10 Tips for Managing DC Power in Your RV or Boat

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Maria Langer

Here’s what I do to keep my batteries ready to provide power when I need it.

Looking for System Advice?

If you’re looking for advice on how much solar power to install or what kinds of batteries work best, you’re in the wrong place. I’m not prepared to give anyone advice about that stuff, for two reasons:

I don’t know enough to advise anyone.
Whatever I tell you today will be out-of-date in two years. Or less.

There are plenty of resources online to help you set up or improve a system. This post is just going to provide advice on how to make the most out of any system you have.

I’m back in my camper, on the road, for the first time since February or March 2022. I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect to be here. In September 2022, I bought my Ranger Tug, which is basically a camper on the water. I spent the next 17 out of 24 months cruising in the Pacific Northwest and along the Great Loop. That’s when I really began to understand the similarities between RVing and traveling in a pocket yacht. As a matter of fact, most of the things I discuss here were learned during my RVing days and came in very handy on my cruising days.

The reason I didn’t expect to be here was because I tried to sell this camper. I didn’t need it anymore. But then, when I got back from my Great Loop trip and another month and a half cruising in the PNW, I felt that I was burned out from cruising. Instead of taking the boat south to Lake Powell and Lake Havasu for the winter, I stowed it in my garage. And instead of staying home for the winter, I remembered why I always went away. So I loaded up the camper and headed out on Christmas Eve day. I’m writing this now from the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, which has 15 campsite on a lake.

Memories of a Bad Power Situation

Ironically, the last time I stayed here, in December 2021, I had some very serious battery issues. Like this trip, I spent the first night at Three Islands State Park in Idaho. The campground there is partially open in the winter, providing campsites with power for a reasonable rate. (The water is turned off and the bathrooms are locked. I think the RV dump station might be open but I never need it.) It is usually mostly deserted when I arrive there — this time I was the only camper. So I was plugged in on that first night.

The next day, I set up camp at Pahranagat. It was the first time I’d ever been here when almost all the sites were taken. I managed to get the last site, which was on a little spur road shared by another campsite. I arrived right around sunset. When the sun went down, it got cold fast. Very cold. (Like 15°F by morning.) My pups and I climbed into the camper and closed the door and all the blinds — the windows are not well insulated but the blinds help — and turned on the heat. I had it turned just high enough to get the chill out.

Now let me take a moment to explain how my heat works. It’s a propane furnace which uses DC power to run a fan to bring that heat into the camper’s living space. (This is remarkably like my boat, which has a diesel furnace that uses DC power to run a fan and distribute the heat.) So all night long, every time the heat came on, it used battery power. Of course, it also uses battery power to run its thermostat, so even if the fan wasn’t running, it’s using a tiny bit of power.

Well, in the middle of the night, the batteries didn’t have enough power to run the fan. They actually didn’t have enough power to run anything, including the propane-fueled fridge, which also has a DC thermostat. It was the beeping of the fridge that woke me at 3 AM. After turning it off, I then spent the next three hours shivering in bed.

In the morning, I dragged my Honda 2kw generator out of the truck. I couldn’t get it started. That’s when I realized that its internal fuel tank was empty. I’d loaned it to a friend and he’d apparently used all the fuel in it before returning it. The gas can I had with me was empty, too. And my truck takes diesel.

I couldn’t get the camper off the truck because there wasn’t enough power to run the jacks. So I secured what I could, loaded my pups into the truck, and drove about 7 miles to the closest gas station. I filled the gas can, and drove back. I then ran the generator long enough to get everything powered again. When the sun shined on my solar panels, it took over the charging job.

When the sun set, I was showing more than 12v of power, just as I had the previous evening. And that night was basically a repeat of the night before. Something was going on, but I didn’t know what. The batteries were new; I’d replaced them the previous year.

Long story short: I camped for two or three nights at Valley of Fire State Park. We had some stormy weather and it was nice to be plugged in. Then more dry camping out on the Overton arm of Lake Mead. And more power issues.

I had to get the problem resolved. So I drove into the outskirts of Vegas and stopped at a Camping World. They were willing to replace the batteries but they weren’t willing to test them. Either I spend $500 for the new batteries plus labor or I move on. I moved on. Needless to say, I cannot recommend Camping World for any kind of repair or maintenance job.

