Oh so nice! After my stove “clean up” I started a fire mid-day and kept it going until we went to bed at midnight. Nothing like coming home after a walk along the docks to a very, very warm boat. It was 37F outside last night when we went to bed, but warm and comfy inside.
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.
