Allison, Author at Boating Journey

July 19, 2020July 19, 2020

The Cost of Owning our 2002 Bayliner 4087

For this blog, we wanted to break down the cost of owning our 2002 Bayliner we recently sold after just fourteen months. Many of you have asked us, why we sold and that’s explained here in our previous blog. The question also has been asked, how much did that cost you and was it worth it?

Scott and I have broken down the costs into several different categories. Keep in mind your costs may be higher or lower depending on many variables. We’ll go through those as we review our costs.

Pre-Purchase Costs

These are any costs you incur prior to purchasing your boat. These include things like surveys and mechanical inspections. Note, that you may incur these costs multiple times depending on how many boats you place an offer on. We spent $1500 on a survey and mechanical inspection including oil samples for our boat.

We went with an individual who was certified to do both inspections. This saved us time and money by not having to schedule multiple inspections. In addition, we saved $600 for a haul-out for the survey because we won a free haul out at the Seattle Boat Show.

Included in this category is also the purchase of the boat. We financed this boat and we put down 15%. This amount will vary on the purchase price, lender and age of the boat. Some lenders require 20%, so better to plan on the high side just in case.

Accessories & Supplies

In this category we have included items to provision the galleys, heads, staterooms and miscellaneous items like fender hooks, cleaning supplies, LED lights, etc. Again, your budget for this expense depends on how you provision your boat. When we bought our Bayliner 4087, it didn’t come with much and the bedding was original from 2002.

We bought everything we needed, including the items above plus a new TV, barbecue, cockpit carpet, salon carpet and bathroom linens. In total, we spent about $2525, of which $900 was for the custom cockpit carpet.

Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance (by our definition) is service & parts that you need regularly throughout the year. This includes items like watermaker service, filters, hull cleaning, replacement zincs (which includes divers), engine zincs, dinghy maintenance and minor repairs .

This is a pretty variable category. The more routine maintenance you can do yourself, the more money you will save. There were things we did ourselves like changing the oil, but we had divers check and clean the hull, intakes and zincs. Before we sold the boat, we replaced our broken spotlight and that cost alone was $850.

In total, we spent $2567 on routine maintenance in fourteen months. The next two categories are the two most expensive. Some of the costs you can control, others are just the cost of ownership.

Major Maintenance

Scott and I want to emphasize these costs are based on our decisions and may not reflect directly on your next boat purchase. We break major maintenance into two categories.

Post Purchase

The first is post purchase. What maintenance do you have to do to the boat to make it safe and seaworthy per your survey & mechanical inspections? This doesn’t mean you bought a boat with a hole in the hull, but rather what mechanical maintenance and improvements do you need to make? In our case, the previous owners had kept pretty good maintenance records, but our survey showed there were a few items we should take care of. Now, we could have looked past these suggestions, but we like to error on the side of caution. As a result, we had Union Marine do a full engine tune-up, replace all of the original batteries, upgrade the fuel filters and more for a total of $6400. Keep in mind we had dual Cummins 270hp engines, whereas you may only have a single engine.

Haul Outs & Painting

Our second major maintenance item was to haul out for bottom paint. We knew when we bought the boat in March, that it hadn’t been hauled out in years. In our research we found that the best time to haul out and do bottom paint, was after the boating season. So we hauled out in the Fall to complete the following: clean and scrape the hull, bottom paint, clean running gear and inspect sea cocks and rudders. Scott and I had intended on completing a lot of the work ourselves.

We had already purchased all of the bottom paint and accessories, but just before we hauled out, we both got called out of town for business. In addition, we were shocked to see 2″ of barnacles on the prop, shaft and rudders and we knew there was no way we could tackle this project.

As a result, in order to reduce the time on the hard and costs, we decided to have Pacific Fiberglass at the shipyard take care of it. They also introduced us to PropSpeed and showed us some work they were currently doing. This was an application to the props, shaft and rudders to keep growth off them and not something we could have easily done ourselves, given the amount of work to be done and the environmental considerations.

The haul out and work was completed for $6022 (The roundtrip haul-out and yard fee was $2060 and the actual work and parts cost $3962). So if you’re keeping track, the total for major maintenance category costs were $12,422.

Fixed & Variable Costs

The second major category and final category overall is our fixed & variable costs. These costs include moorage, insurance and fuel. Obviously you’ll have a lot of control over these costs. These costs will vary greatly based upon what type of boat you have, where you moor your boat, who you insure it with and the type of propulsion you have.

