B and C
Well-known member
Congratulations on the next step in your journey. Yes, please keep posting here. It is fun following your travels.
Van Tramp adventures 2018
- Thread starter Van-Tramp
- Start date
Help Support Van Living Forum:
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
highdesertranger said:
Thanks!
Actually I've been on the fence on the continued posting or not. The sailboat life certainly won't be cheap or RV. I think we are still going to be spending the winters in the van thoigh
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
San Juan Island
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/san-juan-island/
[size=medium]We decided to take our island hopping to a whole new level. This time by going to an island that can not be driven too; San Juan Island. It was somewhat of a time killing exercise as well as a National Park visit with the San Juan Island National Historic Park being on this island.[/size]
[size=medium]
Since we arrived fairly late in the afternoon we setup camp at the county fairgrounds. I’ve enjoyed camping at fairgrounds ever since my Mother and I did back in 2011 at Pima County Fairgrounds. Not only are most fairgrounds alive with activity, they bring me back to some great memories I had with Mom. Unfortunately, the fairgrounds on the San Juan Island was very small and no activity at all. It is off-season so that is to be expected. One nice thing was that the fairgrounds were only a half mile outside of the town of Friday Harbor. So we walked into town for dinner, drinks, and all in all a nice evening out together.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]The following morning we set out to tour the island, starting with the National Historic Park. Originally we (alright, I did) missed the turn off and instead found ourselves at Cattle Point – the southern most tip of the island – where we walked around a bit with the dogs. Sea lions were doing their thing on the little island off shore. Gurgling, burping, farting… all of that sea lion glory. At first it was nice and quite and a great way to start the morning off, but by the end of our short walk here the parking lot was already beginning to fill. We took that as a sign to escape.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]Backtracking to the National Historic Park I picked up my obligatory lapel pin (my 110th Ntnl Park) at the visitor’s center and went on another short hike to see the old American Camp. It was here that I realized just how little – nothing in fact – I knew about this almost-war between the USA and Canada. All over a dispute over which country the San Juan Islands belonged too. As usual, America threatened military actions and after a period of tension the British/Canadians backed down. So, both the American’s and the British have military camps on this island – hence the National Historic Park – and we visited both during the day.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]We also dropped in on Lime Kiln Point State Park for a quick hike and to see the lighthouse. Not a whole lot to say about it to be honest; it’s a lighthouse. I dunno why, but they never really do a whole lot for me unless they are massively spectacular. Anyway… hey there Canada! We could almost reach out and touch Canada from here, just across the channel.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/san-juan-island/
[size=medium]We decided to take our island hopping to a whole new level. This time by going to an island that can not be driven too; San Juan Island. It was somewhat of a time killing exercise as well as a National Park visit with the San Juan Island National Historic Park being on this island.[/size]
[size=medium]
Since we arrived fairly late in the afternoon we setup camp at the county fairgrounds. I’ve enjoyed camping at fairgrounds ever since my Mother and I did back in 2011 at Pima County Fairgrounds. Not only are most fairgrounds alive with activity, they bring me back to some great memories I had with Mom. Unfortunately, the fairgrounds on the San Juan Island was very small and no activity at all. It is off-season so that is to be expected. One nice thing was that the fairgrounds were only a half mile outside of the town of Friday Harbor. So we walked into town for dinner, drinks, and all in all a nice evening out together.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]The following morning we set out to tour the island, starting with the National Historic Park. Originally we (alright, I did) missed the turn off and instead found ourselves at Cattle Point – the southern most tip of the island – where we walked around a bit with the dogs. Sea lions were doing their thing on the little island off shore. Gurgling, burping, farting… all of that sea lion glory. At first it was nice and quite and a great way to start the morning off, but by the end of our short walk here the parking lot was already beginning to fill. We took that as a sign to escape.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]Backtracking to the National Historic Park I picked up my obligatory lapel pin (my 110th Ntnl Park) at the visitor’s center and went on another short hike to see the old American Camp. It was here that I realized just how little – nothing in fact – I knew about this almost-war between the USA and Canada. All over a dispute over which country the San Juan Islands belonged too. As usual, America threatened military actions and after a period of tension the British/Canadians backed down. So, both the American’s and the British have military camps on this island – hence the National Historic Park – and we visited both during the day.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
[size=medium]We also dropped in on Lime Kiln Point State Park for a quick hike and to see the lighthouse. Not a whole lot to say about it to be honest; it’s a lighthouse. I dunno why, but they never really do a whole lot for me unless they are massively spectacular. Anyway… hey there Canada! We could almost reach out and touch Canada from here, just across the channel.[/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Although we intended to board a mid afternoon ferry to get to Orcas Island before sundown we decided against it after realizing Kerri read the schedule wrong. We would have had to wait for an evening ferry, arriving on the island after dark. Not ideal at all, so we drove back across the San Juan Island to the San Juan County Park where we would camp the night. I guess it was OK and all, we did end up having the place to ourselves as no one seems to camp in the PNW once October rolls around. We even sat out in the evening to watch the sun set – not a regular thing for us anymore – and did a whole lot of day dreaming about being out on that water in the boat instead of on land.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Moving in to our new boat
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/moving-in-to-our-new-boat/
[size=medium]It has been a busy past few days. We were out on Orcas Island when the paperwork on the new sailboat was starting to pour in. Documents needed to be printed, signed, and the boat still needed to be paid for. And we really did not want to extend this whole closing process even a single hour, so we jumped on a mid-day ferry and got back to the mainland – mostly to get to a bank to wire the funds. Two days later we received the title. The boat was 100% ours with no way for it to fall through anymore.
