Skookum Maru

[Phil Y]

Rope clutch

Sent from my CPH1851 using Tapatalk

[Penta2]

I wouldn't worry about the brake on the boat trailer winch. I use a standard cheap boat trailer winch with no brake to lift my skiff on to my aft deck and have never had any issues, there seems to be enough mechanical advantage with the winch to easily slowly lower the skiff. Its a beauty day out there now in the straight (sat afternoon) flat calm and sunny skies!

[cstevens]

What you need is a check valve for 3/8" line ... running it through a cam cleat would probaly wear it out fast, hunh ?

Or a switchable up-down ratchet on the handle. Cut the handle off a 3/4" Harbor Freight ratchet and insert that between the handle and the sprocket. That would make it stick out farther tho. If you went crazy you could design a ratchet that went into the handle itself.

A self tailing winch would easily work. Lowering would use friction around the drum.

Example: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...%2F16023782781

Rope clutch

Sent from my CPH1851 using Tapatalk

I've looked at clutches, cam cleats, halyard winches... nothing seems like the perfect solution though. Too fiddly or too modern or just plain unworkable. This style of wire halyard winch with brake seems like it might work though:



Maybe.

I wouldn't worry about the brake on the boat trailer winch. I use a standard cheap boat trailer winch with no brake to lift my skiff on to my aft deck and have never had any issues, there seems to be enough mechanical advantage with the winch to easily slowly lower the skiff. Its a beauty day out there now in the straight (sat afternoon) flat calm and sunny skies!

That was my experience with the setup on Savona as well. Mechanical advantage was never a problem. So maybe I'm just being over cautious. And flat calm in the Strait today? Funny - both NOAA and Canada Weather were showing small craft advisory conditions with winds to 30kts all day. Still are in fact. Just goes to show... something. Not sure what. That it's one thing to sit in your chair a hundred miles away from your boat and guess what conditions will be like based on the forecast, and quite another to poke your head out of the harbor and see for yourself I suppose.

But either way, 30kts in the Strait of Georgia is not something I would go out in voluntarily. Those conditions would rattle the china a bit. Your average working fisherman would probably laugh at that level of caution. I imagine that if you don't go out when it's blowing hard you will spend a lot of time tied to the dock instead of catching fish. But I figure my job is to keep the crew happy and comfortable, and the glassware unbroken.

[Penta2]

Well, retract my statement about how nice it was.... you made the right call

[Boatsbgood]

For a family cruise in a newish boat, this is the prime directive, in my view!

"But I figure my job is to keep the crew happy and comfortable, and the glassware unbroken."

BQ

[Sabre]

The forecast has kept us in a few times recently, too. It's one thing to endure something, another to enjoy it. We'd prefer to enjoy if possible, endure only when necessary.

That bronze winch is a beauty! One thing that might give you peace of mind is to use a loop of line secured at one end to the winch or davit with the other in a prussik knot around the fall. Keep one hand on the prussik and the line will slide through it with no problem. Let go, however, and it will quickly grab tight and arrest the fall. The only disadvantage to this system would be that you use up a hand, which you might prefer to use to maneuver the dink as she goes over the side.

I have no safety on mine as I winch the 10-foot RIB off the cabin roof, and it's plenty heavy with gas and 8 hp OB. I'm very mindful of the need to keep a hand firmly on the winch handle, and frankly on occasion wish that I had three hands, especially when a breeze makes controlling the thing a bit of a challenge.

[cstevens]

Well, retract my statement about how nice it was.... you made the right call

Ah, good to know! Not that I would have made a different decision in any case but it's nice to know that we didn't miss a beautiful day on the water through being over cautious.

For a family cruise in a newish boat, this is the prime directive, in my view!

"But I figure my job is to keep the crew happy and comfortable, and the glassware unbroken."

BQ

The forecast has kept us in a few times recently, too. It's one thing to endure something, another to enjoy it. We'd prefer to enjoy if possible, endure only when necessary.

