Category Archives: Wooden boats

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Mother and father

This is a photograph from 1963ish, both of my parents and me in the front of the canoe. This is at my maternal family’s “shacks on a lake”. Cabins, but no electricity. We filter the lake water now but we did not while I was growing up. My parents look way too young to me in this photograph. I still miss them!

I do not know who took the photograph. My grandparents?

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: mother.

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You can have some of the things some of the time

My father’s name is Malcolm Kenyon Ottaway. He went by Mac. He died in 2013. I miss him and I still follow Mac’s Rule.

Mac’s Rule is simple: You can get one third of the things that you think you can get done in a day.

I played with this on my days off for quite a while. I would write a list of all the things I wanted or needed to get done. Once I write the full list, it looks silly. Soon it is clear that he is correct.

When I am working full time in Family Medicine and have a five year old and a new baby, I think about getting something done on the weekend. Clear my desk, organize photographs, that sort of thing. After a while I realize that the weekend was more like this: Meals. Get kids clean and dressed. Laundry for the next week. Clean the house a bit. Do some fun family things! Read to kids and put them to bed! My list changed and instead of the ambitious “organize photographs”, I would think of something very small. Perhaps take one roll of developed photographs, pick some of the duplicates, send them to the grandparents. That was it for the entire weekend.

If I apply Mac’s Rule to my life and list all the things I want to do, which third will I pick? For years I write lists for a day off and then pick the top third that I want to get done. If something is added to the list, a friend calls to go to coffee, I take something else off. I make sure that the list always has something that I need to do on it (and often don’t want to: start taxes, pay bills, clean a bathroom, whatever). And something fun.

I don’t try to do it all. It’s very satisfying to get that 1/3 done on the list. And I feel like superwoman if I get an extra thing done! I get to choose which third to do and think about it. And the stuff that I don’t want to do slowly gets done over time. It isn’t that awful to do one of those duty jobs, thank you letters, tax information, dental appointment, mammogram, every day and then it gets DONE.

I am working with someone who puts RUSH at the start of every single email subject line. I have to say that it makes me want to dig my feet in and not even read the email. What kind of rash haste are they working under and why would I pay any attention to the RUSH by the ninth email? It is annoying and ludicrous. I move those emails to the next day list and don’t read them on the day of arrival. No pressure, so there.

Blessings on my father, for Mac’s Rule.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: rash.

The photograph had to be taken before May 2000, because my mother died on May 15 and she is on the boat. I don’t know who took it, another group sailing. Both my kids are there, my father with the tiller, and I am tucked behind the friend facing the camera. Why haven’t we pulled the motor up? This is Sun Tui, the boat currently in my driveway on a trailer.

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Foul weather gear

My daughter gave me new foul weather pants for sailing for my birthday. She borrowed mine when she started college. She was on the racing team at Western Washington and my pants took a beating. During this visit she put about 1/3 of a roll of duct tape on them for an alumni race in the Lopez Island harbor. I offered to loan her my new pants but she explained that hers are now a tradition, duct tape and all. Her team won the regatta.

Here we are showing off the pants. I got lots of hugs for my birthday too, hoorah. I think my son took the photograph!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: hug.

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Port of Port Townsend party

What is this strange picture you ask?

Party last night, Barbecue at the Port of Port Townsend, and it was lots of fun. I missed the first couple of bands, but arrived for this one.

The stage is not one but two nested travellifts! How cool is that? Full moon, there was a rainbow and beautiful sunset that I missed, and there was food with three choices. They were out by the time I got there. It got prettier and prettier in the dark.

And heading home, many boats are lit up and beautiful.

And one more moon picture.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: moon.

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Ladders at work

You can see the ladder that we used to clamber on and off the boat while the mast was removed, set down on sawhorses by the boat and then secured on the deck. I had a woman shipwright from Haven Boatworks and she was fast and efficient. I helped. I am not bad with knots but she is way better.

I have a ladder at home so I can do some cleaning and buffing and show Sun Tui to interested buyers!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: ladder.

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Boat for sale

Sun Tui is a 23 foot sloop, built in Hong Kong by American Marine in 1960. She is plywood sided and has a nearly full keel. The crane operators yesterday say that she weighs 5000 pounds: that keel makes her very very stable to sail. The tiller is a carved dragon with the world in its’ mouth and there is a carving of Kwan Yin inside.

My daughter and I used a 40lb trolling motor to drive her through the boatyard yesterday. That is equivalent to 1/2 horsepower, but the little motor could still move the boat. There was very little wind or waves. We got to the smaller of the two cranes. The crane operators measured Sun Tui and then looked at the trailer. Huge thanks to my friend R! He and I replaced the tail lights on the trailer two days ago and he brought it to the boatyard. I don’t have a truck.

Here my daughter and I are waiting until the crane is in place and the slings are lowered.

We motored slowly into the sling. The crane operators caught the boat and held it with boathooks while the operator slowly started lifting the slings. We rode up to the street level, they moved the boat towards the street, and we stepped off. The boat is raised until it can be carried through the boatyard.

Here she is pressure washed, to help prevent species from moving from one place to another.

Rolling. We have one huge crane and three smaller. This is one of the smaller ones.

They were very careful and thorough putting Sun Tui on the trailer.

On the trailer, but not home yet! The mast is too tall to go through town without hitting wires that cross streets! Next we go to Haven Boatworks, where a second crane removes the mast and the shipwright helps secure everything.

All packaged for transport!

Now Sun Tui is at my house, ready for further cleaning and work. I hope that we find her a new home and much love!

I sent my son the final photograph and he sent back “Congratulations!” Hooray!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: congratulations.

For further information about owning this boat, email me.

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Sherbet skies

We sail on a jaunt into sherbet skies.
The water is gold, the wind is light.
The sky changes color and charms our eyes.
The light is gold sliding into the night.
The boat glides through the water with gentle ease.
Light hand on the tiller, our wake lights up.
We pass peaches and cherries and crackers and brie,
pour tea into each other’s cups.
It’s cooling off so we sit very close.
Phosphorescent creatures trail behind.
Warming each other as we steer the boat.
Darkness falls and we don’t mind.
The sherbet skies call us out to roam
But we are ready to come about towards home.

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For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: jaunt.

Hoping for more peace and tolerance on Juneteenth.