Boating Journey Blog about boating for the first time

July 27, 2017September 25, 2017

Our first trip to the San Juan Islands – Part I Seattle to La Conner

Boating to San Juan Islands – Part 1

Boating to the San Juan Islands for the first time. When we bought our boat, Kokomo in May, we hadn’t planned on taking a trip this summer to the San Juan Islands, as we wanted to become more familiar with the boat, etc. But my sister Susan thought it would be fun for us to boat up there with them and invite my brother and his wife. So we mapped out a 6 day vacation leaving Seattle and head first to La Conner, which is 54 nautical miles.

My brother Ron and his wife Patsy, stayed with us the night before and we headed down to Elliott Bay Marina first thing in the morning. We learned right away that all of us over packed both food and clothing. Our boat, Kokomo has lots of storage, but it’s not that easy to access and if you don’t use it, things get cramped quickly. It took four carts to load the boat with refrigerated items, beverages and their stuff (and remember, we had already loaded our clothes and non perishables the weekend before!).

The winds normally come from the north or northwest, but on Thursday they were 8 knots from the south – which really helped us out a lot!

My sister Susan and her husband Kurt were traveling on their 34′ trawler Semper Fi at about 7 knots and they left Shilshole Marina around 8:30am on Thursday, July 20th. We knew we could catch up to them traveling about 17 knots, so we didn’t leave until 10:15am.

We caught up with them around the north end of Whidbey Island, around 11:45am. Scott thought it would be funny to circle around them, but you know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? Well, more on that later. After we circled around them, Kurt called me to say we had a loose line. Turns out one of the lines on our dingy had come loose and was flying all over the place, including under the engines, yikes! Soon enough Karma caught up to us and about an hour later.

We started hearing a rattling / pinging noise from one of the engines, so we stopped and decided to check it out. Since we have two engines, we can use each of them to compare what the other should look like. We noticed right away that the power steering pulley was at an angle and there were also some metal fragments from the ball bearings. Not sure what we should do, since the serpentine belt was still working, but noisy, I called my brother-in-law Kurt (retired Chief Engineer for the Washington Ferries) and he zipped over on his dingy for a quick assessment. Determined that the power steering pump needed to be replaced, we now had to limp into La Conner on one engine – and 8 knots, right along side Semper Fi.

Luckily for us, the waters (as you can see in the photos and video) were very very calm for the sound. So calm, that Patsy and I decided to sit on the bow and enjoy the smooth ride up.

Ron relaxed on the stern…….

To get to La Conner, you enter a channel and then up the Swinomish Slough.

We had made reservations a few weeks ago and were fortunate to be on G Dock on the outside on the end, since we didn’t have much steering control. Semper Fi was right next to us.

We called the local NAPA store and they had the part. The La Conner Marina staff was so helpful and drove Scott down to the store. He had taken the old pump with him and when he got the new pump, they informed him that it didn’t come with the pulley shaft and that a machine shop, La Conner Maritime Services would have to use the hydraulic press to remove it from the old one and put in it in the new one. They would be able to do that in the morning.

The La Conner Marina is very quiet and has nice facilities for restrooms and showers. That evening, we all walked into town for dinner. La Conner is super cute with lots of quaint restaurants and shops. We were drawn in by fresh oysters (not me!) at the Oyster and Thistle Pub and decided to eat there for dinner. Now that I’m looking at a map, there were many other restaurants to choose from…..but we stumbled on this quaint cute place first.

Knowing we had to fix the boat, Scott woke up bright and early and headed to La Conner Maritime Services. He picked up the part and we thought we were on the home stretch, when he realized it was not threading (connecting) to the engine. Uh ho! Turns out it couldn’t reach and it needed an adapter piece. We called all of the parts stores, nothing. At this point we are preparing to limp home on one engine and transfer my brother, his wife and all of their stuff over to my sister’s boat. Not a fun moment.

