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!
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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
That’s my boss in the co-pilot seat!
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
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Scott and I got back from our Caribbean sailing cruise on March 16th and we took possession of our new boat the following day. This boat is a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin MY. Our broker, Steve Thoreson from Union Marine (formerly Lake Union Sea Ray), gave us a tour of the boat and reviewed the electrical panel. I was smart enough to video tape it–that would come in handy a few weeks later. Learning about our boat will take some time.
It was really windy that day with winds coming out of the north at 10 knots. Yet Steve felt Scott could practice backing out the boat and docking it. He backed out, turned around in our fairway and headed out. Then we turned around and Scott docked it perfectly!
Practice Docking
The following weekend, we took our supplies from Kokomo and went down to try to organize the boat.
My brother-in-law Kurt and his brother Cal came down to check it out too. Since it was a nice day with calm winds, we decided to take advantage of our “crew” and head to the fuel dock. Let’s just say, it was far easier having thrusters than with our old stern drives.
Quick note about fuel. In the state of Washington, you can get a refund for the road tax you pay when you fuel up a boat. EXCEPT, if it is diesel.
After we got fuel, we decided to take the boat over to N Dock so I could practice docking. I made a couple of runs and yes, it was easier. Mainly because our (handles) move smoothly. On Kokomo, they were stiff and stuck all of the time. See video from before below:
Since the new boat is much taller, it is also easier to see what you are doing.
Yes, we will have the footage of me docking on our next YouTube episode.
Once we got back to the dock, it was time to see if the dinghy ran. So Scott and Cal started it up and off they went! We were thinking about selling it, but we’ve decided to keep it for a year and have fun with it.
Taking the Boat Into Service & Back Through the Locks
Based on our survey, we decided we should address some of the recommendations:
Replace all of the batteries
Change the oil & filters
Change the transmission fluid
Replace the heat exchanger zinc
Replace the twin Raccers with compliant heat shield
Clean and inspect the starboard intake valve
Replace the belts
Replace the fuel lines
I work for Union Marine (formerly Lake Union Sea Ray) and we took the boat to our service center to have work done. We scheduled the appointment for the following week and since we had to go thru the Ballard Locks, we enlisted Kurt’s help for the trip. The entire trip took us about an hour.
We lucked out on the weather, once again! It took us about 30 minutes to get to the locks and we immediately got shuttled into the small locks. (Thank God!) we were the only boat in the locks, but we it was a bit nerve wracking tying up to the wall. I was worried Scott would crash into it and I also had troubles hooking the knob (or whatever it is called. All went smoothly and we made it through the Fremont Cut in about 20 minutes.
Our First Night on the Boat!
It took about three weeks to do all of the work. We scheduled to pick the boat up on Friday afternoon, April 12th and had more help on the return trip. Kurt, Cal and Tracey joined us for a beautiful sunny trip from Lake Union back to Elliott Bay Marina.
That evening, Scott and I stayed on the boat. We went out to dinner and when we came back we had a scary, but funny moment! Our new dock is fairly dark and just as we approached our boat, a dark huge figure appeared and stood up. Turns out it was a sleeping seal and we scared him, he stood up and barked and we screamed. Then the three of us froze – we weren’t sure if he was going to charge us, but he ended up jumping in the water. LOL
While I will say our bed is much more comfortable than the last one, it was a bit of a restless night. We sleep in the aft-cabin and the cockpit is above us, so any noise in the cockpit is annoying. That’s especially true if you forget to secure the snaps on your canvas and a blustery storm moves in around 3am in the morning!
Needless to say, we left the boat as soon as we woke up. During this entire time, we have also been packing up our current apartment as we were moving at the end of the month. Nothing like moving out of an apartment and into a new one AND onto a boat at the same time!
Now that we’re moved, we’re looking forward to getting out on the boat with friends and family. Stay tuned for my next blog, as I take you on a flight to Roche Harbor Resort and Marina!
Cheers, Scott and Ally
Check out Episode #34 Taking Possession of Our Happy Day
In our next blog, Ally takes a quick trip to Roche Harbor!
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Sea Trial, Survey, Mechanical Inspection & Haul Out
Last Weds, February 20th, Scott and I had the sea trial, survey and mechanical inspection scheduled for the Bayliner 4087 we made an offer on. Seattle has been experiencing record breaking snow levels and conditions this month and once again it threatened to snow on Wednesday! Based on the weather forecast, I was nervous. You know me, when it comes to weather, I’m a nut. The last thing I wanted to do was haul out in the snow! Here’s a picture that our boat yard shared the week before!
