Paul Found This, Check It Out!

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012

Napa Marina en plein air again

"Pink Cloud", oil on canvas

11" x 14" painted en plein air 4.6.12

$450. , available framed - please email for purchase , questions

Some painters and I returned to the Napa marina to paint again on a sunny day.  The winds cooperated and were gentle . . .the whole day was just that; warm and gentle weather, good fun and hanging out a bit after painting.  I got some good input and changed a couple things while I painted.  I painted this, then did the sketch at the bottom of the post while I chatted.  Didn't really want to go home because it was a warm and beautiful day and good to be there.  

One of the people from the boatyard came by to look and told me that the name of the boat is 'Pink Cloud' and that this model was in Royce's Illustrated Sailing.  Yes, it is and it's an early Columbia model.  Patrick Royce wrote the book on sailboats, and this model was owned by him . The boatyard, I know, is a treasure of classic boats.  Most are in drydock but there are enough to paint in the water.  I've been searching for a good boatyard to travel to and paint and this seems to be it.

Artist is Lynne Cunningham who lives in Davis, CA.

B. O. A. T.

Bust .    Out .    Another .    Tool .  

 - then reach for the wallet -

Trimming -Out looking sharp in her Vallejo Slip,  Jan went home a couple days ago.  So time to get serious about  selling this fine  girl . (craigs list blitz, boat trader.com, boatsold.com)

But before Jan left, on the way back from  Amazonia,  the starter started acting up.  ( b.o.a.t. )

Instead of RRRRR, RRRRR,  starter was , Rr-r-RR-R-r-r

So break out the 9/16" and drop the starter 

(always good to break-down when tied to a dock a wise yachtie taught me)

   Found a rewind shop in downtown  San Fran from internet... emailed him Sunday eve him.  He lived near Vallejo so he picked up the bad the next morn, Monday at 5.45am (and I didn't even get waves) on his way to work.  And returned it at 6pm same day.  In a pretty box,  amazing what $300 cash will buy In San Fran.

But first.  Oh no,  the butter is on the other boat.  ugghh,  Was still killer,  ate them" Jan style". No buttah.  Look at that golden brown will ya Jan.

 An Hour later Mr. starter is all bolted in, way in the bottom of the engine room.

WRONG name,  should call it the "no room".  Had to stand to my head to reach and use a mirror to see the bolts, but we win eventually.

 Sure im done,  hit the start button after installing fresh charged battery...  and,  rrr- r- rrr-   r

Oh NO !  wtf..

Now where is my diesel trouble shooting book?  Time to Read,  the answers are in books                  (not fb surfergrl)

Ahh - Ha.   need take off fan belt,  see if water pump is stuck, drag down rotations, starter cant spin motor,  ok.   Belt off,  water pump spins fine.  HMMmm.  so what???   Ahhh, the alternator!             she is FROZEN tight.

Call Jeff again,  "hey, can you stop by this afternoon?"  He picked up frozen alternator at 6pm Monday eve and retuned 6 pm the next day on his way home again.  Thanks Jeff!  Great service Man.  "Riteway starter service"

amazing what 120$ cash buys in San Fran. uggh

The next morning (I ate at Denny's)   Installed fresh new rewound alternator.   Put fan belt back on.

 Said some prayers to the  good surf gods of Bali and hit the starter button.

RRRRRRR-RRRRRRR , varoom...  Blurp, blurp, blurp , the exhaust water leaving the stern was sweet music to my ears, all is well.   

This will make a wana-be boat mechanic happy any day!

Truth is,  I like to fix stuff, its a total learning experience for me most times and an amazing rush when successful.  But,  I just dont want to do it so often hun.

    "Thanks Good Bali Surf Gods"

Footnote- Ive shown Trimming to a couple interested parties,  no one worthy yet.

Stay tuned because Pink Cloud's hull is looking good

Hankerin' for a Pet???

Paul was thinking that having a pet to keep him company on the boat would be nice, and sent these photos to see what I thought...

Bambi?  Or... 

Porky?

