Boating Tips Archives

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018

Ballard Locks for the Second Time

Going through the Ballard Locks and touring Lake Washington

Scott and I have never toured Lake Washington on our boat. Last year, this same weekend Scott and I went through the Ballard Locks for the first time. It was a cool experience, but not that fun of a day as Seattle was engulfed in smoke and ash.

One of the things I wanted to do this summer was go back through the locks and enjoy Lake Washington. So this past weekend, we invited our friends Dave & Kathy to join us. The weather was great and not too hot. The Ballard Locks are about 30 minutes from Elliott Bay and the entire round trip, including lunch took about 7 hours as we only traveled 7 knots the entire time.

We left Elliott Bay Marina around 10:45am and as we approached the entrance to the locks, we had a red light, which meant we had to wait. The locks are made up of two locks: Large and Small. Last year we went through the large locks and we were tied up with two boats and there were about twenty boats in the locks with us.

pnw boater hiram chittenden locks — Going through the large locks for the first time 2017

Going through the Locks Again

We only waited about twenty minutes to get into the small locks. We entered with one sail boat and we were the only boats inside the locks. Unlike the large locks, where you need 50′ lines that you throw up to the handlers, the small locks have moving walls. You simply wrap your bow and stern line around the cleat number they assign you and tie it off back at your own cleat.

Once everyone is secured to the wall, they close the gates and begin to fill up the locks. The wall moves up with your boat and you want to keep all hands and fingers away from the wall. Be sure to make sure your bumpers are at the widest point of your boat to protect it (not dock level).

The small locks fill up in about ten minutes and then the handlers will instruct everyone on who can leave first. Since there were only two boats, we all quickly exited and began going towards Lake Union through the Fremont cut.

Going through the Fremont & Montlake Cuts

The speed is limited to a no wake zone through the Fremont Cut, Lake Union and the Montlake Cut. This actually made it a very pleasant trip.

Going thru the Fremont Cut — Going under the Aurora Bridge

It was fun to see everything on Lake Union from the water (versus our apartment). There is so much activity on the lake ranging from Pirate Ship tours, to electric boat rentals and party boats. Lake Union is lined with yachts on all sides too.

Ballard Locks — Going under the Montlake Bridge

Each time a sailboat with a tall mast (like the boat above) goes under a bridge, they sound their fog horn to have them raise the bridge. Most of the footage I took of our trip to Lake Washington was video, which you can watch on our next YouTube episode at the end of this post.

Lunch in Kirkland

The four of us decided to cruise the north end of Lake Washington around Hunts Point and check out the beautiful homes.

Now it was around 1:45pm, so we decided to head to the Kirkland City Dock to tie up and have lunch. Luckily, there were only a few boats on the dock, so there was plenty of space.

We had a great lunch at Cactus and I had an awesome watermelon froze’.

Time to head back

After lunch, we headed back through the Montlake Cut to the locks. Since it was Labor Day weekend, we were not sure if we would have a long wait to get back out. There was a lot of traffic in the cut and as we came around the bend into Lake Union, a giant old ferry was headed right for us! Turns out this boat, Hiyu, is available for rent! How it fit through the Montlake Cut I don’t know!

Just as we passed the ferry boat, we also passed by my new office! Drum roll……I’m so excited to be joining Lake Union Sea Ray as their Marketing Manager. I get to combine my two passions – boating and marketing and I couldn’t be happier!

We arrived to the locks around 4:30pm and just as we arrived, so did the Argosy “Good Times” tour boat. They get first dibs on the small locks, so we had to wait for them to go through first. This took about a half hour. We went in with two other boats and it was a piece of cake!

What a great day!

Scott and I couldn’t have asked for a better day! Great weather, great company and our boat Kokomo did awesome!

This is what boating in the PNW is all about. The beauty of our surroundings and the magical scenery makes everything worthwhile.

As many of you know, our boat Kokomo is for sale and we do have a tentative offer on it. We will be doing a sea trial with the buyers. So stay tuned on our next chapter! (I have to save something for the next blog! LOL)

Here’s Episode #20 of our trip through the locks:

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

August 23, 2018August 26, 2018

We Broke Down Inside Our Marina

Our Boat Broke Down Inside Our Marina

This past weekend Scott and I took the boat out for a quick spin on Elliott Bay then it broke down inside our marina! More on that later in this blog. Originally, we had hoped to take it through the locks with friends and spend the day on Lake Washington (Thank God we didn’t do that!). Due to the smoke and haze from all of the forest fires, we decided it wouldn’t be that great of day on the water. So we have been staying in and making dinner at home.

