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Monthly Archives: March 2015

Barnacle encrusted Gori propeller on the Wing Engine.

Barnacle encrusted Gori propeller on the Wing Engine.

We all make mistakes from time to time and my Stupid Owner Trick this year was not using my Wing Engine enough. DOH!!

After reading the James Knight interview on Pendana’s blog, his answer to the question, “if there was one thing Nordhavn owners should check religiously and don’t what would that be?”, really hit home. Yep, it’s the Wing Engine, specifically, exercising the Gori folding prop. I put my dive gear on to check mine, and sure enough, it was a mass of barnacles and muscles, so fully encrusted that it was stuck in the open position. Damn It Scott! Thirty minutes of chipping away at the growth underwater didn’t rectify the situation, so it was time to pull the boat.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle, on the hard at Swantown Boatworks.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle, on the hard at Swantown Boatworks.

Swantown Boatworks was pretty busy, but they squeezed me in (literally) right in front of their office. Once the boat was up in the slings, I was impressed to see that my underwater work had allowed the folding prop to fold-up, but it still wasn’t really functional. Compare that to the main propeller (see photo above), which had been coated with Barnacle Buster last year. I had mistakenly left the Gori prop bare and you can see that the marine growth LOVED it!

They pressure washed the hull and running gear for me, then set the boat on the hard about one foot from the front door of their office. It was rather funny to watch the yard workers ducking under the swim step in order to get to the restrooms.

All cleaned up and ready to launch.

All cleaned up and ready to launch.

I spent the next few days chipping, grinding, sanding and eventually painting the Gori Folding propeller with outdrive paint. It was a bit of a miserable job, with air temperatures around 40° F and rain squalls every hour or so. Once the prop was good to go, I lubed up the mechanism and then went to work cleaning the keel coolers, replacing zincs and touching up a few spots of bottom paint that were bare.

Prior to putting Sea Eagle back in the water, I pulled and replaced the 7/16″ packing on the main shaft and inspected the shaft/bearings/etc., finding it all to be in excellent condition.

Launching Sea Eagle back into the water.

Launching Sea Eagle back into the water.

For those that didn’t see James Knight’s interview, here was his advice on what Nordhavn owners should check relegiously: “I would say that placing their wing engine into and out of gear while its running is something most are guilty of not doing. When we pull boats from the water we often see that the wing engine propeller is jammed i.e. the propeller doesn’t fold / unfold correctly.” Busted!

Clean and functional Gori Prop, like it should be.

Clean and functional Gori Prop, like it should be.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle anchored in Totten Inlet.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle anchored in Totten Inlet.

With the promise of flat calm seas and lots of sun, we left the marina in pea soup fog. The radar was running, Sea Eagle’s AIS was broadcasting and the fog horn was doing it’s thing to let others know where we were. After about thirty minutes of slow headway, I spotted a whole cluster of boats ahead on the radar. Wondering who else was crazy enough to be out in the very thick fog (viz was down to about 100 yards), I stuck my head out the door to listen for fog signals and heard nothing but dripping silence.

I crept ahead, dead slow to discover about 30 sailboats, in some type of a race, with sails up, no wind and zero fog signals. I guess they figured the rules don’t apply to them!

The sailboats were pointing every conceivable direction due to swirling currents and a lack of wind, which made picking a path through them a bit of a challenge, but we putzed on through and continued making our way toward Totten Inlet and Wildcat Cove.

The entrance to Wildcat Cove is beautiful.

The entrance to Wildcat Cove is beautiful.

Once clear of Budd Inlet, the fog lifted, the sun came out and the day became gloriously beautiful and calm. The current was running against us through Squaxin Passage, which slowed us down to less than six knots, but we picked our way around Steamboat Island and turned south into Totten Inlet.

We arrived at Wildcat Cove (Little Skookum) at low tide (+3′) and noticed that all of my various charts for the region showed only 2 soundings of ten feet, one at the entrance and the other 1/2 mile inside the cove. That should be enough water, but I wasn’t sure what was between the two soundings, so proceeded VERY slowly into the cove. All the neighbors came out to watch the big Nordhavn 47 proceeding into the VERY shallow water. Methinks they were expecting a big crunch!

Time for some BBQ as the Sun Sets on flat calm waters.

Time for some BBQ as the Sun Sets on flat calm waters.

The fathometer kept getting shallower and shallower and once it got down to 3′ of water, I chickened out and turned around. I could see the prop wash kicking up mud, so headed back out into Totten inlet to drop the anchor. We dropped the large dingy in and cruised up to the head of Wildcat Cave and Little Skookum Inlet. It’s a beautiful and quiet setting, but very, very shallow. Using the depth sounder in the dinghy, I determined that it would be possible to anchor in the cove if we came in on at least a 6′ tide. Maybe next time?

Once back on Sea Eagle, we enjoyed the calm water and sunshine, then fired up the BBQ as the sun set on another perfect evening of Winter Cruising!

Sea Eagle, Totten Inlet

Sea Eagle, Totten Inlet

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle at Longbranch Marina.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle at Longbranch Marina.

March roared in with lots of sunshine and lots of wind. With small craft advisories in effect and 25 knots showing on the anemometer, we headed out in search of some protected waters for the evening. Filucy Bay, on the Key Peninsula looked promising so we cruised slowly into the weather, turning North at Devil’s head. The bay was well protected by Anderson and McNeil Islands and offered stunning views of Mount Rainier, perfectly framed in the entrance to the bay.

As we turned in, I spotted the small Marina operated by the Longbranch Improvement Club, with only a few small boats tied up. There was plenty of room for a 47 foot Nordhavn, so I decided to take the opportunity to practice some port side docking into strong head winds.

Mount Rainier framed perfectly in the entrance to Filucy Bay.

Mount Rainier framed perfectly in the entrance to Filucy Bay.

The marina docks have continuous bull rails for securing boats and anyplace that has yellow painted rails is public moorage. We picked a straight section of the main dock and slid right up, easily, with no fuss. I didn’t even have to use the thrusters.

Once the boat was secured, we stopped to chat with the owner of a Grand Banks classic and discovered that we’d both graduated from the same high school. It’s truly a very small world that we life in. As advertised, the view of the Mount Rainier was stunning and the wind backed down just enough as the sun set to allow the BBQ to work it’s magic for another exceptional meal.

In the morning, we woke up to an ice covered boat and frost coated docks, but the sun was out, the wind had died completely and I couldn’t think of anyplace that I’d rather be!

Longbranch Marina

Longbranch Marina