PassageMaker

classic cruisers club

NAME Bill Nieman AGE 57 HOME PORT Shilshole Bay Marina, Seattle CURRENT BOAT 1984 42-foot Kadey-Krogen YEARS OWNED 5 Bill Nieman’s passion for boating began in the 1970s at summer camp in northern Minnesota. Later with his wife, Joan, and their two daughters, he enjoyed the Salish Sea for years, starting with crabbing in the family’s very first plywood boat. Now as empty nesters, Bill and Joan have been enjoying their next chapter: living aboard their 42-foot Kadey-Krogen. BEGINNINGS I’ve owned several boats over the years, but the classic design of Kadey-Krogens caught my eye from the beginning. After a couple years as a Kadey-Krogen salesperson, I found the perfect boat within our price range. After a little convincing, Joan signed on. THE BOAT Tippecanoe is a 1984 42-foot Kadey-Krogen with fin stabilization and a rare twin-engine arrangement. We…

tip of the month

Once upon a time, we used to flow fuel, as they say in boat-testing parlance. That meant disconnecting supply and return fuel lines, splicing in fuel-flow meters, and then running electrical cables from the meters to a computer that would precisely calculate fuel burn. Only one time did I make a bad connection on a hookup and allow air to enter the supply line of an engine—a mistake that promptly airlocked the engine and summarily shut it down. The steps I took to get things going again are fairly universal. This procedure can vary from engine to engine, so consult your operator’s manual for the correct steps to follow. But generally speaking, this is the idea. First, back off the bleed screw on top of the secondary fuel filter—three or four turns…

sightlines

If total escape is the goal, then this land of blue holes and barrier reefs makes for a rewarding offshore passage. A dichotomy exists when venturing to Belize. While your boat offers many comforts of home, it is often anchored in the lee of a remote cay where the only sign of human life is, well, another human. The southern out-islands of Belize encompass a panorama of jewel-tone water dotted with secluded sandspits, cays and atolls protected by the world’s second-largest barrier reef (first is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). The water is crystalline, and its local inhabitants range from inquisitive rays and skittish sea turtles to fiery sea fans and colossal coral heads. On the bucket list of dive enthusiasts worldwide is the famous Blue Hole, a mysterious underwater shaft nearly 1,000…

10 varnishing tricks and tips

Single-part varnish formulas have distinct purposes. A high-solid formula is best for top coating, since it usually has good UV protection and is long-lasting. But its drying and recoating time is longer than other formulas. Sunlight is the killer of all varnish jobs, so you want that UV protection to last. Fast-drying varnish formulas allow you to apply more than one coat a day, but for best results, add a top coat with a high-solid formula. Never apply varnish out of the can. The brush will allow dirt and dust to contaminate the varnish inside the can, and you will be disappointed with the dust you see left behind in your work. Pour out what you need through a throwaway strainer into a small container and work from there. Before you close…

well hello, old friends

There is a torpor that comes with driving in Southern California, particularly near rush hour. Once settled into a lane on the freeway, the experience becomes the tedium of creep-stop-creep. It’s totally mindless, and most drivers use the time to chat on their cellphones, file their nails, listen to a foreign language tape or simply stare into smog. I was in this situation recently when a sport utility vehicle slid into my lane in front of me. It had a personalized license plate that was a series of numbers: 797.1. For some reason, the series rang a faint bell. For several miles, I puzzled over what the numbers could mean. When issued, the plate had said 7971, but the driver had added a neat little decimal point that probably wouldn’t be enough…

arctic apparition

Oso Blanco 54 LOA: 57ft. 3in. LWL: 53ft. 8in. LOD: 54ft. 3in. Beam 12ft. 10in. Draft: 4ft. 6in. Displacement: 43,000 lbs. Sail area: 770 sq.ft. Propulsion: up to 150-hp diesel inboard I was lucky to take a trip to Greenland almost two years ago. While visiting that amazing island, I found myself dreaming of a vessel that would take me back. It is a long way to get to the North Atlantic for a native of the U.S. West Coast, and I certainly do not want to review options of building closer to the Atlantic, as my shop is in Washington state. Thus, I had three primary options. Option one: Design and build a boat at my shop. If I did this, then I could either ship the boat by truck to the U.S. East Coast for launching and…