We rushed to Bellingham – after a visit to a Walmart to pickup cleaning supplies – and got straight to the job of scrubbing and wiping ever surface. Literally, every single shelf, panel, wall, ceiling, nook and cranny needed to be wiped down with vinegar to clean up the little bit of mold that had already collected in the boat. Kerri went to town on it, crawling into every space imaginable – and new areas we just found – to ensure no alien life forms existed before we moved in.
After two full days of cleaning we spent the final day of our weekend hauling most of what has been packed into the van for 10 months, over to the boat. It was an all day process, and although the boat interior is likely twice the size (or more) of the van, we were quickly filling it up. It still amazes us both just how much we were able to fit inside Big Blue and still be comfortable in it.
It was only minutes before the sun set that we stopped to bring the dogs down from the van, mix a couple drinks, and spent the next half hour up on deck enjoying our first cocktails and sunset together on the boat. We didn’t last much longer afterwards – skipping a meal but both of us grabbing a nice hot shower before crawling into the new bed for our first night’s sleep onboard. I dreamed of boat life.
Waking in the morning is when things really started to set in with me. Not only can I stand all the way up in the boat (not true for the van), the galley (kitchen) is all the way at the aft (rear) of the boat while the birth (bed) is all the way at the bow (front). Kerri and I are not accustomed to being 20+ feet away from each other, but that is what it took to prepare the first morning’s coffee to convince Kerri to slip out from the blankets and come get her coffee mug. There is also a huge amount of seating options (compared to the van) and I feel a little lost in my choices at times. And hey, we have an actual toilet too! The real big thing is a double-sink with actual running water, although I keep looking for the foot pump like in the van. It was so easy to wash dishes after our breakfast.
[/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/moving-in-to-our-new-boat/
[size=medium]It has been a busy past few days. We were out on Orcas Island when the paperwork on the new sailboat was starting to pour in. Documents needed to be printed, signed, and the boat still needed to be paid for. And we really did not want to extend this whole closing process even a single hour, so we jumped on a mid-day ferry and got back to the mainland – mostly to get to a bank to wire the funds. Two days later we received the title. The boat was 100% ours with no way for it to fall through anymore.
We rushed to Bellingham – after a visit to a Walmart to pickup cleaning supplies – and got straight to the job of scrubbing and wiping ever surface. Literally, every single shelf, panel, wall, ceiling, nook and cranny needed to be wiped down with vinegar to clean up the little bit of mold that had already collected in the boat. Kerri went to town on it, crawling into every space imaginable – and new areas we just found – to ensure no alien life forms existed before we moved in.
After two full days of cleaning we spent the final day of our weekend hauling most of what has been packed into the van for 10 months, over to the boat. It was an all day process, and although the boat interior is likely twice the size (or more) of the van, we were quickly filling it up. It still amazes us both just how much we were able to fit inside Big Blue and still be comfortable in it.
It was only minutes before the sun set that we stopped to bring the dogs down from the van, mix a couple drinks, and spent the next half hour up on deck enjoying our first cocktails and sunset together on the boat. We didn’t last much longer afterwards – skipping a meal but both of us grabbing a nice hot shower before crawling into the new bed for our first night’s sleep onboard. I dreamed of boat life.