I finally wound up at an Interstate Battery shop. That’s the brand of the batteries on my rig. They tested the two batteries and quickly discovered that one of them was bad. They exchanged it under warranty and offered to replace it for $150 in labor. I told them I’d replace it myself, and I did. (And if you had any idea of how batteries are crammed into a truck camper battery compartment, you’d be pretty impressed. I know that I am.)

And guess what? Battery problems were resolved. I spent two or three nights camping out in Kingman Wash not far from the Hoover Dam and didn’t have to run the generator at all.

The Tips

Well, my backstory has gone entirely too long — as my backstories usually do. I like putting things in context, but sometimes I get carried away.

Here are my tips, in no particular order. I’m sure that if you’ve given this any thought you’ve come up with at least half of them. And guess what? Just about all of them apply to boats, too.

If You Have Solar Panels…

Got solar? Here are some tips for that.

Point your solar panels in the general direction of the sun.
If you have fixed solar panels, try to park so you point them south (in the winter) or north (in the summer). Mine are mounted on the front part of my camper roof, which angles down a bit. I keep that in mind when parking. If you have portable panels, try to remember to move them periodically throughout the day. This will help maximize the sun you capture. And this should go without saying: try not to park in the shade.
When charging a device in a camper with solar power, charge during the day.
It’s better to use power when power is coming in than when it isn’t.

If You Can Plug In or Run a Generator…

Here are a few tips if you do have an opportunity to plug in to a power port or have a generator you can connect to.

Plug in whenever you can.
This is a no-brainer. If you have access to AC power, plug in. Campground, parking spot next to your garage, storage yard, plug in. If you’re parked in a friend’s driveway, plug in. What’s that? Some of these places don’t have the 30 or 50 amp outlet you need? Well, why the hell don’t you have a 30 or 50 amp to household current adapter? You should have one on board. Don’t think you need more than a 15 or 20 amp household current to keep your batteries charged. Just be aware that you probably won’t be able to run the air conditioner and microwave at the same time.

You can get an adapter like this at Lowes for $15.
Charge mobile devices while you are plugged in or the generator is running. That’s also the best time to do any energy intensive tasks. For example, in my little 2-battery rig, if I’m plugged into power at a campground, I make sure I do all the dishes (which requires the water pump) before I unplug and move on.

If You Have an Inverter…

An inverter is a device that takes DC power from your batteries and converts it to AC power, often to make wall outlets work when you’re not plugged in. My camper does not have an inverter but my boat does. Here are some tips if you have an inverter in your rig.

Turn off your inverter when you don’t need it.
My camper doesn’t have an inverter but my boat does. It keeps all AC outlets — including the one the microwave is plugged into — turned on. Vampire power then sucks away at the battery, after converting DC to AC, which also uses up power. If you don’t need those outlets, turn the inverter off to save power.
A DC charger like this offers several options for charging devices.
When charging mobile devices in your camper, use DC chargers rather than AC chargers with your inverter.
Here’s something a lot of folks don’t know: your phone charger that plugs into a wall outlet converts the AC power from the wall to DC power before charging your device. So when you use your inverter to convert your camper battery’s DC power to AC power for an outlet, you’re making two conversions when you charge your phone through the outlet. Each conversion wastes power. Why waste power? Use a DC charger to charge your devices.

Tips for Every Kind of Setup

And finally, here are some common sense tips for making the most of your battery situation.

