Monday, May 26, 2008

Wooden boat question

I am hoping Mr. Graebel can answer this one, although anyone else who happens to know should feel free to clue us in as well.

We walked past a local boatyard this morning to see a 40+ foot wooden motor yacht on the hard, blocked so that the bow is angled down and the stern up, with two garden sprinklers aimed at and spraying the bottom near the stern. What on earth are they doing? It seems like it's been that way for a couple of days at least, I can't conceive of what they are up to.

2 comments:

Linda Graebel said...

Scott, The wood boat had its bow down to drain water without going through the nasty engine room and dealing with all the environmental goo that comes out with it. The water spray is used to keep the wood from shrinking and the joints and seams opening up. The wood boats you see in the yard for long periods leak big time when placed back in the drink. It's common practice to keep your bilge pump running for days and
days when a dry boat returns to the water after repair. I'm glad your using your head in the Straight. It was in one of the little "tuck ins" that Dave Lenarts lost one of his props while waiting out the current, so watch your butt and add a stern tie if you need to keep Insergrevious from swinging. When you turn West farther up the channel, the Westerlies can be a little hard on the nose. There are some channels to use if weather gets bad. You'll see them on your charts. Also, don't forget about God's Pocket on the north end of Vancouver Is. It is a good sheltered cove to use if the weather is bad when its time to cross the water to the Charlotte's.

Scott said...

Okay, thanks! George and I were speculating via e-mail that the sprinkler was something to do with the swelling, but I was still mystified by the bow-down blocking.

God's Pocket will be our immediate destination after I pick Mandy up and we'll make the jump across Queen Charlotte from there.

On the way up to Port McNeill, at least, I have plenty of time so I should be able to wait out the weather in the Strait if need be. I'll watch both charts and depthsounder closely. Haven't had to stern tie so far, most of our anchorages have had few other boats and plenty of swinging room, but I have some 600+ feet of spare rope and rode along that I can use for that or a second anchor point if I need to.