Kurt and Scott were not giving up and they went to La Conner Maritime that put the shaft in to try and find this piece in the back room. Still no luck. That’s when Kurt got the idea of taking the old part off of the original pump and using it! Voila!! That worked great. Scott then added power steering fluid and went to put the cap on when there was no cap. The new pump didn’t come with one. Now what?? Wait – why don’t we go back to the machine shop and get the cap off of the old pump Voila again! Note to self: always keep your old parts until you are sure you are done with them!

We were finally on our way to Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez, Island! Let the vacation begin! Stay tuned for part two!

January 30, 2017November 7, 2017

It’s a New Year with a Plan…..Finally!

Boat Buying Plan!

We finally have a boat buying plan! As we mentioned in our last blog after our trip to Annapolis in October, our boat plans changed slightly. We basically have always had two plans that we put together years ago:

Live on a catamaran and sail the Caribbean and Pacific when we retire. That plan is still on!
In order to save money, sell our home, our belongings and live on a boat in the PNW – that is now on hold.

We put the liveaboard idea on hold and have decided to make sure that both of us are comfortable spending lots of time on the water together. I have boating experience, but Scott does not. So we have decided to buy a weekend cabin cruiser this spring.

Okay, so now we have somewhat of a plan and off to the Seattle Boat Show we went this weekend. Buying a boat, is very much (in a weird way) like having kids and planning for it. For example, you need to have a spot to moor the boat, even before you buy one. It’s not like buying a house. There are certain steps you have to take, but we are still not sure of the order.

Boat Buying Process

Budget / Loan- well, we have a budget in mind, but if we decide to finance part of the boat, then it’s the bank that will determine what they will lend based on the age and make of the boat. Typically, lenders don’t “pre-approve” you, but instead, you find a boat and then go get the loan. (Odd.)
Moorage – you have to find a marina to store your boat once you buy it. We checked with 5 different marinas at the show and all but 2 of them had a wait list. Luckily, one marina said they would take care of us with no issues and to concentrate on finding the boat, rather the marina. That’s a nice option. Ideally, we want to be in Everett as it is closer to our family’s place on Camano Island. But they have an 8 month wait.
Boat – basically we are looking at two different styles, depending on what we think we will enjoy the most. We’ll look at the two styles later in this blog.
Training. It’s been over 17 years since I owned a boat and Scott has no experience. With that said, we can’t just go buy a boat and start driving it! We met with both the US Coast Guard and the US Power Squadrons yesterday. The USCG will do a training safety seminar in one day, for about $30/pp. But that doesn’t show you how to maneuver your boat, dock it, learn currents/wind, etc. USPS will do a very detailed training, along with a hands on training prior to buying your boat. This will be the route we take.
Timing – of course we want to be on the water come June 1st…..prime boating season. This means there will be no deals on boats and mooring will be at a premium. We’d like to do it sooner, but it won’t make sense based on our upcoming schedule.

What kind of boat?

So back to the boat. For the past six years we have traveled to boat shows all over including Miami and Annapolis. We have been set on a path looking for a liveaboard, which is not a weekend cabin cruiser. Talk about changing things up! The two styles we are looking at are:

Older Motoryacht 32′-38′ (1990-1999). Here we have a few options to consider. There are plenty of Bayliner MY out there (and yes, the Bayliner haters are going to make comments) and the fact remains that we won’t be crossing any oceans in this vessel and for the money you get a lot of boat that’s comfortable. Carver is another boat we are considering. The nice thing about the motoryacht style, is the salon is cozy and perfect for our dreary weather. It is also upstairs, so you can enjoy the view versus being down below at the water level. We plan on boating even when it’s not nice out. Our plan is to spend as many weekends we can on the boat, even if it’s in the marina, to get a feel for liveaboard life. The boat below is a 1997 Carver 320 Voyager.

The one thing to consider with a boat like this, is there is not a lot of space to sit on the stern for entertainment. There is up on the fly bridge….but you have to haul your “stuff” up there, like your glass of wine, cheese and crackers. 😉

“Weekenders” – these boats are great for enjoying with groups of people and spending most of your time outdoors. The downstairs cabin is simply for sleeping and cooking. These are not necessarily less expensive than a motoryacht. We looked at a 38′ SeaRay and it was over $100k! Below is a 1997 Sea Ray 330 Sundancer.

