Boating Journey Blog about boating for the first time

November 14, 2017November 15, 2017

New Boater Worries

New Boater Worries During the Winter

As a new boaters, we (especially I) worry constantly about the boat while it’s unoccupied in the marina during the winter. It’s silly, I know. Call it the “newby boater syndrome”. During the summer, the weather is so nice and warm and we don’t have to worry about any weather issues. But here in the PNW, our winters are wet and nasty. As I’m writing this blog today, we are in a high wind warning forecast and my house is rocking!

With wind gusts of 50mph and dumping rain, I worry about the boat. It’s secured by four lines, but the winds from the south are so strong, that our boat can be 3′ from the dock when it’s windy.

Breakfast in Magnolia

For me, I feel better if we check on the boat once a week during the winter. Remember, we have a low wattage Dry Warm Air Circulator and an electric auto shut off Ceramic Heater running right now on the boat. It snowed here last week, so I wanted to see if the heater had kicked on and what the temps were at inside the cabin.

Since Scott and I were coming all the way to Seattle to check on the boat, we figured we might as well make a morning of it. We headed to “downtown” Magnolia and had breakfast at a great restaurant called “Serendipity Café & Lounge“. The food was simple and amazing! Super fresh, hand made and tons of flavor. Now that we know how far downtown Magnolia is from the marina, we can walk there though it’s all up hill.

We stopped at the Magnolia Park, so I could get some photos from above the marina. This is a gorgeous park, with lots of trees, great views and dogs galore!

Another crazy wave!

If you remember back this summer, Scott, Kurt and I went out boating and as we left the marina a very long huge wave / trough came at the boat. Well, I happened to notice that there was another one out in the sound. This wave was probably two miles long and not a single ship or vessel was anywhere around.

It really was a strange phenomenon. Some people wondered if maybe an underwater earthquake caused it? Who knows.

A quick trip to the marina

After breakfast, we headed down to the marina. It was super high tide and there were actually a few logs floating down the fairways.

The tide was so high, that the normally visible rock formation inside the marina, was covered. But there was just enough land for this heron and seagulls to stand on it, making it look like they were standing on water.

Upon arriving the boat, the first thing we noticed was our dinghy was deflated. Scott thinks it is due to the cold weather, since both chambers were deflated. We pumped it back up and we’ll see what it looks like next weekend.

Surprisingly, the cockpit didn’t have that much rain water in it. I wonder what it looked like today, with all of our southerly squalls coming in? While the heater was not kicked on (yet), the temperature inside the cabin was surprisingly at 50º. Outside it was 44º. Our objective is to keep it warm and dry. That’s the key word “dry”. If your cabin is too warm, it will create condensation, which can lead to mold. We don’t want that.

My question to all other boaters who keep their boats in the marina, is how often do you check on your boat? Please share with us your stories and input. In addition, if you would like to guest blog for us, please send me an email.

What’s ironic about the paragraph above, is the marina has been out of power for two days. This morning they sent out a text that it is up and running, but to come down and check on your boat. I plan on doing that tomorrow when I am in Seattle, but my “worry” is if that is soon enough?

Cheers and happy boating! Scott & Ally #KokomoSeattle #BoatingJourney

November 9, 2017

Boating & Philanthropy

Philanthropic Boating Organizations

Scott and I love boating, but we’re also very committed to different philanthropic organizations. One thing I love about boaters is the comradery amongst them. Most boaters will help out anyone in need, whether it be help docking, borrowing a tool, towing a boat or sharing a beer.

Over the past ten years, I’ve read more stories about boaters and organizations coming together for a cause. One story, was about a sailing couple from Bellingham, WA. They were sailing the Caribbean and visited the island of Dominica. When they went ashore to provision, they were shocked that there were virtually no fresh vegetables. After that, they started a foundation to give seeds to farmers in poor Caribbean islands. Hopefully they are still active, but I can’t find anything on the web about them now.