In regards to moorage fees, our boat was a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Motor Yacht with an LOA (length overall) of 47’. We moored it at Elliott Bay Marina (which is one of the nicest marinas in the Seattle area) because it was only 5 minutes from our home. We could have chosen a less expensive marina, but we didn’t want to spend so much time commuting to the boat. Traffic in the Seattle area is some of the worse in the country. Spending an hour or two on a Friday afternoon to get to the boat is not exciting. Plus we love everything about Elliott Bay Marina.

motor yachts sailing marina seattle — View of DT Seattle

We did save on fuel costs compared to our previous cruiser, as this boat had diesel engines and cruised at 10-12kts rather than the 25kts we cruised in our gas powered cruiser. As a result of the corona virus, we delivered the boat with full fuel tanks since we couldn’t really go out after our last fill-up. Overall, this category cost us $14,310.

Drum Roll Please

Now for those of you keeping up with us, we spent a total of $33,324 or about $2380 per month, plus boat payment for the 14 months we owned the boat.

Things to consider. While this may seem to be a large amount of money (and it is), we’ve also prepped ourselves to be able to afford this. Scott and I sold our business and our home, in order to downsize our living expenses (saving us over $26,000/year. ) Like most families, we would typically take one big vacation a year ($6500/year) and then multiple weekend getaways ($3000/year. ) Our investment in the boat, is part of our lifestyle or hobby, if you will.

Unlike a vacation or getaway, we get to enjoy the boat all year round. Some people invest in collectibles and never use them; other people buy brand new cars every year (ours is 14 years old and paid for). By buying our second boat, it gave us time on the water and experiences that you can’t put a value on. In the end, it’s all relative to what you want in life.

What would we do differently?

What would we do differently next time? Emerald Harbor Marine has some great advice, which perhaps we should have gotten before we invested – who knows? They suggest that before you buy a boat, have a 3^rd party (like them) check the boat out. (Note, they are not a replacement for a survey or mechanical inspection). What they’ll do , is give you an estimate on what the costs will be for replacement parts and yearly maintenance. Keep in mind, some parts might not even be available for older boats. They also suggest to use the boat before investing in (new batteries, filters, etc), because it may not need them. Use the boat first and find out how it feels.

No Regrets

In the end, we are happy with how everything turned out. The experience we gained during these past fourteen months was amazing and not something we could “buy.” This pandemic has made us focus more on what we really want to do in life and we’re excited about our search to find that. Now we’re onto the next big thing – not sure what that is yet, but we know it will be fun and on the water!

As always, a big thank you to everyone who follows us! 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

Check out our YouTube Episode Below!!

July 12, 2020July 12, 2020

Kayaking, Crabbing & Paddle Boarding

Scott and I didn’t waste too much time being boatless. Last weekend we headed up to my family’s place on Camano to do some kayaking, crabbing and paddle boarding. Every year for the July 4th Celebration, we all gather for the festivities at Tyee Beach where my aunt and uncle live.

I’ve been coming to the beach for over thirty-five years and things sure have changed over the years. In 1951 my uncle and his dad built a tiny studio cabin on about two acres. We used that cabin for years and as more people joined us, we ended up camping in tents around the property. In 2007 they torn down the cabin and built a new home. Scott and I are very lucky to be invited every year and to have such an awesome place to spend the holiday weekend.

Let the festivities begin!

After being cooped up for months with no family contact, we were ready to have some fun and go crabbing. All of us made sure to practice safe distancing as best as possible. When we arrived on Friday, the weather was looking pretty grim. Still, Scott and Jason needed to go check on the crab pots since that was our dinner the next day.

The irony of the situation, was we had planned on using my nephew’s Boston Whaler 170 Montauk to go crabbing. But earlier in the week, he felt the motor was missing and worried it would stall on him. Instead, they used my uncle’s dad’s 1987 Gregor aluminum boat.

It worked great, but then Jason remembered in the evening that it had a small leak and the weather had taken a turn for the worse! My nephew Jake, jumped into a kayak and was able to tow it to shore in 15 knot winds. It was crazy! Thank God he did, as it would have been under water otherwise.

Crabbing – Catching our limit

For the first time in years, we actually caught our limit! The daily limit throughout Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. Fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across.

We had more dungeness crab than we knew with what to do. Plus, we put the pots back out, so we would have to pull them the next day. It was interesting talking with my uncle Dick on how he cleans crab. He boils them (alive) first, then splits them in two to clean out the insides. Some people prefer to cut them down the middle (alive) and kill them that way; then clean out the insides and boil them. We’ve heard that if you boil them intact that they taste better. I guess it’s all up to the crabber. You also want to make sure you keep them in saltwater after you catch them, prior to boiling them.

We went crabbing the following day and I asked my nephew Jake, how do you know which crabs you can keep? He told us to feel their legs….is the shell hard? If it’s soft, then they are too young and there’s no meat. Throw them back!

