Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Quiet day here at home. I'm sitting in my upstairs office at the desk which looks out at the pine trees across the street and out across the Lake Whatcom valley towards the Cascade Mountains. It is cold, in the 40s, with a light breeze that makes it feel a bit cooler. But the sun is out and there is not a cloud in the bright blue sky.

In a minute I will get dressed and head out with my camera to take advantage of the weather. I'll probably stop by and shot the Key of Sea sitting in the yacht harbor and who know what else. We'll see.

I cranked up the Honda generator over the weekend. It started right up despite having sat in the garage since September with last summer's fuel still in it and not having been started since god knows when. I didn't have the same luck with the Honda outboard which has had a similar fate since being removed from the stern of the boat and brought home. I may need to take it down for a check up.

I am getting more serious about replacing our dinghy which is an inflatable, including the floor, which is the real problem. I also want to upgrade to an outboard with higher horse power. My 2 hp just doesn't do the job with our 10 foot dinghy.

I want to purchase a similar-in-length dinghy but with a fiberglass hull. They're more expensive but will last much longer than those with a plastic bottom. Add to that an outboard with 4-5 hp and an add on fuel tank and I think we'd be much better off.

With the big boat show season just coming to an end, I am hoping to find some used options on Craigslist or a yacht club's for sale listing. Folks who buy new dinghies or upgrade to larger or smaller ones may be looking to unload one that is just what I am looking for.We'll see.