This is Noodle’s daily blog on 4 June. 1200 position 44N 162W, 594 miles south of Kodiak, AlaskaThis morning at 430AM I was jarred awake from a deep sleep by the sound of a smoke alarm. It was coming from Clay’s stateroom, which is next to mine. Clay was on watch at the time, and we all converged on his quarters at the same time where we smelled something electrical burning. It turned out to...

This is Noodle’s daily blog on 5/31/18The seas continue to moderate as we get further north. The motion is now quite pleasant and less and less spray is pelting the pilot house windows as we punch through the chop. It is getting cooler too. Outside air temperature is down to 65 degrees.After I got off watch this morning Don and I dug into the still not functioning computer system that monitors most of the systems...

It was relatively pleasant even after we got out of the lee of Oahu yesterday, but as the afternoon wore on the winds and seas increased until it was pretty uncomfortable aboard Starr. The winds are up near 20 knots now, as forecast, but it is the seas that are bothersome. We are headed north, and there is a moderate swell form the north east, no doubt the remnant of wind from that direction a...

Having run Starr for 18 years, including crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific (we are about to start our 10th Pacific crossing), fixing Starr's steering problem (lack of control) is the single best modification we have made to date.  As I listen to other trawler owners talk about their steering problems and how they might solve them with autopilot adjustments, I wonder if they would be better served by adding flanking rudders or the dual...

I am going to do a series of blog additions about some of the fun things I have done on Starr.    MV Starr My brother-in-law reminded me of a time when I was about 10 years old. I took a 4x8 sheet of plywood, nailed 2 x 6 sides on it with a slightly raked bow, and then put a five horse Johnson outboard on it and that was my hydroplane. We have now...

I am going to do a series of blog additions about some of the fun things I have done on Starr.    MV Starr My brother-in-law reminded me of a time when I was about 10 years old. I took a 4x8 sheet of plywood, nailed 2 x 6 sides on it with a slightly raked bow, and then put a five horse Johnson outboard on it and that was my hydroplane. We have now...

Day 1610/1900Z/0900Hawaii Time21degrees 37N/149degrees 15WDTG (Distance to Go) – 476nmTTG (Time to Go) – 2.2daysWe will arrive in Honolulu sometime Monday early afternoon; we should begin to show on Vessel Marine Traffic on Sunday. LIFE ON STARR24 hour-days become long, and if we are fortunate tedious. Don and I have always said that “a boring passage is a good passage”. We each do a three-hour watch during the day, and a three-hour watch at night....

Testing iridium go from iPadSent from my iPad

Starr Refit Blog #13 – Week 28April 4, 2014 – SPLASH!  After 5 1/2 months on the hard in the shed at Pacific Fishermen's Shipyard, we have finally SPLASHED!   Dave and I are feeling pretty good.I was on the job at 0600, doing one more check to make sure that all was ready. It was still dark out, but it looked like a good day ahead.   060April 4, 2014 at 0600   Starr is ready to...

Starr Refit Blog #13 – Weeks 21-27Weeks of February 20 to March 30 – We are ready to Splash!March 30, 2014 We are ready to splash! We have been working on Starr for Six months of what feels like 24/7 of attention to detail. My crews start at 6am and knock off at 6 pm. Dana and his crew have been working 6-7 days a week. Randy and Dave have been working 5-day weeks, but...

Starr Refit Blog #12 – Weeks 17-20Weeks of January 17-February 9 – The Pace is Picking Up. February 9, 2014 We just received the new ABT/TRAC Get-Home Drive unit. (Note: A Get-Home Drive also known as an Auxiliary Prop Drive, is a hydraulically driven, clutched gear box that is mounted in a vessel’s main drive line and provides power to turn the vessels propeller by means of auxiliary engine horsepower when the main propulsion system...