Then you want to make sure you only keep male crabs – NOT females. How do you know the difference? Check their undersides, see image below:

Lastly, you need to measure their body width. Measure all male crab with a crab gauge. In Washington State, legal dungeness crab must be male and at least 6 1/4-inches across the back (NOT including the spines) or wider. When measuring make sure you measure in a straight line across the back immediately in front of, but NOT including the last points.

Too close for comfort

Since it was a celebratory weekend, we had tons of boats on the water and lots of crabbing boats too. However, I was shocked to see so many boaters not following proper boating etiquette. First, Scott and I were nearly run over by a boat while kayaking. Then later, there were boats going inside the buoys going 20mph through the crab pots. It was so rude and made for an uncomfortable ride for the smaller dinghies.

Time for some water sports – wait for it!

The following morning Port Susan was flat calm and the weather was gorgeous. Time to explore in the kayaks. When you haven’t gone kayaking in a year, you forget how much exercise it can be. Within an hour, my arms were sore! The day before, orca whales had been swimming nearby the shore. We had hoped they would have returned, but no sightings for us.

One thing I have never done is paddle boarding. We plan on trying it on our trip in the BVI’s, since the water is warm and clear. I wasn’t too keen on trying it in Puget Sound, with the water being only 52 degrees and full of sea grass! After a lot of convincing, I finally agreed. How hard can it be? Wonder if I fell into the water? Be sure to watch our next YouTube episode to find out.

Boat parade!

Normally the beach celebrates the July 4th holiday with a street parade, but due to the covid-19 virus, they opted for a boat parade instead. It was fun to be on the beach and see everyone go by! Be sure to check out our Facebook Page or Instagram account for a video of the parade.

We also took a ton of drone footage of the beach and Port Susan, so be sure to watch our next YouTube episode for the full coverage.An eagle was circling above me while I was trying to paddle board, as if I was its’ next meal!

Spending time on the beach

There’s something about hanging out on a beach, that brings a sense of peacefulness and serenity. It doesn’t matter if you are in the PNW or the Caribbean. It’s especially great in the NW when it’s warm and sunny! Last weekend was ideal! It always amazes me how much driftwood shows up each day on the shore.

Firework Celebrations

Watching the fireworks up close with an orange moon in the background made for the perfect setting. Scott and I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

It was another great July 4th weekend in the books and we’re so grateful to have been able to spend quality time with my family. We’d love to see more of them this summer, but with the pandemic we understand we have to limit our time with each other. We’re hoping to get back up to Tyee Beach this Fall.

Stay tuned for our next blog and episode – we’ll go over the cost of ownership for our last boat, our 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin M/Y during the time we owned it. In the meantime, Thank YOU for following our journey.

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

July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

Once again, we’re without a boat

That Was Quick!!

Sadly, we’re once again without a boat. Our 2002 Bayliner 4087 went on the market the first of May and we had a few offers the first week it was listed. Not that we’re biased, but we knew it would be a hot commodity – it’s in fantastic shape, low hours for a diesel and it was the newest Bayliner 4087 out of eleven (11) for sale in the entire US.

We accepted a cash offer from an out of state customer. He lived in Arizona, but arranged for his son to go on the sea trial and do an oil sample. Right off the bat, the customer had a ton of questions about the work we had done on the boat. Being detailed, I gave them the maintenance log and an itemized list of improvements. (In our next blog, we’ll review the costs of ownership for Our Happy Day).

This list was just the maintenance on the boat. It did not include the Snap-In custom carpet, new bbq, new flat screen tv, bed topper, linens and accessories. Keep in mind, that these items should never be considered when you price your boat as they are added on accessory items.

The customer had chosen not to do a survey, as we had just had one done and we were happy to share the report (with a deposit of course). In addition, we just had Double J Diving check out all of the intakes and replace the zincs, so we shared the underwater photos as well.

Drone footage from land

The sea trial was set for Saturday, May 23rd. One great thing about having someone else operate your boat, is we got some fun drone footage of them leaving and coming back to the marina. Our broker, Steve Thoreson with Union Marine, was their captain for the sea trial, and they couldn’t have asked for better weather. The winds were dead calm and he moved like a sloth back into the slip.

Scott and I felt a little weird, hanging out by the parking lot filming them as if we were spying on them. In reality, they had no idea who we were! The sea trial was short as was their visit. His son used FaceTime to give his father a tour and send some photos. They got the oil sample, which their broker sent down to NC Machinery in Tukwila.

The following Monday, the buyer came back to us and asked us for a $1,500 concession because he wanted to make some improvements. We said no and that our original sale agreement was the agreed upon price.

