Navagear has been fascinated with electric propulsion, and with the Torqeedo motors in particular, for several years now.

So count us “very interested” in this event. IN FACT, let me go so far as to suggest that we would probably not turn down an invitation to crew or cover this event, were it offered.

Anyway, here’s the press release with the background and details:

Torqeedo is always looking to push the envelope in developing the most efficient and powerful electric outboard motors in the marine industry. That’s why they created the Torqeedo Catalina Solar/Electric Boat Challenge, proving that electric outboards are destination motors. It also honors Bob Nordskog, a man who took the challenge 30 years ago to travel the intimidating Pacific Ocean over 26.5 nautical miles from Long Beach Harbor to Catalina Island in the first electric boat ever built.

The first successful Torqeedo Catalina Challenge took place on October 24 in a 16′7" Hobie® Getaway Catamaran named the Kona Concept®, modified to accommodate batteries and a solar panel and powered by the Cruise 4.0R Torqeedo Electric Outboard Motor. Captain of Kona Concept and grandson of Bob Nordskog, Erik Robert Nordskog, and navigator Jim Czarnowski, director of engineering for Hobie Cat, were very proud to recreate the crossing. They completed it in just 6 hours and 41 minutes and with 35% battery power remaining.

So, why establish the Torqeedo Challenge? The purpose is to go beyond using electric propulsion only on green lakes, in marinas and on cocktail cruisers. It’s to demonstrate that electric propulsion can be developed into a destination motor in the mainstream boating industry. The challenge is intended to provide a means of recognition for and is open to individuals and manufacturers who demonstrate, in offshore conditions, improvements in both range and speed of recreational electric craft. Torqeedo also wants to encourage both atmospheric and noise pollution reduction.

There are four classes in which to compete: mono-hull, above and below 18′, as well as multi-hull, above and below 18′. Participants need to submit a proposal and document the voyage for consideration. Winners will be rewarded with a bronze medallion replica of the original Catalina Challenge Trophy. This year it was presented to Erik Nordskog and Jim Czarnowski by Larry Smith, founder and owner of Team Scarab, and Steve Trkla, US president of Torqeedo.

Erik’s grandfather, the late Bob Nordskog, first attempted this feat in 1980. His close friend, Larry Smith, bought the motor, controller and batteries from Bob to build a 14′ bay launch. As president of the American Power Boat Association Race Group, as well as founder and owner of Powerboat magazine, Bob Nordskog held many offshore endurance racing records that are still unchallenged to this day. He was an innovator and believed in solar technology and attempted the first ever solar electric boat run to Catalina Island.

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Captain Richard Rodriguez over at BitterEnd will be moving his boat Saturday, and it’s a good opportunity to test the capabilities of the new InstaMapper service. Read what he says about it:

InstaMapper is a free service that allows you to track a person or vehicle online in real time using a GPS-enabled cell phone.

Diligence (Sea Horse Marine)

On Saturday I’ll be moving Diligence from Bellingham to Friday Harbor. I have a new Blackberry 8900 will be be testing the InstaMapper product on. We plan on getting underway in the vicinity of 09:00 PDT and will be en route about five hours.

Feel free to follow me. Remember you’ll need to refresh the page.

People don’t always appreciate what I mean when I tell them the C-Dory has a flat bottom. Maybe this will help.

See, it’s actually flat, starting only about a third of the way aft from the bow. That’s why Two Lucky Fish planes so easily at 12 knots or so, but it’s also why she pounds so hard in a 2-foot chop.

Anyhoo, the fine folks at Seaview East Boatyard in Ballard have done a great job. The old antifouling bottom paint was applied four years ago, and the boat has been in saltwater for almost all of that time. It was definitely time for new paint.

I mentioned the trim tabs earlier, but take a look at the paint on the transom. Black = paint. White = gelcoat where the paint has ablated away completely. The pressure-washing certainly removed a bit more paint, but even so: This paint was done!

It’s tough to get good pictures of the bottom, because it’s mostly a dark surface in shadow. But this gives you an idea what it looked liked, after the pressure-washing. This is taken from beneath the bow, port-side, looking aft. The really nasty scrape and its twin on the starboard side are where the hull makes contact with the trailer bunks when retrieving on a ramp. I’m going to radius the bunks and add some slippery synthetic surface in hopes of mitigating this. (I’m open to suggestions about this, by the way.)

