DIY: THE REFIT STARTED WITH SOME WELDING

When we first purchased our retirement project.  We had her hauled to our yard.  We were living along the river on Henderson Highway at the time.  We knew we had a couple of years of work to do on her before we could ever launch, so we thought it would be convenient to have the boat in our yard to work on it, at our leisure. 

The first thing we arranged for was  the addition of large stabiliser fins to be welded down each side of the hull.   We had spoken to the commercial fishers in Gimli harbour who have similar Lake Winnipeg hulls and they highly recommended them.     These long fins, running most of the length on each side of the hull really dampen your roll, when you are being broad sided in rough water.  

The other thing was a couple of "Cat Walks"down each side of the engine.  When down in the engine room, the hull of course sloped right down under the engine.  It was very difficult for Dan to work down there without loosing his footing and having his foot or even his whole leg slip down under the engine.  So while the welder was there, Dan had him install these small open grilled platforms to each side of the engine to provide better footing while working down there.    

THEN NEXT UP WAS THE PILOT HOUSE ROOF 

 

        

THE WEEKEND STARTED OUT DISAPPOINTING (DOG CRUISE)

Well, I started decorating my boat on Thursday, then it started to rain.  "Oh, well, I can finish this on Friday, when it stops raining."  

"WRONG"  Everyone started to bail on the whole idea of the Light Parade.  Even the guy in charge.  No names will be used to protect the negligent.  Needless to say I was very disappointed, we didn't even go out to watch the fireworks.  Dan took my lights off of our boat this morning. 

And he knew I was disappointed so he compensated me with a wonderful day on the lake.  We cruised on out around lunch time, spent the day swimming, bobbing and relaxing out there.  Tower Beach was well attended as usual. 

It was very relaxing even with three dogs on board. 

There was a huge family playing keep away with a ball, and the pleasure and excitement was quite infectious for Sea-Enna, she soooo much wanted to join them. 

Sea-Enna did some retrieving.  So she got her exercise. 

Misty also got her exercise by chasing her ball.  I've never seen a dog like her that plays with a ball all by herself.  She picks it up, tosses it in the air, then chases it again.  then pushes it around with her nose, put her foot on it and picks it up again.  It's quite entertaining to watch and good exercise and quite entertaining for her. 

Felix on the other hand took a stroll around the deck???  Now we have a pretty wide walk around on our boat, but I was really shocked when I saw him coming back from his stroll.  While I was busy taking pictures, he obviously sneaked up onto the port side of the walk around  (as that is where I last saw him).  And when I put my camera down, here came Felix strolling along the starboard walk around back towards the stern.    Too bad I didn't get a picture of that little stunt.  So I guess I'm not the only one that enjoyed the outing.  All on board had a good time. 


Don't forget next weekend is Islendingadagurinn, I'm sure lots of boats will be travelling back and forth between here and Gimli for their Icelandic Festival. 

Then on August 10th is the BCYC Bar-B-Q, so mark your calendars and be sure to take part. 

EXTRA DOGS ON BOARD THE BOAT

We are all in an adjustment period, having three dongs on board. 

There is certainly enough room on our boat for two extra small dogs, but not when all three of them want to be in the Captain's Quarters at night.     
  

The other thing that seems to be a bit of a problem for us, is the fact that these little twerps are obviously used to having a fenced-in back yard to be out in whenever they want.  They keep standing by the door, and glancing back at us, wanting out.

Well anytime they are "out", we also have to be "out".  And I don't intend to be "out" for 12-14 hours of the day.  So this is going to be something they are going to have to adjust to.  They will be allowed out for an hour in the morning, and hour in the afternoon, and an hour in the evening.  And even that is also subject to "Weather Permitting".    





 
All Misty wants to do is lay in the sunshine and sleep. 
   





 



But Felix seems to think he has to bark at everyone that passes.  Even if they are 1/2 a mile away.  Sea-Enna can't figure that one out. 

 

 

Misty has found the little mat by the door to curl up on. 

But of course, Felix being the dominant little mutt that he is, has decided that he should sleep where the people eat.  This of course is not sitting well with Dan. I can see a battle of wills coming. 

 

Meanwhile Sea-Enna is just thinking, "Last week there was a cat living here, now these two, what next?"

