Come along with Scott & Ally on their boating journey in Florida!
Tag: Boating Journey
Boating Journey
Boating Journey is a boating blog by Ally and Scott Helfen. They live in the Pacific Northwest and purchased their first boat in May 2017. Scott and Ally have documented their experience of purchasing their first boat and the lessons learned thereafter.
In their blog, they share their adventures cruising to different ports and destinations in the Pacific Northwest. Ally shares her favorite recipes she makes while entertaining on their boat.
Their journey also documents what it’s like to live on board in a marina. Scott and Ally’s dream is to sell their home and live on a boat.
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.
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.
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
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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.
Watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel below.
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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.
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!
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!
Scott and I finally anchored for the first time last weekend! When we had Kokomo, we went through the process of pulling out our anchor and marking it in feet. So we did the same thing with this boat a few weeks ago. It’s important to check your anchor for a few things: is it in good shape, is it all chain and how much chain do you have? Plus, once the chain locker is empty, you can inspect it too.
Our anchor is tied to a cleat on the bow, which helps keep it secured. But as you can see, we need to replace the rope – it’s seen better days.
On this boat, we have foot pedals on the bow for the electric windlass. The anchor you see in the photo below, is actually our spare anchor.
Laying the anchor chain out on the dock.
Turns out we have all chain and no rope. That’s a good thing. However, we noticed the first five rungs were really rusty, so we decided to remove those. Easier said than done, but Scott managed to do it with a set of bolt cutters.
Next we knew that the dock was built in 10′ segments, so we laid out the tarp and then I slowly released the anchor chain and Scott lined up the chain every ten feet on the dock.
How much anchor chain do we have?
Our previous boat had over 250′ of chain and we never once anchored with that boat. Since this boat has a generator, we hope to spend the night on the hook next summer. Once Scott laid out all of the chain on the dock, he spray painted the ends, indicating “every ten feet”. The previous owner had also tied ribbons on the chain, every 25′, so now we have two methods of measurements we can use.
Notice the end of the chain, we double painted it yellow and orange, so we would know we were at the end when anchoring.
Turns out we have about 240′ of chain. The chain locker looked good and we were very careful when we brought it back up. We checked the locker a few times to make sure it was laying flat.
One word of caution – don’t pull the chain / anchor too tight. As you can see in the photo below, I did just that and it got stuck on the anchor plate below the bow. Scott was finally able to loosen it, by attaching a line to it from the dock and pushing the boat back and forth. But if you’re on the water, you’re stuck.
Let’s practice in Port Madison
Last weekend, we headed over to Port Madison to practice anchoring. Kurt came along to give us some tips and advice. It was a beautiful day and perfect to practice anchoring for the first time.
The original plan was to enter into Port Madison and anchor inside.
However, it was also a very low tide that afternoon and once we got inside where Treasure Island is, we were in only 7′ of water and I got uncomfortable. Not only was I worried about our draft (yes, our draft is 4′, so we were fine), but there were a lot of boats inside and the last thing they needed was a newbie practicing around them. When anchoring, make sure to practice proper etiquette.
So we decided to turn around and head back out. We would practice anchoring in the outside bay. (smart decision). If you are looking to practice anchoring, Port Madison is perfect – it’s only 40 min from Seattle (at 9 knots) and a fun trip.
We’re finally ready to anchor for the first time!
Right outside the bay, we picked a spot that was about 20′ deep and there were no boats around. We untied the anchor and slowly started to lower it into the water. Since there were no boats around, we decided to let out 100′ of chain (5 -1) versus 140 (7-1). If I noticed that the boat was moving forward over the chain, I had Scott slowly back up. We did this a few times, until 100′ was let out. Then we waited about 3 minutes to see if the chain was holding. It wasn’t vibrating, which can be an indicator that it’s dragging.
Success on the first try! We’re not going anywhere. Time for lunch!
The four of us enjoyed lunch in the cockpit while at anchor. It was a bit weird and you do move a lot. This is not a bay I would stay over night in, so I’m assuming it would be calmer somewhere else.
Now we have to pull up the anchor
You’ll love the pictures here, as I was wearing our GoPro camera while pulling up the anchor! LOL. Scott and I followed the same procedure of backing up the boat, if it started to move over the top of the anchor. I would give him arm signals, indicating which direction the anchor chain was as we were pulling it up.
