An engine seldom “just gets better”—close to never—but our generator was leaking vast amounts of oil from the rear main oil seal prior to the cylinder head replacement. If the generator sound attenuation shield front cover was removed during operation, it would spray the engine room floor and the neighboring wing engine, creating a real…
RAPPORT UPDATE
Our last post spoke too
soon as no
sooner had I mentioned
NZ’s
return to
unrestricted cruising than the Auckland level 3 lockdown commenced on
12 August until
the 30th.
This time there was no room for confusion as all forms of boating
were clearly identified as not permitted.
Well
Spring is here if you go by 1 Sept, or nearly here if you go by the
Equinox of 23 Sept. Regardless the cruising is going to get better.
Di
and I rarely do cruises under several days and prefer cruises of ten
days or more. With this in mind our next project is to cruise for
about a
month from mid October to re-visit one of our favorite areas, the
eastern side of Coromandel Peninsula including The Mercury Islands
and Mercury Bay. For part of this time we’ve rented a berth at
Whitianga Marina for a very reasonable $40 per night (in the Med we’d
pay three or four times this) making it easier for family and friends
to join us. I
plan to cover that trip extensively in the Blog and
we’ll also be publishing an article in the Pacific Powerboat
magazine about it.
I
want to talk a bit more about our new Salthouse 52, “Rapport”.
When
we bought the boat we definitely knew
she had “good bones” and presented extremely well with extensive
upgrades including engines and gearboxes removed
and rebuilt
900 hours previously, new Furuno electronics, recently added water
maker, new house and start batteries and exterior repaint. The survey
confirmed her good condition, but as they invariably do it
also
identified a few issues needing attention.
Over
the last few months we’ve attended to these issues as well as a
host of other improvements to convert her from a full-on game fishing
boat to a comfortable cruising boat. Much
of this process has
been
making existing equipment work correctly.
Some
of the more major projects have been:
1.
Projects
we expected to do:
-Purchase
of new Aquapro SLR 2.6 rigid alloy hulled inflatable with Honda 2.5hp
4stroke outboard to
replace the poor condition RHIB that came with our purchase
-The
pulpit was poorly mounted and attached only to the teak decking
rather than being through bolted.
It
was removed and tidied up, an access hole made in the fore peak so
the pulpit could be bolted to the alloy deck, the teak deck was
thoroughly dried and the pulpit was properly and rigidly bolted
down in a
bed of sealant
-Paint
blisters under the beltings (where the hull meets the deck) on both
sides were opened, the alloy underneath ground back, treated for
surface oxidation, filled, faired and painted
-Replacing
cutless bearings
–Installing
a high volume sea water wash
down pump in the cockpit
-Sourcing
new spare pumps for fresh water circulation, sewage holding tank
discharge and grey water holding tank discharge. We
always prefer to have critical spares like these on board
–Upgrading
safety equipment including
extinguishers, flares, lifejackets, EPIRB, hand held vhf, binoculars,
smoke detectors and horseshoe buoy
-Installing Venetian blinds in saloon to protect furnishings from sunlight and
provide more night time ambiance
-Installing
a 101L capacity electric freezer on the flybridge so
that we’re not totally reliant on the existing freezer with its
engine driven compressor and
have an
operating
freezer while in marinas
-There
were no tools aboard so we put together a very comprehensive tool kit
including some power tools plus a wide range of chandlery items for
undertaking on board R&M
2
Unexpected projects:
–Installing
new Maxwell 3500 VWC windlass complete with spare electric motor
-Replacing
a non-working alternator
-Replacing
PSS prop shaft seals
with Kiwi seals
including replacement of all bearings. At this time the prop shafts
were also crack tested and straightened by Henleys, then realigned.
The props were checked and found to be in good shape
-Comprehensive
service of genset including installation of primary filter,
recondition of heat exchanger and some electrical work. Supply
of 220V charger for genset battery
-Replacing
all
Teleflex hydraulic steering hoses and many fittings
-New
batteries
for second house battery bank mainly
used for
powering 12V equipment
–There
was a large amount
of electrical work to make existing equipment function correctly,
rewire
breakers that didn’t perform their correct function, instal new
power outlets etc
Apart
from the above PSS shaft seal issue we’ve not encountered any
problems during our ownership except for a leaking fresh water
circulation pump (solved with a new outlet fitting), a loose wire on
our genset’s starting circuit and a failed high voltage shunt which
turned out to be redundant and not needing replacement.
