Captain's Blog

    We are roughly 9 months out from our planned Great Loop start. The boat really is as ready as she will ever be but there are still a few items I would like to get done.     I was never too fond of the 15 kg (33#) Bruce style anchor on Pau Hana. It sometimes didn't set well. Old 33# Bruce Type Anchor     I had heard a lot of great things about Mantus Anchors from  Mantus Marine . In fact one of the Loopers we met passing through Crystal River also had a 31 Camano  Sweet Day  They commented that "the Mantus never failed us once". I put off ordering the anchor and as the price started to increase I lamented that I didn't do it earlier. Looking through the AGLCA Forum, someone commented about the spring "Promo Code". I jumped on it and it saved me $82! Ready for Assembly The anchor comes disassembled but a snap to put together with a couple 3/4" wrenches.  New Mantus 35# Anchor     Still on "Anchor Detail" I found 2 Tow Bridles...

      Well I thought my AC problems were behind me, but unfortunately they were not. Each time we get to the boat the first thing I want to see when it is hot outside is a good stream of water coming from the AC. Last weekend in 95 deg. (feels like 105 deg) heat, the first Mate & I strolled to the boat only to see no stream! My worst nightmare had come true!.  Our system is over 21 years old, was this the end? Stepping inside the boat the fan was running, but neither the compressor nor the water pump were running and the thermostat posted 98 deg. "We ain't stayin' here tonight!" We went to work to troubleshoot the system. First was the water pump. It gets it's direction from the main system. An AC pump can at times run continuously so my first thought was that it had failed. It is a 500 gph March submersible pump. These are pretty hardy magnetic type pumps and last virtually forever. I disconnected the pump and tested it. It was fine. That meant we had anoth...

I think that one of the advantages to the Camano is all that glass surrounding the cabin and the exceptional view it gives you. It does however challenge the cooling system. These boats were made in the Northwest so the difference there compared to the humid tropics is certainly different. We have a Marine Air 16,000 BTU unit located under the salon bench. There is a thru hull strainer to a pump in the engine room. When we purchased the boat I had my AC guy check the freon in the unit as it would frost up. That took care of the problem. I cleaned the condenser coil fins and installed a new washable filter. For a 21 year old unit it works great. It was just a struggle for it to keep the boat cool when the heat of the day was bearing down. The boat also has Phifertex snap on screens for the side windows and a canvas cover for the front windshield as well as curtains on the inside. All of this helps but still the coolest we could get it was 78 deg inside, not bad but a little tough to sle...

      Pau Hana is sitting idle for the time being, It's winter in Florida so a little cold and some wind and fronts that move through every week or so keep the trips down.  We will take her out of the slip and into the river now and then to "exercise" her mechanicals and get the engine & transmission up to temperature.     We just got new cushions for the salon from DNR Canvas - They look fantastic, she did a great job!     The interior is really looking sweet!     I have a couple other winter projects to do like buff & wax the exterior and Roberta from DNR is making a new canvas cover for the Bimini top.  That should be complete in a couple months.  I am cutting new window screen frames for the hatches, and some other small things...     I have taken the upper canvas off & have my Mom (I'm such a slave driver) resewing the flybridge side canvas as the stiches are basically rotted and I don't wan...

     We have been waiting patiently for Thanksgiving Break so that we can take a week on the boat.  In spite of Covid-19 we have had tons of construction projects & our real estate market is going crazy, all of which has made it difficult to spend much time playing on Pau Hana. I did find time to do a few small projects to make our trips more enjoyable.     I installed some LED lights the previous owner had left us. I mounted them around & underneath the lip on the flybridge.  I also created a switch panel on the CNC for the LED (Courtesy lights) and the two new LED Flood & Deck lights I installed to replace the old battery wasting Halogen lights.  Next to that a USB port in place of the old Cigarette lighter.     I love seeing what other Camano owners have done with their boats & I stole this boat hook mounting idea from someone (thanks whoever thought this up).       The center Captain's Chair was wa...