Couldn't resist a small outing on the water today...

[baz]

Well, I had several feeble reasons to goto the boat today...

1) Place some needed labels on various switches and controls for 1st mate, son, daughters and son-in-law who will at times use our boat with or without us

2) I wanted to play with the Trim Tabs and operate them as instructed by Karin & Bruce in another topic

3) Wanted to play with various RADAR settings and configurations - especially MARP and Sentry modes

and 4) The weather was simply gorgeous with clear blue (well almost), Olympic mountains clearly visible to the West along with Mt. Baker to the North, calm seas, no wind and temps close to 60ºF.

So off I went on my lonesome... and here are a few photos I managed to snap off while two Ferries criss crossed around me... making good use & practice of the RADAR's MARP and Sentry mode as well :roll: Hardly another pleasure boat to be seen any where else.

Ferry off to Kingston which is around 7 miles across the Puget Sound from Edmonds (with the Olympic mountains in the background)

Ferries criss crossing around me.

Motoring at speed. 😀

Mt. Baker to my North

Lee Shobe's pad (Condo peering down at me on the water.... :lol: )

A sample of my labeling task... Clear labeling for the electric toilet operation -- for the grandchildren and others with poor sight -- larger and clearer letters will help. 😉

 

[guidothesquid]

I'm considering naming our boat "Home" so I can "Work from Home" on days like this and do just what you did, Barry. 🙂 :lol:

 

[baz]

I can't say enough about how liberating retirement is. Prior to retirement my advice is to already have or develop new interests and hobbies along with a workable financial base to work from. The latter item is a tough one to establish these days as the past 10 or 12 years has been a roller coaster for devastating savings/investments. I'm no financial wiz kid and I did loose my pants, so to speak. No matter, it's amazing how one can actually get along with what you have. It means adjusting the lifestyle, cutting some unnecessary costs without increasing risk while planning on living and enjoying life to 110. 🙂 I plan for the long haul... health permitting for 1st mate and me. :roll:

BTW... Boating with a Ranger Tug in our local Puget Sound area was something I thought hard about 2 years prior to retiring. With the help of Jeff Messmer on one 'Father's Day' in 2009 the dream unfolded when the decision for buying the R-25 LAXEY happened. I told Jeff to "Make my day...". 😀 ...and he did.

See you and maybe Sunny at 6pm... and remember the R-25SC and the R-27 have had some very useful improvements made to them over the R-25, so keep that in mind. Note that the Ranger Tug web site does not show all the latest 2013 model goodies for the R-25SC and R-27, but I will try to mention them as best I can.

 

[Bruce Moore]

I'm considering naming our boat "Home" so I can "Work from Home" on days like this and do just what you did, Barry. 🙂 :lol:

Good idea.

There's a boat in our marina named "Job Site". I'm sure the owner has told many people, on many nice days, they could find him there.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[guidothesquid]

Good idea.

There's a boat in our marina name "Job Site". I'm sure the owner has told many people, on many nice days, they could find him there.

Cheers,

Bruce

That's awesome. :lol:

 

[joempo]

Barry,
I often think there should be a "like" button for posts such as yours.
Robyn and I decided to go out on the SLO Ranger for a few days yesterday. We left the Port Orchard Marina at 1 PM and approached Gig Harbor just before 4 only to see another Ranger Tug heading south toward the Narrows. We spent the night at the (free) public dock, then cruised over to Tacoma to check out the Thea Foss Waterway. Tonight we are in the Des Moines Marina and expect to find a place to anchor out tomorrow night, just for the practice of anchoring as well as launching and recovering our dinghy. Then Wednesday we'll be back in our marina with another few hours under our belts and a bit more experience.
What an amazing place to live.
Joe

 

[Bruce Moore]

Way to go, Joe!

 

[knotflying]

Hey Guidothesquid,
I am technically retired, but still consult for the guys that bought my business. With today’s technology it is amazing what one can accomplish in the boat. I have a wireless printer on the desk in the cave and I have one of those NEAT portable scanners that are about 2”X2”X14”. Add a wifi hot spot and I never miss a beat and have the best view from an office that anyone could wish for.
Mike Rizzo

 

[guidothesquid]

Hey Guidothesquid,
I am technically retired, but still consult for the guys that bought my business. With today’s technology it is amazing what one can accomplish in the boat. I have a wireless printer on the desk in the cave and I have one of those NEAT portable scanners that are about 2”X2”X14”. Add a wifi hot spot and I never miss a beat and have the best view from an office that anyone could wish for.
Mike Rizzo

I agree, Mike. I work as a systems engineer and I've done my job from a number of places. All I need is a solid Internet connection and I'm good. In fact, if we get this boat soon we could participate in the Memorial Day fun, but I have server maintenance to do that weekend as well. Thankfully technology makes it possible to do both!


