The Seattle Boat Show was this week and everyone loves to tour the yachts during a show. This week, we take you on a tour of a brand new (executive demo) 2018 Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht.
Sea Ray stopped building boats over 40′ in 2019 and they only made a limited number of Sea Ray L590 Fly yachts. This is the only new L590 on the west coast and a really beautiful yacht. With a full enclosure, it is perfect for cruising in comfort in the Pacific Northwest, especially because every level has heating and air conditioning.
Entertaining in Style
This yacht has plenty of room for entertaining. The cockpit has seating for over 6 people and it comes with a fridge, icemaker and grill! Plus the joy stick controls are located on the port side for easy docking from the stern.
The interior offers a large open salon with plenty of entertaining space. This includes a comfy couch, ottomans, large flat screen tv and a built in bar. Plus the “up galley” allows the chef to mingle with guests while prepping dinner. The settee offers seating for 6 people comfortably too.
More Entertaining Space!
If that’s not enough entertaining space for you, check out the fly bridge. It has seating for 12 plus people (pre-covid of course), a fridge, a grill and sun pads to relax on.
Liveaboard Comfort
When I think about living on a boat, I wonder how we can make the transition from a home to a boat comfortably – especially here in the PNW. Taking a tour of this yacht, I would have no issues! The master stateroom has plenty of headroom, lots of storage, a full walk around bed, a desk/makeup station, a large flat screen tv and a comfy lounge area. The closet even has an icemaker in it! This is nicer than our condo.
What I love about this yacht, is that Sea Ray put so much thought into the design and texture of the interior. It truly reminds me of a luxury home without being “gawdy”. The master head is beautiful and the shower offers plenty of room for a 6′ person!
There are two other staterooms on this yacht, including a double bunk room. This room has plenty of storage space plus the washer and dryer!
The VIP V Berth
It seems like every v berth we see, the bed is about 4′ high and for me (Ally) who is only 5’3″, it’s a chore to “hop into bed”. What I love about this v berth, is the bed is lower and it has two steps on either side, to easily climb into bed. This stateroom offers tons of storage and another big cedar closet!
The day head has access from the hallway and the v berth. It offers the same space and details as the master head.
The Helm Stations
There are two helm stations on this Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht. The interior helm offers two VERY NICE captain’s chairs with a fantastic navigation center. Sea Ray did not skimp here either, offering leather console and storage compartments in the bridge.
The helm station on the fly bridge has great visibility for easy navigation and docking. The Zeus pod joy stick controls help navigate this yacht through tight fairways and makes docking much easier than you would expect. Two large SmartCraft Vessel View display screens feature provide all the information you need for operating this yacht.
Sea Ray is known for their high quality vessels and attention to detail. This Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht is a great example of that. With less than 60 hours and with a full factory warranty, this yacht is ready to cruise the Pacific Northwest. For more information or a tour, visit Union Marine on Lake Union in Seattle.
As always, thanks for following our blog! For a full tour of this yacht, please watch our YouTube episode below and please subscribe for future episodes. Be sure to follow us on social @BoatingJourney. Stay tuned for next week, as we take you on a tour of a Boston Whaler 325 Conquest Pilothouse. Cheers, Ally & Scott
Scott and I have attended the Seattle Boat Show for the past 20 years. This year the show will be a virtual boat show and quite different thanks to the pandemic. The organizers of the show NMTA, have launched a fantastic website atwww.seattleboatshow.com. Here you can buy different ticket levels, which gain you access to many features, including four days of virtual seminars (83 to choose from) January 28 – 31.
This will be the largest virtual boat show in the country and already they have sold tickets in over 40 states. There are over 600 boats featured on the website ranging from $1400 to $3.6million.
Going from 35,000 sq ft
As many of you know, I am head of marketing for Union Marine and the annual boat show is one of my biggest tasks each year. Normally the show takes up over 200,000 sq feet at the convention center at Century Link and my company normally has over 35,000 sq ft of that space.
Like many boat dealers, we are not only doing a virtual boat show, but we’re also hosting an open house at two of our locations in Seattle and Fife. To try and squeeze in a show of this size into two local showrooms is definitely a challenge, but I feel good about our accomplishment.
Hosting a Virtual Boat Show
No other organization has ever put together a show of this size and honestly, none of us know what to expect. One very cool feature of the show, is many dealers chose to do a 3D virtual walk-thru tour of their showrooms. You can see the two virtual boat show displays for Union Marine on our website. These tours are real life videos of our actual show rooms. You can click on specific targets and get information about a brand, including a brand video, build a boat or see our inventory.
