April 2018

April 26, 2018

Clipper Round the World Visits Seattle

Spending the day touring the Clipper Round the World Sail Boats

Last Sunday, Scott and I took a break from packing up the house and went down to Bell Harbor Marina to view the Clipper Round the World sail boats. I’ve been following this race for months and was so excited they were stopping in Seattle!

The race is the brain child of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was the first person to sail non-stop around the world and this is their 11th race. To learn more about the legs of the journey and their stops, read here. What’s even more impressive is that 40% of the sailors do not have sailing experience! If you click on the link above, you’ll see the conditions they sail in. That is courageous if you ask me!

Touring the boats

What was really cool, is the tour was free! You simply had to wait in line for a guest pass. They had limited guest passes, so once folks were done with their tour, then it was your turn. We toured Sanya Serenity Coast sailing yacht. Each boat has a major sponsor and then multiple smaller ones. This boat is sponsored by the city of Sanya which located in the South of China on Hainan Island. It is making its debut as a Host Port and Team Partner for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions of the Clipper Race. They will use this sponsorship to promote tourism and sports.

We were also able to tour the cabin of the boat and it was tight in there. Each boat has twenty crew, with ten on watch at a time. That means the other ten are sleeping in their hot bunks (which are hammocks) or trying to find a place to sit. Also keep in mind that while racing, the boat is usually at a 40 degree angle!

They have two heads on the boat and no shower. They are typically at sea for 3-4 weeks before arriving to a port. How do they shower? They use handi-wipes.

Honestly, as cool as this would be, I just don’t see myself ever doing something like this under these conditions. What was also interesting, is once they get into port they still stay on the boat. If they want to rent a hotel room, they are on their own. If it were me, I would find a cheap room to share with other people. That way we could shower and do laundry for a couple of days.

A great way to break away from the chores of moving

Spending a sunny day at Bell Harbor Marina, touring these awesome boats was a great distraction from our chores of moving! Everyone was in such a great mood and having a great time.

Seattle also has a boat in the race, promoting tourism for our city.

Here’s the video footage we took:

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Thank you for subscribing to our Boating Journey blog! Stay tuned for our move update in our next blog, which will be written from our new apartment in Downtown Seattle! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

April 24, 2018August 15, 2018

We sold our house!

We sold our house and we’re finally moving!

Finally, after weeks of living in slow motion, we sold our house! The past five weeks have been a journey that I don’t wish to go through again. As you recall, we listed our house on March 15th and immediately got an offer. But that buyer not only fell through, he disappeared in a matter of hours after the ink dried!

That didn’t help our situation and we sat on the market for over five weeks. Last weekend we were scheduled to do a sunset open house Friday night and then another on Sunday. On the Thursday before the open houses, we had a request to view the house. This couple stayed in the house for over an hour – that’s a good sign! They gave us a full price offer that day and once again, we cancelled the open houses. Luckily, they love the house and are very excited to move in.

With our looming deadline of May 9th for moving into the apartment, we’ve decided to take our chances and move before closing. Yes, it’s risky, but we are very confident that everything is aligned and that they won’t back out. That means, we’re moving in one week! Yikes. Now things are getting real.

Remember, we’re moving from a four bedroom house that has three living rooms and two offices to a 1100 sq ft two bedroom apartment! That means, we have to get rid of three couches, two dining sets, desks, chairs, etc. Luckily, my niece and nephew wanted the majority of the items, so we only had to sell or give away a few things – including our 370 bottle wine cellar! As you can see, we’ve been drinking away so we don’t have to move so many bottles!

Now it’s all about the logistics of moving everything out in a week. But luck strikes again and friends took the cellar and the huge dining set. I’m really glad that an old high school friend took the dining set & can continue it’s memories. We have entertained a lot with that set and it’s a bit surreal to see it broken down and ready for pickup.

What we don’t get rid of, we’ll donate to Goodwill. Tomorrow we have 1-800-GOT-JUNK coming to clean up old yard trash and junk from the garage.

