Here we are in the middle of the Mackinac melee 2016.  Been here a couple days with a couple left to go.

We arrived in the north land on Tuesday looking at a forecast that was going from so-so to nasty to "OMG the boat is going under!"

With that, we decided to move the boat from our storage marina in Cheboygan to Straits State Harbor in Mackinaw City.

Out of the Cheboygan river I went while Kathy shuttled the minivan to Mackinaw City,

Into a choppy Lake Huron for the 12 miles to Mackinaw City.

I stuffed the bow into a couple waves and rinsed off the deck of the boat, but the farther north I moved, the better the ride became...but not much.

Eventually, I found my way to Straits Harbor where we spent the night.

Thursday morning and storms are brewing to the SW.

The flag over the city marina indicates a bit of a "breeze".

Doesn't look like a good day to cross the straits to the island.

Oh...BTW the crappy midge flies are STILL an issue here and peppered the boat deck.

That was the incentive we needed to flee the city for the island.

There was a bit of a calm before the storm so we took advantage and scooted across the straits and were assigned slip #4 at Mackinac Island State Harbor.

It's a good location on the east shore directly opposite the Island House Hotel and a bit removed from the noise and commotion found at the slips on the west shore closer to downtown.

That would be a wrap on the activities of the day with the exception of a stroll through main street in the evening after the all day rain had cleared.

Island day #2 and Kathy's in full "island mode".

It's still a little cool and overcast but a perfect ??? time for a hike. Just figures, there are stairs involved.

and stairs, and stairs, and...

Finally...the east bluff appears.

With its row of well tended "cottages".

They have a nice view over the city.  I can even see my boat at the left edge of the frame.

700mm later over the roof of the Island House Hotel.

The hike continues and we find a new route to Arch Rock.  The Manitou Trail.  Sounds harmless enough.

It began as a stroll through the cedars.

Then became more of a challenge.

Roots, rocks, etc.  The paved road was 50 yards away, but NOOOO, that's the route for wimps.  We're going to make this a test of endurance and agility.

I will say, there were a few scenic spots along the path.

And Kathy, the stylish one on the trail, sporting her Vera Bradley accessories.

Wouldn't want to be in a condition to stagger along this trail.  This view is actually looking down about 90° straight over a ledge.

A few places in the trail were "shored" up with a log and a couple pieces of conduit.  That looked sturdy enough after a day of soaking downpours.

Soon we found our way to Arch Rock.

And the lookout platform there.

We took the stairs DOWN to the shoreline for the walk back to the marina.

On the way down, I heard one father tell his little girl, "we're almost there" while climbing the 2nd of at least a dozen flights of stairs.  LIAR!  She'll never believe him again.

Back at the boat, it was a few minutes to relax and recover.  Kathy picked up a needle and thread.

The weather had cleared by this time and the winds died.

What a difference a day makes.

Sun, calm and warm.  A day ago, we were wearing coats and still cold.

That's Michigan and especially the UP.

With the siesta in the books, we took a spin through some of the shops in town.

With the shopping urge satisfied, time for another "activity".

How about a ride around the island?  Thanks, but...well, OK if I must.

Eight miles on the odometer and time to enjoy the evening on the boat.

And so it goes.

Two more days here and the forecast is as good or better.

Blog Time!

It's been a busy week or so.  Since I finished the woodshop rehab, I figured I should get it a little dusty.  Mom needs a bookcase, so after shopping with her and seeing what was available at a furniture store, I thought I could do better.

And so I started in on the project.

It's basic case construction and will be a Shaker style design.  I cut the sides and routed dados for the structural shelves.

There's a couple adjustable shelves and I tried a system that didn't require so much measuring of the shelf pin holes.  I had a couple issues with that process but it worked ok overall.  Just match a line on the stock to a register line on a fence and drill.

That completed the side panel.

Some stiles are added to the panels.

Then time to make the fixed shelves.

Add the trim details to the shelves.

Now it's time for assembly.

I made a half dozen square braces to help keep the case square during the assembly.  They were a BIG asset.

So while the glue dries...

Let's go boating!

I had the boat put in the water last Tuesday and arrived to find it tied to the pier at Cheboygan Village Marina.

I hauled my gear to the boat and settled in for the evening.  I discovered that this stretch of the river is a local walleye hole and drifters and trollers are constantly passing an arms reach from the boat.  The later it gets, the more fishermen there are.

