inwale and outwale. I used more than 50 clamps on the new rails while the epoxy set.

Working on the dinghy is the most fun. We named her Tethys, who was the wife (and sister) of Oceanus in Greek mythology. I bought the little 8.5-foot dinghy last year. We are still trying to figure out who made her and when. I believe she is at least as old as old as Oceanus (1971) because she did not have a Hull Identification Number, which was required after 1972. I had her inspected by the marine deputy and recently received a new HIN and clean title from the Oregon State Marine Board. While her hull is sound, the wooden thwarts and gunnels were in bad shape. I was able to rehab most of the wood making up the thwarts, but the gunnels had to be replaced. Getting them off was a chore -- they were both riveted and screwed on. Once I got them off, the project became pure woodworking bliss.

New quarter knees clamped in place while the epoxy sets.

I reinforced the transom, added teak quarter knees and a breast hook to strengthen the boat, since we bought a little 2.5 hp Lehr outboard. For such a tradition-looking dinghy, not having quarter knees and a breasthook just didn't look right to my eye, so I would have made then anyway. They also make wonderful handholds for lifting the dinghy or pulling her up on the beach. When I epoxied the new gunnels on I ended up using more than 50 clamps. I think the clamps weighed more than the 90-pound dinghy. After the epoxy set I added screws, countersunk and plugged, of course. She's all done except the painting, which Virginia is itching to do.

Yesterday brought a pair of Dinghy Dogs in the mail. These are two large inflatable hot dogs that attach to the side of the dinghy to make her more stable. Since they don't drag in the water, the won't hurt the wonderful rowing qualities of the dinghy, but they will make it unsinkable and more stable for beach landings through the surf, scuba diving off the dinghy and getting in and out of her from the mother ship.

Turkey breast dinner with all the fixings cooked in the pressure cooker.

Just learning to live aboard is fun. Virginia continues to amaze me with her cooking using only an induction hot plate and microwave while I figure out the propane installation. Her new pressure cooker is the go-to cooking implement. We got a pressure cooker for our wedding 38 years ago, but we really only used it to cook mashed potatoes. Then she got this new one and it's amazing; no rattling, hissing, steaming, or any of the stuff we associated with the old pressure cooker. The new one has a little yellow button that pops up when it comes to pressure and it quietly cooks away with no noise or steam, which helps keep moisture out of the boat. Among other things, she cooks cheesecake, brownies, crème brûlée, amazing Hawaiian pork, some of the best pork chops I've ever tasted, a turkey breast, and the lingcod that our fishing friend Tom McAdams gives to us about once a week.

The shoppers

Yes we had sunshine on the Oregon coast!

Over Presidents' Day weekend we had our oldest granddaughter and our youngest daughter-in-law come stay with us on the boat for three nights. It was a good test of having guests aboard. It went really well and we all felt comfortable (even me). Not only did we have room for our two guests, but we easily stowed the wheelbarrow-full of shoes and clothes they bought with Virginia at the Woodburn Outlet Mall.

Having guests, especially of the female persuasion, meant I had to finally hang the teak door on the head. The door came from an old wooden boat that was parted out before it sank. It took a lot of stripping and sanding, but the door is now really beautiful. I paid $100 for it. I'm sure I would have had to spend at least that much to buy just the wood to make a door. Before anyone mourns the passing of a "beautiful old wooden boat" this one needed to die. It was rotten through and through. To top it of it was named Love Child. Ick! The bad news is every time I tell the story I can't get the song out of my head.

Making big purchases at the Big Seattle Boat Show

One of the most popular blog posts of last year was Making Big Decisions at the Big Seattle Boat Show about last year's trip to the show. I received many comments and advice from readers, which I really appreciate. Last year we made a few key purchases, but we left the big ones for this year.

We attended the show on my wife's 60th birthday. "The sound of my screaming you hear on that day will not be from me turning 60, but from all the money we will spend," she told our friends.