The wet chain made a bit of a mess on the bow, with some rusty water. We took a bucket of water and rinsed it off right away. We only brought up a little bit of kelp, so nothing too bad. The anchor had a lot of mud on it, so I carefully lowered it a few times to rinse it off. In all, it was a successful first time anchoring. I’m really glad Kurt was there to show us the ropes and help with the process. Be sure to check out our next blog as we take a trip around Blake Island to look for a spot to anchor!
Here’s the full footage on our YouTube channel below.
As always, thank you for following our blog. We’re booking our bareboat charter in the British Virgin Islands this week. Our friends Ben & Maria are chartering a Power Catamaran with us next April. I will be sure to share all of my research and am looking for tips and advise too in upcoming blogs.
A few weeks ago, we joined the Union Marine getaway in Bremerton and we brought along my college friend Jen. The Bremerton Marina is just across the bay from Port Orchard, where we were earlier in the month, so it was nice to know where we were going. The three of us left Friday around 3pm, so that I could get a dock party set up for our event. Going at 10 knots, it would take us about 90 minutes to get there.
The weather was a bit grey, but the water was almost calm the entire way! We even saw a few porpoises, but I never got a chance to get their photo.
Entering the Bremerton Marina!
Most of our crew & guests were already at the marina, so I called our broker Steve and said we were coming in. He warned me that the current was swift and to be ready. We entered the Bremerton Marina on the west end, as we were on the guest dock in the center. That all was very smooth, as the water was so calm. But once we turned down our fairway, Scott said the current was fast!
The fairways and slips are very wide (thank God!) and we were grateful for that, as we were sharing a slip with one of our customers who has a beautiful 48′ Sea Ray yacht. As we started to back in, the current over took us and we had to try again. This time we went to the end of our fairway, turned around and backed in again. Let’s just say, we were grateful for all of the extra hands on the dock!
The docks are nice and wide and well appointed. The marina doesn’t have a breakwater wall, but instead an outside dock.
Happy Hour on the Dock
Union Marine was hosting the wine & beer hour on the dock. Each boat then brought an appetizer and there were some amazing bites that everyone made (being so busy, I brought store bought chips & salsa – boo!) One boat brought Caesar salad in a cup! Genius idea!
One of the best things about this getaway, was hanging out with the three fur babies! I mean, we had a Corgi, Bernese AND a Golden! Heaven!
After our happy hour, Jen, Scott and I decided to explore DT Bremerton and find a bite to eat. The Port is very nice and has a lot of culture built in. The US Navy is based out of Bremerton, so much of the Port is dedicated to our service men and women.
Our First Night in Bremerton
The three of us headed into Bremerton and stumbled upon the South Pacific Sports Bar, which is walking distance from the marina (just past the bus terminal). The food was fantastic and they had plenty of seating! I highly recommend a stop here during your next visit.
It wouldn’t be a boating getaway, if there wasn’t a night cap party on the dock. Luckily the weather never got bad and it was a really great night to sit and mingle with good friends on the dock.
Touring the USS Turner Joy
I wanted to check out the USS Turner Joy Navy ship, for a possible future event. The ship is located at the Port, right next to the marina. They gave us a quick tour of the upper deck, where parties would be held. This is a very cool venue! You can even stay the night on it as a group!
USS Turner Joy was one of 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy. It was named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN. Commissioned in 1959, it spent its entire career in the Pacific. It launched in 1958 and was decommissioned in 1982.
Apparently this is the party deck! Better hold on tight!
A Quick Trip to Port Orchard
Say, weren’t we just in Port Orchard two weeks ago? Yep, but there is so much to see there, that we wanted to show Jen the cute town and farmer’s market. Port Orchard is located directly across Sinclair Inlet from Bremerton – yes, we could take our dingy there, but that would be too much work. Instead, we hopped on a vintage ferry boat – the Carlisle II.
Carlisle II is the oldest of only two operational Mosquito Fleet vessels in Puget Sound. (The other is the 1922 Steamship Virginia V. which is located on Lake Union) They were once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington State in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The ferry runs every 30 minutes and it’s best to have your ORCA card. Otherwise you’ll need cash (I think $2) for each way.