Since it had been a couple of weeks since we had been on the boat, we wanted to clean it and take it for a ride on Elliott Bay, just to keep the engines happy. The waters were so calm – my only caution, is you have to watch for logs! Going across the bay towards West Seattle, there is always a trail of logs (that’s where we hit a huge one last year).

We were almost to Alki Beach, when we were surrounded by logs, so we turned around and traveled towards Harbor Island and Downtown Seattle. Just as we were crossing in front of Harbor Island, a huge freighter was coming in at full speed. It was time to get out of his way and head back to the marina.

Returning to the marina

Scott and I have the same routine (as I’m sure other boaters do) when we come back to the dock. We’ll pull into Smith Cove just outside Elliott Bay Marina, lower our fenders and then head slowly into the marina. We had just entered, when the starboard engine died. (X marks the spot).

To give you some perspective, here’s a photo of what that fairway looks like. This is exactly where we were when the starboard engine quit.

When one of our engines die, an alarm goes off. He immediately attempted to restart it, but it wouldn’t start. It sounded like it was choking – or not getting enough gas. This makes me think it might be the fuel line. Okay, back to the drama! Now we’re in the middle of a busy fairway and we’ve lost an engine AND our power steering. There’s no way, we are going to attempt the “S curve” back to our slip on one engine and no steering. Notice the rocky breakwater wall!

Drama in the marina

Scott managed to turn the boat around and head back to the cove. There we decided to try dock it on the “yacht” dock, the outside of N. Since we have stern drives and no rutter, it was really hard to steer the boat. Scott did a great job approaching N Dock and then lining up the port side to the dock. My job was to catch a cleat with the pole. That sounds easy, until you are traveling fast and trying to stop a 11,000lb boat!

Yes, I did have my Crewfit 35 Sport USCG Life Vest on – safety comes first. As I hooked the cleat, the force nearly threw me overboard so I let go. Great! Luckily, the pole floats and we had another. I knew there was no point in attempting it again without help. At this point, I called the office at Elliott Bay Marina and Jordan the harbormaster answered. I have been working with Jordan on another project, so it was a bit embarrassing to call him about our situation. He immediately sent out a dingy with two dock guys to help tow us to N dock and get the boat secured. A big Thank YOU to the guys for being so quick and helpful! (Again, another reason we love Elliott Bay Marina!).

We also didn’t have a bad neighbor! Check out

Who do you call now?

If you are a smart boater, you have towing insurance with Boat U.S. The first thing I signed up for when we bought Kokomo, was the Unlimited Saltwater Towing Membership – $149/year! Trust me, it’s worth every penny! They asked where we were, what slip were we in and then said they would be here in an hour. Trust me, he arrived exactly 60 minutes later!

While we were waiting, we were entertained by all of the harbor seals. In addition, we could see how rough the waves get when docked on N Dock. Our boat was bobbing wildly. Remember the story about the boat that exploded during a wind storm?

Tim pulled up and told us he wanted to check out our slip first and then come back for us.

When Tim returned, he needed us to turn the boat around. He grabbed our bow lines and I kept the stern lines loose, but secured. Then he secured the port side to the tow boat and Scott jumped on board to the bow. Once we were ready, I jumped on the stern and pushed us off. We both had poles, ready to push off any objects.

Slowly, he moved us into the marina and towards our slip. Tim had called the dockmaster and had help waiting for us at our slip. I tried to video tape the whole event, but I also needed to be safe. So I only got a little bit of footage. The entire feat was truly impressive. Not only did he tow us through the “S curve” fairway, he literally brought us directly into our slip, where we threw the lines to the guys on the dock. In about 5 minutes, we were secured!

Fixing the boat

First thing on Monday, we called Paul, the mechanic who worked on it last Spring during our haul out. He said it sounded like a fuel line issue, but he was booked until September 1st. Since the boat is for sale, we can’t wait that long. Scott then called Lake Union Sea Ray and they sent out a mobile technician on Tuesday to check it out. Lake Union Sea Ray is one of the only Mercury service departments in the area.

Scott called me at work with the news and said it wasn’t good! I braced myself for the bad news and grabbed my checkbook. What do you think was wrong with the engine? Well, to find out, be sure to watch our YouTube episode below. Such is life of a new boater!

We have some more exciting news, so stay tuned for our next blog for a full update. Until then, have a great week and thank you for subscribing to our blog.

Cheers,

Scott and Ally

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August 15, 2018August 16, 2018

Boating Journey on YouTube

Did you know we have a YouTube Channel?

Many of our followers don’t realize that we also have a YouTube channel. Scott and I will admit, that we are certainly not “YouTubers”. The objective of both our blog and YouTube channel is simply to document our journey. Along the way, we decided to share it with friends, family and many more.