Just don't boat and text, right. :mrgreen:

 

[walldog]

Hey Guidothesquid,
I am technically retired, but still consult for the guys that bought my business. With today’s technology it is amazing what one can accomplish in the boat. I have a wireless printer on the desk in the cave and I have one of those NEAT portable scanners that are about 2”X2”X14”. Add a wifi hot spot and I never miss a beat and have the best view from an office that anyone could wish for.
Mike Rizzo

Hi Mike, Willie and I also still operate our business from wherever we are located. 800 number to cell phone, laptops hooked to internet with cellular air card via router. The Neat portable scanner is great, love it. We design ads for our signs, order printed vinyls, and other parts of our business as you say "Never missing a beat". And on our boat or in our motorhome, we have the best view in town. As David from Destiny says "What a great life we lead".

Thanks for reminding us.

Herb

 

[Stella Maris]

I have worked from "Home" for the past 3 1/2 years. First it was on Karma. Now on Destiny. Like so many others, we stay connected with a wireless card and cell phones. Long ago I added a wireless printer/scanner/copier to our "Home". On Karma, it was mounted in the cave. On Destiny, it resides in the engine room.

The PNW is one incredible place to call home. We would never have believed five years ago that we would be able to do such a thing. While Maureen still works out of our "Second Land Based Home" in Castle Pines Colorado, I work from where my job takes me. Last week; Oahu and Kauai. This week; Salt Lake, Las Vegas, and then home to the PNW on Thursday evening. Upon our arrival Thursday, we plan to head to Everett for the night. Hat (Gedney) Island on Friday night, Manzanita Cove on Saturday night, and then back to Shilshole on Sunday. Maureen will head Southeast to Denver, I will head north to Anchorage and then onto Fairbanks. We will once again meet up in the PNW on Friday!

Many people ask us how we have managed to stay married for 33 years with such a schedule. It is easy. One great common interest. Being on the water together! And back to the top of the story, what better place to do it than the PNW!

What a great life we lead! (I would trade it with NO ONE!)

 

[baz]

Before I retired from the daily commute to a work place for 3 days per week and 2 days from my home office I often thought about working from the R-25 at times. I never was able to manage it somehow. However, what I did manage was to get my team to the boat at times for meetings. We had a small group of techies and meeting on the boat and making a short cruise to not too far away places was inspiring for all of us. It was work and play to some extent and served as a very different approach to meetings in the office. Getting out on the water, breathing in the salt air and seeing totally different sights all around us gave rise to some good discussions and strangely enough during the most difficult decision making efforts it allowed us to reach consensus easily.

Yes, we all had mobile phones attached to internet etc, but because we were on the water and kind of remote from the office environment meant outside interruptions were close to non-existent. So we had the feeling of being untethered and free to think differently... A lull in the meeting was not something to be concerned about as individually we could simply enjoy the openness of our surroundings and ponder some.

My upper management was a bit nervous about my on-the-water meetings proposal, but I won over their objections, and I was told later that the office always had a good laugh when some incident arose in the office that required the team. They with great delight exclaimed they are all on a boat having a meeting and cannot be disturbed... 😉 😉 😉

I do miss those meetings.

 

[joempo]

Well, our plans changed after we left Des Moines this morning. We decided to cruise up around Alki to Duwamish Point to take a look at Seattle. Then we turned southwest and moored at Blake Island. We weren't here more than 15 minutes when Don and Barb showed up with the R-27 Barbara Ann. They were out for a day trip and lunch.
Later, just before dinner, we spotted a gray-hulled R-29 approaching from the south. That turned out to be George on Relief. First time to meet George, but hopefully not the last.
I was going to add photos here, but they were too large to post. You'll have to go to my albums.

 

[Olytuggers]

We were out on Hoku Kai for two nights this week as well, heading from Swantown in Olympia to McMicken Island State Park. the Olympics were amazing, as we're our surroundings. One other boat was there, a sailboat, and it turned out that the sailor is a good friend of Anne Cox (Cascadia). It is so great to be flexible and able at times to combine boating pleasures with work. We came home along the west side of Harstene and stopped at Hope Island State Park for lunch, a lovely cruise. Life is good.

Lois and Dan Cheney
Hoku Kai R25SC

 

[SUWANNEE]

The same mountains that we saw first hand last summer from the "Nellie TOO" when her wonderful Admiral and Bob hosted us for a loverly day on the water.

And to see the Ferries again.

You really brought back great memories. 😀 😀

 

[dmc]

I don't have a tug but it's days like the last few we've had in seattle that I especially wish I had one. My wife and I went (drove) to a harbor in Olympia and thought there is only one more thing we want in life and we'd have it all...a R25. 🙂