At least there would be no feed to buy or poop to pick up!  I think Paul is leaning towards "Porky," with his lower center of gravity and shorter horns!
Ouch!

 If you'd like "pets" like these, they can be found at a bow-hunting shop in Napa:  place your orders now!

Cuddle-factor, however, is nil...

Back in Napa, Working on "Pink Cloud"

With "Trimming Out" secured in a nice new slip at the Vallejo Marina and Jan back in Hawaii, Paul returned to Napa Valley Marina to get to work on "Pink Cloud."

First things first, "Pink" is moved from the storage area to the work area, closer to the water.

 Beautiful day in Napa, with a view of just some of the covered berths for the motor vessels.

 Looks like Paul found a "treasure" of a director's chair!

HEY, no sitting down on the job...

And, his own personal elevator to the deck!

With trusty "Blue" the VW Eurovan in the background, and the mountain bike locked to one of the stands, NO ONE is going to steal "Pink!"

Notice Paul's done a lot of work in patching, sanding and preparing the hull for painting.

Busy boy!

Ah, candlelight in the cabin...

The next day is back to work!

The mountain bike doubles as transport to the chandlery shop on the premises to pick up fiberglass.

But wait!  Paul hears music and smells a BBQ coming from down the delta...

Yup, there's a party goin' on!

And who's there???

Capt. Paul with his Modelo in hand!

ARG, matey...

Stay tuned, I heard "bottom paint" has been ordered.

:o)

Im gunna miss her....

 

Well, hangin out here in Napa and the Sac River Delta a guy has to listen to a bit of country on the radio. ( after Jan left that is, she hates CW. )  .   So there is this song about a guy that loves to fish his fav fishin-hole so much....  So much that this his Woman tells him , "you go fishin tomorrow and Im gone"

He sings  " Im sure gunna miss her"

Sorry Hun, But I like the song.

Bye for now Surfergirl. I know you need get back to DH !    It was great fun and you were a GREAT travel / adventure partner ! Especially when I went MOB..  And you slowed the boat and helped haul me in.  ( Like a big Ahi?)    Not at all sure how I would have made it back aboard if you were not at the helm. Until Trim ran into the narrow Levee banks on the next bend.   Picture me  swim to shore and run down the levee rock top after my boat.... Or maybe I could have crawled into the zodiac and waited for the grounding... THUD....    LOL.    So glad we can laugh with no repairs needed...

But I miss my Sunglasses!

And then there is that Tobi Keith song...  about a little blue note she left.   " she's gone" ...  CW is too sad.     Sorry hun, I like the song.

Jan made it home no problem after we spent a night near the airport at "surfer pilot John's place"  while       he was down line.      Thanks John!      Nice Tub!

                     Stay tuned as I  begin the shoreside Renovation of  schooner  "PINK CLOUD"


post by Paul, no edit by the boss.

Our Day With Dr. Jack...FINALLY!

Suzi's totally ADORABLE flower studio:  constructed of reused materials by her husband Jack the Master cabinet maker.

Preparing arrangements for a wedding.

We finally  connected with Dr. Jack Snyder,  ( plan "G") .   Paul's long-time friend from growing up on the Puget Sound in Edmonds, WA..."partners in crime" I like to think...boating , skiing,  diving,  hang gliding.

Jack drove to Suzi and Jack's house (our hosts)  to meet us and them.  He then took us up the hill to view one of his investment properties by coincidence just around the corner.  He buys foreclosures and fixes/finishes them and puts them back on the market..... all this when he's not flying around the world operating on elite equine!

Dr. Jack and Jan in front of the Cottonwood Restaurant in Truckee...

Last time we saw Jack was Lopez island last summer.  See older blog.

This is the property we looked at, sits on 20 acres, with views across the valley to Northstar ski resort.

A builders' own home, but he went broke and Jack purchased it, at framed stage, and is now finishing.

In the main living area.

Jack and his dog, Nora Jones.

This is the master shower.

"HEY JERRY MILLER!"  This needs your expertise! 

Come help Paul finish this place, you'll love Truckee.