Lots of outdoor seating for everyone!

As you can see, we have to make a decision as to what type of boat will work best for us. Then go out and find it over the next four months! In the meantime, we’ll get our training done so we are ready!

I will be sure to share with you our step by step process in making this all work, so that other new boaters have a good resource.

Stay tuned……as the next blog, we could be new boat owners! Cheers, Scott & Ally

October 19, 2016October 10, 2017

Annapolis Boat Show & What’s Next?

Annapolis Power Boat Show 2016

Scott and I spent most of the summer looking at different marinas looking for those that take liveaboards. Just about all of them had 1-2 year waiting lists, with the exception of a couple. But that can change at any moment.

All of our friends and family keep asking us if we really want to live on a boat? Well, let’s go back to where this all started. It was about six years ago when we were at the Seattle Boat Show and we fell in love with the Lagoon Catamaran (since then, we have found others we love more). But we came up with the grand idea, of retiring on a catamaran in the Caribbean and sailing around the world. Why not? We don’t have kids, we don’t want a big mortgage and what a better way to retire?

Then came the next two questions. How can we afford a catamaran and what if we don’t like it? I grew up on boats and in my 30’s had a nice cruiser. However, Scott has not spent any long term time on a vessel. I then started reading lots of sailing books, including my first book A Sail of Two Idiots: 100+ Lessons and Laughs from a Non-Sailor Who Quit the Rat Race, Took the Helm, and Sailed to a New Life in the Caribbean , a story about a couple in Arizona that sell their home and buy a catamaran in Florida (sight unseen) with NO SAILING experience at all. If you like to read, this is a must read for sure!

What a great idea! We could sell our house now (instead of 10 years from now), use the money to buy an old power boat in Seattle to live on and cut our living expenses by two thirds. So began the journey of selling our business, selling our extra stuff and planning on the sale of our home. That was until this year, 2016 when we found out marinas are hard to find. Then we wondered……Do you sell your dream home for a boat and marina you don’t have yet? The other issue is we don’t want to give up any of our proceeds for a real estate agent, as we want to use as much of the house equity to buy a boat.

As we sat on our deck this summer enjoying the sunset and cocktails, we came up with another (crazy) idea. We knew our next door neighbor would soon be putting their house on the market, so what if we put a sign out next to it that said “For Sale By Owner”? Well, that day came and sure enough, Scott put the sign out (just two weeks ago). Now what? Sure enough, realtors started calling us every hour and we told them, bring us a buyer and we’ll talk.

Just as all of this happened, we headed out the door to the US Power Boat Show in Annapolis. We had been to the US Sailing Show there three years ago, so we were looking forward to another fun visit. Our purpose was twofold. Look for types of boats we could live on and also tour the history of Annapolis. We lucked out with beautiful weather! This show is different than others. They have live music, bars on every corner, many floating docks and seminars.

This show ended up being a bit different than we had hoped for. It has lots of runabouts and weekenders. Then it had lots of mega yachts…..not much in between. With that said, we did fall in love with three boats (if we won the lottery!).

A Trawler?

First up was a 49′ trawler from North Pacific Yachts. Here’s the funny thing…..we don’t like trawlers, but we liked this one!!!

How about a Yacht now?

So onto the next yacht, this one was the 58′ Prestige 550 Flybridge….Gorgeous!!

A Power Cat!

Lastly, we fell in love with a power catamaran! The 44′ Aquila (say Tequila….with an “A”). While it was only 44′ it felt larger and roomier than the 60′ power cat we went on from Horizon.

The inside galley, opens up to the outside with this awesome bar.

Lots of storage space in the guest stateroom

Realistically, these boats are just a lottery dream purchase! We did take a water taxi to some used boats that might fit our goals. The journey was fun too!

A salesman had recommended we look at Vikings (not convertibles) for a liveaboard. We haven’t seen many of them in the Seattle area, but luckily there was one at the used dock we could preview. This was was a Viking 44′ 1988 for $130,000. Honestly, this is a great liveaboard – too bad it’s in MD, not Seattle.

This boat was very roomy and updated for a 1988!

The galley was surprisingly big! Even the sink is regular size!

