Some New Upgrades

M/V Rhapsody has some new features, and we're celebrating the changes. Capt.Ron has long been a master of gentle docking, using cross-control maneuvering that makes our approaches and departures appear effortless to shoreside observers. My role has been line tender, securing the short lines on stern and midship when we first touch the dock, then placing longer stern, spring, and bow lines while Ron used engines and bow thruster to keep the boat positioned. Crutches have slowed me down lately, but now he can do it all, singlehanding the ship with the assistance of the new stern thruster and a walk-around wifi controller. 

I've always been comfortable running the boat while we cruise, but not so much when maneuvering in tight spaces close to other vessels. Will the new equipment tempt me to captain the boat while docking? maybe... maybe not.
    
Most boat projects begin with a stack of sketches and notes, rough ideas at first leading to more detailed drawings. No doubt it's due to the Capt's engineering gene. 

Below is the shiny new thruster minus its blades; deceptively simple in appearance, it required some creative bottom redesign, fiberglass work, and some new hydraulic and electrical wiring runs. 

Here's Rhapsody in the Travelift, just after haulout and waiting for a powerwash to clean the bottom. The bottom paint still looked good. 

Blue tape marks off the work area for the new thruster installation. A wedge or 'shingle' will be added to the bottom to position the stern thruster at an appropriate underwater depth for optimal effect. (Without a wedge it would just blow a lot of bubbles.)

This green tube, fiberglassed in place, will house the new thruster.

Project completed, the new stern thruster is ready for action.

Shown below, Rhapsody is ready for relaunch and in-the-water testing. 

Success! We should have done this years ago. 

Spring and Shipyard Geometry

Photo: the view west from the pilothouse window

The blog has been quiet for a long while, so long that you might have thought we were hibernating like the bears. Nope, February and March we have kept busy with boat projects, all part of the annual Spring Outfitting preparation for our 2015 cruise north. Inside the galley has a new, functioning cooktop; outside the hull sports a new coat of bottom paint; the all-important engine room has accounted for hours of routine preventive maintenance and a snazzy new LED lighting installation...  If you've read my spring prep posts from previous years, you know the routine.

Photo: A sudden microburst hailstorm turned the docks white... briefly. 

Some days weather makes it more comfortable to work on inside projects, but there's always time to take a break and head outside for a visit on the dock or a stroll along the waterfront. That said, I still think heavy rain squalls and hailstorms are best viewed from the dry side of a window - I am such a weather wimp! During our brief stay "on the hard" for the annual haulout, I wandered the shipyard with my camera intending to record an anchor and propeller photoshoot, until shapes edged into my shooting consciousness. Everywhere I turned there were interesting geometric shapes to draw my eye: circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, arcs, ovals, lines parallel or converging... everywhere. These were all standard shipyard items, things like tools and supplies, but they carried such interesting patterns that I had to capture a few. Here's a brief sample: 

Anchors and propellors will have to wait for their closeups, I'm having too much fun with geometry. 

We're Cruising

Rhapsody returned to the water five months and a few days after haulout at the shipyard. Sporting a freshly painted exterior, new teak and holly floors, new carpeting and a handful of upgrades, she looks classy once again. There are SO many great shipyard photos to share, but not today. For now, let the adventures begin.

Port Angeles to Nanaimo

Conditions report - clear blue sky with zero wind and calm seas. How’s that for a perfect start to our daylong run north? Today’s journey followed a preplanned course through familiar territory: Depart Port Angeles, transit the easterly end of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca crossing the border into British Columbia, Canada and run up the east side of Vancouver Island. Heavy wind warnings had been posted for days, but the trip was pleasantly routine until we approached Dodd Narrows, the restricted passage where heavy current tends to limit traffic to periods of slack water.

A sturdy tugboat towing a string of several rafts of bundled logs headed today's lineup of northbound vessels waiting to navigate the narrows on the 4:00 pm slack. A dozen pleasure boats loitered with us at the southerly end of Dodd, while unseen others stacked up on the north end, all waiting for the big tug to pull its long tow through and clear the channel. A smaller tug assisted, guiding the rear of the log raft around the dog-leg bend in the narrows, but things did not go as planned. Oh no! The tow dragged, came apart, and several log bundles floated loose, scattering across the channel. Those two tugs powered back and forth like sheep dogs trying to herd an unruly flock. 

Boats at both ends of Dodd paused, then cautiously maneuvered around and through the mess, aware of the need to run through the passage or wait six hours for the next slack current. We dodged the two busy tugs, three drifting log bundles and a few other boats without incident. Later on a Coast Guard radio broadcast announced nine bundles loose in Dodd Narrows as a new hazard to navigation. Nine?! That must have been some log roundup!

