Author Archives: BakesConsulting
Projects of the Pandemic
2020…Anyone want a do-over? Crazy to say the least. My motto for 2020 is “If you can’t go far, go often.” One unknown outcome of the pandemic on Roxia has been the number of projects I completed that I didn’t even know I needed to start. This is a brief recap of “PoP” with pictures below:
- Pull shaft and remove Hydraulic APU
- New Computer for FarSounder and Backup Navigation
- Replace wiper switches with electronic wiper control
- New hose for gasoline storage tank
- Replace blackwater hose and vent line
- Replace bungee at all freeing ports
- Install new Bluesea M2 gauge on Electric panel
- Remove non-functioning DryZone system
- Upgrade engine room ventilation system
- Install air compressor (horn, air tools and Hookah diving)
- Build new windlass handle
- Build aft enclosure for cockpit
- Visit the Mothership for Nordhavn swag!
- Build a rack to store small glassware
Work in progress:
- Replace hydraulic gauges with plug/test ports
- Remove paint from cap rails
- Service watermaker
- New Backup domestic water pump
All four screens working Coastal Explorer FarSounder Compressor Installed Hose Reel in Laz for Hookah Finally a gauge designed right! Panel with new M2 gauge Out with the old bungee. Dyneema wrapped bungee Hog ring pliers make it easy Add shrink tube to cover connection Shrink it down Freeing ports tight again Tight fit for a good view Replaced sunshade for PNW Enclosure Its like adding another room Center sections open A great addition for cold weather cruising Broke the aluminum windlass bar twice. Made the new one from stainless steel. A fine T-Shirt Represent! New hose and swivel for gasoline supply Test Ports and Gauge Adapters Electronic wiper control Racks for small glasses
An Exciting day at Haul-Out
I think it was IBM who used to say you never have a loyal customer until you solve a problem. They also said you shouldn’t hire a salesman under 6′ tall…
In the case of the first remark I was a loyal customer of Port of Everett and now I can’t imagine going anywhere else. Recently, we hauled out Roxia for some routine work. POE has a 75 MT lift and we are right at the limit. I have been hauling out at POE for about 8 years and all the employees are great. They have hauled multiple N62’s so I know they have the experience.
As usual the slings were ready when I arrived and I slipped in with no problem. They waited while I shut things down and I stepped off. On the way to the pressure wash area (away from the water with containment) one of the tire stems broke and started to leak air. These are 300psi airplane tires that I think they run around 140-150psi. With 150,000 pounds in the slings the action started pretty darn fast. One call on the radio and 10 people came in trucks with blocks, a spare tire, a BIG jack and breaker bar. Did you know the lug nuts are torqued to 300 foot pounds. Think about that, with a two foot breaker bar I still could get enough force from my 140 pounds of cinnamon rolls to torque the lugs. Fortunately the mechanic had a 4′ torque wrench. The tire was brought in with a forklift and four guys rolled it into place. All’s well that ends well.
Anyway PORT OF EVERETT You ROCK!!!



The New and Improved Cabinet
A previous caretaker of Roxia removed the original entertainment cabinet and replaced it with one to accommodate their electronics. While it was a nice cabinet it did not match the original woodwork and was really just too big. Here is what it looked like.

Here is the new and improved entertainment cabinet.

That’s all you need to know unless you want to see how I built it. Ok, still reading? Here are the pictures of what I did to make it look better than before. I will note that the Plexiglas in the door is made from one of the swing doors in the previous cabinet. Also, I cut two of the shelves to make the new shelves and the top to make the back of the new cabinet. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
The hole created by removing the old cabinet. 1″ radius corners are on Roxia. Milling raw stock. Corner piece profile. First test fit before cutting out face to match grain. Glue up after cutting out face. New door with previous Plexiglas. Simple box joint for drawer. Lots of glue up surface for strength. Mock up of matched grain drawer front. Teak runners for drawer matches existing style. These little corner details were a pain. Small piece that takes a lot of time. I made this top and bottom detail to finish the edges. Adding the edge detail before adding the fiddle. Drawer stop in back and runner to add some resistance for sliding. Edge detail installed. Edge with corner pieces same as bottom detail. First pass to match the fiddle on Roxia. Completed fiddle. More corner pieces for the fiddle that were a pain to make. Rough cut before matching inside and outside curves. All the build coats of varnish are gloss before final rubbed effect finish. Five coats gloss plus two coats of Rubbed Effect. I always worry when I peal the tape. Finished Corner. Grain of cabinet, door and drawer match. Inside only has five coats total. I wanted a drawer for cables. Close-up of top. Inside with equipment. Cabinet as of April 2020
And there you have it. If you made it this far you probably have nothing better to do. This is during the great quarantine of 2020. Stay safe!
A Few Engine Room Projects
Remove Hydraulic Drive
The first project was to remove the backup to the backup. Roxia has a fully separate wing engine in the event of a main engine failure. We also have/had a hydraulic “auxiliary propulsion unit” APU which is a hydraulically powered motor mounted to the main driveshaft driven from the 20kW Northern Lights generator. My plan is to make room for a second 6-8kW generator for low load situations especially in temperate climate like the PNW. The last piece to come out will be the drive coupling. I need to remove the main shaft coupler in order to remove it so I’m waiting until I haul-out to make it easier. Greg Harmon was a big help with this project. All this equipment is for sale…
Exhaust Insulation
The next project was new insulation for the main engine exhaust and muffler. The old cladding was deteriorating and pieces of the material were making their way into the bilge. Scott Conahan from National Marine Exhaust has built exhaust and insulation for me in the past so he was the man for this project also.
Build Aquarium…
The last project was just for fun. I figure I spend a lot of time in the Engine Room so why not make it remind me of a place I want to be. Since it is usually warm I thought of the tropics…or is it a window?
Sometimes Just Owning a Nordhavn is Cool

