Hello From The Sundog Crew

S

Sundog

New member
Hard to believe I have been on this forum since about 2003 - lot's of great folks and great conversations. Anyway, it has been a little while since I said hi and that is mostly because we had triplets 15 months ago and we are just getting settled into that adventure. Today I pulled the Sundog into the driveway and started to Get her cleaned up and ready for the season, unfortunately she will be someone else's boat this season. With 5 children now we just can't make it work anymore and trust me we did our best even to the point of 3 johnny jumpers hanging in the cockpit this last summer.

So I am sadly going to be putting up my boat for sale later this week and sure hope she finds a good home and the new owners get as much joy as we have had over the last 8 years. We are not done boating though, in fact we bought a 36' Grand Banks - sort of a C-Dory on steroids and we will be boating her from Anacortes to Whittier this summer. I wrote a little story about the trip if you have time on your hands
http://sundogmedia.com/an-adventure-to-live/

Safe boating to all this season,

Joe from the Sundog Crew

[/img]
 
Joe,

That's an adventurous trip. I noticed that your jump off date, 5/16, is the day after the Friday Harbor C-Brat Get Together. Any chance you might stop by during the weekend and let us give you our best wishes for a great trip?
 
Joe,

Sounds like you have no end of adventures ahead, even if you weren't boating. WOW -- 7 and a dog on board a 22, exemplafiing the Alaskan attitude, "we can do it". The weekend you are at Roche is the same weekend that the C-Brats will be at Friday Harbor. If you want to sneak away and come where the fun is, we won't tell, and we'll sure find room for you.

Congratulations and prayers for a safe and pleasant trip.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

PLI_and_SB_CBGT_2_433.thumb.jpg
 
Thanks for the encouragement and I think I will sneak over to the activities. Right now I own both a C-Dory and Grand Banks - thought about keeping the C-Dory as my tender:)

I do have my C-Dory hat so I think I can blend in.

Have a great week all!

Joe
 
Go for it! We used the Johny jump ups for our kids 40 plus years ago!
Congratulations on the new boat--good age to start the kids--maybe keep the C dory for them--or you if you need respite!
 
Joe:
I had a 1978 GB 32 before I got the Tomcat. I loved that boat, but it did require a lot of maintenance. A few thoughts from my experience..I am sure you already have these items on your list.

Make sure your fuel tanks are clean before you start on your long trip! Your boat is probably on its second set of tanks. Even so, these old boats build up quite a layer of sludge at the bottom of the tank that will be stirred and picked up in rough waters. Just doing a cleaning flush through the fuel fill may not be sufficient. We had to cut inspection ports in the side of the tanks and in the baffles to get to all the compartments. If you do not already have it, consider a Racor twin-filter arrangement so you can switch to a clean filter underway. Also, practice bleeding the injectors. I put a dab of a different colored paint on the bleed screws for easy visibility. For some reason, the need to bleed always seems to arise in the middle of a busy fairway or while approaching a narrow bridge.

Also, these old GBs had a tendency to leak water down the fuel fill on to the top of the fuel tanks. Check the top of the tank for rust. Mine actually had pinholes from rusting. I gave the tops a good sanding and coated them with rubberized truck bed compound. Worked great!

Check the hoses and elbows on the water lift exhaust...the elbow will rust from within. Also check the cables going to the rudder quadrant.

If you are not already on the "Trawlers and trawlering" list server, consider joining- there is a wealth of information in the forums. Or you can just ask Dr. "Thataway" Bob- same thing!

These are really nice boats- well built and comfy. Enjoy your trip!
 
Thanks Alok,

Thanks on the tanks - they are 5 years old so I am hoping they are in good shape. Thanks for the tips though I will for sure review them.

Thanks for your feedback Alok!

Joe
 
Joe, hope to meet you in Friday Harbor, I have enjoyed your past posts and pictures a lot! Hope you will keep us well informed on your grand adventure. Remember, being a C-Brat is really a state of mind, not a state of boat ownership!
 
Joe,

Look forward to seeing the new boat this summer but will miss the Bubba hut, does that go with the old boat ? Perhaps the whole family can sleep on the water now.

Take care,

Jay, Jody, and Jacob
The Triple J
 
Joe-

What an adventue you have planned!

Congratulations on the new boat!

This photo should be one of those on the home page:
web-418x277.jpg

"Last summer, after the birth of our triplets, we did our best to make our 22′ C-Dory work for all 7 of us
~ with 3 johnny jumpers bouncing in the cockpit and bodies stacked on top of each other at night."
 
Just a quick hello from the "Sundog" crew now in Sitka AK.

Been about a month or more on the water working our way up from Anacortes with the family and it has been a great adventure.

Here is a blog about the trip www.sundogadventures.com

We will be here in Sitka for a week so if any of you c-brats have any spots you can suggest fishing near by for the kids that would be great. The family flies home on the 19th from here and then we are off to Whittier, Lord and Weather willing.

Cheers

Joe
 
Look forward to seeing you and the family again in Prince William Sound, what an adventure. Jacob wants to know if you’ve found any really cool buoys. We are so jealous; we can only hope that someday we can embark on a similar adventure. Hope your gulf crossing goes well.



Jay, Jody and Jacob
 
Read and enjoyed your blog of Adventure, describing working your way up the coast. Your descriptions of ports, crossings, anchorages and envolvement with others on the go where we too have been was especially interesting. You are giving your two eldest boys a gift beyond price and I think at least the eldest one just might realize it even now. Am looking forward to your continued reports as you enter the more dangerous part of the adventure through the Gulf. We found good weather hard to come by just in the coast section between Cape Ommaney and Cross Sound, let alone the Gulf. Sounds like you have got good sound advise alone the way to well prepare you for this next crossing and your boat doing well in high winds crossing the Dixon Entrance should give you added confidense.

Take Care,

Jay
 
Joe & family

I have been fallowing your adventure on your blog. You are an inspiration. Wishing you calm seas and sunny days. Know you are in our prayers.
Terry & Ann
 
Back
Top