Nanaimo is a happening place in the summer. Friday and Saturday nights featured live music on the esplanade, amplified throughout the harbor. On Saturday morning the Dragon Boat Races drew crowds of supporters and impromptu spectators to the city’s waterfront park. Throughout most days and well into the evenings a small ferry chugs back and forth across Newcastle Channel, delivering people to the Dinghy Dock Pub for burgers and a brew. Dockside chatter reports the best harbor entertainment comes from watching visiting boaters maneuver into their assigned slips in gusting 20-25 knot winds. No comment. 

Shipyard Update

Come on in, take a look at a few photos of progress since the last post.

Most recently, plastic sheeting was hung over and around the boat to enclose the space, isolating Rhapsody from dust and stuff from other projects and outside contaminants that blow around the building when the large doors open.

Photo: RL at the entrance to the paint enclosure

Photo: Sierra mans the scissor lift to hang plastic for the paint enclosure

Photo: Rhapsody's hull sprayed with a primer coat, ready for paint

Prior to any painting activity, the hull was wrapped and heated several times to cure the surface. 

  

Now we're ready for the phase where Rhapsody looks pretty again.

Shipyard Projects, Large and Small

Work continues on with some big projects and countless small details, each with an accompanying set of decisions. For example: replacing the three windshield wipers motors and blades, two deck storage boxes, and a cracked exhaust grill, all seemingly routine items, involved more than a few minutes of measuring, print catalog and online research, remeasuring, pondering multiple choices and price points, and considerable discussion. Each decision meant progress, though the progress wasn't immediately visible.  

Progress isn't always what it seems. Some things have to appear worse before they get better, at least visually. Painting prep is one of those things. Large areas of the shiny, dark blue paint on the hull were sanded down to a dull, lighter blue. The surface was ground, poked, filled, sanded and I don't know what else, but it definitely isn't pretty. Not yet. 

Progress is easy to spot on the finished flooring. Sanding and refinishing made the existing pilothouse floor look as good as new. Multiple finish coats will keep it looking good for years to come. We are pleased with the new teak and holly flooring in both heads (bathrooms), and certainly won't miss the tired old linoleum that used to cover those surfaces.

Shipyard Status: an early report

Each week in the shipyard has brought a new set of visual surprises, both inside and outside the boat.

Inside: 
A proper hull inspection calls for visual access to both sides of the fiberglas, even those hidden spaces inside the cabinets that line the salon. Everything in the room was moved away from the walls and piled topsy-turvy in the middle. The usually tidy salon is now littered with tools, project supplies and "stuff" from inside the cabinets. Protective materials do cover windows and finished surfaces, preventing any damage from traffic and incidental contact. 

The floor in the guest head (bathroom) was modified to raise the commode and replace the outdated 1980's linoleum with teak and holly flooring. Even in this unfinished state, it's an improvement!

Master Stateroom and ensuite flooring upgrades are also underway. The living spaces will be gorgeous when the raw wood receives a satin finish and new carpeting covers both stateroom floors.

Outside: 
The large yellow trailer holding our 70,000+ pound boat was partially disassembled as other hull supports replaced the trailer's cross members. Now there's an interesting assortment of supports holding the boat steady.

The huge heated building holds many other vessels, each one undergoing some messy, smelly, really smelly, projects. Outside air is pumped inside each boat through a system of plastic tubes, keeping the interior spaces surprisingly fresh. It's a relief to breathe clean, unscented air, free of fiberglas, paint, solvent and other strong shipyard odors when we're inside Rhapsody.

Photo: here's where the air tube connects...

Photo: ...and here's an inside view, looking out toward a filter.

Rhapsody's exterior has been poked, prodded, explored and analyzed, and now sports more than a few spots and a lot of green tape. Not an attractive look, but it's temporary.

These are just a few photos from previous weeks, a brief sampling from early stages of the 2013 project. It's all necessary and routine, but I can't wait for the stage where the hull gets pretty again. Looking forward to that time, we're pondering fonts and color choices for the name decal.

Photo: sample .jpg from the sign maker

Photo: decal test strips for spacing and color 

Settling in at the Shipyard

Rhapsody was carefully lowered, slowly and gently, onto the largest, longest boat trailer I have ever seen. 

The building was nearly empty when we first arrived.

Notice the blocking along the hull, placed to hold her snugly in position.

The yellow set of stairs, topped with a wooden platform, was a welcome improvement over an aluminum ladder.

New neighbors arrived via the TraveLift. 

Our side of the building was a busy place, fully packed with boats this past week.

The yellow trailer has been a convenient piece of equipment since the shipyard has moved Rhapsody around a bit since haulout: into the building, out into the yard, back inside the building, in and out more than once, shifted to different spots. Logistics at work.