Five of Our Favorite Philanthropic Causes

Hands Across the Sea

Sailors visiting poor islands, realized that children and schools were in need of books and educational materials. When they first started, they would collect books from other sailors and deliver them. Today, this a full-time organization dedicated to improving literacy rates in Eastern Caribbean countries.

www.handsacrossthesea.net

Warrior Sailing Program

Anyone who has spent any time on the water knows how therapeutic it is. This organization is dedicated to getting veterans with injuries (physical or mental) out sailing to help improve their lives. Sailing is a great way to learn teamwork and build strength. Warrior Sailing Program also offers a variety of camps. If you know a veteran that could benefit from time on the water, please tell them about this program.

www.warriorsailing.org

Baja Dogs La Paz

A vast majority of cruisers on the West Coast, go to the beautiful Mexican town of La Paz. It’s ideal weather and location in the Gulf of California is one of the reasons cruisers flock to this tropical destination. Sadly, La Paz has also seen a huge increase in stray dogs. Many cruisers who are wintering in La Paz, volunteer their time to help Baja Dogs La Paz. They are dedicated to reducing the over population of dogs and finding them new homes. In fact, our neighbors adopted a dog from La Paz!

www.bajadogslapaz.org

Sailors for the Sea

This organization has one purpose and that is to educate us and protect the sea. Three quarters of the earth is ocean and right now it needs our help. Just Google, “garbage, ocean, plastic bottles”. Did you know that there are floating ISLANDS of garbage out there? It’s time we all got together to help our planet, the oceans and the sea life that lives in our oceans. This is a great organization and they need not only our donations, but our support to raise awareness of the situation.

www.sailorsforthesea.org

Sea Mercy

Cruisers from all over the world head to the South Pacific islands every year. What many people don’t realize is how remote these islands are. With the help of volunteer vessels cruising to the South Pacific, this organization is dedicated on helping communities thrive. They provide low cost (or free) service delivery platform to support the remote island health, agriculture, education, infrastructure, economic and ecological initiatives/programs of these South Pacific islands.

www.seamercy.org

One of my dreams has been to create a foundation “Ally’s Kids” and help kids with educational materials, similar to the organizations above. The difference is, we would target islands not currently getting any support. Perhaps someday when we get our catamaran we can finally fulfill this dream.

Local Philanthropic Events / Organizations

Local groups and events are always looking for support. These range from regattas for cancer, to ocean conservation clean up days to helping those less privileged go boating. Talk to other boaters about how you can get involved.

What’s your favorite charitable organization that is involved with boating? If so, please share with us and we’ll include it in our next blog about sailors helping out causes. Cheers, Scott & Ally

November 6, 2017August 15, 2018

Boating Must Haves

It’s been six months – what are our boating must haves now?

When Scott and I started shopping for our boat, we were still trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. At that time, we didn’t really think too much about what we “had to have” on the boat, other than a few basics (head, bed, etc). Since we took possession of our Bayliner Ciera 3055, Kokomo in May 2017 we have slept on the boat 27 nights or almost a full month. This has certainly given us some perspective on life living aboard a boat.

Currently our plan is to sell this boat next Spring and upgrade to a larger boat. What size you ask? We haven’t decided that yet. Scott and I have talked about finally selling our home and moving onto a live aboard, but that’s a big jump. That boat would have to be at least 48′ for us to live on it.

Boat Must Haves

What we do know now that we have spent time on our current boat, are the things we wish we had. When you are home, you take for granted simple things such as using the toilet, washing dishes, getting a glass of water, etc. Think about the things you do the most at home and see if those are also important to you if you spent any time on a boat.

This Bayliner Ciera 3055 is perfect for a long weekend or short vacations, but it’s not designed to be lived on. I consider it an upgraded camping experience.

Toilet

First off, let’s address the topic of the toilet. Our boat has a brand new Thetford toilet, but it’s a manual hand pump and the first weekend we were on it, someone clogged it. After that, a rule was created, which was that no toilet paper can go in the toilet. This obviously is not a rule we like. Scott and I want the comforts of home, so a dependable toilet will be on the list.

At each boat show, we have talked to numerous sanitation suppliers. For toilets, your choices are a manual, electric or vacuum flush. Right now we are leaning towards an efficient vacuum flush toilet (one that doesn’t use too much water). Top brands on our list right now are VacuFlush and Lavac. Our toilet is a salt water toilet. This means that the water comes in from outside when you flush, so you don’t have to worry about using up your fresh water. However, a salt water toilet has more maintenance issues as salt water can calcify inside the plumbing and holding tank. Below is a head on a boat we saw at the boat show – comforts of home.

