NW rainy blues

[dar636]

Man am I getting beaten down watching this rain never end. I keep telling myself these boats were built on the east coast and they can take it. I see beautiful boats in FL where the sun heat and rain have to take their toll finishes and upkeep. How do you all keep ahead of the elements??? This is the second winter where I’ve watched my pristine prior boathouse kept 58YF deteriorate before my eyes! From October to May I don’t even get a chance to work on the exterior except for washing and the rare mild day. I won’t get 5 years out of the canvas at this rate. I have new windows from Lookout arriving next Tuesday, the 5 fwd and pilothouse side ones - along with 2 new galley sliders and I might have to wait until June to get a real break and install them. I’ve been looking for boathouss or sheds in the Seattle area, no luck so far. I’ve started thinking about pulling it in the winter and putting it in a tent on the hard...I keep at the mechanical to do list, the interior stuff and we do take her out at least once a month but seriously, watching the exterior list keep growing bums me out more than I thought it would. I keep telling myself it’s all fixable and everyone else has to deal with it too but, but and whatever. Rant over. Time for a Thursday beer onboard.Carry on - from Time Out West, Tacoma WA.

 

[dar636]

Here’s a pic from the home port.

 

[Walter P]

Even in the dank wet NW she still looks great. That Hargrave design is absolutely beautiful especially
the way the sheer line shows in your picture. It's no wonder these old girls still have such a following
and they still garner compliments whenever they arrive at a new port. Don't give up hope, better
weather is coming......


Walt

 

[MVCaprice]

Yeah it sucks and it sure is hard on the windows and paint. Very short season up here for sure.

 

[jrbrein]

Agree with Walt!

I remember your boat when it was for sale...sweet!

You have an excellent boat. Stop complaining.

Count your blessings and get back to work. Your boat is worth it.

Jon

 

[Glory]

I commissioned my boat, then shoveled snow off of it, twice and went snowmobiling once.

Where the heck is spring?

 

[Scarlett]

You could all move down here to Southern California where instead of paying to maintain the outside of the boat we get to pay $ 1500 to $2000 a month for our slips plus electricity and deal with Ca. Politics. I guess it’s all a trade off. John

 

[lake of the woods]

dar636,

I'm not sure how your slip rental and marina haul out charges work, but there is no doubt hauling out your boat for the winter and covering it on the hard helps in preserving the finish and maintenance of boats.
I live where the water is frozen over (3 to 4 feet thick) each year for five months so hauling out is an absolute must.
I am fortunate that I live on the lake and have the room and services to keep my boat at home, saving annual slip charges (but I had to build and bring services to my slip).
I always cringe at the marina charges to haul out / put back in, and store (outside) my boat (40 DC) during the winter ($3,800).
I do all the winterizing (including covering the boat) and routine maintenance.
If your costs are not too high a winter haul out and cover for 4 - 5 months will help preserve a well maintained boat.

Cheers,

Mark
Lake of the Woods
1989 40 DC

 

[RonNP]

I bought my boat from the prior owner in Seattle. He had it up there for 22 years outside and when I got it the boat looked amazingly nice with the exception of the moss growing in the window tracks and the mildew on the outer dodger boards. I'd rather have my boat wet then baked in the sun for days on end.

 

[MVCaprice]

On the topics of boathouses in Tacoma we used to have one at Ole & Charlies in the 90's back before that marina got shutdown. I heard that it no longer exists? Seems like somewhere on the hylebos waterway may be a good place to look. It in general is super hard to find boathouses here in WA. The same goes for Seattle as well. I have heard of a few popping up in Everett as they have been redoing the marina, but I am guessing that is pretty far for you since you are in the south end and they seem to get snatched up pretty quick.

Are you a Tacoma Yacht Club member? They have some nice boathouses there. Not sure what the deal is there with membership , waitlists etc. I do know at the SYC there is a super long waitlist and its based on membership length etc.

 

[SEVEN]

You could all move down here to Southern California where instead of paying to maintain the outside of the boat we get to pay $ 1500 to $2000 a month for our slips plus electricity and deal with Ca. Politics. I guess it’s all a trade off. John

Their better off staying where they are and seek out a covered slip.

 

[MVCaprice]

Their better off staying where they are and seek out a covered slip.

Yes. Plus the boating in the NW is really amazing. It's particularly nice in British Columbia in the inside passage / Desolation sound area. In a perfect world I would be down in Mexico during the winter and up north June through Sept.

 

[Westfield 11]

Yes. Plus the boating in the NW is really amazing. It's particularly nice in British Columbia in the inside passage / Desolation sound area. In a perfect world I would be down in Mexico during the winter and up north June through Sept.

It is so frustrating that the Pacific coast has so few harbors and such paltry cruising grounds compared to the Atlantic. There is not really much beyond a few safe harbors between Baja and Seattle IMHO.

 

[dar636]

Yes MVCaprice - we are TYC members and on the proper wait lists. I'm also on the Foreshore committee so I should see stuff up coming sooner than most. I've have considered the Hylebos waterway, Ole & Charlies is gone, from a fire I think after it was closed. I keep looking-

Blessings counted, going back to work now!

 

[SEVEN]

There’s an old saying that comes out of the Northwest. There are two seasons in Seattle, there’s the rainy season and then there’s August. And I’ll tell you in August it is spectacular.

 

[Scarlett]

We were just in Gig Harbor and I saw quite a few covered slips there, might have been to small for your boat however. We looked at buying a second boat up there for summer cruising. Looked at a boat in Polsbou stored outside and boy was it green from moss growing on it. We changed our minds, but are going up to cruise Desolation Sound in July in a friends boat, much cheaper. John

 

[brico]

Have you considered the winter boat cover. I'd think it would run $10-12K for your size of boat. it is usually made from weatherman or similar material, Check their website. They are super busy so sooner you secure it the sooner will they be able to make it for you.
www.boatcovers.ca they do work for boats in US as well. It is usually made out of three sections. Two to three hours to put it on in October and two hours to take it off in April. Check the videos on how it is easy to put it on. Taking it off has to be on a dry day so the mold does not grow in the bags while it is stored wet. Good investment to avoid spring chores of power washing the green stuff and it will prevent leaks and rot if you have any leaky deck or window penetrations. Light grey colour makes for reasonable light under the cover so you can do a lot of work under the cover.

I am having one made for my 1980 Hatteras 37.

 

[GaryNW]

This thd did not really belong in the tech section, but oh-well. average USA precip is 39/26-rain/snow. Seattle average is 37/4. many, many major cities have way more rain than Seattle. Miami, NY, DC, Houston, Baltimore-the list goes on. I believe the "winter blues" in PNW are due to overcast skys but not actual rain.

Having said that, 2017 was a near record wet year for Seattle. But we also had a record 55 days with zero precip (june 18 to aug something). I am north of marysville a few miles, with the boat in a covered Everett slip. This winter, I remember like 2 weeks with no rain. The Snohomish river flows were so low, my diver repoprted he has never seem the water more clear for this time-of-year.

If your boat is set up for PNW weather, you only care about the marine forecast. Beautiful and totally uncrowded in the San Juans this time of year and no problem finding a mill-pond to anchor in.

Gary

 

[MVCaprice]

Speaking of NW and Everett. Who’s beautiful 58 is this? This boat just moved onto a dock close to us. Glad to see another hatteras in the neighborhood!