Turn off any devices that use power if you don’t need them.
Another no brainer. I’m talking about lights, water pump, heat, fan, stereo, TV, etc. When you leave the camper, everything other than the refrigerator should be turned off.
Fully charge mobile devices before relying on your camper’s battery power to charge them.
Okay, so you have a phone and maybe a tablet and maybe a laptop. They all run on battery power, but they all need to be charged periodically, just like your camper batteries. When I travel with my camper (or boat), I use DC power adapters to charge my devices while under way. For example, I was on the road, driving my truck for 8 hours yesterday. During that time, I kept my phone and tablet plugged into DC charging ports in the truck so I didn’t need to plug into the camper’s ports while I was camped. You can take advantage of charging opportunities anywhere you find them.
Bring (and charge) battery packs.
Years ago, I was in a Office Depot and saw 10,000 mAh battery packs with 2 USB-A ports on sale for $10 each. They were clearance items. I couldn’t imagine them being any good, but I bought two of them. I quickly discovered that they were very good and went back to buy the last 5 they had. I’ve been using them for years to keep GoPros running past their internal battery life and to charge my phone, tablet, and Apple watch when I don’t want to use my camper’s battery power. I also have a 20100 mAh battery pack that will charge my laptop while I’m using it. I charge these battery packs when the camper is plugged in or when I’m driving my truck. What does this do for me? It reduces my reliance on my camper’s battery to keep vital devices charged. I am, in effect, storing extra power.
When nights are cold, close windows before the cold gets into the camper.
I’m a fresh air person and like to keep the windows open whenever the weather is nice. When I travel south to Arizona in the winter, that’s pretty much every day. But the desert is cold at night in the winter. I make sure to shut my door and windows before the outside temperature dips below a comfortable temperature. This makes it possible to wait a while before turning on the heat.

Where am I?

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Maria Langer

I’m off on another, shorter adventure, but I’ll be back to working on projects at home again soon.

I started writing a blog post two weeks ago about my third trip to the Ranger Tugs/Cutwater Rendezvous at Roche Harbor. I had to put it aside because I got busy doing other things, as I seem to do quite often these days. It’s sitting in the app I use to compose and publish my blog posts. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to it later today. (Note: I finished it this morning after this post. I’m just waiting for someone to turn on their StarLink so I can post them both. Two posts in one day!)

What’s keeping me busy right now is cruising around the San Juan Islands and beyond. After the Rendezvous and a quick trip home to drop off my boat trailer, I returned to my boat, Do It Now, which was waiting for me at Anacortes. I provisioned up and fueled up and headed back out.

You see, my boat does not actually have a “home port” — a place where it lives when I’m not on it. It’s a wanderer, like I’ve become. So unless I wanted to pay a marina $50 to $100 per night for it to sit idle in the water, I needed to take it cruising. That’s what I did.

Where I’ve Been

I explored the San Juan Islands for more than a week, picking up friends for day trips along the way. I visited:

I caught Dungeness crabs at Roche Harbor and Suchia Island. These are from Suchia.
San Juan Island. That’s where the Rendezvous was held. I stayed at the wonderful Roche Harbor Resort, which I believe is one of the best-run marinas I’ve ever visited.
Stuart Island. I took my friend Liz and her dog Suki to Stuart from San Juan Island where she lives. We squeezed onto the dock in Reid Harbor, where I ran into other Ranger Tug owners, including Glen, who has given me tons of advice about my boat. (He has the same model.)
Lopez Island. I spent the night tied to a mooring ball at Spencer Spit, getting my first taste of the convenience of Washington State’s marine parks.
Fidalgo Island. That’s where Anacortes is. I spent one night there, then offloaded a bunch of stuff off the boat, got a one-way rental car to Des Moines (where my truck and trailer were parked), and went home for a few nights. By that time, my summer house-sitter had moved out, leaving the place remarkably clean, and it was a real pleasure to sleep under my own roof. I left just before my current house-sitter arrived and returned to the boat.
Suchia Island. I got a mooring ball in Echo Bay, which quickly filled up with other boats that Friday evening. I caught two Dungeness crabs in a trap I set from my boat’s swim platform.
Point Roberts. While not an island, it’s a weird little Washington State community that can only be reached by boat or by driving through Canada. I picked up a friend and his family there for a day trip to…
Do It Now at the mooring ball at Patos Island.
Patos Island. There was one mooring ball in Active Cove and we grabbed it. We went for a long hike on the island and my dogs got a good chance to run. My friend found a geocache, completing his goal of finding at least one geocache in every Washington State county. (San Juan County was the last.) I also cooked up and shared those Dungeness crabs I’d brought in that morning.
Matia Island. I managed to squeeze into the dock with three other boats at Rolfe Cove. Dogs are not allowed on the trails there, so we didn’t do any hiking. But it was a nice quiet place to spend the night.
James Island. I took another friend and his wife from Anacortes to James Island for a little day trip. More hiking and running for my pups. A great cheese and fresh bread — thanks, Greg! — lunch at a picnic table before a peek at Deception Pass. We saw dolphins or porpoises along the way. One of these days I’ll learn to identify all the marine life around here.

