New Boater and how to quickly learn how to operate your boat

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