We talked to the Captain and found out that the ferry will be decommissioned in a few months and replaced with an hybrid catamaran foot ferry.
There was a tall ship “festival” in Port Orchard, but we only saw one ship at the marina. Jen, Scott and I decided to walk around town a bit and check out a few things we didn’t see before. Including the must have belly rub on a sweet golden.
One of the funniest things we encountered was at the Candy Shoppe in downtown. They not only sold these cute “turtles”, but they also sold “turdles”. LOL!!
After a quick one hour tour, we headed back to Bremerton on the ferry for the Union Marine Party at Anthony’s.
Union Marine Getaway Party at Anthony’s in Bremerton
Union Marine hosted the Bremerton Getaway cocktail party at Anthony’s Homeport, located right at the marina. We rented a private room and it was perfect for our group. The staff did a fantastic job and the food was amazing! Thank you to everyone who made this a great event.
Prism Graphics sponsored the event and talked with them for quite awhile. Scott and I would love to change the name of our boat, as it’s not one we would pick (“Our Happy Day”). To do that properly, you need to have a proper ceremony to avoid bad luck. Turns out that Prism offers that too!
Walking around the Bremerton Marina and the Port
Our group told us to go check out the fountains, just walking distance from Anthony’s. I was skeptical, wondering what the big deal was. Well, were we in for a surprise! These things were so cool and the photos don’t do them justice. We think they are meant to simulate a submarine.
With everyone content with good food and cocktails, we returned to the dock to relax. Somehow, that’s where all the stories are told (or begin for the next time). This is a great group of boating friends and I’m glad I’m part of their family.
A Beautiful Trip Home from Bremerton
We couldn’t have asked for a better travel day. The weather was calm and warm. In fact, I wish we could have stayed out on the water a bit longer.
Since we had a lot of chores to do, we decided to kick it into gear and let the boat burn off some carbon across Puget Sound. We made it home in 45 minutes!
Scott and I are thrilled about how well our Bayliner 4087 has done this summer. We’ve taken her out to Kingston, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Port Madison and now Bremerton. For our first year, we couldn’t be happier. We’re looking forward to the next getaway, wherever that may lead us.
As always, thank you for following and subscribing to our blog! Stay tuned for our YouTube episode and tour of Bremerton. If you want to get notifications of our next episode, be sure to subscribe to our channel – click here!
At the end of July, we took a quick over night trip to Port Orchard with Kurt, his brother Cal and girlfriend Tracey. This has been a very busy boating month for us, as we were just in Kingston the weekend before.
Port Orchard is about 14 nautical miles due west from Seattle.
We estimated it would take us about an hour and a half going 10 knots, and we were right on the mark. The weather was a bit cloudy, but dry and warm when we left. There were a lot of logs along the way that we had to watch out for. Plus we either had a ferry coming up on us or at us. Other than that, it was a non eventful trip (a good thing!).
Kurt, Scott, Tracey & Cal
Going through Rich Passage into Sinclair Inlet, cruisers suggest you enter at slack tide as the current can be almost 2 knots. We entered just before slack tide, and didn’t have any troubles. But you could see how a smaller vessel would struggle a bit.
The Naval Ship Yard is on your starboard side has you enter the channel adjacent to the Bremerton Marina.
Entering the Port Orchard Marina
Reserving dock space at Port Orchard was similar to La Conner. They simply put you on the (east) breakwater dock, with the name of your boat in the spot you are reserved for. I knew by looking at the aerial shot, that the fairways would be wide. That was great, because we would need to turn around to dock starboard. What I didn’t realize, is how narrow the entering fairway is.
Once we got in, we weren’t sure where to go. All of the reserved signs were for other boats and it turns out, we were the closest to land. It’s hard to tell by this photo, but our anchor was inches apart from the guy in front of us. The only negative or “con” I would say about our spot, was we had a tall water spigot right where you get on and off the boat. Definitely not the obstacle you want after a few cocktails!
You also would not want to be in the first slip next to land – it seemed to attract algae and make it look like a rug! LOL
We checked in at the marina office right away (which is located up the hill to your right). They gave us all kinds of cool stuff, including a huge bag for the Farmer’s Market! The market was on the main street and was from 10am – 3pm, so we had plenty of time to check things out!