So
now we’re down to a final few projects including an
exterior sun shade for saloon
bow facing windows, cockpit canopy, safety
rails around flybridge access hatch and gas assisted struts for an
extremely heavy lazarette hatch. Then hopefully all set for 2020/21 cruising.
now we’re down to a final few projects including an
exterior sun shade for saloon
bow facing windows, cockpit canopy, safety
rails around flybridge access hatch and gas assisted struts for an
extremely heavy lazarette hatch. Then hopefully all set for 2020/21 cruising.
RAPPORT UPDATE
Our last post spoke too soon as no sooner had I mentioned NZ’sreturn tounrestricted cruising than the Auckland level 3 lockdown commenced on 12 August until the 30th. This time there was no room for confusion as all forms of boating were clearly identified as not permitted.
Well Spring is here if you go by 1 Sept, or nearly here if you go by the Equinox of 23 Sept. Regardless the cruising is going to get better.
Di and I rarely do cruises under several days and prefer cruises of ten days or more. With this in mind our next project is to cruise for about a month from mid October to re-visit one of our favorite areas, the eastern side of Coromandel Peninsula including The Mercury Islands and Mercury Bay. For part of this time we’ve rented a berth at Whitianga Marina for a very reasonable $40 per night (in the Med we’d pay three or four times this) making it easier for family and friends to join us. I plan to cover that trip extensively in the Blog and we’ll also be publishing an article in the Pacific Powerboat magazine about it.
I want to talk a bit more about our new Salthouse 52, “Rapport”.
When we bought the boat we definitely knewshe had “good bones” and presented extremely well with extensive upgrades including engines and gearboxes removed and rebuilt 900 hours previously, new Furuno electronics, recently added water maker, new house and start batteries and exterior repaint. The survey confirmed her good condition, but as they invariably do it also identified a few issues needing attention.
Over the last few months we’ve attended to these issues as well as a host of other improvements to convert her from a full-on game fishing boat to a comfortable cruising boat. Much of this process hasbeenmaking existing equipment work correctly.
Some of the more major projects have been:
1. Projects we expected to do:
-Purchase of new Aquapro SLR 2.6 rigid alloy hulled inflatable with Honda 2.5hp 4stroke outboard to replace the poor condition RHIB that came with our purchase
-The pulpit was poorly mounted and attached only to the teak decking rather than being through bolted.
It was removed and tidied up, an access hole made in the fore peak so the pulpit could be bolted to the alloy deck, the teak deck was thoroughly dried and the pulpit was properly and rigidly bolted down in a bed of sealant
-Paint blisters under the beltings (where the hull meets the deck) on both sides were opened, the alloy underneath ground back, treated for surface oxidation, filled, faired and painted
-Replacingcutless bearings
–Installing a high volume sea water washdown pump in the cockpit
-Sourcing new spare pumps for fresh water circulation, sewage holding tank discharge and grey water holding tank discharge. We always prefer to have critical spares like these on board
–Upgradingsafety equipment including extinguishers, flares, lifejackets, EPIRB, hand held vhf, binoculars, smoke detectors and horseshoe buoy
-Installing Venetian blinds in saloon to protect furnishings from sunlight and provide more night time ambiance
-Installinga 101L capacity electric freezer on the flybridge so that we’re not totally reliant on the existing freezer with its engine driven compressor and have an operatingfreezer while in marinas
-There were no tools aboard so we put together a very comprehensive tool kit including some power tools plus a wide range of chandlery items for undertaking on board R&M
2 Unexpected projects:
–Installing new Maxwell 3500 VWC windlass complete with spare electric motor
-Replacinga non-working alternator
-ReplacingPSS prop shaft sealswith Kiwi sealsincluding replacement of all bearings. At this time the prop shafts were also crack tested and straightened by Henleys, then realigned. The props were checked and found to be in good shape
-Comprehensive service of genset including installation of primary filter, recondition of heat exchanger and some electrical work. Supply of 220V charger for genset battery
-Replacing all Teleflex hydraulic steering hoses and many fittings
-New batteries for second house battery bank mainly used for powering 12V equipment
–There was a large amount of electrical work to make existing equipment function correctly, rewirebreakers that didn’t perform their correct function, instal new power outlets etc
Apart from the above PSS shaft seal issue we’ve not encountered any problems during our ownership except for a leaking fresh water circulation pump (solved with a new outlet fitting), a loose wire on our genset’s starting circuit and a failed high voltage shunt which turned out to be redundant and not needing replacement.
So now we’re down to a final few projects including an exterior sun shade for saloon bow facing windows, cockpit canopy, safety rails around flybridge access hatch and gas assisted struts for an extremely heavy lazarette hatch. Then hopefully all set for 2020/21 cruising.