The question still remains, how many people will shop virtually versus in-person? Guess we will have to wait and see. Just like a car, everyone loves to touch and see a boat up close and in person. Scott and I put a quick video together to give you an inside peek of the show both in-person and virtually – so check it out below.
This year, we hope to get to the Annapolis and/or Fort Lauderdale shows, so be sure to subscribe to our channel for upcoming episodes.
As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on social media @BoatingJourney too. Next week, we’ll take you on a tour of a brand new Sea Ray L590 Fly Motor Yacht. Cheers, Scott and Ally
This Silverton 392 motor yacht has an awesome layout and really could make for a great live aboard. Scott and I toured this yacht at Union Marine back in November and we were very surprised to see how much space it has.
The owners have put in some custom cutting boards in the cockpit above the refrigerator, which allows for great entertaining on the stern. We love how much open space there is in the cockpit for relaxing.
The Fly Bridge
The fly bridge on this Silverton 392 offers great visibility. One thing I noticed right away (and I think it’s a great idea), is the owner put labels everywhere to help who ever is operating the boat.
We also noticed that on the bridge, there were switches for engine fire extinguishers. How cool is that?!
The Silverton 392 Motor Yacht, with its innovative “SideWalk” flybridge steps, offers much improvement in safety, space utilization, and mobility. Never before has going forward been so easy and so safe.
The Interior
Compared to our Bayliner 4087, the salon offered much more space for entertaining. You could easily seat 6 or 8 people around the settee. For relaxing at night, the couch was directly across of the tv and it also has a reversible ottoman.
There is tons of storage space under the couch cushions, plus plenty more in the built-in cabinet under the tv.
With the galley just steps away from the salon, you can easily cook and entertain at the same time. There is a lot of storage space and I love that the stove top and oven are electric. Be sure to watch our YouTube episode, for a closeup tour (link at the end of this blog). For some reason, I hate propane ovens/stoves. I know they are the most practical for cruising, but if you are at the dock with shore power, I’ll take electric any day.
Two staterooms
Unlike our Bayliner 4087 that had three staterooms, this Silverton 392 only has two staterooms. However, someone could sleep on the couch, but that wouldn’t offer any privacy. The forward cabin has a double size bed and has plenty of drawers for storage.
There are two heads on this yacht and each has a VacuFlush toilet. The guest head does have a separate shower stall, which is a major plus. On our Bayliner, you had to use a shower curtain in the bathroom when you showered and things still got wet.
The main stateroom is an aft cabin, much like our Bayliner 4087. I feel this cabin is slightly smaller, but Scott disagrees with me. What do you think? I think that our bed was longer than the Silverton making the room bigger?
Main stateroom on the Silverton 392Main stateroom on our Bayliner 4087
The main head was a little smaller that I expected, but still offered everything you would need.
The Engine Room
This Silverton 392 MY comes with twin Caterpillar 3116 diesel engines which have a combined 740hp and they only have 150 hours of use! Access to the engine room is in the main salon.
This boat comes with a Kohler Generator and also has an oil change extractor! Super cool, especially if you have ever pumped out your oil manually.
Upgrades also include a WalVac system (a must!!), Inverter and an AB dinghy with a Honda 15hp outboard motor.
Overall Impression
Scott and I were pleasantly surprised by this yacht. It has a great layout, it’s comfortable and comes with many upgrades. While we loved our Bayliner 4087, had we looked at both boats at the same time, chances are we would have picked the Silverton.
Would it make a good liveaboard? Any boat can be a good liveaboard – check out our episode about living on a 32′ Nordic Tug. But in the end, we’re looking for a boat that’s a bit bigger with more storage. If you are looking for a great cruiser for the Northwest, be sure to check out this yacht. You will be impressed.
As always, thank you for following our journey! 2021 has a lot in store for us, including our (hopefully) upcoming bare boat charter on a power catamaran in the British Virgin Islands in April. If we can’t find the perfect liveaboard (or slip to go with it), we may decide to buy a smaller boat just to be able to get back on the water this year. Stay tuned! In the meantime, we hope you all have a fantastic New Year and we hope to see you on the water! See the full tour in the YouTube episode below.
This past summer, while touring a Viking Sport Yacht, broker offered to show us a 2006 Navigator 5100. She had overheard us talking about our love for Navigator yachts and she had one on the other dock. Unfortunately at $449,000 it’s out of our price range, but we were thrilled to be able to take a quick tour.
Almost identical to the 5300
If you have been following us this summer, you’ll remember that we toured a Navigator 5300 up in Bellingham. The big difference between this yacht and that one is, this one has furniture in the salon (because the 5300 had sank at the dock). Though two feet shorter, none of the layout appears to be tighter or smaller.
