California newbies - PNW or bust.

[Fredp]

I was on a 40 something GB last summer that the aft cabin did not impress me that much. I like the 49' Defever mid cabin lay out. Somehow the aft cabin seems to cuts the aft deck off from the rest of the boat. Some of us like blonds and others like red heads.

Fred P...............

 

[Pau Hana]

Two of your must haves I have to wonder about for a NW boat. An aft cabin: You can not see aft from a lower helm with and aft cabin. Many aft cabins become hall ways to get to the aft deck and way to many steps up and down. Aft cabins cut down on the size of the rear deck. When you get to a 45 to 50 foot boat forward and or lower mid cabins have lots of room. I see no need for AC in a NW boat. On the hottest days I don't think we have seen anything over 75* if that in the boat.

Fred P...........

I must respectfully disagree with your comments, Fred.

Aft cabin- the visibility from the lower helm is somewhat restricted, but no worse than most pilothouse models. The trade off is completely worth it- and no vertical ladders to deal with. Also, we'd rather have an aft cabin with direct access to the cockpit (think exit) than a centerline master with no way out in case of emergency.

A/C is not needed, but is a nice addition and most welcome when it's hot outside!

 

[MVDarlin]

Canadians have been dumping raw municipal sewage in these waters for decades. Seems ridiculous to be concerned with the output of a few recreational boaters.

 

[MVDarlin]

I have an aft cabin with flush deck above. Wonderful readind, relaxing and sleeping quarters and at the opposite end of the guest berth forward. Only downside is landing fish. I just coax them amidship and use a long handle net.

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

Aft cabin- the visibility from the lower helm is somewhat restricted, but no worse than most pilothouse models. The trade off is completely worth it- and no vertical ladders to deal with. Also, we'd rather have an aft cabin with direct access to the cockpit (think exit) than a centerline master with no way out in case of emergency.

Visibility to the aft is restricted on almost any larger boat. a CPMY , sportfisher or trawler all have restricted sightlines aft. How many people can actually see the swimstep when operating the boat? That's the reason for rear facing cameras, aft stations and my favorite a Yacht controller. We stern into our slip and knowing where the swimstep is relative to the dock is vital information...

Also agree that an egress from the aft stateroom is a good thing to have..

 

[Gbonas]

Welcome

Good luck on your new adventure. We too are from SoCal. We found our boat in Bellingham three years ago and accidentally discovered the Pnw. We have left Stormy there and have enjoyed cruising this beautiful area. We started the first season in the San Juan's second season north to Desolation Sound and last year after retiring did a 4month cruise to Alaska. The admiral was nervous about Alaska on our own so we opted for a flotilla with a group of 10 boats lead by Sam Landsman on Safe Harbor. Group was together for 5 weeks then on our own for the last 10 weeks. Trip was great. As for learning stuff, Orange Coast College has an awesome mariners program with classes on everything from diesel mechanics to navigation. Good luck on finding the right boat. Btw...we have a reverse air heater/AC? The only time we have used ac was our last day in Alaska. Heater is a must. Wish we had diesel heat.

 

[ksanders]

A week ago I spoke about slip availability with a very helpful lady at Cap Sante marina, Anacortes.
They had two 57' immediate openings on E dock.
She also said that for liveaboard they're only up to 15% capacity. (100 permitted) I was surprised to hear that. For a well established marina of 90 years, that 15% seemed very low.
Their liveaboard qualifying criteria, however, seemed much more discriminating than other marina guidelines I've seen. We kinda like that. They do criminal background checks. Fine with me.

If I had to pick a liveaboard friendly marina, and town Cap Sante in Anacortes gets my vote big time.

I like the small town feel, and really love that Safeway is right across the street.

 

[drb1025]

Btw...we have a reverse air heater/AC? The only time we have used ac was our last day in Alaska. Heater is a must. Wish we had diesel heat.

How well did your reverse cycle heat work on your trip? Was it able to produce sufficient heat in the cooler water?