Waking in the morning is when things really started to set in with me. Not only can I stand all the way up in the boat (not true for the van), the galley (kitchen) is all the way at the aft (rear) of the boat while the birth (bed) is all the way at the bow (front). Kerri and I are not accustomed to being 20+ feet away from each other, but that is what it took to prepare the first morning’s coffee to convince Kerri to slip out from the blankets and come get her coffee mug. There is also a huge amount of seating options (compared to the van) and I feel a little lost in my choices at times. And hey, we have an actual toilet too! The real big thing is a double-sink with actual running water, although I keep looking for the foot pump like in the van. It was so easy to wash dishes after our breakfast.
[/size]
highdesertranger
R.I.P HDR
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2012
- Messages
- 22,892
- Reaction score
- 89
congrats!!!! why does it look like Keri is doing all the work? LOL highdesertranger
Going from the van to the boat is like goldfish moving from the bowl to the bathtub, LOL. My parents wore out one Morgan and got another in their 20+ years of retirement. May all your boating adventure dreams come true. Happy sailing.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
highdesertranger said:
Somebody has to document the happenings and someone has to do them
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Gettin’ salty
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/gettin-salty/
[size=medium]We have been living on the boat for a week now. It is all the time required to start writing internet how-to’s and producing YouTube videos on which is the best way to perform daily tasks while living the #SailLife… am I right? I promise, I will not be doing any such thing. Instead, allow me to tell you the tale of a couple living their first few days on a new-to-them sailboat.
[/size]
[size=medium]Once we moved aboard we didn’t expect life to change all that much over our current ways from the van. Honestly, it hasn’t… except it has. Now, I know it wasn’t too long ago that I was complaining about having all the luxuries of the Airstream, and just how boring that made daily life for me. Here, on the boat, I have all those luxuries again – a full size bed, a toilet, plumbed water, hot water, etc – and I am diggin’ them. Maybe I have officially entered my elderly years, but something about having a dedicated bed, bathroom, and my own personal lounging space is exactly what I need right now. In my before-Kerri-life, the entire van was all my own. It was more than enough space for a single guy. Add another full sized human as well as her full sized geriatric dog to the floor plan, and things were not so comfortable. The extra space is welcomed.
[/size]
[size=medium]Speaking of the dogs; Moose has taken to the boat a lot better than I thought he might. For a very land based dog, he doesn’t seem to mind that his new home rocks and rolls all the time. He quickly figured out how to climb and descend the very steep stairs to get in and out of the boat on his own. In fact, he takes obvious joy in hanging out with me on deck while I tinker on a project. Byron is a little more difficult. While he too took to the boat immediately – actually quite excited the first hours he came on board – his special needs make it a whole lot more work. He is unable to climb up or down the steps. In fact he is unable to even get on the deck of the boat by his own means. We have to lift him on the deck, into the cockpit, and finally down five feet of near-vertical stairs to get inside the living space of the boat. He doesn’t make it easier as 50+ pounds of flailing limbs and grunting the entire time. He thinks he is helping of course.
[/size]
[size=medium]Sleeping has been a mixed bag. Although the bed is much larger than what we are accustomed too, and quite comfortable (now), the cushions were originally too firm. The first night was a toss-n-turn night, then we got a foam topper making it much more enjoyable. Then came our first windy night. The boat rocked back and forth and groaned against the ropes holding us to land. We were both fine with that, but the lines banging against the aluminum mast made a huge bell ringing sound. And the ever present sound of water sloshing under my head as I tried to sleep made me think of this or that leak and the damage it would be causing. Said water turns out to be our very own pee, as the holding tank is right below us while we sleep. Each night things became more normalized and each night I slept better. I worry, in the future, that I may not be able to sleep in the van without it rocking back and forth like the boat.
During the week I took the van off on my own to grab some supplies. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to go and leave Kerri behind. I realized then that for the past 10-months Kerri and I have literally not left each other’s side. Since we moved into the van, I have not gone off to run errands while she stayed back at camp to work. When I needed to go into town, she had to come with me since the van was our only vehicle, home, and office. Now we have the ability to go our own ways for hours at a time. It is weird. I’m not sure I like it, but it is there again.
[/size]
[size=medium]The previous owner (now deceased) was a thorough records keeper. He left us with multiple binders full of his own personal logs, instruction manuals, blueprints and diagrams, and printouts on how to do or repair many items on the boat. It was a gold mine of information that will help us for many years to come. Kerri and I spent one evening sorting through the wealth of information to determine what should be kept. I also sorted through a large bag of spare engine parts, filters, and gaskets to start an inventory of what we have on board before I start on related engine projects.
The locals have been surprising. Literally, they have all had to walk past this boat for sale on the docks for the past few months. It could not be avoided as it was right at the front of the dock. So when the boat moved to a new slip and there were people moving about on it, people started showing up to ask if we bought it. They all speak highly of the Baba. They all share their love for the boat’s appearance and seaworthiness. They all began to share stories of when they first started sailing and of boats of similar design to our Baba. They all have expressed their excitement about us buying this boat and welcome us to the community. They all have given me their slip location just in case we have any questions. They all have been very, very welcoming.