 

 

 

I'm sure we will all, soon settle in to a comfortable routine.

 

 

 

 

 

I'M SURE MISTY AND FELIX THINK THEY WILL HAVE US TRAINED SOON 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MISADVENTURE ON OUR SHAKE DOWN CRUISE

The first two years that we had the boat in the water, we had a problem with seized fuel injectors. 

The first year 2004 we put the boat in the water in time for the August long weekend and we knew the engine had not been run for about ten years, but she had been running fine when she was stored, but the transmission was a big question mark?? 


So we had it towed over to our berth for us to use it as a "cottage on the water" and so that Dan could have the engine things worked on during that summer while we enjoyed living on board.  First the old fuel was pumped off and replaced with new.  Then the same thing was done with the oil in the engine.  This was also done with the oil in the transmission, where Dan discovered "The clogged up filter", but that's another story. Any ways, Sean Hurry, our Son Ken's school friend, who is a diesel mechanic came out to the boat to give Dan a hand to get the engine started.    He soon discovered two seized fuel injectors.  He freed them up and she started.  After a lot of adjusting, and starting and restarting, they had her purring like a kitten.  That year she left the harbour under her own power and up onto the trailer with no problem. 

The next summer 2005 we didn't launch until June 28th and at launch time she wouldn't start again.  But we enjoyed our long weekend at the dock, with guests etc.  Then on July 16th Sean came out to look at the engine and a couple of injectors were seized again.  We realized that this was going to be an on going problem each spring and all the injectors were going to have to be replaced. So, during the next couple of weeks, Dan started her up from time to time, with no problem, and let her run for an hour at a time to in the hopes of loosening up those injectors. 

On the Sunday of the August long weekend we decided to fire up "The Bird"  and take her out for her "shake down" cruise.  This would be the first time out of the harbour since we owned the boat.  She started with no problem and with the help of some friends to get us out of our tight docking spot, we cruised on out of the harbour.  Everything was running properly, and no unexpected problems.  The day was beautiful and the lake was like glass.  We cruised along heading north looking for Judy and Bob's shoreline property, finally finding it and taking pictures of them waving from the shore.  We continued on northward enjoying the day and the cruise until we realized we were past the half way point to Gull Harbour.  So, we made a decision. 

 None of our guest crew needed to be back at work till Tuesday and the cruise was going so nicely, we decided to continue on to Gull Harbour, stay overnight and return to Gimli on Monday. 

We approached Gull Harbour with caution and decided to slow to a stop to survey the harbour as we had not been there for many years and thought we should take it slow to look for any changes that may have taken place.  The "Slow to a stop", did not go too well.  No matter how Dan tried he could not get her into neutral.  He opened the engine compartment and tried to shift it manually, to no avail. 

So, now we had a real dilemma.  If we shut off the engine and coasted into the harbour, we were sure people would assist us in docking, but without neutral, Dan was afraid, if he killed the engine, he would not be able to get it started again.  There were no parts stores in Gull Harbour and we had no transportation (not even a bike) and a tow back to Gimli would be quite costly.  On the other hand we knew we had lots of fuel to make it back to Gimli, but we did not have navigation lights for night running (that was on our to do list) and the day was waning.  It was past 7:00PM.  What to do?  We circled around outside Gull Harbour debating the situation and came to the decision that we would light the boat up with as many cabin lights as possible (in lieu of nav lights) and set a course back to Gimli. 

It had taken us 8 hours to get to Gull Harbour at our leisurely pace, so even if we ran wide open we would be at least midnight or later and we would need assistance docking, with no neutral gear.  So Tracy made food for everyone for the long trek back and we telephoned our situation to Gord Gowie, the Gimli Harbour Master.  We asked if he and some of our friends could stand by and be on hand to assist us in docking because we would be very late getting back.  He assured us that if we got her into the harbour they would be on hand to help us dock. 

After a long a tedious journey in the dark (not as nice as the sunny leisurely cruise of earlier that day).  The weather was perfect and the lake was like glass, we approached Gimli Harbour just before midnight.  That good GPS was the greatest thing we have invested in.  Worth every penny.  Navigating in the dark, with our old boat, used to be very scary, but with the GPS it's a snap.  But we did need a better compass, for the odd time when the satellite signal fails. (guess what Dan got for Christmas that year.) 