We also lucked out that the new owners wanted the majority of our wall art! So glad they want it and will keep it. When you don’t have a lot of wall space, you can’t take much art with you.

Now we’re living the life of the books we’ve read

It’s crazy to think that four years ago I was reading books about other people selling their stuff and sailing away. Now here we are, though we’re simply sailing into a small apartment!

One thing I will say about this entire process is that it has been very cleansing. There’s something about getting rid of “stuff” and simplifying your life. Really, who needs to clean three bathrooms or have ten tubs of Christmas decorations? Obviously, we did at one time. 😉 Since I haven’t been working for the past few months, this process as certainly been easier as I have taken care of the packing and the moving details.

Coordinating a move

If you haven’t moved from a house to an apartment (lately or ever), it’s not as simple as you think these days. I have rented many apartments and just figured I would move when I wanted. Not so fast. This time around, Scott and I ordered a moving company. With that said, we had to work around their availability. Then we had to call the apartment complex and reserve our “move date and time” in order for them to shut down the elevator for us. Luckily, it seems to be working out on both ends.

We aren’t closing until May 21st, so this gives us plenty of time, to come back and clean the house and do some more yard work before they move in. Scott and I are hoping they are able to close early.

Boating life during our move

Last weekend it was gorgeous here in Seattle, so Scott and I spent Saturday cleaning the boat inside and out. We also took the dinghy motor back down and put it on the dinghy.

I was worried about mold or dirt, but really it looked pretty good. I checked the inside cabinets and water heater for any leaks and all looked great.

The cabin wasn’t too bad, we really just needed to wipe things down and vacuum.

Then on Sunday, we will tour the Clipper Around the World sail boats moored at Bell Harbor. Stay tuned for our next blog as we’ll share lots of photos and a tour of the inside. These sailors are truly courageous and inspiring!

Thank you for subscribing to our blog and for your support. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Cheers, Scott & Ally

#KokomoSeattle #BoatingJourney

April 16, 2018April 24, 2018

Leaving the Boat Yard

Finally Leaving the Boat Yard

It’s been six weeks and Kokomo is finally leaving Seaview Boat Yard. As a new boater, we have gotten lots of advice and tips from fellow boaters. Hopefully this story will help others too.

Before we selected Seaview, we asked for recommendations in the Seattle area and there were just a few that would work for us. With our broken prop, we had no choice but to go to Seaview, as they were the closest to our marina. As you might remember, we met them at the Seattle Boat Show and they had a great haul out deal of 50% off the haul out and 20% off labor with any bottom paint package. The staff at the boat yard was very friendly, but they don’t move too fast. Luckily for us, the weather was horrible for the past month, so it didn’t impact us too much.

As I mentioned in our last blog, the boat yard had finished painting the bottom and the engines two weeks ago and my nephew and his dad waxed it for us last week. This saved us significant money. We paid Spencer $800 and the boat yard wanted $1700! He and his dad, did a fantastic job!

Sterndrives look new!

Our sterndrives were painted too and they look amazing compared to before. They installed our new Bravo II props last week and compared to the props they pulled off, wow!

There was a boat next to us in the yard and check out the mussels growing on his engine and trim tabs!

So what does all this cost in the end?

What’s funny about boat maintenance is everyone loves to say that BOAT stands for “bring on another thousand”. But if you are a boater, you know that and expect it. So did we have any surprises this time? A few. Here’s the final breakdown of all of the work. I will say that the boat yard, originally charged us for 24 hours to paint the stern drives and we questioned it. They adjusted the bill to 18 hours.

Bottom Paint Package, including parts & labor $806
Bottom Paint Seahawk Sharkskin Black 1.25 gallons $235
Replace Anodes incl labor $336
Prep & Paint Sterndrives $1805
10 point inspection (see below for what that incl) $121
Pull & install new props $1315
Boat Show Discount <$605>
Misc fees & taxes $594

Seaview Boat Yard Total $4608

We also hired a Mercruiser mechanic to inspect the engines and also tune them up. His cost was about $800.