Starr Refit Blog #11 - Weeks 13-16 Weeks of December 20-January 10 - We are starting to see Results . . .  We are starting to see the results of hundreds of hours of backbreaking work. The fairing is mostly completed. Last weekend APM (All Points Marine) sprayed on the epoxy high-build primer; we are using AwlGrip’s Ultra Build.http://www.awlgrip.com/products/primers/ultra-build-epoxy-primer.aspx This high-build primer goes on thick (28mil), and then will be sanded down for the finished surface.   High-Build Primer...

Starr Refit Blog #10 - Weeks 10-12Weeks of Nov. 25 to Dec. 13 – It’s Snowing Inside the Boat Shed at PacFish We are nearing the end of the itchy fiberglass sanding work. Since my last report we have removed the transom and top deck forms. Sharry calls me “Frosty the Snowman” when I come home from work, and it’s not because of the recent cold weather but because I am covered with fiberglass dust.Our...

Starr Refit Blog #8 – Week 8 Week of November 11-15 – I have the “Boat Yard Blues”We are at a stage where things are moving more slowly. Right now everything is all torn up, and the interior and exterior of Starr are a real mess. It's just the way it goes and I have the Boatyard Blues".I am really looking forward to the point when we will have the exterior ready for painting. Dana...

Starr Refit Blog #9 – Week 9Week of November18-22 – And The Mess Goes on. . . . We have finished installing the new Technicold air handlers. Yay!   Installing the sixth and last air handler   Dave Schmidt, happy to be moving on to the next challenge I’m removing what seems like miles of unused wiring. For instance: old TV cabling, an unused telephone system, and 3-12 gauge wires that have labels like “spare from wheelhouse...

Weeks 6 & 7 - Weeks of October 28 to November 8 – My continuing education in BallardMeet the experts who are my teachers: I feel very fortunate to be working in Ballard with some of America’s best maritime craftsmen. Every day that I’m working on Starr, I feel like I’m in a classroom learning exciting new things. The fact that I can pick experts from every sector of the maritime industry, work with them and...

Week 5 - October 21-26, 2013 Below is some of what we accomplished this week: Dana Lebo and Bill Kennedy, owners of All Points Marine (APM), along with their crew made good progress on the glassing of the top deck extension. The top deck form that Randy and I built was PVA primed, waxed and then gel coated.   The gel-coated mold A layer of 1-1/2 oz matt went down followed by 2 more layers of 2408...

Starr Refit Blog #5 - Commuting to work on StarrOctober 25, 2013Ballard is, in my completely biased opinion, the Center of the Maritime Universe. I’ve been commuting to work across the 550 ft. wide Ballard Ship Canal. The canal is named the Lake Washington Ship Canal on the NOAH charts, but what do they know?http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1444 My commute from SBMC to PacFish is a distance of 1,965 feet.   Welcome to our neighborhood of BallardGo to Google Earth...

It’s Been a Very Good Week! Week of October 13-18, 2013 Last Sunday I brought Starr back across the Ballard Ship Canal to SBMC, from the boathouse where we started our work in preparation to hauling out at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard (PacFish). Oct. 12 - We moved from the boathouse at Ballard Mill Marina to SBMC, all of 500 feet across the canal!   Starr at dock at SBMC    The back deck “part” (the formwork for...

Deck Drains-part 2 or How to sink your boat…..OR BURN DOWN your boat. October 19, 2013 When I wrote my recent blog entry about my deck drain problems, I had completely blanked-out recalling the discovery of a burnt-out electrical switch that could have caused a fire as the result of a leaking top deck drain. Steve D’Antonio was on Starr last Thursday and Friday (October 10 & 11) doing a complete boat survey for me....

Some Information Regarding Deck Drains on Starr. or “HOW TO SAVE YOUR BOAT FROM SINKING!!!” October 8, 2013 I’m fed up with our inadequate deck drains on Starr, and have decided that now that we are doing other glass work, such as lowering the back deck rail and extending the top deck overhang, this is a good time to fix or modify the drains. I have read many blog entries about how other boaters are...

