If you have a project you’re working on that requires fabric, have a look at the Harts Fabric website. We dropped in to their store in Santa Cruz, California, and were impressed by the plaid, cotton twills, the ripstop nylon, and the selection of duck canvas on hand.
They were very helpful and have a large selection of well-priced off cuts. This is a great resource for outdoor fabrics. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re up on Vancouver Island on the west coast of British Columbia. Monday, after months of planning, we left the Bay Area, our truck loaded with supplies for our months-long sailing trip, en route to meet a boat we’d never seen, except for its online profile.
After several trips up north and still no boat, we found an an Aloha 32, a well-regarded, Mark Ellis-designed, cruising boat named Carmana, on Vancouver Island. In mid-May we decided to make an offer.
Shortly thereafter we hired a surveyor to assess the boat. We waited a bit anxiously for the day of the survey. When that day came, however, the surveyor pronounced her a well-found little ship. All systems were go.
The Saturday before we left we had a little grilled pizza bon voyage party with friends. When I dropped off ice for the party, though, and tried to repark the truck… nothing. The starter, that had been acting up, had decided to pack it in. We were meant to leave in two days and it was Memorial Day weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve been looking for a boat for our Pacific Northwest trip and spotted this one for ourselves. We put in an offer on it last week. Traveling up to the Pacific NW four times since last fall, looking for a boat to call our own was getting expensive. We saw this boat online and made an offer. We haven’t even seen it in person.
It’s an Aloha 32, a Mark Ellis design that’s similar to the Niagara 35, a capable boat that was, alas, out of our budget. Both are well-built, spacious, and do away with the ubiquitous v-berth to make room for more galley and salon space. (The berths in these boats are aft.) From what we hear, the boat does have some delamination issues in the deck. Whether they are major or minor issues, the survey will reveal.
We’re leaving to head up north in about a week, boat or no boat. I hope this one passes it’s survey. If not, at least we’ll be up there to continue our search. Good luck, Carmana!
If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area and have an interested in seeing huge, circular blades slicing through big redwood logs, head up to historic Sturgeon’s Mill this weekend, west of Sebastopol for their open house. They run the mill four times per summer. This is their first session of the year.
Here’s a post I wrote about it a couple of years ago, including some video of the mill in action.
There’s something about these old Wagoneers. They grow on you. This was America’s first luxury SUV: rugged, wood-paneled, beautiful. This 1988 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is powered by a 360 c.i. (5.9-liter) V8 and has a low 140 hp but a respectable 273 lb-ft of torque, and an automatic transmission. It has traveled just over 100,000 miles, although the seller states that engine was replaced at 66,000 miles. He also states that the truck has been restored. He lists a number of replaced parts but doesn’t state whether this was a frame-off restoration or not.
According to Wikipedia the 1987–1991 (the last year of production) models are considered the “best of the breed,” as these include upgrades such as better paint and wheels. The 1989-and-later trucks had further fit, finish, and mechanical improvements. One such improvement was a rear wiper assembly which, unfortunately, this one lacks.
The color combination on this one is fantastic though: Spinnaker Blue and wood paneling over a beige leather-and-fabric interior. Check out how thick the carpets are. Have a look at the amazing plaid ceiling.
This Wagoneer is available on ebay and located in Everett, Washington. The bidding currently stands at $7,100 with an unmet reserve. The Buy-It-Now price is $44k. The auction closes in about four days.
If you’d like to do additional research, check out Wagoneer World, a Texas Wagonner dealer, GrandWagoneer.com, a restoration shop with hundreds of photos on their site, and, of course, Wikipedia.
More photos of this truck below.
Update 5/21/2013: The truck was bid up to $10,100 on ebay but failed to meet reserve.