Water

The fresh water tank on Kokomo holds 30 gallons and the hot water heater holds 6 gallons. This is potable water, but ideally I would like a filter for the water too. Remember, our toilet is using seawater, so that is not a factor in our water usage. But you would be amazed as to how much water you go through when washing hands (often), doing dishes and filling up dog bowls. Kokomo has three fresh water faucets and we use them frequently. If we spend three days on the boat, we need to fill up our tank by the third day.

What’s the solution to this? Install a water maker. These systems use reverse osmosis to convert seawater to fresh water. They are a bit expensive, but definitely worth the price. When we fill up our fresh water tanks with water, we use a special anti-bacterial ZERO-G Hose. The fresh water input in located on the starboard side. Our boat is docked on the port side, so to do this, we have to hang over the edge with the hose to fill it. It’s a pain in the butt.

Having a water maker on board, gives us a number of benefits that also make life easier.

Shower

Our boat has a shower and the curtain does separate it from the toilet area, but honestly everything still would get wet. In addition, with only a 6 gallon hot water tank and a 30 gallon fresh water tank, we would run out of water pretty fast. Having a water maker on board with a larger hot water tank, would alleviate that issue. Looking at larger boats at shows, we also want a separate shower stall.

Ice Maker

At Elliott Bay Marina, we have a fully stocked store at the fuel dock. In fact, they have a great selection of wine and beer. However, the store is six docks away and it’s a long walk. Every time we stay on boat, we have to go get ice as our freezer is very small. Friends of ours converted their outdoor faucet in the cockpit to an ice maker. Who needs three sinks anyways. Great idea!

Comfortable Bed

Like I said earlier, our boat is perfect for a long weekend as it’s an upgraded camping trip. But it’s not meant to be lived on. At home we have an expensive mattress which is very comfortable. Moving on board we would definitely invest in a high quality comfortable mattress. There are many custom mattress companies out there. Then there is also a company called Froli Sleep Systems. They make a unique spring type of foundation that goes under your mattress for support and circulation. You would use this system in addition to a high quality mattress.

Oven

Lastly, we would have to have some type of oven on board. Many boats come with a microwave / convection oven combo. Ideally, since I love to cook, I would love to have a stand alone oven. Here are some dream ovens we have seen on boats.

I could live on this boat! This is bigger than my kitchen at home!

Of course, we will not be able to have any of these galleys or ovens in our price range, but a girl can dream! What will the galley most likely look like? Probably like these below.

If you have any “must haves” not on this list, please share with us. Just like a home, we can always add items, but it would be great to find one with everything we want.

Stay tuned for our next blog about philanthropic boating organizations. Cheers, Scott and Ally #BoatingJourney

November 2, 2017November 3, 2017

Organizing Dock Lines

Coiling excess dock lines

Organizing dock lines is a hot topic for mariners. Next time you are walking down your dock, check out your neighbor’s excess dock lines. Last weekend while Scott was working on the engines, I decided to walk the docks. I was amazed as to how many different ways people organize their dock lines. I remember when we first arrived to Elliott Bay Marina. Scott and I were walking down the dock with my brother-in-law, Kurt and we came upon the lines below. They were so neat, that he said he wanted to mess them all up. LOL

The main lines (bow, spring & stern) on our boat are 3/4″ and very thick. The bow and stern cleats also hold the spring lines, so it’s difficult for us to neatly organize a 50′ line that is so thick. We certainly could do better though!

We do have a another bow line we use, to help keep the stern close to the dock, which is much smaller. Since it’s on the main walk way, we try to keep it neatly organized.

Here are some other dock lines on our dock at Elliott Bay Marina that are fairly neat and organized.

Messy dock lines

Then there are these dock lines and they just scream “Hey, don’t really care what we look like”. 🙂

How do you organize your dock lines? Do you have any madness or superstition about your reasoning? Leave us a note and share with us how you organize. We’d love to see your photos too, so you can email them to us and we’ll share with our readers.

Happy Boating! Scott and Ally

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October 30, 2017November 7, 2017

Fall Boating Weekend in Seattle

Fall Boating……..

Scott and I are so glad that we have chosen to use our boat all year round, as this past weekend was a perfect time for Fall boating. It was unusually warm during the day with temps of 69º and no wind at all. We headed down to the boat at Elliott Bay Marina on Friday afternoon with our golden retriever Mac. We didn’t think he would have another weekend on the boat due to his age and health, but he did great! The colors of the trees are absolutely gorgeous at the marina! I shared many photos in my blog about autumn in the marina.