“The Adventures and Follies of an Amateur Boat Re-Builder" October 1, 2013 Starr is now back home at Salmon Bay Maine Center (SBMC) in Seattle. We have been cruising Starr since September of 2000, traveling to the South Pacific, Europe and, Japan. Starr has spent the past two years cruising in the Hawaiian Islands, with our Homeport at Waikiki Yacht Club. After all these years of cruising, Starr needs an extensive refit and a complete painting...

MV STARR: A Northern Marine 75’ LLC Starr’s Voyage to Hawai’i - Impressions of a Nordhavn Ownerwritten by Viktor Grabner   Starr at Waikiki Yacht Club - Viktor is the big guy on far left Nordhavn’s are built to cross oceans. My own Nordhavn 50, Loreley has a range of almost 3000 nm that enables it to reach any place on earth. Its build withstands the weather and waves the oceans might throw at it, and...

Stretching the Fuel Range to Cross the Pacific Part 2: Fitting the auxiliary fuel tanks. Guest blog entry by Viktor Grabner, crewmember Don has already written about the challenge of making our fuel last the 3800 nm voyage across the Pacific. He discussed fuel saving strategies and stretching our fuel capacity by using Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) as auxiliary fuel tanks to add another 1000 gallons of fuel for our voyage.    We have now...

GOOD NEWS!!! On April 2, the day after April Fool's Day, Don signed back on as Captain of STARR. The crew is delighted.

News Flash: Change of Watch aboard Starr 1 April 2011 Preparations aboard Starr for her voyage to Honolulu are in full swing. Unfortunately, we have to make bit of a startling announcement: Don decided to not take this trip with Starr, but instead retire from cruising effective immediately. Having just taken delivery of, and “commissioned” his first granddaughter, Don can’t wait to see her again! He’s taking the plane back to Seattle to actively participate...

Stretching the Fuel Range to Cross the Pacific 2-9-2011 REDUCE GENSET HOURS AND REDUCE RPM. When Starr made her run from Seattle to San Francisco and on to Honolulu we chose to run the Northern Lights 20 kw gensets only when we needed to make water and or the air conditioning. The total main engine hours for Seattle to Honolulu were 352hrs. Total Genset hours were 75hrs. (We needed A/C for the last few days...

GETTING READY FOR THE PASSAGE TO HONOLULU, HI January 2011 We are currently tied up in Ashiya, Japan (35 42.3N, 135 19.0E). Starr has been here for over ten months with the result that I’m ready to “set sail into the sunset” (sailor talk). The distance to Honolulu from here is 3768nm. Starr uses 1gallon of diesel per nautical mile so the the total fuel capacity of 3700 gallons seems to be cutting things too...

More Barnacles on the Bottom . . . September 24, 2010 We just returned from a 250nm run thru the Setto Nakai, from Ashiya to Onomichi and back to Ashiya. James and Kat Petron went back to Hawaii last night and I thought I would tidy up the engine room. I checked the sea strainers, and would you believe it, the main engine strainer basket was full again…this is the third time since doing the...

The “Tool of the Year Award” has been contested! AND Barnacles on the Bottom 15 September 2010 The Tool of the year award has been contested! The Yanmar Diesel Emergency Fire and Bilge Pump has lodged an appeal. AKA: DPL48-2PT, Sold by Diesel America West, www.dawest.com (These pumps are on most Foss and Crowley tugs for emergency use) WE ARE REQUESTING YOUR INPUT TO SETTLE THIS APPEAL.    Yanmar Emergency Fire/Bilge Pump Home    Yanmar...

September 9, 2110 Engine Room Helper of the Year Award goes to----------- The Jabsco Mini Puppy!!! Yeah!!    The Mini Puppy I don’t know what I would do without my little Jabsco Mini Puppy pump. That little pump has done more dirty jobs just this year than you can shake a stick at. Some of its accomplishments include: Transferring 100 gallons of used lube oil from the E.R. waste tank to 50 gallon drums on...