Again, a pretty uneventful trip this year. The XO had to work on the 25th and 26th, so we went and dropped off a car at the resort. It’s about an hour’s drive, so we did it the day before we cast off. As usual, Alderbrook was accommodating. The weather was cooperative, with some minor chop here and there. The huge windstorm that knocked out power to western Washington had just passed and it was unseasonably warm. It rained heavily pretty much the whole time. We were all together on the way down, but it was just the First Mate and me on the way back (the Assistant Quartermaster and Able-Bodied Sea-Dog rode home with the XO in the Toyota).
We usually stay for four days, since it takes 8-10 hours to get there by trawler (and boating… plans… weather… etc.). They used to have a Santa visit the lobby, and there was a game room with XBoxes and big screen TVs. Those didn’t make it past Covid. Also, the Hook and Fork is a fun afternoon diversion, but it was closed the two days we were able to go. When the kids were younger, the pool was enough by itself to keep them occupied for hours. Now, after two hours in the pool, we get a bit pruney and bored. We played a fair number of boardgames in the lobby, this time, which was fun. Especially since they put in the lobby bar. But, really, four days is stretching it. Given the torrential rains, we spent a lot of time just hanging out and reading.
The resort was pretty empty and there were no Holiday events. We easily got tables for Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Brunch. The staff said it had been a slow year over-all, which kind of bummed us out. There was only one other boat on the dock and there were hours when we were the only people in the pool. It’s a shame to see Alderbrook struggling like this. We hope they can bounce back.
One real bright spot this year was the meal planning. I discovered the best-kept off-the-beaten-path cafe in Kitsap, Britt’s Delish. It’s in a weird office park next to an industrial marijuana distributor. The food is amazing and she makes boat-oven-sized frozen meals that cost about what it would cost to buy the ingredients. So, I stocked up on those and saved hours in the galley.
One first from the trip is we left in the dark, an hour before sunrise, to try and beat some bad weather. I’d never driven in the full dark before. It was calm, but there were a lot of logs in the water from the heavy rains. We took it slow and used the spotlight.






































Turtle handled great. We hit some bigger waves on the way home, but the hard chines plus spray rails really make a difference, as long as you take the waves in a 140° arc on the bow.
Boat Stank
All boats develop smells. As a new boat, Turtle mostly smelled like varnish for the first few years. But, after the summer trip, it started to take on a more sinister undertone. It wasn’t familiar. I know holding tank smell, and engine coolant smell, and diesel of course. I am also familiar with the hard-to-pin-down “blige-y” smell. This was different. Some of my clothes in the hanging locker were starting to pick it up. So, I did the usual – cleaned everything, put damp-rid in the closet and under the bed, poured some enzyme cleaner in the shower drain to hopefully kill anything that might have taken root in the gray-water sump tank. We also keep a dehumidifier on most of the time, when we’re on shore power.
Still, no luck.
The smell was strongest in the master stateroom, so I started burying my face in everything to try and track it down. It definitely wasn’t coming from the holding tank (I did not bury my face in the holding tank, but I did stick it down into that compartment). I opened up the floor and the bilge was clear (I wiped it down as long as I was down there). The only thing I noticed was the linen and bed seemed to have picked up the scent. Then I realized… oh man, was the boaty-smell… me? Was my chubby middle age man funk soaking into the bed? Horrified, I stripped the bed, vacuumed and filpped the mattress, and moved the foam topper to the pilothouse. As soon as I did, the windows started steaming up, so there was moisture there – but when I buried my face in the foam it really didn’t smell. But, maybe I just cant smell myself? So, I deep cleaned the linen, put an airflow pad underneath the mattress, and allowed the foam to dry for several days. It’s not expensive, so if I need to I will just replace it and see if that helps (we got 3″ because the North Pacific mattresses are torturously hard – like you wouldn’t wish it on the most obnoxious kid at the sleepover, hard.)






Sticking doors
The midship bathroom door and the master stateroom door are sticking and rubbing. I was able to fix the bathroom door using the hinge adjusters and some light sanding. But, the master stateroom door will need heavy sanding to keep it from rubbing. I took it off and sanded down maybe a millimeter, but I will need to take off maybe 1-2 more to keep it from sticking. I only took one picture during that job.
Busted Heater Fan
On an earlier trip (before Alderbrook) I noticed the heater in the kids room stopped working. So, I pulled everything apart and tested everything before thinking to check the fan speed switch in the wall. Sure enough, the spade connector had come undone. So, I put everything back together and re-crimped the wire. I was really hoping to find the problem with my multi-meter – because that’s what I have seen real boat dudes do. I guess, not finding a problem with my multi-meter is still data.
Also: this.
I’m including pictures of a nasty boat fire I saw in Elliott Bay – and followed along on the radio – since I have nowhere else to post them. The ferry stopped to deploy rescue boats, but a friend-boat to the burning-boat got everyone off safely.





Ladder Mounting
The North Pacific has a fixed ladder that we store under our house to make more room in the cockpit. In the summer, it would be really nice to have a way to get up and down without going through the boat. I got a collapsible aluminum ladder, which works, but is sketchy. I thought about having some leaf plate receptacles installed so I could mount and unmount it seasonally, but then I visited my friend’s boat, Sweater Weather, which has a clever solution. Maybe we could have something similar designed.




Why am I Still Writing?
I can’t seem to end this post. So, here is a shot of all of the tools I keep handy so I know what size tool bag to buy. Right now they are just rattling around in a drawer.