Here's what we bought and what we didn't:

Built to last: Hydrovane and my wife.

Hydrovane

Last year we decided that a Hydrovane would be the best self-steering device for our Columbia 43 sailboat. We didn't buy it then and we are glad we didn't. The Hydrovane is made in the UK and the Pound is weaker than the Dollar right now. With the "boat show price," we saved about $1,200. Even with the savings, it was our largest single purchase so far for the boat.

We are pleased and excited about it nonetheless. Mike Snyder, who owns Distant Dreamer (the Columbia 43 that won her class in the 1971 TransPac as Encore) contacted us last year and said the Hydrovane works superbly on his boat.

Adios sailing on the Columbia River.

New mainsail

We actually decided to buy a new main from Dale Waagmeester, the sailmaker for Banks Sails Northwest, at the "little" Portland Boat Show. There is not much to interest sailors at the Portland show, but it's a fun date. We met Dale at a previous show and liked him immediately. He is making us a full-battened, loose-footed main that he says will be bulletproof. Our old main belongs in a museum.

We are also getting a Strong Track. With the full battens, we will need it. Dale made a full-battened main for Adios, a Columbia 43 that's famous on the West Coast for it's racing and cruising accomplishments. Craig Shaw, the owner, really likes the main and highly recommended Dale.

Lazy jacks

A couple years ago we attended a seminar at the Seattle boat show put on by Port Townsend Rigging. We were impressed with their lazy jack system. It looked to us like they had perfected it. This year we ordered ours at the show from Lisa Vizzini. This was another case where it paid to wait. Because they now price the system "a'la cart," we saved a few dollars.

Lehr propane-powered outboard

Last year we decided we would get a Lehr 2.5 hp propane-powered outboard for our dingy. So when we saw them at the show Virginia walked right up and showed them the money. After much running around and wasting our time by the rep, we gave up. Turns out his dealers didn't have any to sell, so we'll just buy one later from West Marine. The $100 rebate was not worth the hassle.

We are still excited about getting one, in spite of the poor system in place for buying one at the show. One sailing friend in Tacoma says he loves his.

Virginia models her new foul-weather pants and boots while holding the San Juan Islands: A Boater's Guidebook.

Pants!

Virginia's quest to find a pair of foul-weather pants that were comfortable and fit finally came to an end at the show. She found the perfect pair made by Gill at the Seattle Sailing Club booth. She bought a pair of boots too. Thanks SSC!

Dickinson Mediterranean galley range

We decided that the old, hand-me-down propane stove was just too scary to use. We have no idea how old it is or even what brand it is. There is no lock on the door either. As if propane on a boat is not scary enough, big chunks of rust fall out of it just about any time we moved it.

After looking on online, we decided before the show to go with a Dickinson Mediterranean three-burner propane stove. The Force 10 three-burner was a close contender, but the Dickinson is clearly better in our opinion.

Sure Marine in Seattle had the best price on the web, so we visited their booth at the show. Unfortunately they were sold out of the Mediterranean. We went ahead and purchased the Dickinson Newport, a propane fireplace, and an 11-gallon water heater. I made arrangements to pick it up at Sure Marine's store the next day while Virginia played with some of the grandkids.

On my way to Sure Marine on Friday, I stopped in a Fisheries Supply, the largest chandlery in Seattle. I saw they had the Dickinson Mediterranean on display, but a Fisheries employee looked it up on the computer and found they were sold out as well. Discouraged, I walked back to pick up some rigging supplies.

I asked the fellow who helped me in the rigging department if there was a manager on duty. He directed me to Dave at the front counter. I found Dave and introduced myself and told him I really wanted to return home to Newport with a Mediterranean cookstove. Would he sell me his display model?

We came to an agreement that was about $100 less than the price I would have paid at Sure Marine. And I wouldn't have to pay the $200 shipping from Seattle to Newport. The wood cutting board that comes with the stove was missing, but I can make a new, better-looking one. I was happy. Thanks Dave!

