US Naval Undersea Museum

The US Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport contains over 39,000 artifacts related to undersea weapons, submarine technology, diving and salvage artifacts, and undersea vehicle technology. In addition to extensive indoor displays, the museum’s several large outdoor exhibits include the sail of the USS Sturgeon, the lead ship in the Sturgeon-class of 37 fast-attack submarines used…

Snoqualmie Pass

Snoqualmie Pass carries Interstate 90 throught the Cascade Mountains between Seattle and Spokane. At 3,015 feet (919 m), it is the lowest of Washington State’s three major year-round east-west mountain passes, but the closest to Seattle at a mere 52 miles (80 km) to the east. This makes the Summit at Snoqualmie resort an easy…

Tender to Condo

Our most recent tender to Dirona was an AB 12VST capable of about 32 kts (37 mph, 60 kph) and a range nearing 50 nautical miles. Our new ‘tender to condo’ is a Honda Passport Elite that is even better across most dimensions. We’d so far not needed a car since returning to Seattle, as…

Winter Boating: Sealskinz Waterproof Gloves

Spraying down the ground tackle in Arctic Norway. Many boats have an automatic wash-down pump that helps clean the rode before it goes into the anchor locker. For those without, some choose not to clean the rode at all. We’ve not had an automatic wash-down on either of our boats, but we do like the…

Northgate

Northgate Mall, opened in 1950, was one of the first modern shopping malls built in the US following World War II. The mall is currently going through its second major renovation, this time evolving into a mixed-use facility that includes the training center for the Seattle Kraken NHL team. Not much was open in the…

Northern Lights Rear Main Oil Seal Leak, Part 3

A couple of years back, we developed a serious rear main oil seal problem with our Northern Lights 12 kW generator. Oil was being sprayed all over the inside of the generator enclosure and running down the block. It was a real mess. Clearly the seal needed replacing, but it’s both a big job (notes…

Fall to Winter

As fall ended in Seattle, we continued to take advantage of our downtown home, attending sporting events and enjoying restaurant meals. And the purchase of a patio heater allowed us to also keep spending time outside on our balconies, despite the weather. We also had our first traditional Thanksgiving dinner since leaving the US in…

Maserator toilet install 101 – Let the fun begin!

 OK, so the new toilet arrived in one piece and the old Dometic/Sealand VacuFlush toilet and lines have been removed.Sorry we missed pics of the removal. That was the ugly part as the original sanitary hose from the old toilet to the vacuum tank (…

Maserator toilet install 101 – Let the fun begin!

 OK, so the new toilet arrived in one piece and the old Dometic/Sealand VacuFlush toilet and lines have been removed.Sorry we missed pics of the removal. That was the ugly part as the original sanitary hose from the old toilet to the vacuum tank (…

Bremerton by Ferry

The Washington State Ferry fleet is the largest in the United States with 21 vessels that annually carry over 23 million passengers. The ferry system also is the second largest in the world for vehicles, transporting an annual average of 10.3 million as part of the state highway network. Ten routes operate out of 20…