Allison, Author at Boating Journey

February 16, 2020February 16, 2020

Surviving Seattle’s Rainy & Dreary Winter

I’ve lived in the PNW for most of my life and it seems we never get used to Seattle’s rainy weather. With the gray skies, dark streets and wet roads, it’s a chore to get anywhere when it’s pouring down rain. Scott and I did spend one blustery night on the boat a few weeks ago, but I have to admit that the boat is the last place I want to be when it’s cold and rainy. In some ways, I am a fair weather boater. I enjoy spending time on the water and soaking up the sun. Fighting gale winds and 4’ seas are not my thing. But I digress. Back to surviving Seattle’s dreary winter.

Since we know we’ll spend almost all of the nice weekends this year on the boat, we need to take advantage of the bad weather days and get some things done. Believe it or not, Spring is just 35 days away and we’re hoping for great weather this year. We’re done with Seattle’s dreary winter!

Planning for our BVI trip

Last weekend, we tackled a list of projects and accomplished a lot. We headed up to Snohomish (where Ally and Ben went to High School) to meet Ben and Maria for lunch. When the four of us get together, we always have such a great time. Typically, we’re crying from laughing so hard! I can only imagine what it will be like in the BVIs!

The four of us discussed our provisioning options and determined we still need to do a little more research. The Moorings offers provisioning, including packages. However, our concern is that we won’t need everything included in a “package” and it would be a waste of money. We’re better off buying our supplies ourselves at the local store and where prices are very competitive. For me, it’s not necessarily about the pricing. I just don’t know if I want to haul around a bunch of groceries on the day we’re leaving. In talking to other cruisers, it looks like we can easily hail a taxi and get back to the marina with our groceries.

We also discussed the cruising itinerary. Up until this past weekend, we had only glanced at the options. The must sees are Norman Island, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. Everyone is telling us to visit Anegada, which is about a 26 nautical mile trip from Tortola. We wouldn’t stay overnight there, so it’s a day trip only. With only 5 days cruising, we’re considering scratching Anegada and spending more time at Jost Van Dyke. Weather will also be our guide as to where to go, so we have to be flexible. After meeting for lunch, we agreed that we need to do more research on the places to visit.

Over the next few days I spent time scouring YouTube and Instagram trying to see what the different anchorages & mooring fields offered. In hindsight, we should have planned on 7 days to get everything in, but we also wanted to spend time on land to explore. As we get closer to our trip, we’ll share with you what we’ve decided to do. If you have chartered in the BVIs, please share with us your advice and feedback.

Stairs, Drones and Power Washers

Imagine our surprise on Sunday morning when we woke up to bright sunny skies! I’m training for the Leukemia Big Climb on March 22^nd (climbing 69 stories / 1350 stairs), so we headed up to Richmond Beach Park, where they have 180 stairs. I climbed them five times, while Scott was planning on getting the drone up in the air. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get it to connect so we didn’t get footage of the beautiful views. I managed to capture a couple with my camera phone. It was actually great to be enjoying the outdoors, since we’ve been cooped up during this dreary winter.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Big Climb event is dear to my heart, as three of my close friends are battling this cancer. If you want to support my fundraiser, you can donate on my Big Climb Page at: DONATE HERE.

Spending the day at the marina

It was still early the in day, so we headed to the boat next to flush the watermaker and check on the lines. But when we arrived, the sun felt amazing and everyone was on their boats cleaning them. Knowing our starboard side (north side) was covered in algae, Scott decided to power wash it and take advantage of the great weather. The port side, which faces south, is perfectly clean!

I couldn’t believe how much algae grew in just a few months!!

When I entered the salon, I heard the smoke detector beeping – yep, time for a new battery. I walked over to the fuel dock and luckily they sell the 9 volt batteries individually. Turns out they were almost sold out because everyone was coming back to their boats to discover that their detectors were beeping too.

What was also crazy at the marina, was the water was murky and full of silt. We assumed it was due to the wind storm, but instead it’s due to heavy rains over the weekend that washed sediments into the Duwamish River. It has been over a week and the water is still murky. Hopefully it cleans up soon.

Just a little vitamin D will do the trick!

Scott did a great job getting the algae off. Don’t worry, this power washer is mild and the boat does need waxing already (we had a few people caution us on using the power washer). In fact, the marina was full of boat owners power washing their boats. We did happen to trip a fuse, so use caution when you plug in higher watt usage items.

Working on the boat, we also noticed that we need to remove all of the outside caulking and replace it. Algae has started to grow under it and that’s a project for another sunny day. While cleaning algae might not sound fun, it felt great to be on the boat and soaking up some sun. Let’s be honest – most of us buy a boat to spend warm sunny days on them, not cold rainy days. Just spending a few hours in the sun, boosted our mood and spirit. It was also great to have the boat shiny and clean again!

Over the next two months, we plan on anchoring with Ben and Maria to hone in our skills. Let’s hope we have warm sunny days to make the task even better. The countdown has begun – only 75 days until we’re in paradise! Knowing we have sunshine coming our way, keeps us motivated and uplifted.

As always, thank you for following us! Find us on social media on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney. Be sure to also check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

Seattle Boat Show 2020

Scott and I have attended the Seattle Boat Show for the past fifteen years. Originally we attended just to have something fun to do. Eventually, we caught the bug and we started boat shopping and we bought our first boat in 2017. Yep, it took us twelve years to finally make the decision.

