La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Guitar Festival: This week we had numerous guests who came to La Conner expressly for the La Conner Guitar Festival. Many of them have come before and plan to come again. I can see why! Walking into Maple Hall with all of those incredible pieces of art – guitars of all shapes and sizes – was just breathtaking. It was worth the cost of entry just to walk through the hall, and the shows were a bonus. We had a guitar circle in the RV park two nights in a row and at least one luthier stayed with us as well. We had a few boats visiting for the festival, but the RV park was a busier destination for festival-goers. Regardless, it was a lot of fun.

Waitlist: Speaking of the marina, we have waitlists for all slip sizes at the marina. The 30’ list is not too long, though, so if you’re thinking about getting a slip it is still worth getting on the list. Give us a call or submit your form online and we will call when something opens up.

Reminder: One of the things that comes up every year is boat registration renewal. All boat stickers expire on June 30, so be sure to get renewals in the mail early to the state Department of Licensing.

Boat Maintenance: Do you ever wonder if that wire is large enough to hold all the electricity it’s carrying? Can you really run an anchor windlass off a 12 gauge wire? What’s the worst that can happen if you use a wire that’s too small? The answer: picture the worst and you are not far wrong. Wires carrying electricity have to shed heat, and undersized wires can literally cause boats to burst into flame. One of the more interesting marine electric sites out there is BoatHowTo.com sponsored by Nigel Calder, who wrote the textbook for many marine electric classes, and Dr. Athenstadt. They have a ton of articles on marine wiring, a wire size calculator (very important!), and even entire courses on the website. Topics like “Lead Acid vs. Lithium-Ion” battery technology may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but are certainly of interest to today’s boater as electrical systems keep getting more complex. It’s a great starting place to look for advice on marine electrical systems before you contact your qualified marine electrician.

See you on the Channel!