Karma's Haulout

[Stella Maris]

Well, they pulled Karma today to apply a fresh coat of bottom paint. I was very impressed as well as the guys in the yard, as to the condition of the bottom after being in the water for 13 months!

No blisters, the prop had not a single dent, through hulls were all in good condition, swim step struts showing no corrosion. We were however missing our prop zinc again...... these have the tendency to "spin" off. We last had it replaced the first week of September. The yard is going to use some locktite and hopefully this will help. If not, I am going to buy stock in the company that makes these!

After the power wash, the bottom looked even better. There was no flaking or peeling of paint so it appears the original bottom job was done correctly.

She will be splashed again Thursday afternoon and it will be off to Kingston for the weekend!

 

[Spirit of Gratitude]

It is always good to get a good report. Thanks for sharing the good news. Keep us posted on how the locktite works out for you.

 

[C Dawg]

We put the Allotrope on its trailer for the winter in the first part of October. It is now under cover at a storage place in Snohomish. We may put it in the water for a few days around Christmas time if the weather there is nice when we are up there for the holidays (although that would mean having to winterize the engine again). We kept our slip in the Everett Marina so we will be ready to go when we launch it again in the spring.
Anyway, when we pulled the boat out, just like advertised, we had no prop zinc. However the bolt that holds the zinc on was still in place. Maybe the prop zinc corrodes both on the outside and in around the bolt, so it just gets loose and falls off. I replaced the prop zinc as well as all the other zincs on the boat. The trim tab zincs were about half the original size. The bow and stern thruster zincs still were in pretty good shape but I replaced them anyway. The top engine zinc was completely gone, just like we found yours during the "250 hour service seminar" at the Tug Fest last September. I will probably check the top engine zinc every 3 months now.
It is always great to hear about your adventures. If we do get the Allotrope in the water over Christmas time we will let you know. Happy Holidays.

 

[RProffer]

Going through zincs that fast, I wonder if maybe you have either: an electrical problem with your boat; or an electrical problem at your marina. You might want to check with other boat owners at your marina, and then work from there. Completely consuming one or more zincs leaves you unprotected and could cause damage to your equipment.

 

[knotflying]

You never mentioned what bottom paint you used and the application process.

 

[bbrh842]

There is hardly any zinc underneath the socket head cap screw that holds the zinc on. Soon as you get just a little bit of corrosion under the socket head cap screw, the zinc falls off. Take out the socket head cap screw and throw it away. Replace it with a real BOLT with a flat washer and at least two or three lock washers. The zinc can't slip off over the flat washer, and the lock washers maintain some pressure on the zinc when it starts to corrode.

 

[Stella Maris]

We are using Petit paint. I used this on our sailboat and was always happy with the results. Karma came with Petit and after a year, no growth on the bottom.

The prop zincs are actually falling off (or spinning off). Again, the bolt that holds them in place was also gone. This time, the yard is going to use locktite to make sure it stays on....... We could not do that in September as she was in the water.

All of the other zincs were still in great shape. They too though were replaced in September. At that point, they had been in the water for 10 months. They were at about 50% when replaced.

 

[Stella Maris]

I have added the photo's of Karma's new bottom job to our web site along with the installation of the zinc's on our swim platform struts. These can be found on the Karma's Thanksgiving Cruise page.

I was very impressed with the professionalism that the folks at Yachtfish Marine portrayed. After splashing Karma, the General Manager came down the dock and thanked me for my business. Along with his thanks, there was a young gentleman that assisted in the launch. He too thanked me for my business. This really impressed me. This young man was no more than 19 or 20!

Nowadays to many people take our business for granted. They for some reason believe that we have no choice but to buy their products. There is one way to show them, don't go back, and tell all of your friends about your experience. Then there is the other side of the coin. With people like those at Yachtfish, you tell people about the great service and workmanship that you received.

Our link is: Rangertug25-Solitude.com

 

[johnniethek]

D and M,

The Red Ranger will be on a trailer at the Kingston marina Sunday night after a day of crabbing in Dabob Bay, south of Hood Canal bridge. I will be staying on The Manatee, a 32-foot Grand Banks owned a cupla buddies. If you will be there overnight Sunday, let's plan to hookup. One of the owners of the G Banks is majorly interested in Ranger's 29-footer.

Thnx and go Ducks,

JtK

 

[Stella Maris]

John,
It seems Karma is not destined to make it to Kingston this year..... Plans have changed and we will not make it north this weekend. Currently I am sitting at the dinette watching the sun rise over the city skyline of Seattle. The weather appears that is it going to be another beautiful winter day in the PNW. We are planning to take a short stroll through the market and then head over to Blake for the night.

We are not sure of our plans for next weekend. It will be our last trip to the PNW for the remainder of 2010. With the holidays approaching and then a two week trip to Alaska planned, we will not return until the second weekend in January. We hope to get to Gig before Christmas but not sure if that is in the cards.

2010 has proved to be a wonderful year here in the PNW. We started it out with our holiday cruise last year to the San Juan Islands. Then it was off to the Gulf Islands in June, followed by a trip to Desolation Sound in August. In between we explored as many locations within a days cruise as we could.

We have crossed the Straits of Juan De Fuca five times now, the Straits of Georgia twice, been through Deception Pass and Dodd Narrows. We have locked through the Ballard locks four times. We have navigated in Fog, high winds, big waves, after dark, and of course in heavy rain. Karma has been graced with snow, wind, rain, fog, and sunshine!

Tugfest 2010 was a great success with 42 Ranger Tugs in attendance. What brings it all together though, are the people! We cannot count the number of great people we have met along the way. People from all walks of lives. People with different stories to tell.

2011 is going to bring new challenges, destinations and adventures. Hopefully we will see you all out there on the water in 2011!

David and Maureen

 

[Stella Maris]

Our original plan for this weekend was to spend Saturday night in Kingston. However after checking the NOAA web site on Friday, we made a change to our plans. NOAA was forecasting strong northerly winds on Saturday afternoon.

With the weather forecast in mind, we departed Bell at 9:50 with Blake Island programed into the chart plotter as our destination. We were no more than a mile out of Bell when the wind kicked up good. Along with the wind came the waves. Three to four feet with an occasional one a bit larger. Since we were headed west and the wind was out of the north...... we began taking on some nasty beam seas. The decision was made to head to the northwest putting the seas on the forward starboard qtr. Once we had Blake Island at 90 degrees on the port side, we would turn and head southwest keeping the waves on the starboard aft qtr. Well, the best layed plans sometimes don't work out, the further west we went, the larger the waves became. Then they started to clock around to the North East. Once again we were in beam seas. We now altered our course running basically due north. The new plan and destination was now Poulsbo. Continue to head north into the waves at six knots until we reached Port Madison. At that point we would be in calmer waters. We would then set our course to take us through Agate Passage to Liberty Bay and into Poulsbo.

Once we reached Port Madison, the seas did indeed flatten out. We made the turn to the west and ran with the tide through Agate Passage. Entered the passage at 7 knots, came out on the other side at 10.5 knots! Got to love that favorable current!

Once Karma was secure in Poulsbo, it was time to give her a bath to rid her of all of the salt she gathered on her crossing.

The weather in Poulsbo was incredible. Sunny, light winds, blue sky. We strolled through town and then headed back to Karma. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on Karma giving tours to the other boaters that continued to stop by and admire our little tug.

Tomorrow, it is back to Port Orchard, tuck Karma in for another week and head off to the airport.

Ah yes, boating in the PNW in the winter can be incredible..... See you next week!