If you remember back a few weeks, we had removed everything off of the boat, including our bedding. So we had to bring our bedding and pillows back down for the weekend. Luckily, I use Jumbo Space Saver Bags which work great.

The water was so calm it looked like glass! During the Fall and Winter, the marina is very quiet as many boats have left for the season. We soaked up the sun with a few cocktails and enjoyed our happy hour.

During the Summer, the sunset is so far north, that we can barely see it. Now it is setting much farther south and we can actually enjoy it. Here are the two season’s sunsets from the bow of our boat.

horizon sun seattle summer boating — Summer Sunset

Scott and I had dinner on Queen Anne, one of Seattle‘s quaint neighborhoods. They have lots of restaurants and bars to choose from. It was Halloween weekend, so everyone was dressed up. We headed back to the marina fairly early and the moonrise was absolutely stunning! Using just my Samsung Edge 7 phone, it takes amazing photos!

Our first Fall Saturday on the boat

We woke up around 7:30am and the sunrise made DT Seattle look like it was on fire!

Feeling a bit lazy, Scott and I decided to go out for breakfast. Ballard is only about 5 minutes from the marina, so we headed to a new restaurant called “Eggs and Us“. I love all things eggs and their menu was huge! The food was outstanding and perfect. Scott ordered the “Elvis Presley” and OMG! This was a French toast dish – two pieces of bread, with peanut butter between them, then dipped in egg wash and dredged in Panko crumbs. Then they deep fry it! LOL. I don’t normally take food photos, but you have to see this!

Ally Docking the Boat

We decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and have me practice docking on the “yacht dock” at the marina. The winds were basically non existent and it was the perfect day to do this.

Here’s the video of Ally docking the boat:

Docking a boat is definitely nerve racking! A few months ago, I tried on the same dock but I freaked out because it was really windy. It is helpful having someone tell you specifically what to do as you are moving. BUT if they call out the wrong instructions, it can also fluster you.

After docking about four times, we headed into the marina. Scott wanted me to pull completely into our fairway (not slip) and I got around the first two yachts and then I had him take over. Remember, Scott’s first docking event (which he did without instruction – wow!). Again, here’s what we have to do to get into our slip. My advice, is take it very slow and feel comfortable. For me, I didn’t like practicing around other objects (boats, booms or buoys.). Once you find your comfort zone, then go at your own pace.

Trail walk from Elliott Bay Marina

After practicing on the boat, we needed to get out for a walk. There are two marked walking paths from Elliott Bay Marina and we took the one to the north. We ended up doing a full loop, which was about 4-5 miles!

Who knew staying on a boat could mean this much exercise!? Mac didn’t even walk with us and he was all tuckered out!

Things in the Marina

The herons this weekend were hysterical. One heron made friends with a bird deterrent owl on a boat and the other looked like he was trying to mate the radar (normally their necks are long and skinny)! LOL

We went out to dinner with friends and came back fairly early as we were exhausted. Downtown Seattle was so cool looking from the boat.

Sunday in the Marina

Scott and I had planned on taking the boat out again, but woke up to thick fog and decided to call it a weekend. Even Mac was ready to go home.

Staying on the boat for the weekend is like a mini vacation. It seemed like we had been gone for days and it was less than 48 hours. I can’t imagine life any other way now that we are here. Cheers! Until the next journey! Scott and Ally #KokomoSeattle

October 20, 2017October 20, 2017

Dealing with Cold Wet Weather on a Boat

Cold weather on a boat isn’t much fun

Cold weather and rain while boating isn’t our ideal afternoon. In fact, Scott and I don’t plan on doing any kind of boating in that type of weather. What we do need to do, is keep the boat dry and warm during cold weather. I have been talking about this for weeks now. In our “prepping for winter” blog, we talked about the different heaters and de-humidifiers we bought for the boat. Since the weather has been so nice up until this week, we haven’t really used them.

Last Friday, October 13, 2017 it was sunny but cold and crisp. In fact, it hailed at our house as I was leaving for the marina. I wanted to check on the boat and see how the warm air circulator was working.

We are fortunate here in the PNW that our saltwater marinas rarely, if ever, have frozen over or had feet of snow. The saltwater stays a constant 45º-55º all year round. With that said, I wanted to see what the temperature was inside the cabin of the boat on a cold day.

Last weekend we replaced the weather stripping that the previous owner had put in along the sides of the boat. This helps keep the water out, as the canvas is not a tight seal. I will be curious after this week’s storms, how well it worked.

