Enjoying the weekend in Seattle!

Weekend on the Boat in Seattle!

The weather last weekend was HOT HOT HOT and there's no better place to be than on the water!  We stayed on the boat Friday and Saturday night and ended up entertaining friends all weekend.  Friday night, Scott's old friend Erin came down for dinner.  It was great to show her the marina and the boat.  One thing she said to us was "I'm so happy to see that you guys follow your dreams. You had a dream to own a business, you did that. You have always wanted a boat, and here you are."  It was nice to actually hear someone say that to us.

It's June 23rd and we still do not have a "slip mate". Our biggest challenge with having a mate, will be when we dock, as we have been running into the "imaginary boat". LOL  The winds were very strong both Friday and Saturday coming from the north. While it was great to help us stay cool, the marina was also much noisier with the sail boat riggings clanging back and forth. 

Also, the 159' sail boat is still there and it is stunning at night, as the pictures show.

Friday night they had a wedding up at the Admiral's House and we could hear the music all the way from our dock. It didn't bother us, but we were amazed as to how far noise travels.

Sitting in the dark at the marina is also so incredibly relaxing - it's a great way to end a hectic work week.  We bought the battery operated candles for more ambiance and I love them!

Saturday, we went to the pump out station all by ourselves! LOL  We did find out that the marina will come by and pump out your waste every Tuesday if you want and they charge $20.  But it was super easy and the guys at the dock helped us.

I spent part of the afternoon relaxing and reading in the sun....sitting on the bow, it just doesn't get much better than that!

That night we had our friends Nick and Rhonda on the boat for dinner. It was nice to catch up and show them how great the marina is. I don't think we can take enough photos to do it justice!

Mom, it's HOT on this boat! ~ Woof, Mac

Early Sunday morning Scott is standing in the galley, when he looks out the starboard window and says "Ummm, I see a fender!"  What?! What do you mean you see a fender?!!! We both rush up to the deck and sure enough, we HAVE A SLIP MATE! Ugh. So it begins.  Luckily it is an aluminum fishing boat and if we were to bump into a boat, it is the best kind. LOL I guess the guy moved it into the slip at midnight! Crazy.

In preparation for a trip we are taking in July with my brother and his wife, we decided to check out all of the storage spaces on the boat!  Under the salon cushions we found all kinds of space, where we can put wine, beer and staples. We also found a BRAND NEW head pump. Score!! These retails for $210. Let's hope we don't have to use it, but what a treasure!

Sunday, June 25th was the HOTTEST day on record for the month of June in history in Seattle! It was the best day to be on the water.  Good friends of ours, Tim and Lori joined us, as they used to be boat owners. It was great to have them along and they were so helpful.  We traveled over to Alki and then down to Shorewood where they just purchased a home. 

Mac isn't too keen on going fast in the boat and kept crawling up on the seat cushions. I started to worry that he would jump out, so I eventually put him down below.

Notice Scott's new custom T-Shirt for Kokomo??

Mac, finally relaxing down in the aft birth! Before I took this photo he was sound asleep like a baby!

I drove the boat from Alki down to Shorewood and back to the marina. Now I just have to get docking down. Even though it was the hottest day of the year, when you are going fast on the water, it's chilly! When we got back into the marina, it was hotter than hell! Amazing the difference in temperature is when you go from one to the other.

When we got back to the marina, Tim suggested that we finally put the dinghy in! Whoa, this is a lot. LOL. The electric winch uses a 12 volt and we don't have that, so we manually put it in the water and lifted it out.  The engine started right away and Tim noticed immediately that the plug wasn't in. That would have been a disaster!

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend and we know we have many more to come.  The other cool thing about the marina and boat life is all of the sea life we see. When we were out in front of West Seattle we saw dolphins again.  It's been awhile since our seal has visited, but this past weekend we had eagles flying over head, we had tons of minnows and a super cool purple starfish on our dock.

We are planning on staying on the boat the weekend of July 15th to prep it for our trip to the San Juan Islands. So stay tuned for our next blog which will discuss all of our preparations and things we are buying for it. Cheers! Scott & Ally

Getting to Know Our Boat Part 2

Getting to know our boat, Kokomo - Part 2

Last Sunday was cloudy and damp in Seattle, but we still wanted to spend the day on the boat and do some housework.  Better to do that on a cloudy day and enjoy it on a sunny day we figured.  We left Mac at home, so we could move about easier and get things done.

When we arrived, we noticed we had another new yacht visiting. This time it was the S/V Georgia from George Town. This photo doesn't do it justice. We found out from our neighbor that it is 159' long and now is a charter vessel. The mast could be seen from miles away!

Scott and I had different chores - he replaced all of the spark plugs and I cleaned the interior carpets.  I also brought our Dyson vacuum from home, which made a huge difference both inside the cabin and in the cockpit. Something about walking around 17 year old carpet that someone else walked around, was creeping me out. At least I feel better now!  We ended up ordering a vinyl anti-fatigue mat for the galley too, to help make it better and we also bought a portable vacuum cleaner to keep on the boat - too much dog hair! LOL

Working on the engines was a tight fit, but Scott did a great job! And he only broke one spark plug!

Next on the list, was (doing something with the dingy motor)....as you can see, I'm not sure what he was doing. LOL I can't say he was mounting it, as it was already mounted....but it had something to do with drilling a hole thru the bracket and putting in a screw. Unfortunately his drill bit wore out.

We have yet to put the dingy down and take it for a run - but we promise to do that this weekend!

