May 20, 2016

We are in Prince Rupert.  Weather so far has been amazing.  Lots of sun and blue sky, but lots of wind as well.  Gale force winds forecast for Dixon Entrance for the next three days.  We dallied in Grenville channel instead of racing to PR to wait.

After getting the steering fixed we took a 50 mile side trip to Eucott Hot springs and then Ocean Falls.  Two really great spots.  Crab and shrimp every night. 

From Ocean falls it was back to Shearwater to top off my fuel tanks for the trip to Ketchikan. 

Stops along the way were at Tom Bay where I got a pot load of Shrimp and several nice size crab while Pete put his pot down next to me and no shrimp at all?

From Tom bay we cruised up to Khutze where the weather changed to cold and wet.  Still very little wind.

More crab and shrimp

Khutze to Bishop Hot springs for another dip in scalding hot water.  The ramp to shore is gone so getting there was a bit of a challenge. Sun came back out and warmed up again.

Bishop hot springs to Lowe Inlet where we sighted a very healthy black bear grazing behind us for several hours. 

From Lowe we headed to Kumealon inlet where there was another lagoon to play in, more crab and more shrimp.

May 13, 2016

Success.  We left Joe Cove about 9am and headed to Shearwater with me steering with just engine RPM’s.  We rigged the rudder a little better so I had better control of the direction with out such large adjustments of the engine RPM’s to keep us strait.  I managed to maintain 9 plus knots all the way.    While underway Michelle called Teleflex in Florida, the steering manufacturer and asked them to trouble shoot the problem over the phone.  Steve relayed over the radio for a three way conversation, me on the radio to Steve, Michelle on the sat phone to Teleflex technical expert.  He had me spin the wheel as hard as I could and as fast as I could to the right after Michelle explained the situation.  I did and then I had movement both directions of the wheel until I locked it hard over to port again.  It appeared that I was at least now moving the rudder cylinder back and forth.  Still freewheeling to the right. His diagnosis was there was a short in the Auto Pilot pump no allowing the check valve to close.  A short?  There is electrical power to the pump?

After the call the guys, Glen, Pete and Willard all were confused and could not figure out how a short in the pump would take away the manual steering.  When asked about the fact that we turned off the auto pilot and still had a problem the technician said the auto pilot pump would cause a problem even if turned off.

Michelle had also called ahead to Shearwater and a mechanic, Mark, would be expecting us. 

We arrived at Shearwater about 2 pm and I ran up and found Mark.  He came down and spent about 10 minutes on the boat and said,  My guess is the Auto Pilot pump has no power to it and there is a check valve that is open which does not allow the fluid to properly flow through the cylinder.  He said he did not have time to work on it today but would be back in the morning about 9 and trouble shoot the problem

I thought back to what the technician at Teleflex said about a short and what Mark said and realized that the Rat from two years ago had chewed through some wites on the auto pilot computer but only the outer layers.  I had never fixed those since the auto pilot worked.  I looked at that again and saw a bunch of fine wires from the shielding had crossed over several electrical contacts and thought maybe that was the source of the short.   I cleaned up those wires and rewired the computer getting rid of the chewed parts.  As I did that I noticed a fuse in the computer that was not mentioned anywhere  in the user manual.  I pulled it out and tested it as it looked good but it was an open circuit when tested.  I put in a new fuse and heard a click in the computer.  Checking the system showed we now had power the pump and the function of the steering system was restored completely.  Wow, all of that and it was just a stupid fuse.  No-where in the books does it mention this fuse or what might happen if it blows.

