Time for a Change – Big Announcement

For those of you who have followed our journey since 2013, you know our goal has always been to find a liveaboard boat. We sold our business, our home and our first boat in order to downsize and prepare ourselves.

In the Fall of 2018, we began searching marinas for liveaboard space, only to find out the wait lists are long and a few years down the road. As much as we love Elliott Bay Marina, they don’t allow liveaboards. So we put our names on the lists and now we just wait. We hadn’t planned on buying another boat anytime soon – in fact, we were waiting until we found the liveaboard. But Scott and I had never spent much time on a larger boat and wondered if we would like it?

Along came “Our Happy Day” – Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin Motoryacht

In December 2018, Scott found a listing for a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin MY and asked the broker to give us a tour one Saturday. We look at boats all time and we didn’t expect to like it, but we were curious what it looked like. Low and behold, we actually thought it was great! Uh ho. Yep, you know what that means? Next thing I know Scott transferred money and put a deposit on it.

Seattle was in the middle of snow storm and we scheduled the sea trial in the middle of February! What were we thinking? By mid March, we were the proud owners of Our Happy Day. (I know, you’re wondering where am I going with this, right?)

Time to Learn & Explore

Scott and I wanted to spend as much of our free time on the boat, as possible. This included blustery, rainy & windy nights, to get a feeling of what it’s like to live on a boat. We visited new and familiar ports, we anchored for the first time and we worked on a lot of boat projects.

Looking back at everything we did last year, I’m amazed! In the last three years, we’ve learned more about boating than we ever expected. Who knew we would haul out two boats within two years? While it’s an expensive project, you certainly learn a lot in the process.

Now We Need a Plan

The past three months have certainly brought us focus. Back in March we had no idea what would happen in the world and still today in June, things are uncertain. All of us want things to be back the way they used to be – socializing, traveling with groups and visiting new places. But how long until that happens? No one knows.

With the shelter order in place until May 4, 2020, Scott and I did a lot of soul searching. Here we own a boat that we won’t live on and now we can’t venture out anywhere. After a few months of discussion, we made a bitter sweet decision to sell the boat.

Sell the Boat?!

Why would we sell the boat? At the first of the year, we set boating resolutions, that included visiting new ports and going up to Canada. Plus we were going to do some remodeling in the galley. Then came COVID-19. Who invited IT to the party?

Our decision to sell is based on many factors. One, we are bummed that there are still restrictions on where we can go and visit. Yes, things are finally opening up, but back in May when we made our decision, we didn’t know for sure when the restrictions would be lifted. Once you get to your destination, things are still limited. Of course we can anchor, but we like to visit new towns and stay at a dock. Our generator is not hard wired and we’re more comfortable in a marina.

Secondly, why are we spending money on a large boat and a 48′ slip, that we don’t plan to live on? The reality is, Scott and I should be saving our money for the 50’+ boat we’re looking for. Our quarantine was a wake up call. We certainly love the boating life and we miss it already (even though we haven’t closed yet).

Thirdly, we wanted to sell the boat at the beginning of the season, so someone else can enjoy her during the summer.

Now What?

Well, as you know this blog is called Boating Journey, as is our YouTube channel. It will always be about our love for boating. So as we look for our liveaboard boat, we’ll continue to bring you boating stories. We have lots of content coming up including the cost of ownership, buying & selling process, liveaboard boat tours, interviews with other liveaboards and boating adventures.

Knowing us, we’ll find another boat right away and we could be on it before this blog publishes. Who knows? Be sure to continue to follow us here and on our YouTube channel. We promise to try and not disappoint you. If there’s anything you would like us to share, please comment below.

As we say every week, thank you so much for following our journey. There’s just a few of us, who have sold everything to live on a boat, and this has certainly been a journey. No matter what happens, Scott and I will be sure to have fun and share with you our adventures.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

Cheers, Scott & Ally