Lastly, I conquered my first repair task; the electric windlass – to pull the anchor up and down – has two foot switches on deck. The survey showed that the down-switch was not functioning. So, on the one day of fair weather we had all week, Moose and I set out to find the issue. In the end it was – or would have been – an easy job. Some simple corrosion was preventing the switch from sending the current to the windlass. But alas, I worked on the wrong switch first, stripping a couple screws in the process. A few trips back and forth to the van to get more and more tools finally allowed me to fix the switch that wasn’t broken to begin with and get to work on the one that was. Sandpaper was all the switch needed, along with a complete new ring of butyl tape to seal it all up, and my first boat fix was complete. The 15 minute job took only two hours but it was still a confidence booster when I stepped on the buttons and the windlass functioned on both directions.
We are feeling a little more salty after a week on the boat.[/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/gettin-salty/
[size=medium]We have been living on the boat for a week now. It is all the time required to start writing internet how-to’s and producing YouTube videos on which is the best way to perform daily tasks while living the #SailLife… am I right? I promise, I will not be doing any such thing. Instead, allow me to tell you the tale of a couple living their first few days on a new-to-them sailboat.
[/size][size=medium]Once we moved aboard we didn’t expect life to change all that much over our current ways from the van. Honestly, it hasn’t… except it has. Now, I know it wasn’t too long ago that I was complaining about having all the luxuries of the Airstream, and just how boring that made daily life for me. Here, on the boat, I have all those luxuries again – a full size bed, a toilet, plumbed water, hot water, etc – and I am diggin’ them. Maybe I have officially entered my elderly years, but something about having a dedicated bed, bathroom, and my own personal lounging space is exactly what I need right now. In my before-Kerri-life, the entire van was all my own. It was more than enough space for a single guy. Add another full sized human as well as her full sized geriatric dog to the floor plan, and things were not so comfortable. The extra space is welcomed.
[/size][size=medium]Speaking of the dogs; Moose has taken to the boat a lot better than I thought he might. For a very land based dog, he doesn’t seem to mind that his new home rocks and rolls all the time. He quickly figured out how to climb and descend the very steep stairs to get in and out of the boat on his own. In fact, he takes obvious joy in hanging out with me on deck while I tinker on a project. Byron is a little more difficult. While he too took to the boat immediately – actually quite excited the first hours he came on board – his special needs make it a whole lot more work. He is unable to climb up or down the steps. In fact he is unable to even get on the deck of the boat by his own means. We have to lift him on the deck, into the cockpit, and finally down five feet of near-vertical stairs to get inside the living space of the boat. He doesn’t make it easier as 50+ pounds of flailing limbs and grunting the entire time. He thinks he is helping of course.
[/size][size=medium]Sleeping has been a mixed bag. Although the bed is much larger than what we are accustomed too, and quite comfortable (now), the cushions were originally too firm. The first night was a toss-n-turn night, then we got a foam topper making it much more enjoyable. Then came our first windy night. The boat rocked back and forth and groaned against the ropes holding us to land. We were both fine with that, but the lines banging against the aluminum mast made a huge bell ringing sound. And the ever present sound of water sloshing under my head as I tried to sleep made me think of this or that leak and the damage it would be causing. Said water turns out to be our very own pee, as the holding tank is right below us while we sleep. Each night things became more normalized and each night I slept better. I worry, in the future, that I may not be able to sleep in the van without it rocking back and forth like the boat.
During the week I took the van off on my own to grab some supplies. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to go and leave Kerri behind. I realized then that for the past 10-months Kerri and I have literally not left each other’s side. Since we moved into the van, I have not gone off to run errands while she stayed back at camp to work. When I needed to go into town, she had to come with me since the van was our only vehicle, home, and office. Now we have the ability to go our own ways for hours at a time. It is weird. I’m not sure I like it, but it is there again.
[/size][size=medium]The previous owner (now deceased) was a thorough records keeper. He left us with multiple binders full of his own personal logs, instruction manuals, blueprints and diagrams, and printouts on how to do or repair many items on the boat. It was a gold mine of information that will help us for many years to come. Kerri and I spent one evening sorting through the wealth of information to determine what should be kept. I also sorted through a large bag of spare engine parts, filters, and gaskets to start an inventory of what we have on board before I start on related engine projects.