I put the boat back together and tomorrow were off to Ocean Falls-

May 12, 2016

Oh what a day.  Houston, We have a problem!  We left Blunden Harbor at 0800 and headed north on calm seas with virtually no wind and beautiful blue sky.  At 1000 as we were just a few miles from Cape Caution we lost all steering.  Suddenly, the boat veered to the left and started turning in circles.  I tried to correct it by turning off the auto pilot and steering but the wheel just freewheeled to the right and no amount of turning could stop the left hand circle.  There we were, driving in circles in Queen Charlotte Straits with 3 foot ocean swells which were no problem when driving into them but when circling became somewhat problematic,.  Thank god it happened today and not two days ago in Johnstone Strait in 5foot breaking waves and 30 mph winds.  I radioed the others who were a couple miles ahead of me and advised them that I had lost all steering control.   Of course the suggestions started pouring in.  Turn off the Auto Pilot, yep no good.  Try the other helm station, yep no good.  Steer with the engines, nope, not with the rudder hard over.  Check for fuses, what fuses, I know only of a breaker switch. 

Thinking I had lost a linkage I jumped down on the back deck, pulled up the lazarette hatch cover, pulled out all the power cords stored there and pulled up the shelving floor I had built over the steering mechanism.  It all looked just fine.  It just did not work.

 

I jumped in No Debt and ran over to Pete who was closest and picked him up while Linda continued to motor Spirit Bear north at slow speed.  Glen headed back to help as well, he was several miles ahead of us.

Pete and I got the linkage un-hooked and got the rudders strait so we could at least tow in a strait line. 

We rigged a towing bridal and Glen pulled up close and we passed him a tow-line made up of two fifty foot 9000 lb rescue ropes.  He put us under-.tow while Pete and I tried to figure out the problem.  We were making about 6 knots under tow.  We tried bleeding the system thinking there was air in the system.  I checked all the fittings I could see and saw no leaks so could not figure out how air would have got in the system.  We could get the ram to move in and out but with any resistance on it at all the ram would not move. 

We decided to try motoring on our own and try using the engine RPM’s to steer.  We cast off the tow line and our initial efforts were a total failure.   The rudders would not stay centered and after just a few minutes we were turning to the right with no way to correct it.  Pete jury rigged a couple ropes to secure the rudder in place and after several adjustments we were able to cruise in a relatively strait manner using just engine speed.  My GPS track shows a very wobbly course over ground but we missed all the rocks and managed to round Cape Caution under our own power but with useless steering system.

We got to Joe’s Cove in Fishegg Inlet, one of my favorite spots on the whole coast.  I had no trouble getting in and side tying to the raft up using just engine controls.  Just like docking.

We took a break from trying to figure out the steering problem and took the dinghy’s into Elizabeth Lagoon.  You can only enter at or near high water slack and it is a shallow entry.  I led the way in No Debt and promptly found a rock killing the engine.  No prop damage and the engine restarted.  Elizabeth Lagoon is just amazing, a large brackish lake that empty s into the salt water at low tide and the salt water rushes in at  high tide creating a brackish lagoon. 

We spent about 40 minutes inside racing around in the dinghy’s exploring and enjoying the remote wild place where there is no signs of any human habitation. No logging no encampments nothing.  Again one of my favorite places on the whole trip.

We returned before getting trapped inside by falling waters and faster moving rapids.  Pete was using our dinghy, Rubber Check and found the rock about three times trying to get out of the Lagoon,  I now have half a prop on Rubber Check

After returning from exploring the Lagoon I quickly put down a shrimp pot before getting back to the job of sorting out the steering.  Unfortunately we found nothing.  Between Pete, a hydraulic engineer and Glen, who knows everything and me and my manuals on the system we were stumped.  Bleeding the system eventually ended up locking the system hard over to port.  No amount of turning the wheel to the right did anything, it spun freely but going left it locked up completely.  There are three hydraulic lines leading from the upper helm to a T joint with one side leading to the auto pilot pump and the other leading to the lower helm station.  From there the lines run down into the engine room where they disappear behind the fuel tank.  At the back of the boat there are only two lines.  What happened to the third and what does it do, it’s a mystery.  We suspect there is some sort of manifold and check valve that is stuck that is not allowing the free flow of fluid back and forth.  But if we cannot find the junction box we are screwed.  The boat is a mess, I had to tear apart the back closet and move everything from the back lazerett into the front bedroom.   Were stumped and will have to work our way to Shearwater tomorrow and make some calls to the steering manufacturer and see if someone can solve the problem for us.  Stay tuned.