That bronze winch is a beauty! One thing that might give you peace of mind is to use a loop of line secured at one end to the winch or davit with the other in a prussik knot around the fall. Keep one hand on the prussik and the line will slide through it with no problem. Let go, however, and it will quickly grab tight and arrest the fall. The only disadvantage to this system would be that you use up a hand, which you might prefer to use to maneuver the dink as she goes over the side.

I have no safety on mine as I winch the 10-foot RIB off the cabin roof, and it's plenty heavy with gas and 8 hp OB. I'm very mindful of the need to keep a hand firmly on the winch handle, and frankly on occasion wish that I had three hands, especially when a breeze makes controlling the thing a bit of a challenge.

Ah yes - "enjoy rather than endure" seems like a good thing to aim for. My cruising ambitions have always been more about placid water and calm anchorages than battling the roaring forties around Cape Horn. I'll leave those adventures to Howard Rice and other men braver than I. And I will wish them bon voyage and good health in their expeditions while I enjoy a good book in whatever quiet cove we find ourselves in at the end of the day. We do want to cruise up to Alaska some day though, and I suspect that trip comes with a certain amount of weather and open water.

As for the winch... it does seem like it will work as-is. Maybe with a prusik or some other sort of safety line, but its easy enough to just remember not to let go of the handle! Ok then.

[Garret]

IMHO, "What is it about this that's fun?" days are to be avoided if at all possible. Sometimes you can't - but, if you can, good call!

[Bobcat]

IMHO, "What is it about this that's fun?" days are to be avoided if at all possible. Sometimes you can't - but, if you can, good call!

My former father in law, a fisherman for more than six decades, looked at my boat: " You've got a lot of glass, but you don't to go out when it's bad like I do."

As I get older the less I want to be out in nasty weather. Coming back for the Wood Boat Festival last September, I bashed into small craft advisory force winds for several hours. Not a problem, not even really unpleasant, but not a lot of fun

[navydog]

Having a pilot / wheel house makes such things bearable. Out in the open these things become foolishness.

[chas]

Forecast for my area ....

https://weather.gc.ca/marine/forecas...3&siteID=14305

I use this service for trip planning and have grown accustomed to it's accuracy (if we dare call it that). Campbell River is at the top end of the Salish Sea, formerly known as the Strait of Georgia , and from there we accessed the Discovery Islands, what I called the start of 'North of Desolation Sound'. From my experience there 25kts seemed to be the magic number when you begin to consider the wind impact on your trip. The 15-25kt forecast alerted you to the possibilities, 20-30 was a go-nogo decision, based on wind and direction of travel. Accolade is quite comfortable from my viewpoint in 6-8' head seas, running off with 5-6', but anywhere in between will get the dishes moving around! Fortunately in that area the wind is usually up or down channel, and there is always a protected anchorage within easy reach.
We now share the same home cruising area Chris, but I don't know much of it as yet. Best of luck in your adventures; that pic of your son at the helm is a keeper! / Jim

[_QB_]

https://weather.gc.ca/marine/forecas...3&siteID=14305
I use this service for trip planning and have grown accustomed to it's accuracy (if we dare call it that).

And it's broadcast on the VHF weather channels, which cover pretty well at least up to Cape Caution. Environment Canada's accuracy has been getting better over the last few years, at least that's my impression. I know global weather models have been getting better.

Another thing I like is looking at all the lightstation reports. It's a good way to get a big picture. A VHF marine weather channel will recite these for the few lights in its area, but if you have internet access, this page has them all: https://weather.gc.ca/marine/weather...station_e.html

And also... for automated reporting points, you can see their hourly data for the last 24 hours, which is great for spotting trends and for seeing how bad the last forecast was . E.g. for Entrance Island: https://weather.gc.ca/marine/weather...&stationID=WEL

One puzzle remains. There is a forecast for North of Nanaimo and another for South of Nanaimo. Sometimes they are merged into a single forecast for the whole Strait of Georgia, but that's rare. Now what is the forecast for Nanaimo itself? Entrance Island is at the same latitude as Nanaimo, and I compared its reports to the two forecasts to try to see which one, or an average of the two, was more accurate. My study was inconclusive...