The cockpit is nice a roomy, perfect for a day out fishing. You enter through the heavy duty sliding glass door into the main salon, which is very spacious and comfortable. The salon and galley of the Navigator reminds me very much of a “home”.
photo credit: Chuck Hovey yachts
The television is hidden in the cabinet until you’re ready to watch it.
One of my biggest issues with the our Bayiner 4087, was we couldn’t relax on a couch and watch tv comfortably. We had to sit in the settee to watch tv. This salon offers a great area to unwind and relax.
Large Upgraded Galley
For anyone who knows me well, you know I love to cook – even on a boat. But small kitchens and galleys, drive me crazy. Even in our big huge house that we sold, we had pretty limited counter space for prep. The Navigator galleys offer tons of prep space, plus a full pantry under the floor in the galley.
photo credit: Chuck Hovey yachts
Up behind the galley, is the interior bridge. There’s a large settee behind the captain’s chair, which could be used for an office as well.
photo credit: Chuck Hovey yachts
The bridge had great visibility and all upgraded electronics.
Expansive living quarters
Just like the Navigator 5300, the 5100 offers a large master stateroom with a washer and dryer.
The master stateroom had tons of storage, perfect for a liveaboard. The master head was enclosed and it has a separate shower to the right of the Vacuflush toilet.
I was also shocked about how much storage the cedar closets offered. Plus they smell great!
Room for the entire family!
Down the hall from the master, you’ll find a double bunk stateroom and a VIP v-berth stateroom. The amount of storage that is included in each stateroom was amazing!
The guest head has plenty of space & storage and the shower is a stand alone shower stall here too.
photo credit: Chuck Hovey yachts
Up to the bridge
To access the fly bridge, you enter through the interior helm area. One thing I really like about the exterior of the Navigator 5100 is the height of the railings. Since I’m short and usually the one putting the fenders out, I feel safer with a taller railing.
When we toured this Navigator 5100, they had taken all of the cushions off, to keep them protected from the elements. One disappointing fact about this Navigator 5100 is that it does not have an enclosed fly bridge, which is a must for us.
As you can see, there’s tons of storage under the seats. Below is what the bridge looks like with the cusions.
photo credit: Chuck Hovey yachts
There’s so much room up on the bridge! We do wish there was some kind of table, but so far, none of the Navigators we have looked at, have had one on the bridge.
Again, the upper fly bridge offers great visibility for ease of docking.
Is the Navigator our next liveaboard?
Scott and I admit, that after touring three different Navigators, that this is what we are looking for in a liveaboard. We especially like the Sundance model with the main stateroom located mid ship.
So we will continue to search for Navigators and hope that one will come with a liveaboard slip. If you know of anyone wanting to sell their 50′ – 55′ Navigator with a liveaboard slip, please DM us. Be sure to watch the full tour on our channel, video below.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and like most of you, we’re celebrating at home by ourselves thanks to covid-19. Thank you for following our journey and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on social @BoatingJourney.
In this week’s blog, we take you on a tour of a 2005 Sea Ray 55 Sedan Bridge, located at Union Marine on Lake Union. This 55′ motor yacht has a fantastic layout and is in impeccable shape. During our video, you’ll also find out why this is also one of our worst boat tours to date.
Worst Tour? Why?
Well, as you will see even in our photo, image quality was too dark. We have since corrected that issue, so be sure to scroll to the bottom to find out what we have done to correct that. One of the reasons it was so dark, is this Sea Ray 55 is stored in an inside floating showroom or boat house on Lake Union. This provides ample protection for the yacht during bad weather, but boat houses can be dark and loud.
The Interior Tour
Immediately, you move from a very large cockpit (which is great for fishing or relaxing) and into an expansive salon. The heavy duty glass sliding doors work great in the rough PNW weather while cruising.
This yacht has a 16′ beam, offering an expansive interior salon and entertaining space. There is extra storage everywhere from the ottomans to the couch settees.
Galley Up Entertaining
One great feature about the Sea Ray 55 MY is the entertaining space. Guests can relax in the salon, while you prep dinner in the galley up. Everything is so open, that you never feel cramped.
Could we live on this boat?
If Scott and I could afford this yacht, for sure! The asking price for this Sea Ray 55 is $500k, so it’s out of our price range. But it does offer all of the amenities we are looking for in a liveaboard. It has a washer/dryer in the hallway, large staterooms and heads. It also has really great storage for long passages or liveaboard needs.
There are three staterooms on this Sea Ray 55 Sedan Bridge. The double bunks, the VIP V Berth and the master stateroom.
How big is the master stateroom?