Since Scott and I have never been to Port Orchard, we didn’t know what to expect. Friends of ours kept teasing us and saying we’ll be bored senseless and that there’s nothing to do in Port Orchard. (That happened to us in Oak Harbor, so I was a little worried before we left.) Turns out they were wrong…..
The Farmer’s Market
We’ve been to the Kingston and Poulsbo Farmer’s Markets. They are small with just a few vendors, so we were not expecting much in Port Orchard. Boy were we surprised! First of all, when we got our goodie bag, we also found out that there is a night time market with music!
The daytime market had lots of vendors, including food, crafts, gifts, olive oil, spirits, homemade ice cream AND wine tasting! Imagine that! Seabeck Cellars opened in 2016 and produce about 300 cases a year. I loved their Rose’ and Cab, so I bought one of each.
Downtown Port Orchard
After we toured the market, we headed to the main drag to check things out. Port Orchard has lots of quaint shops and pubs to check out. Josephine’s Mercantile is a great shop with all kinds of souvenirs, seasonal gifts and nautical items.
Eventually, we made our way to The Brick House Bar and Grill, where we sat outside, enjoyed live music and met a new furry friend!
Just down the street was the Nauti Mermaid bar and we couldn’t resist. It’s pretty much a dive bar and it was a bit empty when we went in. But our group can have fun anywhere we go!
There was also a band playing on the main street! These guys were awesome! Who knew so much was happening in this small town!
Off to Check Out the Night Market
After exploring downtown Port Orchard, we headed to the Night Market to check things out.
This wasn’t as big as the day event, but they did have a wine and beer garden. Hmmm, I see a theme here. Since we were hungry, we all headed back to The Brick House, which was now packed full for dinner. The food and music were great and you must make a stop here next time you are in Port Orchard!
What a fun day we had exploring this fun little town. Everyone had a great time and Our Happy Day got us there without a hitch!
But Wait! There’s More!
What more could be happening in the town on Port Orchard? Well, the next day they had the largest Ford Mustang Car Show in the region. There were over 300 cars and everywhere you turned, there was a Mustang! We couldn’t leave without checking it out.
It was also one of the lowest tides of the season. The ramp was steep and the mussels were out!
The Mustang car show took up all of the parking along the waterfront! If you like car shows, you could spend all day here! This is an annual event, so mark your calendars for next year!
What a Fun & Quick Trip!
All of us were surprised as to how much we did in just 24 hours in this sleepy little town. If anyone tells you (Ben – LOL), that you will be bored, don’t listen to them. The boat trip to Port Orchard is beautiful and we had perfect weather for the way home!
Aside from watching out for logs and ferries, you also need to be on the look out for kayakers!
When we got back to Elliott Bay, we got a great surprise when Sea Wolf an expedition yacht passed right by us! The yacht is currently for sale for $9,900,000 but not for US residents in US waters.
As always, thank you so much for following our blog and journey! We’d love to grow our audience and any shares are really appreciated. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We now have 40 episodes on YouTube, so please subscribe to our channel, share and like our upcoming episodes.
In our next blog, we’re back to boat projects, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott & Ally
Scott and I have not been to Tacoma by boat before, so this was all new to us. The two trips south we have made were to Gig Harbor and we took the Colvos Passage. This trip, we decided to stay in the sound and stay on the east side of Vashon Island. Tacoma is about 27 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina, so we estimated it would take us about 2.5 hours going at about 10 knots. We invited Kurt along for the trip and we set off around 3:30pm on Friday, June 7th.
Leaving Seattle
When we had our old boat, we wouldn’t travel in bad weather as it wasn’t that kind of boat. But it could out run it at 25 knots. I had been looking forward to the trip all week, as it was our first big trip in our new boat, so bad weather wasn’t going to stop us.
As soon as we got out of the marina, Kurt and I started bringing in the fenders. We were immediately tossed around by the rough waters. Scott put the boat in gear and headed south. I stayed in the salon and was immediately freaked out! Waves were crashing over the windshield, we were barely moving and I was slightly terrified (okay, a lot terrified). But here’s why.
I don’t know this boat at all and we don’t know how it will do in rough weather. The way we were tossing around in the bay, it would be a rough rescue if we broke down. All I could do is pray for a safe passage – oh, and text my boss and co-workers the entire time!