Dickinson Newport

In last year's boat show post I wrote about a forced-air diesel heater made in Finland. While these are very nice units, we decided to go with the simple and less expensive Dickinson Newport 1200. Mounting one on the bulkhead close to the mast is near the center of the boat and should keep us warm and cozy.

Harry James, a friend of mine from Alaska who is restoring an old Columbia 38/Constellation, gave me this good advice: "In Southeast Alaska, where reliable, dry heat is essential, I see lots of cruisers come north every summer. The majority have some variation of the Espar or Walbro furnace. I also see lots of commercial boats; none of them have an Espar or Walbro heater. I have never seen one on a commercial fish boat. There's a clue there. The Primary heat stove for the commercial fleet is some form of a Dickinson.
    "I've skippered a 65-foot 73-year-old classic power boat since 2009. The Dickinson cook stove on it runs 365 days a year without a hiccup. If you are planning on living aboard in the Pacific Northwest, then you need some kind of reliable, simple diesel heater. I have a Dickinson Newport ... I remember a trip in my Triton from Juneau to Pelican in 2008. I pulled into Lisianski Inlet and anchored after 15 hours in the cockpit in 55 to 58-degree weather. The warmth from my little Dickinson left a memory that makes me feel good still."

'Nuff said. Thanks for the good advice Harry. It saved me time and money and will give me better results I'm sure.

We decided to go with the propane Newport over the diesel on the advice of the folks at Sure Marine. Running the propane line will be much simpler than the diesel line with a fuel pump too.

Northwest books and charts

Since we hope to go north in the spring before heading south in the late summer, we bought San Juan Islands, A Boater's Guidebook from Heather Bansmer, who wrote it along with Shawn Breeding.

We thought it was about time that we updated our San Juans Afoot and Afloat book we used when we cruised the San Juans. The book got dog-eared from using it every summer with our three kids and a boarder collie in a 27-foot sailboat in the late 1980s and early '90s.

Heather and Shawn are also the authors of two excellent guidebooks we have: Sea of Cortez and Pacific Mexico. It was nice to meet Heather. We love all of her and Shawn's books.

We also bought two cruising atlases from Evergreen Pacific: West Coast of Vancouver Island and Northwest Waters, which covers from Olympia to Queen Charlotte Sound. No shipping or sales tax and a 20 percent boat show discount. I couldn't pass it up.

Cali-optics binoculars

At last year's boat show I looked at the 7X50 binoculars that are a Chinese knockoff of a much more expensive German brand. I didn't buy them, but wished I had. So this year, I did. The optics are amazing! Viewing at night is super bright. These are the best binoculars I've ever looked through and they have a compass. The boat show deal was about $100 off their internet price.

Pam Wall

The only seminar we had time to attend was the two hours presented by Pam Wall. I have a lot of respect for her and her late husband. These folks were out cruising and raising their kids on board their boat when I was still in high school. She had a lot of great ideas. One of my favorite was putting reflective tape on your mast, stantions and other places so your boat is more visible at night.

Making Big Decisions at the Big Seattle Boatshow

Boat show booty!

Virginia and I made major steps toward getting Oceanus ready for blue-water cruising last Friday and we didn't even set foot on the boat. We attended the Seattle Boat Show and finalized several gear choices.

One nice thing about going to the show is that our tickets were free because I wrote an article about our Columbia 43 for Three Sheets Northwest and they gave us a pair of tickets. When Oceanus is featured in the on-line magazine I'll provide a link on the blog.

Here is our report.

Oceanus has no electronics at all so everything will be new. Like all electronics, marine radios, chartplotters, and electronic navigation equipment changes rapidly. All of it seems expensive. My big fear was to spend a ton of money on electronics and have it be outdated or even obsolete soon after we leave the dock. So I've put off making any decisions about which equipment to buy hoping something would come along that would make sense and not break the bank. I think I've found it.

