Boating Tips Archives

September 7, 2019December 8, 2019

Visiting Bremerton

A few weeks ago, we joined the Union Marine getaway in Bremerton and we brought along my college friend Jen. The Bremerton Marina is just across the bay from Port Orchard, where we were earlier in the month, so it was nice to know where we were going. The three of us left Friday around 3pm, so that I could get a dock party set up for our event. Going at 10 knots, it would take us about 90 minutes to get there.

The weather was a bit grey, but the water was almost calm the entire way! We even saw a few porpoises, but I never got a chance to get their photo.

Entering the Bremerton Marina!

Most of our crew & guests were already at the marina, so I called our broker Steve and said we were coming in. He warned me that the current was swift and to be ready. We entered the Bremerton Marina on the west end, as we were on the guest dock in the center. That all was very smooth, as the water was so calm. But once we turned down our fairway, Scott said the current was fast!

The fairways and slips are very wide (thank God!) and we were grateful for that, as we were sharing a slip with one of our customers who has a beautiful 48′ Sea Ray yacht. As we started to back in, the current over took us and we had to try again. This time we went to the end of our fairway, turned around and backed in again. Let’s just say, we were grateful for all of the extra hands on the dock!

The docks are nice and wide and well appointed. The marina doesn’t have a breakwater wall, but instead an outside dock.

Happy Hour on the Dock

Union Marine was hosting the wine & beer hour on the dock. Each boat then brought an appetizer and there were some amazing bites that everyone made (being so busy, I brought store bought chips & salsa – boo!) One boat brought Caesar salad in a cup! Genius idea!

One of the best things about this getaway, was hanging out with the three fur babies! I mean, we had a Corgi, Bernese AND a Golden! Heaven!

After our happy hour, Jen, Scott and I decided to explore DT Bremerton and find a bite to eat. The Port is very nice and has a lot of culture built in. The US Navy is based out of Bremerton, so much of the Port is dedicated to our service men and women.

Our First Night in Bremerton

The three of us headed into Bremerton and stumbled upon the South Pacific Sports Bar, which is walking distance from the marina (just past the bus terminal). The food was fantastic and they had plenty of seating! I highly recommend a stop here during your next visit.

It wouldn’t be a boating getaway, if there wasn’t a night cap party on the dock. Luckily the weather never got bad and it was a really great night to sit and mingle with good friends on the dock.

Touring the USS Turner Joy

I wanted to check out the USS Turner Joy Navy ship, for a possible future event. The ship is located at the Port, right next to the marina. They gave us a quick tour of the upper deck, where parties would be held. This is a very cool venue! You can even stay the night on it as a group!

USS Turner Joy was one of 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy. It was named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN. Commissioned in 1959, it spent its entire career in the Pacific. It launched in 1958 and was decommissioned in 1982.

Apparently this is the party deck! Better hold on tight!

A Quick Trip to Port Orchard

Say, weren’t we just in Port Orchard two weeks ago? Yep, but there is so much to see there, that we wanted to show Jen the cute town and farmer’s market. Port Orchard is located directly across Sinclair Inlet from Bremerton – yes, we could take our dingy there, but that would be too much work. Instead, we hopped on a vintage ferry boat – the Carlisle II.

Carlisle II is the oldest of only two operational Mosquito Fleet vessels in Puget Sound. (The other is the 1922 Steamship Virginia V. which is located on Lake Union) They were once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington State in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The ferry runs every 30 minutes and it’s best to have your ORCA card. Otherwise you’ll need cash (I think $2) for each way.

We talked to the Captain and found out that the ferry will be decommissioned in a few months and replaced with an hybrid catamaran foot ferry.

There was a tall ship “festival” in Port Orchard, but we only saw one ship at the marina. Jen, Scott and I decided to walk around town a bit and check out a few things we didn’t see before. Including the must have belly rub on a sweet golden.

One of the funniest things we encountered was at the Candy Shoppe in downtown. They not only sold these cute “turtles”, but they also sold “turdles”. LOL!!

After a quick one hour tour, we headed back to Bremerton on the ferry for the Union Marine Party at Anthony’s.

Union Marine Getaway Party at Anthony’s in Bremerton

Union Marine hosted the Bremerton Getaway cocktail party at Anthony’s Homeport, located right at the marina. We rented a private room and it was perfect for our group. The staff did a fantastic job and the food was amazing! Thank you to everyone who made this a great event.

Prism Graphics sponsored the event and talked with them for quite awhile. Scott and I would love to change the name of our boat, as it’s not one we would pick (“Our Happy Day”). To do that properly, you need to have a proper ceremony to avoid bad luck. Turns out that Prism offers that too!

Walking around the Bremerton Marina and the Port

Our group told us to go check out the fountains, just walking distance from Anthony’s. I was skeptical, wondering what the big deal was. Well, were we in for a surprise! These things were so cool and the photos don’t do them justice. We think they are meant to simulate a submarine.

With everyone content with good food and cocktails, we returned to the dock to relax. Somehow, that’s where all the stories are told (or begin for the next time). This is a great group of boating friends and I’m glad I’m part of their family.

A Beautiful Trip Home from Bremerton

We couldn’t have asked for a better travel day. The weather was calm and warm. In fact, I wish we could have stayed out on the water a bit longer.

Since we had a lot of chores to do, we decided to kick it into gear and let the boat burn off some carbon across Puget Sound. We made it home in 45 minutes!

Scott and I are thrilled about how well our Bayliner 4087 has done this summer. We’ve taken her out to Kingston, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Port Madison and now Bremerton. For our first year, we couldn’t be happier. We’re looking forward to the next getaway, wherever that may lead us.