The master stateroom had plenty of storage and features of a standard bedroom. The closet was big enough to hang a ball gown!

The master head had tons of counter space! And more storage space in the spare stateroom.

We did look at a Carver, but we didn’t like the smell of it. LOL. We were in Annapolis for four full days and only did the show for two. They had great booths and vendor tents, including wine/beer tastings.

A tour of Annapolis History

Then we spent the other two days, exploring this very old city. Most of the founders arrived in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. Main street and the side streets still have the same cobblestone roads and homes. We toured William Paca’s house, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We also toured the Naval Academy and the Maryland State House. If you haven’t toured Annapolis, I highly recommend it for the history lesson.

What’s next for Scott & Ally?

During our trip, we talked at length about where our plan is going. Are we comfortable giving up all of our belongings, our home and the comforts of a home simply to see if we like living on a boat and saving money? What if our home appreciates more and more over the next ten years….would we be better off in the long term keeping it? Then came another idea! What if we buy a used “weekender” boat that we can enjoy with our golden retriever Mac in the Puget Sound and see how Scott enjoys spending the weekends on it? While it may not save us money on a monthly basis short term, it could save us a lot long term. So now begins the hunt for a smaller, used “weekender”. Funny how we got here. 😉

Stay tuned for the January boat show……I’m sure there will be lots to look at then! Cheers,

Scott and Ally

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September 15, 2016October 19, 2017

Can you look at boats for sale just as you do cars?

Boat Shopping

Is boat shopping the same as car shopping? When we need a new car, we typically go to the dealer and check out cars that are on their lots. Often, we will test drive a few to get a feel for the car. Most people are just “window shopping” when looking at cars, to figure out what they want to buy. But can you do that with a boat? We wondered the same thing. While most boat brokers don’t have lots, they do have listings of boats. However, those boats can be located anywhere, including other states.

We figured, why not contact a few brokers about boats we would like to see and find out, if they would show it to us. The first one we checked out was a very old boat located at Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard. It was huge, about 68 feet and while it had some new renovations, it also needed some major TLC. That broker was happy to meet us and show us around.

It was listed for $99,000 and it had a huge laundry room, big salon, decent galley and lots of storage. Unfortunately, they had ripped out the ceiling in the master stateroom looking for a leak (did they find it?) and had let the front state rooms and head go….literally. It was a major fixer upper. But anyone that wanted to give it some time and money, would end up with a gorgeous vessel. I wish I would have taken photos of the inside, to show you what it was like.

Boat shopping a few weeks later…..

A few weeks later, we decided to hang out down at Lake Union and there were a few boats that were listed with local brokers there. It was a Saturday, so “hey, maybe they will give us a tour?”. The first guy, wasn’t too interested and neither was the second one. One broker, said “hey, the boat is open, help yourself”. So we checked out another fairly old boat.

This one was a 1981 Defever 49 foot for $165,000. Still over our price range, but it gave us a good idea of what an older boat would look like. Remember, we would be living on this boat, so we need a boat that will allow both of us to work from home, so we need “office space”. This one seemed perfect at first glance.

It had great seating on the back end that was either covered or uncovered. Enough to sit back and enjoy the view.

We like that this salon had a very “homey” feel to it. And the galley was good size too.

Up on the bridge it had another table area, that could definitely be used for an office and the view isn’t too bad either!!

Even the heads were good size. The master had a half tub in it (but who would take a bath on a boat?).

So did we fall in love with it? Not at all! Why? Well, the stairs (which I should have taken a photo of), were literally only 5″ wide and were spiral. Can you imagine going down the stairs at sea or after a few drinks? It was a death trap for sure. But gorgeous vessel for it’s age.

Okay, that boat is out, what next?

We eventually wandered back towards the parking lot and I mentioned that there was one more I’d like to see. The broker, Mike Manning from Crows Nest just happened to be there and he was so nice! We asked if we could see a boat that was definitely not in our price range for kicks and giggles and he was happy to show us around. This was a 2007 58′ Navigator Pilothouse for just a mere $575,000.