We bought a DMK 11A, a wireless gateway with GPS to be the heart of our electronic instrument setup. It creates an wireless network that streams data from your boat instruments and a GPS signal to up to three devices (like an iPad or iPhone) simultaneously.

The simplicity of the DMK booth attracted me immediately. On a small table a wind instrument, a depth sounder and a speed log were hooked up to a box about the size of a deck of cards. Next to it was an iPad displaying the data. Behind that was Kevin Dolan eating a banana. Since there's nothing I enjoy more than interrupting someone who's eating, I went up and started asking him questions. I liked his answers and we bought an 11A with GPS, at a special boat-show price, of course. You can tell that he's tuned-in to cheap sailboaters; he bought the iPad he was using at the show on Craigslist for $200.

On his recommendation, we went to the J&G Marine Supply booth across from him and bought a Standard Horizon VHF Marine Transceiver with AIS (GX2150). It was also a screamin' boat-show deal. I found this video about it.

Now I just need to buy a smart depth transducer and a wifi-enabled iPad, add iNavX software and we're set. A single sideband shortwave radio is also a must have. It would be nice to have wind instruments and radar too, but we'll see.

Virginia is in charge of deciding on a watermaker. After much research, she chose the Cruise RO Water watermaker. It was the first booth we visited. Visiting with Tom Brown of La Paz Cruisers Supply and Richard Boren, cruiser and president of Cruise RO Water, was a highlight of the show. Not only did they answer all of our questions about the water maker, but Tom also regaled us with great stories about cruising the Sea of Cortez. Tom painted vivid pictures of days spent snorkeling, spear fishing and dolphin watching while anchored in sheltered bays. He even got out the Sea of Cortez Cruising Guide and pointed out several not-to-be-missed anchorages with great snorkeling and diving.

We went to two seminars while at the show:

• The first was Preparations for Extended Coastal and Offshore Cruising given by Liza Copeland. A lot of information given as fast as possible in one hour. (She said she usually takes three hours to give the presentation.) We were able to glean some good tips. We were so impressed with Liza Copeland that we found her later and bought two of her books, Cruising for Cowards and Just Cruising.
• The other seminar was Sail Trim for Cruisers by Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails. Carol is a delightful person and one of the most knowledgeable sailmakers around. She learned her craft from the venerable Franz Schattauer, who was a Seattle institution for many years. Both of my previous big sailboats -- Lobo, a 27-foot Pearson Renegade, and Freyja, a 22-foot Alden-designed sloop -- had Schattauer sails. They were excellent sails.

We visited Carol Hasse at the Port Townsend Rigging booth later that evening. Lisa Vizzini of Port Townsend Riggers showed us how to rig lazy jacks so they are functional and yet can be easily stowed against the mast and not interfere with putting on a sail cover. I also liked her suggestions for rigging a preventer on the boom.

One of our goals at the show was to make a decision on which composting head to buy. We looked at both the Nature's Head and Air Head to compare the two. Before the show we were leaning toward the Nature's Head, but after seeing the Air Head we changed our mind. The build quality of the Air Head looks superior to us as does the design. It's a little more money but I think it's worth it.

We think the Air Head is a winner. 

More must-have items are:

• Hydrovane self-steering wind vane.
• The Wallas 40 Dt Diesel Heater. I talked to the representative about the installation details and I'm actually looking forward to installing it.
• The Lehr 2.5 hp outboard that runs on propane;
• a scuba compressor. 

A Hydrovane on the stern of Distant Dreamer, a Columbia 43. Formerly known as Encore, she won the Trans-Pac Class B in 1973. 

We bought each other presents for our 37th wedding anniversary: a monocular with a built-in compass for me and more plastic storage containers for Virginia.

If you have comments about our choices please let us know. Aside from the items we've already purchased, we reserve the right to change our mind.