At the same time, I’m a perfectionist and want to update our channel with higher quality videos and productions. In fact, for my birthday last week, Scott gave me a really fun tool for taking videos with my phone! It’s a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Handheld Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer Ultimate Travelers Bundle, which allows me to take more stable videos! I’m so excited to try it out.

Creating our Channel

At first, we posted our early videos on my personal channel and then we created our own channel for Boating Journey. We are trying to grow our subscriber base to over 100, so we can get a custom channel. So please subscribe, if you haven’t already.

Thanks to other videos on YouTube, Scott was able to learn how to change the oil, winterize the dinghy motor and a few other maintenance items. Our goal with our channel is to share operating tips, but also information about different destinations we visit.

Our first videos

When we first posted videos, we hadn’t planned on creating “episodes”. They were merely informational and quick clips, starting with our first trip through Deception Pass.

Scott and I went through Deception Pass for the first time last summer and everyone told us horror stories before hand. So we were pretty nervous, but as you can see it was very smooth.

When we posted our video going through the Ballard Locks for the first time, we decided that would be episode #1. Unfortunately, there was so much smoke, that the video has an eerie feel to it.

Originally, I had posted the video of me docking for the first time on my personal channel and it has over 2000 views! Eventually, I added it to Boating Journey, where it actually belongs. It was such a great day of practicing and I’m glad we decided to capture it. (Notice the first three videos all say “for the first time”?)

Watching episode #2 is why I wanted the Gimbal Stabilizer. This video doesn’t do the scenery justice as it was so incredibly beautiful and festive that night.

Creating Content Videos for Our Viewers

Starting the new year, one of our goals was to make our videos more informative to our viewers. That began with the Seattle Boat Show, which was definitely a rough first attempt to say the least. Again, using the gimbal stabilizer will make such a big difference!

Our most viewed videos have been our haul out series, beginning with our haul out with a broken prop, then checking on the status and bringing the boat home.

After moving into our new apartment, our content changed a bit. We shared videos of our move, getting ready for boating season and touring Seattle.

Destinations

This year, we visited only three ports: Poulsbo, Gig Harbor and Kingston. You can checkout our footage of each of them on our channel. One of our favorite destinations is always Kingston, as it’s close to Seattle and they offer a free concert on the lawn.

So thank you for following our blog and please subscribe and “Like” our videos on YouTube. See the Like and Subscribe Buttons below – simply click on them.

Our next goal is to buy a high quality drone to take more awesome videos too.

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BoatingJourney. Stay tuned for the next update – so much is happening right now!
Cheers, Scott and Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

July 6, 2018August 5, 2018

July 4th Celebration at Camano Island

July 4th Celebration at Camano Island

Every year Scott and I spend the July 4th weekend with my family up on Camano Island. This year, July 4th was on Wednesday, so we went up the previous weekend.

Unfortunately, not only did some of our family not come up, but it was cold and wet. But if you know us, we’ll figure out to make it fun! You’re at the beach, how bad can it be?

Ever since we bought our boat, we have talked about taking it up to Camano and tying it off of their buoy, but it’s too long of a trip for just a couple of days. (More on that at the end of this blog though!!). My family’s home is located on Tyee Beach on Camano Island. Camano is about an hour and half drive from Seattle.

I was surprised by how low the tide was and the fact that mooring balls were on the beach! Be sure to check out last week’s post about the extreme low tide!

Crabbing Season

Crabbing season started on Saturday, June 30th. It’s a very short season here in the PNW, so we always jump on it. Saturday, we got four crabs and Sunday, we got another three or four.

We were a little worried when Scott and my uncle Dick went out in their dinghy to get the pots, as they were pretty low in the water. Luckily, we were watching them closely with the binoculars!

Everyone cooks (kills) crabs differently. My brother-in-law Kurt, kills them with a sharp knife thru their brain (yuck!). We tend to throw them in boiling water. Either way, I try not to think how they came to be on my plate! LOL

We always have a seafoodfest of fresh crab and grilled oysters. Dick grills up fresh oysters with his special wine sauce and they are a hit! I’m not an oyster fan, but I will eat a few of the super small ones.

Sunday, Scott grabbed one pot from Dick and it had one crab in it. Not being a fan of reaching in to grab the crab, he attempted to pick it up with small tongs. So funny!

The Beauty of the Beach

Even though it was cold and dreary on Saturday, the evening brought us gorgeous skies! That’s one thing we love about the Pacific Northwest – the skies are always beautiful.

We hung out with good friends & family enjoying great wine by the fire. That’s a pretty typical summer night in the PNW. Because it wasn’t July 4th, no fireworks were allowed until July 3rd. It was actually a very peaceful weekend.

