"Katmai" is finally off the lake.
We arrived at Wahweap about 3PM yesterday after traveling (displacement mode) from Dangling Rope marina. The forecast was for afternoon winds 15-25, and sure enough by the time we came through the 'cut from Warm Creek, Wahweap Bay was fairly bumpy.
We decided to go ahead and retrailer the boat/kayak rather than spend a howling night afloat after nineteen blissful days on the lake. Our reward was a spectacular mexican food dinner in Page.
A couple of comments on items that were tried for the first time on this summer:
WAECO/DOMETIC 50QT FREEZER. We left both 50QT Igloo cooler's at home and decided to try the Dometic freezer. It was GREAT. We never had to buy ice while on the lake, and REALLY added to the menu choices by permitting us to take a lot of frozen items ((salmon, steak, chicken, vege's, etc). It uses 12/110V power, so it did require us to occasionally run the outboard for a while to bump the batteries a bit. It seemed best when we were in a daily-cruising mode. ...and the insulated cover (I called it a "topcoat") seems to help quite a lot.
To supplement the limited non-freezer area in the Dometic, we used a small Igloo for cooler items. We took four of the "blue ice" cubes, and by freezing/refreezing them in the Dometic, we could use two in the small cooler, while re-freezing the remaining two in the freezer. We put about 2" of water in the bottom of the small cooler and it would be chilled by the blue ice, and kept things at a nice cool temp. (It was still seemed a good idea to use a wet towel atop the Igloo and Dometic ....)
MAGMA A10 TRAILMATE GRILL. This small (8" x 12" grilling surface) is just GREAT! We used it almost every night. It seems very economical on the 1# propane bottles (we used one, for the whole trip), and aside from (me) breaking the plastic control knob on Day 17, it worked fine.
COLEMAN PROPANE BURNER. This was an impulse-purchase at the Page Walmart, and we used it virtually every morning for coffee, omlette's etc. In fact, I think we only started the Wallas once on this trip (just to see if it still worked ... it did, but it really heats-up the cabin). The only problem is that I need to devise a more stable way of setting it in the sink ... it's too tippy there, and sitting it on the counter, it's too high.
All-in-all, these three items have become a regular part of our "cruising inventory" of 'stuff.
Best,
Casey&Mary