It’s Official! We’re Boatless in Seattle
Our boating blog is all about our boating journey and now we are officially boatless in Seattle! Last week, Scott and I accepted an offer from a fantastic couple for our boat Kokomo. It was important to us that we find someone who will take good care of her and really enjoy her the way we have.
They plan on mooring it on Lake Washington and our broker will help them go through the Ballard Locks on the way to her new home. This happened so quick and it looks like we’ll be closing as early as this Tuesday! Since the moorage is paid for this month, we told them they could keep it in the slip if they need time to move it.
Now we have to get it ready for possession
When we bought Kokomo a year and half ago, I shared all of the details and steps in buying a boat. That included not only the documentation and financing, but also buying all of the supplies for it. Here’s that blog.
Luckily, selling the boat hasn’t been as time consuming, but we definitely had to take care of things. We sent our broker all of the documentation including our receipts from the haul-out and our survey. I also made copies for the new owners, as our previous owner kept detailed maintenance records.
Then I had to notify Elliott Bay Marina that we were leaving, as they require 30 days notice. They are sad to see us go and we know we’ll be back sooner than later (I’ll talk more about that later).
What stays and what goes?
We told the new owners that almost all of the supplies, would go with the boat. This included the bedding (except our pillows), all of the galley dishes, utensils & pans, the bbq, cleaning supplies, first aid kit, emergency kit and life jackets (except our inflatable ones).
We had been storing extra cushions and carpets at our storage unit, so we grabbed all of that and headed to the boat last Saturday. Then we had to remove our personal items and food. Turns out we had a lot more stuff than we realized!
What’s next?
Everyone keeps asking us “what happens next?” This is a loaded question really. As I mentioned in our blog about liveaboard marinas, buying a boat that needs moorage is the same dilemma as “what came first? the chicken or the egg?”.
Why do I say that? Well, you can’t buy a boat without having a slip for it and you don’t want to reserve a slip without a boat. Marinas in the Seattle area (especially Elliott Bay Marina) have long wait lists for boats over 50′. Scott and I are not looking for our liveaboard yet. Ideally, our next boat will be around 38′-42′. Since Elliott Bay Marina has a 3-4 month waitlist for 40′ slips, we got on the list right away.
At the same time, we’ve talked about taking the winter off, so we don’t have to pay for moorage. But if we found a boat we could enjoy during the winter, we would definitely buy one before winter. It’s all very complex! Next week is the Boats Afloat Show on Lake Union and so we’ll check out a few things while we’re there.
Saying Goodbye
Oddly enough, it was very somber to clean everything out and say goodbye to Kokomo. This boat gave us some amazing journeys and memories that we’ll never forget.
It’s amazing to realize how much fun we had with family and friends in just eighteen months!
So stay tuned for our next journey! Next weekend, we’ll give you a tour of the Boats Afloat Show! Thank you for following us. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube Channel.
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Cheers, Scott and Ally
#BoatingJourney