As always, thank you for following and subscribing to our blog! Stay tuned for our YouTube episode and tour of Bremerton. If you want to get notifications of our next episode, be sure to subscribe to our channel – click here!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too at @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

August 24, 2019September 21, 2019

Fresh Water on the Boat

While Scott and I might not be out at sea, I still want to make sure the fresh water on the boat is good and drinkable. Let’s just say, I’m a bit of a water snob and I have always been that way. Perhaps it’s because the tap water I grew up with tasted horrible. At home, I always drink filtered water – whether it be through a pitcher or a portable (Brita) water bottle. Our goal is to help eliminate plastic bottles and find other solutions. That’s where this blog post comes into play! We’re all guilty of buying bottled water because it’s cheap and readily available.

Let’s go back a couple of years, when we owned our first boat. I shared a post about potable water and how I wondered if the water on that boat was safe to drink. Keep in mind, that boat sat on the hard for two years, so the tank had to have gotten nasty. I refused to brush my teeth with the water on that boat. Yes, there were things we could have done to clean up the tank, but we didn’t. But I did say, that the next boat would have to have some type of filtration system on it.

Water at the Dock

At Elliott Bay Marina, we have city water, which is actually pretty good. Some marinas you visit, especially up north might not have the greatest quality and they don’t recommend you add it to your tanks. However, if you have no choice, then make sure you take the steps necessary to purify the water you are putting in your tanks.

The first thing I always recommend, is use an Teknor Zero-G Rv/Marine Hose for safe drinking water when you fill up your tank. We only use this hose for drinking water and a different hose to wash the boat.

This year, we took it a step farther and we use a Camco TastePURE Water Filter which filters the water from the faucet to the hose. This filter runs about $26 and we keep it in the locker with the antibacterial hose.

Drinking Water

Just because the water in our fresh water tank has been filtered, it doesn’t mean it’s good enough to drink (for me at least). That’s because you don’t know how well your tanks has been maintained. Typically, the smell of the water is a good indicator and on this boat, the water smells fine. So I have no issue brushing my teeth with this water, but will I drink it? Not so fast! Luckily for us, we also have a drinking water faucet! How cool is that? To be honest, I didn’t know what it was for the first few months!

Under the sink, there’s another filter that is hooked up to this faucet, acting like a super Brita filter. However, make sure before you buy a replacement filter, that it’s the right part. These are not cheap. This 3M filter was about $80 from a specialty filter company. I was skeptical, but the water tastes great!

Making Water On-Board

Scott and I were shocked to learn this boat came with a water maker! Our broker had told us to make sure we run it regularly to keep the membranes wet. Since it had been on the market for at least 6 months, I wondered if it needed to be serviced. We have run it on low pressure a few times and then I was convinced that the water tasted like salt. LOL!! Time to have it checked out.

I called Emerald Harbor Marine located right here at Elliott Bay Marina. Turns out they know this boat and unit well. The previous owner had upgraded the water maker and turned it into a “science project”. Not sure that that means, but I was happy to hear it was regularly maintained.

Dan came down and ran the machine to pressure and let the onboard TDS meter stabilize at 148 PPM. A TDS meter is a device used to indicate the Total Dissolved Solids in a solution. Since dissolved ionized solids, such as salts and minerals, increase the conductivity of a solution, a TDS meter measures the conductivity of the solution and estimates the TDS from that reading. He then disconnected it and sampled the water with his hand held unit and it showed 135PPM. Anything below 500 PPM is good. In Puget Sound, our water maker should make water from 100-350PPM.

Water Maker Maintenance

Moving forward, we need to make sure we flush the system with fresh water each week. I asked how we will know to change the filters? He said that there is a vacuum pressure gauge and when the system is running and the filters are clean, the gauge should read 20-30 PSI. As the filters clog, the pressure will drop. He recommends replacing the filters when the feed reaches 5-10 PSI. Dan also mentioned that the membranes should have a 6-8 year life with proper care. If we are not going to be on the boat during the winter, he recommends that we have them “pickle the system”, basically preserving the system and locking it down until Spring.

So now you know more about water makers than you ever wanted. You might be asking why we are doing all of this? Do we use the water maker? Not really, but water makers are great to have when you are out cruising. Scott and I are maintaining the unit, so that it stays in tip top shape. Water makers are very expensive and our model is about $4000 new.

To summarize, we’ll keep the water maker membranes wet and use the drinking faucet for all consumable water and to make ice! As always, thanks for following our blog! Please be sure to subscribe to our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels. Check out our full review on our YouTube channel below.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

#BoatingJourney

August 7, 2019September 5, 2019

So Much to Do in Port Orchard!

At the end of July, we took a quick over night trip to Port Orchard with Kurt, his brother Cal and girlfriend Tracey. This has been a very busy boating month for us, as we were just in Kingston the weekend before.

Port Orchard is about 14 nautical miles due west from Seattle.

We estimated it would take us about an hour and a half going 10 knots, and we were right on the mark. The weather was a bit cloudy, but dry and warm when we left. There were a lot of logs along the way that we had to watch out for. Plus we either had a ferry coming up on us or at us. Other than that, it was a non eventful trip (a good thing!).

Going through Rich Passage into Sinclair Inlet, cruisers suggest you enter at slack tide as the current can be almost 2 knots. We entered just before slack tide, and didn’t have any troubles. But you could see how a smaller vessel would struggle a bit.

The Naval Ship Yard is on your starboard side has you enter the channel adjacent to the Bremerton Marina.