The master stateroom was very large with plenty of walk around space around the bed. That’s a must for any live aboard for me. (Oh, and I need to be able to stand up! LOL – see our Meridian tour). With plenty of storage space this is a boat we could easily live on.
Let’s check out the Fly Bridge
One thing I will say about this motor yacht, is the steps leading to the fly bridge were not as steep as we have seen on most Sea Ray yachts.
Once up on the fly bridge, there is a ton of entertaining space and the enclosure is awesome. This yacht is definitely geared for the PNW weather.
This yacht comes with twin Mercury MAN Diesel 765 horsepower V8 inboards, which is a higher fuel capacity than most yachts in its category.
Full confession
I should also confess that while I’m writing this blog, I had septoplasty surgery three days ago. While we thought it was going to be fairly minor, I ended up with some complications. Three days later, I’m starting to be on the mend, but unfortunately this probably wasn’t the best blog I’ve written either.
We were shocked when we watched the video, we were disappointed to see how poor the quality was of the videos. Scott did some research and ended up buying a LED light and a wireless microphone – see our affiliate links below.
Scott and I are looking forward to trying our new camera equipment and seeing how well they improve our videos. Our next tour is another Navigator from this past summer. It’s a beautiful yacht, so be sure to tune in!
As always, thank you for following our journey! Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel (link at the end of this blog). You can follow us on social media @BoatingJourney.
As most of you know, Scott and I are looking for a liveaboard boat, and in this week’s blog, we take a tour of a 1995 Sea Ray550 Sedan Bridge. Sea Ray has a long history of producing beautiful yachts going back to the 1980’s. Then in 2018, Sea Ray announced that they were no longer going to produce any boat over 35′.
The Sea Ray Sundancer has been an iconic brand among cruisers. With roomy interiors and fast motors, they quickly became the perfect vessel for families and for entertaining. This 1995 Sea Ray has all of the original features, so it was fun to go back in time and check it out.
Classic design of the 550 Sedan Bridge
Though this motor yacht is 25 years old, it still has a classic design. The exterior is sleek and is in great shape.
The cockpit has plenty of seating and comes with seat covers that look practically brand new. Enter the salon through the large sliding glass door (a feature we love). On our Bayliner 4087, we had to go down a set of stairs to get into the salon and we like this setup much better.
1995 Upgrades
The first thing you will notice when you enter the salon on this 550 Sedan Bridge, is the dining room table. This is actually a plexi-glass table and chairs, which was an upgrade option in the day.
We love the comfy couch and all of the extra room you have to entertain in the salon. The bar stools are original and fit perfectly!
The galley has all of the original equipment, including a built-in coffee maker, icemaker, microwave, liquor cabinet and stovetop. Considering when this was built, the backsplash is still very up to date!
If you love old movies, you’re in luck! This yacht also comes with a VHS & DVD player. Just like our Bayliner, this yacht offers a lower helm, which we never used.
Living Quarters
All of the sleeping berths are down in the forward section of the yacht. The master stateroom is in the V berth, which offers a queen size bed. Plus it comes with a fun quirky rug!
It had plenty of storage for clothes, plus a make-up vanity. I suppose you could use it as a desk, but you would be staring at yourself all of the time!
The master head was nice and roomy, with a separate shower and a vacuflush toilet.
But wait! There’s more!
There are also two more staterooms off of the hallway. One has bunkbeds and the other has a day bed with a vanity. Again, you could use that as an office possibly. The bunkbed stateroom, is where the washer/dry combo is located. Both staterooms share a fairly large head, which has a separate shower (a big plus for us!)
Plus the day bed stateroom also came with a built-in tv.
The Fly Bridge & Engine Room on the 550 Sedan Bridge
One thing that does give me pause on this boat is the stairs up to the bridge. A deal breaker for me, is any sort of ladder. But once you get up there, it’s awesome! There’s lots of seating for entertaining, plus built-in cup holders and a mini fridge.
The helm has B & G with Raymarine electronics and has great visibility for docking and cruising.
The engine room was pretty roomy with access from the cockpit. This Sea Ray comes with twin Caterpillar 3406 diesel engines that have less than 1500 hours. Diesel engines typically are good up to 5000 hours, so this boat has a long life left in it.
So did we make an offer?
This 1995 Sea Ray 550 Sedan Bridge is a great boat, but for us to consider it as a liveaboard, we would need to give it a cosmetic facelift. Unfortunately, we’re not looking for a fixer upper, as we want something that is turnkey. But it does have everything we are looking for (except a walk around bed too).
If you are looking for a great cruising boat for the PNW, this is a fantastic yacht and it’s ready! This boat was actually in the Tri-Cities and the owner cruised it down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, up around Neah Bay and to Lake Union! That’s pretty impressive!