It made sense that the cabin was still about 52º as it was sunny outside, warming up the inside. Know that a series of storm were arriving this upcoming week (October 17 – 21st), we decided to put the Ceramic Space Heater in the bathroom on the lowest setting. This heater has a thermostat and an auto shutoff, so it should kick on when it gets really cold. I also put it on a piece of tile and the bathroom door is secured open, so it can’t close on it.

The warm air circulator is now up on the counter and we left de-humidifiers all over inside the cabin too.

What kind of weather are we talking about?

Look what’s headed our way!

Yes, call me paranoid when it comes to weather. Think about it. We have left our boat, tied to a dock, with heaters on it during three big storms. Since I’m not working right now, I have the time to go down and check on it. Thursday, October 19th will be the second round of storms, so that will be a good day to see how it’s doing.

October 19th weather update

Well, they are referring to that stream in the image above as a 5,000 mile long river in the sky heading right for us! Last night we had torrential rains with wind gusts of 55mph. Luckily for me, when I arrived today at the marina, it was not raining! Miracle.

The first thing I had to deal with, was the boat lines seemed looser and the boat was about 3′ from the dock. Luckily, we no longer have a slip neighbor. So I pulled it back in and tightened it up.

What was surprising was our owl is still hanging out and keeping the herons off, even in all that wind! LOL

The cockpit was definitely wet. I should have taken more photos. The bimini just isn’t waterproof, so with 10″ of rain falling we can only expect it.

The inside of the cabin was 58º, but outside it’s actually in the 60’s. The heater I left in the bathroom has not kicked on, since it’s not cold enough. All in all, considering what a big storm it was yesterday, things looked surprisingly normal. We have two more huge storms coming today and Friday, so we’ll swing by this weekend and check on things.

For me, it’s a nice drive and diversion. Even with bad weather, who doesn’t want to be at a marina with a view of Seattle?

Have a great weekend! Ally

PS, wondering what to make for dinner this weekend? Try my smoked salmon pasta! Everyone loves it!

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October 18, 2017

Winter Preparations on our Boat – Part 2

Winter Preparations on our Boat Continues…….

Winter is coming and we are getting prepared! They say that this winter could be very cold and wet here in the PNW. Scott and I have been so lucky this past summer, as the weather has been absolutely perfect for our first year of boating. Figures that it could be the worst winter for boating, we’ll find out.

Two weekends ago, Scott changed the oil in both engines. Turns out when he filled them up with new oil through the dip stick hole as he didn’t see the engine oil cap and that’s why it took him about 10 minutes! LOL Lessons learned again. What we couldn’t get done that day, was change the oil filters because we needed an oil filter wrench. We bought the Craftsman 2 pc 16” Rubber Strap Wrench Set, as it’s adjustable and we can use it on other engines.

Now the hard part was actually changing the filters. The filter that is up front is actually the fuel filter and the oil filters are on the sides of the engines, clear in the back. Scott did a great job squeezing into those tight spaces to swap them out! It was not an easy job!

Dinghy water

While Scott was working on the engines, I wanted to get rid of the water that had once again collected in the dinghy.

Last week I removed it with the bilge sponge and the water was so stagnant that my hands stunk all day. This time, I bought a Multi-Use Transfer Pump Kit to siphon the water out.

However, that is probably not the ideal situation. I think we will be moving the dinghy down to the storage racks at Elliott Bay Marina. We can store it upside down during the winter. They charge $25/month and it’s worth it. We’ve already brought the motor home to store.

The Propeller Saga continutes

We needed to take the boat out on the bay to get the new oil dispersed through the engines. On top of that, it was a gorgeous day for boating! I looked down at the props and once again they were covered in sea growth after one week of being cleaned! After talking to the guys at the marina, it’s very common for that to happen, especially in saltwater.

I decided to clean them off with our long handled deck brush before we headed out on the water. Last weekend I told you that the port side prop was bent and that’s why we were having trouble. Here’s the photo I shared:

Well, I should have turned the blades all around, because this time I realized that ALL three blades are busted!

I texted this photo to my brother-in-law, Kurt who was the Chief Engineer for the ferries and asked him if it was ok for us to go out on the bay for a quick trip to run the engines. He told us not to go far, which we didn’t! LOL. In fact, now we won’t be doing any kind of winter cruising until this is fixed.