Entering the Port Orchard Marina

Reserving dock space at Port Orchard was similar to La Conner. They simply put you on the (east) breakwater dock, with the name of your boat in the spot you are reserved for. I knew by looking at the aerial shot, that the fairways would be wide. That was great, because we would need to turn around to dock starboard. What I didn’t realize, is how narrow the entering fairway is.

Once we got in, we weren’t sure where to go. All of the reserved signs were for other boats and it turns out, we were the closest to land. It’s hard to tell by this photo, but our anchor was inches apart from the guy in front of us. The only negative or “con” I would say about our spot, was we had a tall water spigot right where you get on and off the boat. Definitely not the obstacle you want after a few cocktails!

You also would not want to be in the first slip next to land – it seemed to attract algae and make it look like a rug! LOL

We checked in at the marina office right away (which is located up the hill to your right). They gave us all kinds of cool stuff, including a huge bag for the Farmer’s Market! The market was on the main street and was from 10am – 3pm, so we had plenty of time to check things out!

Since Scott and I have never been to Port Orchard, we didn’t know what to expect. Friends of ours kept teasing us and saying we’ll be bored senseless and that there’s nothing to do in Port Orchard. (That happened to us in Oak Harbor, so I was a little worried before we left.) Turns out they were wrong…..

The Farmer’s Market

We’ve been to the Kingston and Poulsbo Farmer’s Markets. They are small with just a few vendors, so we were not expecting much in Port Orchard. Boy were we surprised! First of all, when we got our goodie bag, we also found out that there is a night time market with music!

The daytime market had lots of vendors, including food, crafts, gifts, olive oil, spirits, homemade ice cream AND wine tasting! Imagine that! Seabeck Cellars opened in 2016 and produce about 300 cases a year. I loved their Rose’ and Cab, so I bought one of each.

Downtown Port Orchard

After we toured the market, we headed to the main drag to check things out. Port Orchard has lots of quaint shops and pubs to check out. Josephine’s Mercantile is a great shop with all kinds of souvenirs, seasonal gifts and nautical items.

Eventually, we made our way to The Brick House Bar and Grill, where we sat outside, enjoyed live music and met a new furry friend!

Just down the street was the Nauti Mermaid bar and we couldn’t resist. It’s pretty much a dive bar and it was a bit empty when we went in. But our group can have fun anywhere we go!

There was also a band playing on the main street! These guys were awesome! Who knew so much was happening in this small town!

Off to Check Out the Night Market

After exploring downtown Port Orchard, we headed to the Night Market to check things out.

This wasn’t as big as the day event, but they did have a wine and beer garden. Hmmm, I see a theme here. Since we were hungry, we all headed back to The Brick House, which was now packed full for dinner. The food and music were great and you must make a stop here next time you are in Port Orchard!

What a fun day we had exploring this fun little town. Everyone had a great time and Our Happy Day got us there without a hitch!

But Wait! There’s More!

What more could be happening in the town on Port Orchard? Well, the next day they had the largest Ford Mustang Car Show in the region. There were over 300 cars and everywhere you turned, there was a Mustang! We couldn’t leave without checking it out.

It was also one of the lowest tides of the season. The ramp was steep and the mussels were out!

The Mustang car show took up all of the parking along the waterfront! If you like car shows, you could spend all day here! This is an annual event, so mark your calendars for next year!

What a Fun & Quick Trip!

All of us were surprised as to how much we did in just 24 hours in this sleepy little town. If anyone tells you (Ben – LOL), that you will be bored, don’t listen to them. The boat trip to Port Orchard is beautiful and we had perfect weather for the way home!

Aside from watching out for logs and ferries, you also need to be on the look out for kayakers!

When we got back to Elliott Bay, we got a great surprise when Sea Wolf an expedition yacht passed right by us! The yacht is currently for sale for $9,900,000 but not for US residents in US waters.

As always, thank you so much for following our blog and journey! We’d love to grow our audience and any shares are really appreciated. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We now have 40 episodes on YouTube, so please subscribe to our channel, share and like our upcoming episodes.

In our next blog, we’re back to boat projects, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 18, 2019July 30, 2019

Planning a Caribbean Bareboat Charter

Now that we have taken a sailing cruise in the Caribbean, Scott and I are ready to plan our Caribbean bareboat charter for next Spring. We’ve talked to lots of friends who want to join us and now it’s time to start planning! We are not planning on chartering a sail boat, but instead we want a power catamaran.

Budget

First we have to determine the budget. In talking to numerous companies across boat shows, the cost can vary drastically depending on the size of the boat, location and season. Typically when we have vacationed at Sandals in the Caribbean, we have spent about $5500 per week or $2250/person (all inclusive, but not including airfare).

Using that budget, a four cabin catamaran comes out to over $20,000. I think we can rent one for much less – that’s the goal at least! The one catch about bareboat chartering is the cost doesn’t include fuel or provisions. Most quotes I’ve seen start at about $10,000 for a four cabin catamaran.

Question for our friends – What is your budget? Are you willing to sleep in the salon?

Location

There are a few key places to charter in the Caribbean. The Bahama Islands are beautiful and on my bucket list – BUT, unless you know the islands well, they can be dangerous. The coral-based archipelago is full of reefs and shallow ones at that.

The most popular location is BVI, British Virgin Islands. There are many charter companies and there is plenty to see and do. On top of that, Scott and I have never been to the BVIs. Unless some other place comes to us, we’re planning on the BVI’s for this trip.

The BVIs are east of Puerto Rico and north of the lesser Antilles Islands (which we have been to many times). The weather is fairly constant and stays about 87 degrees on average.

Activities

Our goal would be to explore the marine life and island life on this trip. Top activities for the BVIs are snorkling, visit beaches, check out the baths, great restaurants & bars and island hikes. Scott and I are open to ideas!

