After weeks of research on Jan 30th the mechanic and his young and strong able-bodied helper successfully swapped out my batteries, so I was operational again! My plan was to pull out right at daylight for this trip, which was about 7 AM. I did all the steps on my pre-trip checklist and was just in the process of untying the last of the mooring lines when I noticed water pumping out from one of the bilge pump ports. That shouldn't be happening and it required immediate inves

When I got ready to leave the Naha on my last trip and I attempted to fire up the main engines the starboard engine started but the port engine would not start. Just by the way it sounded I suspected that the problem was low voltage on the starting battery. So, I shut down the starboard engine and then fired up the generator, which has its own dedicated starting battery. I ran the generator for a bit, and it charged the batteries. Then I started both engines with no issue

This was my first trip of 2026, and of course it had to be to the Naha, one of my favorite places in the whole world! I haven't been out in a while. My excuses are: Deferred maintenance - I had some maintenance that needed to be done but wasn't urgent Bad weather - This time of the year is famous for really bad weather More bad weather - We had a lot of it! City League Basketball - I can only get out on Friday & Saturday during the season Here is a little map snippet tha

While there is a chance I will get out once or twice before the end of the year it is not likely. So, once again, it is time to summarize my year on Faraway. Here are the numbers for 2025, with some notes to go along with them. Number of trips: 24 Nautical miles logged: 2,058 Gallons of fuel purchased: 1,507.4 Cost of fuel: $6,194.83 Average cost of fuel per gallon: $4.11 Cost of maintenance, repairs, and parts: $20,981.67 Cost of moorage: $2,081.88 Cost of insurance: $2,422

Well, I haven't been out on the boat since late October. That is unusual for me, but sometimes it happens. For the very few people that might be reading this blog here is what is going on. This time of year, our area has the worst weather. When I was working full-time, I only had the weekends and vacations and holidays to go out. I would schedule a trip and unless it was blowing a hurricane I just went and dealt with the weather as it came. However, I have been retired fo

I usually run the boat up to Wrangell each year in mid-April for haul out and annual maintenance, which includes pressure washing the bottom and changing any zincs that need it. However, in the fall, when the weather is typically pretty bad, I don't want to run all the way to Wrangell, so I try to find a diver to go down, scrub the bottom, and change the zincs. This year I found Ketchikan Dive Services Daniel Yutronich to take care of that for me. He came down on a pretty st

I was really undecided about even making this trip. The weather on Saturday was a bit iffy, while Sunday looked pretty good. But then I realized that our City League basketball season is about to start and once it starts, I am very limited in when I am able to get out for overnight trips. So that pushed it over the top, and I decided the trip was a go. Some may recall that about a year ago I left in the dark and hit something in the water that caused a lot of expensive dam

This was supposed to be a Port Stewart trip, but on the way out there I spontaneously changed my destination to Marguerite Bay, which is...

The weather and all my volunteer commitments came together to allow me to get out on the water for a couple of days. I have officially...

One of my most favorite places on earth is the Naha. There is a USFS dock there that has been deteriorating badly over the years. I was...

A few days prior to this the mechanic replaced the bowls on both sea strainers, so I am no longer grounded! We have been having an...

When you use your boat as much as I do stuff eventually breaks. Yesterday while I was doing a routine engine room check I noticed a crack...

This was to be the second "consolation trip" after our planned run up to Wrangell to see the bears in Anan Creek was canceled due to...

My oldest grandson Tyler and his girlfriend Megan came up from Olympia Washington for a short visit. We were supposed to run up to...

My daughter Jennifer and I and her significant other Virgil brought the boat back from Juneau in record time. We had 3 days until they...

We had another crew change in Auke Bay when we returned from spending our time inside the Bay. Jos and Hayden and Aiden flew out and...

Private motor vessels entering Glacier Bay from June 1 - August 31 must have a permit. When I visited GB in 2010 and again in 2017 the...

I have been planning this trip for almost a year, and then it finally began. I have been to Glacier Bay twice before, in 2010 and again...

My philosophy is that if the opportunity arises to make trips with good friends, you should take advantage and make it happen. My friends...

My second wife was Judy, who sadly passed away from complications from heart surgery just at the start of the Covid mess. Her two...