So overall, the entire haul out cost us $6200 and we had estimated about $5000. Not ever having done this before, our estimate wasn’t that far off.

Communicating with the boat yard

Our biggest issue with Seaview was their lack of communication. We had to call almost every day to find out what the status was. Then finally last Thursday, they called to say the props were on and they were scheduling the haul out for 1pm the next day. I was shocked, because we were still waiting on the 10 pt inspection and the trim tab work. On top of that, there was a small craft advisory for Friday afternoon and neither of us were able to move it on short notice anyways.

Then they called back an hour later saying the inspection was done and that they would put it in a slip for us to pick up over the weekend. Scott and I went down to the boat yard on Friday evening to pay our final bill and confirm everything. The weather was horrible and now we just prayed it would be nice over the weekend.

What does the 10 pt inspection include?

Since we have never had one done, we only know what Seaview includes. It was a quick checklist that they gave back to us.

Check Bottom Paint, zincs, shaft, thru hulls, knot meter/depth sounder condition, grounding damage, thruster/trim tabs
Paint/Scratches, gel coat punctures, boot stripe condition
Interior thru hulls/valve condition, galley, head, electronics, hose clamps, linkage/cable condition, bilge area

What were their findings?

Stiff steering
Head pick up valve is stiff
Port trim tab in operable – possible relay

So nothing too major to worry about this time.

Finally leaving the boat yard

Scott and I looked at the forecast and we had a small weather window on Sunday, April 15th. While many of you might be thinking, “what’s the big deal? It’s Springtime in the PNW and the weather is fine”. Not so much!

According to the NW Weather Service, with the first two weeks of April, this month is now the fourth wettest April in 120 years! Read more here.

Luckily, Sunday morning arrived with sunny, blue skies and calm waters. I dropped Scott and Kurt off at Seaview and then drove back to Elliott Bay Marina to meet them. I guess the boat was hauling, as they beat me back to the marina!

We docked stern first, so we can clean the dinghy and also the top of the starboard side of the boat. Next Sunday is supposed to be sunny, so Scott and I will head down to clean the boats, inside and out.

We still have no update on our house or our move, so stay tuned for that. Until then, thank you for following us! Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Cheers! Scott & Ally

#KokomoSeattle #BoatingJourney

April 12, 2018August 15, 2018

Looking Forward to Boating Season!

We’re ready for boating season – are you?

I don’t know about you, but after weeks of cold, rainy weather we’re ready for boating season and some sunshine! Of course, with our boat still in dry dock after six weeks, we’re not missing much.

Next month, will be a full year that we have been boat owners and we certainly traveled a lot of places for first time boaters. That’s the great thing about mooring at Elliott Bay Marina, we’re close to so many great ports that are a day trip away.

Some of our favorite spots

In celebration of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would share some of our favorite destinations. These include Kingston, Gig Harbor & the San Juan Islands.

salmon bake indian reservation — Blake Island

mooring balls pnw bainbridge island — Port Madison

luxury charter yacht pnw locks — Going thru the Ballard Locks

The best view is still at home

Even if Scott and I don’t take the boat out, we love to spend the night at the marina. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful place to relax and entertain friends and family. This year, we plan on exploring more of Seattle on foot from the marina.

western sunset boating seattle — Dusk at Elliott Bay

holiday party marina — Olympic Mountains

Here’s to another great boating season! We look forward to sharing our journey with you this summer! We should be bringing Kokomo home in the next week or so, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

April 8, 2018April 12, 2018

Living in Slow Motion

We’re Living in Slow Motion Right Now

When Scott and I finally made the decision at the end of February to put our house on the market, when never thought we’d be living in slow motion. Soon after, we frantically started working on our home.