Roxia Comms Suite

Nice Ride. Just add three zeros to Nordhavn price.
Because on this particular day Capt. S happened to be the senior officer on the base we were treated to some amazing information. We met the the on duty team CO, XO and COB as well as some very talented men serving our country. After touring every part of the ship except ones requiring a higher clearance than we got, I was floating around in a cocoon of bliss. I have a renewed respect for the training and sacrifice these young people have chosen.
And to think all of this happened because I bought a Nordhavn and was hanging out at the dock.

The Crew in front of memorial.
Ps. He did say if the weather is bad they just drop down another 100 feet and say “That hurricane wasn’t so bad.”
Roxia Refit Starts Early

Underneath this floor plate
When a water pump for a Wesmar APU300 was added the hydraulic hose supplying oil to the stern thruster was bent when the floorboard was screwed down. Two things could have prevented the issue: First the floorboard could have been cut out an additional inch to keep it from touching the hose. Or Two, chafe protection could have been added to sacrificially protect the hose from wear. When Roxia was built the floorboard was not screwed down and it looks like it was pushed tighter to make more room on the other side. For the repair I took out the pump, cut the board and added chafe protection.
As long as everything was apart I cleaned things up and removed the Denso tape from most of the fittings. I left it on some of the steel connectors.

Before and After
Three Months in Alaska
It is two years this week since we bought Roxia in Mackay Australia. The last three months have been the final leg of the journey to return to our home base of Washington State. The major projects will begin but first let’s recap the final stage.
This stage was the stage of the visitor. For three months we had guests on board nearly every day. Who was the best guest? That question will never be answered unless we are talking to you then of course you were our favorite. Here is a glimpse of our trip: All the great photos are credited to Emmy Baker.

The Adventure Continues

Eating on the boat is more relaxing. Mac enjoyed his three month water home.

Boat watching is a favorite past time. Otters are nice until they decide to poop on your lines.

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View up Princess Louisa Inlet

Malibu YoungLife Camp

JohnO and Melissa

The fleet and hammock at sunset

Dinner in Gorge Harbor

My favorite sign. The good life.

Mac loves the trip. R2AK father and son contestants.

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Locals at the Prince Rupert Coffee Shop. With Deb and Terry.

Ketchikan and Petersburg

Nina makes it to Petersburg

Hot pools next to cold river in Warm Springs.

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Smoke from the summer fires in Glacier Bay

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Laverne “The Bear Man”

Sea Lion “haul out”. Fun with Bob and Marsha.

The perfect anchor track. Tracy Arm with Mark and Cindy.

Humpback whales “bubble net feeding” in Frederick Sound

Anan bear preserve

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Our bear protector. Who needs a cleat?

Meyers Chuck town of 20. Meyers Chuck sawmill.

Purse Seiner near Ketchikan. Cruise ships come and go every day.

We like to anchor unless someone loses a crab pot.

This bear should not be in Echo Bay! New Speed Record!

The cabin at Octopus Islands Marine Park.

The day after the cabin we crossed paths with Red Rover and exchanged photos.

Time to say goodbye from Verney Falls.
Roxia Hacked on Marine Traffic
As we finished our provisioning for Alaska (now underway) I started checking up on friends via Marine Traffic. This is a great app to follow people and their boats. I looked at vessels I track and there was one I didn’t recognize. The James Stirling. It is a 36m by 8m Inland Passenger Ship. I didn’t remember adding that so I clicked on the vessel. To my surprise it was Roxia! Wait, What!? There were four pictures of Roxia and three pictures of a large steel passenger ship. It had my MMSI and Call Sign. Looking in more detail it said the name was reported by AIS as Roxia and the vessel type was Recreational Craft. I was not able to change it or remove the pictures.
I have spent the last two weeks trying to correct the information with Marine Traffic. It is partially fixed. You can now search “Roxia” or “James Stirling” and get to us. We still show as an Inland Passenger vessel so our icon is blue instead of purple/pink. If you are using real AIS via VHF and are nearby we show up correctly.
How weird is all of this? Should I expect more room or higher maintenance with my new vessel?