Closing date

Our closing date was set for June 1st (approximately) and the oil sample came back fine. Knowing we only had one last weekend left on the boat, we invited our friends Ben and Maria down on Friday night to hang out one last time on Our Happy Day.

The four of us were having a great time, when I got a phone call that the buyer was sending us a revised offer. HUH? What?! We had a signed agreement. Not only was he still asking for the $1,500 concession, but he also wanted to keep the boat in our slip for a month for free. We stayed firm, as we were in no rush to sell the boat. Scott and I love the boat and if it hadn’t sold, we planned on using it this summer. We simply put it on the market at the beginning of the season to see what would happen.

Not surprisingly, the guy bailed. The good news is, there was another party interested and they put an offer in the same day, which we accepted. Our broker Steve, was thrilled as they are a really great family and the boat is a perfect fit for them. They are from Wisconsin and plan on exploring the Northwest with their two daughters this summer.

Saying Goodbye

Scott and I headed down to the boat last weekend to take care of some final tasks, including flushing the water maker, cleaning the toilets and dusting. Those are chores we do every week, whether we use the boat or not. That part, I won’t miss. But it was a somber day as we filmed for the last time on Our Happy Day, knowing we wouldn’t be back. Plus, we do not like being boatless. We love being part of the boating community.

We had so much fun with family and friends during the past year and half. That will be the hardest part of saying goodbye and being without a boat.

What’s Next?

Scott and I are already searching for another boat, but ideally we want to wait a few months. We have a full schedule this summer and we’re excited to share that with you. We’ll be crabbing next weekend on our nephew’s Boston Whaler 170 Montauk and kayaking around Port Susan. Stay tuned for more big plans!

June 20, 2020June 20, 2020

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.

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020

Boating these days

These are certainly different times right now and boating these days, isn’t quite the same as it used to be. It was a year ago this week, that we took our first big trip to Dock Street Marina in Tacoma. The weather was horrible and we had three foot seas. At 9 knots, it took us just over three hours. Definitely not my favorite in the books.

Once we got there, we had a blast and that’s what boating is all about. Spending time with fellow boaters on the water and docks. Even though things are starting to open up, we still aren’t there yet and we miss those times.

Adjusting to the new norm

When boating opened up in Washington State on May 4, 2020, many of the marinas were still closed as were the towns they are in. Some boaters chose to head out and anchor, but we like the amenities of a marina (especially since our generator is only a portable one). As a result, we’ve been hanging out at home working on boat projects.

Last weekend, we finally gave in and invited our good friends Ben & Maria down for the night for cocktails and a dinghy ride. We hadn’t seen them since we took off to Port Orchard and we needed to talk about rescheduling our trip to the BVIs.

They have been following our struggles with getting the dinghy started, so it was a celebration of its’ own. Ironically, I have never taken the dinghy out by myself. After Ben and Scott got back from their tour, Maria and I climbed in for the big adventure. We had a ball cruising the marina, saying hi to fellow boaters and enjoying the sunshine.

What’s next on YouTube?

Before they arrived, we filmed a YouTube episode about our electronics on board (see video below). A few followers asked us how our boat was outfitted and we decided to share in a tour. We have the basic necessities for cruising around Puget Sound and they work great for us. Be sure to watch the video at the end for the full episode.

Our weekend was short with Ben and Maria, but fun. It doesn’t matter if you are at a marina, at anchor or out cruising – if you are on the water with friends, life is more fun. Summer is just two weeks away and normally we’d have big plans for cruising. This pandemic has changed that for all of us, as we are living day to day. Instead of making huge cruising plans in two months (we did that back when….remember how that turned out?), we’re looking short-term at what we can do as the weekends arrive. We love the summer evenings at the marina and we can’t wait for more warm weather.

In the meantime, we’re enjoying being on the boat with friends and family. As I said in our “whale on our stern” video; if you open yourself up to the world, you never know what might be waiting for you. Stay tuned and see what happens for us this summer.

As always, thank you for following us! 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

June 2, 2020June 3, 2020

Ally learns how to fly our drone

Scott bought me a new drone for Christmas last year and believe it or not, I’ve never flown it. Time to learn! To be honest, I wasn’t nearly as nervous about flying the drone as I was learning to dock our boat.

We picked a small park at our marina to practice the basic maneuvers, then I flew it slightly over the water and marina. Though it can fly out of range a mile, I would never do that. One hundred yards is far enough for me. LOL!

What kind of drone to we have?

This isn’t our first drone, in fact eight years ago I bought Scott a drone which I thought was high quality and expensive at $500! But drones and cameras have come a long ways in the past eight years. Knowing we needed to have better quality videos, Scott decided it was time to invest in a good drone (plus our DJI Action and Pocket cameras). He spent hours researching and talking to other YouTubers and he decided on the DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo. It came with tons of accessories and I’m still learning what they all are. (This page does include affiliate links).