There weren't any boats behind me along the pier so I put out a line behind a planer board.  The river current takes the board out into the river.

I didn't have any luck and have a boat behind me now so I won't put a line out now.

After three days of elbow grease I've got everything shined up.

and ready to go.

I took a field trip to Mackinaw City this afternoon.  I needed something from Shepler's marine store and took the opportunity to get a burger at the Keyhole Bar.

I noticed Shepler's is using the new ferry, Miss Margy.  The construction of that boat was big news there a year ago.

I offered to rent a slip at the city marina for the month of June but only wanted to pay a daily rate based on seasonal pricing since I was using the slip as a seasonal boater would.  They denied my offer so I'm staying in Cheboygan while getting things in order.  Seems the pier I was to be on in Mackinaw City is all but empty.

Five out of 48 slips occupied.  Perhaps it would have been a better decision to at least counter my offer.  And they were asking about ways to increase revenue when we were there as seasonals a year ago.

I have a suggestion.

Back to the city probably tomorrow to get chores done.  Then the fun begins.

Next stop...

Mackinac Island.

Stay tuned.

So here we are...boating season 2016!!!  or is it?

I've spent several weeks, since returning north from Florida, expanding my workshop.  The addition of a surface planer, a drum sander, a new router table, a miter saw and a woodworking bench necessitated the need for more floor space.  I more than doubled the size so it's nice a roomy with ample room around the machinery.

This is the part that was added.

And a nice wood storage area with racks to get all the stock off the floor.

It was a big job with some new wiring and constructing some walls to contain the dust.  I also installed an air filtration system to get the dust out of the air when I'm working in there

That's all finished now so I'm chomping at the bit to get the Sea Ray wet.

I traveled to my winter storage facility, Cheboygan Village Marina, last week to put a shine on the hull.

The process is to apply a cleaner and wipe that off, then apply a paste wax.  After about six hours, I had nice shiny hull sides.

I polished the deck just before it went into storage so the top side should just need a good washing to get the storage dust off.

Service this winter included a hull inspection for structural soundness and the replacement of a leaky drain plug.  The drain plug issue made me wonder about the condition of the transom so that is why I had the hull inspected.  Fortunately, all is in excellent condition and the drain fitting has been repaired.

I also had a new bottom coating applied this year.

The paint goes on as a bronze color.  Once it's exposed to the water, it will turn black.

So, I'm all ready for launch.

Cheboygan Village Marina is an awesome facility.  I don't expect to be in the area at the end of the season so will store elsewhere next year.  It's bittersweet.  These guys are fantastic to work with and the facility is second to none.

So here I am, with the weather improving and number one son just rubs it in by going out on Saginaw Bay and finding a few fish of his own.

Those are the kind of perch that were common in the bay back in the 1960's.  Its been a while since I've seen perch like that.

Anyway, after checking the northern webcams, reality set in.

Those are midge flies on the camera lens.  Word from the north land is that the flies are nasty at the moment.  It's probably better the boat is still in storage.

That's a lot of the reason for moving the boat back south this fall.  In the far north, it doesn't warm up until sometime in May, then once it does, the midge flies swarm for another few weeks.  When its all said and done, the boating season is four to six weeks shorter than the central lake area.  Of course the absence of any fish outside of lake trout also is chasing me away.

So there you have it.  Ready to go, just need conditions to improve a little.  Target is to launch in about two weeks.

Well, well...

The second week of March already and time for a brief update.

Since the last post, we did another lap of Cuba in the Caribbean on Allure of the Seas.

It's a ship the size of a small village and the population to match.  Some don't like the big ship but after two cruises on this class of ship, it's hard not to like all the activities that are offered on a ship of that size.

This was a family cruise with 8 of us in adjacent balcony cabins.

The kids were pretty active all week.  I spent the week in a more relaxed mode.

The ladies found the water in Haiti to be just a tad refreshing.

It was really quite warm, but Kathy was more in tune to the water temperature in the hot tub.

Wimp.

It was a quick week and enjoyed by all.

Only about 320 days to the cruise.

So the migration back north is on the horizon.  There's only a few weeks left to enjoy the Sunshine State then back to the Winter Water Wonderland and get the boat ready for another season of Great Lakes play.

Can't wait for that fun to begin.