Feeling a little dinghy

No sailing but I got a little outboard and tried it with the small fiberglass dinghy at Thom's house. Worked pretty well. I even brought my dog along and she settled into it after awhile. The only problem is that a motored dinghy has to be registered so I'm debating buying an inexpensive inflatable. For now here are some doggie dinghy photos. 

Just cruising under power

Sometimes, especially with those new to being on board and with kids, it's best to just cruise. But to me that mean under power. In the estuary mostly. With snacks. And beverages. 

That's exactly what we did weekend before last with our friends and their two girls. It definitely makes for easier entertaining. We have the new boat-friendly dining ware from Sea Dog that we really like for its durability, nice appearance, and nonslip bottom ring on everything (http://www.seadogboatingsolutions.com/galley-products.html ). So testing it all out with cheeses, crackers, and various meats was definitely needed. 

The Bay Area weather was slightly cool, but the day was great, and 3-4 hours on the water left the kids feeling sleepy, which is always a great side benefit. 

I'd also say that my docking skills--at least at my side dock with no encumbrances except a Catalina ahead of us to avoid--have gotten pretty good. Using the estuary tide and going against it into the dock is relatively easy. Come in (very) slow, and kick the ass end out at the very end, and drop her into reverse for a little burst, and good to go. 

The beauty of not sailing (but still being on the water)

This was a post from 3/29 that I neglected to post. 

Saturday I had a bad migraine, so I was inside most the day except for my daughter's soccer game. Sleeping and sitting in the dark. I had wanted to get to the boat with Uncle Thom and work on Hideaway's gauge that isn't working,

After driving my wife to the airport this morning, I knew today was all about my daughter. I took her to her kung fu class and then all I could think about was spending some time together kayaking.

She loves it as do I. She's a fun conversationalist, and she absorbs all sorts of stuff I think to talk about while we're sharing time on the water. Getting the large 2.5 person, 70+ lb kayak onto our SUV isn't the easiest and I'm usually sweating quite a bit by the time we get onto the water. But then it's very relaxing as we just chat away, with no particular hurry and no expectation that we're going to make it anywhere in particular.

Today we brought some bread for the gulls, and we got some waves from power boats. We saw a bunch of sailors, and a bunch more kayak renters. We read boat names, which is a favorite activity of ours. And she helped quite a bit,

A beautiful day. Some QT with my cutie. Even though we didn't go out on the big boat, I don't mind one bit.

Motor on

So the wind today in the estuary and the Bay was elusive. Which means we got to be motor sailors for a few hours (from 1:30-4:30). Love that Yanmar 3GM30F (at 257 hrs now). Would've preferred sailing but it was still a nice time out. Brought along Uncle Thom, Sophia, my wife Jane, and one other friend Jack. 

We have the cushions out for re-upholstery and I learned that the cabin interior is more than twice as loud as usual with the engine going when there's no sound deadening of the cushion near the running engine. 

Saw a seal and a cool low flying pelican. 

We also got to watch a huge cargo ship being maneuvered by a few tugs in the estuary. 

Well anyway, here are some photos.