We took a quick winter stroll today around Shilshole and Golden Gardens - the views were amazing! We had been hiding in the boat all day weathering the mini Christmas day windstorm. I had to cancel a little Northward paddling trip due to the wind & waves. It was nice to get out and walk around at least!
   ~Paul & Amber   ETC

   A few months ago I had a little digital camera snafu, I thought I had deleted some of my haul-out pictures...but...it turns out, I didn't! If you didn't see the original haul out post, click here.
   ~Paul   ETC

   This mini boat project doesn't come close to our previous adventures in the bilge, however, I like to post even the little stuff (it will hopefully help motivate me to finish what I started here:).
   When we purchased Kingsley we had never used a push button autopilot like the Raymarine setup we have now. I had always sailed with a tiller - the only autopilot used was one that plugs in and hooks onto the tiller - I was always scared of it (for no reason really) and didn't use it.
   Fast-forward to now - we like our autopilot. Motoring 5 hours back from Port Ludlow on the man-cruise this summer got a little boring (as steering goes anyway, being out on the water was/is always better than being on land!). Having to hold onto the wheel that whole time would have gotten a touch old too. So, new autopilot good, but... 
   Inside Kingsley, with a long cord coming out of the wall, was a remote for the autopilot. It had an extra long cord (for moving around the boat and using it), all stuck on the wall in the salon. I have always been a if-you're-not-going-to-use-it-than-loose-it type guy, especially since we live in such a confined space now, so I left the autopilot remote there for awhile, then finally decided to take it off (and save it in case we want to use it later). The only reasons it seems one would use it would be if you were single-handing the boat in shallow water and needed to control direction while looking down from the bow, or possibly for solo anchoring, although, it doesn't control speed, only direction...hmmm. Another reason I wanted it off for now is that I have a hunch that it is wired directly to our house batteries (which is a no-no)...I'm still chasing a few wires that are attached to the batteries directly (from the previous owner? Hopefully not from Hunter). Here's where the wires from the wall were connected to the remote.

   Boom, done. OK, well, almost done. I took care of the remote and stuff but still have this wire to follow - I think I'll power down Kingsley when I do, just in case...bzzzt.
   ~Paul   ETC