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All the upgrades and boat work is finally done (see the fishing to Cruising transition thread for details http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=23975 ) and we leave this Saturday (6/25) for Prince Rupert. The plan is to spend 15 days exploring the West side of Prince of Wales Island. Due to the...

After 13 years of fishing out of Newport, Oregon we made a decision to do some cruising this year. So North to Alaska in late June is the plan. Realized from the start that turning Shearwater into a “cruiseship” after all these years of doing open ocean day trips was going to be a bit of job...

After 23 years of working in IT for the same company looks like my job is going overseas (hello Bangalore) very soon and have this wonderful opportunity to change careers. While I am not able to retire (10 + years to go) I have no kids, mortgage or other payments so have a lot of freedom and can...

I'm so late to the party this year and hope to get Shearwater in the water this weekend. Did a last minute purchase and picked up a Garmin GPH-10 autopilot so have been heads down with the install (write up coming soon). The question Has anyone installed an AP and bled the system? The very...

Becoming a little disgruntled with Les Schwab’s these days. On my last trip to Newport one of my Continental bias ply tires (less than 2000 miles on it) had the tread separate from the casing on I-5. The tire had been running a little hotter than the other three at about 114 degrees as opposed...

Anyone ever remove the outside rubber seal/trim from the center opening window? Had no problem getting it out of the port side window but the center window trim is much tighter and I am trying not to go the strong arm route just yet. Thanks stevej

Not a lot of success with Halibut this year with only four small one to the boat. Did have some fun over the 4th though Swell was 7 feet at 8 seconds with 15 knot winds at the rockpile when we headed out, every once in a while a set of 9 to 10 footers would roll through. Normally we would...

Made two runs out to the chicken ranch last weekend. Ocean was pretty good both days we ran 15 yo 17 mph on the way out, enough chop that you had to keep a hand on the throttle and watch the wave sets pretty close at that speed. Outbound is against the current and swell, three people, 100 gal...

Hauled the boat to Newport over the weekend and put two hours on the new motor in Yaquina bay. Had a couple of non-motor related problems to work through. Biggest issue was the deck drains leaked , quick trip to England’s and a couple hours to get sealed up. Launched around 1:00 PM with a heavy...

Been so long I forgot what it looked like with a motor The prop run with a 14.25 x 19 only gave about 5400 RPM with top speed of 36 mph so a 14.25 x 17 is on order. Looking for 5600 to 5700 RPM although the speed is about what I expected. Thinking I will pickup a 15 pitch for a spare/heavy...

Could not bring myself to install one of the fall apart 5 dollar boots while everything was apart on Shearwater. Also could not find any quality boots as far as I can tell they don't exist so made some up. Kenworth shift boot (very heavy duty) Pro-Comp shock boot Plastic tube from wire spool...

Making slow progress but have reached that point in the project where more things are going back than coming off. Big progress today finally got the line-x coating sprayed on. The boat is a total disaster right now so excuse the mess. Overhead view Side deck view Gunnel step Stern view...

Woo Hoo Picked up Shearwater this afternoon and am very impressed with the new transom. Becker Enterprises delivered as promised, the workmanship is amazing. Mr Becker actually has one of the most beautiful shops I have ever seen but it was occupied by a 42 foot custom boat he is working on so...

Took advantage of the sunshine to start removing the outer skin and core from Shearwater. Took some measurements and connected the markings detailed out in the survey last week for the cutout area. Cut along the dotted line using a 3.5 inch circular saw then sectioned into thirds. The intent...

The pictures below show the problem found when the plastic trim was removed and after the cap was ground off. When I pulled the trim tab screws water starting dripping out after a few minutes and knew I was in over my head. Hauled the boat to a professional last Friday and basically the...

Sold my Yamaha last week, 2500 hours and never let me down. Will be doing some transom work. As can be seen from the pictures; on the sides of the motor well the gel coat pulled away when I removed the plastic cap and have some of the same issues that Bob had on Thataway. Will post some...

One of the things that has impressed me about my Yamaha Saltwater Series is the detail put into corrosion control. Five years of ocean fishing and not a single rusty bracket or bolt on the motor. All connectors and brackets are stainless.There are also zincs in the water passages between the...

Weather forecast is looking good so have myself thinking that a trip to Newport for Salmon and Tuna is on the venue for Friday through Sunday. John, Caty, Fishtales, Ray any of you heading over? stevej

Getting the parts together for my next upgrade to Shearwater... The captain cam. Bought a color 12V waterproof backup RV camera that I will interface with the laptop through a USB video input device. My navigation software supports a video window so the main use will be as a rearview mirror (The...

We have all had them. You know the type of day filled with a succession of not so good events that make you glad to get home and have it over with. The plan started simple enough head out early Saturday morning to Newport and bring Shearwater home for the winter. Couple of minor hiccups...