The two dogs on board had been so patient, having been on board for so many hours they were really starting to whine at the doors.

 As we rounded the corner of the breakwater, there was me at the helm and Dan with his head down in the engine compartment.  He was going to shift it into reverse (which we still had)  manually and when the boat came to a full stop, I was to hit the kill switch.    Well I panicked.  When Dan shifted into reverse, I didn't wait long enough for it to come to a full stop.  I hit the kill switch while we still had plenty of forward momentum.  So, now we were moving forward, toward the Namao, the huge research vessel and the main dock with no control at all.  Dan always says, "when I lifted my head out of the engine compartment all I could see was this huge red hull of the Namao(The Namao was painted Red at the time), looming in front of us and us careening toward it".  We got lucky though, our trajectory skimmed us just past the Namao and moved us at a 45 degree angle straight on toward the main dock and we were slowing nicely.  We were in a good position to throw lines and manhandle the old girl gently into the dock.  Which with the help of friends went very smoothly. 

The First order of the night was to get the dogs off of the boat and give them a run.  Then good stiff drinks all around and finally Gord, Bill Phillip and Mike Sinden helped us back into our own berth. 

Dan soon fixed the transmission.  It was a worn shifter connection.  A simple fix and we were back in business. 

SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE MANY MISADVENTURE OF

THE THUNDERBIRD  



 



 

BOARDWALK DAYS CARNIVAL LIGHT PARADE

I have been busy this morning stringing Christmas Lights on my boat in preparation for our up coming Light Parade. 

Yes, it’s time again for the Annual Boundary Creek Yacht Club Light Parade on Saturday night July 27th. For those that don't know about this, Winnipeg Beach has a huge fireworks display on that night in celebration of their "Boardwalk Days".  

Us boaters not only take our boats out of the harbour to watch these fireworks. A lot of us decorate our boats with Christmas Lights and when the fireworks are finished we do a parade, along the beach front and back to the harbour similar to Canada Day. Everyone is invited to take part.  The more the merrier. 
 

Jeff Arnason is in sharge and can fill you in on any details or questions you might have.  He has decided that the theme of this years light parade is  "Caribbean, Carnival, Reggae Music and, all that kind of thing".   That should be real fun.  Anyone got a lighted Palm Tree or Parrot from their patio, to put on the bow of their boat? 

 

 

These are some very important precautions we should all follow:   

1.      Do not put any lights across in front of your   helm/windshield. 

2.      Turn all helm area lights off or set your dimmer switch to the lowest setting.  Darkness is your friend in the helm area.  It allows your eyes to adjust to the darkness outside and improves your night vision.  If you must have lights in your helm area keep them dimmed. 

See US Coast Guard Recommendations about night vision  http://www.the-lake-life.com/boating-after-dark-follow-these-safety-tips/

 

3.      When decorating your boat be sure to put some lights across your stern, so that you are clearly visible to any boat approaching you from behind.  Most of us neglected this area last year. 

4.       Remember your regular Navigation lights will not really be very visible amongst all the other lights out there so, be very very careful and go very slow.  When following other boats, all your extra lights can make your vision and visibility difficult. 

TAKE CARE, HAVE FUN  AND ENJOY THE SIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

PLEASURE BOATING ON LAKE WINNIPEG

Living on board is a real pleasure.  Weather permitting, we take the boat out of the harbour for a “No Destination Cruise”and just bob around out there (if we don't anchor, for safety sake, we always trail a rope when off of the boat), Wear a life jacket and you don't even have to put the effort in, to swim.

 

We usually have lunch, or some snacks and drinks, swim some more, then head back to port. And if it’s exceptionally nice or hot we will sometimes stay out and Bar-B-Q dinner as well.   Dan calls that taking me out for Dinner.

 

 

Then there are the “Destination Cruises”. Pick a sight you would like to see. (like the North East tip of Elk Island)  Cruise there and back on a day Cruise.  Very relaxing.



Or, we can pick a port and cruise there for a day, a week, or more. As seen here at Gull Harbour.

It’s just like camping, you pay for your docking, just like you do at a campground.

