Lake Pend Oreille Anchorages

Over the years, I have anchored in many nice places all along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille.  Many people think that the water is too deep... but, there are lots of places to set the hook - - whether for lunch or for overnight.  Here are a couple photos of some of the nice places.

This is Whiskey Rock - about 8 miles north of Bayview on the East side of the lake.  There are free public docks as well as mooring "balls".  AND, the bottom is excellent for anchoring too.  Just be aware that storms can come up in the night from the north and the northwest.  The anchorage is completely unprotected in this case.

Here is the beautiful Clark Fork River estuary.  There is excellent shallow holding ground all around this scenic place.  This is a good anchorage with many favorable places to tuck in to to avoid the weather.  There is also a nice free public dock.

This is the anchorage along the south shore of Ellisport Bay - home of Kramers Marina and Pend Oreille Shores condos and the Floating Restaurant.  Hope is at the west end of Ellisport Bay on the north shore.  I usually anchor along this south shore in ~20 feet of water.  Good holding... but lots of seaweed comes up with the anchor in August.  You only need to be concerned about weather from the west (directly from Sandpoint).

Here is Bottle Bay.  Kathy and I have anchored at the south end of the bay near a slough.  I generally anchor in about 10 feet of water as this anchorage is really protected from all but a direct north storm.  The Bottle Bay Marina is about a quarter mile away along the west shore and they usually have overnight moorage.

At the south end of Lake Pend Oreille is ButtonHook Cove.  This is a true "hurricane hole" that is completely protected from all sides.  When anchoring, I usually try to tuck in close to the west shore in about 15 feet of water.  And, there are three nice public docks in ButtonHook too.
There are lots of other places to anchor too around the lake.  Some of the other places (check out your chart # 18554) where Kathy and I have anchored are:
Lakeview
Maiden Rock
Garfield Bay
Camp Bay
Fisherman's Island
near the railroad bridge at Sandpoint; and also at the south end of the railroad bridge
and the Pack River estuary...

Let me know if you have any questions.

509 993 3214
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

Brief Winter Maintenance

Hi all,

This winter – so far – has been pretty snowy.  I’ve been out to Snickerdoodle a few times already to remove the snow that has accumulated during each winter storm that has blown through.

Snow – even though it looks and feels light and fluffy when it falls – is actually pretty heavy.  My brother Bob sent me the following photo of a friend’s 30-foot boat after several inches of snow had been removed.  Notice the ice-balls that are frozen to where the waterline was and how much the boat has risen out of the water after the snow was removed.

The weather forecast for the next seven days indicates a warm-up with temperatures near 40F and the possibility of rain.  Remember that 40-degree temp is the high.  It’ll take all day to get to that high and shortly thereafter, the sun goes down and so does the temp.  Those temps will melt a little of the snow off your boat… but not much.  The rain though will add a lot of weight as it is collected in the snow and subsequently freezes as night-time temps fall below freezing.

So, I’d say it would be a great time (if you haven’t already) to head out to your boat and sweep her off before the rain comes.  That way the rain will flow off instead of freezing in the accumulated snow.  While you are at your boat, be sure to check inside too.  Water has a wonderful tendency to seep into any open container it can find – including the unsuspecting boat.  And, there is all kinds of problems that water inside your boat over the winter can cause. 

See you at the lake…..

Old, Inefficient Sails

Take a close look at the sails on boats that are sailing close to you... and, to your own sails.  Are the sails smooth and round?  Or, are there creases and stretch marks?  Are the sails way too round?  Here are a few photos of old and inefficient sails that I've snapped over the years.

This main sail has many creases and folds.  It cannot move the boat effectively.

This old genoa jib has been stretched out badly at its clew corner.

This mainsail has been stretched out way too much along the leech edge.  Probably from too much sheet tension in strong breezes.

This mainsail is blown out.  Notice how the forward edge of the battens creates an edge along the line between the battens?

This mainsail is old and soft.  It won't drive the boat well at all.

Here's another well stretched mainsail.

Yes, these sails will move the boat... but not very well.  And, they will probably heel the boat over much more in the puffs than a newer sail would.

These sails are nice and smooth and drive the boat along nicely - even in light breezes.

Full Hunter's Moon

I missed the Full Hunter's Moon on October 16 due to the cloudy/rainy weather.  On the next evening (October 17) there was a break in the clouds around 10:30 which revealed a beautiful nearly full moon.  I shot a few images that turned out pretty well..... I think......
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

Forestay Rigging Problems

Forestay Rigging

The forestay on our boats is a very important part of the standing rigging.  In addition to giving a structure for the jib sail’s luff to be secured for better sail shape, the forestay also serves the vital function of keeping the mast from tipping over backward.  Some would call a mast tipping over backward a catastrophic mast failure.  Generally though, the mast doesn’t fail on its own… some part of the standing rig fails – and that allows the mast to fail.  What follows are a few photos that I snapped of forestay connections at the boat end of the forestay.  Notice that some folks are using rusty chains and bolts/nuts, undersized shackles (the shackle pin is much smaller than the hole in the stem fitting), bolts/nuts instead of clevis pins and cotter pins/rings; and so on.  Any of these “lash ups” could certainly lead to the mast failing…  

Of course, rust is a “dead give-away”… If you see rust, the link is weakened and will fail when you most need the link to remain sound.  So, inspect your standing rig at least annually to make sure that everything is up to “spec”……

Rigging Problems

In the September issue of the Hi Sailor newsletter, I discuss an experience I had this summer on a friend's boat where a shroud turnbuckle bolt broke while we were sailing.  That issue of Hi Sailor will be sent out in a week.  In the meantime, I noticed several boats at my marina that had bent turnbuckle bolts which are certainly weaker than designed... and can surely break at the least opportune time.  Here are a few photos.

 The bent lower bolt in these turnbuckles were probably damaged while the owner (or a previous owner) was raising the mast after trailering the boat somewhere.  The toggle that joins the turnbuckle bolt and the chain-plate fitting probably got kinked and would not let the turnbuckle raise up into its normal sailing position.  These bent turnbuckle bolts are not necessarily noticeable - especially with novice sailors.  But, the bent turnbuckle bolts are dangerous and can lead to catastrophic mast failure.
Here are a few close-ups.

So, if you see that any of your turnbuckle bolts are bent like these, replace them at once.  You do not have to replace the whole turnbuckle... many outfitters sell just the bolts themselves.  Make sure that you get the correct thread (right-handed or left-handed) though.  Trying to screw a left-handed bolt into a right-handed barrel won't work.

Barnacle Bill Holcomb
509 993 9321
BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com