Have you ever heard the story about finding a rock with a ring around it? Neither had anyone else, so don’t worry! Anyhow, the myth is that when you find one on the beach, hold it tight, make a wish and throw it in the water. They are called wishing rocks. I found two of them, so hopefully my wishes come true soon!

Drama After a Very Windy Night

Sunday night, NOAA was forecasting the winds to be 22 knots from the north. By 6pm, there were white caps and it wasn’t safe to take the dinghy out to check on the pots.

Let’s go back to taking the boat up to Camano. Aside from it being a long trip, (about two hours from Elliott Bay Marina), we also are not comfortable anchoring. In fact, we have yet to anchor the boat anywhere. That’s definitely on our to-do list this summer, if even for the day.

We do have buoys out in front of the house at the beach, but I have always worried about their ability to hold our 11,000lb boat. They haven’t been serviced or checked in years. My nephew has his new 18′ fishing boat on it, but it’s much lighter than ours.

Monday morning, my aunt woke us up to say we had a “situation”. Turns out our neighbor’s mooring chain broke and his motor yacht floated south in the bay and snagged our ball and got hung up on Jake’s boat. Yikes! The irony here is, I always said this would happen some day. BUT it was my family’s mooring ball that held both boats in those winds!

My aunt called the motor yacht and he quickly came out to his boat and untangled them. Turns out the chain broke at the shackle, which was the one spot he didn’t use a safety backup wire. Lesson learned. Sadly, Jake’s boat did sustain some damage, including a broken rail and fiberglass damage.

Celebrating July 4th!

While we might not have been at the beach on July 4th, we certainly were not missing anything! Our apartment has a stunning view of Lake Union and the fireworks show. I have been out on Lake union boating on July 4th many times, but I forgot just how crazy it is. Remember, at the end of the night, most of all of the boats go home in the dark! It’s quite the journey.

Our apartment hosted an awesome classic barbecue and we had the chance to meet so many new neighbors. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday, especially mid-week!

Next weekend, we are heading to one of our favorite ports, Gig Harbor . So stay tuned for our next update!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

June 30, 2018July 6, 2018

Extreme Pacific Ocean Tides in June

The Pacific Ocean Tides in June 2018

A few weeks ago, Scott and I headed out to Poulsbo for a quick overnight. As you might remember, this was a last minute trip. Being an avid weather watcher, I checked the National Weather Service and saw they were predicting high winds and small craft advisory.

The National Weather Service is a great resource for boaters. It will tell you what is forecasted for the coastal region and for Puget Sound. For our trip on June 16th, it was looking rough.

We kept a good eye on the weather and luckily the forecast for us, stayed out in the ocean. However, that was NOT good for any boats out on the Pacific Ocean, especially near Washington & Oregon.

Tragically, a local couple who had circumnavigated the world over 17 years on their sailboat S/V Kelaerin hit horrible weather and lost everything. They were fortunate to be alive. Here’s a link to her terrifying story and Coast Guard video below. It’s another reminder, that even the best sailors can run into bad weather. What I would take away from this tragic event, are the lessons she shared with us.

Some of those include, keep your wallet, I.D., (important documents) in your ditch bag and easily accessible. Upload your photos & videos to a cloud. Make sure everything is tightly secured to prevent injury. And most important, stay on top of the weather.

“Epic Boat Loss” – Read the story HERE

Video of the boat as they abandoned it HERE

Extreme Tides

What added to the tragedy above, was the extreme tides on June 17, 2008. In our blog about Poulsbo, we told a story about a 58′ yacht that came down the fairway to get gas, only to find out they were in only 4′ of water. Not a good idea. While we could certainly see the bottom of the marina, it didn’t really occur to us, how low the tide was.

Scott and I headed back to the marina on Sunday, June 17, 2018. We washed the boat and headed home. It wasn’t until we were about halfway down the dock, that we realized how LOW the tide was. At 7:25am the tides were at 10′ 2″ and by 2:20pm the tides were at -2′ 2″! Here’s a quick video below of the footage we took:

The lesson here is pay attention to the weather before heading out anywhere on a vessel. You might not be dealing with winds, but instead the tides. Stay tuned for our next blog as we are heading up to Camano Island for the July 4th celebration.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

June 23, 2018

Visiting Poulsbo

Visiting Poulsbo, a Quaint Scandinavian Town

Last weekend, Scott and I headed over to Poulsbo for a quick overnight stay. We planned the trip at the last minute when our friends, Ben and Maria, asked us to join them. Checking the weather forecast two days earlier, NOAA was forecasting high winds combined with extreme tides for Saturday and Sunday. I was tempted to cancel the trip, but decided we would leave each morning before the winds picked up. With a high tide of +12′ and a low tide of -3.5′,

Neither Scott or I had ever been to Poulsbo before and had heard great things about the city. Getting there by boat from Elliott Bay Marina takes about an hour. There are two ways to get to Poulsbo around Bainbridge Island. You can travel south, through Rich Pass with the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry or you can travel north through Agate Pass. We chose the northern passage through Agate Pass.

