Replies

1. 
   RalphBarker | Feb 21, 2009 01:21am | #1

   "I've not been to Port Townsend before . . . "

   Could you get lost and end up in Rio Rancho, NM, instead? ;-)

   Working from what's left of my memories of drafting classes in HS in the '50s, I can't seem to get my brain wrapped around the SketchUp interface.

1. 
   daverichards | Feb 21, 2009 01:30am | #2

   Ralph, I suppose getting lost might happen but I'd get suspicious if I was seeing cactus and sand. :-)

   I would be willing to bet we could get your brain wrapped around SketchUp if we worked on it together.

1. 
   RalphBarker | Feb 21, 2009 02:57am | #3

   You'd likely get particularly suspicious when our local bird, the Roadrunnerasaurus Rex, stepped over your car. ;-)I've been trying to use the free version. Is the paid version more flexible, and perhaps more intuitive?

1. 
   daverichards | Feb 21, 2009 03:16am | #4

   That would indeed make me think I wasn't in Washington. ;)

   No, the pro version operates in the same way as far as drawing goes. I imagine, though, if we were to talk for a little while on the phone, I could probably get you started.

   Dave

1. 
   RalphBarker | Feb 21, 2009 03:40am | #5

   Thanks, Dave. When I get some time, I'll jump back into the program to refresh the memory cells and send you an e-mail.

2. 
   daverichards | Feb 21, 2009 03:46am | #6

   Sounds good. We'll get you straightened out.

   Dave

2. 
   forestgirl | Feb 21, 2009 07:40am | #7

   Port Townsend is a very nice town, I love to visit there.  Lots of casual places to eat, and at least one pretty fancy one, a few antique stores, jewelry for those who like bling.  Edensaw Lumber has a big warehouse and showroom.  There's an air museum just outside of town where the little airport is, this is a must-see as it grew from an all-volunteer group that has put together an amazing collection of planes, and they are very active with local youth.  Just finished their new building.

   And there's the Chimicum Cafe and the Spruce Goose Cafe for good breakfasts and such.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   daverichards | May 13, 2009 04:01am | #9

   Hey Forestgirl,

   I just got word that my SketchUp classes in Port towsend are beginning to fill. I know you expressed interest in taking one of them. It would be great if you could. If you are still interested it might not hurt to check out the registration info here.

   If anyone else is interested I'd love to have you come. It would be fun to meet some folks from Knots.

    

   Evidently the easiest way to register is to call the phone number in my previous post. this will take you directly to the school's registrar.

   Regards,

   Dave

   Edited 5/12/2009 9:49 pm ET by DaveRichards

1. 
   forestgirl | May 13, 2009 09:05am | #10

   Hi, Dave.  Wow, wish I could take the class, but it's beyond my budget this summer.  If you have time for lunch or dinner during your trip here, maybe we can get a small group together.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   FrankDrackman | May 14, 2009 12:07am | #11

   Let's hope that the bridge is back up by summer!

1. 
   forestgirl | May 14, 2009 01:14am | #12

   It's schedule to be closed for 5 more weeks, I think, but I have inside info indicating they could well cut at least a week off of that.  The company doing the work has a good track record of finishing early. 

   I had wanted to spend my birthday cruising Port Townsend and visiting a friend in Chimacum, but that'll be put off a little........forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   FrankDrackman | May 14, 2009 01:27am | #13

   I feel for the people trying to count on the water ferrys.  It seems that every few days they are out due to weather.

3. 
   forestgirl | May 14, 2009 02:19am | #14

   "It seems that every few days they are out due to weather."  Hmmmmmmm, not sure which ferries you're referring to.  Ours are rarely out due to weather -- speaking of the ones that connect Seattle with Bainbridge Island (my home) and Bremerton.  These commuter boats are huge and stable.  The smaller runs with smaller boats do sometimes have to cancel, when there are extreme winds or the lowest of low tide.

   Here's one of the boats I ride to and fro.....View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   
4. 
   FrankDrackman | May 14, 2009 02:36am | #15

   Not those ferries.  They have smaller "people only" water shuttles setup during the construction on the bridges to ferry commuters between Lofall and South Point.