The locals have been surprising. Literally, they have all had to walk past this boat for sale on the docks for the past few months. It could not be avoided as it was right at the front of the dock. So when the boat moved to a new slip and there were people moving about on it, people started showing up to ask if we bought it. They all speak highly of the Baba. They all share their love for the boat’s appearance and seaworthiness. They all began to share stories of when they first started sailing and of boats of similar design to our Baba. They all have expressed their excitement about us buying this boat and welcome us to the community. They all have given me their slip location just in case we have any questions. They all have been very, very welcoming.
Lastly, I conquered my first repair task; the electric windlass – to pull the anchor up and down – has two foot switches on deck. The survey showed that the down-switch was not functioning. So, on the one day of fair weather we had all week, Moose and I set out to find the issue. In the end it was – or would have been – an easy job. Some simple corrosion was preventing the switch from sending the current to the windlass. But alas, I worked on the wrong switch first, stripping a couple screws in the process. A few trips back and forth to the van to get more and more tools finally allowed me to fix the switch that wasn’t broken to begin with and get to work on the one that was. Sandpaper was all the switch needed, along with a complete new ring of butyl tape to seal it all up, and my first boat fix was complete. The 15 minute job took only two hours but it was still a confidence booster when I stepped on the buttons and the windlass functioned on both directions.
We are feeling a little more salty after a week on the boat.[/size]
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Working on the boat
[size=medium]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/working-on-the-boat/[/SIZE][/size]
[size=medium]It has been two weeks since we moved onto the boat. We have not left the dock yet for multiple reasons; A) There are some repairs we would like to do before we start sailing, and B) our insurance will not cover us because we do not know how to sail. Technicalities I say! Actually, we need to have 40 hours of sailing experience (with a certified Captain) before the insurance covers us to sail alone. We have all winter to resolve all of the above so we will be starting our real sailing adventures around May of next year.
[size=medium]In the meantime, days are not being wasted. There is a long list of things on the boat to fix or upgrade. Some were as minor as adding rubber boots to the battery terminals or adding some LED lighting to dark spots inside. Jobs are being done as best I can (yes, Kerri does some fixing too) and fixing things on an old boat is just my kind of work; very analog. And wouldn’t you know it, these things are designed from the get-go so everything is accessible for easy repairs. Of course, when I say “accessible” I do not mean it is easily accessible, but anyone determined enough will eventually be able to contort themselves into a compartment in such a way to be able to reach that hidden screw.
One repair we were able to get accomplished by a pro was to replace the old and rusted bob-stay rigging. It was explained to us as the one part of the rigging that takes the most stress, so it was an urgent fix. The gentleman we called upon to fix this for us turned out to be the very same guy that replaced the mast and all the rest of the stainless steel rigging on our boat just a few years back. This was news to us – real good news – as we had no idea that such vital, and extremely expensive, parts were so recently replaced. As you can see, Moose kept a watchful eye on his work.
The weather has turned on us however. It is extremely cold each night, and more than half of all the days have been wet. This prompted us to try the diesel heater one afternoon, after a through cleaning. It worked well up until I messed with the flue and caused the heater to burst into thick black smoke which quickly filled the boat. The problem with these heaters is there is no “full stop off”. One simply has to turn the knob to off and then wait for the fuel to burn itself out. It was a lot of smoke. Sorry, no pictures we were in full panic, but Kerri did get the following picture of me fixing (I hope) one of our deck leaks that originated from under a dorade box (silver snorkel looking thing on a wooden box… basically just an air hole). The rain is coming tomorrow so my work will be tested immediately.
Other than the working, Kerri has been on a shopping frenzy. Our broker, who’s office is here at the marina, didn’t know what he was getting into when we told us to just have our packages shipped to his office. The Amazon boxes of all sizes came in a steady flow for over a week. And then there was a full day shopping at the local department stores for even more gear. I don’t know how many pillows are needed on one boat, but she is definitely going to test just how many will fit. We have so many pillows, but the boat is starting to look and feel like our very own home.[/size]
[size=medium]https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/working-on-the-boat/[/SIZE][/size]
[size=medium]It has been two weeks since we moved onto the boat. We have not left the dock yet for multiple reasons; A) There are some repairs we would like to do before we start sailing, and B) our insurance will not cover us because we do not know how to sail. Technicalities I say! Actually, we need to have 40 hours of sailing experience (with a certified Captain) before the insurance covers us to sail alone. We have all winter to resolve all of the above so we will be starting our real sailing adventures around May of next year.
