Part 4, Muskrat Alert!



May 11-16, 2005



At the Seattle Yacht Club three large yachts have sunk in the past four years and many others have sustained less serious damage from Muskrats. These pesky critters like to swim into the exhaust lines; sometimes they will chew through fiberglass or rubber hoses and then down goes the boat! I did see one of the varmints admiring the stern of a 39’ Bayliner.



While enjoying two days of hospitality at the SYC Wyman installed a new fresh water pump and discovered that a loose yellow wire was the reason that the 12 kW Northern Lights generator wouldn't start. Then, when the hot water heater stopped heating the problem was remedied by reconnecting a wire that had burned through due to a loose connection. These are the times when we are happy to have backup systems and the ability to diagnose and fix problems. Mom always said that problems come in threes.



With all systems functioning properly again it was time to head back to salt water—did you ever notice how much lower a boat floats in fresh water? This is because fresh water is less dense and requires more volume to displace the weight of the vessel. This time with fewer boats heading out to sea the small lock was operating which only held Safari and a new Grand Banks 48 on its way to the Grand Banks Rendezvous at Roche Harbor.



Gig Harbor is very secure with a narrow, shallow entrance that widens out into a spacious area surrounded by large homes and marinas. The village with specialty shops and good restaurants serves an upscale community. Small world story: on the street Wyman ran into friends that we met while cruising in Kwatsi Bay three years ago. They gave me a ride to the Gig Harbor Yacht Club tag sale were I bought a crab trap and then we spent several hours catching up followed by dinner. The next day the harbor mistress's son was thrilled when I gave him the crab pot that was likely to leave rust spots on the boat. After three pleasant nights at Gig Harbor we jumped across the sound to the Des Moines Marina where we left Safari while we returned home for a week so that Wyman could attend a board meeting and play in a piano recital.