We hired Chuck Solarek, of CSW Surveyors and I highly recommend him! Chuck came in with loaded guns. Not only is he SAMS accredited (Society of Marine Surveyors Society), but he has twenty-four years experience as a naval submarine engineer. He had so much equipment with him, that I thought he had other members on his team. In the end, his survey and mechanical inspection was so detailed and thorough, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Let sea trials begin
Scott and I asked my brother-in-law Kurt to join us for the sea trial. He is a retired Washington State Ferry engineer and a life long boater himself. You will recall, he helped us out many times with Kokomo – especially during our trip to the San Juans Islands.
Also along on the trip, was our broker Steve Thoreson, from Union Marine and the captain, who was hired by Elliott Bay Yacht Sales. (certainly different than when Ed the owner of Kokomo took us out!
We all met at the marina around 9:15am and by then Chuck had been on the boat for a bit doing his inspection.
We left Elliott Bay Marina around 9:30am and headed towards Shilshole Marina and Seaview Boat Yard. Low and behold, the weather was perfect! We had calm seas and a slight mist, but that was it!
On our trip to Seaview, we motored at about 11 knots, which was a very pleasant pace. Unlike Kokomo, we could talk and hear each other. However, at this pace, it would take us eight hours to get to the San Juan Islands, versus three on Kokomo. Scott took the helm at the bridge on the way up and I sat down below in the salon. During that time, Along the way, Kurt and Chuck were checking different systems.
Arriving at Seaview Boatyard
If you remember from the last time we hauled out, I was scared to death to climb out of the boat while it was in the slings. Well, this time it was just as bad, if not worse! I still can’t believe this is how they do this!! So unsafe. Each passenger, walks out to the bow, steps over the railing (that’s great if you are tall), reaches for the WET ladder that is about a foot or two away and starts to climb out. Don’t mind that you are 15′ in the air!
I was so worried my foot was going to slip or my hand would lose a grip. My heart was racing when I landed on the pier. I then told everyone, they were picking me up on the dock when we were done! LOL
Hauling out the boat
We had one hour to have Chuck inspect the hull, drives, propellers and trim tabs. Since I won a free power wash at the Seattle Boat Show, I had them power wash the bottom, so we could get a clearer picture of what it looked like.
Remember what Kokomo looked like when we hauled out? Not only did it need to be painted, but all of the zincs were shot! (see below)
Well, shockingly this boat was in perfect shape! (still seems odd to me, since they say the last time they hauled out was in 2014!) So strange, but that’s great news!
Poor Chuck was soaked from inspecting the hull while they pressure washed it!
Time to head back for home & sea trials
An hour and $425 later, it was time to put the boat back in the water.
Remember, I wasn’t going back the same way I came! Watching the guys, they don’t look thrilled either.
We left Seaview boatyard around 11:15am and headed out to Elliott Bay. Once out in the bay, Chuck had Scott run the engines, while he checked them. Remember, these are twin Cummins diesel engines. From our cruising speed of 11 knots/1000 RPMs, Chuck had us increase the RPMs to 1500, then to 2000 and then to wide open at 2500 RPMs. You would never run a semi-displacement boat at that speed, as it’s not only not good for the engines, but you would get terrible fuel consumption. For the best fuel consumption, between 1000-1200 RPMs is ideal.
What we did learn about diesel engines is three primary things:
Never ever run out of gas (remember our story from September?)
When cruising with diesel engines, it is important to run at 80% of your max RPM during your last 20 minutes of cruising. That’s important to remember if you plan on only cruising the bay.
When docking, leave the engines running at idle for about 5 minutes to allow them to cool off. Unlike gas engines, diesel engines cool off while running versus after they shut down.
Once back at the dock, the last thing to check was the infamous tender – did it run? Steve dropped it (sort of) into the water, then Scott climbed into it haphazardly and was able to start it. The running lights work, but maybe not the CD Player. LOL
Survey results?
Well it wouldn’t be a boating journey story if there wasn’t a snag right? Remember when we trying to close on Kokomo and the owner kept going out of town, so it took a month? Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.