Now that I’m in the boat business, I wonder if that falls true for other people? What are their reasons for attending? Then you have to ask, “well, if you already own a boat, why go to the boat show?” One of the main reasons, is there is so much more than just new boats at the show. Every year, the Seattle Boat Show has two floors (and a tunnel) of marine industry vendors ranging from Canadian marinas and electronics to accessories and supplies.

Touring the boat show with a plan

I will admit, since this was my second year working the Seattle Boat Show (nine long days in a row), I wasn’t in the mindset of touring new boats in the show. Instead, we were focused on what we need for the boat. As we talked about in our New Year’s Resolutions blog, we plan on doing some remodeling and also visit some new marinas around Puget Sound. So our plan for the show was to look for a sink, faucet, new canvas and talk to new marinas.

Surprisingly, we didn’t accomplish any of the remodeling task – there were no vendors at the show that supplied those items. As we walked the show, we did get a chance to say “hi” to some of the vendors we have used, including Color Glo, Elliott Bay Marina, Pacific Fiberglass and Global Marine Insurance.

One fun thing we saw at the Elliott Bay Marina booth, was our boat is in the aerial photo in the booth!

Union Marine – the largest boat display in the show

As the Marketing Manager at Union Marine, part of my job is to ensure that we have a fantastic display. I’ve toured our booth every year and I have to say that we had the best display that I have ever seen. Of course, I’m biased, but it really flowed well and was the center of the show.

Dog Day at the Seattle Boat Show

This year, the show added “Dogs on Deck” and on Thursday folks could bring their dogs to the show. Of course I was in heaven with all of the four legged fur balls running around. Surprisingly, they were all very well behaved and we didn’t experience any doggy accidents.

Fun surprises at the show

Even though we have a great following on our blog and social channels, it still humbles us when people know who we are. We had a few people come up to us while we were touring the show and say “hey, I know you guys. You’re Ally and Scott of Boating Journey – I follow you.” One guy I met, Kyle knew our channel so well, that when he was describing it to his friend, he included our old boat, how we bought this one in a snow storm, that we had holding tank issues and we’re off to the BVIs. It was so awesome and this really is super cool to us.

I had also talked to another fellow boater, Jeff from M/V Why Knot, who we follow on Instagram about the show early in the week. On the last day, he walked right up to me to say hi. We’re hoping to do a meet up with a bunch of us local boaters who follow each other.

Meeting VIP’s

When I’m working the show, I typically work in an office, so many times one of my team members would come and get me to say someone was looking for me. One time, I asked who it was and they replied “they said they were VIP’s”. ?? Who could these people be, I wondered. So I headed up to our Sea Ray ramp, only to find our close friends Nick and Michelle, who now live in Arizona. They came by to surprise me! You might remember, that we used to attend the Anacortes Boat Show with them every year!

The Seattle Boat Show consumes the first four weeks of the year and now that it’s over, Scott and I can start working on all of our boating resolutions. This also includes anchoring and staying on the boat one night before our trip! Of course it’s still winter here in the PNW and we’ll be waiting for warmer weather to do that. Next week, we’re having a planning meeting with Ben and Maria to go over our BVI itinerary and provisioning plan. So stay tuned for our next project!

As always, thank you for following us! Find us on social media on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney. We finally tested out our new drone, so look for our maiden voyage posts. Be sure to also check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020

Cozy winter night during wind storm

Scott and I have been planning to stay on the boat during a wind storm for a while now. The forecast was showing 30-40mph winds for last Friday night, so finally we decided to spend the night during the storm. Why you ask? Well, primarily to see if we could stand it, if we were full-time liveaboards. In addition, it was bitter cold in Seattle at about 38 degrees.

I tried to film walking along the dock, but the rain was going sideways and it was pitch dark. The last thing we needed was to fall into the water during a wind storm – better to watch where we are going, than have footage! (yes, I could have had my GoPro head mount on, but I would have really looked ridiculous!).

We have two Caframo True North heaters on the boat – one in each stateroom. But with it being just above freezing, it was still pretty chilly when we first got on the boat.

boat heater — Sorry for all of the dust! LOL

Time to make dinner

What do you make on a cold winter’s night? Chili and cornbread of course! This time, we made our favorite vegetarian chili. As some of you know, the LPG (liquid propane gas) system freaks me out. Guess that’s why there are three switches plus the knob to turn the gas on!

But first things first! Time to try a new rose’ in a can – we love canned wine, as it’s perfect for the boat. This one is from Outspoken Wine Co in California. The strange thing is, I can’t find anything online about the actual wine co. But it was very tasty!

I got used to lighting the stove top, but it’s the oven that I don’t like! Scott has to light it with a lighter and it was taking forever. Would love to swap out our system with an electric stove and have a microwave / convection oven.

While I worked on the chili, Scott made the cornbread. During this time the boat was rocking a little, but not too bad. The oven worked perfect and the cornbread came out great!

Planning our BVI charter

Scott and I brought all of our documents for our upcoming BVI bareboat charter in April, to discuss and outline our questions. We’re having a charter meeting with our friends Ben and Maria in February and we’ll want to nail down a few things including:

Provisioning
Itineraries (need more than one in case the weather changes)
Charts
Activities

Scott printed out pdf charts from NOAA and the big question for other cruisers is, will this be enough, or do we need to buy full paper charts to take with us? I’ve reached out to The Moorings to see if they provide charts – I have to imagine they do! Again, any advice other cruisers have – please tell us!

