Monday, January 24, 2011
January 24th 2011 Boat Show Presentation
Presentation for NWWB Women's Panel at The Boat Show on January 24, 2011
Introduction:
You and your husband transferred to Seattle in July 2007, wanting to be close to your grandchildren. You wanted to live close to the water and had an epiphany, "why not ON the water?" Never having been boaters, you bought a 1989 Transworld 40' aft cabin twin diesel power boat and moved aboard last September.
Question:
As someone newly retired and new to boating, tell us some ways you and your husband’s sudden decision to live aboard has affected your life?
Response:
July 2007 we transferred to Seattle. Buying a house in West Seattle, I knew I wanted to look out at the water every day. I thought that would be enough. We soon thought about living on the water. One day a friend invited me to go to Bainbridge to see her son's boat that he was living aboard. Having dinner, overlooking the beautiful marina, he proceeded to tell me about life aboard a boat. I was hooked!! Went home, said to husband, "What do you think about living on a boat?" One problem, we knew almost nothing about boats. Oh, my husband's family had a 21 foot Century Raven that they enjoyed on Long Island Sound and the Connecticutt River when he was young and I loved water skiing on the 3 rivers of Pittsburgh, my hometown, but that was about all. We set out to learn about boats. We read and read, book after boating book. I built up muscles reading Chapman's book in bed. We looked at boats. We climbed over, under, around boats everywhere. Analyzed endlessly. Talked about boats to everyone. Joined Seattle Sail and Power Squadron and took incredibly interesting classes. Then we found her. We liked the aft cabin and the covered aft deck and the ease of walking up steps, not using a ladder! "Priority" a 40' aft cabin, twin 210 hp Cummins diesel engines, power boat. We fell in love. Now for the survey and sea trial.
October 2009 What a day!! A day of firsts, anticipation of surprises both good and bad and the decision whether to proceed with the purchase looming! It was a typical October day in Seattle. It was raining! Taking the boat out from Lake Union to Lake Washington presented some great scenery and our first experience being behind the wheel! After a thorough inspection of the boat by the Surveyor, with a tap, tap, tap down the hull he proclaimed her "A good boat!"We were relieved, if we had found any serious problems it would have been hard to let her go!
November 2009 After finalizing the paperwork and financial end of the transaction my husband and the Broker brought her through the locks and into Shilshole Bay Marina. I watched from shore, wanting to see Priority in the water. We proceeded to learn all her systems and make some repairs we knew were needed. Through the winter we hauled all the past owners stuff off the boat, thankful for large dumpsters. And you hear there is not much storage on a boat!! Went through everything else, reorganizing and getting the our boat "ship shape". We learned alot! I helped my husband carry 2 boat batteries onto the boat. Each battery weighing over 100 lbs Big D12 batteries! It was the first time I heard the expression "Man up". I learned I will never do that again! I took a Diesel Mechanic Class and among other things I changed the zincs in the heat exchanger. I now know more than I thought I would ever want to know about "heads".
March 2010 we put the house up for sale and started to make the decisions about what to do with all the stuff and deciding what to take on the boat.
Summer 2010 would prove to be a very memorable one. On July 6 I flew to Juneau, Alaska to join Andrea and 2 other friends of hers on her 45’ well appointed WestBay cruiser on a 17 day trip. My leg of her trip would be Juneau up Lynn Canal to Skagway, the furthest Northern point of the Inner Passage of Alaska, on to the Villages of Haines and Hoonah and ending with Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The one thousand miles of protected, scenic waterways from Olympia, Washington to Skagway, Alaska make up the "Inside Passage" and are considered the best cruising waters in the world. I found out why!!
Not only was I cruising the best waters in the world but I was also learning vast information about boating. With Andrea’s invitation to join her on her boat in Alaska came the opportunity to gain "hands on" experience on a trip to a destination few boaters experience. Days were filled with first experiences and jam packed with learning opportunities in every aspect of boating. There were unanticipated delightful opportunities. I could not begin to tell about them all. I learned how to "set a crab pot". We were not successful but buying Dungeness Crabs, that had been living in the waters just hours before, off a fishing boat made up for the disappointment of not catching our own. I had never been on a Fishing Charter trip, catching Dolly Varden and Salmon and cooking them for dinner made a new fish lover out of me.
September 2010 We move aboard!
Yesterday, relaxing on the couch, my husband and I watched the Steelers, ate sloppy joes, took the dog for a walk and talked to our children. A typical Sunday except we are living on a boat.
Introduction:
You and your husband transferred to Seattle in July 2007, wanting to be close to your grandchildren. You wanted to live close to the water and had an epiphany, "why not ON the water?" Never having been boaters, you bought a 1989 Transworld 40' aft cabin twin diesel power boat and moved aboard last September.
Question:
As someone newly retired and new to boating, tell us some ways you and your husband’s sudden decision to live aboard has affected your life?
