Comments on: Memorable

By: Trevor Astle

Trevor Astle — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 06:15:46 +0000

A good story of having fun in your boat. Well done. Simple fun often provides the best memories.

By: Peter Hendrickson

Peter Hendrickson — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 17:01:07 +0000

Humble waters are not without their power to generate some fine times and lasting memories, Chris. Some years ago, we launched our Arctic Terns at Village Park (Terminal 105) along the Duwamish for a lazy day exploring the industrial landscape. We’d ignored tide tables and found ourselves on the north side of a Harbor Island rail bridge with (it seemed) barely 2′ water to bridge clearance. A northerly wind had pickup up in the Sound and I feared we’d need to counter-clockwise return with lee shore concerns. My wife noted that return passage under the bridge was possible if we stowed paddles, lay on our backs in the boats and hand-to-hand “walked” back under the bridge. A grand day.
Thanks for these occasional tales of small-craft adventures.

By: Scot Copeland

Scot Copeland — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 13:53:17 +0000

In reply to Christopher Cunningham. Thank you for the link. I checked it out and enjoyed the video.

By: Chris Noto

Chris Noto — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 10:31:08 +0000

Memorable! Well done, Chris, carrying on the fine, slightly countercultural tradition of messing about in boats, whatever boats you have, on whatever waters are at hand! I love this, and it is exactly the kind of thing that keeps me coming back here! Only one question, though. Which one of you is Mole, and which is Ratty? All the best!

By: Max Wojcik

Max Wojcik — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 05:12:21 +0000

You keep at it, Chris! Otherwise industry will think those channels are theirs to pollute as they please! The waters too, they yearn for someone to enjoy them, not only exploit them. Ripples of happiness spread from your boat and affected the environment beyond visible wake and patten prints.

By: Christopher Cunningham

Christopher Cunningham — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:02:09 +0000

In reply to peter jones. The term King Tide is used to describe a spring tide that occurs when the moon is at is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Perigean Spring Tide is a less eloquent term for the phenomenon. Here in Seattle, the day of this outing, June 18, Father’s Day, was a spring tide of minus 2.4’ at midday. July 4 was a King Tide of minus 4.0’ at midday.

By: Ken Dodds

Ken Dodds — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:12:27 +0000

An interesting thing about Small Boats is that its content probably won't catch the eye of a reader of a slick Condé-Nast publication, Sailing, Yachting, and others. This is an attraction. We often think that if we don't spend a lot of money and time planning and arranging something, accompanied by a very serious—nay, joyless—attitude, it is no good for our enjoyment. But, we can still enjoy a day out in an industrial backwater in a simple, inexpensive boat, or to like fiddling about with a makeshift gadget for some marine purpose, or to see what we can find in the water with a magnet, if we will only let ourselves. There is still the child-like curiosity and joy in doing accessible things that often elude us when we spend substantial amounts of money on "serious" pastimes. Maybe we have talked ourselves out of admitting to some childlike parts of ourselves. Many of us shy away from making or modifying anything to use on our boats. Instead, we rely on finding a stainless-steel official "marine" whiz-bang in a boating catalog. In my lifetime we have become less familiar or confident with tools and our hands and often we believe everything must be done by a specialist. We have come to look down on people whose occupations involve working with their hands. This is a change from people during my childhood in the ‘50s and ‘60s. A year or two ago, there was a tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor of Fine Woodworking suggesting the magazine's name be changed to Fine Woodmachining. I wonder how this relates to the general focus on things digital. We have traded manual skills for digital ones, although the latter often have less to offer us. But you know all this. I write this not to bash the mainstream, but to suggest that these topics are worth educating people about. Keep up the good fight. Ken Dodds

By: peter jones

peter jones — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:04:29 +0000

Hi Chris,
Another great piece from you…and a new term for me: a “minus tide.”
I enquired of Admiral Google and found that this, with the tidal time lag of full moon, is exactly what I have this weekend here in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
I think, back in my native Cornwall, we called this event a “King Tide,” an exceptionally high or low tide.

By: Christopher Cunningham

Christopher Cunningham — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 14:01:20 +0000

In reply to Kenneth Dodds. Those are oil-spill containment booms. There are several of them parked around Kellogg Island. My guess is that they are kept there for quick access when there's a need to surround a ship that has developed a fuel leak or suffered a spill.

By: Kenneth Dodds

Kenneth Dodds — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 13:51:10 +0000

Chris, what are the rows of float-like connected objects to the left in the seventh picture? Are these booms for containing oily materials? Ken Dodds