It was at the Boats Afloat Show in 2010 where it all began! Scott and I had owned The Wine Alley since 2005 and we decided to head to the show for something to do. As we admired all of the beautiful yachts, we knew those were not in our future. Then headed to the sailing dock and toured a 35′ Lagoon Catamaran. All of a sudden, we knew we would someday retire on a boat.
After the show, we spent time with a local charter company and actually considered investing in a new Lagoon. Thanks to the recession and the fact that we still owned a business, that wasn’t going to happen. So, in the meantime, all we could do is attend shows and work towards our dream. After we sold the wine shop, we started searching for our first boat and bought Kokomo in 2017.
What are we looking for at the Boats Afloat Show?
Now that we own a boat, you might be asking why are we at the Boats Afloat Show? Scott and I are not looking for another boat, but there’s a lot of things we can do to remodel our current boat. Time to look for ideas! In addition, we have found a few of our vendors (Lending Associates, Global Marine Insurance, Color Glo Marine & Pacific Fiberglass) at the show, so it’s a great place to connect with people.
Let’s start with the carpet. Our boat, a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin M/Y has the original carpet and it needs to be replaced. We have talked about replacing it with a wood laminate and it wouldn’t be too costly, except for the stairs. Then we toured the Aquila 44 at the show. How ironic, because that’s what we are chartering in April in the BVI’s!
I immediately noticed that they had Snap-in Carpet for the interior. Interesting. Thoughts anyone?
Scott and I have also been talking seriously about the possibility of living on THIS boat. That was never in the plans, but I would consider it to save money. However, we would need to make some changes to make it more livable and user friendly. Check out these table designs. It would be great if we could lower our dinette table so we could easily relax on the seat and watch t.v.
Galley Remodel
While we wont’ be remodeling our galley anytime soon, it’s on the list if we end up living on it. Here are the list of things we need to change:
- Swap out the double sink for a single
- Replace the faucet with a smaller, taller, skinnier faucet
- Replace the microwave with a microwave/convection oven
- Remove the propane stove top and replace with an electric stove top.
- Remove the oven and replace with cupboards
Why? Well, we can’t fit pots or pans in the sink. The faucet is so low and huge, it practically is in the sink. To use the stove top and oven, we have to turn on the gas at the tank, turn on the switch at the electrical panel, turn on the switch in the galley and then light it with a lighter! No thanks.
The question will be, is can we find a small enough microwave/convection oven? We have a pretty tiny microwave.
On one sailboat, they had a pretty cool set up for their bbq, but I’m not sure how you could do that after market for a boat like ours.
Check out the galley on this catamaran!
As we toured the sailboat row, Scott and I stumbled upon a peculiar looking catamaran. It was a brand I have not heard AND it was very green. This is a Baracuda X 2013 Chris White Atlantic 47 Catamaran.
At first, I didn’t want to go on it, but am I glad I did. They thought of everything on this boat!
The galley is not on the main level, but down below (similar to the Antares). It’s also massive! There’s more counter space here than my condo has.
Then they built in a “shop” on the other side, where there’s the engine access and the washer and dryer!
By the initial looks of this boat, you could easily do some off-shore cruising. The craziest thing about this catamaran is has patented Chris White Designs MastFoil™. This is a unique combination of modern rigid airfoil technology with proven soft sails.
Other cool things at the Boats Afloat Show
New to the market is the center console from Ocean Alexander. I’ve read about it in magazines, but to see it in person was unreal. Who owns a boat like this? Has to be some huge yacht and they use this as their tender! We saw plenty of them in St. Barths.
With four 350hp engines, this boat can easily go over 50mph! Crazy.
Then we toured a 1990 yacht that is moored in our marina. Everything about this yacht was unique and eccentric. So we had to check out the bridge. Is this a boat or a helicopter?
Check out this Life Proof Boat! It’s made out of a patented Styrofoam. You can stab it with a knife and the pontoons will not deflate!
That’s a wrap of the boat show! What’s next for us?
It was a quick tour of the boat show. When you work the boat show as an occupation, it’s not as fun to tour it anymore. Next up for us is to figure out our leaking holding tank situation. Since we’re hauling out in a couple of weeks, now is the time to fix it. We’re also gathering information for our Moorings BVI bareboat charter, so if you have any tips or suggestions for an itinerary, please reach out.
As always, thanks for following our blog! Please subscribe to our social channels too, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Not only do we want to share our story & experience with you, we also want to hear from you too! We’re learning everyday!
Cheers,
Scott & Ally
@boatingjourney #boatingjourney