Looking back down at Do It Now from our hike on James Island.
Saddlebag Island. I tried anchoring at Saddlebag Island but didn’t like the conditions so I left.
Guemes Island. I also tried anchoring at Boat Harbor anchorage but again, didn’t like the conditions so I left. (This gave me a real appreciation for mooring balls out on the islands.)
Cypress Island. I picked up a mooring ball at Cypress Head. I went for a nice hike on the head with my pups and rested up from a busy weekend.
I picked enough blackberries for three breakfasts.
Orcas Island. I anchored at Eastsound one night and got a slip at Deer Harbor the next night. I really liked Eastsound and need to go back when I have a whole day to explore the town. The highlight of Deer Harbor was the friendly people, the barbecue place, and picking wild blackberries on a walk.

I ended up on September 20 at Bellingham, where I got a slip courtesy of the folks at San Juan Sailing. That’s where I would begin the cruise I’m on now.

I should point out that most of my stops along the way were at marine parks that were either free or just $15 for the night. Cruising in the San Juans is very affordable if you don’t need a marina. Even then, the marinas I stayed at — notably Cap Sante (in Anacortes) and Deer Harbor (at Orcas) — were reasonably priced.

My Current Adventure

On September 21, I set out as part of a flotilla of six boats cruising from Bellingham to Desolation Sound in British Columbia and back. I’m typing this from an anchorage called Melanie Cove off the BC mainland. So far, we’ve been to:

South Pender Island. We stayed at the Poet’s Cove Marina in Bedwell Harbor, which is where we checked into Canada. There’s a nice resort there with hot springs and hiking trails.
Nanaimo. We stayed at the port there, mostly so we could provision at the supermarket. (Canada limits what you can bring in as far as fresh foods are concerned.) I spent some time visiting shops in town before hitting the supermarket.
Hospital Bay. After an unpleasant crossing of the Strait of Georgia, we spent a night at the wonderfully sheltered John Henry’s Marina.
Cortes Island. Our longest cruise took us up Malaspina Strait (in dense fog) and then up the Strait of Georgia (in much more favorable conditions) to Gorge Harbor in Whaletown. Along the way, we saw colonies of harbor seals and humpback whales.

Two of the flotilla’s boats, both American Tugs, cruising in the fog.
Here we are, rafted at the Octopus Islands. My boat is the smallest one (as usual) but I have no trouble keeping up. (In fact, I’m faster than all of them.)
Octopus Islands. We anchored and rafted a small bay in the Octopus Islands off Quadra Island. We spent two nights there with a very rainy day between them. Highlights included catching some red rock crabs and visiting the “art cabin,” which was full of boat souvenirs and other artwork.
Quadra Island. We spent one night at Taku Resort in Drew Harbor. I’d been there at an anchorage years before with the folks on the David B, but I didn’t remember seeing any marinas. I got some sad news while I was there, which I’ll address in another post, but also bought some provisions and picked some wild blackberries while walking with my dogs and two other boaters.
Prideaux Haven. That’s where we are now, at Melanie Cove, anchored and rafted again. We went for a group hike into the mountains yesterday on what became a picture-perfect day.

I flew my drone to capture a few images of a picture-perfect day at Melanie Cove. Our boats are rafted in the lower right corner of the image.

But we’re not done yet! Destinations lie ahead:

Texada Island. We’ll stay at at Sturt Bay.
Gabriola Island. We’ll stay at a resort marina at Silva Bay.
Saltspring Island. We’ll stay at a marina at Ganges Harbor.
Lummi Island. Back in the US, we’ll spend a last night at anchor at Inati Bay.

The trip ends on October 4 at Bellingham, where we started. By that time, I should have a long year of cruising out of my system and be ready for a rest.

And That’s My Excuse

This cruising schedule is my excuse for not blogging as much as I’d really like to. I don’t write as quickly as I used to — I’m so easily distracted these days. (Who isn’t?) I want to spend more of my time enjoying the things I do instead of writing about them.

