No Wake Law

You may have read a few months ago about a houseboat that burned due to spilled cooking oil.  Well the whole story is that there's a no wake law on Lake Union and some folks just don't pay a whole lot of attention to that.  They think that going kind of slow is the same thing.  But when you're docked, it's not.  The folks in that houseboat were just living their lives, cooking dinner when wakes hit the boat.  On boats, you use gas stoves because electric stoves pull just too much amperage.  So, spilled cooking oil is a big deal.

This morning, some big wakes hit my boat, causing several things to fall, including a lamp.  Lampshade completely destroyed.  No big deal, but drives the point home.  When you live on a boat, you're aware of the wake, but it's not the same as a boat that goes out on open water where you completely secure everything.  I passed living on the Duwamish because the no wake law is very regularly broken.  Stuff to think about when thinking about living on the water.

I'm back!

I've been absent since my office flooded and I got distracted.  There was a sewage backup for the building and invaded my office.  Everything had to be removed, sanitized, and either replaced or returned.  I was at the office every day while the plumbers and restoration crew worked, then saw patients after they left for the day.  What a mess! 

But I'm back and will try to catch up.  This afternoon, I installed a new tv antenna and it seems to work great!  I was using a small leaf antenna up until today and it worked pretty well, but whatever antenna you use has to constantly adjust with the movement of the boat.  Now, my picture is clear and doesn't seem to get lost like it did before.  The next thing to tackle is getting a converter for the big tv and see if that works.

I thought the new marina would be darker than the previous one, but it's been the exact opposite.  I've put an extensive garden on the back deck and it's done really well.

On the upper deck, my hydrangea is still blooming.  ZhouZhou tried to be patient, but finally ate the yellow squash plant with the tasty blooms and baby squash.  Now that it's gone, she's been thinning the kale.  I had to grow the kale garden twice, because a goose actually came on board and dug out a nest in the kale, leaving me a couple of eggs.  It was a good exchange.

 

Soon, I'll have to build the frame for a makeshift greenhouse and add a light to keep the tomatoes coming.  There's still time for that.

I also have to get used to washing the outside of my home as well as the inside.  Not only do I get lots of dirt from being near the road, but there's lots of spiders with their many, many webs.  Sorry, all you folks that don't like spiders.  There's lots of them around here.  So much to do.

Spring Planting

Well, it's started anyway.  Unusable electric grill + strawberry plants = strawberry garden.

But first, I woke to ducks and geese outside the bedroom window!   There's orange mint, baby tears, sweet violets, and lavender yet to plant.  Plus some lettuce, kale, and carrot seeds.  My peony is just starting to come up.  The heirloom tomatoes are still too little to transplant.  We'll see what happens with them.  I'm going to try my hand at small scale hydroponic gardening with some of them.  Happy spring!

The Junkyard

On first glance, it looks like a messy junkyard.  On further inspection, you'll notice it's an elaborate, real-life game of chutes and ladders...   I wonder if the people in the condos on the hill know about it?  I'm hoping to see real people playing one of these days.

Changing Lake Level

So, when I left for work on Monday, the dock was about thirty inches above the deck of the boat.  When I got home, it was about twenty inches above the deck and it was only a short step down onto the step.

When I first moved onto the boat, someone mentioned the changing lake level, that it was higher in the summer than in the winter, but didn't explain.  I assumed it was a natural phenomena, like rising river levels in the spring.  Silly me.  I feel like Cher explaining that she thought Mount Rushmore was a natural phenomena (yes, I heard her say it and have never forgotten).  But last year it was explained (finally) that the city corps of engineers uses the locks to bring the lake level down in the winter to protect the boats during the season of more rain and wind.  Well, that makes so much more sense.  I believe that it's raised twice, so I expect another rise, but I don't know when it will happen.  I've estimated about a two foot difference between summer and winter levels and during the summer I don't need a step to get onto the boat.  My boat sits low and I step down onto it, but some boats ride very high in the water and you have to climb up onto the boat.  That works well if there's room for a gangplank or a little staircase, but most of the time that's not realistic.  That can be a challenge.  Someday, I'll have a little added flotation so it rides a little higher, but not much.

The ducks and geese come around once in awhile and just pass by looking at the boats and when they see someone, they stop and watch.  Now, they might be looking for a handout, but they might also be visiting the "zoo" and I'm the attraction.  Looks like a little family outing to me and I'm the monkey in the cage.  If they start tossing bits of food at me, I'll feel justified.

Beachy knobs

I made beach glass knobs to go on the newly painted cabinets.  They're very pale green with aqua blue beach glass.  Someday, I want all open shelves, but for now this works well. 

Because we're having our last cold snap of the year, the marina has the water turned off to prevent frozen pipes.  My reserve tank is about twenty gallons and I have to hoard it, I'm using paper plates and putting off laundry for a few days.  It's just part of living on a boat in a place where it gets below 35 degrees. 

I think I'll go paint the kitchen backsplash and part of the counter.  Pretty soon the weather will warm up and I'll be working on the outside!

It's about time!

My new neighbors--a LARGE houseboat

It's been a tumultuous time since my last post and I decided it's time to update.  However, when I tried to log onto the blog this morning, I was locked out and google told me that my blog didn't exist!  Thank goodness I'm able to access from my home office.

More neighbors

So, I was thrilled to have the new floor laid and was working on the painting, one little section at a time.  I didn't get very far before there was another problem.  The electrical problems continued to escalate and the main breaker on the dock was popping off as often as four or five times a day.  I would wake up with no electricity or come home from work with no electricity.  The maintenance man informed me that he was told to not fix it for me and I was left with no electricity at all.  Well, I had already started to look for new moorage and I was able to find two possibilities.  My favorite didn't pan out and set back my move by a week by waiting for it, but my second choice is very good.  There were some delays in getting paperwork signed, making arrangements with the tug company, and watching the weather, but we got my little boat moved just as the snow was starting during our winter storm.  I hired someone to make sure the electrical system was plugged in properly and there weren't any problems after the problems I had been having, and all has been well.  I'm able to have heat, lights, and run my appliances and no breakers have popped at all.  For some reason, we had a little trouble getting the water hooked up and the maintenance people have been turning it on and off to prevent pipes from freezing.  Josh showed me how to use the backup tank and pump system for those occasions that the water is turned off.  He specializes in marine plumbing and electrical.  I also keep bottles of water for drinking and washing.  But then something else cropped up.  We found the water heater leaking!

The dogs checking out the funky bench

Fortunately for me, I have a suite at my office and I've been able to use the shower there.  Good thing, because I got pretty busy and didn't have much time to research and shop for a new water heater.  It's a specialized item due to the size.  I was hoping to get an on-demand water heater like they use in Europe, but found that they use too much amperage by far.  Another option is a gas powered water heater that runs off a propane tank, but that would require setting up the propane system and finding another place for the water heater.  Expensive and complicated.  I've decided to replace the tank with a similar ten gallon model and that seems to fulfill my needs just fine.  It's a special order.  Normally, people want the biggest water heater they can get.  It will be here next week.

Springtime on Lake Union

In the meantime, I finished repainting the bathroom and the kitchen cabinets, and I hung curtains.

I was afraid that it would be darker at this marina, but it's actually lighter and my plants like that.  The whole marina is quieter and no all night parties here.  It's peaceful and lovely.  Occasionally some geese will swim by just looking around and I'm looking forward to warm weather and having my morning coffee on the back deck.  I'm living just a few blocks away from the former marina but the neighborhood is much different.  Quieter, nicer.  And I don't have stairs!