first night anchored out on the Columbia River.

Anchored off the public beach and somehow am able to get full internet from shore.  Here's a shot of the fading sun with the lights of Hood River in the back ground.  18 ft of water with a light westerly breeze.

Tractor vs Bus ;pre stretching the bow pole stays.

Im using 11mm Dynex DUX for the two bow pole stays which is about 10 times stronger than they need to be.  In order to remove most of the constructional stretch due to hand working the brummel splices (  http://www.animatedknots.com/brummel/index.php?Categ=splicingi)  in place,  I played  tug of war with my 1955 TO35 Ferguson tractor and my bus.   After applying the parking brake on the bus and getting a few running starts with the tractor, the stays became really  compact.