Tag Archives: Lake Union

Installing a seat in our inflatable

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One of the joys of boating is inviting friends to visit for the weekend … then putting them to work. That was Bruce’s fate this weekend.

Last year, we added a seat and steering station to our 12 foot Flexboat inflatable. This was a great improvement to the usability of the boat. The details can be found in this post. What we learned was that we still need a fair amount of weight forward to keep the bow down and allow the boat to plane easily. To address this, the second person in the boat usually sits forward. Too bad there is no seat up there and that person has to sit facing backward.

Our solution was to add a matching seat forward in the boat. This gives the passenger something to sit on and allows them to face forward (or backward, I guess, if they want to … or maybe even sideways …).

We ordered a seat from St. Croix Marine Products through Defender.com. The seat matches the seat we put in earlier. Defender was the only place I could find it. St. Croix no longer lists this seat on their site. It may or may not have been discontinued … which may also explain the sale price at Defender.

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Home again, home again

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We are back! Back in our slip. It has been a long two and a half months since we dropped her off at Native Brightworks for the varnish work.

We did not have Native Brightworks varnish all the teak. There is so much on this old boat that I am resigned to it being a never ending process. We had the cap rails and handrails varnished. We also had all the grab rails sanded. I think we are just going to let them go natural. There is so much labor in keeping those up. It would actually be less expensive to have all the grab rails replaced with stainless than it would be to keep the teak rails varnished. So natural they will be.

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Locking Through the Chittenden Locks

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If you are a boater in the Seattle area, you will eventually experience the opportunity to transit the Hiram Chittenden Locks. This is a fairly easy process, but many face their first experience with fear and trepidation. There is no need. The process is straightforward and the lock attendants are quite helpful. You will be an expert in no time. We’ve done this many times and thought it might help others to write it all up.

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Work Continues …

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But the end is near (or at least nearer). With luck, this will be the last (or next to last) report before we get the boat back. Yea! Work on the doors continues on schedule at Thomas Marine Interiors. The new interior panels are on the doors. As you can see, this require many clamps. Mike is going to paint the outside panels and put in new glass as well.

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Courtesy Mike Thomas, Thomas Marine Interiors

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Door Repair Update

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Mike Thomas of Thomas Marine Interiors is hard at work on the door repair. He is trying to get the work done before Native Brightworks completes the brightwork. If he doesn’t, Archimedes has no doors. That would make it a bit drafty and hard to lock up the boat.

The interior surfaces of the doors were looking quite shabby. Weather, water, and time have left their mark. You can see some of the damage in this photo between the bottom corner of the window frame and the door latch.

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Courtesy Mike Thomas, Thomas Marine Interiors

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Going to Our First Rendezvous

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I just signed us up to attend our first rendezvous. The Grand Banks rendezvous. May 9th to the 12th in Roche Harbor. We’ve never been to a rendezvous before. In fact, our idea of quality time on the boat generally does not include other people anywhere near us. This should be interesting. We actually do expect to have a lot of fun. How can it be bad. Lots of Grand Banks boats in one place. A very nice place on top of that.

The rendezvous is put on by the Pacific Northwest Grand Banks Owners Association.

We should be in fine condition by then. Much work is in progress. Native Brightworks will have finished the brightwork and Thomas Marine Interiors will have repaired the inside of the doors. I have a number of projects to complete between when I get the boat back and time to head to the rendezvous. And, of course, a whole lot of cleaning is required. We don’t want to look like the poor relation from the wrong side of the tracks when we get there.

We are looking forward to the experience.

Drying out before the varnishing begins …

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We are now drying out at Native Brightworks. It seems the screw holes for the stanchions were not bedded well. Water found its way in. The moisture content in the wood is too high to continue the varnish work. The Native Brightworks folks have placed lights over all the screw holes in the hopes the heat will expedite the drying process.

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Courtesy Richard Ehlers, Native Brightworks

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