We left Elliott Bay Marina around 9am before the predicted winds and we arrived at 10am.

The winds were at 14mph from the north and it was a bumpy ride across Elliott Bay. A few times the bow slammed down (all cupboards emptied out) and salt water sprayed us good. The trip across the bay took us about 30 minutes and I was ready to get out of that chop.

Once we passed Port Madison on our left, we saw Agate Pass and the bridge. The seas were much calmer and pleasant. We had been told that the current under the bridge would be swift, but honestly with our boat going 19 mph, unlike Deception Pass, it was a breeze. Our friends told us to keep to our port side as we crossed under the bridge as there is a fish farm on the right side and it’s much more shallow. We rounded Point Bolin and approached Key Port Point, where the US Naval Museum is located.

Liberty Bay & Docking

Once we rounded Key Port Point, we entered Liberty Bay. It’s lined with beautiful houses on each shore. There is a no wake zone once you reach the first marina. The Poulsbo marina is the one farthest north. I was surprised as to how many boats were anchored in the bay. With the wind and the current we were trying hard to maneuver around each of them.

We were assigned to the E Dock Slip #15, which is only a 30′ slip. Because the fairways are so wide, they allow boats to overhang. Since we are 34′, we had to dock stern in, port side so we could get off the boat easily. Remember, we have only docked stern in once at our own dock and I was on the dock. Now we have 14mph winds and a wicked current in the marina – this should be fun! (Too bad we forgot the GoPro).

Our first and second attempts both failed (I love how all of the boaters just watched us and never offered any assistance). Third attempt, the dockmaster showed and I threw him the lines, but I missed him. Grrrrrrr. Fourth attempt failed and on the fifth attempt, I hooked the cleat and threw him the lines. Here’s the catch though. The winds were slamming the boat up against the dock and SLAM, SCREECH – we hit “something”. We quickly tied off the boat and assessed the damage.

Luckily it’s only a surface scar, but a bad one! The boat hit the SHARP METAL CORNER of the piling frame. Why it’s not bumpered like ours at Elliott Bay Marina, I don’t know. Especially with the strong currents. We still have epoxy from the haul out repair, so we will fix it in the next week or two.

Little Norway

Poulsbo is a quaint town full of great shops & restaurants. It has a Scandinavian heritage and Poulsbo is the nickname for “Little Norway”. There is a small heritage museum at the visitor’s center that tells the history of the town and the marine industry.

Our friends, Ben & Maria were coming down from Everett and we had reserved a dock together using the DockWa app. This is a great app to make quick marina reservations. Last year we traveled to Gig Harbor with Ben & Maria, but weren’t able to stay at the same marina. They have been to Poulsbo many times and it is one of their favorite destinations.

The four of us checked into the marina and they gave us a welcome bag with all kins of brochures, coasters, stickers and coupons. They do offer free Wi-Fi and free pumpout too! Wow! Of course we forgot to use any of our coupons at the restaurants.

Downtown Poulsbo & The Farmer’s Market

Downtown Poulsbo is lined with shops and restaurants. Be sure to watch Episode #15 on YouTube for a full tour. The Farmer’s market runs from 9am to 2pm, so we headed up (yes UP the steep hill) to the market right after we checked in. The farmer’s market is located in the library parking lot up on the hill about 4 blocks away from the marina. It is a bit smaller than most, but they had all kinds of vegetables, gifts, breads, seeds, clothing and much more. I found all kinds of gifts and so I started my holiday shopping early.

From the Farmer’s Market, we headed back down the hill to explore downtown Poulsbo. They have a famous bakery, Sluy’s, that always has a line out front. People couldn’t stop talking about Sluy’s, but the line was too long for us. LOL. Next time.

Scott and I checked out the visitor’s center and the heritage museum. It’s really just an small area in the office that has some memorabilia and historical facts about the town. It is really interesting, so be sure to check it out.

Scott and I had lunch at The Brass Kraken Pub overlooking the marina. The bartender was super friendly and the food / drinks were outstanding! My bloody mary came with a complete meal on top (pepperoni, cheese, green bean, olive & more) AND a mini beer!

