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In the beginning

Moving in to our new boat

Posted on by Tim

It has been a busy past few days. We were out on Orcas Island when the paperwork on the new sailboat was starting to pour in. Documents needed to be printed, signed, and the boat still needed to be paid for. And we really did not want to extend this whole closing process even a single hour, so we jumped on a mid-day ferry and got back to the mainland – mostly to get to a bank to wire the funds. Two days later we received the title. The boat was 100% ours with no way for it to fall through anymore.

We rushed to Bellingham – after a visit to a Walmart to pickup cleaning supplies – and got straight to the job of scrubbing and wiping ever surface. Literally, every single shelf, panel, wall, ceiling, nook and cranny needed to be wiped down with vinegar to clean up the little bit of mold that had already collected in the boat. Kerri went to town on it, crawling into every space imaginable – and new areas we just found – to ensure no alien life forms existed before we moved in.

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In the beginning

Survey day

Posted on by Tim

After our original offer was accepted by the sellers, the next step was to schedule a survey (inspection) and sea-trial (test drive). It was at this point that we realized that the Puget Sound is full of sailboats… many needing surveys. It was a three-week wait to get a survey scheduled, but we did get it scheduled with our top-choice surveyor. And as it turns out, he had inspected this very boat only two years prior, so he would know it better than most. The three week wait was excruciating, but we somehow made it, barely.

Finally, the big day has come and gone. Survey day, where the boat gets a full inspection inside and out (and the diesel motor too) so we know of any and all issues with it before we move forward with a purchase. We were told to be in attendance for this, not only because we want to be onboard if/when they find anything, but part of the inspection is to take the boat out on the water and raise the sails. It started bright and early at 8:30 with the engine surveyor having already pulled the cover and started his inspection. During this time we could not access the cabin of the boat, so Kerri and I hung out on the deck up top talking with the brokers and just trying to soak things in a bit more. But, for the most part of these early hours it was a whole lot of sitting around while the inspectors did their jobs.

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In the beginning

Getting another look at the Baba

Posted on by Tim

We both had so many questions about our [possibly] new boat, so we scheduled another date to get on-board and take a closer look at everything. We spent hours on the Baba, opening every hatch and sticking out heads in as far as we could. We wanted to see the condition of the wiring, plumbing, and possible leaky points. We also wanted to get some questions answered from the seller’s broker who also attended for a period. He was also nice enough to start up the motor for us and left us alone to poke around even more. In the end we were feeling much more comfortable with our choice. Everything was in great condition, especially for a 40 year old boat.

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In the beginning

How it all began

Posted on by Tim

This all started a couple years back. Following an evening watching a documentary about a teenage girl sailing around the world (solo I might add), Kerri and I found that we both had a liking to life aboard a sailboat. We talked about it for weeks following that night and decided that we would aim to start sailing a few years down the road, after we finished off our land-based travel plans of 2017 ad 2018, of course.

The plans to start sailing was never firmly scheduled. We were hoping to start looking at boats some time in 2019, and spend a year looking and learning. We occasionally discuss our future in a boat, but never took any real steps forward on the plan other than putting money aside for that fateful day and informing our loved ones of the plans to be. The Mom’s were not too pleased by the idea, but accepted it, although I believe both secretly hoped we would forget the whole idea.

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