Slugs

Where I grew up, in the Midwest, slugs were a garden problem. They'd hole your tomatoes, and eat the leaves of about everything else. These little black shell-less terrors got perhaps an inch long and were less than 1/4" across.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, they grow the slugs bigger. Seriously people, you have NO IDEA. Here, a slug 6-8" long is the norm, and these guys (and gals? how do you tell?) are 3/4" across. And, no they are not black. Most are green with random dark spots, and there is a second kind that is brown. Stepping on one is seriously dangerous - as dangerous as stepping on a banana peel... but way more disgusting.

And they can swallow your tomatoes whole.

Slugs

The Dance

As a boat, Eolian is commodious. Yet by the housing standards most people are familiar with, she is cramped.

For better visualization, compare Eolian to a 14x45 mobile home. But wait... not that large, since her ends are pointy. Our doorways are all 20" wide - the width of a narrow linen closet door.

Space is, and always has been at a premium on boats. And there is a long history here - Columbus' private cabin on the Niña was only slightly larger than a phone booth (and similarly shaped)... his sailors lived on deck in the open or below it with the animals. The Niña was larger than Eolian, but surprisingly, not by very much:

	Eolian	Niña
LOD	45	65
Beam	14	18
Sail Area	1100	1919
Crew	2	24

For the two of us, moving about on the boat is an unconscious dance born of long habit. We don't think about it (and maybe this is the best kind of dance). An example: For me to go into the aft cabin when Jane is working in the galley, she steps closer to the corner between the sink and the stove, I turn sideways as I take the step that moves me past her, and then step down 8" into the aft cabin, still slightly cocked sideways to be sure to clear both sides of the doorway. There are no coordinating messages passed, and the dance is so well practiced that it is executed flawlessly even in pitch darkness.

We are a well-coordinated team.

We have to be.

The Dance

Chili Feed Onboard

It had been a lonngg while since we had everybody onboard for any event, so Jane decided that tonite was to be a family chili feed. She started making the food yesterday, and had us set up with Halloween accessories, hors d'orves and a great selection of beers and wine, in addition to a superb chili (7 tbs of chili powder...).

For the first time in a long time, Eolian was rocked from stem to stern with laughter from the whole family, and even at one point, singing (singing?).

Also, apparently Adam and I did a comparison of iPhone apps.

My selection was clearly superior.

Chili Feed Onboard

Fresh Water Onboard

Tonight, Eolian has a pronounced heel to starboard. Not that she is ever level and completely stationary, but it is enough where we are noticing it. I just came in from outside, having put the dock water hose into her port water tank. That heel is an indication that we are about to run out of water, and as everyone knows, that never happens at an opportune moment. People who live in houses don't get to use the tilt of the floor as an indication that their water is about to be cut off. Or to use water to trim their house until the floors are level.

Eolian has two water tanks - 160 gallons on the port side, and another 160 gallons on the starboard side. She also has two equivalent diesel tanks, one on each side. At the moment, the port diesel tank is empty and the starboard one is a little more than half full. Thus we are keeping the starboard water tank empty and filling the port one. This keeps things more or less level.

This task is one that is enjoyable in the summer, often an opportunity to socialize or to just enjoy the scenery out here at the end of the dock. But tonight, in the dark with rain spitting, it is not so much fun. So I am back inside and while I am typing, I am listening to the liquid sound of water running into the tank.

Some boats on the dock choose to bypass the hassle of this ritual, and hook up a dock hose direct to their onboard water system. Having seen two boats nearly destroyed by this practice, it is one we do not follow. In both cases, some portion of the onboard water system failed. Fresh water then pours in as fast as the city of Seattle can deliver it (and they have lots... more than enough to sink a boat).

In one of the incidents, the broken water fitting was directly above the shore power inlet, thus delivering a torrent of water over the 110v wiring. That boat had a functioning bilge pump and the break was small enough that it could keep up. But the water pouring over the shore power could have easily started a fire.

In the other incident, a hose came off a fitting. In this case, the bilge pump malfunctioned, and the boat partially sank before the water was shut off, resulting in a large insurance claim, and months of disrupted living while the repairs were made.

Without a direct hookup, if we experience a water system failure, all that will happen is that the water we already have onboard will relocate a little lower in the hull.

Nevertheless, there are good reasons to have a direct hookup - for example if you have a washer and dryer onboard, or have a large family. In these cases, they just have to live with the risk, and remember to turn off the city water before leaving the boat to go to work.

OK, the sound of water trickling has stopped, and the bilge pump just ran for a couple seconds - that means that the tank is full and is overflowing into the bilge. Time to go out and put away the hose.

Fresh Water Onboard