The hardest part of learning to fly the drone, was that the screen is hard to see in the sunlight. If anyone knows of screen guards, etc that we should be using, please let us know. The controls were pretty easy – forward, backward, side to side, up and down, turn left, turn right. There’s a small dial on the front and that controls the angle of the camera. Our camera has a setting that won’t allow it to crash into anything.

When we took the drone out to film me docking, Scott couldn’t land the drone back into the boat, because we had the wrong setting on and it refused to land on a moving object. As a result, he had to land it on the dock and go fetch it. Over all, I think I did great – be sure to watch our YouTube channel / video (link below) and see how I did.

Family visit on Camano Island & a sad goodbye

The next weekend, we headed up to Camano Island to my family’s place at Tyee Beach since we hadn’t seen them in person since Thanksgiving! We stayed outside on the beach and practiced our 6′ apart distancing.

It was a somber day, as we finally decided to finally spread some of Mac’s ashes in Port Susan, where he loved to swim. Scott could throw the stick for hours and he would be in heaven. The funny thing is, he wasn’t a very good swimmer.

Since my family didn’t have the boat out on the water yet, we decided to spread his ashes at the shore line. It’s been three years since we said goodbye and it was still gut wrenching. Everyone raised their Corona beer (how ironic) as we toasted to our fur baby and shed a few tears.

Birds eye view of the beach – LITERALLY!

They have a family of bald eagles that live up in the trees behind the house. They are always looking for fish or crabs on the beach. Imagine our surprise when we were all hanging out talking about Mac, when an Eagle swooped down and grabbed (something?!). It was pretty cool and for the full footage, be sure to check out our YouTube video at the end.

I then flew the drone over the beach to practice my skills and check things out. It’s really beautiful up at Camano and especially on a calm sunny day! I only took video, so the images below are snippets from the footage. I’m still learning how to go back and forth from photo to video on the camera while flying.

Hoping for good times ahead this summer

These past few months have been so surreal and we’re all still trying to figure things out. We’re in the process of re-booking our bare-boat charter to the BVI’s this week and we’re also looking at other boating adventures. That’s why this blog and channel have always been about. To share our love for being on the water with all of you. As marinas slowly open up, along with popular destinations, we’ll see where the water takes us. Until then, stay tuned.

May 17, 2020June 3, 2020

Boating is finally open!

Scott and I have been spending our weekends cooped up on the boat at the marina during this quarantine. Due to the shelter order, we were not allowed to venture out and go boating. Some boaters did choose to go out and anchor, but some of the them got flack for leaving.

On May 5, 2020 the governor finally opened up recreational boating and allowed fishing to resume! Plus the weather forecast for the following weekend was hot and sunny – we’re talking mid 80’s! Scott and I both took Friday off and planned to get away for the weekend on the boat.

Where do we go?

The photo above was taken up north by Whidbey Island years ago on our old boat. We have been itching to go anchor somewhere and learn the ropes. But we’ve always wanted to have Ben and Maria on board, so we can practice for the BVI’s. By Thursday, I noticed most of the boating channels we follow on Instagram were heading out early Friday.

The more we thought about it, we decided it was not in the best interest for us to leave the first weekend that boating was open. Too much traffic and we would be better off working on the boat (sad face). But wait! It gets better and in fact, everyone who left for the weekend ended up being jealous of us. More on that later.

Weekend of boat projects

When you own a boat, you never run out of projects. Since the weather was warm and sunny, we tackled some serious cleaning projects on the boat. Another item on our to do list, was to replace the spot light that got ripped off last year. How did that happen? Well, our slip neighbor’s boat stuck out into the fairway too far (almost 5′) and their dinghy was hanging up by the davit about 6′. When we pulled out, the spotlight on the bowsprit got caught on their dinghy line and the force pulled it off, leaving the base on. We ended up using white flexi-tape to reattach it until we could get it fixed.

Looking at the photo above, you would assume, that to remove the spotlight, you would simply undo the screws. Nope, of course not. Turns out that when Bayliner produced this boat, they mounted the spot light on the top portion of the bowsprit, THEN connected the bottom portion, so there was no way to access the spot light.

We finally gave up trying to figure it out and called Emerald Harbor Marine to fix it. They ended up having to destroy the old one and mount a new one. Looks great, don’t you think?! A good tip, if you don’t already know this, is be sure to turn your spot light around (if you don’t have a cover) so that debris doesn’t break the glass while underway.