When the “boat’s a rocking”

Time for wine, candles and a movie! We ended up watching “Late Night” which was pretty funny. As usual, we finished the night watching some of our favorite YouTube channels, including a local Seattle family (Teal, Linh, Emma and Compass) from S/V Basik – “On Board Lifestyle“. Great channel and we have learned so much from them.

How did we sleep?

Actually we slept surprisingly good through out the wind storm! There were just a few times that the boat rocked badly. Compared to our sailing trip on the Star Clipper where our cabin was moving about 10′ up and down, this was nothing.

It got very chilly and flannel pajamas were a must! At the same time, I love how chilly our stateroom is during the summer. Remember, our aft cabin is almost in the water, which is a constant 50 degrees in the Puget Sound.

Next day errands and project

One of our boating resolutions was to do some remodeling and that includes finding a new sink and faucet. Our first stop was to Morgan’s Kitchen and Bath in Ballard. I had bought a tiny sink from them before, so hopefully they could help us. Turns out they would need some time to look through their catalogs and will get back to us. The challenge is our sink is 22″ x 14″ x 6″. Odd size.

We also checked out their faucets, but these were super high end and really for homes (which is what we already have on the boat!). Then we went to Home Depot – that was a huge BUST. Everything was way to big. Both Scott and I have remodeled our own kitchens in the past and who would know this would be this difficult?

I suggested we stop by Fisheries Supply in Seattle – maybe they have faucets? Sure enough, they have one that will work perfect! We want a faucet that is tall enough to get a pan under it, but not so tall it takes over the galley. Hey, maybe they have a sink too? Turns out you have to look online to see their inventory. We haven’t done that yet.

Our plan is to tackle the faucet and hopefully sink over the next few weeks. Since Ally has to work the Seattle Boat Show for the next 10 days, we won’t be doing any kind of major projects on the boat until after the show is over. Stay tuned for our next blog covering the show. This year we plan on meeting with supply vendors that came help us upgrade the boat and also new marinas we can visit this summer!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

Sticking to our budget of $15 a day!

Scott and I follow a lot of cruisers and many of them have shared their budgets. Some of the conservative cruisers are able to live on $15 a day. One of our New Year’s Resolutions, was to stick to a budget & save money. We wondered if we could live off of $15 day living in DT Seattle?

Now we’re only talking about food provisions, not rent, etc. One thing we have noticed since moving to Seattle, is groceries seem to be more expensive compared to when we lived in the suburbs. We rarely walk out of the store for less than $200 each week and we don’t shop at the fancy grocery stores. So now the challenge was on!

Downtown grocery shopping

One thing I do love about grocery shopping in downtown Seattle, is we get to park in a garage and our groceries never get wet from the rain! Don’t miss that one bit! That’s about the only thing I love about grocery shopping.

Our first stop was the produce department. We can easily spend $60 just on produce. When we owned our home, we had a small garden and I sure miss it. This week, I kept our dinner menu simple and the ingredient list low – especially when it came to produce.

While we’re on the topic of produce, we recently decided to ditch the disposable veggie bags and started using reusable produce bags. They work great and we love them!

Bargain shopping

This week, we were lucky enough to find some bargains, even in the cheese department! Can’t go without cheese. Of course, if we were really trying to live like cruisers, they probably never have cheese – right?

We even managed to find meat on sale with a buy one, get one deal! Woot.

One of our (well mine) biggest challenges, was not to buy any wine. Even after owning a wine shop for eleven years, I still love wine every day. But we need to save on not only money, but calories. So we passed by that section! There’s at least $100 in savings.

As most of you know, I love to cook (check out our recipe page). So it’s hard for me to resist unique foods and ingredients. This week, I just looked and didn’t buy.

How did we do?

Scott and I bought meals for Sunday through Friday (breakfast, lunch and dinner) PLUS since we got free steak and chicken, those are another two meals for the next week. We also had to buy some staples, like cleaning supplies, vitamins, paper towels, etc. All in all, I was very surprised with our outcome!

We spent $150 and saved $51. That is if you include the free meals, that averages out to $18.75 per day. I never thought we could really do it for $15, but considering the $18.75 includes items other than food, I think we did great! The real challenge will be to see if we can continue to do this.

We’ve also opted to not go out to eat as often as we normally do. Living in Queen Anne, we tend to eat out more than we should. Luckily, I do love to cook, so staying in and making dinner is still a great night.

Next boating resolution

There was no particular order in our boating resolutions (save money, anchor overnight, visit three new ports, visit BC and remodel the boat). Next on our list are a few remodeling projects. Be sure to subscribe to our blog for updates on our remodel.

As always, thank you for following us. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney.

You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney.

Happy New Year! Scott and Ally

December 31, 2019January 2, 2020

Our Boating Resolutions for 2020

Everyone sets resolutions for the new year and this time, Scott and I decided to set “boating resolutions” for 2020. Of course, losing weight will always be on the list, but our boating resolutions might be easier to achieve.