Most people anchor when they charter, as you have more freedom and plus it’s cheaper. Guess we’ll need to learn how to anchor before we go. Based on our preliminary research, most charter companies will give you an itinerary and show you where you can anchor and explore.

Charter Companies & Type of Boat

Since Scott and I don’t know how to sail, we plan on chartering a power catamaran. Why a catamaran? Well, they tend to be roomier and have better water accessibility than a regular 50′ power boat. There are quite a few charter companies in the BVIs and now it’s time to do our research on them. Here’s the list:

The purpose of this blog is two fold.

The first, is to find out who is seriously interested in joining us. We’re looking at dates in April, but not during Spring Break. Comment below or text us (for those who have our numbers) and let us know if you seriously want to join us.

Secondly, we want feedback from other boaters on their experiences (good or bad) with any of these companies (or other companies), types of boats, itineraries, etc. This is all new to us, so the more information we can get, the better!

After we gather some more information, we’ll share that in another blog. Thanks for all of your input and for following us! Be sure to check out our YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Next we head to Kingston for our annual weekend with friends.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 3, 2019July 17, 2019

Dock Street Getaway in Tacoma

Earlier this month, we joined Union Marine at their Dock Street Getaway in Tacoma, WA. After being stuck at our dock doing projects the past few weeks, it was nice to finally get away.

Scott and I have not been to Tacoma by boat before, so this was all new to us. The two trips south we have made were to Gig Harbor and we took the Colvos Passage. This trip, we decided to stay in the sound and stay on the east side of Vashon Island. Tacoma is about 27 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina, so we estimated it would take us about 2.5 hours going at about 10 knots. We invited Kurt along for the trip and we set off around 3:30pm on Friday, June 7th.

Leaving Seattle

When we had our old boat, we wouldn’t travel in bad weather as it wasn’t that kind of boat. But it could out run it at 25 knots. I had been looking forward to the trip all week, as it was our first big trip in our new boat, so bad weather wasn’t going to stop us.

As soon as we got out of the marina, Kurt and I started bringing in the fenders. We were immediately tossed around by the rough waters. Scott put the boat in gear and headed south. I stayed in the salon and was immediately freaked out! Waves were crashing over the windshield, we were barely moving and I was slightly terrified (okay, a lot terrified). But here’s why.

I don’t know this boat at all and we don’t know how it will do in rough weather. The way we were tossing around in the bay, it would be a rough rescue if we broke down. All I could do is pray for a safe passage – oh, and text my boss and co-workers the entire time!

The weather was so strange this day. On the eastside, it was sunny. On the southwest & northwest side it was black and stormy. In fact, the northern storm chased us all the way to Tacoma. Winds were coming from the south at about 26mph.

Are we there yet?

We were about 15 minutes underway, when I asked “how much longer” and Kurt said about 2 or more hours. Dear God, help us! Then I went upstairs to the bridge and while it was much smoother, no water on the windshield, we were tossing back and forth a bit. I decided I better take a Bonine motion sickness pill, just to be safe!

The seas calmed down once we reached Vashon Island and we had a fairly enjoyable ride. Then we reached Maury Island and suddenly, huge white caps showed up out of no where. Here we go again! That’s when I looked to my left and saw a Sea Ray 330 Sundancer , flying south. He must be with our group and is in a hurry to get there! Turns out this guy took his boat to Alaska last summer! Can you imagine?

No, that’s not a huge wave. It’s a wrinkle in the Eisenglass. LOL

Hello Tacoma!

We arrived at Commencement Bay around 5:30pm and headed into the Foss Waterway. Dock Street Marina is the last marina on the right side.

The Foss Waterway is pretty easy to navigate. Once we arrived at the dock, I went to check the engine compartment to make sure everything looked ok. That’s when I noticed a pink liquid in the bilge. Yep, we had diesel in it and Kurt jumped in to figure out the source.

The fuel came from the fuel filters, shown above. We think that either the knob got loosened on the way down in rough weather or that it was tightened when it was replaced. We couldn’t clean it up that night, but we cleaned everything when we got home.

Scott, Kurt and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing with the group on the dock swapping funny boating stories. Did someone say they fell asleep with a grilled flank steak on their bed?

The calm after the storm

After unwinding with a few cocktails to calm my nerves, the three of us headed to the Social Bar and Grill for a bite to eat. We sat at the bar and the service was great. It was a great way to end the day, after battling the storm on our way down.

Exploring Tacoma

Since the weather had been so blustery the night before, I waited to put up our Union Marine banners on the railings until the next morning. On my way, I passed two guys and dog and one of them (Mark) stops me and asks “Hey, are you Ally?” I reply, yes. Turns out they follow our YouTube channel and love it! It was so humbling and cool at the same time! (Thank you guys!!) I had hoped to get a photo with them later, but we got too caught up in the day’s activities.

I was very impressed with the hospitality from Dock Street Marina! Not only did they provide our group with cold beers the night before, they had mimosas waiting for us on Saturday! In fact, Nick walked from boat to boat with mimosas. Thank you again! (I’m loving this place!) The facilities & restrooms are very nice – they are in the laundry room next to the marina office. On top of that, they offered dock side pump out, water and garbage removal! Wow.

A bunch of us decided to head into Tacoma for breakfast. From the marina, go towards the Museum of Glass (take the steps), which lead you to the Chihuly Bridge across the railroad tracks to Pacific Avenue.

We stumbled up a restaurant called Savor, which specializes in crepes. I’ve never had a “savory” crepe and these were amazing and very filling! Scott ordered the blue berry & ricotta stuffed French toast, which was fantastic.