The Sugar Pine trunk, the basis of the spiral staircase.  

The treads are being made now, and will be installed soon.

 This shows the size of the tree trunk!

"Hey Jack, who does your hair?"

Having lunch at Fifty-Fifty Brewery, Nora at his feet.

Good doggie!

Time to say "Goodbye" as we head back to the city, and Jack's off on another call.

Jan's adventure is coming to an end...
:o(

"Truckee Thursday" Street Party

Downtown Truckee closes its main street each Thursday for their street party, which includes food vendors, artisans of all kinds (I got an awesome necklace and cute "Robot" earrings made our of reused airplane aluminum), and we also had terrific, and very creative, food on the upstairs lanai at Dragonfly, which also overlooked the street festivities.

Jan trying to get a well-lighted vantage point to photograph the street party. 

Just one of the food vendors, "Full Belly Deli."  People were lined up to get their ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and chicken. 

The dog just wouldn't cooperate for this photo. 

A partial view of the festivites from the outdoor dining area of "Dragonfly" restaurant. 

A beautiful sunset over Truckee. 

One of the dishes we ordered:  flank steak that we "cooked" on a VERY hot stone!  Sauce and condiments were on the side. 

On our way back to the van, we passed a definitely "happening" place, called the "Tourist Club Bar."

FREE Beer tomorrow????

We're there!

:o)

The Thunderbird Lodge Tour...a MUST-Do

After getting past "Plan G," (will go into that later!), we decided to go on the tour of the famous Thunderbird Lodge.

A beautiful shot of Lake Tahoe, water is SO beautiful!

I made the photo extra-large because anything smaller wouldn't do it justice.

The main house of the Thunderbird Lodge.

Those aren't "real" chimneys...the one on the left is actually a safe (we learned on our tour that Mr. Whittle kept $5 million cash at the house) and the other "chimney" is a single-person elevator to the third floor.

Another shot of the main house.

The main room, called the "Party Room".

One of our three docents on our walking tour.  This house has so much history, it's been restored to its original condition after a previous owner whitewashed all this beautiful wood. 

Some of the intricate framework. 

Although Mr. Whittle didn't hunt, someone gave him these skins. 

Downstairs in the servant's quarters.

"Hey, is this a 1930's cell phone?" 

Inside the 600-foot tunnel under the house that connects to the boathouse.  It was quite cold down there.

I'm trying to do my "cheesey" pose.

The fireplace grill of the Opium Room, a small room with several niches with mattresses and a small window looking out to the dock. 

The indoor pool that was never completed.

The story is that a worker fell to his death while plastering the ceiling and Mr. Whittle was quite superstitious and had the room closed up and locked.  Upon restoring the house for tours, they opened the doorway and everything is just as it had been when the man died, including the fallen ladder in the pool. 

The "dungeon."

Legend is that if you passed out while partying at the Lodge, you were put into this dungeon by the servants, along with Bill, Mr. Whittle's pet lion.

Can you imagine waking up from a hangover to see this lion staring at you?

And then, THE boat!

The Thunderbird boat.
Painstakingly refurbished by volunteers, they hand sanded and polished for 4 months.
This boat is so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes.

Solid mahogany, it sports two 1150hp airplane engines as its motors.
Been clocked at 50mph in Lake Tahoe, 70mph in SF Bay.

Available for private functions for $40,000/day.

This stairway led up a landing where you can overlook the private dock. 

A shot of the private dock.  The glass block wall is the indoor swimming pool. 

A better shot of the pool "wall."

George Whittell with Bill, his lion, his constant companion. Bill had free rein of roaming the house and often went with George to the bar.

To learn more about Mr. Whittell, Google him...its very interesting.

 Coming out of the boat house.

Looking back at the boathouse.

A model of the Thunderbird.

After we left the lodge, we went to Incline Village to eat lunch at a lakeside restaurant called "Gar Wood."

 "The water's not too cold," but then I was standing in only 3 inches of water!

After we left Incline Village, we went back to our AirBnB, took a nap and then went to Truckee Thursday!

That's another posting!