It's now a reality

Remember this post about an amazing nano-tech super hydrophobic coating?  Seemed pretty exotic at the time, didn't it?

Well, technology marches on.  Rust-Oleum now markets it, and it is available at Home Depot (and presumably your own local big box home construction store).

At $18.75 for the kit, it is well worth testing, so I will.  I'll buy a kit and use it on the center section of our bimini top (when it quits raining, that is).

I'll write more once I've done that...

It's now a reality

...aand there's more

If you thought the forecast for last Friday was bleak, well, it's gotten worse.  Here's the trunk of Jane's 1965 Mustang full of our "winter" fenders:

Only three will fit

Indeed it is worse... the forecast for tonite is for 50 kt wind:

PZZ135-300500-
PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
230 PM PDT SUN SEP 29 2013


...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... TONIGHT...S WIND RISING TO 40 TO 50 KT THIS EVENING AND SHIFTING TO SW. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 5 TO 8 FT. RAIN TURING TO SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
MON...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS.
MON NIGHT...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TUE...S WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
TUE NIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT...S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.
THU...NE WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT.
FRI...S WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT.

.

I should point out that the wind's potential to cause damage rises dramatically with the speed (by the square).  That is, as compared with 20 kt, wind of 40 kt has not twice, but four times the force of its 20 kt little brother.  It's gonna be lively here at the dock tonite.

...aand there's more

That's a wrap

It's not warm here in Port Madison this morning. In fact, at 11:00 the temperature outside has just barely managed to climb above 50° F.

All good things must come to an end; Seattle's most amazing Endless Summer is no exception.  I think we have reached it: The End.  We have had the Dickenson running ever since I got up this morning and the temperature here in the cabin is 68°, so we are comfortable.  The NOAA marine forecast is telling us that we should dock tomorrow (and as always, at slack water, which occurs at 11:37 and 17:32 - we'll take the 11:37 one):

PZZ135-260100-
PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
900 AM PDT WED SEP 25 2013

TODAY...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING. SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. TONIGHT...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.
THU...S WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING.
THU NIGHT...LIGHT WIND...BECOMING S 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.
FRI...S WIND 10 TO 20 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 4 FT.
FRI NIGHT...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.
SAT...S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.
SUN...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

(After all, no one wants to try to dock in 25 kt if it can be avoided...)

I still have to change out the propnut zinc, and Thursday afternoon's weather looks like it is as good as it will get for that task, for the rest of the year.

I have a bittersweet feeling.  It is the end.  But at the same time I am full of the memories of the most wonderful summer ever.  We are out here trying to eke out just one more day, but at the same time, the subconscious nesting impulses are getting nearly irresistible - for us that means that we need to button the boat up for the winter, to get the extra fenders out for the coming winter storms.

I think I am ready.

That's a wrap

Blowin' a Hoolie

"The bee's knees", "blowin' a hoolie", and "earlier than sparrow fart".

Kath, nb Bobcat

What do these phrases have in common?  They (and several others) were all uttered by Kath of nb Bobcat.

We had the distinct pleasure of hosting Kath and Rob both at our home on Camano and aboard (however briefly) Eolian this past weekend.  They were on a trip to British Columbia and took the time to journey down to the USA to be with us for a couple of brief days.

It has been said that the Americans and the British are peoples separated by a common language.  There is some truth to this, as the common usage for a number of items is different in surprising ways - for example, you readers in the UK will understand what I mean when I announced that I was pulling an old pair of pants out of the console of our car.  My American readers, on the other hand, will have no idea what the consternation was...

Rob, demonstrating  a proper tea ceremony

Kath and Rob are wonderful, down-to-earth people.  They too are splitting their time between house and boat:  Rob's house (which incidentally houses a surprising number of classic Ducati motorcycles) and narrow boat Bobcat - 58' LOA x 7' beam x 19" draft.  Between the marine connection and the classic motor vehicles, we found that we had no shortage of things to talk about.

In fact, the brief time we had together was simply not enough.  I wish, for example, that it had not been "blowin' a hoolie", so that we could have taken Eolian off the dock - and that we had had enough time to make it for a couple of days.  Ah well.

Kath and Rob have offered to return the favor (favour?), and we are giving this thoughtful consideration.  I have written before about the entirely civilized way narrow boating is done, and I must confess that there is a serious attraction...

 

Blowin' a Hoolie