2 rescues.. one weekend.

We just got back from a quick Sunday trip out to Lake Union for some swimming and sun... We came upon a poor lone sailor that had flipped his HobeCat. With some clever rigging and an able-bodied deck hands (Adam, Tina, Kaci, and Katie) we were able to rig a tag line over the skyward side of this boat. With a hard tug from the bow cleat of MV Miss Behaven we were able to right his boat before his mast/sale were completely submerged.

It was actually a pretty adrenaline pumped situation as he was right in the middle of a high traffic area, we were working against the clock, and the water was pretty rough. But, we were able to "right" his situation like the salty dogs that we are.

Chalk up one more point for our boating kharma (since we didn't get any tequila for this one kharma will have to do).

Water skiing and a random rescue

Friday night we were invited to a water skiing run with some fellow Ballardites. They had recently installed a new outboard on there 60's Larson effectively doubling their horsepower. And, the best way to test a boats horsepower is to try and get a fat man up on a single plank. Apparently I am that man.

Here you can see the amount of water I displace as I try to get up. Luckily the transom held together. My body didn't fare as well... my back will take a few days to recover.

I did get up and rode for a few mintues until my legs gave up:

After a bunch of skiing we motored in for some refreshments at Ivar's Salmon house. Here the two fiberglassics are glowing with pride (MV Firecracker on the left and MV Miss Behaven on the right).

The crew:

We took our fish and chips out onto South Lake Union to enjoy the city skyline at night. It was amazing. Here is the best pic I could get on our rocking boat. But, after a beer or seven.. it basically looks like this anyway:

At about midnight we decided that it was time to head home. On our commute back through the Freemont channel a smallish Boston Whaler blasted by us, on plane, at about 25 knots. The speed limit in the channel is 7 knots. So, we cursed them as they flew by us.

Well.. low and behold, about 10 minutes later we get signalled (via flashlight) by a small boat in distress... turns out, it was the Boston Whaler and they had run out of fuel. So, we gave them a tow back to the yacht where they lived.

For our trouble we were given one bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold (complete with a round of shots on their yacht). It was cool to tour their big boat... just another adventure on the water. Also, we got to meet their salty sea cat, whose name we can't remember.

The living room project begins: masking tape is for sissies.

Last week we started the living room refinish. We are going to do it in a very similar fashion as the other rooms, but with a slightly different color. Here are some before pictures:

We decided on a greenish grey for the living room. The dining room is a blueish grey and we wanted something that would be complementary. Although these earth tones can seem a bit dark at times, they have great contrast with the trim, and will look even better once we have art hanging from the picture molding.

Here is a picture after many hours operating the brush and roller:

Next we start to hang trim. We have it all primed and ready to go.

One thing I learned during this painting session is that truly talented painters avoid masking tape at all cost. A co-worker of mine worked as a professional painter and showed me some brush handling techniques that allow the painter amazing control of the paint "bead".

First, he convinces me to buy the most expensive/best paint brush I can find. It is a tool after all and if you take care of it, it will last forever. And as we know, an artisan is only as good as his/her tools. Once you start utilizing more advanced brush control, a good brush is a must!

Basically, to get a good clean edge, you fan the brush out on an arching motion into the edge and then closely watch your paint bead and adjust the brush angle as you go.. I worked amazingly well... No bleed through that you always get with masking tape.

So, we used almost no masking tape on this room (only on the baseboard trim to hold the ground cloth in place). Most of my edges came out damn near perfect.

This edge was done with no tape:

Golf + Dirtbikes = Crazy Delicious

Had a great weekend. Shot my all-time best golf game (101) and hit Taneum from some epic dirt biking.

Nile Golf course:



Yes, she is T-ing off from the women's T-Box.


Riding at Taneum


A great viewpoint up at Taneum:


Motocross lunch:

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July. Sent most of the weekend on MV Miss Behaven enjoying the spectacular weather. Boating in an urban environment can be really fun. There were tons of boats anchored in Lake Union (one of the only days a year that anchoring is allowed). There were some amazing boats and lots of excitement. We stayed in the lake from around 2pm-12am. It was a blast.

Here are a few photos:











I was killing myself trying to figure out a quick and easy way to get some music going on the boat. I looked at installing a stereo, but that would be pretty expensive and time consuming to install. If only someone made a modern day boom-box that was powered by massive li-ion batteries I would be set. Turns out, the tool company Milwaukee makes exactly that. This thing is worth every penny of it's cost. It is powered by a 18v Li-Ion drill batteries. We were able to blast MP3s for ~7 hours on one battery! It sounded amazing too. Great great little product.


A couple on the boat next to us had a wedding.



Now, I know you are wondering how the heck we stayed out on the boat for all that time without using a bathroom.. well, we had access to the worlds largest toilet. Here is a video of Adam using it: