August 2018

August 23, 2018August 26, 2018

We Broke Down Inside Our Marina

Our Boat Broke Down Inside Our Marina

This past weekend Scott and I took the boat out for a quick spin on Elliott Bay then it broke down inside our marina! More on that later in this blog. Originally, we had hoped to take it through the locks with friends and spend the day on Lake Washington (Thank God we didn’t do that!). Due to the smoke and haze from all of the forest fires, we decided it wouldn’t be that great of day on the water. So we have been staying in and making dinner at home.

Since it had been a couple of weeks since we had been on the boat, we wanted to clean it and take it for a ride on Elliott Bay, just to keep the engines happy. The waters were so calm – my only caution, is you have to watch for logs! Going across the bay towards West Seattle, there is always a trail of logs (that’s where we hit a huge one last year).

We were almost to Alki Beach, when we were surrounded by logs, so we turned around and traveled towards Harbor Island and Downtown Seattle. Just as we were crossing in front of Harbor Island, a huge freighter was coming in at full speed. It was time to get out of his way and head back to the marina.

Returning to the marina

Scott and I have the same routine (as I’m sure other boaters do) when we come back to the dock. We’ll pull into Smith Cove just outside Elliott Bay Marina, lower our fenders and then head slowly into the marina. We had just entered, when the starboard engine died. (X marks the spot).

To give you some perspective, here’s a photo of what that fairway looks like. This is exactly where we were when the starboard engine quit.

When one of our engines die, an alarm goes off. He immediately attempted to restart it, but it wouldn’t start. It sounded like it was choking – or not getting enough gas. This makes me think it might be the fuel line. Okay, back to the drama! Now we’re in the middle of a busy fairway and we’ve lost an engine AND our power steering. There’s no way, we are going to attempt the “S curve” back to our slip on one engine and no steering. Notice the rocky breakwater wall!

Drama in the marina

Scott managed to turn the boat around and head back to the cove. There we decided to try dock it on the “yacht” dock, the outside of N. Since we have stern drives and no rutter, it was really hard to steer the boat. Scott did a great job approaching N Dock and then lining up the port side to the dock. My job was to catch a cleat with the pole. That sounds easy, until you are traveling fast and trying to stop a 11,000lb boat!

Yes, I did have my Crewfit 35 Sport USCG Life Vest on – safety comes first. As I hooked the cleat, the force nearly threw me overboard so I let go. Great! Luckily, the pole floats and we had another. I knew there was no point in attempting it again without help. At this point, I called the office at Elliott Bay Marina and Jordan the harbormaster answered. I have been working with Jordan on another project, so it was a bit embarrassing to call him about our situation. He immediately sent out a dingy with two dock guys to help tow us to N dock and get the boat secured. A big Thank YOU to the guys for being so quick and helpful! (Again, another reason we love Elliott Bay Marina!).

We also didn’t have a bad neighbor! Check out

Who do you call now?

If you are a smart boater, you have towing insurance with Boat U.S. The first thing I signed up for when we bought Kokomo, was the Unlimited Saltwater Towing Membership – $149/year! Trust me, it’s worth every penny! They asked where we were, what slip were we in and then said they would be here in an hour. Trust me, he arrived exactly 60 minutes later!

While we were waiting, we were entertained by all of the harbor seals. In addition, we could see how rough the waves get when docked on N Dock. Our boat was bobbing wildly. Remember the story about the boat that exploded during a wind storm?

Tim pulled up and told us he wanted to check out our slip first and then come back for us.

When Tim returned, he needed us to turn the boat around. He grabbed our bow lines and I kept the stern lines loose, but secured. Then he secured the port side to the tow boat and Scott jumped on board to the bow. Once we were ready, I jumped on the stern and pushed us off. We both had poles, ready to push off any objects.

Slowly, he moved us into the marina and towards our slip. Tim had called the dockmaster and had help waiting for us at our slip. I tried to video tape the whole event, but I also needed to be safe. So I only got a little bit of footage. The entire feat was truly impressive. Not only did he tow us through the “S curve” fairway, he literally brought us directly into our slip, where we threw the lines to the guys on the dock. In about 5 minutes, we were secured!

Fixing the boat

First thing on Monday, we called Paul, the mechanic who worked on it last Spring during our haul out. He said it sounded like a fuel line issue, but he was booked until September 1st. Since the boat is for sale, we can’t wait that long. Scott then called Lake Union Sea Ray and they sent out a mobile technician on Tuesday to check it out. Lake Union Sea Ray is one of the only Mercury service departments in the area.

Scott called me at work with the news and said it wasn’t good! I braced myself for the bad news and grabbed my checkbook. What do you think was wrong with the engine? Well, to find out, be sure to watch our YouTube episode below. Such is life of a new boater!

We have some more exciting news, so stay tuned for our next blog for a full update. Until then, have a great week and thank you for subscribing to our blog.

Cheers,

Scott and Ally

Be sure to like us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney

August 18, 2018

Meals on a Boat

Quinoa Salad with spinach, bell peppers & cucumber

Preparing Meals on a Boat

While Scott and I haven’t prepared too many meals lately on the boat, I have put together some of my favorite recipes. These would all be very easy to make and perfect for a day on the water.

Many times, I will prep the meals at home first for a few reasons. If it involves rinsing the ingredient, I don’t like to use the water on the boat. In a pinch, I will use bottled water. While the water is safe to drink, something about a 17 year old water tank, that had been sitting on the hard for two years grosses me out.

Secondly, our galley isn’t that big. It’s perfect for small meals, like breakfast and lunch, but trying to chop a lot of vegetables is cumbersome to me.

Breakfast

Speaking of breakfast, one dish I always make is a frittata. We have an Xpress Redi Set Go Cooker , that works great for frittatas. It’s awesome for toasting bagels, cooking omelets, grilling chicken – you name it! Scott and I love this gadget! And yes, if you click on the link above, you can buy it from us.

One of my favorite frittata recipes to make is my Red Bell Pepper & Onion Frittata, pictured above.

Lunch

Usually after a day of boating, Scott and I like to have a cold salad, especially on a hot day. Normally I make these at home, so they can have time to chill and blend all of the flavors. Plus I don’t have to rinse the quinoa with water on the boat.

My newest two favorites have been my Lemon & Garlic Cousous Salad. I will make a big batch of it and take it to work for a couple of days. It’s so easy too!

My other favorite is fairly similar, which is a Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Cucumbers & Bell Peppers. Both salads hold well for a few days. As you can see, I love to use cucumbers and bell peppers in a lot of my salads for crunch and flavor.

Entertaining for a Crowd & Dinner

One thing I truly enjoy doing, is entertaining family and friends. This past summer, I made a BLT Dip for my family over the July 4th weekend and it got gobbled up! It tastes exactly like a BLT and it feeds a crowd.

When it comes to having people over for dinner, I like to prepare fairly easy meals. This way I can spend more time with them, versus in the kitchen. For a pasta recipe, one of my favorites is Chicken Pasta Primavera with Spring Vegetables. It’s hearty and delicious.

For a more elegant meal, I typically will make a seafood dish. I recently made Cod with Tomatoes, Basil and Garlic Sauce and it was amazing. Even if you are not a fan of cooked tomatoes, you have to try this. You can serve it with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.

For more tasty ideas, be sure to visit our RECIPE page. I try to share a new recipe every few weeks. It’s been hard this summer, as it’s been a bit too hot to cook. But there will be plenty more on the way! Stay tuned!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney

Cheers, Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle #GalleyRecipes

August 15, 2018August 16, 2018

Boating Journey on YouTube

Did you know we have a YouTube Channel?

Many of our followers don’t realize that we also have a YouTube channel. Scott and I will admit, that we are certainly not “YouTubers”. The objective of both our blog and YouTube channel is simply to document our journey. Along the way, we decided to share it with friends, family and many more.

At the same time, I’m a perfectionist and want to update our channel with higher quality videos and productions. In fact, for my birthday last week, Scott gave me a really fun tool for taking videos with my phone! It’s a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Handheld Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer Ultimate Travelers Bundle, which allows me to take more stable videos! I’m so excited to try it out.