Response:
July 2007 we transferred to Seattle. Buying a house in West Seattle, I knew I wanted to look out at the water every day. I thought that would be enough. We soon thought about living on the water. One day a friend invited me to go to Bainbridge to see her son's boat that he was living aboard. Having dinner, overlooking the beautiful marina, he proceeded to tell me about life aboard a boat. I was hooked!! Went home, said to husband, "What do you think about living on a boat?" One problem, we knew almost nothing about boats. Oh, my husband's family had a 21 foot Century Raven that they enjoyed on Long Island Sound and the Connecticutt River when he was young and I loved water skiing on the 3 rivers of Pittsburgh, my hometown, but that was about all. We set out to learn about boats. We read and read, book after boating book. I built up muscles reading Chapman's book in bed. We looked at boats. We climbed over, under, around boats everywhere. Analyzed endlessly. Talked about boats to everyone. Joined Seattle Sail and Power Squadron and took incredibly interesting classes. Then we found her. We liked the aft cabin and the covered aft deck and the ease of walking up steps, not using a ladder! "Priority" a 40' aft cabin, twin 210 hp Cummins diesel engines, power boat. We fell in love. Now for the survey and sea trial.
October 2009 What a day!! A day of firsts, anticipation of surprises both good and bad and the decision whether to proceed with the purchase looming! It was a typical October day in Seattle. It was raining! Taking the boat out from Lake Union to Lake Washington presented some great scenery and our first experience being behind the wheel! After a thorough inspection of the boat by the Surveyor, with a tap, tap, tap down the hull he proclaimed her "A good boat!"We were relieved, if we had found any serious problems it would have been hard to let her go!
November 2009 After finalizing the paperwork and financial end of the transaction my husband and the Broker brought her through the locks and into Shilshole Bay Marina. I watched from shore, wanting to see Priority in the water. We proceeded to learn all her systems and make some repairs we knew were needed. Through the winter we hauled all the past owners stuff off the boat, thankful for large dumpsters. And you hear there is not much storage on a boat!! Went through everything else, reorganizing and getting the our boat "ship shape". We learned alot! I helped my husband carry 2 boat batteries onto the boat. Each battery weighing over 100 lbs Big D12 batteries! It was the first time I heard the expression "Man up". I learned I will never do that again! I took a Diesel Mechanic Class and among other things I changed the zincs in the heat exchanger. I now know more than I thought I would ever want to know about "heads".
March 2010 we put the house up for sale and started to make the decisions about what to do with all the stuff and deciding what to take on the boat.
Summer 2010 would prove to be a very memorable one. On July 6 I flew to Juneau, Alaska to join Andrea and 2 other friends of hers on her 45’ well appointed WestBay cruiser on a 17 day trip. My leg of her trip would be Juneau up Lynn Canal to Skagway, the furthest Northern point of the Inner Passage of Alaska, on to the Villages of Haines and Hoonah and ending with Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The one thousand miles of protected, scenic waterways from Olympia, Washington to Skagway, Alaska make up the "Inside Passage" and are considered the best cruising waters in the world. I found out why!!
Not only was I cruising the best waters in the world but I was also learning vast information about boating. With Andrea’s invitation to join her on her boat in Alaska came the opportunity to gain "hands on" experience on a trip to a destination few boaters experience. Days were filled with first experiences and jam packed with learning opportunities in every aspect of boating. There were unanticipated delightful opportunities. I could not begin to tell about them all. I learned how to "set a crab pot". We were not successful but buying Dungeness Crabs, that had been living in the waters just hours before, off a fishing boat made up for the disappointment of not catching our own. I had never been on a Fishing Charter trip, catching Dolly Varden and Salmon and cooking them for dinner made a new fish lover out of me.
September 2010 We move aboard!
Yesterday, relaxing on the couch, my husband and I watched the Steelers, ate sloppy joes, took the dog for a walk and talked to our children. A typical Sunday except we are living on a boat.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wonderful old boats
There is always something new to discover about boats.
While driving through Fisherman's Terminal parking lot I spotted these very interesting old boats. A passerby told me that they had been salvaged. What stories these boats could tell!
Visiting a friend on her tugboat I noticed this very interesting little boat. I was told it was a bridge boat. These boats would be used to create a bridge that would float, built by linking boats with the first and last being anchored to the shores. The "house" portion on this boat would have been built later.
Friday, July 23, 2010
4 Gals on a Boat
Summer 2010 would prove to be a very memorable one. On July 6 I flew to Juneau, Alaska to join Andrea on Schocking, her 45’ well appointed WestBay cruiser. Two other gals would make our 4. Becky had been on the boat with Andrea since it left its homeport of Seattle at the end of May. Andrea participated in the 2020 Alaska - 1000 Cruise, a predicted log race. I met up with Rozlynne at the Seattle airport and we became acquainted on the flight to Juneau. Becky I would meet when we got to Juneau. Other friends of Andrea had joined Andrea along the way and spent different “legs” of the trip with her. My leg would be Juneau up Lynn Canal to Skagway, the furthest Northern point of the Inner Passage of Alaska, on to the Villages of Haines and Hoonah and ending with Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The one thousand miles of protected, scenic waterways from Olympia, Washington to Skagway, Alaska make up the “Inside Passage” and are considered the best cruising waters in the world. I found out why!!
