Thanks, Bill!

Thanks to Bill, my "Delta Blue" is safely stored at her new home in Washington. After a two and a half day drive up from California, we arrived at the yard about 5PM on Sunday.
The trip north was uneventful; just the way I like it!

Rest stop on I-5

We made a stop in Grants Pass, Oregon to do a bit more shopping and have dinner, but then drove on to Woodburn, Oregon where we stayed the night. Sunday morning we made a last check at Walmart, just to make sure there was nothing left on the shelves for us to buy! We were rolling again by 10AM.






Bill

New home in storage, Birch Bay

  The weather was good the whole drive up from California and only we began to see some rain when we reached Washington. It came down pretty hard a few times and we even had some hail/sleet for a spell, but eventually it gave way to clear skies again. By the time we reached the yard it was all good.
As I said, we arrived at 5 PM and I was home by 6 PM so I have to say it was a successful trip.
    Also a big thanks to Alex, the owner of Gold River Motorsports in Rancho Cordova, CA. He definitely came through for us and was more than fair for all he did.
Again my hat's off to Bill for all his help and the use of his truck. There's no way this would have happened without his help.

It always takes longer than you think!

And it costs more too! Here we are about six moths later, and back in California with yet another of my hare-brained schemes. This time I've decided that it would be wiser to have the Seacamper up north, in Washington State. Rather than making expensive trips south (and often NOT getting anything accomplished ) I thought that it would make more sense to have the boat closer to home.
  With that in mind, and the help of our friend Bill Hay, we set out in Bill's truck to retrieve the boat from the storage yard in Rancho Cordova, CA.
   When Pat and I stopped by to check the boat on our way back from Las Vegas in February, we discovered that the out-drive had come down and was now embedded in the blacktop.
The batteries were dead, so there was no way to do anything at that time.
   Bill brought a new battery with us and after installing it, we had power but still no movement at the leg. It was about then that Alex, from the motorcycle shop next door, offered his assistance. He brought a small jumper battery as well, but discovered that it was a low hydraulic fluid issue, and he soon had it working fine.
We strapped the leg firmly in the up position, in preparation for the trip north.
   Unfortunately, we were far from ready. I asked Alex to have a look at the surge brake on the trailer, as when I tried to remove the cap from the master cylinder, it crumbled in my hand. To make a long story short the trailer needed pretty much the whole brake system replaced. New master cylinder, 4 new wheel brakes assemblies, clean and flush the lines, new surge brake shocks, and even the tail lamps, which had corroded and blown the bulbs. Alex moved the boat and trailer over into his yard and began the work.
   So, we had a couple of extra days to explore the Delta and show Bill some of my favorite watering holes. We did Old Sacramento,
our traditional Happy Hour at Crawdad's, and dinner at Hooters, as well as the drive down Hwy 160 along the Sacramento River to Rio Vista, and a short visit to Fosters Bighorn Bar.
  We thought we might be ready to hit the road by late Thursday, but that turned into Friday morning, which proved to be 4:30 PM before we actually pulled away. The good part is that it was all done, and it all worked. With the late start, we just wanted to get through the Sac rush hour and out onto the quieter section of I-5. We drove a couple of hour or so, and called it a day at Red Bluff.
It was a good day but tiring as we'd been ready to go since morning but gremlins kept rearing their ugly heads. The hotel in Red Bluff was nice, a Super 8 run by a cordial couple who seemed intent on us having a quiet and restful night. They assured us that the truck and boat would be safe on the street and that they would keep watch throughout the night. Dinner at Denny's and that was it!

Checking out Delta Marinas

As Chuck was not going to be available until the following morning, we decided to take a drive down I-5 and check out a few marinas that I'd short-listed for either storage or work space.
The first was Tower Park, where I've stayed several times in the past, but haven't been there for at least 15 years. Tower Park is located on Hwy 12 about 5 miles west of I-5. It's easy to get to and has a full service marina, with launch ramp, dry storage, docks, a restaurant and bar, and all the usual amenities.

We had lunch at Rosa's and I checked rates and availability with Sheila at the office. I tentatively reserved a space in the dry storage yard but told them it may be a month or so before I can get the boat moved down there. I showed her photos so she could see exactly what the boat looked like as I didn't want any misunderstandings later on. She seemed fine and gave me space #211.
  Tower Park at one time used a small stationary sling lift and could only launch small boats. That has since been replaced with a ramp and a launch tractor. Valet service is included in the price of the monthly storage. For me, this system is a real no-brainer as there's no way I could handle the launching myself without a tow vehicle and that's precisely what I'm trying to avoid. They only require a very short notice to get you in the water, so it's a very convenient method indeed.