Museums everywhere!

Tacoma has a vibrant arts culture and there are museums everywhere. At the waterfront, you have the Museum of Glass and the Washington State History Museum. I had been to both and wanted to see something new. So we took the trolly (which is free by the way) up to the Tacoma Dome station and we walked up to the LeMay Car Museum.

You have no idea how big this place is, until you get inside. There are five stories underground, lined with cars! In fact, there are so many cars that after a couple of hours, we called it a day. If you haven’t been there before, I highly recommend it.

It’s an easy 15 minute walk back to Dock Street Marina from the museum.

A beautiful warm night at dock

When we got back from our exploration trip, we hung out with folks on the dock and soaked up some much needed sun. Union Marine hosted a cocktail party at the Social Bar and Grill that evening. It was a great night mingling with other boaters and enjoying great food.

Dock Street Marina made sure our beer cooler was stocked and set up corn hole for us to play. One thing about boaters is we always have a great time hanging out on the dock. With good company and cocktails, how can you not have fun?

The trip home

Our trip back to Seattle was much different than our way down. The sun was out, it was about 75 degrees and calm. We decided to take the Colvos Passage on our way home and take in the scenery. The winds were at about 4 mph from the north and the ride was smooth all the way home.

Considering it was our first trip in the boat, all went great. She handled the rough seas well and was very comfortable. Before we left, we put some Dawn dish soap in the bilge and then when we got back, we cleaned up the diesel with zorbs and it cleaned right up.

I would highly recommend a weekend trip to Dock Street. The marina is fantastic, the staff is friendly and there’s plenty to see and do in Tacoma. Thanks to Union Marine for hosting such a great weekend!

Stay tuned for our next blog – we’ll tackle more boat projects & Scott’s parents join us for the first time! As always, thank you so much for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

We’ve also updated our Patreon page and published new memberships! check it out! Become a member for only $2. https://www.patreon.com/BoatingJourney

June 19, 2019July 23, 2019

Boat Projects & Sous Vide Home Aged Steak!

Okay, I admit that Sous Vide home aged steak is a weird title! But there’s more to the story! Don’t skip ahead. As I mentioned in our last blog, Scott and I have made a commitment to stay every weekend (if possible) on the boat, so we get used to it.

Keep in mind, it’s still not the same as living aboard. Yes, we have our supplies, toiletries, etc. But we still pack clothes, food and beverages every weekend. That does become a chore. I digress. What does that have to do with sous vide steak?! For me, I don’t like to just hang out on the boat by ourselves. In our old house, we entertained every weekend, so why should the boat be any different?

Weekend Plans

So we reached out to a few friends and the next thing you know, we had plans for both nights! Friday night we invited our friend Meghann and her boyfriend Josh over for dinner. Meghann is currently fighting a huge battle with breast cancer, so this was a big pick-me-up for her. She needed it. (Say a prayer for her if you can). She just shaved her head and in honor of her dew rag, Scott wore his that our friend Cory gave him (who’s also battling cancer – cancer sucks by the way!)

I did take a really cute pic of Meghann and Josh, but my camera didn’t actually take it. Boo!

We had a fantastic night catching up and they even enjoyed my simple pasta (yes, again).

The next night, our friend Randy was coming down to go out boating with us. Then I remembered he started aging his own beef, so I hinted that maybe he might want to share one of his prized possessions with us for dinner? He jumped at the chance and suggested that he also bring his Anova Culinary Sous Vide Cooker. Interesting , but hell, I’m game. More about that later.

Boat Chores First

As with any boat, Scott and I had a list of chores to tackle on Saturday before Randy came over. First on the list was a new foam topper. We have been talking to companies at every boat show, now was the time to make the move! Off to the Friendly Foam Shop in north Seattle we went.

They were awesome too! They let us sample about four different types of foam and then we finally selected our favorite. They do offer to put it in a cover, but we already had one. For a couple hundred bucks, we now would have a great night’s sleep on the boat. And it is awesome! Keep in mind, unlike on Kokomo, we actually have a very nice mattress, but it still needed something!

Scott ended up trimming it himself with a bread knife – it’s not the prettiest around the edges, but it sure is comfy! One thing to note is it does STINK the first 24 hours, so be prepared. We ended up going with an open cell polyurethane foam.

Next Stop – Find a Canvas Shop

Since we borrowed the canvas snap tool from work when we installed the new cockpit carpet, we decided to make a few repairs to the canvas while we were at it. So we headed off to Seattle Fabrics near Ballard. Not only did they have snaps, but they had canvas fabric tape AND they sell our canvas. (If we ever feel like experimenting, I guess we can buy a sewing machine!)

There are corners on our canvas wear the snaps have completely pulled through. The repair tape is only temporary to get us through, until we buy new canvas. Scott and I headed back to the marina and he went to work!

A new grill and propane!

The method of sous vide cooking is actually not new to us. Years ago, we went camping at the Pot Holes and I made omelets using this method. It was super easy, no clean-up and no sand. Simply add your omelet ingredients into a freezer ziplock bag and boil until the egg is cooked.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

To use a sous vide cooker, you set the water temperature to the desired temp, place the meat in a sealed bag and then the meat will cook only up to that temp. But when cooking a steak, you don’t want just “boil” in a bag, you want the sear. So our plan was to grill them on the bbq or the stove after we took them out.

Oh yeah, not only do we not have a bbq, but if we cook them on the stove top – we might need propane there too. Off we go again right before Randy headed down.