We also want to give a shout out to Northwest Yachting Magazine who included us in their boating resolutions article. That is going to help us be accountable and stick to our plan! As the year begins, we’ll share with you our progress on this blog and our YouTube channel. Here’s our list for 2020:

Save Money

Most of us have saving money on our list of resolutions and so far, we’ve done an “okay” job at it. Just our living situation is saving us money – we sold our big house and downsized to an apartment, cutting our living expenses by almost $2300! But Scott and I still have a long ways to go. We watch other cruisers and they are able to live on $15/day! That’s surely not possible here in the city – but we’re going to make a go of it and share it. Groceries alone in Seattle cost a fortune and we don’t shop at the fancy stores! Follow us and see how we do!

Some of the things we’ll do better at are:

Dine at home more often on the weekends (this is a big one)
Drink less wine (save calories!)
Make simple dishes – using less costly ingredients
Watch our personal spending for clothing, toiletries, etc – we’re not big spenders here, but every bit helps
Do boat maintenance ourselves instead of hiring out

What’s interesting about looking at our list is that we’re aren’t big spenders – yet we do like to go out to dinner and have drinks on the weekend – that adds up! Time to hunker down and watch movies at home.

Anchor Overnight

Scott and I have never anchored overnight or stayed on a mooring ball. With all of the great anchorages around Puget Sound, we are committed to anchoring at least a few times next year – especially before our trip to the BVI’s. We have to confess. We love the luxury of power and the ability to walk down the dock to go site seeing. Yes, we have a generator, but interestingly enough it is a portable Honda generator. That means it’s pretty loud and not the way we want to relax on the boat.

Visit British Columbia

Victoria B.C. is about 70 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina. At 10 knots, we think we could get there in about 8 – 8 1/2 hours. We’re certainly not going to run up there for a weekend, but our plan for next summer is to go up north for about 9-10 days. We’d visit Roche Harbor, then probably Sucia Island and then B.C. We’ve never ventured past Deer Harbor, so that’s why one of our boating resolutions is to venture out farther.

marina san juan islands — Roche Harbor Marina

Travel to at least three new ports

Every summer, Scott and I go back and visit the same ports we visited the year before. Probably because we’re familiar with them and the fear factor of the unknown is missing. At the same time, boating is all about visiting new places – especially ones that you can only get to by boat.

These ports will have to be somewhat close to Seattle, so we can get there over a weekend. Some places on our list (which would also fulfill our other boating resolutions) are:

Olympia
Port Townsend
Everett / Camano Island (where my family lives)
Edmonds
Port Ludlow

If you have a favorite spot we should visit over a weekend (near Seattle), please share your comments below.

Find a liveaboard slip

This boating resolution should be at the very top of our list, but we’re feeling a bit defeated here. It’s been four years since we decided to downsize to move onto a boat and we accomplished a lot! We got rid of our stuff, sold our home, sold our first boat and moved into an apartment. I was more worried about if I could actually live on a boat, not that I couldn’t because we can’t find a slip.

Scott and I love Elliott Bay Marina, but they have very strict rules against liveaboards. The only exception to that rule is the condo dock at EBM, but we don’t know anyone to contact. We’ve come to a road block there. We’ve put our name on the waiting list at Shilshole,, but that could take years. There are a few openings in Tacoma and possibly north, but we both work in downtown Seattle and making a two hour commute each way every day would make me miserable.

Our only hope is perhaps we find a private slip or find an available slip at EBM on the condo dock. If you hear of anything, please keep us in mind.

Remodeling Projects

One of our major boating resolutions is do tackle a few remodeling projects. In trying to save money, we certainly have no plans to invest a ton of money on remodeling the boat. But there are a few key items that we hope to address in 2020:

Get a bid for new carpet – our carpet is 17 years old and gross. Perhaps this is something we can do ourselves? But we don’t think so. Here’s photo of another Bayliner 4087 after their remodel – compared to us. They put hardwood floors under the dinette, added new carpet and some other finishing touches.

Replace the kitchen faucet. This is happening soon! Our faucet is way too big for our tiny kitchen sink. In fact, we can barely fit a skillet, let alone a pot under it.

Replace the double sink with a single bowl sink. Easier said than done! Our sink is 22″ x 14″ x 6″ and we cannot find an under-mount single bowl sink with these dimensions. If you know where we can find one, please let us know!

Replace the Bimini canvas top. While we would love to replace the entire canvas, our Isinglass is actually in pretty good shape. There are a few snaps that need to be repaired, which we can do ourselves. Our main issue is the bimini top leaks and after next summer we have no choice but to replace it. Here’s why! We have tubs all over up on the bridge collecting rain water.

One last resolution

Finally, our last boating resolution is to produce better quality & informative videos, along with improving our blog. In order to do that, we had to invest in better equipment (beyond my Android phone), which included the following. Santa was good to me this year! Now we just have to learn how to use everything!

Here’s to a great year in 2020!

After watching our last video of 2019, we know we have to up our game! Not only in video production, but in boating. Time to venture out and explore. As the saying goes, “You cannot discover new oceans, unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. ” That’s our plan for 2020!

As always, thank you for following our blog and journey! You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney.

Happy New Year to you and your family! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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December 22, 2019December 27, 2019

What a year we had on our boat in 2019!

Scott and I started 2019 without a boat and with no big plans to get another one. But just one month later, things changed drastically! In February we made the announcement on a very snowy day, that we had made an offer on “Our Happy Day” and were going to sea trials . I don’t think it really sunk in that the boat was ours until we picked up the keys after our trip to the Caribbean.

