Ketchikan, Home of the Four-Day Oil Change

We left our Dundas Island anchorage EARLY in the morning on Friday, June 8th, with a prediction of 10-15 SW winds and three-foot seas.  A great day to cross the Dixon Entrance, the second part of the Inside Passage where mariners are outside the protection of various islands.  Winds here are almost always on the beam; just what our paravanes were designed for. 


Now, I have spent hours crossing the Dixon Entrance on Greywolf... in my imagination.  I can see the chart in my mind. (My own version.  Not to be used for navigation.)  I can see the wind coming in from the Pacific.  I can see the shallow sea bed that adds to the probability of rough water here.  We will have waited for good weather. We will have launched the paravanes as soon as we cleared the island. Greywolf will be riding fine.  I have everything under control.




Dundas Island recedes.  We can see Alaska. (No Russia, yet.) We put Greywolf's poles out.  The sun is shining and we have a slight swell.  The perfect time to launch the “fish”, although they are not needed yet.  We continue north.   The fish are still in their brackets on the stern, enjoying the sunshine.  The swells are getting slightly larger.  I am getting slightly agitated. 


Would this be a good time to lunch the fish?


Not yet.  We’re riding fine.


Doug and I always had very different indicators telling us when we should reef the sails on our sailboat.  I wanted to do it as soon as the wind started to pick up and he wanted to actually sail.  On Greywolf, the paravanes slow us down by about a half a knot. It makes sense not to launch them before we have to.  But, again, our indicators for the right time were not in sync. 


I know we’re riding fine.  That’s not the point.  The point is that if we wait until we are not riding fine, it will be difficult and possibly dangerous and you always waited too long to shorten sail on the sailboat and I’ve been planning this crossing for weeks in my mind and I planned to launch those puppies as soon as we cleared the island and this is not going to end well.  None of this was communicated verbally, of course.  We’re married.  


I left the pilot house.  I did not stomp.  I sort of fumed my way down the stairs to find the paper chart for Ketchikan Harbor and otherwise occupy my mind.


Doug called down that we probably should launch the fish, which we did without incident.  And without mentioning the fact that Miss-If-She-Worries-Enough-She-Can-Control-The-World had gotten pissy and decided not to communicate.  Operating a boat takes more than simply knowing how the systems work and reading the chart.  We’re getting that part down.  ‘Can’t find the instruction manual on the relationship part, although we muddle along without it fairly well most of the time.

We arrived in Ketchikan early in the afternoon. One cruise ship was headed south in Revillagigedo Channel; another was arriving from the north to join the two already at the dock. 


Our slip assignment was across from Grocery Boy, Greywolf’s neighbor when she was for sale in Anacortes. She felt right at home. Clearing Customs was unorganized and tedious, but without incident.

View from the Laundromat in Ketchikan. Note SUNSHINE. 

When planning this trip last spring,  we tried to anticipate needs of the crew, the canine, and the boat.  The boat has four (3) diesel engines:  Mr. Lugger, her heavily used, but well-maintained 105 Hp main engine, Mr. Yanmar, her 28 Hp “get-home” engine, an 8 kWh generator, plus a diesel furnace.  Doug had laid in tank cars of oil (this is not a “green” vacation) and cartons of oil filters and fuel filters so we could adhere to the various maintenance schedules.  

That is Mr. Lugger in the foreground on the left.  His little brother, Mr. Yanmar, is all the way in the back on the right.

Ketchikan would be a good time and place for Mr. Lugger’s oil and filter change.  He has a nifty Reverso pump that pumps all his used oil into a receptacle provided by Mr. Service Man. Mr. Service Man decided to pump out the 5 gallons of 180 degree oil as soon as we tied up, since the oil needs to be hot when pumped out.  Good thinking on Mr. Service Man’s part.

We decided to let the rest of the oil change wait until Saturday, and headed down the road to the Burger Bitch for dinner.  The sign in front says Burger Queen; they used to wear shirts that said, “Burger Bitch didn’t sound right.” They have 2 scrungy tables outside, so we could Dine With Dog.  We also had our own, somewhat inebriated and very sociable, Ketchikan resident to chat with us while we dined on fish and chips. 


Saturday was Sunny!  In Ketchikan!!!  We planned to use this perfect day to do some serious boat washing, as well as complete the oil change.  And the fisherman moored next to us planned to use this perfect day to paint the deck of his boat.  Our water and his paint would not play well together.  We used the perfect day to stroll into town, stopping at all of the hardware and marine stores as well as Tongas Trading Company, on our way to Ketchikan’s wonderful bookstore.

Sunday was RAINY.  ALL-DAY-RAINY.   Allie and I went for a long walk. Wearing her new red raincoat, she looked very much the City Poodle.  Mr. Service Man put in most of Mr. Lugger’s new oil and dove into his his cache of filters to complete the maintenance chore.  (‘Just looked up cache to make sure I was using it correctly:  a collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place.  Yep.  That’s the right word.)   

All of Greywolf’s accessories come from Hatten Marine in Seattle.  They speak Lugger and know what each engine needs. However, the number on our oil filer box did not match the number on our computer list.   Manufacturers do change numbers occasionally.  We assumed that was the case here, but decided to verify by phone on Monday.  

Barb-Who-Know-All-Things-Lugger (and is a legend among Nordhav’n owners) was not available when Mr. Service Man called first thing Monday morning.   Another Hatten employee checked, and, not to worry, the number we had was correct.  Excellent.  Spin that puppy on, top off the oil, and we’ll be headed for Prince of Wales Island.  Or not.

The oil filter did not spin on.  Not even close.  Mr.  Service Man called Seattle again. Opps. The oil filter was going back to Hatten in the fall, along with his brothers. Mr. Service Man had a new list of brands and numbers.  He went out to talk to fishermen on the dock; all bought their filters at the NAPA store.  Greywolf  kinda’ sorta’ likes John Deer/Lugger accessories, but for this trip, he’ll be wearing NAPA and be happy to have them.

After the long walk to the NAPA store (another chance for Allie to wear her rain coat), Mr. Service Man completed our four-day oil change and Mr. Lugger was good for another 200 hours (1000-1400 miles).

We’d head for Prince of Wales Island in the morning.

This lovely bird house, sitting at the bottom a long stairway, caught my camera’s attention.

I looked up and saw a delightful collection.

And at the top.....

In Ketchikan, the saying is “Paint while the sun shines.”  No time for prep or primer.  Just PAINT!

Allie hadn’t seen Creek Street before.  The book under my arm is Walking Home by Lynn Schooler, the author of Blue Bear.  If you have any interest in Alaska, we recommend Blue Bear. 'Haven’t read Walking Home yet.