We bought a new Magma grill at West Marine and they matched Fisheries Supply’s price! We saved almost $30! Then we removed our LPG propane tank and headed to U-Haul. I didn’t know the age of the tank and they only service tanks that are 10 years and newer. Turns out, we not only had a new tank, but it was virtually full. LOL!

Right now, we don’t have a “home” for the grill. The old grill was mounted inside the cockpit (I would rather not die from carbon monoxide poisoning). So we use it on the dock for now. Here’s a photo from our survey – yuck!

First, a sunset cruise before dinner!

Randy has taken a few boat trips with us, but not on our new boat. So we headed out for a quick tour of Elliott Bay to help us gain some hours on the water too. The weather was gorgeous and a perfect night.

Time for sous vide steak!

Randy was pretty excited to show us his project! He dry aged the steaks in his fridge using an aging kit that he bought for roughly 40 days. To cook the steaks to 130 degrees takes about two hours, so we got everything rolling right when we returned to the dock. Randy seasoned the steaks will a little bit of garlic pepper and salt. That was it.

I made a grilled corn & asparagus salad and we waited for the steaks to come up to temp. Let’s just say it was one of the best meals we have ever had. If we were at a steakhouse we would have paid over $125 a steak! Thank you Randy!

It was the perfect ending to a great and productive day! The sunset was amazing and it was great catching up with our long time friend. True friendships are so valuable in life, so never take them for granted.

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Stay tuned for our next blog, where we take you to our weekend getaway at Dock Street Marina in Tacoma! Cheers, Scott & Ally

Watch the full episode here.

June 17, 2019June 17, 2019

The Oven & a Drone on Memorial Day Weekend

What does an oven and drone have to do with Memorial day weekend? That comes later. LOL

It is hard to believe that it was just two years ago, that we spent our first Memorial Day weekend on a boat. Scott and I barely knew our old boat Kokomo, yet we invited an entire crew for a full weekend. That particular weekend was HOT in Seattle and a great start to summer.

Not the case for this year.

The weather forecast was dreary for Saturday & part of Sunday. On Saturday morning, Scott headed to the boat to re-wire the stereo system, which took him most of the day. I stayed home to clean the condo and get organized. I was looking forward to having a relaxing night at home with a movie. But when he got back from the boat, he said to me “Okay, are you ready?”

Ready for what I wondered? That’s when he reminded me that we made a commitment to stay on the boat every weekend, no matter the weather. Crap. Change of plans. Then I tell him that I was planning on baking pasta for dinner and his reply was “we have an oven.” Oh yeah.

The Oven……

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am very cautious when it comes to boating safety! You can’t be too safe. I’m already a bit uncomfortable cooking with propane on the stove top and it turns out our oven is also propane. While some ovens simply have an ignition switch, ours does not. You have to light the pilot light , then hold the heat control knob to light the burner and hold for 15 seconds. Blech!

One thing I will say is that our boat (and most I assume) has great built in safety features in regards to our LPG system (liquid propane gas). In order to use it, you have to turn on the LPG switch at the panel, open up the propane tank and then turn on the switch in the galley.

Prepping Dinner

Okay, back to making dinner! Since it was cold and dreary, I decided to bake some pasta. Keep it simple (and yes, I will share the recipe in another blog). First thing I needed to do was boil up some pasta. That’s when I realized I only have two skillets! When we sold Kokomo, we gave a way a lot of the galley items, including the pasta pot. So I ended up boiling the water in a skillet!

I then baked the pasta at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes and it came out perfect!

When we are done using the stove/oven each time, I turn off not only the switches, but I also close the valve on the tank. About every few uses, we also spray the valve down with soapy water to check for leaks. You just can’t be too safe.

Just as with our old boat, prepping dinner on a boat is not the same as in your home. Space is tight and counter tops are limited. Since my brother-in-law Kurt makes cutting boards, I asked him to create something that would cover the sink. This would allow for more usable space and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.

A Drone Visitor

The next day we invited Scott’s brother Jeff, his nephew Justin and our friends Nick & Michelle out for a cruise on Elliott Bay. Luckily the weather broke up and the sun started shining. Justin also owns a DJI Mavic Pro drone, so he brought it along to get us some footage of the boat. Justin has never flown it out on the water, so this was going to be an adventure.

While drone footage is always so cool, it’s also a bit creepy and weird to have some weird flying thing videotaping you!

The footage turned out great – the funny thing about this is, we cleaned the bimini the next day!

Scott and I plan on getting a new larger drone soon. We have two smaller ones, but nothing that would have the distance or technology like the DJI Mavic. But we just invested in some new camera equipment, so that will have to wait for now.

A Great Send-Off to Great Friends

Our friends Nick and Michelle are moving to Scottsdale, AZ next week and we wanted to invite them for one more trip. They have been on this journey with us for over seven years, so it was great they could join us for the weekend. They just happened to be on the boat two years ago over Memorial Day weekend too! We have traveled to the Anacortes Boat Show with them numerous times and we will miss them terribly! Hopefully they will join us on our charter cruise next Spring in the BVI’s.

The Bimini

You might recall our last “cleaning the bimini” post – what a mess. The top was nearly white from all of the heron poop, so we decided to remove it to clean it. But when we got started, we realized we had to take apart the entire rack structure in order to remove the canvas. That didn’t happen! Luckily for us, our new bimini is zippered into the rods, so it was easy to remove.

Always use a tarp on the dock to protect the canvas. We used 303 Cleaner to clean it. After rinsing it thoroughly, we hung them over the bow railing to dry completely. Once they were dry, we sprayed them with 303 Marine Fabric Guard to protect and repel liquids on the canvas. Scott and I were a bit worried about getting the bimini back on easily, but we had no problems at all.

