Posted in September 2010 …

Sep 30 2010
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Boats, Camping

Goat Island Boat-In Camping

Here’s some pictures of our camping trip on Goat Island on Labor Day Weekend 2010.

boat pre-loaded and ready to launch HEAVY!

We launched my 12′ aluminum boat in La Conner fully loaded with way more weight than should have been in it. You can see a pic of it fully loaded below. We had fishing gear, crabbing gear including propane crab cookers, camping stuff and about 100lbs of firewood. It was only Cheryl and I and our dog brodie and it was a gorgeous calm sunny day so I knew we could motor slow down the Swinomish Channel even with the extra weight.

Backing down the steep ramp into the Puget Sound the boat hits the water, Cheryl held the rope and I pulled the trailer out. I parked then went to look at the boat and start the engine then I noticed the boat was leaking! Water was streaming in next to the plug at a rate that was way too fast for comfort. This was bad times to find this out since the boat was fully loaded and we were 70 miles from home with minimal tools and only one plug. So I panicked, pulled the boat out as fast as I could. 5 minutes later another boater shows up at the tiny ramp in La Conner, luckily he had some GOOP and that sealed the leaking plug insert within 10 minutes and we were good to go. Whew! Crisis averted we would soon be on our way to the island to hopefully secure the prime camping spot for Labor Day Weekend.

high tide on secret beach, that I don't want to tell you where it is

high tide on secret Goat Island beach, that I don't want to tell you where it is

I had just installed a whale tail on the Suzuki 15hp motor that’s 5 extra hp than I had last time I went to Goat Island in this boat so I was curious if I would be able to plane out with about 600 lbs on gear and people in a 12′ boat. Idling out from the dock I let the motor warm up as we adjust things to balance the boat. Then the moment of truth, I twisted the tiller handle hard and brought the motor up to full throttle. Hesitating to rev as fast as usual we slowly sped up and eventually barely made it on plane! I was amazed, the motor could barely do it but it was doing it. We were going 4 times faster on plane that I would have to go if the boat couldn’t plane!

Swinomish Channel Boat Ride

Boys in Jason's Boat

 

Cheryl in camp kitchen

Cheryl in camp kitchen

 

Tent with 270 degree view on Goat Island

Tent with 270 degree view on Goat Island

Jason's Greggor boat in the morning after the tide went out

Jason's Greggor boat in the morning after the tide went out

 

Hole in the wall

Hole in the wall - A gap through the break water, a shortcut into the Skagit River

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Sep 24 2010
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3D Models, Our Cabin Posts

3D Interior Cabin floor Plan & Maple Counter Top

So I made these scale 3D floor plans in Sketch-up last winter when I was planning the cabin and just now remembered I made them. I was trying to figure out exactly what would fit in 200 square feet. Sketch-up had this huge library of models that were the actual sizes of things like that wood stove that looks just like ours and the futon which I think we need another of. So it’s great for planning, especially for a visual person like myself. Things have changed slightly since I made these models. We’ve put the door on the opposite side and may not be putting the wood stove in there… Read more on that below

Maple Slab with live edge

Maple Slab with live edge will be our counter top

Also that is a 8′ counter top which my friend Kevin just got us a solid piece of 2″ thick maple to use. It’s even go “Live edges” for that rustic look that we badly need after our conventional building practices so far. He works at a sawmill in the Skagit Valley so he went out in the yard and selected this log months ago, putting my name on it. And they just cut it and ran it through the sander once. Thanks Kevin!

I want to put a wood stove in but since we’re not supposed to heat a shed we’re worried that “the MAN” might spot our shinny stainless steel smoke stack from the road. So maybe we’ll do a removable stack through the back wall? Not sure if that will work. If it doesn’t we’ll do propane heat like a Big Buddy heater or the 35,000 BTU space heater Nate has, though it’s overkill.

Anyone have any ideas how to do a removable smoke stack?

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Sep 22 2010
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Building, Our Cabin Posts

The Roof Is On

Finally the roof is on and the cabin is officially dried in! (warning crappy photos they were an afterthought)

The weather forecast was RAIN RAIN RAIN all weekend but Nate and I said we were going to put the roof on the cabin and us Washingtonians don’t usually let the weather change our plans. Nate brought his roofing nailer and better compressor along with some nails he found and we were off.

