Month: December 2021

Scott and I booked a weekend stay on a 1995 Ponderosa 42′ MY in Gig Harbor last weekend. We found this yacht on VRBO and it turns out the Gig Harbor Marina is the host. If you visit their website, you’ll find four vessels you can stay on. Next spring, we’re planning on staying on the Nordhavn they have.

Our friends Ben and Maria joined us for the weekend, so we could watch the Christmas Boat Parade on Saturday night. Tune in next week, as we’ll share what we did in Gig Harbor.

Scott and I have never toured a Ponderosa MY before, so we didn’t know what to expect. Right away, we noticed that you need dock stairs to board the boat. This brings up the same issue I had with the Sea Ray 44 last week – what do you do when you visit a new port?

On this Ponderosa, they do have steps on the stern and when you have the dinghy propped up, you are protected from falling over.

Check out the cockpit and walk arounds

Entering the cockpit, we did notice the doorway was very narrow. In fact, we ended up using the Pilothouse door to load our gear and cooler. We immediately loved the spaciousness of the cockpit and it’s built in bar.

Another great feature in the cockpit was the walk around access are doors, versus zip up canvas. Again, another must for a liveaboard.

The flybridge was nicely appointed and had plenty of entertaining space. The visibility from the bridge is fantastic and you could also probably use the hard top to relax on with chairs.

Spacious Interior

Scott and I were shocked by house much storage is on this Ponderosa 42′! It was everywhere and this blog doesn’t do it justice. Be sure to tune into the video below to see what we are talking about.

Stepping into the salon, you’ll find an inviting living area with plenty of space for entertaining. We invited another couple to join us for cocktails and with six people, we had plenty of room.

Since this is a rental, they had signs and instructions through out the boat telling guests what they could touch or not touch. The interior helm station had a plastic cover over the control panel to protect it. The boat has built-in heaters in each area and it was toasty!

The Galley

This boat does have a down galley, which would be a drawback for a liveaboard boat for us. But we would still consider it. In fact, we would definitely live on this Ponderosa 42′. It felt much bigger than 42′.

The galley was equipped with a large fridge, propane stovetop and oven, convection microwave, and a compactor. We just had a simple continental breakfast and some cold appetizers, so we didn’t use any of the appliances. The boat yard did equip the galley with everything you would need from dishes, plastic wrap, coffee, creamer to dish soap and sponges.

It was definitely a one person galley, but so was our last boat. I loved how much counter space this galley had.

Ponderosa 42′ Staterooms

Moving forward, you will find the day head and island berth stateroom. Each head came with all of the amenities you would expect from a hotel, including lotion, shampoo, wash cloths and towels. This day head came with a bathtub! We’re not sure of the size of the water tank, but I don’t think we would ever take a bath on a boat.

Moving to the aft of the Ponderosa 42′, you’ll find a washer/dryer combo (not available for guests) on your right in the hallway.

Scott and I were pleasantly surprised by how large the master stateroom was. It had built in dressers, a makeup station (could be an office) and a huge locker that was easily five feet long.

The master head did not have a bathtub, but it had a very deep shower (about 1′ deep) and plenty of storage.

This Ponderosa 42′ MY comes with twin Yanmar diesel engines. We don’t know the hp, but the engine room was very clean. It might be a bit snug though, trying to work on them.

Overall, this was a fantastic liveaboard boat. Too bad it’s not for sale! Again, be sure to check out the full tour below on our YouTube channel.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Next week, we’ll share our fun in Gig Harbor. You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.

Have a great holiday!

Scott and Ally

Scott found a 1991 Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin for sale on Craigslist and we decided to go down to Gig Harbor to see it. The ad said it came with a liveaboard slip in Seattle, so we were very interested. The photos of the boat looked great too and it was in our price range at $69,999.

Why are they selling their 1991 Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin?

So the story is, they lived on this boat with their infant, but then moved onto a Bayliner 4087! How ironic, since that is the boat we sold last year because we didn’t think it would be a good liveaboard. They have been on a waitlist at Shilshole Marina and finally got in, so they are subletting the liveaboard slip. Why? Because they are moving to Florida. Interesting.

Right away, just boarding the boat gave me pause. You have to have dock steps and I have to ask, how does that work when you are at a guest dock?

The swim platform was very narrow and if you have the dinghy back there, you would have no room to board the boat from the stern.

Is this Sea Ray 44 a good liveaboard?

The living space was open and spacious in some areas, including the cockpit and salon.

Going up to the flybridge, I did not like the steps. They were skinny and definitely needed to be replaced.

The flybridge helm didn’t have any electronics and was definitely showing its’ age. The canvas and Eisenglass not only needed to be replaced, but the moldings were coming apart too.

The walk arounds were a little narrow, but I liked that this Sea Ray 44 had side doors versus zip up canvas. The bow had plenty of room to lounge and relax.

What does the interior of the Sea Ray 44 look like?

Surprisingly, the carpet was in fantastic condition – it almost looked new. The salon had a huge sofa that has storage under each cushion.

They also had installed a huge flat screen television.

There is an interior helm station (which we never use), but it too did not have any electronics. There is space to add them however.

One thing that was strange, was the settee had been removed. See what it would normally look like in the following photo.

What I did notice was water stains where the settee would have been. Perhaps there is a story behind that?

How about the rest of the boat?

The galley was nice and roomy. It had a built in blender in the counter and a Black & Decker can opener! Wonder if they still work? I like that there was plenty of counter space. The fridge is fairly large and it had a Princess stovetop.

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This boat does come with a washer/dryer combo, but it looked pretty old. Perhaps original with the boat?

Sea Ray 44 Staterooms

This Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin comes with only two staterooms and two heads. The guest stateroom is a v berth and the bed took up most of the space. There did appear to have a bit of water damage in that stateroom too.

The day head had access from the forward berth and the door was a sliding barn door. This allows for more space in the head. Unfortunately, this is a wet head.

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Moving to the aft cabin, we found the doorways very narrow. The bean on this boat is only about 13′. Guess that means we need to go on a diet!

The master cabin had a full walk around bed and two vanities on either side. Plenty of liveaboard space. It also has a huge locker!

The master head did have a separate shower and had plenty of storage, however the door was a bi-fold, which we are not keen on as it takes up space.

I didn’t get any photos of the engine room, but you can see the tour of it on our YouTube video below. Unfortunately, the bilge had quite a bit of standing water and that was a red flag to us. In addition, the engines were gas, not diesel which we are not a big fan of.

Overall Impression of this Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin

While we liked most of the layout of this boat, we didn’t like how narrow it was. This boat did need a lot of work and a huge investment. Scott and I estimate it needs about $40,000 worth of work and that’s assuming the engines are in working order.

However, we had to consider that this boat came with a liveaboard slip. But remember, this was a sublet, meaning the owners would be the official marina tenants. At any time, they can cancel their agreement with the marina and we would be out of luck. In the end, we actually did offer $25,000 but we have yet to hear back.

Be sure to watch the full tour below. As always, thank you for following our journey and blog. Please subscribe to our channel and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Stay tuned, as we have some fun adventures coming in the next few months!

Cheers,

Scott and Ally