But compared to the older boats, the interior is very modern and updated. It too, had a seating area up on the bridge that could be used as an office.

What we learned from our field trip down to lake union, is there are brokers that are happy to show you boats if they are available. Mike from Crow’s Nest Yachts was so incredibly helpful, that when the time comes, we’ll be sure to reach out to him for assistance.

This weekend, we are going to the Lake Union Boats Alfloat show and I’m sure we’ll see a few more (out of our price range!). But it helps us to figure out features we are looking for (storage, etc). Then next month we are heading back to Annapolis, MD and this time we are going to the US Power Boat Show. We are super excited as we loved the US Sailing Boat Show a few years ago! Stay tuned! Scott & Ally

August 11, 2016November 30, 2017

Live Aboard Marinas

Finding Live Aboard Marinas

Live aboard marinas is a hot topic for boaters and one that a “non-boater” would not think about perhaps. Scott & I attended the Seattle Boat Show earlier this year. We met with numerous marinas in the Puget Sound area, only to find out, they either do not allow liveaboards or there is over a one year wait list!

That’s the same scenario of needing to find daycare before you are pregnant. If our whole plan is to move out of our house and onto a boat, how in the world can you do that immediately when you buy your boat? Answer is you don’t, unless you get on a wait list. And those aren’t free. After meeting with several marinas, we found out that the wait list fees run anywhere fro $25-$150. Again, you don’t even own a boat yet! Crazy. So we figured this past spring of 2016, we would visit a couple marinas and find out what they had to offer.

Foss Harbor Marina

First was the Foss Harbor Marina in Tacoma. We met the manager during the boat show and he was extremely friendly and helpful. In fact, one of his residents was there and couldn’t say enough great things about the marina.

The parking was very limited for guests and we happened to park right in front of the office and “general store”. At the store/marina you can rent kayaks and SUPs. They gave us a key and a quick verbal tour for us to go check out. The store was well stocked, including good WINE and it was priced just like a regular wine shop! (Bonus!) Next to the store was the community center (no you can’t have a wedding here, but it’s perfect to watch t.v.) that had a large t.v., coffee maker, games and books, perfect for a small gathering (i.e. football game).

The restrooms were secured and each offered two showers and sinks, toilets and mirrors. Nothing fancy, but would certainly work great. The docks have a secured entrance, which is great. From there, we walked down to the docks and they are floating docks. So the main plankway can be either very steep or not so much depending on the tide. Most marinas these days offer floating docks, otherwise your dock could be 5′ below your boat! (LOL)

The marina was small and intimidate, which we like. It also has a great view of Mt. Rainier and it’s own fuel dock. The prices at the fuel dock were actually very reasonable.

If you worked in Downtown Tacoma, this would be a great commute!!

The mooring prices were fairly standard for marinas and they had a 3 month wait list and their fee was $25 (I believe)….it was very nominal. Definitely a marina we would consider. The only cons we had, were limited guest parking and not walking distance to restaurants/bars.

Port of Everett Marina

A few weeks later we visited the Port of Everett Marina. If you don’t know about this one, it is the largest public marina on the west coast in the U.S.

Yes, this place was massive. In fact, we ate lunch at one side (the left) and had to drive to the office (the right). Definitely not walking distance. They had plenty of space for 50′-65′ boats and the marina offers not only regular amenities such as showers and parking, but many restaurants and bars within walking distance. It did not have any type of convenience store. It is located at the northern end of Puget Sound, so as you can see by the photo it has great access to our northern islands and is also very well protected.

Here’s our view from lunch on the south side of the marina

The downside, was not only the commute distance (yuck!), but the cost of the mooring. With everything said and done, the cost was about $17 per foot and the docks for the larger boats are quite a bit away from everything – except the large fishing boats that were being worked on. You wouldn’t want to be taking a nap – just sayin. But we did like the proximity to restaurants the sound. They had a 3-8 month wait list and I believe their fee was about $125.

Since we have no idea what in the world we are doing yet, no wait lists or fees now. We have a few more to look at, but our options are very slim. Odd for such a large boating industry in the Puget Sound.

Learn how we finally found our perfect marina slip. Scott & Ally