If you would like to check this boat out, please visit Union Marine at Lake Union in Seattle!
As always, thank you for following our journey! Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel (link at the end of this blog). You can follow us on social media @BoatingJourney.
Next week, we’ll take you on a tour of a 2005 Sea Ray 550 Sedan Bridge. This will be a fun comparison of the 1995! Stay tuned! You can view the boat (until it’s sold) here: www.unionmarine.com . Check out our YouTube episode below.
A few weeks ago, Scott and I got the chance to tour an awesome Viking Sport Cruiser, located on Lake Union. It was blistering hot and the broker was so kind to show us around in the 100 degree heat. It’s priced right at our budget at $199k, so we were anxious to see it in person.
What’s interesting about this sport cruiser, is it was originally built in England as a Princess 46 yacht . It was then imported into the US and branded as a Viking yacht through a join venture. Viking Yachts has been building yachts since 1964 and since then has delivered over 4000 yachts ranging in size from 37′ to 92′. Founded by two brothers Bob and Bill Healy when they took over a struggling boat builder, Peter-Viking Builders in New Jersey. Viking is now recognized as a world class yacht builder.
Wow, it has A/C!
Most of us here in the Northwest don’t need A/C on our boats, as it doesn’t get too hot nor humid. On the day of our tour, Seattle hit record temps and it was so nice to be inside an A/C cooled boat for the afternoon. The boat was originally from Napa and came up here a few months ago.
It has a really large swim platform with plenty of room between the dinghy and the transom. The cockpit offered plenty of space for a table and chairs. I will say, it was a bit tricky getting to the walk arounds and they were also a bit tight.
The cockpit had plenty of storage under the seats and the lazarette was huge!
The salon is very comfortable and offers so many live aboard amenities, including plenty of storage, a bar area, two refrigerators and an icemaker!
Check out this galley!
If you have been following us for long, you know one of my top priorities for a liveaboard is a big galley with lots of counter space and this one did not disappoint. It also has tons of storage space including an in-ground pantry.
The helm is right across from the galley and I was disappointed to see that there is no dining settee.
Heading down to the staterooms
The hallway is easy to pass through and offers closet space for storage.
The stateroom on the starboard side, offers two twin beds.
The stateroom on the port side, offered two bunk beds, with lots of storage. We were surprised to see, that there was some kind of water damage. The owner is fixing that and replacing the cushions for the bottom bunk.
The forward stateroom was comfortable and again, with plenty of storage. It’s not quite a full walk around bed, so that’s a deal breaker for me.
The heads on this Viking cruiser were interesting. In the master head, the toilet is part of the shower, but has seat cover. In the day head, you can see the toilet is outside, but still with the seat cover
Engine access and the fly bridge
The engine room access is in the salon. It was pretty roomy, but we thought it would have been a bit bigger considering this is a 46′ boat. Be sure to watch the video for the full tour of the engine room. This Viking cruiser has two CAT 3126 engines with less than 500 hours, she has a max speed of approximately 30 knots and will cruise economically in the low 20s! Wow, you can get to your destination fast – just watch out for logs.
When we got up to the fly bridge, we were disappointed that the fly bridge is not fully enclosed. Another deal breaker for us. On top of that, the bimimi is just like our old one – it has tiny pinholes in it, so it needs to be replaced.
It does have plenty of seating and the owner is having new cushions made for the fly bridge. Scott and I love the entertainment space this boat offers.
Oddly enough, this yacht has a very small dinghy for this size of a yacht. The 9′ dinghy didn’t have seats and the motor was only a 4hp! That’s slower than our first dinghy.
Our overall impression
Scott and actually loved the set up and feel of this Viking Cruiser; and it is in our price point. So what’s the deal? Well, this boat needs work and we’re not up for a fixer upper. All of the window seals are shot. Some people say they just need to be removed and resealed; others have told us the windows need to be replaced.
Beside the windows, all of the carpet needs to be replaced. So with all of this work, plus the bimini and water damage repairs, it just too much work. The owner is willing to work on the price, if the next owner is willing to do some or most of the work.
If you love to work on boats, this would be an awesome project! It’s a gorgeous yacht and would make for a great liveaboard. This yacht is listed with Chuck Hoveyyachts on Lake Union and Martha was so gracious and helpful. In fact, she gave us another tour on a 51′ Navigator – stay tuned for that episode.
As always, thank you for following our journey! Next up, we go kayaking and canoeing all in the same day. Please follow us on our social channels @BoatingJourney. Until next time!