 


There are many of these destinations available to us.  Silver Harbour, Hnausa Harbour, Gull Harbour, Hecla Village, Wells Harbour, Biscuit Harbour, Princess Harbour, etc. etc. etc. The list is endless. 

WE HAVEN'T VISITED THEM ALL, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON THE LIST

 

 

 

 



 

DOGS, DOGS, DOGS

My daughter Wendy and her family are away on a trip, so we are having our Grand Dogs on board for a stay.  This should be interesting for the next 10 days or so.  These on board guests are Misty:  The Westie



And Felix:  The Beagle

And of course our own sweet Sea-Enna:

So we certainly will have our hands full for the next couple of weeks.  At least we are out at the lake and not in the Condo. 

WE'LL HAVE SOME FUN

 

 

 



ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND

The weekend started off early with a Thursday night celebration of our new boarding ramps.  We are all getting new boarding ramps leading to our all new docks.  The first one was finished on Thursday, so of course it had to be christened. 

We celebrated our new on ramp when it was completed on Friday.  And just on time too, as the water was coming up fast. 

I love my new ramp.  It's so firm and stable compared to the old ones we used to have. 

 

Then on Saturday night was the Potluck dinner we have all been looking forward to. 

There was a great turn out and lots of wonderful food.  Thanks to everyone that took part and brought all the great dishes. 

And a Special thanks to Art Wilks for supplying the Turkeys and to Derek Debets for cooking them.  I can now say I've tasted Deep Fried Turkey, and it's Great. 



I HOPE WE HAVE AS GOOD A TURN OUT FOR NEXT WEEKENDS LIGHT PARADE






 

 

LIVING ABOARD A BOAT IS FUN

Living on board closes us to some possibilities, and opens us up to others.  We cannot watch TV, but we do have internet, while in most marinas and ports, and we do have a drop down DVD player (like you have for the kids in a van) over our bed in the Captain’s Quarters, So that we can watch a movie in the evening, therefore we certainly do not miss electronic entertainments. 

The pluses are, our harbour is within walking distance of a public beach where we can swim. 

If the seas are a little rough, we can do that, but  weather permitting, we take the boat out of the harbour for a “No Destination Cruise”and just bob around out there and swim off of the boat.  

 

 

But living aboard is especially fun on the weekends.  Now Dan and I are retired, and there are a few others, also retired, that live on their boats all summer, from launch day in spring to pull out day in fall.  During the week the only real activity is the odd cruise.  And we get some cottagers on vacation and the commercial fishermen coming and going, but even the fisherman are finished for the summer.   We live a very quite existence all week long, but, come the weekend almost all boats (approx. 200 in our marina) come to life as the owners arrive for the weekend. 

It all becomes a hive of activity.  Everything from 30-40 ft. live-a-boards, Sailboats of all sizes, Pontoon boats, Run-abouts and Sea-Doo’s, all start coming and going throughout the marina or lining up at the launch ramp.  And of course the partying starts as well.   Everyone catching up with each other’s week, sharing a few drinks and a few laughs. 

 And the great thing is you can choose to take part or stay on board your boat and forgo the activities.  The party atmosphere starts on Friday night, always continues right through the weekend and everyone has a wonderful time. 

 

Come Sunday afternoon, things begin to reverse themselves, as the weekenders slowly pack up and head to the city to face another work week.  Slowly the mood changes to one of resignation.  But, I for one, (being retired) love Sunday evenings. 

 

There is a quiet lull and hush that comes over the whole beach area and I get back to my tranquill retirement home on the water.  Not that I don’t love a good party at least once a week. 

 

 

AH....BACK TO RELAXING

 

 



 

 

THE POT LUCK DINNER IS COMING UP ON SATURDAY

This weekend is our "Deep Fried Turkey Pot Luck Dinner".  Is everyone signed up?   Please check with everyone around your dock to make sure they know about it and have signed up.  We wouldn't want anyone to feel left out.  If you find someone that still wants to sign up, send then to Linda on Thunderbird. 

I've never had Deep Fried Turkey, so I'm really looking forward to it. 

See you all at the Gazebo Saturday at 7:00 PM

 

And this weekend I guess we should all start stringing the lights on our boats for next weekends Light Parade.  It's best to test them out this weekend in case something doesn't work you still have time to fix things.   