Ryfylkefjordane
Ryfylkefjordane, the Ryfylke fjords, lie between Stavanger and Haugesund in the southern portion of the spectacular region known as Fjord Norway, where long and narrow waterways wind deep into soaring, snow-capped mountain ranges. We’d only passed through Ryfylkefjordane on our previous Norwegian visit in 2018. On that first trip, our goal was to travel the…
Haugesund
In early August, we returned to a very different Haugesund than the one we’d visited in late September of 2018. The previously tranquil town was absolutely packed with boats, many rafted several deep, and high-speed, muffler-free cigarette boats roamed the waterway. On this most recent visit, we were at the height of the boating season,…
Pack Creek: A Krogen Mini Rendezvous
Our one and only schedule for this summer is a mini rendezvous with three other Krogen owners at Pack Creek, a spectacular bear preserve. We have visited Pack Creek several times and it is an amazing place. Pack Creek has been a popular bear viewing area since the 1930’s. It’s location is on Admiralty Island […]
Forresfjorden
After a day of heavy winds and rain following our visit to Skjoldafjorden, we had wonderfully calm conditions to explore Forresfjorden. During our tender tour, we finally got close enough for a good picture after several eagle sightings in Norway from a distance. Below are highlights from August 5th and 6th. Click any image for…
More Wet Weather and Time to Leave
In our first trip to SE Alaska in 2010, we continued cruising through August and did not depart Alaska until September 4. The next year we planned to cruise through August but after three consecutive storms over about 8 days in the middle of the month, we skedaddled out of Alaska on August 26. Ever since that year, we’ve made it our practice to be south of Dixon Entrance sometime around the first week of August.
With our late arrival in SE Alaska this year, we thought we should make the most of the effort to get here and continuing cruising into August. After leaving Glacier Bay (and a storm), we traveled in pleasant conditions down Chatham Strait to Pavlof Harbor the first night (8/11) and then to Gut Bay the second night.
The next day (8/13) we fished east shores of Baranof Island where Marcia caught a couple silver (coho) salmon. From there we continued to an anchorage at the north end of Keku Strait to position ourselves for transiting through Rocky Pass. Our goal was to go to the area on the SW corner of Prince of Wales Island (PoW) near Craig for more fishing.
Rocky Pass is a shallow and intricate route going from the Frederick Sound area to Sumner Pass that is best done at high slack. By August the bull kelp has grown during the long summer days to be dense as you travel Devil’s Elbow and it is unnerving hearing it bump along the sides of your hull as you see you depth sounder read only 20 feet of water. Later that same day, after a bouncy crossing of Sumner Passage, we entered El Capitan Passage for another shallow route before anchoring the night in Devilfish Bay on Kosciusko Island.
It was a short day to Kaguk Cove the following day (8/15) where we thought we’d wait out a forecasted front before continuing south to the area we wanted to fish. Besides fishing, our plan was to continue SE around Cape Chacon at the bottom of PoW Island and cross back over the border to Prince Rupert without diverting back to Ketchikan.
After reading the morning’s (8/16) forecast:
8/16 – A broad surface low in the Gulf with associated troughs and smaller scale lows circulating around it will continue to bring dreary and wet conditions to SEAK during the forecast period.
We changed our plan to a more conservative one. Instead we would head back north around the top of PoW Island, follow Sumner Passage to Zimovia Strait where we’d head down to Ernest Sound, back to Clarence Strait and down to Ketchikan. Having been beaten up by Clarence Strait on a couple of occasions, we do our best to avoid it in anything greater than 15 knot winds.
Anchorages along the way back to Ketchikan were Labouchere Bay, Santa Anna Inlet and Meyers Chuck. We did some prawning near Santa Anna and would have done more but the weather forecast urged us to get to Ketchikan before another storm.
8/18 – Most solutions now converge over a gale force low developing south of the Panhandle Wednesday night and near the southeast gulf Thursday.
We arrived in Ketchikan on 8/19, and prepared ourselves for starting the journey south as soon as the weather permitted.
8/20 – The forecast for the weekend has come into somewhat better consensus, featuring more rain for the panhandle.
On 8/21, between incoming fronts, a window of calm winds arrived and we headed down to Fillmore Inlet for a few days before crossing the border into Canada.
8/22 – The forecast for the upcoming week is one dominated by rain.
On 8/23, we cross Dixon Entrance and head to Prince Rupert in order to clear customs. Afterwards, we continue to Kumealon Island Cove for the night. From here it is a very quick (by trawler speed standards) southbound trip with stops at Bottleneck Inlet, Fury Cove, Growler Cove and Yeatman Bay, before running the length of the Strait of Georgia at night and arriving at a crowded Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island on 8/28 at 12:30 PM.