Before we got the keys to the boat, we went on an epic trip with our friends Ben & Maria cruising the Leeward Islands on the Star Clipper. That trip was so much fun, that the four of us have chartered a power catamaran next April in the BVI’s.

Scott and I were excited to get home, take possession and get to know the boat. There was so much to learn, as everything was completely different than our first boat.

Ports of call

Looking back at this year, we accomplished a lot on the boat. We visited Dock Street in Tacoma, Port of Kingston, Port Orchard and Port of Bremerton.

While didn’t do as many overnight trips as we had hoped, we did spend almost every weekend boating around Elliott Bay with friends and family.

opening day of boating season — Tracey & Cal

The never ending project list

With the boat being 17 years old, it had some work that needed to be done. The project list grew pretty fast. First on the list, was getting new cockpit carpet and it turned out great!

The canvas needs to be replaced, but in the meantime, we repaired what we could.

Of course we spent a few months trying to tackle the “smell” and at one point thought our holding tanks were leaking. We ended up cleaning the bilges and they are still dry. Turns out we did have in-line filters for our holding tank vents that needed to be replaced. Hopefully, that does the trick!

Lessons learned

First on the list of lessons was for me to learn how to dock the boat. I’ve only practiced once on the yacht dock, but I hope to practice in our slip this Spring.

We also learned how to anchor! First we had to find out how much chain we had and then we headed over to Port Madison to have lunch on the hook! We plan on anchoring over night next year before we leave on our trip in April to the BVI’s.

Just getting to know the boat was a lesson in itself. This included how to cook using propane, changing out our water filters and engine maintenance. That is a never ending list. I would say most full-time boaters say it takes a year to really get to know the ins and outs of your boat.

We certainly learned a lot after we hauled out this past Fall. Scott and I had hoped to have done the work ourselves so we could learn more, but it ended up being too big of a project for us.

What a year it was

Overall, we can say we had a great year on “Our Happy Day”. Scott and I learned a lot and we created lasting memories with great friends and family. We are truly blessed that we have this opportunity – years ago we never thought we would be here.

Thank you for following us on this journey! Next year will be full of exciting things and we can’t wait to share them with you. Until then, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you and your families.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

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November 19, 2019November 19, 2019

British Virgin Islands – Here we come!

Back in July we told you we were looking to charter a boat in the Caribbean and now it’s official. We selected The Moorings, in the British Virgins Islands (BVI’s), and have chartered a 43′ power cat by Aquila with our friends Ben & Maria. The four of us had such a great time on the Star Clipper cruise this year that we couldn’t wait to get back down to the islands.

Scott and I toured this exact boat at the Annapolis Power Boat Show a few years ago. I immediately fell in love with the outdoor bar and galley.

Getting to the BVIs

Let’s start with getting there! We fly from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale, then take Uber down to Miami. Scott and I are staying the night in Miami and fly out the next day to St. Thomas. There are about five ferry service companies that run ferries from Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas to Tortola. The key is finding one that leaves close to when we land, but not too close. I’ve reached out to Road Town Fast Ferry for a few questions.

We want to buy our tickets ahead of time, in case it’s sold out. We land at 11am and the next ferry is at 12pm. Will that be enough time?
If we buy that ticket and miss the ferry, can we use it for the 4:15pm ferry?

The four of us are staying the first night at the Mariner Inn which is at the marina. It’s not cheap, but it’s way cheaper than sleeping on the boat the night before, which was quoted at $880! We plan on grabbing some provisions at the local grocery store the morning we leave. Normally, boaters can stop at most islands and grab provisions as needed. However, the BVIs were hit by Hurricane Irma two years ago and businesses are still rebuilding, so it’s possible that supplies might be limited on certain islands. If you have feedback on your experience here, please share. We don’t plan on preparing too many meals on the boat, but instead dine out and visit the island spots.

Our first charter

Planning your very first charter is a bit nerve wracking. Mainly because we don’t know the area (while we’ve been to the Caribbean over 10 times, we’ve never been to the BVI’s) and we’ll be on a boat that we’re not familiar with. The Moorings will give us a quick instruction before heading out and some suggested itineraries. We’ve received some advice from others who have chartered with Moorings, so that has been helpful.

One bit of advice I got this week, was to check all the electronics with The Moorings and make sure you know how to turn everything on before leaving the dock. Once we cast off, it’s time to find our mooring balls/anchorage spots. Questions we have are:

How easy is it to find an available mooring ball? Do you have to leave at dawn to beat the crowds?
We did find Boatyball.com, which will allow you to reserve a mooring ball the day of. Has anyone used this?
How do you pump out? Do we dare ask that question? I know some countries will allow you to discharge waste if you are at least two miles from shore, but I can’t imagine this is allowed in the Caribbean?
Are there plenty of stores and fuel stations along the routes?

Scott and I have never anchored overnight before and know we will be anchoring as well. Our plan is to anchor a few times here in the PNW before we leave, so we get familiar with staying on the hook overnight.

Where do we go in 5 days?

Most cruises are seven days, but we decided to only cruise for five and then spend a few nights on land. With that said, we have been given a list of must sees:

Virgin Gorda, The Baths
Anegada
Jost Van Dyke
Peter Island
Norman Island
Trellis Bay

Anegada, The Baths, Jost Van Dyke are all musts. This itinerary will require us to travel the farthest. If anyone has suggestions or experiences of their own, please share with us.