[size=medium]In the meantime, days are not being wasted. There is a long list of things on the boat to fix or upgrade. Some were as minor as adding rubber boots to the battery terminals or adding some LED lighting to dark spots inside. Jobs are being done as best I can (yes, Kerri does some fixing too) and fixing things on an old boat is just my kind of work; very analog. And wouldn’t you know it, these things are designed from the get-go so everything is accessible for easy repairs. Of course, when I say “accessible” I do not mean it is easily accessible, but anyone determined enough will eventually be able to contort themselves into a compartment in such a way to be able to reach that hidden screw.
One repair we were able to get accomplished by a pro was to replace the old and rusted bob-stay rigging. It was explained to us as the one part of the rigging that takes the most stress, so it was an urgent fix. The gentleman we called upon to fix this for us turned out to be the very same guy that replaced the mast and all the rest of the stainless steel rigging on our boat just a few years back. This was news to us – real good news – as we had no idea that such vital, and extremely expensive, parts were so recently replaced. As you can see, Moose kept a watchful eye on his work.
The weather has turned on us however. It is extremely cold each night, and more than half of all the days have been wet. This prompted us to try the diesel heater one afternoon, after a through cleaning. It worked well up until I messed with the flue and caused the heater to burst into thick black smoke which quickly filled the boat. The problem with these heaters is there is no “full stop off”. One simply has to turn the knob to off and then wait for the fuel to burn itself out. It was a lot of smoke. Sorry, no pictures we were in full panic, but Kerri did get the following picture of me fixing (I hope) one of our deck leaks that originated from under a dorade box (silver snorkel looking thing on a wooden box… basically just an air hole). The rain is coming tomorrow so my work will be tested immediately.
Other than the working, Kerri has been on a shopping frenzy. Our broker, who’s office is here at the marina, didn’t know what he was getting into when we told us to just have our packages shipped to his office. The Amazon boxes of all sizes came in a steady flow for over a week. And then there was a full day shopping at the local department stores for even more gear. I don’t know how many pillows are needed on one boat, but she is definitely going to test just how many will fit. We have so many pillows, but the boat is starting to look and feel like our very own home.[/size]
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Almost nomadic again
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/almost-nomadic-again/
[size=medium]The entire past week has just been crap weather. Not that it was unexpected for this time of year in the Pacific North West, but I’m not accustomed to all this dreariness. Kerri has been hard at work – this being her busiest time of the year – while I have continued tinkering away at odd jobs on the boat, like replacing the old kitchen faucet with a new one. I don’t think I have ever publicly expressed my disdain for plumbing work, but let it be known… I hate it! It took a few days, and few trips to Home Depot, and a decapitated thumb, but it is finally in place and not leaky. You may as well get use too seeing me half-inside some compartment as it appears it will be the norm on this boat.
[size=large]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/new-faucet.jpg
We were lucky enough to have two days of not-rain (amazing, right?) allowing me to finish sealing up all (or what I thought was all) the leaks up on the deck. During the first two days of rain that followed no drips occurred, but on the third day a new leak appeared in a fresh location solidifying that this will be a never ending task of finding and sealing up deck leaks.
[size=large]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DSC03039.jpg[/size]
[size=large]
[/size][/size][/size]
[size=medium]The cold and rainy weather has prompted us to live differently. Although we have two heaters on board, neither is doing the job of keeping us warm. The electric heater is simply too small to heat the large area of the cabin, but we keep it on anyway to get whatever tiny degree of comfort it provides. The boat’s diesel heater – which we though we fixed last week – has proven to be too temperamental to use [safely]. See, when it’s gets fussy (and it does too regularly), it ignites the fuel improperly and fills the entire cabin with thick black smoke. Since it doesn’t simply just turn off, we have to wait the five long minutes for it to burn itself out of fuel to turn it off… all while it smokes away. We got one evening of heat out of it before it’s temper helped us decide to just ignore it completely. So, to remedy the cold Kerri has found this brilliant product; flannel lines pants. She loves them.
[size=large]
[/size][/size]
[size=medium]We are coming up on four full weeks on the boat, sitting still in the marina. We are both pretty itchy to get nomadic again and now have a definitive date to do just that; Dec 10th. On that day we motor the boat to the other side of the marina and she gets pulled out of the water again for a few repairs by the pros. We will move out of the boat, back into the van, and start our 2019 travels by heading south and out of this miserable weather. It’s all damn exciting![/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/almost-nomadic-again/
[size=medium]The entire past week has just been crap weather. Not that it was unexpected for this time of year in the Pacific North West, but I’m not accustomed to all this dreariness. Kerri has been hard at work – this being her busiest time of the year – while I have continued tinkering away at odd jobs on the boat, like replacing the old kitchen faucet with a new one. I don’t think I have ever publicly expressed my disdain for plumbing work, but let it be known… I hate it! It took a few days, and few trips to Home Depot, and a decapitated thumb, but it is finally in place and not leaky. You may as well get use too seeing me half-inside some compartment as it appears it will be the norm on this boat.