Long story short, the survey and inspection came back pretty good. We do have to some work, nothing too major and Lake Union Sea Ray Service Department can do all of the work. Scott and I have accepted the survey and now we wait to go to escrow next week – we hope! Our lender requires our boat be documented with the Coast Guard. We are waiting for the documentation reports to make sure it’s not a stolen boat before we can go to escrow. Guess what? The Coast Guard is a bit back logged due to the government shutdown.
Then we are scheduled to close on Weds, March 6th – but Scott will be in Miami, FL. This title company doesn’t like to use “power of attorney” signatures, so he either needs to find a notary in Miami or be present. So our hope is that we move it to Thursday, March 7th if the Coast Guard docs come back in time – the night we fly out to the Caribbean on our tall ship cruise. If that doesn’t happen, it will have to be postponed until we return, mid-March.
Then what?
Once we take possession, our broker Steve will spend time with both us teaching us how to dock it and back it out of the slip. Everyone says it will be much much easier than our old boat, so let’s hope so. Since we will be taking it to Lake Union Sea Ray for service, we’ll go thru the Ballard Locks with Steve that same day and get some time under our belts (he can dock it at the shop though) 😉
So stay tuned! Our next update will most likely be our trip to the Caribbean and not about the boat! We have some work to do on it, both mechanically and aesthetically and we’ll share all of that with you too, once we are official.
As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney
Watch our full sea trial and survey on Episode 29 on our YouTube channel here:
Getting ready for Sea Trials, Survey & Inspection!
Tomorrow (Wednesday, February 20th ) is an exciting day for us! We made an offer on a 2002 Bayliner 4087 CPMY (cockpit motor yacht) with an aft cabin and it was accepted! Tomorrow we go to sea trials, survey & mechanical inspection. But let’s go back to how this all came about.
The boat is currently moored at Elliott Bay Marina, which is where we moored our first boat Kokomo. About a month ago, Scott found this listing and suggested we look it while we were wandering around the marina.
Paul of Elliott Bay Yacht Sales, was nice enough to show us the boat that afternoon. Honestly, we expected that we wouldn’t really like it (sounds terrible I know). But we’ve looked at many boats over the past few months and they all have either stunk or were dirty or were way over-priced. On top of that, big tall boats are a bit intimidating to us.
Scott and I jumped on board and were immediately surprised by the tricked out dinghy! I talked about that in our last blog. As we opened the door to the salon, I was not expecting much. But low and behold I was pleasantly surprised by everything. First and most important, it doesn’t stink!! This is huge for us. The galley is large with lots of storage. It has a large fridge, three burner stove AND an oven! Thinking back on how I was preparing meals for six of us in the San Juan Islands on Kokomo now, is frightening. You can actually mingle in the salon and have someone cooking in the galley. LOL The staterooms are plenty roomy too, along with the heads. Once everything is finalized, we’ll give you a full tour!
We made the plunge
Working the boat show, I just couldn’t stop thinking about that boat and neither could Scott. So we made the plunge and made an offer! Our offer was accepted about a week and half ago and we immediately scheduled the sea trials and survey. We are hauling out at Sea View Boat Yard at 10am tomorrow to have the hull inspected and we’ll be along for the trip. This will be our second boat, second sea trial and second haul out. I have to wonder if it will be totally different or much of the same?
As you know, I’m a weather nut and the forecast during the sea trial is snow with a small craft advisory! So this will certainly be a trip to remember. I feel confident it will be smooth, since we’ll have our broker, Steve Thoreson from Union Marine (where I work) with us. Steve is a certified yacht broker with over 25 years experience with yachts and he’ll also be teaching us how to operate and dock the boat too!
Be sure to stay tuned and we’ll give you a full update on the findings and where we go from here! Until next time! Cheers, Scott and Ally
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With only four months left on our lease, Scott and I are checking out every liveaboard for sale right now. Just last weekend, Scott saw an ad in Craigslist for a 1991 Bayliner 4588 Motoryacht (I know….old!). But for kicks and giggles, we decided to check it out in person.
As you know, I work for Union Marine and I have access to some of the top marine experts in the industry. I asked one of our certified professional yacht brokers about the boat and the asking price. This model typically sells between $88,000 to $145,000. This couple was asking for $250,000! Whoa! Why so much? The owners said that the boat was meticulous and it came with moorage. That’s why we wanted to go view it.