Low Tide

Low tide was at 1:42pm and it was so low that we only had about 2′ below our hull. The fuel dock was tilting due to the low tide. Suddenly, this 58′ Meridian came down the fairway to fuel up, only to realize the fuel dock was closed and he was now in 2′ of muddy water! Ironically this boat is from Elliott Bay Marina. Let’s hope he didn’t suck up a bunch of mud into his engines. We had lots of small crabs walking below our boat too. It was really a pretty cool sight.

To get a better perspective on how low the tide was, check out this photo of Ben & Maria. Notice the pilings are about 15′ high. Plus they were covered in mussels!

Now check out this photo during high tide – Ben is resting his arm on it! Crazy!

Still wanting to explore a bit more, Scott and I were going to walk the beach. That was until we saw a kid get his leg sucked in by the sand/mud. No thanks….so we just walked the boardwalk which was shaded by trees. It’s about a 1/4 mile long and loops you back into the town.

Those are our two boats together on the second dock.

After our walk, the four of us relaxed on the dock, soaking up the sun and drinking cocktails. The afternoon was full of stories & laughter, bringing some of us to tears! That’s what I call a great time!

Ben and Scott helped dock numerous boats as it was still windy. Again, I still can’t get over how many people watched us struggle and never lent a hand. To me, it just good etiquette to help a fellow boater.

Good Friends, Great Wine & Beautiful Sunset

For dinner, we headed to “That’s a Some Italian Restaurant” right across from the marina. Our server was funny and the food was good. Note to self – if you plan on bringing home your pizza, make sure it fits in the tiny fridge. LOL

We wrapped up the night, with great wine, a sunset, live music from Brass Kraken and a friendly harbor seal.

It was one of the best times we have had! Ben and I went to high school together and when we bought our boat, he gave us a lot of tips and advice. It was great hanging out with them and we can’t wait to do it again!

Heading Home

Sunday morning we had a slight change in the weather and the 22mph winds were reduced to only 9mph starting around 9am. Scott and I grabbed a quick breakfast at the Green Diner and then headed out. After hitting the piling when we docked, I asked the dock master to help us push off.

The winds were still coming from the north, which helped us going home. Instead of getting wet, it was a nice and pleasant trip. We still had white caps on Elliott Bay, but we were not slamming down.

The funniest thing we saw on our way home was this barge carrying a giant cow. At first we thought we were seeing things! Turns out it’s Bessie on the Barge is for June’s Dairy Month. She went thru the Ballard Locks and had visitors. https://www.facebook.com/events/170350046969151/.

The irony of our trip, was docking back at Elliott Bay Marina. We literally pulled into the slip, hooked the cleat and tied off in 10 seconds. Why doesn’t that happen all of the time?

Our boat Kokomo was covered in salt water and we spent a few hours on Sunday cleaning it. The next thing on our list will be to repair the gel coat.

When we left the marina, it was once again low tide! It was the craziest thing I have ever seen at Elliott Bay. Folks were standing where there is usually only water.

Be sure to watch the full tour in Episode #15 on our YouTube channel below:

Next Sunday, my family from Camano Island is seeing the boat for the first time and we’re headed out for a ride on the bay. Stay tuned for our next blog!

Thank you for following us! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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May 21, 2018June 1, 2018

Anacortes Boat Show 2018

Attending The Anacortes Boat Show 2018

Every year, Scott and I attend the Anacortes Boat Show with our good friends, Nick and Michelle. It used to be held in the Fall and recently was moved to the Spring. Last year, we had already looked at our boat, Kokomo before the show, but thought we should still check out a few more options. Turns out, Kokomo was still the favorite and we made a offer while we were in Anacortes.

Everyone has been asking us if we are in the market for another boat now. Our answer is that boat owners are always in the market for something bigger. For us, it’s a strategic reason. The reason we sold our house and moved into an apartment, is so we can make sure we like living in small living quarters as we plan on moving onto a live-aboard in a year. (Well, that’s the plan at least). Scott and I hope to find a boat that is about 50′-55′ for our live-aboard, which is nearly twice the length of what we have now (31′).

We would like to find a transition boat around 38′ – 42′ that we can still moor at Elliott Bay Marina. The issue now is, inventory is low because it’s peak season and the marina is also starting to fill up. So our take on the situation is if we find the right boat, great. If not, we still have our fantastic boat that’s ready for boating season!

Fidalgo Island

Did you know that Anacortes is actually on Fidalgo Island? You cross a very small body of water, so it doesn’t really seem like an island. We love Downtown Anacortes as it is small and quaint.

The food is great and the drinks are always flowing. Our favorite pub is the Brown Lantern Tavern. We had a special treat this year with an acapella group performance! Be sure to check out our full episode on our YouTube channel at the end of this post.