Creating our Channel

At first, we posted our early videos on my personal channel and then we created our own channel for Boating Journey. We are trying to grow our subscriber base to over 100, so we can get a custom channel. So please subscribe, if you haven’t already.

Thanks to other videos on YouTube, Scott was able to learn how to change the oil, winterize the dinghy motor and a few other maintenance items. Our goal with our channel is to share operating tips, but also information about different destinations we visit.

Our first videos

When we first posted videos, we hadn’t planned on creating “episodes”. They were merely informational and quick clips, starting with our first trip through Deception Pass.

Scott and I went through Deception Pass for the first time last summer and everyone told us horror stories before hand. So we were pretty nervous, but as you can see it was very smooth.

When we posted our video going through the Ballard Locks for the first time, we decided that would be episode #1. Unfortunately, there was so much smoke, that the video has an eerie feel to it.

Originally, I had posted the video of me docking for the first time on my personal channel and it has over 2000 views! Eventually, I added it to Boating Journey, where it actually belongs. It was such a great day of practicing and I’m glad we decided to capture it. (Notice the first three videos all say “for the first time”?)

Watching episode #2 is why I wanted the Gimbal Stabilizer. This video doesn’t do the scenery justice as it was so incredibly beautiful and festive that night.

Creating Content Videos for Our Viewers

Starting the new year, one of our goals was to make our videos more informative to our viewers. That began with the Seattle Boat Show, which was definitely a rough first attempt to say the least. Again, using the gimbal stabilizer will make such a big difference!

Our most viewed videos have been our haul out series, beginning with our haul out with a broken prop, then checking on the status and bringing the boat home.

After moving into our new apartment, our content changed a bit. We shared videos of our move, getting ready for boating season and touring Seattle.

Destinations

This year, we visited only three ports: Poulsbo, Gig Harbor and Kingston. You can checkout our footage of each of them on our channel. One of our favorite destinations is always Kingston, as it’s close to Seattle and they offer a free concert on the lawn.

So thank you for following our blog and please subscribe and “Like” our videos on YouTube. See the Like and Subscribe Buttons below – simply click on them.

Our next goal is to buy a high quality drone to take more awesome videos too.

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BoatingJourney. Stay tuned for the next update – so much is happening right now!
Cheers, Scott and Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

August 10, 2018August 10, 2018

Our Boat is For Sale!

Our Boat is For Sale!

Scott and I announced yesterday that we officially put our boat up for sale and folks are asking so many questions. So we wanted to address those and also give some information about Kokomo.

Let’s go back to where it all began about two years ago. We have always wanted to sell our home and move onto a liveaboard. But then I realized that Scott hadn’t ever slept on a boat, so we decided to get a “weekender” first. That’s when we bought Kokomo. It was merely temporary, as is our new apartment.

More than a “Weekender”

I must admit though, this boat has been more than just a weekender. I suppose you could live on it, as it has a place (many actually) to sleep, a kitchen, full bath with shower, television with digital antenna and outdoor dining. What more do you need in a home? (Just kidding of course).

But this has been such a great boat for Scott and I. We have traveled to many ports in Washington with friends and family, creating awesome memories. If we weren’t planning on buying a liveaboard, we would keep this boat for a long time.

But we put so much money into it this year?

This past March, we hauled out and did a lot of work to the boat. We wanted the bottom painted along with the stern drives. We put brand new propellers on it and zincs.

We had the engines tuned up and the trim tabs adjusted. It needed to be done, whether we kept it or sold it. Honestly, this boat is in much better shape than when we bought it a year ago, considering it is 18 years old.

Scott and I also added a few things, like new speakers, brand new 150 quart cooler, Magma grill and all of the accessories for the galley.

What is our timeline?

By selling the boat now, someone can enjoy her until early November. Scott and I went boating all last Fall. In fact, I learned to dock the boat last November.

Remember, we did a lot of prep work for the winter and checked on it almost every weekend. We did all this because we wanted the boat to be in perfect shape come Spring. But if we are buying another boat in February or March, I would rather not have to worry about a boat I won’t own. Selfish, I know.