Friday evening happy hour

We invited my brother-in-law, Kurt and his girlfriend, Stacey down on Friday evening for happy hour. Kurt wanted to take another look at the dinghy engine to try and troubleshoot it. He was the chief engineer on the ferries, so he knows his stuff. We’ve all been quarantined for 60+ days, so we felt comfortable having them down. We still kept our distance and “air hugged” each other. That’s probably the hardest part of this social distancing.

If you recall from our last blog, we have had troubles getting the outboard on the dinghy to start. We replaced the fuel, fuel filters, spark plugs and cleaned out the carburetor. At first, the engine would start, but not stay on without the choke. We assumed it was the carburetor, so that’s why Scott took it apart to clean. But after all that, we couldn’t even the get engine to start.

So this time Kurt and Scott took off the outboard cover and sprayed CRC Jump Start into the carburetor as they were starting it. It finally started and Kurt realized that the idle was set too low. Once he adjusted it, it stayed running! Woot!!

This calls for a celebration. Time for happy hour and some food! We use the propane tank housing as a counter all the time. Works great!

You’ll never believe what happened next!!

The four of us were relaxing in the cockpit when we started hearing screaming. We didn’t pay much attention to it, until our neighbor Miguel, shouted over to us that there was a gray whale off our stern in the fairway! Yep, you heard that right. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get this week’s notification, of when we upload the video. It was crazy!

All of our boat neighbors who left for the weekend, were so bummed they missed out! It was about 30′ long and he just casually swam away. That was definitely a first for us and I think Elliott Bay Marina too.

Next day – time to test out the dinghy!

Keep in mind, that we’ve only used the dinghy twice since we bought the boat. We took one trip around the marina last summer and then we tried to go for a ride last Fall and it died on us just feet away from the boat. Since the weather was hot and we were home bound, might as well get some kind of boat ride in.

We grabbed the oars and pushed off, as our neighbor Miguel wished us luck.

Time for Ally to learn to fly the drone

Since it was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, we decided to have me learn how to fly the drone. I get a bit freaked out when the drone heads out over the water, but that’s why we bought a drone. Scott did a great job explaining how things work. Now I just need practice. We’ll have the footage on our YouTube channel in upcoming episodes – so be sure subscribe!

Now was the extent of our first hot and sunny weekend. Let us know what you think? Should we be out boating now? Is it too soon? We’d love to hear from you. If you thought the whale sighting was awesome, be sure to check out our next blog and episode for more awesome encounters! Next Blog

April 21, 2020May 2, 2020

Boat life during self quarantine

April has been one of the driest Springs in many years and unfortunately, due to the self quarantine orders we haven’t been able to enjoy the weather. Scott and I have a list of projects we need to tackle on the boat, but with me being unemployed right now, we’re not spending any money.

Last week, we decided to stay on the boat for a few days to regain our sanity. We have no neighbors right now at the marina, so it was not only safe but actually a bit lonely. That’s been one of the hardest things about the quarantine, is the lack of socializing. Boaters are pretty social people and we love to mingle on the docks and share cocktails. Not these days.

But first, check the water pressure pump

Once we started staying on the boat a few months ago, we would be awaken in the night by the sound of the water pressure pump. Scott and I didn’t think anything about it, until a couple of other boaters we follow @MVWhyKnot and @Seabits_Steve both mentioned that they found leaks from this sound. UH OH.

So, we tore apart our bed to check and see if everything was dry. Sure enough it was.

Next, we checked the water heater – all was dry there too. After talking to a few people, the culprit is most likely the check valve on the actual water pressure pump and so we’ll probably need to replace that soon.

Day trip to Des Moines for diesel!

We found out earlier in the week, that Des Moines M arina was selling diesel for $1.74/gallon! That was worth the trip and so we headed out Thursday late afternoon. At 10 knots, it took us about 1.5 hours and it was a very comfortable and gorgeous trip.

By the time we arrived, the winds had kicked up a bit and there was a slight wait for the fuel dock. On top of that, it’s was not easy to navigate around the marina as we had to turn around at the end of the fairway. Luckily, we got in right after that.

This photo doesn’t do it justice, as there are no boats around. Imagine, a boat on all three docks plus more waiting near the breakwater and lots of wind.

As we headed back home, I texted one of our friends who lives in Burien and told her to look out for us. She then texted us a couple photos back! That’s one way to practice social distancing.

By the time we got back, it was time to relax and watch the sunset. It was a gorgeous night to be on the boat.

Scavenger hunt on your boat

I suppose you could arrange a scavenger hunt during the quarantine on your boat, but that’s not really what we did. Instead, I decided to go through all of the storage spaces and see what the previous owner left us. Wait until the video comes out and you’ll see everything we found!