The weather was so strange this day. On the eastside, it was sunny. On the southwest & northwest side it was black and stormy. In fact, the northern storm chased us all the way to Tacoma. Winds were coming from the south at about 26mph.
Are we there yet?
We were about 15 minutes underway, when I asked “how much longer” and Kurt said about 2 or more hours. Dear God, help us! Then I went upstairs to the bridge and while it was much smoother, no water on the windshield, we were tossing back and forth a bit. I decided I better take a Bonine motion sickness pill, just to be safe!
The seas calmed down once we reached Vashon Island and we had a fairly enjoyable ride. Then we reached Maury Island and suddenly, huge white caps showed up out of no where. Here we go again! That’s when I looked to my left and saw a Sea Ray 330 Sundancer , flying south. He must be with our group and is in a hurry to get there! Turns out this guy took his boat to Alaska last summer! Can you imagine?
No, that’s not a huge wave. It’s a wrinkle in the Eisenglass. LOLHere’s the boat at dock
Hello Tacoma!
We arrived at Commencement Bay around 5:30pm and headed into the Foss Waterway. Dock Street Marina is the last marina on the right side.
The Foss Waterway is pretty easy to navigate. Once we arrived at the dock, I went to check the engine compartment to make sure everything looked ok. That’s when I noticed a pink liquid in the bilge. Yep, we had diesel in it and Kurt jumped in to figure out the source.
The fuel came from the fuel filters, shown above. We think that either the knob got loosened on the way down in rough weather or that it was tightened when it was replaced. We couldn’t clean it up that night, but we cleaned everything when we got home.
Scott, Kurt and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing with the group on the dock swapping funny boating stories. Did someone say they fell asleep with a grilled flank steak on their bed?
The calm after the storm
After unwinding with a few cocktails to calm my nerves, the three of us headed to the Social Bar and Grill for a bite to eat. We sat at the bar and the service was great. It was a great way to end the day, after battling the storm on our way down.
Exploring Tacoma
Since the weather had been so blustery the night before, I waited to put up our Union Marine banners on the railings until the next morning. On my way, I passed two guys and dog and one of them (Mark) stops me and asks “Hey, are you Ally?” I reply, yes. Turns out they follow our YouTube channel and love it! It was so humbling and cool at the same time! (Thank you guys!!) I had hoped to get a photo with them later, but we got too caught up in the day’s activities.
I was very impressed with the hospitality from Dock Street Marina! Not only did they provide our group with cold beers the night before, they had mimosas waiting for us on Saturday! In fact, Nick walked from boat to boat with mimosas. Thank you again! (I’m loving this place!) The facilities & restrooms are very nice – they are in the laundry room next to the marina office. On top of that, they offered dock side pump out, water and garbage removal! Wow.
A bunch of us decided to head into Tacoma for breakfast. From the marina, go towards the Museum of Glass (take the steps), which lead you to the Chihuly Bridge across the railroad tracks to Pacific Avenue.
We stumbled up a restaurant called Savor, which specializes in crepes. I’ve never had a “savory” crepe and these were amazing and very filling! Scott ordered the blue berry & ricotta stuffed French toast, which was fantastic.
Museums everywhere!
Tacoma has a vibrant arts culture and there are museums everywhere. At the waterfront, you have the Museum of Glass and the Washington State History Museum. I had been to both and wanted to see something new. So we took the trolly (which is free by the way) up to the Tacoma Dome station and we walked up to the LeMay Car Museum.
You have no idea how big this place is, until you get inside. There are five stories underground, lined with cars! In fact, there are so many cars that after a couple of hours, we called it a day. If you haven’t been there before, I highly recommend it.
It’s an easy 15 minute walk back to Dock Street Marina from the museum.
A beautiful warm night at dock
When we got back from our exploration trip, we hung out with folks on the dock and soaked up some much needed sun. Union Marine hosted a cocktail party at the Social Bar and Grill that evening. It was a great night mingling with other boaters and enjoying great food.
Dock Street Marina made sure our beer cooler was stocked and set up corn hole for us to play. One thing about boaters is we always have a great time hanging out on the dock. With good company and cocktails, how can you not have fun?