We had a great cruise in the bay with our friend Meghann and the boat did just fine. Not that we recommend cruising around with a broken prop!

This week, the PNW is getting hammered with three major storms of wind and rain. Being paranoid about keeping the boat dry and warm, this is another topic that I will talk about later this week. Just after I wrote this paragraph, our marina, Elliott Bay Marina sent out an email telling everyone to make sure their boats are secure and to check on them this week! Here’s the weather forecast that came out today: Gale Winds. Last Friday I went down to check on the boat and later this week I will check on it again. Must be the “new boater” worries that are kicking in! Stay tuned. Ally

October 16, 2017October 19, 2017

Fall Boating in the PNW

Fall Boating in the PNW

Fall boating in the Pacific Northwest is absolutely gorgeous! People have told Scott and I, how lucky we have been in regards to the weather during our first year of boating. All summer, we had warm gorgeous calm seas and so far, Fall is much of the same.

Yesterday, we went down to the boat at Elliott Bay Marina to finish some engine work and check on the winter preparations (that blog will come next). We needed to take it out for a bit to get the seagrowth off of the bottom, the props and also to get the new engine oil dispersed throughout. While checking on the props again, I noticed that the one that was bent, is actually really busted. All three blades are broken, but it has been that way since mid summer. We decided to take it out just for a short jaunt across the bay and we did just fine.

Even with a bad propeller, it was a nice smooth ride towards downtown Seattle, as we cruised with our good friend Meghann and enjoyed the views!

Downtown Seattle really has one of the prettiest skylines around. It never gets old, just cruising by on a sunny day!

While it might look warm and sunny, you did need your parka! I look like I’m 500lbs with my parka and life jacket on! LOL

Stay tuned for this week’s posts, where I will update everyone on the propeller situation and how we are keeping #Kokomo warm this week. Cheers, Scott and Ally

October 13, 2017October 13, 2017

What’s under all that sea growth?!

Sea growth and how does it form so fast?

Sea growth is part of owning a boat and life in a marina. When our neighbor moved in next door, I couldn’t help to notice how much growth he had on the bottom of his boat. His boat is aluminum, so honestly I don’t know if aluminum boats have anti-fouling paint on the bottom. Our boat, was recently painted so that was not really a concern of ours. However, it also has never sat in salt water for any extended period of time.

Back to sea growth! As Scott was working on changing the oil last weekend, I noticed that the dinghy had water in it. Great – now how to get rid of that?!

Well, my brainy idea (which worked) was to use our Bilge Sponge to remove the water. They soak up a lot of water and work great. The only issue was the water was so stagnant, that even after washing my hands five times, I still stunk! Next time I will use gloves. Scott and I have also thought about getting a small hand pump to remove the water. We’ll let you know what works best.

Is that our propeller??

As I was leaning over the swim platform to clean out the water, I noticed our propeller! Yikes!! In fact, it freaked me out so bad, I immediately sent out a posts on Facebook, asking everyone what to do.

Here’s what the other one looked like!

Some of the comments I got on Facebook were:

“Run around in the bay”
“Go in reverse really fast”
“Get a wire brush and try to clean it”
“Haul it out and scrub it”
“Does your boat have anti-fouling paint?”

It got pretty comical. Just so you know, anti-fouling paint has nothing to do with your propellers. My brother-in-law did think it was odd to have that much growth on them though, but then again, we hadn’t taken the boat out in over five weeks. Then I walked around the marina and looked at other boats. They were exactly the same way. Perhaps Elliott Bay Marina is really fertile? LOL. Determined to tackle it, I decided to get our regular Boat Brush with Long Handle out and see if I could reach the propellers.

Sure enough, the stuff came right off. That’s the good news. The bad news is, I realized that our port side prop was bent. This would explain why we had troubles getting going on our way to Kingston. What we don’t know, is how it happened? When we left for Kingston, our bow line got loose and was under the boat the entire trip (30 min). But the line was unscathed. Could it have bent the prop when it first got loose? It’s amazing really that we didn’t experience too much trouble considering we went to Gig Harbor and also through The Locks after that.

Repair plan

Since it’s now winter and we don’t plan on traveling anywhere, there’s no rush to get it repaired. A new prop will probably run about $400, plus labor. We can call a diver to fix it or fix it when we haul out in the spring to do all of the annual maintenance work.