And if you have any “heads up” advise let us know as well. I just read that we can’t actually boat to The Baths – no boats or dinghies allowed. So you either swim to shore (true??) or approach by land (dock at a nearby resort and take a cab or rent car). Between Ben and I, we’ll have researched our entire trip. Thanks to YouTube, there’s plenty of info out there.

In the end, we’ll be on a boat, with great friends, enjoying turquoise waters and drinking rum cocktails. What’s not to like?!

So many questions

That’s the fun part about planning a trip like this – it’s all new and exciting. Imagine those cruisers who head out permanently? So much to learn and mother nature isn’t always nice. Since we are newbies, we’re looking for all of the advice other cruisers have to offer.

As always, thanks for following us on our journey! Please subscribe to our social channels too, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (@BoatingJourney). Not only do we want to share our story & experience with you, we also want to hear from you too. We’re learning everyday.

Check out our Patreon page too! With your support to produce better quality and informational videos, we in turn want to take you out boating. Join Here.

Cheers, Scott and Ally
#BoatingJourney

November 9, 2019November 13, 2019

Our Glamorous Boating Lifestyle

Okay, do you really think we have a glamorous boating lifestyle? If you have been boating with us on any weekend, you know we’re basically camping on a boat. That means sweats, no showers, no make-up and bad hair. LOL!

That’s especially true when we spend the weekend on the boat at Elliott Bay Marina. Since we are trying to embrace what it would be like to live aboard a boat, we spend as much time as possible on it. This past summer, we were lucky to have good weather to visit a lot of places including Tacoma, Port Orchard, Kingston, Bremerton and around Blake Island. The rest of the time, we basically hung out at the marina and did boat projects.

What’s a typical weekend in the marina like?

Our glamorous boating weekend at the marina starts by packing up the car Friday evening and stopping at Whole Foods to grab dinner on our way. Scott and I then load up the red wagon and haul our groceries an other supplies (linens, etc) down to the boat. We do keep extra clothes and toiletries on the boat, so we don’t have to pack each weekend.

As you can see, we are fancy drinkers! LOL The galley is small, so it fills up fast when we unload everything.

During the summer, we tried to use the grill as much as possible, since I’m not a huge fan of using our stove top or oven. I admit it – the LPG system (liquid propane gas) freaks me out. However, when the weather is cold and rainy, we don’t have much of a choice.

Spending time on the boat is much the same as our condo

Whether Scott and I are at home at our condo or on the boat, we’re probably doing the same thing on a Friday night (unless we’re entertaining friends). That means, dinner and tv or a movie – glamorous isn’t it? One thing I’m trying to get used to, is that our boat isn’t that comfortable for relaxing and watching tv. We don’t really have a couch (except in the hallway).

The other option, is to sit at the settee and watch tv there. Scott also has set up another tv in the forward stateroom, where we can stretch our legs on the bed. But honestly, I’m not much of a “in bed tv watcher”. LOL

When we are just staying on the boat at Elliott Bay Marina, we typically use Saturdays for boat projects and catching up on chores. It’s much more fun to work on projects with a view like this. Plus you get to see your neighbors, say hi and catch up.

After we’re done with our projects, we’ll enjoy cocktails either at an event at the marina or with friends on the boat.

Funny story to share – you never know who you will run into

When I flew up to Roche Harbor last April with my boss, another passenger on the plane started talking to us. He got off at Friday Harbor, but we ran into him again at Roche Harbor later that day. Turns out (Ken is his name) works for another broker. We then go to breakfast and he’s right behind us in line. We get on the plane and sure enough, he’s on the plane with us.

Later that day, we were moving the boat from Union Marine through the locks. After we tied up to the wall, I looked at the boat in front of us and low and behold, there he was again! Too funny.

After that day, we seemed to run into each other at different events and shows. It became comical really. One Friday evening, Scott and I were relaxing at Maggie Bluff’s and this really cute dog walked by. I couldn’t resist, so asked the owner if I could pet him and she said yes.

What ended up being the funny part of the story, is the dog belonged to Ken! He came walking down the sidewalk and we couldn’t stop laughing. Yes, you had to be there. But the point of the story, is that the boating world (life) is small and one way or another, you’ll run into someone you know (maybe multiple times!)

The views never get old

One of the best things about mooring our boat at Elliott Bay Marina, is the views never disappoint. The only bummer right now, is our dock faces the breakwater wall. For us to enjoy the view at low tide, we either have to be on the fly bridge or up the walkway.

Entertaining on the boat

We love having friends and family come down and enjoy a day on the boat. Whether we cruise over to Port Madison or around Elliott Bay, it’s always a good time when you’re on the water. On top of that, Seattle offers some of the best views in the country and we’re five minutes away. That’s pretty glamorous to me!

Even on a blustery Fall afternoon, we can have fun watching college football on the boat with friends.

So we might not have a glamorous boating lifestyle, but it sure is fun. As they say, “Life is better on the water”. How can you get out and join us? Check out our Patreon page! With your support to produce better quality and informational videos, we in turn want to take you out boating. Join Here.

Cheers, Scott and Ally
#BoatingJourney

October 24, 2019October 30, 2019

Hauling Out at Canal Boatyard

Last month, Scott and I hauled out our 2002 Bayliner 4087 MY to do some work at the Canal Boatyard in Ballard. When we had the survey and haul out done in March, they recommended we take care of a few things before winter arrives.