I was amazed by everything we found including a macerator, impeller, anodes, filters, etc. It pays to go through the storage areas when you first buy a boat or even a year later.

While I worked on the inside, Scott gave the boat a much needed bath. Soon it was time to relax and enjoy our cocktails during high tide. With pollution being down, we were able to see the topography of Bainbridge Island.

Saturday evening on the boat

Scott and I hosted happy hour on the boat Saturday night, in true self quarantine fashion with three friends who you probably recognize from some of our trips (Randy, Matt and AJ).

Trying to support our local restaurants at the marina, we ordered dinner from Palisade Restaurant Saturday evening. Known as the place to go for special events, it’s surreal that they are now only serving curbside during the quarantine.

Celebrating my 50th birthday a few years ago 😉

While we continue to support both Maggie Bluffs and Palisade, we are disappointed that the last three times our orders have been wrong, missing or not very good. We understand it’s difficult to work under these conditions, but this is also a great time to wow people who have never patronized their establishments before.

Both restaurants are offering a limited menu and last weekend we ordered the Crab Louie and Stuffed Prawns, which would be fairly easy to carry back and eat on the boat.

This is a tough week for us, as we were supposed to be flying out for our bareboat charter trip to the BVI’s. Hopefully, we can reschedule that trip, sooner than later.

Cheers, Ally & Scott

April 14, 2020April 23, 2020

Dinghy issues & learning to dock a yacht

The weather was great last week, so why not check out our dinghy issues and learn how to dock a yacht? Like everyone, we’re going stir crazy during this COVID-19 quarantine. It doesn’t help that the weather turned nice and this is when we should be out boating. On top of that, I (Ally) was temporarily laid off at the end of March and I’m not one to sit around the house.

After a week and half in the condo, we needed a change of scenery. So many of our fellow boaters are venturing out to secluded anchorages and we want to head out too. But first, we have a few projects to tackle, including getting the dinghy engine working.

Engine troubles

The last time we used the dinghy was last Fall, when we went out for a marina cruise and the engine died just five feet from the boat. You can see the footage of that scene in our Bloopers Video that we just posted. We assumed that the issue was our battery, as it hadn’t been charged.

After charging the battery for a few days, Scott climbed in to start the dinghy. Unfortunately, the engine wouldn’t turn over. After sharing our story on Instagram, a number of people recommended we check our fuel.

The following weekend, we drained all of the fuel and filled the tank with brand new fuel. It was great that you can drop off your hazardous materials at the marina office for disposal.

Unfortunately, swapping out the fuel didn’t work. Scott then changed the in-line fuel filter – turns out we do have another fuel filter attached to the engine. We didn’t change that one, because Scott doesn’t think it has anything to do with the issue. Still wouldn’t start.

Could it be spark plugs?

The next option was to change the spark plugs. While we were able to buy the spark plugs at West Marine, we couldn’t swap them out until we bought a special wrench for these specific spark plugs (18mm thin wall). Scott eventually found one on Ebay, so we had to wait for that to arrive.

The following weekend, he replaced all of the spark plugs AND sprayed Sea Foam (fuel cleaner) into the fuel tank. Once again, we waited with anticipation to see if it would start.

The good news is, it finally starts. The bad news is, it won’t stay running without the choke being engaged. We did talk to Monkey Fist Marine and a few other people, who all believe it’s the carburetor. This could be a very expensive job (at $150/hour to rebuild one) or to just buy one and have it installed. The catch? We have three carburetors on this dinghy engine. Ouch!

Our next plan of attack is to move the dinghy over to the dock and remove the manifold. From there, Scott can try cleaning out the jets, replace the gaskets and add a carburetor and choke cleaner. Fingers crossed.

Next project…..cleaning the lazarette

Ever since we bought the boat a year ago, I have been wanting to clean the lazarette. While it is used to store stuff, who wants to see a grimy storage unit every time it’s opened up? I figured this would be a fairly easy job and allow me to spend some time enjoying the sun. Boy was I wrong! This thing was filthy and had years of grime and green algae gunked on.

First, I attempted to sweep the gunk out. That didn’t work well, as I really needed a hand broom for the nooks and crannies.

Instead, I filled up a tub with Dawn liquid soap, grab a sponge and went to town. This was a back breaking project – I don’t know how boat mechanics do it. The spaces are tight and I was careful not to step on anything important (our water maker and diesel heater are down there). Eventually, the lazarette was spotless!

After finishing up our projects, we got ready for a cruise on the bay for the evening. While it was a short cruise, it was nice to be out on the water and enjoy the scenery.

Time to practice docking

The weather was nice and calm Saturday morning, so we decided to head over to N Dock so that I could practice docking the boat. I only docked our previous boat once and that was a twin screw stern drive engines.

