Boating Blogs and the adventure of Boating Journey

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020

Why we only vacation in the Caribbean every year

Here on the West Coast, most people travel to Mexico or Hawaii for their tropical vacations, but Scott and I only vacation in the Caribbean each year (except for one time we went to Mexico). It does take us a full day to get to our destination, but it’s worth it in the end.

Caribbean cruise — Jackie O’s love beach in Antigua

It all began when we honeymooned in Antigua in 2003. The tropical warm breezes mixed with the smell of rum, sounds of steel drum bands and the mesmerizing turquoise waters got us hooked. On top of all of that, it was also the people from the islands that drew us in. There are definitely parts of the islands that are poverty stricken and many of the workers you encounter at your hotel, restaurant or taxi come from these neighborhoods. Yet, they are eternally happy around everyone and that’s what makes visiting the islands so memorable.

What Caribbean Islands have we visited?

Scott and I have been to Antigua four times, always staying at Sandals Resorts. Sandals is an all-inclusive resort chain with great resorts to vacation at in the Caribbean. Antigua’s capital, Saint John’s is a great city for shopping – be sure to check out their huge Farmer’s Market!

When we owned The Wine Alley, we always closed the first week of January to take our vacation. One word of caution – if you visit The Bahamas in the winter, remember that Nassau is pretty far north and it can be chilly in January! The islands are beautiful and visiting the pigs in the Exumas is on my bucket list.

Jamaica has been another favorite island for us and we’ve stayed all over the island. I think we have been there five times with White House being our favorite.

White House is on the west side, near a 500 acre wildlife refuge park (watch out for bugs on the uninhabited beach), Negril is great for beach activities and food, Ocho Rios is famous for Dunns River Falls and Sandals at Montego Bay is literally across the street from the airport!

Keep in mind when visiting anywhere in Jamaica (except Montego Bay), that it can take a couple of hours to get to the hotel. But in true Jamaican fashion, the drivers always take care of their passengers along the way.

Our most unique island visits

A few years ago, we decided to pick a brand new island to visit and we selected the Dominican Republic (not to be confused with Dominica). The Dominican Republic shares the island with Haiti. We stayed at a five star all-inclusive resort, which was beautiful. The waters of Dominican Republic are so insanely blue, they are blinding. There’s great history on the island, starting with Christopher Columbus. However, their sanitation system (lack of) and the tip expectations from everyone we encountered were a big bummer for us. I’m sure it has changed since then.

Then last year, we took an epic sailing cruise aboard the Star Flyer, which is part of the Star Clipper fleet. This journey started in Sint Maarten and headed south to Nevis/St. Kitts, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Isles des Saintes, Antigua, St. Barths and back to Sint Maarten. Be sure to watch our three part series on YouTube for the full footage!

Caribbean sailing ship — On board Star Flyer, outside of Nevis

US Virgin & British Virgin Islands

With all of our Caribbean vacations, it’s hard to believe that Scott and I have never traveled to the Virgin Islands. To say we’re excited about our upcoming bareboat charter with The Moorings in the BVI’s is an understatement. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been researching where to anchor, where to visit and eat. The charter is only for six days and then we will spend two nights on St. Thomas. This will give us a chance to explore the island over a day and a half. Both islands are still recovering from Hurricane Irma and after seeing what Sint Maarten looked like, we’re prepared.

We’ve mentioned in a few blog posts and YouTube episodes, that if you have chartered in the BVIs before, please share with us any advise you have. This includes provisioning, places to visit, what to wear, etc. We know we have to have a flexible schedule & itinerary based on the weather forecast, so we want to have our options lined up.

Time to practice anchoring

This weekend the forecast is decent and the four of us (Scott, Maria, Ben and I) are planning on heading out to practice anchoring. We had hoped to stay over night on anchor, but since we’ve only anchored once, it’s best we do a day anchor for lunch first. The weather can turn ugly in the PNW and the last thing we need to do is drag anchor and run around.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

As always, thank you for following us! We have some exciting things planned for this summer, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally

#BoatingJourney #BoatingLife

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

Seattle Boat Show 2020

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

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

Touring the boat show with a plan

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

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

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

Union Marine – the largest boat display in the show

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

Dog Day at the Seattle Boat Show

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

Fun surprises at the show

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

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

Meeting VIP’s

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

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

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

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020

Cozy winter night during wind storm

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

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

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

boat heater — Sorry for all of the dust! LOL

Time to make dinner

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

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

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

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

Planning our BVI charter

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

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

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

When the “boat’s a rocking”

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

How did we sleep?

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

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

Next day errands and project

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

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

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

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

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

Sticking to our budget of $15 a day!

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

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

Downtown grocery shopping

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

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

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

Bargain shopping

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

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

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

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

How did we do?

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

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

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

Next boating resolution

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

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

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

Happy New Year! Scott and Ally

December 31, 2019January 2, 2020

Our Boating Resolutions for 2020

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

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

Save Money

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

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

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

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

Anchor Overnight

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

Visit British Columbia

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

marina san juan islands — Roche Harbor Marina

Travel to at least three new ports

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

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

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

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

Find a liveaboard slip

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

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

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

Remodeling Projects

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

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

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

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

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

One last resolution

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

Here’s to a great year in 2020!

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

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

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

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December 22, 2019December 27, 2019

What a year we had on our boat in 2019!

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

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

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

Ports of call

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

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

opening day of boating season — Tracey & Cal

The never ending project list

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

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

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

Lessons learned

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

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

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

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

What a year it was

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

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

Cheers, Scott & Ally

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (@BoatingJourney). Not only do we want to share our story & experience with you, we also want to hear from you too. We’re learning everyday.