Next on the list - figure out how long our anchor chain is and spray paint it in 20' lengths.  I was a bit freaked out running the electric winch as it was so noisy and I kept going down to the cabin to see how much was left. In the end, we had almost 240' of chain and looking at the chain, it appears the previous owner rarely used it. We also noticed that our winch is missing the manual handle, should it break down, so that's on the "buy list".

We also fired up the engines and the radar - we've been told to do that every time we go onboard. Especially the radar as it can get "stuck".  After a few hours work, we called it a day.  Walking down the dock, we ran into this fella - if I saw him outside my stern entrance it would have scared me to death. He was so stealth like.

We are staying on the boat this upcoming weekend and entertaining friends each day.  Our goal is to take it out on our own and also with friends. Time to jump out of the nest I guess!  We still don't have a slip neighbor, so who knows, we may get it all to ourselves this summer. Stay tuned! #KokomoSeattle

Getting To Know Our New Boat

Getting to know our boat, Kokomo

It's been two full weeks now that we have owned the boat and we headed back to Elliott Bay Marina to spend Saturday and Saturday night on it. We wanted to utilize this time to figure out all the ins and outs of the boat and also take my brother in law out on the sound with us for tips and practice.

The first thing Scott and Kurt did, was open up the engine hatch and check everything out. We had just had the oil changed this week by Monkey Fist Marine in the marina and all looked great there.  They said it really needed it badly. Remember, the previous owner hadn't ran the boat in almost two years!

Kurt wanted to look at the spark plugs and instantly that one cracked. So off I went to West Marine to get a bunch of spark plugs and some other stuff, including self repair tape for the "just in case" incidents.  They replaced a few that they had removed and Scott will do the rest of them when in a few weeks.

Then we headed out to the sound, so Kurt could listen to the engines and make sure everything sounded great. To be honest, I got freaked out last weekend when the engines would make different sounds as we moved across the sound, so I wanted Kurt (who used to be a Chief Engineer for the Ferries) to listen to them.

As we pulled out of Elliott Bay, a bizarre wave came at us - it was absolutely HUGE and we took a 6' nose dive. There were no ferries, no freighters  and no cruise ships. It was unexplainable! Let's say it freaked all of us out.  Kurt wanted to head to Blake Island across the sound.  It was a bit choppy with NNW at 8 mph, but he wasn't worried at all.

About 1/4 of the way of the trip, we were going full throttle when we heard and felt a huge "thug"! What the hell was that?!! Yep, we hit a log and thank God, it was not a big one. We were all okay, but now I was a bit white knuckled between the white caps and the log.  The key to the trip, was we were finding out that the "sounds" we were hearing was that there was cavitation in the engines as we were going up and over the waves.

Cavitation: The aeration (bubbling) and boiling effect of water caused by creation of a low pressure area. Generally caused by a solid shape (propeller blade) passing through the water, in such a position and speed, that a low pressure area is formed due to the inability to move through the water in nonresistant manner. An example is, a propeller blade that has a rough edge would not cut efficiently through the water, thus creating a low pressure area. If the pressure drops below the vapor pressure, a cavitation bubble will form in that region. These bubbles will collapse when they reach the higher pressure region of the blade. This causes a rapid change in pressure and can result in physical erosion. You may notice burns (erosion) at some area on the face of the blade.

Soon, we planed the boat and found the perfect RPM and we made it to Blake Island State Park in about 40 minutes.

They have 30 minute docks and overnight moorage. We pulled up to the 30 minute dock and walked around a little bit. We checked out Tillicum Village and then we had lunch on the boat. Of course, I had to get my photo with my Cougar flag (I do this in every new city).

Soon, the park ranger came knocking on our door - we had stayed too long.  By now the winds had shifted slightly and as we returned back, we had to close up all of the cockpit, as we were getting sprayed everywhere.

By the time we got back to Elliott Bay, the winds were fairly strong from the north, at about 12 mph. We headed to the fuel dock and twice, the winds pushed us off of the dock. The staff at the fuel dock was super helpful and on the third approach we nailed it. It didn't help that a 70' yacht was sharing the same fuel dock! LOL

I'm always a bit nervous doing the "S Turn" back to our slip between 3 yachts, especially in the wind, but Scott did an amazing job.  We still don't have a slip mate yet on our starboard side and so we have a bit of "room" when docking. This time, the northerly winds pushed us right into our side of the dock and he did great! We wouldn't have even hit them if they were there. LOL  Mac was happy the ride was over too. It was a bit too bumpy for him! As you can see by the photo of the cabin - things went flying! Lesson learned - secure everything!

We then spent the next two hours cleaning all of the salt water off of the boat! It was a mess! We couldn't see a thing out of any of the windows!

The best thing we love about boating, is relaxing after a fun day, in the sun with gorgeous surroundings! This weekend, we had a new yacht neighbor join us "Invader". It is one of the largest yachts in North America at 164' and it is owned by a media mogul.

We ended the day grilling steaks on our new Magma grill - it works perfect for us! Mac surely was tuckered out too.  Another thing we learned about the boat this weekend, is how fast we go thru water. I was prepping dinner, when I heard the water pump - we were nearly bone dry! We have an antibacterial hose that we use to fill the water tanks directly from our dock.

After dinner, we strolled to the west end of the marina to take in the sunset - Elliott Bay really is a beautiful place.  Unfortunately, for the month of June we won't get to spend much time on the boat, as we have trips or commitments. We will try and squeeze in a night towards the end of the month - but will definitely use it a lot in July and August. Until then........

#KokomoSeattle