Firewood and Uncovering the Shipmate Stove

Yesterday, we cut up firewood into small enough pieces to fit into the wood burning Shipmate stove aboard Mahdee. We now have four bins of firewood. From our prior experiences heating Mahdee with the wood stove, that wood should last us about a week. We didn’t use the Shipmate at all last winter–for cooking or heat. Instead we used the Taylors kero stove. This week we simply decided we’d be cheery and Christmas-like with the sounds and smell of wood burning.

Of course, I’ve been using the Shipmate oven to store things in. For the last year, the Shipmate stove top has provided additional storage for dish drain and more pots and pans. I’ve got bits and pieces of things stored under and between the stove and the heat shield as well. It will take me a couple hours to simply find new homes in the galley for all that stuff!

Waterfront Lands

It is difficult in much of the US for boaters to find a place where they can legally anchor that also is adjacent to a public beach or public waterfront lands where it is legal, and safe, to go ashore. We’ve anchored in places where the shore access is blocked by private development or large-rock riprap unsafe to climb and to leave a dingy tied to while ashore.

The theme seems to be bar the public and boaters from beaches, navigable waterways, and waterfront lands providing public access to the water. Seems like a version of the same story exists everywhere. Here’s a article from today’s New York Times about public beaches: LINK

The Pacific coastal anchorage at San Simeon Cove has access via a public beach. Most anchorages in California, especially those in areas of heavy population–like the San Francisco Bay–do not.
t

Flaking the Anchor Chain

Somebody asked me what flaking the anchor chain means.  Well, here’s what it looks like once you’ve flaked it all nicely into the anchor locker.  In Mahdee, if we let the anchor chain fall directly from the windlass down into the locker, we’ll end up with a big pile.  Flaking it involves using your hand–or a stick–to guide the chain back and forth across the locker in such a way that it doesn’t build up in a pile in the middle!  Also, when the chain runs out, it hopefully won’t tangle.

Here’s a picture of Mahdee’s 500 ft of nicely flaked chain in the locker:

3

.

Google Analytics Alternative