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

November 9, 2019November 13, 2019

Our Glamorous Boating Lifestyle

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

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

What’s a typical weekend in the marina like?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The views never get old

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

Entertaining on the boat

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

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

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

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

Cheers, Scott and Ally
#BoatingJourney

October 24, 2019October 30, 2019

Hauling Out at Canal Boatyard

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

The items that were on the list were:

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

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

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

Scheduling the work at Canal Boatyard

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

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

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

Going through the Ballard Locks

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

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

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

Hauling out ……again

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

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

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

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

Can you say BARNACLES?

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

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

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

How long will the work take?

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

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

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

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

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

Time to go home!

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

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

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

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

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

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

A big Thank YOU

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

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Cheers,

Scott & Ally

October 13, 2019November 23, 2019

Are our holding tanks leaking?!

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

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

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

This is a stinky job!

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

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

We assumed the worst!

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

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

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

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

Option #2

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

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

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

The smell is still there!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers,

Scott & Ally

October 1, 2019October 1, 2019

Boats Afloat Show – Where it all began!

It was at the Boats Afloat Show in 2010 where it all began! Scott and I had owned The Wine Alley since 2005 and we decided to head to the show for something to do. As we admired all of the beautiful yachts, we knew those were not in our future. Then headed to the sailing dock and toured a 35′ Lagoon Catamaran. All of a sudden, we knew we would someday retire on a boat.

After the show, we spent time with a local charter company and actually considered investing in a new Lagoon. Thanks to the recession and the fact that we still owned a business, that wasn’t going to happen. So, in the meantime, all we could do is attend shows and work towards our dream. After we sold the wine shop, we started searching for our first boat and bought Kokomo in 2017.

What are we looking for at the Boats Afloat Show?

Now that we own a boat, you might be asking why are we at the Boats Afloat Show? Scott and I are not looking for another boat, but there’s a lot of things we can do to remodel our current boat. Time to look for ideas! In addition, we have found a few of our vendors (Lending Associates, Global Marine Insurance, Color Glo Marine & Pacific Fiberglass) at the show, so it’s a great place to connect with people.

Let’s start with the carpet. Our boat, a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin M/Y has the original carpet and it needs to be replaced. We have talked about replacing it with a wood laminate and it wouldn’t be too costly, except for the stairs. Then we toured the Aquila 44 at the show. How ironic, because that’s what we are chartering in April in the BVI’s!

I immediately noticed that they had Snap-in Carpet for the interior. Interesting. Thoughts anyone?

Scott and I have also been talking seriously about the possibility of living on THIS boat. That was never in the plans, but I would consider it to save money. However, we would need to make some changes to make it more livable and user friendly. Check out these table designs. It would be great if we could lower our dinette table so we could easily relax on the seat and watch t.v.

Galley Remodel

While we wont’ be remodeling our galley anytime soon, it’s on the list if we end up living on it. Here are the list of things we need to change:

Swap out the double sink for a single
Replace the faucet with a smaller, taller, skinnier faucet
Replace the microwave with a microwave/convection oven
Remove the propane stove top and replace with an electric stove top.
Remove the oven and replace with cupboards

Why? Well, we can’t fit pots or pans in the sink. The faucet is so low and huge, it practically is in the sink. To use the stove top and oven, we have to turn on the gas at the tank, turn on the switch at the electrical panel, turn on the switch in the galley and then light it with a lighter! No thanks.

The question will be, is can we find a small enough microwave/convection oven? We have a pretty tiny microwave.

On one sailboat, they had a pretty cool set up for their bbq, but I’m not sure how you could do that after market for a boat like ours.

Check out the galley on this catamaran!

As we toured the sailboat row, Scott and I stumbled upon a peculiar looking catamaran. It was a brand I have not heard AND it was very green. This is a Baracuda X 2013 Chris White Atlantic 47 Catamaran.

At first, I didn’t want to go on it, but am I glad I did. They thought of everything on this boat!

The galley is not on the main level, but down below (similar to the Antares). It’s also massive! There’s more counter space here than my condo has.

Then they built in a “shop” on the other side, where there’s the engine access and the washer and dryer!

By the initial looks of this boat, you could easily do some off-shore cruising. The craziest thing about this catamaran is has patented Chris White Designs MastFoil™. This is a unique combination of modern rigid airfoil technology with proven soft sails.

Other cool things at the Boats Afloat Show

New to the market is the center console from Ocean Alexander. I’ve read about it in magazines, but to see it in person was unreal. Who owns a boat like this? Has to be some huge yacht and they use this as their tender! We saw plenty of them in St. Barths.

With four 350hp engines, this boat can easily go over 50mph! Crazy.

Then we toured a 1990 yacht that is moored in our marina. Everything about this yacht was unique and eccentric. So we had to check out the bridge. Is this a boat or a helicopter?

Check out this Life Proof Boat! It’s made out of a patented Styrofoam. You can stab it with a knife and the pontoons will not deflate!

That’s a wrap of the boat show! What’s next for us?

It was a quick tour of the boat show. When you work the boat show as an occupation, it’s not as fun to tour it anymore. Next up for us is to figure out our leaking holding tank situation. Since we’re hauling out in a couple of weeks, now is the time to fix it. We’re also gathering information for our Moorings BVI bareboat charter, so if you have any tips or suggestions for an itinerary, please reach out.

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

Cheers,

Scott & Ally

@boatingjourney #boatingjourney