Here is the official listing with NW Yachts and our broker Eddie Sauthoff. He has truly helped us throughout this entire journey, beginning back when we first met at the Seattle Boat Show years ago.

CLICK HERE:

Please feel free to share this blog with any friends and family that might be looking to buy a boat. Stay tuned for the next chapter in our journey!

Thank you for following us! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Cheers, Ally and Scott

August 5, 2018August 15, 2018

A Summer Night in Kingston

Spending a Summer Night in Kingston

Scott and I had so much fun in Kingston last summer, that we decided to head back there again this past weekend. They host free concerts on the lawn during the summer and their Farmer’s Market runs from 10a-2p on Saturdays. The weather forecast was hot and sunny, which was perfect for an outdoor activity. Our good friend Randy was joining us – cast and all. Just two days before our trip, he had to have emergency surgery after breaking a few fingers. What a trooper! Then a few days before our trip, we found out that friends of ours on each of their boats, were also coming to Kingston!

Friday night was gorgeous and so we stayed the night at Elliott Bay Marina. There’s nothing better than grilling up dinner on deck and watching the sunset. Plus, it was the century’s longest lunar eclipse Friday night, so the setting was breathtaking. The photos really do not do it justice.

Heading to Kingston

Kingston is just west across Puget Sound about a 30 minute boat trip from Seattle (if you are traveling 24mph).

I called the Port of Kingston around 11am to see if we could check-in, but the previous boat had not yet left. Check-out is at 12pm, so we planned on leaving our marina around 12pm.

Just outside of our marina, was a huge cargo looking type ship. Turns out it was the USNS Bob Hope; the lead ship of her class of vehicle cargo ships for Army vehicle prepositioning. It is a naval ship of the United States named after Bob Hope, the entertainer. I’m not sure why it was anchored out there, perhaps it was here for the SeaFair celebrations.

The trip to Kingston was smooth and fast. The only issue we ran into (literally) was all of the algae. It was in full bloom everywhere, especially across the sound. We kept a vigil eye out for logs hiding in the algae. Here’s a photo of the algae at our marina at the “Yacht Dock”….yuck!

Farmer’s Market & Lunch “Downtown”

The Port of Kingston crew were very friendly and it was easy to get in. Our friends, Ben & Maria arrived just shortly after us (they were just in Poulsbo with us). The three of us headed up to the Farmer’s Market, which was located on the main lawn where the concert is. This was more of a craft fair market, rather than a farmer’s market. Don’t expect to walk away with a bunch of fresh vegetables – jewelry, yes!

One booth we ran into and were excited to talk to was Beacon Small Batch. They are working on their distillery license, but in the meantime, she is hand making awesome mixers! We bought the bloody mary mix. Be sure to check them out!

The three of us, walked around town (which is all of 3 blocks) and grabbed some lunch. While the service and food wasn’t very good, the view was great! As were the bloody mary’s!

Poor Randy always looked like he had a question!

Hanging out on the dock

For the rest of the afternoon we all hung out on the boat and we baby sat our friend’s dog Buddy. It was such a relaxing afternoon!

I noticed across the rocks from us, this beautiful sea bird. He stood there and watched us for over an hour.

The concert started at 6pm and we headed up to grab our spot on the lawn. Everyone brought a picnic and beverages. The funniest thing we saw was a dancing cockatoo during the concert.

The temperature was perfect Saturday night and we all soaked up the beautiful sunset.

The best part of the night, was watching our friends Ben and Maria fish for squid. Be sure to watch our YouTube video for the full episode. Basically, you do need under lights like Ben has on his SeaRay. This attracts the squid, but be careful because they do shoot out ink. All that black you see is ink!

Heading back home

The trip back home was uneventful and very pleasant. Being only 30 minutes away, it was almost too quick. But Scott and I had some boat chores and needed to get home.

Check out our blog about our YouTube channel!

Lots of things are happening right now with us and our boat – so be sure to stay tuned. We should have an update later this week. (ooooh, the excitement right?!) Thanks again for following us and feel free to share with your friends and family.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Cheers, Scott and Ally