A few weeks ago, Scott and I headed up north to view two Navigator yachts as a possible live-aboard. The weather forecast was sunny and warm, so why not take a road trip and spend the day near the water and boats? A few years ago, I commented in our blog about liking Navigator yachts after we toured one at the Boats Afloat Show. However, that was also four years ago, so perhaps what we liked then is different than today.
First stop, Navigator on the hard
Scott and I headed up to Blaine, WA to view a 53′ Navigator that was on the hard. The price was very low compared to the other similar year and models. We could see by the photos that it was missing some of the salon furniture and we wondered why. This is a 1999 Navigator 5300 and the asking price is $199,999.
The salesperson was very friendly and let us tour the boat on our own. As soon as we got on the boat, she asked us if we “knew the story?” We told her we had not talked to anyone, other than a few emails back and forth about viewing it. While were were admiring the size of the cockpit, she began to tell us the story.
Turns out the boat sank at the Anacortes Marina a year ago ! (great). Wish we would have known that before we drove all the way up to the border. Luckily, we had another viewing the following day in Anacortes, so it wasn’t a big deal.
We’re here, might as well tour it
As the story goes, the boat sank at the marina after a thru hull plug failed and it sank up to about a foot into the salon. Well, that can’t be good! They did get life it out immediately. Surprisingly, we didn’t notice too much damage on the woodwork except for a few spots, but the interior did smell musty. Older boats smell as it is, and it didn’t help that this one had been in the water. They did replace the carpet and that was about it. They said they “Neutra-salted” the engine (yet the listing said they rebuilt the engines) and didn’t replace any of the electronics or wiring. Yikes. She did say, they have put the boat back in the water since and everything runs fine. Could be a fun project for someone, but when it comes to sinking and electrical – I’ll pass.
Since we’re here, might as well take a tour. The galley is one of my favorite things about the Navigator. It has plenty of counter space, a huge sink and a nice big fridge. Check out the pantry in the floor board!
Check out the pantry!
Nice big galley!
The interior bridge offered plenty of space for an office.
As we toured down below, it was difficult to see, as they didn’t turn on the power, so everything was in the dark. In the main stateroom, they did have a washer and dryer. However, it was right next to the bed and I don’t know how you would get your laundry out. We also wondered how you would service the washer?
The forward VIP berth had tons of storage including closet space.
Question for other boaters: Have you ever bought a really stinky boat and made it work? We watch YouTube videos of folks buying derelict boats and we wonder if they ever get the smell out? Please let us know.
When we got to the upper fly bridge, it was obvious this boat needs some work. It did have a huge u-shaped seat, but with no table, it seemed like strange set up. Then the bridge panel was missing an instrument indicator, the instrument panel was starting to show signs of wear & salt corrosion, plus it had a serious off shore freezer that took up a huge chunk of the bridge.
If someone wanted to invest at least $50,000 to $80,000, this could be a really cool boat. Scott and I are not looking for a serious fixer upper. We did love the bottom paint – this made the boat very stylish and stunning. In the end, this was not our thing and so we moved on to the next one.
Who doesn’t love a surprise?
While we were cruising the docks of the Blaine Marina, we stumbled across this cool old tug boat. We talked to the captain and found out they use this tug boat to shuttle people from the marina to the Semiahmoo marina.
This tug was built in 1944 and was used to carry cannery workers back and forth across the channel between Blaine and the former APA salmon cannery on Semiahmoo Spit. The ferry was restored by volunteers from the Whatcom Maritime Historical Society, The Friends of the Plover, (now known as Drayton Harbor Maritime) and The Plover Beach Gang. For more information, be sure to check out the Drayton Harbor webpage here.
My surprise for the day, was finding out that our friends were just across the bay and they have a golden retriever named Tiller. I first met Tiller at the Union Marine Rendezvous last summer and I fell in love with her. She is so much like our old golden Mac, that I swear he is channeling through her. So Lauren and Marshall, made the trek across the bay from Semiahmoo and we got to visit with them for a bit before we headed to Anacortes. What a fun surprise!
A beautiful day at Cap Sante Marina
This was our first trip overnight since the covid-19 pandemic and I was a bit anxious about staying in a hotel. Scott and I have stayed at the Sunrise Inn for the past few years and this year, they didn’t disappoint. Our room was fantastic and very clean. We brought our own pillows and didn’t use any of their shower amenities – just to be safe.
We grabbed a quick appetizer at the beach cafe at Anthony’s while we enjoyed the view and the sunshine. It was the perfect setting for a Saturday afternoon.
We decided to walk the docks and enjoy the scenery. The marina had plenty of signage reminding folks to keep their social distancing. As we walked down the guests docks, it was fun to see a couple of Elliott Bay Marina yachts there and we stopped to chat with them for a bit.