As we were painting rooms, replacing carpet, refinishing our floors and moving stuff into storage, we were also hauling out our boat Kokomo to get it ready for Spring. Houses here in the Seattle area have been selling at a RAPID pace. In fact, one of our neighbors sold their house in 30 hours! So we had no idea what to expect when we finally listed it. But all of our neighbors and people who have been to our home said it would sell FAST since we have one of the best views in Fairwood with lots of entertaining space and privacy.

Hearing of houses selling in just a day or two, we started packing and by the time we listed the house we had packed everything up but the bare necessities. We did all of this in just two weeks!

The house is in great condition and we just had it inspected for our own peace of mind. That came back great too.

Here’s our full listing with Brazen Group Properties: CLICK HERE

What just happened?

Back in March, I gave you all a quick update on the sale of our house. At the time, I didn’t think too much about everything that had actually happened. Now I feel compelled to share more of the details. Everyone I have told the story to, is as baffled & dumbfounded as us.

The facts:

We interviewed three agents and selected Ginny Morris, who I have known for 30+ years to list our house.
The house was listed on MLS in the evening on March 15th & we immediately had a showing appointment for 8am the next day (Friday) with the local Fairwood agent we interviewed, but did not select (how ironic).
That buyer gave us an over asking offer and $40k non refundable earnest money with no contingencies, cash offer. (too good to be true?)
The house went to “Pending” on the MLS and the buyer’s agent put a “SOLD” sign on our real estate sign on Sunday.
Monday, we never got the earnest money and the buyer disappeared and we never heard a thing. After numerous emails that week, our agent finally got a response from the buyer’s agent that said they didn’t know where the buyer was. We were out of luck and with no earnest money.
I looked up the buyer’s address on the contract and it was for a UPS store.

Do we feel we have been duped? We don’t know. I can’t imagine any realtor being so vindictive, especially in this small community. What would she have to gain? But if she was a good realtor, she would have screened this buyer first to see ensure he was a legitimate buyer. And don’t you think she would have at least called our agent the following day to apologize for things going so bad? It’s all so bizarre.

What’s even weirder about all of this, is that during the 23 days we have been on the market, not one person after this incident, has called for a showing. Baffling and weird. Scott and I are worried that the house has a black mark after going from Pending back to For Sale. You might be thinking it’s the price? While we felt our price was right on the money, we wondered if lowering the price would help draw new traffic. We are ready to move, so today we lowered the price by $15,000. Figures we run into a neighbor today and she said she thought our price was too low. Can’t win. Right now, we feel like we are living in slow motion compared to where we were a few weeks ago.

Can things move any slower?

Why all the talk about the house? Well, it’s part of the whole story as we are in the midst of downsizing our home, to live in an apartment. This is the stepping stone for us before moving onto a boat full time.

Now onto the boat! That’s what this blog is all about. We hauled out on March 7th and as I mentioned last week, Seaview Boatyard finally started working on it. Like I said earlier, we’re living in slow motion! They painted the bottom and the engines. Now we are waiting for new props and they are going to do a 10pt inspection.

Last week we also had the engines inspected and tuned up. You might remember we were having troubles finding a Mercruiser mechanic, but thankfully our good friend Ben, referred us to Paul at PB & J Mobile Marine in Everett. He came down on Monday, did the work and said things looked great.

The weather was gorgeous the day we went to the boat yard and the views were awesome! Definitely got us in the mood to go boating!

We also saw a sea otter crawling around the docks.

We finished the day enjoying cocktails on the deck overlooking Puget Sound. It was surprisingly warm for Seattle and a gorgeous evening.

The Weather Game

Tomorrow our nephew and his dad will be cleaning and waxing the boat for us. We are truly grateful for their help (and yes, we are paying them!) Everything should be done by this Friday, but then we have to wait for a good weather window to move the boat back to Elliott Bay Marina. Unfortunately, the boat yard isn’t open on weekends, so we need a nice day during the week. On top of this, I’m currently interviewing and hopefully this can all get handled before I (hopefully) get a job offer.

It’s ironic that we don’t have our boat moored at Elliott Bay Marina right now. While we were enjoying the beautiful sunset at Shilshole, M/Y Kogo moved onto the yacht dock right across from us. It’s the largest private yacht at 236′ to dock at Elliott Bay.