 

 

 

MORE FUN WEEKENDS COMING UP. 

 

 

 



MY DOG'S "BATHING SUIT"

It all started when we discovered our dog loves to swim.  Sea-Enna is a Golden Retriever and the first couple of summers she seemed to fear the water. 

We could understand that in her first summer as she was only 8 weeks old, but in her second summer when she was just over 1 year, we began to wonder is we had some kind of dud retriever. 

Well, in her third summer, when she was just over 2 years old.  My daughter visited us with her Labrador retriever Daisy, who followed my daughter into the water without hesitation and Sea-Enna followed along without a thought, and she loved it.  All she needed was someone to show her what to do. 

So, now we had a problem.  We live in a harbour.  We live on a boat.  And we certainly did not want to have to live with a constantly wet dog.  The first time we let her swim off of the boat, we also discovered it was difficult to get her back up onto the swim platform.  Even at 2 years old she was over 55 pounds. 

Her "Bathing Suit" became the solution to both problems.  It is a large strong dog harness that has a good strong strap across her back and under her belly, so that when she swims up to the boat Dan can heft her back up onto the swim platform. 

We have been very consistent in never, never, never letting her go in the water without that harness on. 

Even if we are going swimming at a beach, she must have her "Bathing Suit"  on.  Not that she NEEDS to have it on then, but it makes her associate it with being allowed to go in the water. 

That consistency means she never goes near the water around the harbour.  No jumping off docks, wading into the mud or reeds, nor do we have to fear her jumping off of the boat without permission.  It also means when we get out her "Bathing Suit"  she gets very excited and can hardly contain her excitement. 

If we pull out her "Bathing Suit" while we are in port she runs to the truck the minute she gets it on, because she knows she is going to the beach. 

Or if we stop on a cruise and get out her "Bathing Suit" she knows she gets to swim off of the boat.  It works great. 



All in all the "Bathing Suit" harness and consistency, have been a wonderful solution to what could have been a BIG problem for us. 

SEA-ENNA LOVES TO SWIM

 

 

 

 



LAKE WINNIPEG - OUR CRUISING GROUNDS

According to Blogger Statistics supplied to me, I have many readers that are not from the area so, for the non local readers, Wikipedia states, Lake Winnipeg is a large, 24,514-square-kilometre (9,465 sq mi) lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of the city of Winnipeg.

It is part of the most undeveloped large watershed of southern Canada.
Lake Winnipeg is the sixth-largest freshwater lake in Canada, but it is relatively shallow (mean depth of 12 m (39 ft)) excluding a narrow 36 m (118 ft) deep channel between the northern and southern basins. It is the eleventh-largest freshwater lake on Earth.

The east side of the lake has pristine boreal forests and rivers that are being promoted as a potential United Nations World Heritage Park. The lake is elongated in shape and is 416 km (258 mi) from north to south, with remote sandy beaches, large limestone cliffs, and many bat caves in some areas. The Manitoba Hydro Electric Co. uses the lake as one of the largest reservoirs in the world. There are many islands in the lake, most of them undeveloped.

THIS IS WHERE WE SPEND OUR TIME IN THE SUMMER

 

 

 

 



AH...... SUNDAY

I love Sundays.  The hustle and bustle of the weekend continues for most of the day, but come supper time things take a gradual turn.      . 

Today started off with another re-naming ceremony.  This time for Derek Debets.  Many of us turned out to celebrate this occasion with him.  Most of us put on silly nautical hats supplied by Boyd and Gayle.   

 

 

 

Derek (with the help of his Dad) has made many changes to the vessel previously know as "Margaret" and is today re-naming her "Double D's".   

 

 

The Captain ceremoniously discarded the previous name, into the Seas. 

 

 

And everyone in attendance toasted the new name from shore. 

 

 

 

"Here's to Double D's"

 

Some champagne was poured for luck and a lot more was drunk in celebration of this occasion. 

 

 

 

 

and a good time was had by all. 

 

The party then moved onto the island where there was wonderful food and more good times. 

 

Then as usual come Sunday afternoon, things started to wind down and the normal Sunday evening hush falls over the beach as everyone prepares and resigns themselves to getting back to their weekly routines. 

 

IT'S GREAT TO BE RETIRED