Overnight at Pleasant Harbor WA
Skipper: Scott Karren
Guests: Tom Karren, Rob Karren
Weather: Clear on Sat. Foggy on Sunday. High 60's
Seas: Calm to 2'
Engine Hours: 63.8 to 69.2
Destination: Pleasant Harbor in Hood Canal
A week or two ago Bill Weir and I were exploring Hood Canal in "Quay Cat". Although I have been racing, sailing and cruising in Puget Sound since 1991, I had never been south of the Hood Canal Bridge until last week. (Except for one time crabbing just south of the bridge in my Porta-Boat, "Origami". Since we only went a few hundred feet past the bridge, that does not really count as seeing Hood Canal.) When we came around the corner from Fisherman's Harbor, Bill and I both were Stunned by the view of the Cascade mountains and the water. I immediately planned a weekend trip back.
Saturday morning we got up and gassed up the MC30 with 20 gallons. Engine hours at the last fuel stop were 56.7 hours. Fuel usage was 2.84 GPH. Seems that average fuel usage for me on nearly 70 hours of usage is under 3.0 GPH. Compared to the usage of 20 GPH for a similarly sized aft cabin cruiser, I will have saved 1,190 gallons of fuel since mid August! At $2.50 a gallon, that is $2,975 saved in fuel purchases! Also, since I am trailerable and can buy my fuel at the local gas station instead of the gas dock, I save another $0.75 a gallon on the gas I do buy. That is another $150 so far.
Cruised the Motorcat 30 to Pleasant Harbor. Water was glassy smooth. Five or six submarines were visible at the Bangor Sub Station. Even from the far side of the Hood Canal, they look huge. We got to Pleasant Harbor at about 3:00 PM. We took a quick hike to the mouth of the Duckabush, but the state park was another 5 miles up the canyon. Too far to walk in boat shoes. Went back to the marina and soaked in their hot tub for 20 minutes. Since we were hooked up to shore power, tried the electric cook top. Heated up a little slow, but got plenty hot once it got going. Dinner was salmon risotto. I bought Dove Bars for desert.
Walked up the highway to Dosewallops State Park on the Dosewallops River to see the salmon swimming upstream. Although there were hundreds of big salmon spawning in the river, there were thousands of dead ones rotting on the banks. Pew! We figure it is the NoseWallop right now. Although the fog had lifted in the harbor when we got back, it was still thick in Hood Canal. We cruised slowly home relying on charts, GPS and compass. Fog was thick and visibility was only 100' or so most of the way home.
Orca were swimming in Puget Sound this afternoon. We did not spot them, but friends we saw out on the water dropped by with a fresh silver for us tonight and asked if we had seen them. Evidently it was either one large pod of whales or two smaller pods. Maybe we will see them later this week.
Maintenance Issues:
Still no luck with the hot water. Although we were on shore power, water was just shy of warm. Not good enough for showers. The light on the water heater was on, but no hot water. Will check with the manufacturer and see if it can be adjusted.
Rob broke the faucet in the galley today. He was leaning on it (sitting on it actually) for some reason and when he shifted his weight, he snapped it off. I will try to superglue it back on, but will probably have to replace it.
Detailed the boat today. Looks great, but the patches in the gelcoat where I moved the VHF antenna do not match well. Will take back to Bay Marine to have them redo the getcoat patches.
Dropping off with Rapp Upholstery and Eastern Ontario Canvas to get the Bimini and aft enclosure started tomorrow. Should be done in a few weeks. I will still have access to the boat while they work.
Guests: Tom Karren, Rob Karren
Weather: Clear on Sat. Foggy on Sunday. High 60's
Seas: Calm to 2'
Engine Hours: 63.8 to 69.2
Destination: Pleasant Harbor in Hood Canal
A week or two ago Bill Weir and I were exploring Hood Canal in "Quay Cat". Although I have been racing, sailing and cruising in Puget Sound since 1991, I had never been south of the Hood Canal Bridge until last week. (Except for one time crabbing just south of the bridge in my Porta-Boat, "Origami". Since we only went a few hundred feet past the bridge, that does not really count as seeing Hood Canal.) When we came around the corner from Fisherman's Harbor, Bill and I both were Stunned by the view of the Cascade mountains and the water. I immediately planned a weekend trip back.
Saturday morning we got up and gassed up the MC30 with 20 gallons. Engine hours at the last fuel stop were 56.7 hours. Fuel usage was 2.84 GPH. Seems that average fuel usage for me on nearly 70 hours of usage is under 3.0 GPH. Compared to the usage of 20 GPH for a similarly sized aft cabin cruiser, I will have saved 1,190 gallons of fuel since mid August! At $2.50 a gallon, that is $2,975 saved in fuel purchases! Also, since I am trailerable and can buy my fuel at the local gas station instead of the gas dock, I save another $0.75 a gallon on the gas I do buy. That is another $150 so far.
Cruised the Motorcat 30 to Pleasant Harbor. Water was glassy smooth. Five or six submarines were visible at the Bangor Sub Station. Even from the far side of the Hood Canal, they look huge. We got to Pleasant Harbor at about 3:00 PM. We took a quick hike to the mouth of the Duckabush, but the state park was another 5 miles up the canyon. Too far to walk in boat shoes. Went back to the marina and soaked in their hot tub for 20 minutes. Since we were hooked up to shore power, tried the electric cook top. Heated up a little slow, but got plenty hot once it got going. Dinner was salmon risotto. I bought Dove Bars for desert.
Walked up the highway to Dosewallops State Park on the Dosewallops River to see the salmon swimming upstream. Although there were hundreds of big salmon spawning in the river, there were thousands of dead ones rotting on the banks. Pew! We figure it is the NoseWallop right now. Although the fog had lifted in the harbor when we got back, it was still thick in Hood Canal. We cruised slowly home relying on charts, GPS and compass. Fog was thick and visibility was only 100' or so most of the way home.
Orca were swimming in Puget Sound this afternoon. We did not spot them, but friends we saw out on the water dropped by with a fresh silver for us tonight and asked if we had seen them. Evidently it was either one large pod of whales or two smaller pods. Maybe we will see them later this week.
Maintenance Issues:
Still no luck with the hot water. Although we were on shore power, water was just shy of warm. Not good enough for showers. The light on the water heater was on, but no hot water. Will check with the manufacturer and see if it can be adjusted.
Rob broke the faucet in the galley today. He was leaning on it (sitting on it actually) for some reason and when he shifted his weight, he snapped it off. I will try to superglue it back on, but will probably have to replace it.
Detailed the boat today. Looks great, but the patches in the gelcoat where I moved the VHF antenna do not match well. Will take back to Bay Marine to have them redo the getcoat patches.
Dropping off with Rapp Upholstery and Eastern Ontario Canvas to get the Bimini and aft enclosure started tomorrow. Should be done in a few weeks. I will still have access to the boat while they work.
posted by Scott Karren at 7:54 PM
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