This year we stayed at the Sunrise Inn Villas & Suites and I have to say this was one of our favorites for the price. In the past we have stayed at motels, because they accept pets and we always had Mac. While there is the Majestic Inn, we didn’t want to spend $250/night knowing that we wouldn’t be in our room much. The great thing about the Sunrise Inn is that it was walking distance to both the show at Cap Sante Marina and downtown Anacortes.

For breakfast, our favorite place is the Calico Cupboard Old Town Café and if you love donuts, be sure to check out the Donut House. They are open 24 hours and no matter the time, we always make a stop there.

The First Annual Anacortes Boat Show

Okay, I know you are wondering why it says “first annual” if we have been coming for years? Well, this year the show was organized by the Seattle Boat Show and they charged for attending the show (in the past it was free). In the past, they had a small vendor tent and mostly used trawlers & sailboats to view.

This year, they had many more vendor booths in the tent and they had brought in a lot of brand new boats up from Lake Union. Our friends, Nick and Michelle have been smitten with a Catalina sail boat and in fact, found a fantastic one at the show! We hope they buy it and moor it next to us at Elliott Bay Marina!

Looking for a new boat

Scott and I were on the hunt for the elusive 38′ – 42′ cruiser, but to no avail. We did tour two brand new boats from Prestige and Four Winns. But at $500k, they are out of our price range. But it was fun to check them out and see all of their awesome features and upgrades. The funny thing is our own broker, Eddie has three 38′ SeaRays listed and we are going to try and have him show them to us. So stay tuned.

We really lucked out with the weather this year as it was warm and sunny. At 4pm they opened the Wine & Beer Garden and each attendee received a free drink! Anacortes Brewing was pouring their beers and they were fantastic. Cheers to that!

When we toured the Seattle Boat Show, we visited with the vendors at the beginning of the show. Since I didn’t want to walk around all day carrying stuff, I didn’t buy anything from the vendors. One of the vendors there was Nauti Girl and I really wanted their t-shirt. Luckily for me, they were at Anacortes and I got two awesome shirts finally!

Anacortes is only about two hours north of Seattle and we were back home on Sunday by 12pm. It’s definitely a fun show to attend that gets you in the mood for boating season.

Watch our full tour on our YouTube Channel below:

Stay tuned for our next blog as we spend the Memorial Day weekend on the boat! PS Can you believe it was a year ago this weekend that we took possession of Kokomo? How time flies!

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Cheers,

Scott & Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

May 10, 2018August 15, 2018

Getting Ready for Boating Season

Time to get Kokomo ready for boating season

Scott and I spent four days unpacking and we also needed to get our boat Kokomo, ready for boating season. While we have done all of the exterior and mechanical work on our boat, it still wasn’t ready because nothing was on it. In preparation for winter, we removed things like bedding, carpet, coolers, cushions, etc and moved them into our storage unit.

On Sunday, we headed down to Public Storage on the waterfront and loaded up all of the boat supplies.

It took us three carts and two trips to bring everything back to the boat. Remember, we’re located at the end of the dock, which is about 1/4 mile walk. What’s really cool this year, is we have new neighbors and they are all really friendly and outgoing.

Quick run on Elliott Bay

It was so beautiful on Sunday, that we decided to take the boat out for a quick run on Elliott Bay. Our gas gauge doesn’t work great and we haven’t filled up the tank yet, so we didn’t go too far. But being out on the water and enjoying the Seattle skyline, just brought back all of the reasons we want to be on the water.

spring boating — This tanker has been anchored outside the marina for weeks.

Check out Episode #10 on our YouTube Channel

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Thanks for all of your support & for following us! Be sure to also check out our new Patreon site, which allows our followers to join us & support us too.

Stay tuned for our next blog as we visit the Anacortes Boat Show. Thank you for following us. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook & Twitter!

Cheers, Scott & Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

April 16, 2018April 24, 2018

Leaving the Boat Yard

Finally Leaving the Boat Yard

It’s been six weeks and Kokomo is finally leaving Seaview Boat Yard. As a new boater, we have gotten lots of advice and tips from fellow boaters. Hopefully this story will help others too.

Before we selected Seaview, we asked for recommendations in the Seattle area and there were just a few that would work for us. With our broken prop, we had no choice but to go to Seaview, as they were the closest to our marina. As you might remember, we met them at the Seattle Boat Show and they had a great haul out deal of 50% off the haul out and 20% off labor with any bottom paint package. The staff at the boat yard was very friendly, but they don’t move too fast. Luckily for us, the weather was horrible for the past month, so it didn’t impact us too much.

