Part 5. Boats!

Define Boat.    According to the Oxford Dictionary.....
Boat  (n&v) 1. a small vessel propelled on water by an engine, oar or sail.
                    2. (in general use) a ship of any size.
                    3. an elongated boat-shaped jug used for holding sauce etc.

A boat owners definition is...A hole in the water in which to pour money!!

Well at the last count we had 10 such holes!! That does not include the various 'boats' out of the water which, in my opinion, are not salvageable!!

We have boats propelled by oar and sail and engine so I guess we have it covered!

Our vessels vary in size. The smallest being an 8' kayak and the largest, the Tasu is 29'.
Of course there are reasons for having so many vessels. We do not have cars or other forms of transport. Boats are it! They get us from place to place and are part of our livelihood.
There are three people in this family so we have at least three boats each to choose from. Of course we all want the same boat at the same time!!

All the boats have a specific function. The 'big boat' (Tasu) is used for trips to Port Hardy, Robins charter patrol job where it is his home for the summer and for towing if we need to move either the house or logs around.
The work skiff is the general, everyday work horse. It is full of ropes, pike poles, chain saws and general equipment.   Oh yes, and holes too. You have to keep moving or your feet get wet. Thats why it has to be pulled up on the logs when not in use.
Robin and I also have matching patrol skiffs! ( I know it's very romantic).  These we use in the summer months when we are doing fisheries work. They both have 50hp engines and are centre consols.

For everyday running around we have two 'runabouts'. They are both 15' with 40hp engines. These are a little more comfortable with comfy seats and drive much like a car.
The canoes (3) we use when walking creeks and sometimes for evening paddles around the bay. Charlotte has a small kayak and an 8' sailing/row boat.
Along with all these vessels we also have a windsurfer and an older skiff which we put an electric motor on. Mum and Dad had fun taking evening boat trips round the bay in this. It is almost silent so great for wildlife watching as they can't hear you coming.

Boating can be a fun pastime which we all enjoy. It can be dangerous and very costly. All the maintenance we do our selves unless a large job such as haul out is required, then we have to make a trip to Port Hardy for the nearest boat yard.  Robin spends much of his winter months keeping up to date on the repairs etc so that when he is away we only have oil changes etc to do.
I have, however, got quite good at diagnosing problems and quite a dab hand at changing carbs!!

Keep boating till next time.

Part 4. A quick trip!!

For those of you who have been here, will know that we can do a grocery shop in  Port Hardy when the weather lets us cross Queen Charlote Sound.
Robin and Charlotte made a trip in the new year and as I had to renew my drivers license, I went with Robin again this week.
We had been looking at the weather for about a week and things looked good enough to make the trip.
Port Hardy is approx 60 miles but the water can be very dangerous. As it takes so long.....we have a slow boat......we are carefull to keep an eye on the weather reports and lighthouse reports.

We left home on tuesday morning at 6.00am. Sea state and wind ways gave us a 3 metre swell and a little wind from the north west, which would be behind us. Quite a pleasant trip with nothing very interesting happening.
We arrived in Port Hardy at 3.oo pm.
I walked up town to the insurance place, Robin walked up to a friends house to borrow their truck and we met up again in the drug store. Next stop was the welding shop to pick-up some pieces we had ordered then a drive down to Port McNeill to pick up more parts.
Port McNeill is a 25 minute drive heading south.
Back to Port Hardy and to the grocery store before they closed at 7.00pm.
Down to the dock to unload and then to the pub for a well earned lunch/dinner.
Up to our friends to drop off the vehicle then back to the boat and into our snug little bunks.
The fuel dock does not open till 8.00am so we had time for breakfast at 7.00am then across to the bay to the fuel dock.
Departure from Port Hardy was at 9.00am ready for the 9 hours home!!
The weather now was calm and if any wind was to materialze is was to come from the south east, again behind us.

We arrived home at 6.00pm where Charlotte had dinner ready.

This is what we call a quick trip to town!!
It gives a whole new meaning to power shopping!

We travel with a skiff for emegencies and you can see two barrels which we use for some of our fuel.
It was pretty chilly that morning. You can see that the harbour was frozen over!

There are a few sea lions who live on the floats at the mouth of the harbour.

Scarlett Point Light house is just out of  Port Hardy. From here is open water till we get to the mouth of Smith Inlet.

Sorry about the quality of the picture.
The island in the far distance is Calvert Island which is level with Rivers Inlet. That is about 50 miles from this point. There are a few 'rocks' which we aim for but you can also see that the water is very calm.....not usual in february!!

Looking west...next stop Japan!

This posting is just an example of how we shop and the travel plans we have to make. Not all these trips go so smoothly but no disasters......so far!!