It does come with private moorage and that’s what we are struggling to find. Most marinas in Seattle have a 3-5 year waitlist for boats over 50′. But what bank would ever loan an extra $100k over value?? None. Still, we were curious, so last Sunday we got a tour.
View from the stern and dock
Attention to Detail
The current owners have lived on the boat for over three years. The boat was located in a private marina in Ballard. It offered secured parking, but that was it. No facilities at all. There were six other liveaboard boats on their docks.
The owner has upgraded the boat extensively and paid attention to every detail possible. This included new isinglass throughout, new carpet, new countertops and a very cool sink that was custom ordered from Europe.
Homey “vibe”
The boat definitely had a “homey vibe”. The master head had a tub, they had new carpet throughout, the galley had a large fridge and a large sofa in the salon. They also converted one of the state rooms into a closet.
Did we make an offer?
As nice as the boat was, it certainly wasn’t worth $250,000 by any means and no bank would give a loan for over $150,000 on it. One thing about boats (versus homes), is it is rare that you ever get back what you put into it. Appraisers care mostly about the integrity of the hull, age of the boat and hours on the engines (not fancy sinks or new carpet).
In addition, we are looking for a larger boat – ideally over 50′. Scott and I have discussed the idea of buying a “fixer upper” and mooring it at Elliott Bay, until we can find a liveaboard space. That is, if they have a 50’+ slip available. It’s all really a big game. Hopefully, something comes along in a few months. Luckily for us, my team at Lake Union Sea Ray is keeping an eye out for our next boat!
We did see this beauty on a walk last week though! The captain hit a metal buoy in the dark and amazingly he didn’t take on any water. A boatyard in Seattle is going to fix it up and sell it. Crazy!
Busy times ahead
The next 60 days will be crazy for me. Next week, I’m off to a marine dealer conference in Orlando, Florida, which I’m really excited about. Immersing myself into the marine industry and marketing is a dream come true for me! Then we have the Seattle Boat Show beginning on January 24, 2019 – February 2, 2019. I’ll be working everyday and I’ll also make sure to give a full tour of the show, as I did last year.
Thanks again for following us! Stay tuned for our next update!
Since selling our boat in September, Scott and I wanted to give you all an update on our boating life. This will actually be one of the shortest blogs I have ever written, as we shared our update on our YouTube channel (see below).
Here are the facts:
Our lease on our new apartment (which we rented only temporarily) expires April 30th.
The plan has always been to move onto a 50-55′ liveaboard when our lease is up.
Now we are struggling to find moorage for not only a 50’+ boat, but a marina that will accept liveaboards.
Financing – here’s the weird part. Banks will not loan you money for a liveaboard, only for a pleasure craft. Obviously, we can afford a $250,000 boat, as it would be less than our rent, but we can’t tell the banks that.
So where do we go from here?
Well, my life will be (and is) completely consumed by work (Lake Union Sea Ray) as we get ready for the largest boat show on the west coast (Seattle Boat Show) in January. Then Scott and I leave in March for our sailing trip through the Leeward Islands in March. So between now and April, we have to figure out what we are doing. I guess that’s the fun part of being a bit of a nomad.
We no longer have pets, our cars are paid for and we live a pretty simple life. So whatever we decide to do, it will work out just fine.
Scott and I are keeping our eyes open for liveaboards as we move into the new year. In fact, one of my yacht broker’s at work suggested we look for a 2003 Sea Ray 480 Motor Yacht. This is an awesome boat, but the closest one is in San Diego!
So if you know anyone who has this boat for sale in the PNW, please let us know! In the meantime, we are calling all of the local marinas to find out if they have liveaboard space. Please keep your eyes open for moorage too!
Be sure to follow our YouTube channel and all of our social media channels for future updates! Cheers, Scott Ally
Since selling the boat two weeks ago, everyone keeps asking us, “no boat, so what now?” We wish we had a definitive answer, but we don’t. What we can tell you is, we are trying to figure that out and hope that soon we’ll have an answer.
If you recall two years ago, Scott and I were at the Annapolis Power Boat Show, looking for a liveaboard. After the show, we decided it would be in our best interest to buy a weekend cruising boat first to make sure we like spending time on a boat. As we began our search back then, we realized that finding a slip was an issue. Luckily, we were able to secure one at Elliott Bay Marina, a month before we had found our boat.