But I have a lot of writing and video production ahead of me — did I mention that I’ve been recording video footage nearly every cruising day? I’ve decided to spend this winter at home for the first time since moving to Washington — sorry, John*! — and to fill my days catching up on content creation, making new jewelry inventory, and exploring new craft hobbies, including paper making, paper marbling, and bookbinding.

And, of course, prepping Do It Now for another season of cruising in the Pacific Northwest. April is only six months away.

PostScript

I finished this blog post shortly after 5 AM this morning. (I wake up very early.) It was still dark outside so I went up to Do It Now‘s command bridge. One of the great things about these remote anchorages out in the islands is how dark they are. Other than the anchor lights of boats, there are no ground lights to foul the sky. I sat for a few moments, waiting for my eyes to adjust. I saw the bright stars right away; the brightest thing in the sky right now is Jupiter which was almost straight up. Then I saw the dimmer stars and familiar constellations such as Orion. I saw the Milky Way, which I hadn’t seen well in over a month. And I saw satellites and a shooting star.

I love my home, but the nearby glow of Wenatchee makes it unsuitable for serious star gazing. It’s nice to get out and away from all those lights. When I’m done with my boat travels, I’m going to settle down back in the desert, away from city lights, and look up at the stars any time I can.

—
* John is my ever-faithful winter house-sitter who has been watching over my place for most winters since around 2016. He’s at my place now and I don’t think he’s happy about hitting the road in about a week.

The Ranger Tug Rendezvous, 2024 Edition

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Maria Langer

The event that got me to drive 4200 miles with covid.

I’m not what you’d consider a very social person. I like spending time alone, doing things I enjoy doing.

But I do like to meet up with people who share common interests, especially if I can learn something from them. That’s what appeals most to me about the annual Ranger Tug/Cutwater Rendezvous hosted by Fluid Motion, LLC, maker of Ranger Tug, Cutwater, and Solara boats. By gathering together hundreds of Ranger Tug and Cutwater boat owners with their boats and providing manufacturer seminars and support opportunities, Fluid Motions has made it impossible to attend without learning something of value — meeting lots of great people along the way.

Best of all, this Rendezvous isn’t an obvious money grab by an organization in the business of cashing in on people’s desire for information. (Great Loop Cruisers might know an organization like that.) The cost is just $90/person and includes a nice bag of swag and lots of games, contests, and social events, with food and even alcoholic beverages. Fluid Motions isn’t making money on this event. It’s giving its customers an opportunity to gather, show off their boats, and learn.

Once I became a Ranger Tug owner, it made sense to attend the Rendezvous whenever possible. In fact, since it was so close to where I lived, it would be kind of dumb to miss it.

The Backstory

In early September 2022, I took delivery of my 2019 Ranger Tug R-29 CB, which I named Do It Now. My very first trip with it was a cruise to the Ranger Tug/Cutwater Rendezvous at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. It was a long trip from Olympia to Roche Harbor and I did half of it solo. But I had an excellent time at the Rendezvous, where I met some great people and learned a ton.

In 2023, I was home for the summer — I hadn’t retired yet — and my boat was on the hard on Kent Island near Annapolis in Maryland. I still went to the Rendezvous. My work season was over and I’d decided to stay home until the end of September so I could blow out my irrigation lines before heading back to my boat. I took my Honda S2000 to Anacortes, drove it onto the ferry, and drove off at Friday Harbor. I stayed at a friend’s place on the island with my pups and drove to the Rendezvous every day. Most of my friends from the previous year were there and we had a good time. I participated more in social events and even did pretty well in the Scavenger Hunt.

Fast forward to 2024. From the very beginning of the year, when I was cruising in Florida, I knew I wanted to return to the Rendezvous with Do It Now. That desire basically set a deadline for my completion of the Great Loop: I needed to be done by mid-August to have enough time to haul the boat back to Washington State before the event, which is held at the end of Labor Day week. Heck, by that time I’d probably feel done with the Loop anyway. (Spoiler alert: I sure did.)