The items that were on the list were:

Check rudder packing
Bottom paint
Check sea cocks and through holes
New zincs / anodes

Seemed simple enough. Since Scott and I planned on doing the work ourselves, we bought the bottom paint and supplies a few weeks ago. We scheduled our haul out at Canal Boatyard in Ballard because they allow boaters to work on their own boats. Some boatyards require you to hire this out. One thing to note about bottom paint (which we wish we knew before hand with Kokomo), is if you don’t know what type of paint you have (Hard vs. Ablative), then you have to use ablative. Think of it the same way as Latex versus Oil paint. You can paint oil over latex, but not visa versa.

After researching bottom paint, we selected Sea Hawk Cukote ablative. This paint is highly recommended, but very expensive. We paid over $240/gallon!

Scheduling the work at Canal Boatyard

Scott scheduled our haul out with Ivaylo at the Canal Boatyard about a month ago. He then recommended we call Pacific Fiberglass to have the rudders and sea cocks checked, which we scheduled as well. During the Boats Afloat Show, we met Doug with Pacific Fiberglass and discussed our haul out. He was super friendly and helpful. He said he would be happy to take a look at the bottom and see what type of paint they used and see if we need to change our game plan.

The boatyard also offers rental equipment including the vacuum sanders and tarps. They have 24/7 security access (but you wouldn’t want to work in the dark) and shore power. Scott scheduled the haul out for Friday, September 20th at 10am. This boatyard is located inside the locks, so we would need to allot time to get through the cut.

Our original plan was to work on the boat all weekend. If we needed an extra day during the week, we could take some time off work. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was rainy and wet for the weekend. On top of that, we both had to travel for work the following week. Now what? Change of plans.

Going through the Ballard Locks

The last time we hauled out a boat was last Spring and it was a very long process! We hired the boatyard (a different one) to do all of the work and we were there over six weeks. That was NOT in our plan this time. For this haul out, we left Elliott Bay Marina around 8am on Friday, September 20th and headed to the locks. Keep in mind, this is only the 4th time we’ve gone through them and only the 2nd time on this boat.

In front of us was a big tug boat. The lock attendants asked us our length. We told them our length was 48′ and then they motioned for us to move forward. Turns out the tug was 70 feet, we were 48 feet and the total length of the lock is only 120 feet. Really? Two feet to spare!?

As the doors to the locks started to close, they caught the dinghy pontoon. Luckily no damage was done.

Hauling out ……again

Since Scott and I got through the Ballard Locks so fast, we were now early for our haul out. I called Ivaylo at Canal Boatyard and he was thrilled we arrived early! He had a lot going on, so the sooner the better.

It was much easier getting out off of the boat this time, but still a bit tricky. We still had to go from the bow & then crawl under the railing, but at least he lowered it enough to make it easy on me – compared to Sea View. Yikes!

You won’t believe what the boat looked like when we hauled out! Below is what it looked like in March of this year during our survey.

And this is what it looked like when we hauled out just six months later!

Can you say BARNACLES?

Scott and I had planned on scraping the boat and bottom painting it ourselves. But once we saw what it looked like and the work involved, we quickly changed our mind. Money is valuable when you are in a boatyard and at $140/day, we couldn’t spare a dime.

So we met with Doug at Pacific Fiberglass and he gave us a quote to do all of the prep work, bottom paint the boat and apply PropSpeed to the props and shafts to prevent growth. Done! Deal.

It also turns out that we do have hard paint, so we didn’t need ablative. He gave us a quote for Seahawk Shark Skin, which was about $200/gallon. The nice thing about the paint we had bought already, is West Marine will take it back if it’s unopened.

How long will the work take?

At $140/day, we couldn’t afford for the boat to sit in the boat yard for very long. We had hoped that Pacific Fiberglass would start right away on Friday afternoon, but they didn’t have it scheduled since we had originally planned on doing the work ourselves and they don’t work on weekends.

Monday was a gorgeous day, so I swung by the yard after work to see what progress they had made; unfortunately, nothing! Both Scott and I were flying out the next day and I started to get worried it wouldn’t be done by the end of the week. Scott talked to Doug and he assured us it would be ready by 3pm on Friday – yay!

Wanting some footage for the blog, I asked Kurt to go check on it on Wednesday. We were so shocked to see the photos!

Imagine, that they had to hand sand the barnacles off! Look at the shaft and props now! Wow! There’s no way Scott nor I would have been able to do this job.

After they cleaned them completely, they then applied Propspeed. Propspeed is a coating that protects the metal. With that said, you don’t want to ever hire a diver to go down and scrape barnacles after you have applied Propspeed. We were told that it should last at least two years. We plan on putting the GoPro in the water in a month or two and see what it looks like.

Time to go home!

Just as they promised, the boat was ready just a week later! Luckily, Scott was able to capture some pictures before it went in, so we could see all of the work they had done. Check out our new bottom paint!

Time to head back through the locks – it was a nice afternoon on Friday, so I prayed there wasn’t a wait. Guess I didn’t pray hard enough. After doing the “waiting dance” in the cut, we decided to tie up and wait, as it could be an hour before we get in.

Luckily, when we did get called it was for the small lock!! Yay. I did not want to deal with the large locks. When we got into the small locks another boat tied off on us and we were SNUG. We also had to tie up on the port side, which meant we would have issues with the dinghy motor almost touching the wall.