The trip home
Our trip back to Seattle was much different than our way down. The sun was out, it was about 75 degrees and calm. We decided to take the Colvos Passage on our way home and take in the scenery. The winds were at about 4 mph from the north and the ride was smooth all the way home.
Considering it was our first trip in the boat, all went great. She handled the rough seas well and was very comfortable. Before we left, we put some Dawn dish soap in the bilge and then when we got back, we cleaned up the diesel with zorbs and it cleaned right up.
I would highly recommend a weekend trip to Dock Street. The marina is fantastic, the staff is friendly and there’s plenty to see and do in Tacoma. Thanks to Union Marine for hosting such a great weekend!
Stay tuned for our next blog – we’ll tackle more boat projects & Scott’s parents join us for the first time! As always, thank you so much for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney
What does an oven and drone have to do with Memorial day weekend? That comes later. LOL
It is hard to believe that it was just two years ago, that we spent our first Memorial Day weekend on a boat. Scott and I barely knew our old boat Kokomo, yet we invited an entire crew for a full weekend. That particular weekend was HOT in Seattle and a great start to summer.
Not the case for this year.
The weather forecast was dreary for Saturday & part of Sunday. On Saturday morning, Scott headed to the boat to re-wire the stereo system, which took him most of the day. I stayed home to clean the condo and get organized. I was looking forward to having a relaxing night at home with a movie. But when he got back from the boat, he said to me “Okay, are you ready?”
Ready for what I wondered? That’s when he reminded me that we made a commitment to stay on the boat every weekend, no matter the weather. Crap. Change of plans. Then I tell him that I was planning on baking pasta for dinner and his reply was “we have an oven.” Oh yeah.
The Oven……
Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am very cautious when it comes to boating safety! You can’t be too safe. I’m already a bit uncomfortable cooking with propane on the stove top and it turns out our oven is also propane. While some ovens simply have an ignition switch, ours does not. You have to light the pilot light , then hold the heat control knob to light the burner and hold for 15 seconds. Blech!
One thing I will say is that our boat (and most I assume) has great built in safety features in regards to our LPG system (liquid propane gas). In order to use it, you have to turn on the LPG switch at the panel, open up the propane tank and then turn on the switch in the galley.
Prepping Dinner
Okay, back to making dinner! Since it was cold and dreary, I decided to bake some pasta. Keep it simple (and yes, I will share the recipe in another blog). First thing I needed to do was boil up some pasta. That’s when I realized I only have two skillets! When we sold Kokomo, we gave a way a lot of the galley items, including the pasta pot. So I ended up boiling the water in a skillet!
I then baked the pasta at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes and it came out perfect!
When we are done using the stove/oven each time, I turn off not only the switches, but I also close the valve on the tank. About every few uses, we also spray the valve down with soapy water to check for leaks. You just can’t be too safe.
Just as with our old boat, prepping dinner on a boat is not the same as in your home. Space is tight and counter tops are limited. Since my brother-in-law Kurt makes cutting boards, I asked him to create something that would cover the sink. This would allow for more usable space and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.
A Drone Visitor
The next day we invited Scott’s brother Jeff, his nephew Justin and our friends Nick & Michelle out for a cruise on Elliott Bay. Luckily the weather broke up and the sun started shining. Justin also owns a DJI Mavic Pro drone, so he brought it along to get us some footage of the boat. Justin has never flown it out on the water, so this was going to be an adventure.
While drone footage is always so cool, it’s also a bit creepy and weird to have some weird flying thing videotaping you!
The footage turned out great – the funny thing about this is, we cleaned the bimini the next day!
Scott and I plan on getting a new larger drone soon. We have two smaller ones, but nothing that would have the distance or technology like the DJI Mavic. But we just invested in some new camera equipment, so that will have to wait for now.
A Great Send-Off to Great Friends
Our friends Nick and Michelle are moving to Scottsdale, AZ next week and we wanted to invite them for one more trip. They have been on this journey with us for over seven years, so it was great they could join us for the weekend. They just happened to be on the boat two years ago over Memorial Day weekend too! We have traveled to the Anacortes Boat Show with them numerous times and we will miss them terribly! Hopefully they will join us on our charter cruise next Spring in the BVI’s.