A sneak peak before our tour
Scott and I had a scheduled tour for the following day to see the other Navigator, a 1995 Sundance 5300, but as we walked the docks we stumbled upon it. Low and behold, someone was on it and he invited us up. It was the canvas company (working on the boat) and he gave us the full story and tour. One thing to note, is the Sundance model is set up differently than the classic 5300 (the first boat we toured). The main stateroom entrance is located mid salon. (See below in the tour.)
He was in the process of installing a BRAND NEW waterproof Sunbrella enclosure for the flybridge. It was awesome and we were envious. Turns out the owners live in California and they were just not using the boat that much, so they decided to sell it. They were the second owners and have put the boat in charter for one year. However, they use a boutique small charter company, so it only got chartered about twice a year.
It was great getting some insight on the boat, before our appointment the next day. Plus who wouldn’t want that brand new canvas enclosure?! Wow, amazing work. He did tell us that they only work in Anacortes. So if you need canvas work done, call Canvas Outfitters in Anacortes.
The full tour of the Navigator Sundance 5300
Scott and I met the broker first thing in the morning and he was super helpful. Of course, we didn’t tell him we had been on the boat the night before. The owner of the boat has taken impeccable care and it really showed. For a 25 year old boat, this boat looked new. It did have a very expensive lounge chair in the salon (a Thomas Payne) – which I would get rid of and instead, add a coffee table. In addition, there is tons of storage throughout the salon.
While the galley was dated with white cupboards, it actually looked great. The dining table was huge and you could easily use that for entertaining and a buffet. There was just as much storage in this galley as we have in our current condo.
Check out the size of this sink!!
Great storage!
More storage under the seats
Unlike the previous Navigator, the galley table is the only option for an office – but it’s big enough for four people! The bridge was a bit tight looking at the seat and the wheel, that was our biggest disappointment. Even a skinny person couldn’t fit in there.
Sleeping arrangements
The main stateroom and head are accessed by a staircase, mid salon. It was actually pretty cool and this offered a full beam stateroom, as it’s located under the salon.
With huge closets and plenty of drawers, this main stateroom easily offered the comforts of home. Plus you can easily walk around all sides of the bed!!
Moving through the galley and flybridge, you enter another staircase down to the guest spaces. I like that they are separate from the owner’s section. Down below they had a room with bunk beds and a large VIP forward berth with a shared head.
The washer and dryer were easily accessible and located in the room with the bunk beds.
Cavernous Engine Room
Scott originally wasn’t going to check out the engine room, but the salesman convinced him to go check it out. Once down there, he kept awing and saying “Wow, this place is cavernous! It goes on and on and on.”. While it’s hard to tell the size by the photos, you can see how many large tubs are stored down there. Be sure to watch the YouTube video for the full tour.
While we do contract out some of our engine maintenance on our boats, we also do a lot of it ourselves. The biggest challenge Scott has had, is being able to easily access the engine. On this boat, he felt he had plenty of room to maneuver around.
Where’s the dinghy?
I thought it was odd that the boat didn’t have a dinghy. That was until we got upstairs (yes, I didn’t notice it the day before), that we found the dinghy up on the flybridge. The flybridge also has a barbecue and wet bar. With the dinghy stored up top, it does get pretty tight. You would want to be careful moving around.
Curious about what type of dinghy it was, I took off the cover and was happy to see it was a center console 12′ Caribe with a 40hp engine! Wow! The flybridge has a crane davit for the dinghy, which would be new to us to use.
What a great live-aboard! Did we make an offer?
As we were sharing our story on Instagram and Facebook during the tour, everyone kept asking us if we made an offer? We also found more information on the boat, also called “Simbalaut”, that he has traveled to Alaska and there’s a great blog out there about that trip! How cool is that?!
Back to the question – did we make an offer? Scott and I talked it over on our way home. We know this is a perfect live-aboard and within our price range. The issue still remains – we have no where to put it. The broker did offer temporary moorage for it, but that’s not our solution. We don’t want to pay for a 60′ slip AND our condo that we live in. The whole purpose for downsizing and living aboard, is to get rid of our condo. Back to square one.
Scott and I have no regrets on taking the trip and spending time on both Navigators. We feel this is probably the model we are looking for, but we are still open to other types (trawler, yachts, etc). We’ll continue looking at different types of boats and hope when February comes along, that we’ll find something. Our best bet is probably to find a boat that comes with a live-aboard slip already. We are on the wait list for Shilshole and Delin, but without a boat, we won’t be able to take it if our name comes up.
In the meantime, we’ll keep searching and stay positive that all of our efforts to make this happen will come to fruition. Stay tuned.
