Palooza Crooza 2016

A hearty thank you to Marty and all my new friends from the Palooza Crooza 2016.

Friday evening

Rainbow over Indian Island

I arrived Friday evening and put PT Puffin (origin of the name) on the hard behind NWMC. Most boats had already arrived although a few more showed up on Saturday morning.

Saturday

Saturday was the Palooza show. A ton of people stopped by to look at the boats. I had a great time discussing boats with everyone. I completely lost track of the time and before I knew it the day had ended.

The weather was very Port Townsend for most of the day. Spatters of rain mixed with wonderful periods of brightness.

There was a captains meeting called by Marty around 6:30 and a potluck before that.

Marty said the weather didn't look great, so the plan changed to sail to Mystery Bay. Which was fine by me because I love that little bay and I was a bit concerned about the original plan to sail past Point Wilson.

I'm always happy to know about the motorsailers that follow us along in case of emergencies. A huge thank you to the guys who do that to make sure the rest of us stay safe. This year it was Kirk, Ron and Marty. I didn't get any pictures, but they are my heroes.

Sunday

Sunday morning we left for Mystery Bay. We went around Rat Island and then had a nice leisurely downwind sail to Mystery Bay. We arrived around 11:30, which was pretty fast. We spent the day just playing in Mystery bay. The day was cloudy for most of it and in the low 60s.

Sergei and Quin in Serenity

Sergei

Simeon and Stephen in Noddy and Charles and Bruce in Silver Belle

Aft shot of Silver Belle

Thanks

I'd really like to thank everyone. I had a great time. Especially meeting new folks with similar interests.

There were lots of pictures taken.

I'll update this post when there are some links to other people's pictures.

My boat wishlist

Monday when I got home I found that the 3/8" bolt pin that ties together the rudder to the rudder head had lost it's nylon lock nut. Luckily, the bolt didn't come out or I wouldn't have had a rudder. I will replace it with a clevis pin. I also need to re-glue in the bronze bushings into the rudder. I also need to find some large nylon fender washers to shim the rudder into the head because there is some loose play there.

I do have some improvements to make to the boat:

1. I still haven't decided what to do about the bailers in the bottom of the footwell. I'm too nervous to cut into the bottom of the boat without a good plan.
2. I need to re-make my tent. Preferably out of waterproof fabric.
3. I need to make a new tent pole and reinforce the oarlocks. The tent pole goes into each oarlock. There were some good designs for oarlock mounts at the Palooza.
4. I need oars and oar storage
5. I need a way to tie down the sleeping boards that cover the footwell, I occasionally hear them clunk in the cabin as the boat shifts.
6. I need stainless eyes on the aft of the boat for tying it to the trailer.

Bruce was helping me to make a rainproof cover over the tent when we came up with a good idea to lash the boom to the mast to draw it aft. We then put the sheet through the forward downhaul block. This makes a great tent ridgeline. I used a tarp as a tent. Luckily I didn't get rained on at all.

Steampunk

Curiously enough, the Port Townsend annual steampunk festival was in town on Saturday and Sunday. The Steampunk folk were out in force. These guys are great. They like to make stuff and I like that.

Steampunk is the idea that the late 1800s were a period of great intellect where they were limited by their steam engines. At one point I walked past a hall and heard a Victorian scientist giving a lecture on the scientific properties of aether. Great fun.

Steampunk Hover car

Steampunk bicycle car