Since we were busy doing boat chores, I decided to tackle our lines. Not only do I not like the set-up (our bow line is also used as a spring line), but the lines are as stiff as a board. I cleaned each one in Dawn and rinsed them thoroughly. They look and feel great now!

Overall, it was a great weekend on the boat. I’m glad we headed down on Saturday after all. The more time we spend on it, the better we will know it.

Stay tuned for our next blog – we’re entertaining all weekend and doing more chores! Boats are never boring, that’s for sure!

As always, thank you for following & subscribing to our blog. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

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Cheers, Scott and Ally

June 8, 2019June 17, 2019

Cocktail Hour Cruise in Port Madison

A few weeks ago, we invited Kurt, Cal and Tracey for a cocktail cruise to Port Madison. Since Scott and I have only taken the new boat out about three times, we need to get as much experience as we can driving and docking it. We have also made a decision to stay every single weekend on the boat, no matter the weather or our activities. This is so we can get used to living aboard.

We’ve been to Port Madison a few times. It’s a great day trip from Seattle. The weather was stunning and Elliott Bay was as calm as can be! Port Madison is NW of Elliott Bay Marina and takes about 30 minutes at 10 knots. We took it nice and slow, as it’s more relaxing for us.

nautical route seattle bainbridge cocktail cruise

Port Madison’s waterway goes quite a way, but it’s very narrow and shallow.

What is happening here?

When we arrived to the entrance of Port Madison, there were two things happening at the same time. First, there was some kind of sailing boat clinic going on.

Then some guy was pulling a creosote covered log. All was fine, until he headed towards the group in shallow water. Next thing you know, the log up-righted itself and got stuck in the mud. LOL

Scott wanted to take us on a tour into the inlet, but it was low tide. Our draft is 4′, but what we don’t know is if that includes the propellers. See our boat is different than most, as the propellers are below the hull.

As we approached the opening of the inlet, we were suddenly in 7′ of water. It was freaking me out and we didn’t NEED to be in there, so I had Scott turn around.

mooring balls pnw bainbridge island cocktail hour cruise — Port Madison

We ended up idling out in the bay, enjoying cocktails and some snacks. It was a gorgeous night and really the perfect setting.

Cruising back to Seattle

After about an hour, we left Port Madison and headed back to Seattle. It was dusk and I didn’t want to do our first “night docking” since we barely know this boat in the daylight. Scott put the boat in full throttle (which it needed anyways) and we cruised back at about 16 knots. What was interesting was how much our wake changed from 10 knots to 16 knots.

Diesel engines need to burn off their carbon every few trips, so this was not only a great night to be out on the water, but the engines needed it too.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful night for a cocktail cruise! This is one of the best things about being a cruiser in the PNW – no matter where you go, you are always surrounded by the beauty of the PNW.

As we came into Elliott Bay, we passed by this freighter!

If you zoom in, you will see all of the vehicles AND BOATS on top of it!!!! Very strange and it seems a bit unsafe. LOL Certainly added some fun to our cocktail cruise.

We wrapped up the evening with wine, great stories and a beautiful view! What more could we ask for!

Stay tuned for our next blog – Memorial Day Weekend! We have drone footage of the boat, we took off the bimini – and much more!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Please subscribe for future posts. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott & Ally

June 3, 2019

New Cockpit Carpet!

One thing Scott and I invested in right away is new carpet for the cockpit after we bought the boat. The one that came with the boat, was so old, stinky and a bit green!

We were referred to Custom Marine Carpet in the Midwest by a number of people and they also have been great followers of our blog on Instagram. We reached out to find out what we needed to do, to get started. First, we ordered a template kit for about $30 and they sent us some carpet samples that we selected.

We knew we didn’t want actual “carpet” so we chose the sample on the left, which is called “Luxury Weave 2”.

Creating the template for the custom carpet

First we had to clear everything out of the cockpit! Scott and I then removed the carpet and took it home so we could create the template in the garage.

They recommend that you outline a larger template than your carpet, then cut around that cut out. From there, take the plastic back to the boat, finalize the size and trim as needed.

Custom Marine Carpet supplies you with a box and a return label. You simply fill out the form, return the plastic and then wait. It took about four weeks – unfortunately, they had a major warehouse fire during this process and lost a lot of supplies!

Installing the new carpet!

They send you the number of snaps you need and we requested fifteen. Now, we had to figure out how to install the snaps. Luckily for me, I was able to borrow two key tools from work. We not only worked on the carpet, but we did some canvas repair as well.

Our first worry was if it would fit! Shockingly, it fit perfect! Scott did a great job and so did Custom Marine Carpet!

We are really happy with how it turned out!! Thank you to Union Marine for loaning us the tools too.

We finished the evening with dinner at Maggie Bluffs and once again, our resident ducks were greeting everyone. Stay tuned for our next blog – chores & entertaining on the boat!

Thank you for following us! Please subscribe to our boating blog, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

May 22, 2019October 5, 2020

Quick Trip to Roche Harbor Resort

Last month I (Ally) took a quick trip to Roche Harbor Resort up in the San Juan Islands for work. It was literally a 24 hour trip, but it was my first time visiting so I took plenty of photos as I toured the entire resort.

How do you get to Roche Harbor?

Great question! You have three choices: by boat, by ferry or by float plane. Guess how we went? Float plane of course. Remember my “quick trip” to Belize and the puddle jumper I took? This was exactly the same! We flew out of South Lake Union (where our apartment overlooks) on Kenmore Air. The weather wasn’t great that day, so it was a bit bumpy. Oh, and by the way, I hate to fly! LOL

We were on the larger “Orca” plane and it quickly ran across Lake Union and was up in the air in seconds! Yes, I will have all of the footage on our next YouTube episode!