--Paul

[_QB_]

From my experience there 25kts seemed to be the magic number when you begin to consider the wind impact on your trip. The 15-25kt forecast alerted you to the possibilities, 20-30 was a go-nogo decision, based on wind and direction of travel. Accolade is quite comfortable from my viewpoint in 6-8' head seas, running off with 5-6', but anywhere in between will get the dishes moving around! Fortunately in that area the wind is usually up or down channel, and there is always a protected anchorage within easy reach.

And the Strait of Georgia is almost always a confused sea. Tidal currents divide around islands and point in different directions. Just south of Cape Mudge is where the opposite-direction currents, one coming through Johnstone Strait and the other through Juan de Fuca, meet. The whole thing is like a big bathtub sloshing around. So you can be heading in to a 25 knot southeaster, bucking 4-5 foot waves, and here comes a set of 4-5 foot waves at 90 degrees, having bounced off some island or something, and now there are 10 foot deep holes around.

Your numbers with Accolade would be reasonable for Skookum Maru too. Depending on who's aboard, of course. Chris will figure out what works for him and Victoria and Dash. I found it useful to go out in challenging weather. Skookum Maru has the boat nature. She'll be happy to keep doing her boaty thing no matter what, but she expects you to do your part. It's good to know what that is.

--Paul

[cstevens]

Forecast for my area ....

https://weather.gc.ca/marine/forecas...3&siteID=14305

I use this service for trip planning and have grown accustomed to it's accuracy (if we dare call it that). Campbell River is at the top end of the Salish Sea, formerly known as the Strait of Georgia , and from there we accessed the Discovery Islands, what I called the start of 'North of Desolation Sound'. From my experience there 25kts seemed to be the magic number when you begin to consider the wind impact on your trip. The 15-25kt forecast alerted you to the possibilities, 20-30 was a go-nogo decision, based on wind and direction of travel. Accolade is quite comfortable from my viewpoint in 6-8' head seas, running off with 5-6', but anywhere in between will get the dishes moving around! Fortunately in that area the wind is usually up or down channel, and there is always a protected anchorage within easy reach.
We now share the same home cruising area Chris, but I don't know much of it as yet. Best of luck in your adventures; that pic of your son at the helm is a keeper! / Jim

And it's broadcast on the VHF weather channels, which cover pretty well at least up to Cape Caution. Environment Canada's accuracy has been getting better over the last few years, at least that's my impression. I know global weather models have been getting better.

Another thing I like is looking at all the lightstation reports. It's a good way to get a big picture. A VHF marine weather channel will recite these for the few lights in its area, but if you have internet access, this page has them all: https://weather.gc.ca/marine/weather...station_e.html

And also... for automated reporting points, you can see their hourly data for the last 24 hours, which is great for spotting trends and for seeing how bad the last forecast was . E.g. for Entrance Island: https://weather.gc.ca/marine/weather...&stationID=WEL

One puzzle remains. There is a forecast for North of Nanaimo and another for South of Nanaimo. Sometimes they are merged into a single forecast for the whole Strait of Georgia, but that's rare. Now what is the forecast for Nanaimo itself? Entrance Island is at the same latitude as Nanaimo, and I compared its reports to the two forecasts to try to see which one, or an average of the two, was more accurate. My study was inconclusive...

--Paul

And the Strait of Georgia is almost always a confused sea. Tidal currents divide around islands and point in different directions. Just south of Cape Mudge is where the opposite-direction currents, one coming through Johnstone Strait and the other through Juan de Fuca, meet. The whole thing is like a big bathtub sloshing around. So you can be heading in to a 25 knot southeaster, bucking 4-5 foot waves, and here comes a set of 4-5 foot waves at 90 degrees, having bounced off some island or something, and now there are 10 foot deep holes around.