But beyond the scrapes, look at the rest; what a mess. No, it’s not nearly as bad as some boats you see tied up at marinas, but nevertheless, this is just…ugly.

But Not Anymore.

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She’s up on blocks at Seaview East Boatyard in Ballard. See, it’s time for new antifouling bottom paint. Four years is really longer than you can expect antifouling to last! She’s getting scrubbed and prepped, and will get a shiny new coat of Pettit Vivid.

And anybody who’s seen Two Lucky Fish in person recently will probably want to take this opportunity to remind me that the trim tabs look like an aquarium exhibit!

I’ve taken lots of pictures today, but luckily I FAILED to get any good “before” pictures of the trim tabs. You’ll have to be satisfied with this post-pressure-wash picture I took with my phone just now:

The folks at Seaview seem to have everything under control. They’re going to rough up these trim tabs, so the paint will stick, and add a little zinc slug to each one to minimize corrosion.

The weather’s great, and it should be done Wednesday.

No, I’m not here in Las Vegas for some sort of important navigation technology trade show/conference. I’m just here with my wife for a little birthday getaway, “sans kids”.

But just ’cause I’m stuck out here in the desert, that doesn’t mean I won’t find lots of nautical subject matter to share with my readers. For instance, Captain Richard Rodriguez over at BitterEnd will be happy to hear that I’ve been wearing my “Knotty” hat all over town…

And even though there isn’t any navigable water for hundreds of miles in every direction, there is still plenty to remind us of things nautical: Slot machines!

And finally, to ensure that this post addresses Navagear’s crucial “gear and gadgets” mandate, check this bit of product brand placement, at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Las Vegas. How much did Garmin pay to mount radomes on all these fishing boat/dining booths, eh?

I shared a couple of ice cream bars with my younger daughter last month, when we were staying overnight at Cornet Bay.

Whidbey Island Ice Cream Company ice cream bars, in fact. We had one creamy orange, and one peanut butter. Yummm!

It’s worth tracking one down if you happen to be in the area. The Cornet Bay Marina store has ‘em. That’s all I’m saying.

It isn’t often that Navagear gets an opportunity to get the jump on Captain Richard Rodriguez’s BitterEnd Blog, particularly when it comes to his own Vessel Assist activities.

But this time, he brought a boat right in where Two Lucky Fish is moored for the night, and we got pictures.

Steve Roberts is the original overgadgeted boating geek. I’ve written about him before. In that post, I said “Navagear wishes to express our heartfelt gratitude for Steve Roberts’ many contributions to the world of geeky transportation.”

Well, I finally met him in person, yesterday in Cornet Bay, with his friend Sky (climbing out of the boat). He rowed over especially to say hello, which was nice of him.

Here’s a not-particularly-good photo of his current project, Nomadness. You can read all about it at Nomadness.com.

This is as close as I want to get to having Two Lucky Fish appear astern Vessel Assist Remedy in a photograph on the internet. Know what I mean?

But see, I keep hearing Captain Richard Rodriguez’s words ringing in my ear. This morning, in Anacortes, while he enjoyed the breakfast Bagel Eggel I’d just prepared for him, he asked, again, if I were a Boat U.S. Vessel Assist member.

I was obliged to admit that I am not. It’s a great program, and I’m all for it, but I’ve got the optional towing rider on my vessel insurance, see. “How much will that cover?” Um, I’m not sure.

That’s when his Words, like some Evil Omen, pierced my soul to its very core…

“You Will Be Mine”

Here are some photographs I took last week, exploring the industrial waterways of Tacoma. All these images are available in their original, 1600 x 1200 size. Email me if you’d like any of them.

First, we watched Crowley tugs Tioga and Guide, with help from Weddell Foss, turn MOL Proficiency at the end of Blair Waterway.

By the way, those are Evergeen’s enormous cranes in the background.

Tioga’s work is done; Weddell Foss still has a line to the bow.

And Guide remains tied up astern.

Away they go…

Meanwhile, next door in the Hylebos Waterway, we made a fascinating discovery. It’s the formerly lovely Kalakala, looking quite a bit worse for wear.

By the way, that URL on the bridge deck, http://www.ebay.com/kalakala, doesn’t seem to work anymore. You’d think the people who maintain this retired ferryboat could keep their hyperlinks up to date!

Later, back in Foss Waterway, I spotted Crowley tugs Guide and Tioga, all moored and put away for the afternoon, having earned their keep for the day.