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Winter History

12/29/2020

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If any existed who could still read a barometer’s warning they would stay at the dock tonight, so pressing is the coming storm. With all the modern technology at my finger tips, I also know to stay sheltered in the bay. 

Tonight isn’t fit for ship or crew.

So with nowhere to sail and the blue-black glow of night upon me, I walk the docks with collar up against the wind, restless, thinking of the past. Past captains and past glories. I’m not expecting revelation or existential experience, but I’d wish for some connection with the sailors, fisherman or pirates who have come before me. They and their sons have navigated these waters.

Through the building wind I struggle to hear something, anything, to help me understand, to know just a little about the struggle of others that have come before. When the wind peaks I can almost feel it. Did they hear the winds as I hear them?
  
Moisture thickens the air and drips from every line. Rare is the window alight that hints of a crew below, warm and safe, preparing for the next passage through the winter gales.
I walk past a tug, its history of cargo and people forgotten. It once traveled as we could only imagine, but those times are gone. On the bow an old anchor rusts from abandoned purpose.

Further down and just as silent sits a silver-clean sloop, holding the dreams of some racing skipper. This fine ship sits idle in the cold of winter, waiting for the fair winds of spring and an eager crew to haul her sheets and trim her sails.
Past, present, it all blurs together as I stand in the dark listening as the gale blows through the Sound.

Where are the sailors of old whose stories could have been told? To speak with them around a warm galley stove, with rum or wine, oh the adventures they would tell.

Cold and without any answers, I walk back and climb into my own warm boat. Still lost in the past I slip into bed and cuddle my wife, hoping I dream of dark black seas with white crests. Hoping that in sleep, I might finally begin to understand the courage of captains past.
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A Good Blow; Not yet

12/17/2020

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We had a lot of excitement yesterday when small craft advisories were posted for the area. The SSE wind built a big chop early in the day, and by afternoon the swells were making their way deep into the marina. Combined with the wind it was quite a ride. Toward nightfall the wind kept building but slowly backed to the SSW, putting us on the lee side of the land, which quickly calmed the water around us. After midnight the big gusts arrived, maybe in the low thirties, pushing the rigging and holding us to a starboard tack while tied to the dock. What fun to lay in the dark, listening to the wind and feeling the boat respond like a living thing. I love it.

Well, I still have a problem with the heater. Same problem. It’s randomly tripping the 10 amp breaker on the Surewire board. Unfortunately the breaker isn’t labeled and so far the techs at Sure Marine (the people who actually make the board) can’t tell me what the breaker is trying to protect.

Without that info, I can’t fix the problem. They say they will call as soon as they figure it out.
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Hydronic Heating

12/16/2020

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Most winters we find ourselves tucked into a marina, out of harms way of winter gales. As the temperature dips into the low forties my mind always strays into project mode as we sit in our warm little boat. There are so many things I’d like to do, and every winter I plan on getting a few of them done. 

But because we use our floating home constantly, things wear out or break. The repairs take priority so the projects just have to wait. 

The most recent repair involved our beloved hydronic heating system. A hydronic heater heats water and then circulates it throughout the boat. Small radiators located in various spots then blow out warm air, feeling very much like a central heating system in a house.

So when our hydronic system stopped working in the middle of December, fixing it becomes the priority.

Luckily I knew enough about the unit to get it running, and I may even have found the root problem. This is not the first repair/maintenance I’ve done to the system and I’m sure it won’t be the last. So far it’s doing great, time will tell. I’ll post some specific articles on its ups and downs soon.

You may ask why don’t we just run space heaters at the dock? Well, we do most of the time, but it isn’t the same. Imagine keeping your house warm with space heaters in each room. It would work. But in the morning it's nice to just turn on the furnace and let the whole house soak it all up.

Another bonus is that the hydronic heater is diesel fired and very efficient. This means we stay warm when the power goes out during a storm. It’s also our only source of heat when on the hook.

Our system came from Sure Marine in Seattle and uses a Webasto 90ST heater core.
Picture
Webasto 90ST, 26,000 BTU 17 in long
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