So stay tuned for the next “As Boating Journey Turns” episode. Who needs to watch soap operas when we are living one! We are certainly ready for boating season!

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Lastly, thank you to our friends Matt & AJ for “buying us a drink” via our blog. This helps us support this blog and our journey. Cheers! Scott & Ally

April 2, 2018April 8, 2018

Haul Out Update

Our Haul Out Update on Kokomo

It’s been almost a month and we wanted to give everyone a quick update on our haul out. As you remember, we picked Seaview Boatyard during the Seattle Boat Show. They gave us a great deal, of 1/2 off our haul out with any bottom paint package, plus 20% off labor.

On March 7th, Seaview Boatyard hauled out our boat. They are painting the bottom with anti-fouling paint and cleaning/waxing the entire boat. They also are replacing the propellers and checking all of the seacocks and trim tabs.

Scott and I also asked them to have a Mercruiser mechanic come give the engines an inspection and give it a “Spring” tune-up so we are ready for summer!

Turns out, Seaview got really bogged down with so many customers taking advantage of their boat show special and so work was delayed on Kokomo. Finally, we called last week and they had started working on it. They removed the props and sent them to a shop in Mukilteo. We are still waiting for the quote to replace them. They have painted the bottom and we are waiting for an estimate for them to clean and wax the boat too. Might as well, since it’s out of the water.

What is a bummer, is we didn’t know it would take this long and the heaters haven’t been plugged in this entire time. So let’s hope there’s no mold or moisture throughout the cabin.

What does a haul out package cost?

If you are wondering what the cost is so far, here you go:

Bottom Paint Package (haul out, pressure wash & paint) $806
Haulout Special Discount at 50% off    <$155>
Anti-Fouling Paint 1.25 gallons Seahawk Sharkskin    $235
Pull Props Labor – 1 hour    $105
Boat Show Special Labor Discount at 20% off    <$21>
Misc environmental fees, taxes, etc    $173

Total so far $1142

In trying to find a Mercruiser mechanic, they had no luck. So we started making calls ourselves.

Last week, I called Monkey Fist, who is in our marina. They lost their Mercruiser mechanic in December. So then I called another company, Ballard Marine Service and he is just so busy, they don’t have mobile services anymore. We called another company and they were six weeks out. Great!

Finally, I posted on Facebook that I needed recommendations. One of my boating friends, Ben gave us a recommendation, Paul at PBJ in Everett. This mechanic is by referral only and lucky for us, he was available! He’s heading to the boat on Monday and will begin the work. He charges a travel fee, plus an hourly rate with parts.

Had we not found this guy, Lake Union Sea Ray offers Mercruiser work. They have a tune-up package for $750 per engine, which includes inspection and tune-up.

Don’t forget about the dinghy tune-up

So hopefully this week, we will have an update on our engines and props. Aside from our main engines, we also needed to get our dinghy engine tuned-up. This weekend, Scott replaced the gear fluid, engine oil and spark plug. Since it’s only a 5 HP, it only needed 6oz of oil. So funny!

Checking on our Dinghy

It’s been a month since we hauled out and tied up the dinghy in our slip. We decided we should go check on it. I had also notified the harbor master at Elliott Bay Marina that the boat was delayed and not to be alarmed with it being missing.

Luckily, the dinghy only had a little bit of water in it and since it’s so heavy, we couldn’t really tip it over to dump it.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous at the marina and would have been a great day to go boating. Yachts are starting to move in on the yacht dock too. We also met our new neighbors, Kelly and Randy who brought their beautiful sailboat over from New Hampshire. It’s been at Delta Marine for nine months, getting fixed up. Their boat is SV Godspeed behind Scott in the photo below.

To say that Scott and I are anxious for boating season is an understatement, especially when the weather is gorgeous. So stay tuned on our next update for Boating Journey.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Have a great week! Scott and Ally