[size=large]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/new-faucet.jpgWe were lucky enough to have two days of not-rain (amazing, right?) allowing me to finish sealing up all (or what I thought was all) the leaks up on the deck. During the first two days of rain that followed no drips occurred, but on the third day a new leak appeared in a fresh location solidifying that this will be a never ending task of finding and sealing up deck leaks.
[size=large]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DSC03039.jpg[/size][size=large]
[/size][/size][/size][size=medium]The cold and rainy weather has prompted us to live differently. Although we have two heaters on board, neither is doing the job of keeping us warm. The electric heater is simply too small to heat the large area of the cabin, but we keep it on anyway to get whatever tiny degree of comfort it provides. The boat’s diesel heater – which we though we fixed last week – has proven to be too temperamental to use [safely]. See, when it’s gets fussy (and it does too regularly), it ignites the fuel improperly and fills the entire cabin with thick black smoke. Since it doesn’t simply just turn off, we have to wait the five long minutes for it to burn itself out of fuel to turn it off… all while it smokes away. We got one evening of heat out of it before it’s temper helped us decide to just ignore it completely. So, to remedy the cold Kerri has found this brilliant product; flannel lines pants. She loves them.
[size=large]
[/size][/size][size=medium]We are coming up on four full weeks on the boat, sitting still in the marina. We are both pretty itchy to get nomadic again and now have a definitive date to do just that; Dec 10th. On that day we motor the boat to the other side of the marina and she gets pulled out of the water again for a few repairs by the pros. We will move out of the boat, back into the van, and start our 2019 travels by heading south and out of this miserable weather. It’s all damn exciting![/size]
highdesertranger
R.I.P HDR
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2012
- Messages
- 22,892
- Reaction score
- 89
sooooooo cool. highdesertranger
Good to hear you are still alive, be very careful, a lot of people have died trying to stay warm on a boat. My cousin lived on one in the Pacific Northwest and warns everyone she meets about slick decks and docks as she and her new born twins all went into the water when coming home from the hospital to their sail boat one rainy winter morning.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Thanks all.
I am having a good time, and somehow staying warm enough to survive, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the van and driving south. Not that I have any specific destination, just gotta move.
I am having a good time, and somehow staying warm enough to survive, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the van and driving south. Not that I have any specific destination, just gotta move.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Back in the van, jack!
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/back-in-the-van-jack/
Yes, I’ve been very quiet in the past few weeks. I’m not much the kind of guy to give a play-by-play of each individual repair or upgrade I do, either on the van or the boat, so I have spared you all that tedium. Needless to say, I was working on final repairs on the boat with a December 10th deadline to get them all done. The 10th was the scheduled haul-out day so the professionals could accomplish a few repairs that could only be done with the boat out of the water. Leak prevention, sail removal, and wood preservation was the name of the game for two weeks.
So, after two soggy days of moving most things back into the van, we are officially van-dwellers again as of the afternoon on the 9th. The morning of the 10th I cranked up the motor on the sailboat, eased it out of it’s slip, and motored it to the crane to have it lifted out of the water. It was left in the hands of the repair shop and Kerri, Moose, Byron, and myself all piled into the van to start the 800+ mile journey back to family in California.
[video=youtube]
Ironically, in the recent months that Kerri and I have been in Washington, my family (Mother, Sister, and Bro-in-law) decided to move from California to the Seattle area. As is customary in my family, once the decision was made, a house was purchased within days and the move date was scheduled. And it is that move that I am going all the way to California for – to help drive my Mother up to Washington. The plus side of all this is that they will be very nearby when we return to the boat in March/April.
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/back-in-the-van-jack/
Yes, I’ve been very quiet in the past few weeks. I’m not much the kind of guy to give a play-by-play of each individual repair or upgrade I do, either on the van or the boat, so I have spared you all that tedium. Needless to say, I was working on final repairs on the boat with a December 10th deadline to get them all done. The 10th was the scheduled haul-out day so the professionals could accomplish a few repairs that could only be done with the boat out of the water. Leak prevention, sail removal, and wood preservation was the name of the game for two weeks.