Not only was I cruising the best waters in the world but I was also learning vast information about boating. My husband, Jim, and I purchased Priority, our 40’ Transworld aft cabin cruiser in the Fall of 2009, deciding to leave our life on land and move aboard surprising a lot of friends as we had no prior boating experience. We set about learning everything we needed to know. Between terrific classes offered by the Seattle Power and Sail Squadron, reading many books and spending weekends learning about Priority’s systems we made great progress with our boating knowledge and along the way made some wonderful new friends. We met Andrea in the classes and Andrea, a skilled Boat Upholsterer and Canvas Maker, transformed our boat’s galley and salon settee. With Andrea’s invitation to join her on her boat in Alaska came the opportunity to gain “hands on” experience on a trip to a destination few boaters experience. Days were filled with first experiences and jam packed with learning opportunities in every aspect of boating.
There were unanticipated delightful opportunities. I could not begin to write about them all. I learned how to “set a crab pot”. We were not successful but buying Dungeness Crabs, that had been living in the waters just hours before, off a fishing boat made up for the disappointment of not catching our own. I had never been on a Fishing Charter trip, catching Dolly Varden and Salmon and cooking them for dinner made a new fish lover out of me. Four women bringing their collective cooking experiences together to produce exceptional meals while looking out at the scenery from the boat salon is a hard dining experience to beat. I have never had a finer meal at any restaurant. Oh, I can not forget. Oh, how could I ever forget learning to play Mexican Train, a domino game.
I got to know 3 amazing, intelligent, beautiful, successful, fun women. I am so glad our lives crossed in this way. We got to laugh and discuss major life issues, maybe even solved a couple of lifes conumdrums ( I love that word, been looking for a place to use it). Well, maybe we didn’t solve any major life issues but we sure have a lot of opinions. Reaching mid life for women does that, gives women a lot of opinions that is. And it gives women a lot of history to go back and mull over. Our conversations brought back memories….most good ones, that I had not thought about for years. It was fun!
I read somewhere that “Leave your life for a day, a week, a month. It will be there when you get back.” I loved getting away but now as I write this onboard my flight from Juneau back to Seattle, I am anxious to get back to my life. Have you seen the Utube piece where the little girl is standing in front of the mirror saying “I like my….and goes on and on, swaying back and forth, listing the things she likes? It is delightful! Would love to know how to find it again if anyone knows. That is how I feel. I like my life!
I am looking out the window as the plane prepares to leave. I look over at small airplanes lined up in their spots. Looks like a parking lot. Juneau has no roads connecting it to other cities. When the plane takes off I see why. The high insurmountable mountains rise behind the flat spaces that the city of Juneau occupies with the waters of The Inner Passage on the other side. I see Mendenhall Glacier, the first glacier I had ever seen. The clouds block my view. Goodbye Alaska!
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink....
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Luckily that saying does not hold true on The Schocking. With its Water Maker we never go with water. This admired equipment on a boat, maybe even coveted by some, takes in the seawater and after purifying it through many filters it is stored as fresh, safe drinking water as well as the source for water for the most delightful hot showers, taken while looking out the porthole at the view!!
ON THE GRID
Early on we noticed on the map, near the Harbor in Hoonah it was noted “on the grid”. We finally figured it out when we came across this very interesting and simple way to haul out a boat. The grid was a series of I beams almost at high tide. To haul out a boat the Captain waits at high tide positioning his boat over “the grid” and as the waters recede with the tide the boat is left “on the grid”, haul out accomplished. We talked to one boat owner, working quickly painting the bottom of his boat, hoping to finish his task before the tide changed and the boat would again be floating on the water.
A Most Unique Fueling Dock
A very unusual fueling dock at Hoonah provided the most amusing fueling experience one could ever expect to happen. Fueling up a boat is one of those maintenance necessities that must be completed but never would it be said to be a fun time in boating. Diesel fuel by its very properties does not have a pleasant odor and you hope that it does not end up on your hands or clothing.
There can be a wait, like we experienced today, of a couple of boats in front of you. As we watched the boat before us complete his fueling operation we see a bucket being lowered the approximate 50 feet from the top to the bottom. That’s when we realized that the attendant was at the top and we would be at the bottom. We pulled up readied for fueling and he lowered the very long hose. To fuel both tanks, Andrea merely opens the windows on the boat and passes the hose through the cabin. The sight of this brought howls of laughter and we continued to chuckle as the hose went back up to the top and the bucket for payment came back down. Beside the bucket we noticed an old barnacle encrusted ladder going up the 50 feet distance to the top. The thought of climbing that ladder to run in for a candy bar, a bag of chips or a drink, something you would easily consider doing when stopping to gas up, brought more chuckles from the 4 Gals on a Boat.
Today we needed to pump 190 gallons of fuel into the tanks. (For a fun math problem the price of the diesel fuel was $3.39 a gallon) The Shocking holds 450 gallons of fuel. (another fun math problem).
Send money to the attention of the USCG designated MARSEC Fuel Facility, they are holding us ransom until we can pay!!
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