As always, thank you for following our story! Next week, we share a “Whaler Story” and life on a Boston Whaler 170 Montauk.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook,Instagram, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney and use the hashtag #boatingjourney. Thank you for subscribing to our blog and our YouTube Channel. We’ll see you on water soon! Cheers, Scott and Ally (See the full tour below)
A few weeks ago, our friend Jeff Gassen of M/V Why Knot gave us a tour of his Nordic Tug 32′ that he lives on. Yes, you heard that right – a 32′ tug! We met Jeff virtually through Instagram and you can find his profile page here. It’s been fun sharing ideas and suggestions over the past year. In fact, Jeff offered a lot of help in getting our dinghy up and running!
Scott and I reached out to Jeff to ask him questions about how he likes living aboard, especially on a small vessel. When we downsize from a home, our mindset tells us to mimic our home (three bedroom, two bath, living room, etc). But that’s not what the point is. I do think it makes a difference if you are a single resident versus a couple!
Jeff moors his boat in Ballard along the canal. This is a private dock in an industrial area, not a marina. The disadvantages of that is he doesn’t have a dock box, private hose, laundry or bathroom facilities. The plus side is, he gets to live on his boat!!
About is ’86 Nordic Tug
Jeff has lived on his boat for about three years after he moved from a small apartment on Alki Beach in Seattle. He had been looking for a boat to live on and when this one came up, he jumped at the chance. Originally built in Woodinville, WA, Jeff is the second owner of this tug. You can check out the history of Nordic Tugs here. This boat launched in October 1986 and this was hull #6, making this vessel a classic.
It’s a perfect layout for Jeff and provides him everything he needs. The forward berth is comfortable and he has a full head with a separate shower. I asked him if he has ever run out of water (my biggest fear) and he said “Yes, one winter day when I was in the shower.”
He has a local service pump him out or he will take the boat to the Sky Launch pump-out. That gives him an opportunity to boat on Lake Union and practice his one man handling of the boat. Speaking of which, he says, it’s actually pretty easy to maneuver using the dual pilot house doors.
The boat has one engine, a 175hp Yanmar diesel with 6 cylinders. Jeff happens to be an auto mechanic, so he’s able to do a lot of the engine maintenance himself!
The Grand Tour!
I took a few photos of Jeff’s Nordic Tug, but for the full tour be sure to watch our YouTube episode below. There was too much to try and include here in the blog (and the blog doesn’t do it justice). Jeff spends much of his time in his salon/galley where he loves to cook. He has a super cool spice rack that adds to the character of the space. Of course I forgot to take a photo – so tune in!
Inside his salon, he has a wood burning stove that pumps out serious heat. Though his salon may seem small to some, Jeff explained that he works out in the salon, he entertains and does game nights and relaxes while listening to music. Notice I didn’t say anything about internet or television? That’s because he does NOT have a computer or a television. Good for him. To be disconnected these days, is impressive.
Where are the photos of the rest of the boat?
I got so caught up with the tour while Scott was filming that I forgot to take still photos for the blog! Me forget to take photos? Shocking, I know. To get a tour, you will need to watch the video. The other thing is during our tour it got really windy, with winds coming from the south at about 21 knots. We could really feel it. It gave us some perspective of how it would be living on the canal during the winter.
Living on a boat
For Scott and I, we were curious if Jeff had any regrets or did he miss anything by living on his boat? He did say he misses a big comfy couch. I would agree! Our next boat, will definitely have some sort of couch/lounge area that we can comfortably relax on.
While his fridge was on the smaller side, along with his pantry items, he simply goes to the store a bit more often. Being moored where he is, Jeff is walking distance to two major grocery stores. Super easy! I did ask about doing laundry – his laundromat is next door to a brewery, so he drops in his wash and grabs a beer while he waits. Perfect!
There are about six or so live-aboard boats where he is moored. He loves that they all watch out for each other and share different things should they need it. They barbecue on the dock, watch the boat traffic pass by and enjoy the sunset with cold beer. You can’t beat that view.
Scott and I were super grateful to Jeff to spend time with us on his Nordic Tug 32 and answer all of our questions. Living aboard can seem fun, adventurous and rewarding, but it has to make sense for you. Our plan is still to search for our live-aboard boat. It probably won’t be this compact, but if it was, we might have a better chance of finding a slip! LOL
As always, thank you for following our journey! We have some great stories coming up, including a tour of two Navigator 5300 yachts. Now if only we could find a slip for a boat that size. Stay tuned.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook,Instagram,YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney and use the hashtag #boatingjourney. Thank you for subscribing to our blog and our YouTube Channel. We’ll see you on water soon! Cheers, Scott and Ally
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
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