Roche Harbor Resort & Marina

I should mention here that Roche Harbor is one of those marinas that gets everything right. They have a large, well-trained staff of dockhands to help boaters in. The cost of power and water is including in the dock price — I am so tired of paying extra for power! — and they even set up power extension cords to reach the boats at the end of the dock, like mine. The floating docks are in very good condition. There are garbage and recycling bins in multiple places right on the docks and they are never allowed to fill, let alone overflow. The restrooms are clean, although you do have to feed quarters into the showers. In-slip pumpout, courtesy of the Fecal Freak pumpout boat, is free. There are several restaurants and a very well stocked grocery store that handles everything from milk and fresh veggies to wine and fishing gear. (Amazingly, the prices are fair.) Their evening Colors ceremony, which plays music as each flag is lowered, is a heart-warming end to the day. Of course, the marina isn’t cheap, but I’ve paid a lot more for a lot less during my Great Loop travels.

Although I’d originally had the boat hauled out to Chicago with a boat transport company, I’d bought a boat trailer in late June 2023 and planned to haul it back myself. I was nervous about it — hauling a 14,000 pound wide load 2200 miles? But, if you’ve read my post about the the hoops I jumped through (with covid), you’ll know that it wasn’t quite as big an ordeal as I’d expected it to be. I got the boat back in time for the event.

I arrived at the Rendezvous just before sunset on Wednesday. I might have been the last boat in that day. I got a slip on the guest dock, which was packed three boats deep at most slips. I was immediately greeted by my neighbors, most of whom were having dinner. The event officially started in the morning, but Roche Harbor Resort and Marina was offering a deal where you’d pay for three nights and get the fourth for free. So just about everyone arrived on Wednesday.

I sent up my drone on Thursday morning, as soon as the docks were in full sun. Ranger Tugs and Cutwater boats filled the long guest dock in the foreground. The total boat count for the event was 220.

Day 1 of the Rendezvous

I attended the Volvo seminar, which had been so good the previous two years, on Thursday. It was terrible. For some reason, they had a marketing guy do a lot of the speaking and he focused in on the IPS systems that come with the Volvo engines on the R-43. The R-43 is a $1.2 million twin engine masterpiece that only 4 people in the audience owned. How do I know this? He asked us and four people raised hands. Yet 20+ minutes of his presentation talked about the amazing features of the Volvo system for these engines, leaving the rest of us wondering whether they’d ever get to anything of interest to us. The other mistake they made was taking questions about specific issues individuals were having with their engines. More time wasted on information that didn’t apply to most of us. By the time they did get around to general Volvo Penta D4 and D6 information, there wasn’t much time left. I was disappointed.

The Learning Center was set up in tents on Roche Harbor’s big lawn.

I stayed at the Learning Center tent for the next presentation, which was about salmon fishing and crabbing in the San Juan Islands. Now that my boat was back on the west coast, I wanted to rig it for salmon fishing. And I’d also brought along the folding crab trap I’d bought from another rendezvous attendee the previous year and wanted to see what I could catch. The seminar was informative and I learned a lot. I also won two prizes for answering questions correctly: a downrigger clip and a lure.

I had no interest in the rest of the day’s seminars so I went back to my boat, got out my crab trap, and assembled it. A quick trip to the general store got me the weighted line, buoy, bait holder, and crab gauge I needed to set my trap. The only thing I didn’t have was bait, but the folks parked behind me generously offered me two of their cheap chicken leg/thigh pieces. I stuffed the bait holder, closed up the trap, and loaded it onto my dinghy with my pups. We motored out to a spot near the larger of the two harbor inlets where there were already a lot of crab traps. I found a spot that wasn’t too close to any of the others and lowered the trap into the water.

I went to the evening’s even, a “chip and dip.” Folks were hitting floating golf balls to a barge with a green set up on it. There was wine and beer and very light snacks. I didn’t feel like socializing — I think I was still tired from the previous day’s cruise — so I went back to my boat and made dinner. I was asleep by nine.