May 11, 2016

We had a pleasant stay in Blunden Harbor today.  Lots of crab, limits each day!!

Crab feed tonight!  Glen and Liz joined us this morning.  It was windy all day so a good day to hunker down.  Not as bad as it has been but enough to have made the crossing interesting.  Went dinghy exploring and ran the rapids into the lagoon and cruised around inside for about 30 minutes before Glens deflating dink and the increasing current in the entrance forced us to leave. 

What a gorgeous place.  Low hills, scrub trees, blue sky and water. 

Should be heading north tomorrow around Cape Caution.

10, 2016

We crossed the straits to Blunden Harbor today from Port McNeil.  What a great stop, Steve and Jessica, the owners of North Harbor Marina are just great people.  They have installed extra long fuel lines so they can fuel you at your berth.  They are friendly and willing to do most anything for you.  Definitely a spot to stop going and coming. 

The crossing was on calm seas for the first half then slowly the wind built as predicted till there were 2 foot waves and 20 mph winds.  Entered Blunden harbor and found it deserted.   Windy inside, not all that protected but I found a spot with some protection and a clear view of the straits through a cap in the islands.  We dropped three anchors and stern tied   A beautiful spot, we sat on the back decks and enjoyed the sun till the wind picked up in the evening and chased us inside.

We dropped several crab pots and caught bunches of crab on the first pull.  Dropped them right back for more.

The wind really picked up again this afternoon just as predicted blowing up to 25 in the anchorage creating white caps in the middle.  A sailboat came in late in the afternoon, said it was blowing 25 outside.  Good thing we crossed when we did.

My anchor is set well tonight, holding 4 boats total on mine for a while the other two were slack, you could play music on mine.

No Debt seems to be working ok, concerned after towing Glen in that I did something to the engine as it was running rough at idle, but we got up to plane with four big adults aboard.  It runs great at higher speeds.  Hopefully it will be good the whole trip. 

It has been windy, far more wind than the other two trips up.  But lots of sun and virtually no rain.  I  would take some rain if the winds would quit.

  

May 8

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Monday, May 9

Port McNeil

We made it through Johnstone Strait.  When they are forecasting gale force winds in Johnstone Strait believe them and don’t go.  Not sure what the rush was but we went when we should have went back to Shoal Bay and played for a day.  Got the shit kicked out of us in the straits.  Made it as far as Blankenship Bay and Glen said, nope, not worth it.  When Glen says not worth it that means something.  We hunkered down for an hour there in the lee of the land and waited for the turn of the tide hoping the waves would stand down a bit.  Nope.  We tried for another couple miles and Steve and Michelle and Chris and I decided to stop at Port Neville while Glen and Willard continued on.  It sounded horrible.  We were taking waves up to the bow spit, none over it while the others all buried their bows several times.  We found a spot on the dock at Port Neville with Steve, he took the dock and we side tied.  Windy all night, 25 plus at the dock from the side but no waves to worry about. Pete stayed in Blankenship and had an uncomfortable night rockin and rollin but secure on the hook.  It is a good spot to hole up if need be but Port Neville is better   Better yet, don’t go.  We woke up to light winds, sun and a calm Johnstone strait.  Everyone went, even the big boys were out there today, funny nothing was out there yesterday but us, HMMMMM?

We cruised through the Broughtons on a beautiful sunny day, just an amazingly pretty place.  On to McNeil for fuel (327 gallons added to the 100 at Blind Channel and were doing good, 1 mile to the gallon is what were averaging.  Averaging 9 mph, sometimes faster with the current or when we need to get or slower when working against the current.