Fast Forward to Today
When Scott and I sold our boat, we were given lots of advice on what to buy next. Remember, we sold our home with the intention of moving onto a 50-55′ boat. That’s why our lease in our new apartment is only for one year (with only 7 months left). Wow, we’re right on track, so let’s start shopping! Not so fast……..
Turns out that plan has a HUGE hiccup in it. We have checked with our own marina and all of the other main public marinas in Seattle and all of them have a 3-5 year waitlist for boats over 50 feet! Guess we didn’t think about that, even though we kept hearing “you better get on a list”. On top of all of this, we love Elliott Bay Marina and we don’t want to leave, but they also don’t allow liveaboards. Great, now what, you ask? Just for kicks and giggles, we asked about the availability for 40′ and 46′ slips at Elliott Bay. Those are 3-4 months on a waitlist. Just to be safe, we are on the waitlist for those.
Basically, we have three options.
We can buy a 37 – 43′ boat and keep our apartment for another year. But that wasn’t originally in our budget or plan.
We can hope that we find a liveaboard that comes with a slip already.
We don’t buy anything
The last option sounds so drastic and not part of any of our original plans. However, one thing Scott and I have agreed upon and that is “we will not buy a boat simply to get a slip in our marina”. If we find the right boat and we feel really great about it, then we’ll know it was meant to be. So we are searching every day and of course, with me working at Lake Union Sea Ray, everyone there knows I’m searching for a boat too.
So no boating journey?
Of course not! Remember, this blog started in 2013 long before we had a boat. Scott and I are committed to staying very active on the water some how or another. This includes kayaking, sailing on Lake Union, chartering a boat to the islands, canoeing, you name it.
We’ll also continue to share tips, videos, books, recipes and vacation information along the way.
Exciting Sailing Trip in the Caribbean!
Just this weekend Scott and I booked an exciting trip in the Caribbean. We have never been on a cruise (and have no desire to either), but we have heard wonderful things about Windstar and Star Clipper. There are many charter companies in the Caribbean and we’ve talked about finally signing up (but that seems risky not knowing the other four passengers). So we opted to go the larger group route!
We booked an 8 night Leeward Island Cruise for next March and we used our BoatUS membership for a discount! The vessel, Star Flyer, is 360′ long with a 50′ beam. Unlike a formal cruise ship that typically has thousands of guests, this vessel only holds 170 passengers with 72 crew. It also doesn’t have fancy restaurants, casinos or theaters. Instead, it is set up as a casual sailing experience in a more intimate setting.
The itinerary will visit the Leeward Islands (funny, our apartment complex is called Leeward) and the only island we have visited before is Antigua.
Once we get more information about the trip, we’ll be sure to share that with you. I’m a bit nervous about getting sea sick, as there will be a lot of movement up and down on the boat (especially our room, as it is up front). The booking agent recommended that we take Bonine as it works much better than Dramamine. Guess we’ll find out!
In our next YouTube episode, we’ll sit down with you all and talk more about our plans and what we have on our agenda.
Thank you for following us! Please be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel and also follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Until next time! Cheers, Scott and Ally
Scott and I are embarking on a new journey. This week has been bitter sweet for us, as we said goodbye to our first boat, Kokomo. As we mentioned in our last blog, we accepted an offer on our boat and we closed on the sale, just a few days later.
On the day of closing, Scott and I headed down to the marina to meet the new owners, Lesa and Mike at the boat. Everything about this transaction has not been your typical process. Normally, the broker handles everything from beginning to end. But we met Lesa and Mike the day they made the offer. They had been following our blog (love!!) and were excited to meet us.
We arrived to the marina around 5:15pm and noticed our yacht neighbors, Doug and Jules were not yet back from Canada. They go out for a few months each summer and we wanted to be able to say goodbye. I texted Jules and found out they were coming home in just an hour! Yay. While we were waiting for Lesa and Mike to arrive, I stood on the bow, watching for Jule’s yacht, M/Y Undaunted.
A few minutes later, I noticed coming from the west side of the marina, a very slow moving radar! In the year and half we have been at the marina, we have never had the opportunity to see M/Y Undaunted leave or arrive. It was pretty cool to watch them perfectly dock their boat and using only their engines, not thrusters!