Crabbing

In the morning, after breakfast, I motored out to pull up my crab trap. It was heavy. I was shocked to see at least eight crabs in or on it. These are Dungeness crabs so even the small ones aren’t really that small. Most of them were either female or too small so I threw them all back. One was a keeper, but barely; I think it was about 1/8 inch larger than it had to be. Unfortunately, a very large female was stuck in the netting of my trap. The only way to get her back into the water was to cut her loose and I didn’t have a knife with me. I headed back and ran into two men pulling their own traps. One of them had a knife and I cut the net to let her loose. Then I went back to the boat with the trap and my sole keeper, feeling pretty proud of myself.

Until my neighbor brought in a bigger one.

He showed me how to kill and clean them and I cooked them in a pot on my stove. (He said his wife wouldn’t let him cook them inside because they are stinky.) I delivered his cooked crab and had mine for a snack. That’s when I realized that the legal size really wasn’t that big. I’d need to catch bigger ones. And I wasn’t happy about how the netting on my trap tangled up the crabs.

I don’t do selfies often, but this is a pretty funny one. My dinghy is small and I barely fit in it with the new trap. In this shot, I’m motoring back out to set it.

I went to the general store and bought myself a new crab trap. I got another chicken leg/thigh, baited it up, and set it right about where the other one had been.

Day 2 of the Rendezvous

I didn’t attend any sessions that day. There was a Great Loop session done by a couple who had finished the Loop last year. I’d wanted to do a session but they had requested it before me. I thought about going but realized that if they said things I didn’t agree with — like how you had to join AGLCA to be a Looper — I’d either shoot off my mouth or get pissed off. And since so many of the folks on the Loop are sheep who just follow along with what other people tell them, I fully expected to hear that. So I skipped it.

The other sessions I skipped were about the Yamaha engine (which I did not have), ceramic coatings (which I did not want to buy), insurance (which was led by my insurance broker), and women in boating (which was basic boating info for wives).

When it all got down to it, I didn’t really do anything related to the Rendezvous that day. I didn’t even attend the evening margarita cocktail hour.

Instead, I spent most of the day writing two blog posts, one about finishing the Great Loop for my Great Loop blog and one about getting the boat back to Washington for this blog.

Day 3 of the Rendezvous

Saturday was the last day of the rendezvous. Not only would there be a few sessions in the Learning Center tent, but all of the contests that had been going on — salmon fishing, crabbing, cornhole, etc. — would wrap up.

I had a busy day, even though I didn’t attend any of the sessions.

Crabbing, Part 2

Now that’s a big crab.

Following my neighbor’s advice, I didn’t pull up my crab trap until morning. I did it right after breakfast. It was very heavy and, again, had at least eight crabs on board. This time, four of them were keepers: two very large ones and two that were slightly larger than legal size.

The trap still had bait so I lowered it back into the water. Then I motored back to show off my success. My neighbors were impressed. I was impressed with the very big ones. I threw the two smaller ones back into the water, put some clean water into the cooler where I was keeping the crabs, and hurried off to set up my Artisan Fair booth.

The Artisan Fair

I’m a silversmith and I make silver jewelry with gemstone cabochons and beads. I hadn’t sold much that year because I was traveling. I did have my inventory with me on the boat and I made a nice wholesale sale to the Silver Peddler on Bald Head Island. But beyond that, it was just consignment sales to the two galleries selling my work in Washington state.

I’d brought along a mini booth setup the previous year and had sold about $1000 worth of pendants, earrings, and bracelets. I was hoping to do the same that year. So I set up my booth, put on some nicer clothes, and settled down for 2 1/2 hours to show and sell my jewelry.

Here’s my table at the Artisan Fair. I put out only a small selection of pendants and earrings.

Sales were slow. I have a feeling that not many people knew about this activity. There had been a better turnout the previous year. The other “artists” were also experiencing slow sales. The woman next to me, who sold very nicely made small tables for the boat, gave out a lot of flyers but didn’t sell a single one. Even the woman across from me, who was selling t-shirts with pithy boating-related slogans on them, was having a slow sale day.

In the end, I wound up selling about $350 worth of jewelry — mostly earrings. Barely worth the effort I’d put into it.

Fish & Crabs

While sitting at my Artisan Fair table, I chatted briefly with a guy who had just come in with fish for the salmon tournament. I think he had about 10 fish ranging from 18 inches up to more than 2 feet. I jokingly asked if I could have one of the small ones. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll fillet it for you.” I also asked for some fish heads for bait in my crab traps. So that’s how I wound up with two huge fillets and three giant fish heads.