    

   http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009176128_apwaspringstormhoodcanal.html

5. 
   forestgirl | May 14, 2009 03:51am | #16

   Oh, those temporary boats.  I haven't paid attention to what's happening with them.  That storm that came through the other day was very unusual for a May storm, much more like a November or later storm.  Today sucks too, LOL!  Cold and rainy.  Worst spring we've had for awhile, methinks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

6. 
   forestgirl | May 15, 2009 06:46am | #17

   Frank, someone over at WWA just posted some pics of the (much older, smaller) Mukilteo Ferry during a big storm last fall.  Click here to see -- I'm glad I wasn't on that boat!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

7. 
   FrankDrackman | May 15, 2009 07:15am | #18

   That must have been a wide trip!

   I ride that run a lot.  I have friends that live just outside Clinton but never in a storm.  It usually is calm.

8. 
   daverichards | May 15, 2009 01:34pm | #19

   That looks like a fun ride. Better than a roller coaster. :-D

9. 
   saschafer | May 15, 2009 04:25pm | #20

   You people just don't know what rough seas are like. I was out off Monterey Bay on a 60' party boat in 20' seas; the captain decided to cut the trip short rather than lose anyone overboard. And then there was that January trip out of Virginia Beach: The seas weren't too bad (6-8' or so), but it was so cold that by the time we reached the target birding area about 100 miles offshore, the fore 1/3 of the boat was covered in a layer of ice 4-6" thick from all of the spray.

   -Steve

    

10. 
    davcefai | May 17, 2009 08:41am | #21

    Is it legal to run a ferry like that with the back OPEN? It looks like a disaster waiting to happen.One large wave.....

11. 
    forestgirl | May 23, 2009 07:52am | #22

    The "back" and "front" don't close.  That's the way they are designed, heaven only knows the complications of trying to put a door on something that big.

     forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

12. 
    davcefai | May 23, 2009 08:44am | #23

    Al the Ro-Ro ferries I've seen have doors, front and back, which are hinged at the bottom. So when the ferry docks the doors are lowered and become the ramp over which you drive the car out of the car deck.Maybe we have different rules here.

13. 
    forestgirl | May 23, 2009 06:43pm | #24

    I'm sure there's a method to the madness of not having doors, will have to look around on the 'net and see what I can find.  We don't often have storms that create those kind of wash over the car-deck.  The big ferries (as on our run) just shrug it off.  On the smaller runs, they'll cancel until Mother Nature settles down.

    Looking for pics of the ferries to Malta....forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

14. 
    davcefai | May 23, 2009 09:53pm | #25

    Malta-Gozo ferries: (a 20 minute trip)http://www.gozochannel.com/pics/fleetgallery.swfMalta-Sicily ferries: (90 minutes in calm seas, 180 minutes+ in a storm)http://www.virtuferries.com//pages/A/Contact.aspx

15. 
    forestgirl | May 24, 2009 06:42am | #26

    Couldn't get the Malta-Gozo page to come up, but looked at the Maria-Dolores.  What a pretty boat!  Very classy looking.  Much smaller than the Cathlamet that was in the pictures I linked to earlier [100 feet shorter, carries half as many cars and half as many passengers.  Goes more than twice as fast as our Cathlamet though!]  The two are very different designs.  Wish there was someone marine-savvy around to give us some insight.

    The Cathlamet is one of the smaller boats, and about 28 years old.  Carries 1200 passengers and 124 vehicles and 26 big trucks, max).  The biggest ferries in the Washington fleet are the Jumbo Mark II's (my photo above, Bainbridge Island run).  They are 460' long (140 meters), speed along at a whopping 18 knots using their 16,000 horsepower, carrying 2500 passengers, 202 cars, and 60 commercial vehicles (big trucks) maximum.

    Fortunately, there are very rarely that many people on the ferry, but they max out on cars/trucks every day during commute hours and all the big holidays.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

3. 
   daverichards | May 04, 2009 08:43pm | #8

   Here's an update regarding the classes I'm scheduled to teach for the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. This is the e-mail I received today:

   Online registration for the Sketchup Classes with Dave Richards is about to open at the Peninsula College website. Probably later today. I'll post the links on our site as soon as I get confirmation.

   However the college is taking phone registration starting now. To quote Anna the local registrar:

   
   "Maggie is at the front desk and will take care of enrollments.  Students can call her at 360 385 4605.  It gets pretty busy this time of year and there are only two lines, so please encourage students to leave a message if it goes to Maggie's voicemail.  She is in the office M-Th 900am-6pm and Fri 9am-1pm."

   I hope to meet some folks from Knots there.

   Dave