Max gives the "thumbs up"

I liked Oceanus from the start, but I had reservations. I always pictured myself owning a more traditional, full-keeled sailboat like two of my favorite boats, the Hinkley Bermuda 40 or the Mercer 44. Although a departure from those two Tripp designs, Oceanus has his classic sweet stern and a strong, no-nonsense bow.

I was a little concerned, however, about the suitability of an old ocean racer for cruising. Would she be seakindly? Should I worry about her spade rudder with no skege to protect it? I put those questions to my English friend Max Taylor in an email.

"What a fantastic boat; buy it now!" Max replyed. "If I was going cruising again I wouldn't hesitate - beautiful and very fit for purpose.

"When Erica and I sailed off the Caribbean it was in a van de Stadt Legend 34 Blue Clipper, built in 1970. Compared with modern boats, she has a narrow waterline, relatively shallow fin and skeg keel arrangement, low-volume sloop. At the time we had no experience and no idea how good a boat she was. In fact, even when I bought her I didn't really know anything about Mr. Van de Stadt and his boats, it was well before I had any idea of taking her offshore but I could see that she had a good shape, was solidly built and I managed to get her for half the brokers asking price!

"It wasn't until after we had sailed her 10,000 miles to the Caribbean and back and succumbed to bigger boat syndrome that we really began to realise how good she was and the qualities that made her so. I make the comparison with our Endurance 35, a heavy displacement (displacement-to-waterline ratio) long-keel cutter which we cruised for several years along the often-stormy English coast.

"I think these comments apply to the Columbia 43 equally. The narrow and relatively shallow hull form is easily driven. So, relative to whatever wind there is, you need less sail area, in light airs you can keep going more easily and when it's rough you can keep going with less, which imparts far less stress on boat, rigging and crew. We hove to in a gale 1000 miles from land for 48 hours under just triple reefed main, the boat was comfortable, quiet and apart from the anxiety of being in those conditions, it was very pleasant, when things calmed down we were able to make good progress to windward under the same reefed main -  by contrast on the Endurance we'd need loads of sail up to get the heavy boat moving.

"What can I say about that flush deck, it's perfect for cruising; uncluttered and safe for working on deck, anchoring, storing the dinghy. The high turned up stern and transom will look fantastic as you row away in the dinghy - then you'll know you bought the right boat. BUT it's also very practical, as the boat pitches at anchor that lovely overhang will submerge and damp the pitching motion and will do it without the constant slap slap slap that a modern boat with a sugar scoop stern has. It was so bad in one anchorage that we had to move away at 3 a.m. from a modern aluminium 44 footer who's fat stern was driving us mad all night. And we were some 25 yards away!

Oceanus' sweet stern.

"I guess the downside is the prop is exposed and the spade rudder, if the latter is properly constricted and I have no reason to think it's not on a boat of that age, it should be fine. As a precaution I might be inclined to construct a massively reinforced bulkhead to support the shaft and prevent flooding in the event that you seriously hit something. Plus, get a self steering gear that has an auxiliary rudder like a Hydrovane of Pacific. If all else fails you have a spare! depending on how things are, you could build up a shallow skeg to protect the prop shaft and P bracket plus fit a really good rope cutter.

"One final thought looking at original Columbia plans, is access to the stern gland, it looks like it is under the engine - I'd want to be able to get at it easily and based on personal experience of a PPS type drip- less gland that failed catastrophically I'd want a beefy traditional stern glad with remote greaser.

"The other real thing the Columbia has going for her is speed, she looks fast and that's a relative thing, but fast in her day when boats were seaworthy first and foremost. Mr. Van de Stadt showed that separating rudder from the keel and putting the rudder as far back as possible can give you a boat that will track well and won't have horrid weather helm and so will be easy on the crew, it worked on Blue Clipper. I haven't done any research but the Columbia looks to have similar qualities. The endurance (long keel) tracked like a train going to windward, but on a broad reach the weather helm would pull your arms out of their sockets!"