I need a new antennae for No Debt and Pete needs new batteries.  Good place to fix those last minute issues discovered on the cruise up here.  Weather looks good for crossing Queen Charlotte Strait in the next day or two, calm winds for the next three days. 

Don’t need another beating like yesterday and Chris would not like me much as she was not happy with that mother’s day present.

So far multiple Eagle sightings, a couple Orcas, a gray whale, several porpoise, a couple otters and Fran saw a Grizzly the other night. 

Could be a couple more days before we post again as we will be headed into far remote regions of BC with limited coverage. 

Day 2

Friday Harbor.  Got in about 430 this afternoon, just in time cause the inside of the breakwater filled up within 15 minutes of our arrival.  Big weekend here, their opening day and a big yacht club event plus Anacortes charters has a big gathering here before heading north.
Sunny and warm now, was cool and cloudy with light rain earlier.  Saw our first whale, a single gray whale off the South end of Camano Island.  Not very active but River was excited.
Will walk up after we eat to see my folks.  We have not told them we brought River with us.
I teach a SAR management class all day tomorrow and half a day Sunday.  So this part of the trip is a business write off.

Day 1.
Left Pourt Orchard at 1 pm, arrived at Langly at around 5. Easy cruise up till the Edmonds ferry, wind picked up and started taking spray over the bow from 20 mph winds out of the North. Getting No Debt alongside prior to docking was a bit of a challenge but managed without adding any new scratches to the freshly repaired hull.
Walked up to town with River for dinner at the Pizza place.  Got back before it started raining.
The past week has been busy with all the last minute details to finish, shopping and loading the boat with 4 months worth of supplies. You would think we were going to a third world country for God sakes. I made at least five trips to the boat with full truck loads of food, clothing, parts, extra oil, coolant and booze.  This morning before leaving I had the fire suppression system checked and recertified, stored what I thought was the final truck load of stuff before going home to pick up Chris.. Well she had a another truck load of stuff waiting to load up.  Have no idea where I stored most of the stuff so we will spend the next month searching for things we know we brought along.
Things we did in preparation for this trip:
hauled the boat in September, new bottom paint and repaired 8 years of dings and scratches on the hull.
Replaced all zincs, filters and fluids,
Cleaned the fuel tanks and polished the fuel
Replaced the refrigerator
Replaced the freezer
Cleaned the rugs
Replaced the Mattress on the bed
Replaced a starting Battery
Added another 12 volt freezer unit
Stripped and repainted No Debt
Replaced the motor on No Debt
Put a new fuel tank in No Debt
Got my Captains license (100 ton Master)

It's better not to know what that all cost.

less than a week

So were getting close to shoving off for the third time, Cruising to Alaska on Miner's Debt.
We have repaired the hull damage from 8 years of wear and tear, painted the bottom, cleaned the fuel tanks, changed filters, replaced the refrigerator and freezer and cleaned it of it's winter grime, repainted No Debt the fishing boat and replaced the motor and had the inflatable repaired.  I have made multiple trips to load supplies and food, top off the fuel and check out all systems and were almost there.  We will head north with River to visit my folks in Friday Harbor.  I teach a SAR class for San Juan County Sat and Sunday next week.  Becky and Chloe will join us by ferryboat to see the folks then head home with River.  We join the rest of the flotilla heading north on Monday the 2nd.  We should take about three weeks to reach Ketchikan.  Hoping for blue sky and fair winds and abundant fish, shrimp and crab. 

Getting ready for the third time

Were getting ready for our third trip north to Alaska.  This time were going with 6 other boats, of course Glen and Liz again on Magic Moment and with my wifes brother and his wife on Nelsea.  I have been getting the Miners Debt ready as well as both small boats.  The dinghy was in for warranty work and just got it back yesterday.  The fishing boat, No Debt got a new paint job and motor.  Launch it today to make sure all is working.  Need to replace refrigerator, freezer and bed mattress before we go.  then load up with provisions clothing and all the crabbing and fishing gear. 
Not much time and still lots to do.