The Bimini
You might recall our last “cleaning the bimini” post – what a mess. The top was nearly white from all of the heron poop, so we decided to remove it to clean it. But when we got started, we realized we had to take apart the entire rack structure in order to remove the canvas. That didn’t happen! Luckily for us, our new bimini is zippered into the rods, so it was easy to remove.
Always use a tarp on the dock to protect the canvas. We used 303 Cleaner to clean it. After rinsing it thoroughly, we hung them over the bow railing to dry completely. Once they were dry, we sprayed them with 303 Marine Fabric Guard to protect and repel liquids on the canvas. Scott and I were a bit worried about getting the bimini back on easily, but we had no problems at all.
Since we were busy doing boat chores, I decided to tackle our lines. Not only do I not like the set-up (our bow line is also used as a spring line), but the lines are as stiff as a board. I cleaned each one in Dawn and rinsed them thoroughly. They look and feel great now!
Overall, it was a great weekend on the boat. I’m glad we headed down on Saturday after all. The more time we spend on it, the better we will know it.
Stay tuned for our next blog – we’re entertaining all weekend and doing more chores! Boats are never boring, that’s for sure!
As always, thank you for following & subscribing to our blog. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney
A few weeks ago, we invited Kurt, Cal and Tracey for a cocktail cruise to Port Madison. Since Scott and I have only taken the new boat out about three times, we need to get as much experience as we can driving and docking it. We have also made a decision to stay every single weekend on the boat, no matter the weather or our activities. This is so we can get used to living aboard.
We’ve been to Port Madison a few times. It’s a great day trip from Seattle. The weather was stunning and Elliott Bay was as calm as can be! Port Madison is NW of Elliott Bay Marina and takes about 30 minutes at 10 knots. We took it nice and slow, as it’s more relaxing for us.
Port Madison’s waterway goes quite a way, but it’s very narrow and shallow.
What is happening here?
When we arrived to the entrance of Port Madison, there were two things happening at the same time. First, there was some kind of sailing boat clinic going on.
Then some guy was pulling a creosote covered log. All was fine, until he headed towards the group in shallow water. Next thing you know, the log up-righted itself and got stuck in the mud. LOL
Scott wanted to take us on a tour into the inlet, but it was low tide. Our draft is 4′, but what we don’t know is if that includes the propellers. See our boat is different than most, as the propellers are below the hull.
As we approached the opening of the inlet, we were suddenly in 7′ of water. It was freaking me out and we didn’t NEED to be in there, so I had Scott turn around.
Port Madison
We ended up idling out in the bay, enjoying cocktails and some snacks. It was a gorgeous night and really the perfect setting.
Cruising back to Seattle
After about an hour, we left Port Madison and headed back to Seattle. It was dusk and I didn’t want to do our first “night docking” since we barely know this boat in the daylight. Scott put the boat in full throttle (which it needed anyways) and we cruised back at about 16 knots. What was interesting was how much our wake changed from 10 knots to 16 knots.
cruising at 16 knots
Diesel engines need to burn off their carbon every few trips, so this was not only a great night to be out on the water, but the engines needed it too.
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful night for a cocktail cruise! This is one of the best things about being a cruiser in the PNW – no matter where you go, you are always surrounded by the beauty of the PNW.
As we came into Elliott Bay, we passed by this freighter!
If you zoom in, you will see all of the vehicles AND BOATS on top of it!!!! Very strange and it seems a bit unsafe. LOL Certainly added some fun to our cocktail cruise.
We wrapped up the evening with wine, great stories and a beautiful view! What more could we ask for!
Tracey & Cal – what a cute couple!Kurt & Tracey Who needs to see my face anyways? LOL
Stay tuned for our next blog – Memorial Day Weekend! We have drone footage of the boat, we took off the bimini – and much more!
As always, thank you for following our blog! Please subscribe for future posts. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney
Cheers, Scott & Ally
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drone, so he brought it along to get us some footage of the boat. Justin has never flown it out on the water, so this was going to be an adventure.
to clean it. After rinsing it thoroughly, we hung them over the bow railing to dry completely. Once they were dry, we sprayed them with 
to protect and repel liquids on the canvas. Scott and I were a bit worried about getting the bimini back on easily, but we had no problems at all.