The flight takes about 30 minutes once you are up in the air, assuming it doesn’t stop. We stopped at Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez and then at Friday Harbor before landing at Roche. What’s even more remarkable about this flight, is our captain is a one man show! He lands and docks all at the same time!

So much water & islands below

One thing you quickly realize flying over Puget Sound, is how many small islands and inlets we have. Some would be a hazard in the wrong conditions! If you recall, when Scott and I came through Cattle Pass from Deer Harbor a few years ago, we nearly hit a reef going 25 knots!

Check out this small reef causing the ripple!

Living in the San Juan Islands would be a dream! Beautiful homes line the coast line.

Finally, we’ve arrived at Roche Harbor Resort!

After I “white knuckled” it all the way to Roche Harbor, we arrived 50 minutes after leaving Seattle. The resort is huge and consists of: marina, hotel, condos, suites, village homes, restaurants, bar, shopping and much more!

My boss, Mark and I were doing a site inspection for our company rendezvous coming up in July. Roche Harbor Resort is very historic with some fascinating stories. Once you arrive, you walk through the docks to the Hotel de Haro to check-in.

Limestone History

Roche Harbor is rich in limestone, which is used to build roads and manufacture concrete and mortar. In 1886, Tacoma lawyer John S. McMillin and his business partners in the Tacoma Lime Company founded Roche Harbor Lime Company. The lime kilns are still present next to the hotel.

The Quarryman Hall Suites is the newest building of the resort and Mark and I were each upgraded to our own suite! Thank YOU to Roche Harbor Resort!

Trying to take pictures of the resort, doesn’t do it justice. There’s so much to see and do, which makes it such a great destination to visit by boat!

The Mausoleum

Roche Harbor Resort also has a family mausoleum. In order to get to it, you have to walk through the resort, past the oldest independently owned Catholic Chapel and into the adjacent woods. This includes passing by the cottages that the lime workers lived in (now available for rent).

John McMillin was a member of the Masonic Order and he built the mausoleum recognizing the traditions of the Masonic Order. As you walk through the forest, it reminds you a bit of the movie “Blair Witch Project“. There are some infant & toddler burial sites throughout the forest.

After you walk along the trail for about a quarter mile, you come across a gravel road. Follow that and you’ll come upon the McMillin Mausoleum. To say that it’s a bit creepy, is an understatement. I should note however, that my boss Mark has an awesome podcast, “Chasing Ghosts on Scooters in Bars“. You guessed it, he’s a ghost chaser by night!

There is significant Masonic meaning behind the entire structure, including the steps up to the table and chairs all of which represent the stages of life. Freemasons are very ritual and deliberate about everything the build and encompass. (In fact, my great uncle was a Freemason.)

The McMillin Mausoleum – Afterglow Vista

As we approached “Afterglow Vista”, the final resting place of the McMillin family, there was a stillness in the air. It was as if someone was watching our every move.

The first thing you will notice is huge marble table with six chairs. This represents the dining table that the family gathered around. There is also one chair and one pillar missing. This symbolizes the son that left the family.

Each chair is also the gravestone for key family members and they hold their ashes.

But there’s more! Remember, I’m in the middle of the forest with my boss who’s a ghost chaser. He decides to see if anyone wants to “talk” to us. He has an EMF app on his phone and he laid his phone in the middle of the table.

Immediately there was all kinds of activity. Then Mark said “speak to us”. He said this a few times and I started to get creeped out as I looked around watching for anything to jump out of the trees.

At the same time, I was leaning against one of the grave chairs and resting my hands on the top of one of them.

All of a sudden, a voice came out of Mark’s app that said “Knight”. Notice that I was leaning on the Knight Templar gravestone. Needless to say, I was out of there! LOL So we headed back to the main resort.

The Rest of the Roche Harbor Resort

Yes, there is much more than just the Mausoleum! In fact, when I head back in July, I plan to spend a lot more time exploring the island and the resort if time allows. Walking around the main part of the resort, you really get a sense of the rich history it has to offer.

Of course there are ghost sightings in the restaurant and hotel. We had a wonderful dinner in McMillian’s Restaurant – the food was amazing and you definitely have to have a Pig War Martini! Collect a pig for each martini you drink!

The resort is operated now by the members of the Tarte Family. In 1956, Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company president Paul McMillin, son of John McMillin, sold Roche Harbor to the Reuben J. Tarte family of Bellevue, which developed the town into a boating resort with a marina, a restored Hotel de Haro, an airstrip (on the former site of the farm), and restaurant (in the former McMillin home).

The Tarte family sold Roche Harbor in 1988 to businessmen Verne Howard of King’s Market and Rich Komen of Restaurants Unlimited; Roche Harbor is now owned by Komen and Saltchuk Resources.

Heading Home

We flew out the next morning – so to say it was a quick trip is not exaggerating. We were there less than 24 hours! But it was enough to convince me, that this is an awesome place to visit!

As we waited at the dock for Kenmore Air, we watched a ferry boat bring in a cement truck and other commuters arrive by boat.

Our flight home, was much quicker as we headed straight for Seattle. The weather was sunny with blue skies. As we flew in, we came in over DT Seattle and made a steep dive onto Lake Union. It was definitely scenic, but for me still a bit nerve wracking.

My flight tour is below. Our rendezvous is in July, so I will be sure to share more details about the resort and things to explore on the island.

As always, thanks for following our blog! Be sure to subscribe for future posts. Next blog, we talk about our inverter and the lessons we learned about our circuit breaker on the boat.

Cheers, Ally