8/29 – The jury is still out on whether or not Southeast Alaska locations will wind up August with the wettest summer (June, July, August) on record. Some, like Ketchikan, seem more likely than others.
From here we’ll head to Anacortes for some preventative maintenance and a fuel up before returning to our homeport in Eagle Harbor.
More Wet Weather and Time to Leave
In our first trip to SE Alaska in 2010, we continued cruising through August and did not depart Alaska until September 4. The next year we planned to cruise through August but after three consecutive storms over about 8 days in the middle of the month, we skedaddled out of Alaska on August 26. Ever since that year, we’ve made it our practice to be south of Dixon Entrance sometime around the first week of August.
With our late arrival in SE Alaska this year, we thought we should make the most of the effort to get here and continuing cruising into August. After leaving Glacier Bay (and a storm), we traveled in pleasant conditions down Chatham Strait to Pavlof Harbor the first night (8/11) and then to Gut Bay the second night.
The next day (8/13) we fished east shores of Baranof Island where Marcia caught a couple silver (coho) salmon. From there we continued to an anchorage at the north end of Keku Strait to position ourselves for transiting through Rocky Pass. Our goal was to go to the area on the SW corner of Prince of Wales Island (PoW) near Craig for more fishing.
Rocky Pass is a shallow and intricate route going from the Frederick Sound area to Sumner Pass that is best done at high slack. By August the bull kelp has grown during the long summer days to be dense as you travel Devil’s Elbow and it is unnerving hearing it bump along the sides of your hull as you see you depth sounder read only 20 feet of water. Later that same day, after a bouncy crossing of Sumner Passage, we entered El Capitan Passage for another shallow route before anchoring the night in Devilfish Bay on Kosciusko Island.
It was a short day to Kaguk Cove the following day (8/15) where we thought we’d wait out a forecasted front before continuing south to the area we wanted to fish. Besides fishing, our plan was to continue SE around Cape Chacon at the bottom of PoW Island and cross back over the border to Prince Rupert without diverting back to Ketchikan.
After reading the morning’s (8/16) forecast:
8/16 – A broad surface low in the Gulf with associated troughs and smaller scale lows circulating around it will continue to bring dreary and wet conditions to SEAK during the forecast period.
We changed our plan to a more conservative one. Instead we would head back north around the top of PoW Island, follow Sumner Passage to Zimovia Strait where we’d head down to Ernest Sound, back to Clarence Strait and down to Ketchikan. Having been beaten up by Clarence Strait on a couple of occasions, we do our best to avoid it in anything greater than 15 knot winds.
Anchorages along the way back to Ketchikan were Labouchere Bay, Santa Anna Inlet and Meyers Chuck. We did some prawning near Santa Anna and would have done more but the weather forecast urged us to get to Ketchikan before another storm.
8/18 – Most solutions now converge over a gale force low developing south of the Panhandle Wednesday night and near the southeast gulf Thursday.
We arrived in Ketchikan on 8/19, and prepared ourselves for starting the journey south as soon as the weather permitted.
8/20 – The forecast for the weekend has come into somewhat better consensus, featuring more rain for the panhandle.
On 8/21, between incoming fronts, a window of calm winds arrived and we headed down to Fillmore Inlet for a few days before crossing the border into Canada.
8/22 – The forecast for the upcoming week is one dominated by rain.
On 8/23, we cross Dixon Entrance and head to Prince Rupert in order to clear customs. Afterwards, we continue to Kumealon Island Cove for the night. From here it is a very quick (by trawler speed standards) southbound trip with stops at Bottleneck Inlet, Fury Cove, Growler Cove and Yeatman Bay, before running the length of the Strait of Georgia at night and arriving at a crowded Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island on 8/28 at 12:30 PM.
8/29 – The jury is still out on whether or not Southeast Alaska locations will wind up August with the wettest summer (June, July, August) on record. Some, like Ketchikan, seem more likely than others.
From here we’ll head to Anacortes for some preventative maintenance and a fuel up before returning to our homeport in Eagle Harbor.
Skjoldafjorden
The Skjoldastraumen is a shallow waterway with swift currents, suitable only for small craft. To allow larger boats to reach the Skjoldafjorden beyond, a lock was built between 1904-1908. For many decades steam ships regularly passed through the locks, carrying people and goods between Skjoldafjorden and the larger centers of Stavanger and Haugesund. Today mostly…