But we made it unscathed and headed back to Elliott Bay Marina. As soon as we left the channel, Scott throttled up the engines and we were shocked to see we were going over 20 knots! Now that we didn’t have 2″ of barnacles, we glide through the water.

It was nice to have the boat back at home and all secure. A big thank you to Kurt for helping us out! We couldn’t have done it without you! We’ll keep everyone posted on how the props look after a month or so.

People have asked us if we are finished boating for the season? Actually no. Since we have been trying to decide if we can live aboard a boat, our plan this winter is to stay on it during a few stormy weekends (once we figure out the cable situation) and also stay on it one night during the week. That way I can see what it’s like to come home from work in the dark and wet weather and also what it’s like to get ready for work. So stay tuned for those adventures.

A big Thank YOU

In each blog post, we say thanks for following our journey! Scott and I hope all of you reading this, understand how much it means to us. We’ve worked hard to make this dream a reality and we love sharing it with you.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel below.

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

October 13, 2019November 23, 2019

Are our holding tanks leaking?!

A couple of months ago, I started smelling a rancid burning urine smell and wondered if our one of our holding tanks was leaking. The smell stayed in one spot near the forward holding tank, but not directly where it was. So we ignored it for a few weeks. Finally last weekend on the boat, I couldn’t stand the smell. In fact, I swore I could smell it everywhere.

So Scott and I decided to investigate. The forward holding tank is located in the third cabin under the bed.

Once we removed all of the bedding and the floor cover, we were able to access the entire tank. To our dismay, there was some sort of stinky liquid under the holding tank. GROSS. Since it is a tight space, we decided it would be me, who would sop up the liquid and dry the space out. This way we could try and see where it’s coming from.

This is a stinky job!

Unfortunately, we had not pumped out recently, so this was a very stinky job! We also checked all of the hoses running to the tank and they were bone dry. After drying out the area, we then flushed the toilet to see if water would appear under the tank again. Surprisingly, it stayed dry.

Scott and I then moved on to the aft holding tank. We assumed it would be the same story – NOT! First off, all you see when you lift up the floor board is a stinky bilge and the edge of the tank! You have to be kidding me!

We assumed the worst!

Determined that we had leaking holding tanks, I contacted my parts department at Union Marine to find out how we could order new tanks. Then we realized, how in the world do we even access the aft tank? There must be an easy access. I contacted Bayliner and to our surprise – no access. Oh joy. Our best option, would be to dismantle the entire bed frame and cut a hole in the floor.

That’s when Scott and I decided to investigate further. That can’t possibly be true! So we tore apart our bed to see what we could find.

Turns out, it is one solid piece. We would have to remove the edging (which would most likely destroy it), unscrew the top and the sides.

What we did discover, is there is an access panel to the water tank. So we used our remote camera to try and see if there was any way to access the holding tank, but it didn’t tell us much. It did indicate we would have to unscrew the bed frame from the inside though!

Option #2

Before we dismantle ANYTHING, let’s make sure that this tank is actually leaking! We know the bilge belongs to the holding tank, so we decided we needed to dry it out too. This time it was Scott’s job to clean out the stinky bilge water and see if it leaks.

To better access the situation, we decided to pump out so that we were dealing with empty tanks. Our plan was to fill up the forward tank with fresh water to see if it ever started to leak.

Surprisingly, there was never a leak in either bilges! What the heck? Where did that liquid come from?? We can only guess that there might have been a leak at one time and after they sealed it up, they never cleaned up the liquid.

The smell is still there!

Back to our original problem – it still stinks in the forward stairway to the cabins. Interestingly enough, that’s also where the vent is. We have noticed a slight corrosion from salt water on the outside vent. Maybe that’s all it is? But it’s not easy to access.

So what’s our plan? Right now, we’re planning on flushing fresh water into both tanks over the next couple of weeks and not using them. Then have them pumped out a few times, so we’re only dealing with fresh water. At the same time, we’ll check the outside thru-hull and see if we can clean up the corrosion. I don’t think we can easily remove it (especially while we’re in the water) . But if anyone out there has dealt with this same issue, we’d love to hear your advice or experience!

Lots of people have also mentioned the hoses can go bad and get stinky. Again, they are not easy to access, so this is a huge job! Obviously, if we were to consider seriously living on the boat, this would have to be addressed right away. We did try to run water thru one vent, but nothing happened. Then we tried to disconnect the vent hose from the tank to see if we could see a clog, but it wouldn’t budge.

Stay tuned for updates as we try to figure out the issue. If anyone out there has successfully accessed their aft tank, please give us your tips and advice. We’ll share as much as we learn with you all too. It could be that they just stink – they are 17 years old after all.

**** UPDATE****
We ended up calling Emerald Harbor Marine to see if they could check the line. Turns out we have an inline vent filter and those need to be changed every few years. (each tank has one, but we only changed the forward vent). We didn’t know we had a vent, because we couldn’t see it. It was located behind the battery bank panel. The labor was the most expensive part of the bill (2.5 hours) and the filter was about $85. Hoping this fixes the smell. Stay tuned!

As always, thanks for following us on our journey! Next weekend, we are hoping to take the boat up to the Port of Everett if the weather is nice. In our next blog, we’ll share our haul-out at Canal Boatyard.

Cheers,

Scott & Ally