So, after two soggy days of moving most things back into the van, we are officially van-dwellers again as of the afternoon on the 9th. The morning of the 10th I cranked up the motor on the sailboat, eased it out of it’s slip, and motored it to the crane to have it lifted out of the water. It was left in the hands of the repair shop and Kerri, Moose, Byron, and myself all piled into the van to start the 800+ mile journey back to family in California.
[video=youtube]
Ironically, in the recent months that Kerri and I have been in Washington, my family (Mother, Sister, and Bro-in-law) decided to move from California to the Seattle area. As is customary in my family, once the decision was made, a house was purchased within days and the move date was scheduled. And it is that move that I am going all the way to California for – to help drive my Mother up to Washington. The plus side of all this is that they will be very nearby when we return to the boat in March/April.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
A quick return to California
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-quick-return-to-california/
We had the entire week to make the 800+ mile drive back to Kerri’s family where I had a date with my family the following weekend. Thinking we would drive a couple hours each day after work-hours, we thought we would arrive in Friday evening, five days after leaving Bellingham, WA. However, once Big Blue started rolling he just kept going and going. We visited our fair share of rest areas, the Moose Lodge where Moose and I met more than five years ago, a picturesque wildlife area near Oroville, CA , and the obligatory In-N-Out visit as we neared California. In the end, we arrived much earlier then we figured, on Wednesday evening. I get a few days to relax before jumping right back in a car to do it all again.
[size=medium]
T[/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-quick-return-to-california/
We had the entire week to make the 800+ mile drive back to Kerri’s family where I had a date with my family the following weekend. Thinking we would drive a couple hours each day after work-hours, we thought we would arrive in Friday evening, five days after leaving Bellingham, WA. However, once Big Blue started rolling he just kept going and going. We visited our fair share of rest areas, the Moose Lodge where Moose and I met more than five years ago, a picturesque wildlife area near Oroville, CA , and the obligatory In-N-Out visit as we neared California. In the end, we arrived much earlier then we figured, on Wednesday evening. I get a few days to relax before jumping right back in a car to do it all again.
[size=medium]
T[/size]
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Returning to life on the road
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/returning-to-life-on-the-road/
[size=medium]
Just days before Xmas – and on our one year anniversary of our first departure in the van that resulted in a fire – we left Kerri’s parents back in Grass Valley and started our way towards Santa Barbara, CA for our sailing lessons. It felt like the first time in months that we are properly ‘on the road’ again, and with two weeks before our lessons, we had some time to get back into the groove, so instead of driving down Interstate-5 (hated by us both) we pointed the van towards East, crossed the Sierras, and only turned South once we got well and truly in Nevada.[/size]
[size=medium]
Kerri had never traveled down the Highway 95 corridor (always opting to take 395 instead) so we took it. It is a nothing-special strip of road through the desert of Nevada, but for a single lake about mid way, and a perfect overnight spot for us. Twenty Mile Beach (free) at Walker Lake became our first official boondocking in what seemed to be a very long time. Not much too it really, but it felt good to be out of the hustle and bustle of all the California and Washington states.
We both agreed that it was good – very good – to be back in Big Blue and on our way to the South West. Dry desert is what our bones needed after months of the wet-cold of Washington and Northern California at this time of the year. With snow-capped peaks surrounding us, a calm lake below, and the place all to ourselves, we slipped under our blankets by 6 PM and started studying our sailing books in preparation for the impending lessons. [/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/returning-to-life-on-the-road/
[size=medium]
Just days before Xmas – and on our one year anniversary of our first departure in the van that resulted in a fire – we left Kerri’s parents back in Grass Valley and started our way towards Santa Barbara, CA for our sailing lessons. It felt like the first time in months that we are properly ‘on the road’ again, and with two weeks before our lessons, we had some time to get back into the groove, so instead of driving down Interstate-5 (hated by us both) we pointed the van towards East, crossed the Sierras, and only turned South once we got well and truly in Nevada.[/size]
[size=medium]
Kerri had never traveled down the Highway 95 corridor (always opting to take 395 instead) so we took it. It is a nothing-special strip of road through the desert of Nevada, but for a single lake about mid way, and a perfect overnight spot for us. Twenty Mile Beach (free) at Walker Lake became our first official boondocking in what seemed to be a very long time. Not much too it really, but it felt good to be out of the hustle and bustle of all the California and Washington states.
We both agreed that it was good – very good – to be back in Big Blue and on our way to the South West. Dry desert is what our bones needed after months of the wet-cold of Washington and Northern California at this time of the year. With snow-capped peaks surrounding us, a calm lake below, and the place all to ourselves, we slipped under our blankets by 6 PM and started studying our sailing books in preparation for the impending lessons. [/size]
[size=medium]
[/size]
