Crew
01/01/2011, Maple Bay

The first day of a new year...a new slate...the beginning...starting a-new...there are many different ways of describing the New Year. Dave is welcoming in the new year doing boat projects in the garage and I'm preparing to meet a bunch of crazy runners at the Running Room in Victoria for the Resolution Run.
It's -2 oC outside, which is freezing for Victoria and it is hard to dream of sailing when so many projects are needed to be done before we can think of heading out and the weather is so cold outside.
We've been reading the Sailblogs everyday keeping up with other sailors out there enjoying the warm weather down south....well, maybe not Florida, but more south than that!
I'm wishing everyone a Happy New Year and may everyone enjoy the sailing in the year to come, even if it is from admidst the chaos of boat projects!

Comments [0] | | More

Dave
12/14/2010, vancouver island

Just spent a wonderful three days soaking up the warmth on Dakota, stripping varnish and old oil out of the teak in the bathroom, so many nooks and crannies...
At one point I had to step out onto the deck because the fumes were getting to me. Karen had done such a good job of taping all the edges that I mostly just had to do a light sand and then clean on the last day and then begin the first coat of varnish. looks fantastic, I think a second coat then I won't have to deal with this again. The steering is installed and all the electronics are in.

Comments [0] | | More

Dakota Crew
11/28/2010, Cobble Hill

Here we are at the end of November and stuck in the snow. Dave has brought many projects home from Dakota to work on in the warmth of our garage. Even though the diesel heater on the boat works well....sometimes you just want to be near the coffee machine!
As you can see Dave has just about finished the steering column and got a new stainless steel base plate made at a local machine shop....a savings of over 500 bucks than buying a new one!
Soon the first of the major projects will be done...we will have steering, a working compass, and a throttle/shifter that works flawlessly....did I ever tell you how great Dave is about fixing mechanical and electrical problems?
The picture shows the amount of snow we got in 3 days....we are following the sail blogs of other cruisers and we are dreaming of the time we get to set sail.....ah well, one project at at time!

Comments [0] | | More

Dakota Crew
11/07/2010, Victoria BC

Yesterday we went to a very special book launch, Hugh and Christine Richards book of their sail around the world. They took 6 years to sail around the world in their Vancouver 32 called 'Demelza'.
They kept notes and logs of all their adventures just to be able to tell their grandchildren what they had seen and done. After much coaxing from friends and family, they finally put all their adventures to paper and published this wonderful book.
As Hugh says "This book is not a lexicon for would be cruisers. It is a book to relax with as you read the story of one ordinary couple's fulfillment of their dream to sail their own boat across the oceans of the world."
Hugh had been dreaming of sailing all his life and met and married a wonderful woman named Christine. They moved from England to Canada in the 1960's and raised 3 wonderful boys here in Victoria. They all sailed around the coast here every summer and David had wonderful memories of those days.
I am now the dreamer with my husband David and we are sponges when it comes to the sage advice of seasoned sailors such as Hugh and Christine. I look forward to reading this book and discovering how clever and absolutely 'cool' my in-laws were and are today.
If others are interested on reading about others adventures, this book will be available in the future on line. They are learning the ropes of computers and doing wonderfully.
So as David and I work on our new boat Dakota...we will be dreaming of all the exotic places and people we will meet in the future.....and this is just the beginning of our own adventures.

Comments [0] | | More

Dakota Crew
11/02/2010

Today we took out the table, took up the floor and drained the 160 liter axillary water tank by hand. We couldn't empty it with the water pump through the taps...now that would have been too easy! We think that the water had been in there since 1990....which would account for the growing lichen in the water...yuck! We still can't find the primary water tank but we have been able to follow the tubing and wiring back from the bow to the various tanks and pumps....and we feel good about all the things we have learned about our boat in such a short time. Now the broken steering is all out and Dave is planning the rebuild and having a great time 'tinkering' with the parts in the garage. (Which by-the-way, we can't get our cars into because of all the boat projects.)
We feel somewhat overwhelmed with all we have to do but still feel we can get her up and running for our first cruise in March 2011....WE CAN DO IT!

Comments [0] | | More

Dakota Crew
10/25/2010

We spent all day yesterday cleaning out the boat. I have to wonder 'just how much stuff was left on her'? While Dave spent an good hour under the stern and trying to figure out how to remove the rusted out steering column, I spent the time scrubbing out the bathroom....found more 'stuff' in the cupboards. We have been making regular trips to the garbage compactor on the dock.
On a good note we figured out how to light and keep the heater going....after Dave had to replace the feeder supply line, and we figured out that the weird looking thing in the bathroom cupboard is actually the refridgerator compressor unit...and it works!
We got the oven out and will take it home to give it a good clean with Mr Clean!...oh and straighten out the pot rail and then to replace it back in it's original position so it will gimble properly.
On another good note...the unworking lights are solid brass and they cleaned up well with a good shine and polish. Dave does have alot of electrical work to do...he has to follow every single wire back to the 12 volt breaker panel.
Just looking at all the projects we have to do makes it seem very daunting, but we have the dream of taking her out for her inaugral sail as Dakota in March. This dream will fuel our energy and keep us warm over the long winter ahead.

Comments [0] | | More