Your numbers with Accolade would be reasonable for Skookum Maru too. Depending on who's aboard, of course. Chris will figure out what works for him and Veronica and Dash. I found it useful to go out in challenging weather. Skookum Maru has the boat nature. She'll be happy to keep doing her boaty thing no matter what, but she expects you to do your part. It's good to know what that is.

--Paul

Thanks Jim and Paul. I have been using the https://weather.gc.ca site as well as the NOAA weather site. I hadn't seen the CA lightstation reports though. Very handy! But my experience is more in Puget Sound, the San Juans and the southern Gulf Islands. I have crossed the Strait of Georgia a few times but I don't really know it yet so I have a hard time picturing what certain weather conditions will be like out on the water. A 25kt southerly in Puget Sound would be no problem. The same winds in the Strait could be a nasty beam sea between Blaine and Sucia or it could be entirely manageable - I just don't know which yet. But I'll learn. I don't mind a little weather for myself and I agree that it's useful to go out when it's a bit rough so you know what to expect. Tory has been out when it's fairly bumpy as well. She's more comfortable in it than several boat owners that I know. But Dash is still getting used to boating and I want him to have some experience with it before we start bouncing around.

[Favorite]

Naturally, now that the weekend is over, it's calmed down a lot

[cstevens]

Back again. Time to catch up on what's been happening the last few weeks. Not that much, as it turns out. Reason being that I've had chronic pain in my left elbow for several months now. I have been just pushing through it with ibuprofen and grumpiness but eventually I did the smart thing and saw my doctor. Who had me take x-rays, and then an MRI, which revealed that I have a tear in my "common extensor tendon". She recommended surgery but I'm hoping to avoid that so I'm trying to keep from using it at all to see if it will heal on its own. Which really means not using my left wrist at all, since that's what puts strain on the tendon. It isn't all that easy. Funny how the smallest things become difficult when you can't put any strain on your wrist. And of course I can't just stop doing everything. I have to earn a living for one thing. And I'd run mad with boredom for another. So some days are better than others. Frustrating.

But even with that going on I have not been completely useless. For one thing, I picked up a pair of oars for the little skiff that we bought for Dash, and fitted them with leather collars:



(No pictures of the collars unfortunately. They were just from a lace-on kit in any case, but they came out quite nicely.) Now we just need to find some time for him to practice rowing.

And then today I got back up to Blaine for the first time since I finished the stove install. It looks like tomorrow will be a decent day so I moved S.M. out of the boathouse and onto the visitor dock to get some light.



Tomorrow I'll head over to the fuel dock to top off the tanks and then we will be ready to go cruising whenever the weather and our schedules permit. Soon I hope!

[Hugh MacD]

Good luck with the elbow! And g'luck gettin in a cruise. Might be just the therapy you need for that tendon.

[navydog]

Unsolicited advice from the collective. You will be back in action as a two handed fellow much faster getting surgery now then hoping it heals sometime in the future. It will always have a weakness if you leave it.

[cstevens]

Good luck with the elbow! And g'luck gettin in a cruise. Might be just the therapy you need for that tendon.

Thanks Hugh.

Unsolicited advice from the collective. You will be back in action as a two handed fellow much faster getting surgery now then hoping it heals sometime in the future. It will always have a weakness if you leave it.

You may be right navydog. For sure it's barking at me now, and that's after only a couple of days of light chores on the boat. I can't imagine doing a full haulout like this. We'll see. I'm thinking about it.

But at any rate, Skookum Maru is now fueled and watered and ready for the season. And I had a nice conversation with the guy working the fuel dock at Semiahmoo while I was at it. He's a forum reader and he recognized Skookum Maru from the thread so we got to chat about boats while I was fueling up. (Cheers Eric if you are reading this).

Clear skies, light wind and calm water in the Strait of Georgia beckoned to me this afternoon as I headed back across the channel between Semiahmoo and Blaine. I could have turned to port and been anchored in Echo Bay on Sucia Island before sunset but the ties of work, family and home kept me on a more pedestrian course and ten minutes later I was tied up in the boathouse and preparing for the drive back to Seattle.