They (whoever “they” are) say, never have your spouse try to teach you how to dock a boat. We don’t speak the same language when it comes to stressful tasks. In this case, Scott likes to use “no no no” or “eh eh!” which tends to stress me out. Finally, I told him the best way to communicate with me is to simply say what I should be doing (i.e. port side reverse, starboard forward, neutral). That seemed to do the trick. Still, trying to dock a 24,000 pound yacht for the first time is not a task I take lightly.

How did I do? Well, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for notifications for our next video. We’ll have the entire drone footage included.

Enjoying the weekend at the marina

Though we can’t socialize and mingle on the dock like normal, it was still nice to enjoy the beauty and calmness of the marina. There was a super low tide (-1.66) on Saturday and it was crazy to see how far it was out. The rock formation you see, is normally under water.

Normally on a warm sunny day folks are enjoying outdoor dining outside of Maggie Bluffs, but due to the shelter order they can only offer curbside service. So we ordered lunch and a bottle of wine in support of our local marina restaurant. They also have a limited Palisade menu, which we’ll order from next weekend.

That evening, we made a nice dinner on the boat (Asian marinated pork chops with stir fried veggies) and watched the sunset fade over the Olympic Mountains. There’s truly no better place to be than on your boat, especially during these stressful times.

We all still have three more weeks of isolation. We’re heading back to the marina this weekend to keep working on the dinghy. Scott and I might even take the boat out to anchor one night – we’ll see. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon and we can begin enjoying life on the water again. Until then, stay safe and healthy.

Cheers, Ally & Scott

March 27, 2020March 29, 2020

Our Catamaran Charter to the BVIs is Cancelled

In our last blog, we were somewhat confident that our bareboat charter trip to the BVIs next month would still happen. Who knew then, how drastically things would change over the next seven days as we dealt with the COVID-19 virus. While it has been the topic of the world, Seattle was not shut down yet. In fact, my office was still open and working as normal.

Then we got the notice from The Moorings, that the trip was officially cancelled. The four of us were definitely sad and disappointed, but it is the only solution to keep the islands safe. Being down and out about the cancelled trip, Scott and I decided to spend it on the boat and enjoy the sunny weekend.

Once again the sunset was amazing. Watching it and enjoying our cocktails, our worries seem to disappear, if only for a moment. We called Ben and Maria to talk about the cancelled trip and figure out what’s next. That’s when we decided that the four of us should head out of town on the boat for Saturday night to get away from it all.

Scott and I made a nice dinner on the boat and relaxed the rest of the evening (again, who knew then that there will be plenty of relaxing coming up?!)

Off to Port Orchard

I called Port Orchard and they had plenty of space. We left Seattle about 11am and I navigated us the entire way (until it came time to make the narrow entrance into the marina).

When we approached the narrow opening, another boat was leaving!

It was a perfect trip through Rich Passage and as we arrived, the fog lifted, blue skies appeared and sun came out to greet us! The marina wasn’t kidding about dock space – it was just us and two other boats.

We’re here, now what do we do?

The four of us headed into town and decided to get some take out at The Brickhouse to support them. This is normally a bustling restaurant and bar with live music. It was a bit surreal to have no one in there. I love this sign that hangs outside the bathroom door – it’s perfect for what’s going on right now.

We headed to the north end of town and walked along the shoreline. There we discovered a memorial dedicated to the US Navy and an actual torpedo!

The walking pathway runs along the main shoreline of Port Orchard, offering plenty to see along the way. We lucked out enjoying warm sunny weather.

All alone in Port Orchard

We pretty much had the marina all to ourselves.

The boat in front of us, appeared to be vacant and had an eviction notice on it. We weren’t sure what it was? Half sail, half power. Part metal, part wood. Strange.

The tall ship was beautiful and the crew were all busy working on the mast. Be sure to watch our upcoming video for the up close drone footage.

While it was only a short getaway, it was nice to be away from it all. Just a week later, the state issued a 14 day shelter order. Here in Washington, many of our boating friends and followers, actually headed out of town during the order. The question now remains, is that considered a quarantine? Can they go to the marinas? Cruisers around the world are also in limbo or stuck and can’t get into countries they’ve traveled to. No one knows the answer or what the future holds; all we can do is take this day by day.

I am now temporarily laid off and working on projects around the house, while Scott is working from home. Let’s just pray that this will end soon and life can go back to normal. The four of us hope to reschedule our cancelled trip before the end of this year. We have a lot of things going on with us, but with the current pandemic nothing is happening yet. Until then, stay tuned.

As always, thank you for following us! 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, Ally & Scott