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.