I’m heading to the boat today since it is cold and rainy. When we left last weekend, we only turned on the warm air circulator in the cabin. I want to see how well that kept it warm and dry. The weather is forecasted to get colder and down into the 30’s next week, so we will most likely turn on the ceramic heater this weekend. Scott has to change out the oil filters on Sunday, so we’ll give you an update! Stay tuned as always…..Scott and Ally

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October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Changing the oil on our boat

DIY Oil Change on our Boat

Changing oil on your boat is easier than you think. When Scott & I bought our 2000 Bayliner Ciera 3055, Kokomo in May we had both a survey (that checks the structure of the boat and functionality) and a mechanical inspection (just for the engines). Since our boat had not been used in two years, the oil was old and needed to be changed.

Upon moving into Elliott Bay Marina, we found out that Monkey Fist YachtCare will come out and service your boat while you are at work! They get the keys from the harbor master, do the service and invoice us. It wasn’t outrageously expensive, but it was around $500. Our mechanical inspector, Matt from Puget Sound Mobile Marine, told us to change the oil at the end of the summer to really clean everything out. Well, that would be another $500! Now this is getting a bit expensive.

Scott talked to many other boaters and we found out that most do the oil change themselves. All we needed was an oil extractor, oil and new filters. I bought a 6.5 Liter Oil Changer Vacuum Fluid Extractor Pump for about $60.

What kind of oil do you use?

That is a loaded question, so be careful when you ask it! I recently did a blog post about going to Auto Zone to pick up the oil and got grease on me. (Then I did a plug for OxiClean Max Force Laundry Stain Remover, which was amazing!!!) Anyhow, I digress. After that post, a few boaters reached out to me and asked if I really used “automobile” oil in our marine engines. ?Huh? Luckily, we had not changed the oil yet, so we started our research. After posting the question on Reddit and hearing all of the advice, we changed our mind. We returned the automotive oil and bought what Monkey Fist had used, which was Delo 400 SAE 30w Motor Oil . We only needed three gallons at $26 each.

The overall opinion was that automotive and marine oils are basically the same, but to stick with what the manual says for peace of mind.

We bought the two filters at West Marine, which ran about $26 each. The boat already had a Hopkins FloTool Spill Saver Measu-Funnel , so in total this oil change cost us about $230 including the extractor. Moving forward it will only be about $160.

How easy was it to change your own oil?

It was actually pretty easy. The biggest challenge was how long it took to pump out the old oil and put in the new oil. The extractor works as a vacuum and since it’s manual, it goes slow. You also want to be VERY careful about the tube that goes from the pump to the engine, as it can fly out and oil goes everywhere. That happened twice to us. Before you begin to remove the oil, you want to run one engine for about 5-10 minutes to allow the oil to warm up and get viscous. Then be careful and allow the engine to cool a few minutes as it will be hot to the touch.

Our Bayliner Ciera 3055 has two twin Mercury Mercruiser 5.7L engines and each takes 4.5L of oil. When Scott removed the oil from the port side engine, only about 3.5L came out, which indicates we were burning some oil. It took about 40 minutes for the pump to remove all of the oil. Then it took another 15 minutes* to add the oil, as you have to add one quart at a time and the tubing is very skinny, not allowing for a lot of flow.

*(Note, after originally posting this blog, a few other boaters asked why it took so long to fill it. We did fill it thru the dip stick hole, as Scott didn’t see another cap. Looking at other photos and videos of similar engines, we can’t really find the cap on this engine in this photo. When we go back to change the filters this weekend, we’ll take a look.)

Again, run the other engine for about 5-10 minutes. When we removed the oil on the starboard engine, it pumped out 4L of oil. That is better than the other one, but that one is also burning some oil. With that said, we’ll be sure to have extra oil on hand. Considering the engines are seventeen years old, that’s actually pretty good. Scott was not able to swap out the oil filters because he did need Oil Filter Pliers, which we will have to buy.

Cleaning up

Changing the oil on your boat is messy. Be sure to have plenty of Shop Towels on hand, as you will need them. Even as we were leaving the boat, the tubing from the pump got loose and we had oil all over again. We keep Dawn dish soap on our boat and it’s great for grease cleanups.

Wondering what to do with all that oil now? Take it to your local auto shop. As long as it is clean and free of water and sediment, they will recycle it for free.

Stay tuned for more info on keeping the boat dry and warm for the winter and other tips! Cheers, Scott and Ally