Norstar Automotive

At Norstar Automotive I introduced myself to Jim,the owner and explained my situation as best as I could. He confirmed that Chuck had brought the boat down to have the fuel system checked out and while Chuck insisted it was "all done", Jim hadn't actually worked on it himself. He checked with a couple of his mechanics and we found that they had indeed looked at but had not actually run the engine, so we couldn't be sure. The batteries needed charging first so we saw to hooking it up to shore power overnight. We agreed to return the following day.

Road trip recap

The road trip was short on time, long on driving. We got away about 10 AM on July 31, so a bit of a late start. In Seattle, the Express Lanes were closed and I've found that when things begin to go downhill during the first hours of a journey, they often continue that decline!

Stupidly I chose to disregard this omen so we drove on to Portland, where we encountered the first of the evening rush hour traffic. After crawling across the various bridges and snaking our way south, we at last got a clear stretch and began to make some time. With very few stops other than the obligatory "P" breaks, we managed to get to Grants Pass, Oregon by about 7:30. I'd checked prices at the Motel 6 but I thought I'd give the Sunset Motel a chance to compete. He didn't want to play this round so we checked in at the 6 and headed off for dinner at the little Chinese Restaurant and Bar next to the Sunset.

A combo platter each and a beer to wash it down was all I needed to put and end to day one.

Wednesday morning; our second day, we made a quick stop at Pat's favorite store; the Walmart Super Store at Grants Pass. I bought a couple of shirts and a 30 pack of Bud. Wilburne had a look around but didn't find anything he needed.

   By about 10 AM we crossed the Siskiyou Pass into California. There was plenty of road work going on through the mountains and on down I-5 so making good time wasn't really going to happen. It looked like we weren't going to make Sacramento in time to get checked in and still make "Happy Hour" so I thought we may as well drive out and get a room in Rancho Cordova, where the boat was in storage. I thought we could at least drive over and assess the situation while there was still daylight.

I'd booked our room at the Red Roof Inn on-line, but when we got there, they had no record of the reservation. It took a few phone calls to get it straightened out but we did eventually get our room and it was nice enough. 

After we settled in, and gulped down a cold one, we headed over to have a look at the boat. The access code I'd been given had remained unchanged and the gate swung open first try, but that relief faded rapidly as the boat was nowhere to be found.
  The main storage office is only a block away so we drove there and after a few frantic calls discovered the boat's whereabouts. Chuck had sent it over to an automotive shop to have the fuel issue re-checked and he assured me it was now fixed!

  

  

Another road trip

I've decided to leave on Tuesday July 31st to go back down to Sacramento. My boat buddy Wilburne is coming along this time to lend a hand with the next stage. I'm hoping that between us we'll be able to get the boat in the water. I've been in touch with Gregg in Stockton, who is on my Bayliner Explorer 2670 Yahoo Group. He has a business with Stockton waterfront and his own dock. He's kindly offered his help and the loan of a tow vehicle so things are shaping up!

Keeping the dream alive

Early this June we made a trip down to Sacramento to check on the boat and to visit our friend Elias. The boat has been moved from her original storage location up in Loomis, to a new yard down in Rancho Cordova, which is about 15 miles east of Sac.
  The boat appears to be safe and sound and the yard seems secure. We ordered a new set of tires for the trailer while we were down and left a copy of the invoice with Chuck who kindly agreed to haul the boat and trailer over to the tire shop and get them mounted. Apparently that's all been done as of  July3rd, so the next trip down I'm hoping that we will actually see her afloat. Everything takes longer than what we expect and getting this new venture up and running has certainly been no exception to the rule.
   The other thing I discovered during this recent trip, was that there are not many marinas in or around Sac where one can do a little work on the boat, and it's something that'll definitely be needed, especially in the first few days. As she's been on the hard for a year, at the very least she'll need water, fuel, propane, and some clean-up, not to mention a few days of sea-trials with a safe haven close by. With this in mind I've decided to trailer her to Stockton and launch at Ladd's Marina. I've been there several times in the past with my Catalina 22 "Friday". It's close to I-5, West Marine, and contacts that I have in downtown Stockton, so I feel better about putting her in the water down there.
  So here we are at the 3rd week of July..... still no firm date for launching, but keeping the dream alive!