Oct 13-22
Hi All,
Yep….the 2018 cruising adventure comes to an end. And quite frankly the last few weeks in Sitka has gotten to be too many projects….not enough fun…arghhhhh!!!! We leave on Tuesday the 23rd to fly back to California for a few months…the usual…see family and friends, doctor appts, ZN/Tulane reunion in NOLA, Holidays, et al. We will be back in Sitka in early Jan…like when there is only 6 hours of daylight….will be an experience!!!
Weather: Winter is definitely here!!! Sunrise is now ~8am and sunset ~5:30pm….~9.5 hours of sun/daylight….almost half what we had in the Aleutians!!! October is historically the rainiest month with 22 days average of rain. It has rained everyday since Oct 4th….well, maybe there was 1 or 2 days of no rain but yikes….once I got Mystic cleaned on the outside mother Nature has kept her clean:))) Most of the locals talk about how the weather is changing these past few years, just like people throughout the Pacific Rim. The odd occurrence this time is a huge HI sitting just north of Alaska and coupled with 3-4*F warmer waters in the Bering Sea this is creating lots of low LO’s, like 950-970mb….as in major hurricane force winds…and they have been coming straight up the Gulf of Alaska creating 30-50kt winds, 25-30′ seas….yikes!!! Fortunately Sitka is well protected but we have seen gusts in the high 20’s in the marina….ugh!!!
The projects/cleaning continues…..
Dryer: In all we spent 4 days on this dang unit (that was the nicest thing I could call it:))). We finally got the parts….new drum rollers and belt. To replace the rollers you have to dissemble the front….ok, a gazillion screws but get it done and eventually figure out how to squeeze in the right tools to change out the 2 rollers. Put it all back together to find out it doesn’t start….no LED readout which means the door switch is not working. So, take it all apart again…..now the 4th time….reposition the switch et al, put all back together and nada….so, as all good cruisers do…we did a work around…extended the door arm that is supposed to hit the door switch arm….somehow when we put it all back together the two were not making contact, maybe 1/16″ out of alignment….really….and, voila…we have a working dryer….ODG!!!!
John: ER maintenance/cleaning: fixed several nagging leaks….one on Racor filter, hot water tank, Kabola engine HE and then the last one…..changed out the Groco WSB fresh water strainer….the top had cracked I guess from the ER heat….this one had us in a panic…got it all changed out….not an easy task as limited room, but it was sucking in air from the water tanks….took a while to find this and then light bulb time, water tanks were low, but not that low, well, try it anyway….so added more water and voila we have fresh water and no leaks!!!
Changed GEN and Cummins oil, changed engine zincs, took 8 oil and coolant samples from 3 engines, changed out Cummins Rocker cover gasket….it had started to leak out the aft end….not sure why as gasket looked good!! Rebed more screws/hawseholes, did some SS polishing, cleaned watermaker filters, did not pickle but left on flush….
Kathy: Cleaned the whole interior, plus all the windows outside and inside….that is a job for sure, cleaned out the 3rd stateroom, our junk room…well, almost, but we can walk in it now:)))) Took inventory of spares and food et al, cleaned fridge, defrost freezer, vacuumed, wiped all floors/walls, fussed at John for getting her clean floors dirty:)))), and a gazillion loads of laundry…yep, she so loves her working washer and dryer:)))
Alaska Day: Alaska celebrates in style July 4th and Alaska Day, Oct 18…when USA bought Alaska from Russia for $7million….pretty cheap…but Russia needed the money for its several ongoing wars!!! There was a small town parade, auction, and a beer/brat/BBQ brisket tasting with local bands….all outside….and it was blowing 10-15kts with air temp in the 50’s…..even the band members said it was a bit chilly:)))
So, that’s a wrap…..
Hope all is well!
John
Mystic Moon
Sitka Alaska
PS: Posted new gallery of Geographic Harbor and Kukak Bay in Katmai NP….more Grizzlies:)))
https://www.mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Geographic-Harbor-and-Kukak-Bay-in-Katmai-NP
Asko Dryer
We have to lift it out of its slot and work on it in the hallway…tight quarters!!
The two rollers are located at the bottom
This is the crack in the drum from catching on the door switch arm plate….we bent it back and epoxied and sanded over to make it smooth
The top of the Groco strainer that had many cracks in it
The Cummins rocker cover gasket that leaked out the aft end
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