[dinoa]

Before surgery get a second opinion. It doesn't hurt except a little in the pocket

[navydog]

"Clear skies, light wind and calm water in the Strait of Georgia beckoned to me this afternoon as I headed back across the channel between Semiahmoo and Blaine. I could have turned to port and been anchored in Echo Bay on Sucia Island before sunset but the ties of work, family and home kept me on a more pedestrian course and ten minutes later I was tied up in the boathouse and preparing for the drive back to Seattle"

I tell my wife often that we have to use the boat when good weather presents itself rather then her work schedule, which is the normal Monday to Friday gig. Waiting for random nice weather to fall on the weekends just doesn't work.

[cstevens]

Before surgery get a second opinion. It doesn't hurt except a little in the pocket

Good advice and I may opt for that but first I think I need to hear from the surgeon. I have a referral that I've been sitting on since I would like to avoid surgery. Can't hurt to talk to him though.

"Clear skies, light wind and calm water in the Strait of Georgia beckoned to me this afternoon as I headed back across the channel between Semiahmoo and Blaine. I could have turned to port and been anchored in Echo Bay on Sucia Island before sunset but the ties of work, family and home kept me on a more pedestrian course and ten minutes later I was tied up in the boathouse and preparing for the drive back to Seattle"

I tell my wife often that we have to use the boat when good weather presents itself rather then her work schedule, which is the normal Monday to Friday gig. Waiting for random nice weather to fall on the weekends just doesn't work.

Ah, definitely. We are fortunate in that my the work schedule is flexible and my wife is not working right now so that's not so much of a problem. But we don't want to disrupt Dash's school schedule too much so there there are some limits on the urge to just go boating. However there is nothing stopping us from heading up to Blaine on a Friday afternoon after school and spending a couple of days aboard.

Right now though I'm just happy to be spending May doing the little things that one does when getting ready for the season. Yesterday was Opening Day, when the Seattle boating community celebrates with an annual parade, collegiate rowing races and other fanfare. And this is the first year in two decades that we have met this date with a seaworthy vessel. Given that good fortune I am not going to fuss about the constraints of every day life. We will spend plenty of time on the water over the next few months.

[hawkeye54]

Chris, just to add a bit to input on the elbow problem - In the summer of 2017, I had to give up building Habitat houses because I could no longer hold onto a hammer or use a can of spray paint, the last 3 fingers of my right hand would not close.. After testing, it turned out that a muscle in my right elbow was pinching the nerve controlling those fingers. I had surgery in November of that year, and have been fine since.. I realize a tear is a whole different animal, so definitely consider that second opinion.



Rick

[cstevens]

Chris, just to add a bit to input on the elbow problem - In the summer of 2017, I had to give up building Habitat houses because I could no longer hold onto a hammer or use a can of spray paint, the last 3 fingers of my right hand would not close.. After testing, it turned out that a muscle in my right elbow was pinching the nerve controlling those fingers. I had surgery in November of that year, and have been fine since.. I realize a tear is a whole different animal, so definitely consider that second opinion.



Rick

Thanks Rick. For the tendon tear, the info I can find says "6-12 months or more" of rest for letting it heal on it's own and "3-6 months" recovery from surgery. So it seems like either way I'm going to be one-winged for quite a while. I'm working on being philosophical about that.

[Favorite]

So it seems like either way I'm going to be one-winged for quite a while. I'm working on being philosophical about that.

Well, Nelson only had one arm so at least you're in good company

[Garret]

Well, Nelson only had one arm so at least you're in good company

Let's hope Chris isn't shot by a French Marine!

[Hope you get better soon Chris!]

[dinoa]

A surgeon will almost always recommend surgery.

[BBSebens]

A surgeon will almost always recommend surgery.

a GOOD surgeon will only recommend surgery if its going to be beneficial.