As I mentioned in our last blog, the boat yard had finished painting the bottom and the engines two weeks ago and my nephew and his dad waxed it for us last week. This saved us significant money. We paid Spencer $800 and the boat yard wanted $1700! He and his dad, did a fantastic job!

Sterndrives look new!

Our sterndrives were painted too and they look amazing compared to before. They installed our new Bravo II props last week and compared to the props they pulled off, wow!

There was a boat next to us in the yard and check out the mussels growing on his engine and trim tabs!

So what does all this cost in the end?

What’s funny about boat maintenance is everyone loves to say that BOAT stands for “bring on another thousand”. But if you are a boater, you know that and expect it. So did we have any surprises this time? A few. Here’s the final breakdown of all of the work. I will say that the boat yard, originally charged us for 24 hours to paint the stern drives and we questioned it. They adjusted the bill to 18 hours.

Bottom Paint Package, including parts & labor $806
Bottom Paint Seahawk Sharkskin Black 1.25 gallons $235
Replace Anodes incl labor $336
Prep & Paint Sterndrives $1805
10 point inspection (see below for what that incl) $121
Pull & install new props $1315
Boat Show Discount <$605>
Misc fees & taxes $594

Seaview Boat Yard Total $4608

We also hired a Mercruiser mechanic to inspect the engines and also tune them up. His cost was about $800.

So overall, the entire haul out cost us $6200 and we had estimated about $5000. Not ever having done this before, our estimate wasn’t that far off.

Communicating with the boat yard

Our biggest issue with Seaview was their lack of communication. We had to call almost every day to find out what the status was. Then finally last Thursday, they called to say the props were on and they were scheduling the haul out for 1pm the next day. I was shocked, because we were still waiting on the 10 pt inspection and the trim tab work. On top of that, there was a small craft advisory for Friday afternoon and neither of us were able to move it on short notice anyways.

Then they called back an hour later saying the inspection was done and that they would put it in a slip for us to pick up over the weekend. Scott and I went down to the boat yard on Friday evening to pay our final bill and confirm everything. The weather was horrible and now we just prayed it would be nice over the weekend.

What does the 10 pt inspection include?

Since we have never had one done, we only know what Seaview includes. It was a quick checklist that they gave back to us.

Check Bottom Paint, zincs, shaft, thru hulls, knot meter/depth sounder condition, grounding damage, thruster/trim tabs
Paint/Scratches, gel coat punctures, boot stripe condition
Interior thru hulls/valve condition, galley, head, electronics, hose clamps, linkage/cable condition, bilge area

What were their findings?

Stiff steering
Head pick up valve is stiff
Port trim tab in operable – possible relay

So nothing too major to worry about this time.

Finally leaving the boat yard

Scott and I looked at the forecast and we had a small weather window on Sunday, April 15th. While many of you might be thinking, “what’s the big deal? It’s Springtime in the PNW and the weather is fine”. Not so much!

According to the NW Weather Service, with the first two weeks of April, this month is now the fourth wettest April in 120 years! Read more here.

Luckily, Sunday morning arrived with sunny, blue skies and calm waters. I dropped Scott and Kurt off at Seaview and then drove back to Elliott Bay Marina to meet them. I guess the boat was hauling, as they beat me back to the marina!

We docked stern first, so we can clean the dinghy and also the top of the starboard side of the boat. Next Sunday is supposed to be sunny, so Scott and I will head down to clean the boats, inside and out.

We still have no update on our house or our move, so stay tuned for that. Until then, thank you for following us! Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Cheers! Scott & Ally

#KokomoSeattle #BoatingJourney

April 12, 2018August 15, 2018

Looking Forward to Boating Season!

We’re ready for boating season – are you?

I don’t know about you, but after weeks of cold, rainy weather we’re ready for boating season and some sunshine! Of course, with our boat still in dry dock after six weeks, we’re not missing much.

Next month, will be a full year that we have been boat owners and we certainly traveled a lot of places for first time boaters. That’s the great thing about mooring at Elliott Bay Marina, we’re close to so many great ports that are a day trip away.

Some of our favorite spots

In celebration of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would share some of our favorite destinations. These include Kingston, Gig Harbor & the San Juan Islands.

salmon bake indian reservation — Blake Island

mooring balls pnw bainbridge island — Port Madison

luxury charter yacht pnw locks — Going thru the Ballard Locks

The best view is still at home

Even if Scott and I don’t take the boat out, we love to spend the night at the marina. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful place to relax and entertain friends and family. This year, we plan on exploring more of Seattle on foot from the marina.

western sunset boating seattle — Dusk at Elliott Bay

holiday party marina — Olympic Mountains

Here’s to another great boating season! We look forward to sharing our journey with you this summer! We should be bringing Kokomo home in the next week or so, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle