Ok I don't own it

You're best taking her to where you will use her, then finding a place fairly close to shore, but not so much that you have to pay a premium, just because you are.

Second, you have to decide what you're doing with her. Are you making all the changes, maintenance and service now or will you be piece mealing it. This will give you an idea of time frame for the project.

Find a location with running water, electricity, good roads, local infrastructure, etc. A barn is cheap, but usually not the best suited for these types of events. One thing I've done more then once is find abandoned industrial area and offer the owner of a warehouse a deal. You'll clean up his property (or what ever) in exchange for the use of the corner of one of his spaces. Being able to work indoors, maybe with windows facing the best way for light, store/setup your tools on a hard floor, with a lockable door has too many rewards to discount it easily, particularly in that portion of the country, where it rains 250 days a year. Yea, a dirt floor is nice, if you're going to be there for a few months, but if you're going to be doing some work and expect more time, then screw the dirt and go for comfort and practicality. Dirt floors is for temporary storage, not work.

 

Im going to do the complete list

the one thing that I am up in the air about is how this thing is fastened
if its something other than silicone bronze then I have a decision to make and I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there

its begging for a shower and a larger water tank, that and a heater for the aft cabin so I might just install those while I'm at it

part of the repair process includes removing the bunks from the aft cabin and getting under the floor so when I put it back together I'll rearainge the two smaller bunks in to one larger and set up the dresser accordingly

I'm hoping that floor is sectional and comes out easily, if its not it will be once I'm done with it

ridiculous as it seems scraping the bottom is the part I dread the most

thanks for the input
B

oh
I was thinking private overnight excursions for two out of Ketchikan and water taxi services

Ketch is to expensive to even consider doing the work up there and the best cheap land I found was over in Gray's Harbor area

assuming there are no local ordinances against storing and working on a boat

I'll look some more for local warehouse opportunities but I didn't find much

I need to work out these particulars and fast

B

 

What an event
It's like we've all got our hearts in this boat with you.
This is probably a first time anything like this has happened.
So many souls going through the stress and the elation.
We should have a party.
Think of all the times we'd throw Boston in the drink.
Think of all the toasts.
Think of another 500 ideas we'd swap.
Think .........I just had a nice thought. I'm going to see this boat and meet Boston when he gets to Ketchikan. I'll come over on the Willy for the event.
And Boston ..to throw those pics up now was a timely deed. Thanks.
And thank you sooo much for taking all of us on this great ride to the Haida P.

Easy Rider

 

Hi,
Actually "they" do make a silly bronze screw with a Philips head. They are about $3 per here on the west coast. At least at the chandlers here.
R.

 

Here's a source for some bow shed plans, and a web page about one being built:

http://www.by-the-sea.com/stimsonmarine/bowroof.html

http://www.farreachvoyages.com/thebowroofshed.html

 

Oooops! Water taxi? The vessel can never have had a foreign owner IN IT'S LIFE and has to have been built in the U.S.. It's the Jones-Magnuson act designed to protect U.S. shipbuilding so that we HAVE a U.S. shipbuilding in wartime. Get creative on how you make this thing have a totally U.S. trail of ownership...

 

..I was wondering if the US had some laws about stuff like that...now we know.

 

crazy I wonder if the Iroquois pass port I'm about to have will adversely effect that

oh
just sent my money off today
so its official
I own it

the boat is definitely of US origins and as far as I know its american owned all the way but I will need to do some research

and yes

we can have a whopping party soon as I pull into Ketch

thanks again all
and please keep the great ideas coming

B

oh
I suppose a lot of folks do run through here with there crazy ideas and only a few actually try to make it a reality
I'm sure you guys were really starting to wonder but yes
I'm going to give it my all and see if I cant live the dream
looking forward to seeing all of you on the water

cheers
B

 

Well if you make it to Vancouver area (BC) let me know,if i'm in town I could meet you anywhere.

We could meet up the coast if thats where I am-I'll give you my Sat phone # and u can text me your coordinates.

 

OK I found space at a small airport in the vicinity

going to talk to the manager tomorrow and should know whats up then

cost is 285 a month for closed and locked storage with electricity and bath available

if this whole scrape and paint thing is the problem I might just let someone else do it but do everything else myself

 

I also need a satellite up-link system so I can have internet on board at all times

any one got any suggestions cause its a must have

also this thing has the original anchor
which means I cant use it

I was thinking of something with a breakaway leader so that if I do get caught up I can at least save my cable and chain
any ideas on what kind of leader that will break away if I really want it to

is there any such think as a lever or remote release for stuck anchors and speaking of which whats the deal with just sinking a 55 gallon drum of concrete in my favorite bay and having my own private mooring

 

Hey Boston, lovely boat. Similar lines to mine - Tantalus. What vintage is she? Pierre

 

A break away anchor is an awful way to deal with things. It's a lot cheaper to buy a snorkel, some fins and dive down to the damn thing, un-foul it then haul it up normally.

Sinking your own private moorings is illegal in most places.

You may want to take this old gal for a short cruise first, before you dedicate a lot of money and effort to upgrades you clearly aren't qualified to decide about yet. Life aboard a yacht is considerably different then that ashore. You'll find you need to make all sorts of concessions, adjustments and learn to live in a much simpler fashion. How and what you will need to be comfortable, requires a fair bit of live aboard experience, so get that experience first, before you rip things out, so you don't have to put things back once you realize how handy they could have been, the way they were.

Back to your break away anchor, learn to rig a trip line, so if you foul the anchor, you can use it to hoist the anchor up backwards, which usually will free it up. On a boat that size, breaking one out should be a much of a problem. Drive up over the anchor rode, taking it in as you go, so you're dead over the anchor and snugged, then make the rode fast to the deck. Wave action alone will usually break it free. Like I said, get some experience before you start tossing anchors in Davie's locker, because they're too hard to break out.

 

Getting some experience is the big plan, cant picture snorkeling in the arctic but I'm betting in Florida it works like a charm.

The satellite link is kinda all important as its my connection to the world so to speak. The shower is another kinda must have although it can be fairly primitive. Heat I rank right up there with oxygen and one large bed instead of two small ones would be key if I took on couples to tour around for a day or two. I have to pull the bunks anyway to fix something so its not that hard to slice and dice a new pedestal and get a new mattress. Old ones are probably all mildewy by now. That is assuming the teak floor runs under the existing bunks, if I have to piece in teak flooring your right, its going to get expensive fast. The satellite thing is nothing to install though but runs about $100 a month last time I checked, I seem to remember the unit costing about 2k but its been a while since I've looked into it.

I'm also going to duct a lot of fresh air into the trunk cabin in an effort to keep it more comfortable

Glassing in the wheel house area sounds like a lot but shouldn't actually be all that difficult, my one big concern there is making it light so as not to make the boat unstable.

I think this thing might have been owned by a Canadian at one point so the water taxi thing might require a little creative registry as Mark called it

hmmmmmmmm
I wonder just how creative I can get before I start getting into murky water

grim reality is your absolutely right
I might just spend all this money and get my *** all the way up there and find out life aboard just isn't my bag or that I would prefer a different boat
I'd a bought a larger one but I only have so much money and this one was the biggest bang for the buck. Its got a lot of charm and I'm sure I could do day trips with her and break even or if I'm lucky even make a few bucks but its entirely possible that living aboard her is just to hard, I've gotten pretty spoiled over time and if I hate it I'll just rent a room and tool around on the boat. I really do want to try and book a few day trips though, my friends here are all dying to come up for a week or so and go cruising. That and just about everyone is flipping out over what a beauty she is and how nostalgic to go cruise for a day or two seeing the PNW

I was talking to a friend of mine who owns one of the more upscale pubs down town and she and I came up with an idea the if done right could be a hit. Lovers guided tours, private overnight tour for two to some secluded bay in Alaska were we anchor for the evening, I'd want to hire a steward to wait on them, serve drinks and make meals, help on watch. The steward and I could take turns in the forward bunk and all in all the going rate up there seems like its at least worth looking into.

in the end I might not end up living aboard at all other than for a week or two at a time

B

 

I have played around with this a lot
what really works well in deepest darkest africa is to connect your cell / mobile phone to your laptop computer
I have done this and I am 100% happy
My 3g connection via mobile phone as a modem gives me better download speeds than our ADSL which is poor and over subscribed in Africa

I now can use my laptop ANYWHERE where I can use my phone as well as up to 3 miles offshore. So all my e-mail's are at hand. I also download all my favourite websites and forums - the whole lot no problem

I can access the internet via the phone but that gives you a "phone style" internet. When connected to a laptop you get "full function"
My old Nokia N81 as well as my new Nokia Xpress touch screen has been set up. My laptop is a simple Acer Aspire 5332, nothing fancy.
I also run AVG anti-virus perfectly.

My wife has the whole 3G card ******** - my phone works better, and often better than my ADSL at home.
So for me it's easy - phone + laptop = happy internet everywhere.