[cstevens]

Thanks everyone. Funny, when Favorite posted about "Nelson" my first thought was Willie, not Horatio No French ships-of-the-line or marine snipers in my future thankfully. Or poker games for that matter. As for surgery, I'm less interested in the bare thumbs up/down recommendation as much as what the surgeon says about my specific case after seeing the MRI. Hopefully that will give me an idea of how to proceed.

And an interesting (to me anyway) intersection between the MRI scan and my day job: A couple of years ago I led a project for Microsoft and Stanford to develop a prototype system using the Microsoft Hololens that renders cancer tumor MRI imagery as an augmented reality image. The A/R image is then located on the patient's body using an optical tagging system so that the tumor can be viewed by the surgeon directly on the patient in pre-op. The system allows the surgeon to visually place the tumor in 3D rather than having to interpret the 2D MRI data onto the patient. During the project I learned a lot about medical imaging and surgery and the thing that most impressed me was the complexity of the mental process that the surgeon needs to go through to determine where to operate, how much to remove and so-on. It's not even remotely intuitive. And they only get a few minutes in pre-op to make their incision marks and then only a few minutes in the OR to do the surgery. I now have an enormous respect for the knowledge and skill required to do that job.

[Sabre]

a good surgeon will only recommend surgery if its going to be beneficial.

like

[BBSebens]

And an interesting (to me anyway) intersection between the MRI scan and my day job: A couple of years ago I led a project for Microsoft and Stanford to develop a prototype system using the Microsoft Hololens that renders cancer tumor MRI imagery as an augmented reality image. The A/R image is then located on the patient's body using an optical tagging system so that the tumor can be viewed by the surgeon directly on the patient in pre-op. The system allows the surgeon to visually place the tumor in 3D rather than having to interpret the 2D MRI data onto the patient. During the project I learned a lot about medical imaging and surgery and the thing that most impressed me was the complexity of the mental process that the surgeon needs to go through to determine where to operate, how much to remove and so-on. It's not even remotely intuitive. And they only get a few minutes in pre-op to make their incision marks and then only a few minutes in the OR to do the surgery. I now have an enormous respect for the knowledge and skill required to do that job.

Fascinating. I work in the field of Cardiovascular Imaging. Amazing stuff.

[Downwindtracker2]

If you were a left handed pitcher for the Mariners, think of the care you be getting. After a long canoe trip, my left arm went wonky, they never did figure it out. I always thought if I had been a left handed pitcher, it might have been much different.

[cstevens]

Fascinating. I work in the field of Cardiovascular Imaging. Amazing stuff.

Thanks Ben. It's easily the project I'm most proud of, in three decades of working in tech. No idea if or when it will move from prototype to a product that could be tested and approved for use in the OR, but it's a step in that direction at least.

If you were a left handed pitcher for the Mariners, think of the care you be getting. After a long canoe trip, my left arm went wonky, they never did figure it out. I always thought if I had been a left handed pitcher, it might have been much different.

Funny, before the MRI my primary care doctor was thinking I might have bone damage at the joint due to a stretched ligament, and was contemplating Tommy John surgery. I felt like a major league pitcher for about ten minutes. And then I looked up what is actually involved in getting it done. They have to take a tendon from somewhere else to repair the damaged one in the arm. And recovery takes a LONG time. Like 12-15 months. So I was happy to learn that there is no bone damage and no need for the TJ surgery. Phew!

[cstevens]

So, no surgery needed or warranted as it turns out. The prescription is for rest, ice, ibuprofen and time. I'm in it for the long haul I guess. I'll have to come up with ways to accomplish boat work and other jobs without straining my arm. I'm hoping that won't slow me down too much.

And not boat-related, but I did check off another task on my project list recently, one that I'm rather pleased with:



A sewing and craft workbench for my wife. Something I have been promising to build for a very long time. It's simple enough - just plain douglas fir with a masonite top and no fancy joinery at all - but I think it came out rather well.

[_QB_]

It's simple enough - just plain douglas fir with a masonite top and no fancy joinery at all - but I think it came out rather well.

What finish did you use on the masonite? It looks great.