We took it easy today - never even weighed anchor or changed locations. We were in a protected cove and watched the weather go by with very strong wind gusts and heavy rain on and off (very happy I bought an oversized Rocna anchor!). It never got up to 60 degrees (F) all day, so it was double layer fleece, wool socks and we even occasionally turned on the heater.
Last evening it was so cold Elaine decided to bake cookies, using the oven to heat up the boat. This morning it was biscuits — I can see some advantage to this cold weather…
It was a “project” day for me, trying to fix our electric outboard motor. We managed to break the shear pin holding the prop, and after tearing this boat apart, decided I must not have put the spare shear pins on board. I tried making one from a metal barbecue skewer, but it didn’t hold up, so, after searching for anything that would work, I modified an allen wrench to be our new shear pin. I also had to epoxy the prop and now, after only five hours, the epoxy is finally starting to set. I had hoped to get it back together by this evening, but it looks like tomorrow.
Another project was to get my old I-phone (full of music) connected to the stereo. We are now in an area with limited, or no reception, and it would be nice to have music once on a while, so I managed to get the rear of the stereo exposed and make a USB connection so we now can have music during dinner (and at other times too).
Because we did not run the engine today, the batteries did not get any electricity from the alternator. We started up the generator this afternoon to charge up the batteries. Since the generator supplies 120 volt electricity, Elaine got out the vacuum cleaner for a quick clean-up, after which she was able to take a nice warm shower since the water heater works on 120V too.
We also worked our way through a couple of books during the storms and even an afternoon game of Scrabble. Another diversion was watching the bald eagles come out between squalls.
The weather is forecast to improve tomorrow, so we will be on the move again, probably over to Squirrel Cove to set up for going through the next set of rapids - Yuculta, Gillard and Dent. These rapids are a major “gateway” for getting north up to the Broughton Islands and can only be passed on a slack tide, preferably after a high tide, so the passage must be timed precisely to get through all three safely.
We are starting to make plans on where we could leave the boat for a couple of weeks and get back home for a short time before flying back to continue the voyage. There are significant logistics, including where we could pick up a float plane to get back to Seattle, then get down to Tacoma to pick up the car before heading home. I suspect things will work out - they have so far…
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