The hand off to the new owners
Soon after, Lesa and Mike arrived to take possession of Kokomo. We took time to show them everything we left for them and where everything was on the boat. They seemed really “giddy” and it reminded me of when we got the keys. Scott and I took one last photo with Kokomo and then with Lesa and Mike.
Scott and I are not only a bit sad about saying goodbye to Kokomo, but we really hate leaving the marina. We’ve made so many friends and they have been so great to us. Plus, the beauty of the marina is something we’ll miss terribly!
Enjoying a Sundowner with Friends
While Lesa and Mike spent time checking everything out on Kokomo, we were invited over to Doug and Jule’s yacht for a glass of wine. What a treat, as Jules opened one of our favorite wines from Garrison Creek Cellars. Jules has boated her entire life and has given us such great advice in looking for our next boat. We watched an amazing sunset as the four of us reminisced about boating stories and our journey that started at Elliott Bay Marina.
Scott and I will be back to the marina and hopefully by Spring. There’s so much to share with you about this and that’s for our blog. As we walked away from the docks, a lone heron sat perched on a rock in the water. A somber ending to a great boating journey.
What’s next and what will the blog talk about?
Our next journey is a big one, so there’s plenty to share. Remember, we sold our home to temporarily live in apartment, to move onto a boat. But we are finding out, it’s not that easy. So be sure to follow us and see what happens next. In next week’s blog, we’ll take you on a tour of the Boats Afloat Show. Cheers, Scott and Ally
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Our boating blog is all about our boating journey and now we are officially boatless in Seattle! Last week, Scott and I accepted an offer from a fantastic couple for our boat Kokomo. It was important to us that we find someone who will take good care of her and really enjoy her the way we have.
They plan on mooring it on Lake Washington and our broker will help them go through the Ballard Locks on the way to her new home. This happened so quick and it looks like we’ll be closing as early as this Tuesday! Since the moorage is paid for this month, we told them they could keep it in the slip if they need time to move it.
Now we have to get it ready for possession
When we bought Kokomo a year and half ago, I shared all of the details and steps in buying a boat. That included not only the documentation and financing, but also buying all of the supplies for it. Here’s that blog.
Luckily, selling the boat hasn’t been as time consuming, but we definitely had to take care of things. We sent our broker all of the documentation including our receipts from the haul-out and our survey. I also made copies for the new owners, as our previous owner kept detailed maintenance records.
Then I had to notify Elliott Bay Marina that we were leaving, as they require 30 days notice. They are sad to see us go and we know we’ll be back sooner than later (I’ll talk more about that later).
What stays and what goes?
We told the new owners that almost all of the supplies, would go with the boat. This included the bedding (except our pillows), all of the galley dishes, utensils & pans, the bbq, cleaning supplies, first aid kit, emergency kit and life jackets (except our inflatable ones).
We had been storing extra cushions and carpets at our storage unit, so we grabbed all of that and headed to the boat last Saturday. Then we had to remove our personal items and food. Turns out we had a lot more stuff than we realized!
What’s next?
Everyone keeps asking us “what happens next?” This is a loaded question really. As I mentioned in our blog about liveaboard marinas, buying a boat that needs moorage is the same dilemma as “what came first? the chicken or the egg?”.
Why do I say that? Well, you can’t buy a boat without having a slip for it and you don’t want to reserve a slip without a boat. Marinas in the Seattle area (especially Elliott Bay Marina) have long wait lists for boats over 50′. Scott and I are not looking for our liveaboard yet. Ideally, our next boat will be around 38′-42′. Since Elliott Bay Marina has a 3-4 month waitlist for 40′ slips, we got on the list right away.
At the same time, we’ve talked about taking the winter off, so we don’t have to pay for moorage. But if we found a boat we could enjoy during the winter, we would definitely buy one before winter. It’s all very complex! Next week is the Boats Afloat Show on Lake Union and so we’ll check out a few things while we’re there.
Saying Goodbye
Oddly enough, it was very somber to clean everything out and say goodbye to Kokomo. This boat gave us some amazing journeys and memories that we’ll never forget.
It’s amazing to realize how much fun we had with family and friends in just eighteen months!
Even with broken fingers, Randy had a great time!
So stay tuned for our next journey! Next weekend, we’ll give you a tour of the Boats Afloat Show! Thank you for following us. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube Channel.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
Cheers, Scott and Ally
#BoatingJourney
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