I closed up my booth and went back to my boat. I put on comfy clothes and took my two big crabs to be weighed. I didn’t really think of them as contest entries, but when they each weighed in at more than 2 pounds, I was suddenly in the running. One of them had weighed 2 pounds, 9.6 ounces — the biggest so far that day!

My second crab catch that day. Most of these were small but one weighed in at 2 pounds.

I took them back to the boat, then took the dinghy out to fetch the trap. Even though it had only been out for about 4 hours, it was full of crabs again, including yet another very large one. I let all the other ones go, including at least one legal male. The new crab weighed in at exactly 2 pounds. I brought it back to the boat, borrowed my neighbor’s crab pot — my large pot was too small — killed and cleaned them, and then cooked them. I had to turn on the small outside fridge to store them in. (I would finish them off over the next few days, mostly sharing them with friends.)

Rodeo Themed Night

How long had it been since I wore that Jacket? I’m thinking 2013. I was surprised it still fit as well as it did.

The theme of the event was rodeo — Why ride a horse when you can drive a Ranger? — and I’d come prepared for the final evening’s event, which would grant awards for the best outfit. Blue jeans with a blank tank top, black leather cowboy boots with silver tips and heel trim, a real Resistol hat, and a deerskin jacket made for me by a friend years ago that included fringe, elkhorn buttons, and hair from my own horses. I was definitely ahead of the game compared to most other folks who just wore cowboy hats and/or boots and/or bandanas to be western. But in the end I was beat out by the man wearing true western chaps and boots, a retired rancher.

The event was held in the learning center area, which had been set up with tables and chairs. Once again, the caterers had pre-portioned our food for us, giving us “western bowls” that had a little of about six different things, none of which were healthy. They were edible, however, and I pretty much cleared my bowl. Andrew Custis, the same man who had given me a tour of the Kent factory and offered me a kickass deal on an end-of-season R-27 years ago, did a little speech thanking the folks who needed thanking. Then they gave out prizes for contest winners. I was thrilled to win another crab trap setup with a pair of $25 Amazon gift cards for the biggest crab caught on Saturday; I went from one junky one to two good ones in the span of two days. (I gave one of the gift cards to my neighbor who had given me bait for my trap and lessons on how to kill the crabs quickly.) They also raffled off a bunch of other stuff.

When that ended, they brought up a team to teach line dancing. Since I hadn’t had enough alcohol to make that something that interested me, I went back to my boat, stopping to fetch my new trap setup along the way.

My neighbors showed up a little later. Someone mentioned that they’d missed the Artisan Fair. Could I show her my jewelry. I did and she bought a bunch. Then I showed another neighbor and she bought some, too. That brought the day’s total to very close to what I’d sold the previous year. I was glad about that;

By then it was dark and I was tired. I wound up calling it a day.

Goodbyes

The event was officially over and boats started leaving as soon as it got light on Sunday morning. I was in no hurry. I was going to spend the night at Spencer Spit on Lopez island, one of the first of many anchorages and mooring fields I stay in before putting the boat to bed for the winter. Before that, I was taking my friend Liz, who lives on San Juan Island, for a day trip to nearby Stuart Island.

Not everyone else was willing to wait. Because they’d put us on the dock three deep and I was on the outside, I had to start up and move out of the way so the people closer in could get out. Soon it was a parade of Ranger Tugs and Cutwater boats heading out, some of them stopping along the way for fuel.

I called for a pumpout. One of the things I love about the PNW is that they’re so interested in keeping waste out of the water that every marina pumpout is free. They drove over with the Fecal Freak pumpout boat and took care of it while I was still in my slip. I tipped the guy, glad he was doing it for me. He even let me rinse it out once, which I appreciated.

By that time, Liz had arrived. I loaded us all up and headed out.

It had been another good event, but I sorely missed my friends, Cyndi, Joan, Tony, and Mark, from the previous two Rendezvous events. I hope I can see them all again next year.

An Eclectic Mind

Web site and blog for Maria Langer, helicopter pilot, content creator, jewelry artist, boater, and serious amateur photographer.

Tag Archives: boats