HACKED
Roxia has a Dog Run
There are many places when cruising where it is difficult to take the dogs ashore. Our spoiled dogs need a place that is “just so” to do their business. We have tried the small potty patch and it worked for a short time with our 9# dog but the 80# dog just wasn’t doing it. I decided to try again.

The cruising pups.
This time I bought a 4′ by 14′ foot section of turf from Costco. I cut it in half and laid it out on the swim platform. If we left it out without washing it off I can only image the smell of stale dog pee. I NEED a raw water wash down for the pad. I purchased a Marco wash down pump package. I have used the Marco pumps for years and really like these gear drive variable pumps. They make transfer pumps, domestic water pumps and this one came as a kit with hose and spray nozzle.I had a spare shutoff valve in my sea chest so the only difficulty was running the hose through the lazerette into the bustle. I was fortunate enough that Roxia was prewired for a cord retrieval. On the panel was an extra breaker labeled for the cord so I knew it must be in the bustle because that’s where I have seen cords on the N62. Success! 24 volts and appropriately sized wire. How lucky was that. I used my Weld Mount kit to epoxy four 8-32 studs inside the bustle. This kit is great to have so you never have to drill holes. I have 8-32, 10-32 and -20 studs plus other tie downs for various wire ties and straps.

Epoxy studs are permanent.
The last item was to install a bulkhead fitting for the water hose attachment. Somewhere in my parts supply I found a flush fitting that I have had for 10 years. After install I found a small leak so I can’t leave the pump powered up. The pressure switch makes the pump cycle a bit. It will work for now but I think I will replace with a quarter turn valve.

Flush mount hose attachment.

Completed installation in the bustle.
Both dogs used the pad while we were anchored and I just washed everything down and leave the turf rolled up when not needed.

Drying after hosing off the turf and deck.

Relaxing after install day.
The Great Torqeedo Challenge
Because of a generous loan from Kevin and Alison Jeffries I was able to test the Torqeedo 1003 electric outboard motor. I have an inexpensive 7.5′ roll up inflatable boat that I used as a test boat. What I found was a little surprising to me.
I did not expect “Mr. T” to have as much power as it did. I ran it fast and slow for about 30 minutes and put it through it’s paces. I docked it and approached the boat and swim platform to simulate being on the hook.
The Pros: Powerful, quiet and simple are the selling points but you never know. It is definitely true. The motor is easy to put on the transom of the dinghy because it is so light with the battery off. You can easily hold it in place with one hand and tighten the clamps with the other. It looks like the handles can be lined up and locked like most small outboards. The battery slips easily in place and locks with a special pin. I think if I was leaving the boat on shore I might run a bicycle cable through the battery handle and lock it to the boat as a precaution. The motor tilts easily like a normal outboard and locks in place so you can drag the boat up the beach. I didn’t see the lock down on the other side until after the first time I tested reverse. It was just like when I was a little kid again and the prop popped up out of the water. It was a little embarrassing with the Dockmaster watching. Surprisingly I was able to get the little 7.5′ boat on plane when I leaned forward in the boat. That was a shock.
The Cons: Care must be taken when connecting the cables not to cross thread the plastic fittings. The tiller and throttle were very stiff. If this wasn’t a borrowed motor I probably would have tried a few modifications to make these easier. The throttle was similar to the early electric shift controls on boats with a slight delay. Initially I had a tendency to click the throttle out of the detent and keep turning until the motor started going. By the time the prop was engaged it jumped forward (or reverse). After a few near water landings I learned to turn and wait. It starts out so slow that you have better maneuverability than a gas motor when placed in gear. Same thing for the stiffness of turning the motor. It is so tight when you want to make small adjustments the stiffness makes you over correct. There is a collar that looks like it could be adjusted. The last con is interesting that Torqeedo didn’t think of it. The tiller arm easily lifts up and down like most outboards but if you lift it all the way up it comes out. There is no stop that I found to have it up but not held in place. It’s minor but I wanted to lift it up out of the way and have it secure. I worried that I would lift the tiller and have it hang by the two cables.
Final thoughts: All in all I loved it. Mr. T could easily power a larger tender. The boat I have has a flat bottom and would have benefited from a keel. Even the inflatable type keel in some small boats would have helped. I used 8% of the battery during 30 minutes I was running it. The charger is the size of a computer adapter rated at 2.0 amps. It took an hour or so to top off. The charger draws so little it can recharge the unit from our house batteries and inverter overnight. With a little throttle modification kids (or grandkids!) can run the dinghy for a long period of time. Maybe all day. The next test would be to run it a lot and row home if necessary.
A BIG THANK YOU to Kevin and Alison!

Running on the wild side.