Miraculously the ferry ride out there was a bright sunny day almost 69 degrees and we were in our Tshirts on the back deck of the ferry loving life.

We got there and saw that the cabin roof with just tar paper on it had been leaking pretty bad with our recent rain storms. It was leaking in both roof valleys with one having a puddle of standing water inside. Good think we were putting a roof on this weekend. We cranked up the genny and setup some ladder jacks we borrowed and started roofing the back side of the cabin which is the easy and biggest side. The pitch is 12/12 so it’s very steep. Nate was on the roof and I was cutting shingles to size and bringing them up to them.

No pics of the back side getting roofed since we were in a hurry and I wasn’t worried about pics. Then about 3pm when we were almost done with the backside the rain started and the sky got so dark I though it was 7pm… Oh well I guess that’s what they predicted. We both found some rain gear in the shed and moved on to the steeper slope on the front side. We got the 1 valley of the front side roofed by midnight then called it quits. We both were roofing in the dark and the pouring down rain with a tiny light powered by the generator…. good times… haha. But it had to get done and we were running out of hours.

By this time I was totally soaked so we moved inside, installed the door and cranked up the 35,000 btu propane heater then went to bed.

In the morning roof lines actually look pretty good. haha

Anyway this is a long post and the pictures are pretty boring they were taken Sunday afternoon…

Lesson learned: Don’t use roofing nails to hold in roof jacks! Nate tried this 3 times and 3 times it eventually blew out and he luckily slide into the ladder every time. Scared the shit out of him though! 4th time’s charm and he used some 16Ds. Didn’t pull out.

Siding is next. t1-11 on the lower 8′ then rough cut cedar shakes for the gables. I already found the shakes for free.

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Sep 20 2010
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Building, Shelter, Video

Lloyd Kahn, a short Film

This really makes me want to see a longer film doc about Lloyd. I think his life and the story about his wonderful publications could support an hour or so documentary. Speaking of support, support Shelter Publications, Lloyd’s business here.

drift wood door handle?

drift wood door handle?

After I saw this about a year ago, I started looking for wood to make a handle like he made in the video. I found a few around Lake Cushman that had been washed up on the beach. Lots of knarly sticks in strange shapes. I’m not sure what type of wood it is but it’s interesting. I was able to cut at least 1 good handle like his. Still haven’t installed it.

About the Film, From Lloyd’s Blog:

In April, Jason Sussberg, a documentary film graduate student at Stanford, along with friends, made a 6-minute film of us and our home. They shot the film in 16mm film — pretty unusual nowadays. I asked Jason why film, and he replied:

“It was shot on 16mm color celluloid and telecined (scanned/color-corrected digitally) and edited in a Final Cut Pro (a non-linear editing software). The 16mm color film fits the subject and architecture quite well– both filmmaking and DIY homebuilding are beautiful artisanal crafts that are fighting for survival in a changing world. Film just looks better– better colors, textures, motion interpolating and feeling!”

It has been shown at the Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Fest, San Francisco Documentary Festival, Big Sky Film Festival, Cinequest Film Festival and Nevada City Film Festival.

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Sep 16 2010
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Cabins, Off-Grid Tech, Random Coolness

Cob Houses and other cool structures


Outdoor Kitchen and rain shelter on Orcas Island

Sep 13 2010
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Alternative Energy, Off-Grid Tech

Hot Showers from a Compost Pile

Pretty interesting, I never knew compost piles gave that much heat.

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Sep 02 2010
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Shelter

Heading to Goat Island for the Weekend

Heading out to Goat Island in the Puget Sound for Labor Day weekend. Me and 5 of my closest friends not to mention our dog are heading out there in a 12′ boat. Should be a blast. I’ll write more on how it goes. I can’t wait to each some delicious fresh crab and salmon I caught the same day!

Our shelter for the weekend will be tents under tarps or the Cement WW1 Army Fort on the island if the weather is really bad…

You can see the WW1 army fort on the lower left corner of the island

Last year on the way to Goat

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