 

[koliver]

Just don't detour to Victoria. Currently they dump about 90 million litres per day of untreated sewage into the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Yucck

Sounds worse than it is, though. The pop of Greater Victoria is 350k. Each person uses an average of 300l of water per day, for all purposes. This includes everything you can think of, from toilets to showers to car washing, to dish washing, etc, etc, you get the drift. All of that goes down the drain, and into Juan de Fuca. the outfall is way out and down deep, so there hasn't been a lot of evidence of this dumping reach any beaches, surface, or any place that detection would get into the news. This has been going on so long, with so little notice, that it has taken decades to motivate the city and get them to put in a treatment plant. They have done so and it is now building, with the latest news being its choice for a new outfall.

So don't think of your holding tank contents when you compare to what comes out of the Juan de Fuca outfall.

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

Yucck

Sounds worse than it is, though. The pop of Greater Victoria is 350k. Each person uses an average of 300l of water per day, for all purposes. This includes everything you can think of, from toilets to showers to car washing, to dish washing, etc, etc, you get the drift. All of that goes down the drain, and into Juan de Fuca. the outfall is way out and down deep, so there hasn't been a lot of evidence of this dumping reach any beaches, surface, or any place that detection would get into the news. This has been going on so long, with so little notice, that it has taken decades to motivate the city and get them to put in a treatment plant. They have done so and it is now building, with the latest news being its choice for a new outfall.

So don't think of your holding tank contents when you compare to what comes out of the Juan de Fuca outfall.

So 2 people on a boat vs 350,000 (diluted) on land, please explain that logic.... or perhaps if a boater dumps their grey water and black water tanks at the same time it's not as bad?

 

[Gbonas]

How well did your reverse cycle heat work on your trip? Was it able to produce sufficient heat in the cooler water?

Had no problems heating

 

[Nightsky]

We live on board, and we have at slip pump out. We empty the holding tank once a week. We have vacuflush heads and I calculate that we generate about 5 gallons a day for the holding holding tank. probably less if I didn't like seven seas brewery so much...

If it's yellow, let it mellow.

 

[Nightsky]

Just don't detour to Victoria. Currently they dump about 90 million litres per day of untreated sewage into the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

One of those inconvenient truths, much to Victoria's shame.

 

[Jbear]

Gustavo, just read your post and congrats on your decision. I live in Anacortes for the very reason you mentioned initially. Also, my wife and I have lived on board for about a year and a half in Cap Sante marina here. A couple of our experiences:
Getting rid of stuff- just be careful to not over do it as you may want it later.
A 50' ish boat may limit certain things. A 42' is a bit more doable as far as slips and such.
It does get nasty in the winter. I just went to the boat yesterday and the last storm blew stuff all over the place. But having an open bridge in the summer is required for us so we can have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down.
Enjoy, it is a beautiful place up here!
Jeff

 

[GANDK2PNW]

Gustavo, just read your post and congrats on your decision. I live in Anacortes for the very reason you mentioned initially. Also, my wife and I have lived on board for about a year and a half in Cap Sante marina here. A couple of our experiences:
Getting rid of stuff- just be careful to not over do it as you may want it later.
A 50' ish boat may limit certain things. A 42' is a bit more doable as far as slips and such.
It does get nasty in the winter. I just went to the boat yesterday and the last storm blew stuff all over the place. But having an open bridge in the summer is required for us so we can have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down.
Enjoy, it is a beautiful place up here!
Jeff

Thank you, Jeff
Short of a massive earthquake or tsunami, I think most challenges mother nature can throw at us can be dealt with some prudence and careful planning. I'm a boyscout at heart, must be prepared at all times
Besides Cap Sante, we are also looking a Semiahmoo marina. A lot will depend on my wife's future work location, schedule and liveaboard slip availability, of course. To run our biz, I just need good wifi, reliable cell reception and a small corner to do puter work.
Getting rid of or trading land stuff for marine needs is seen as a huge relief. If we find ourselves regretting the shedding of those posessions, we can always get more, right? After all, it's just STUFF...
What else can you tell me about life at Cap Sante?

 

[dhays]

Thank you, Jeff
Short of a massive earthquake or tsunami, I think most challenges mother nature can throw at us can be dealt with some prudence and careful planning. I'm a boyscout at heart, must be prepared at all times
Besides Cap Sante, we are also looking a Semiahmoo marina. A lot will depend on my wife's future work location, schedule and liveaboard slip availability, of course. To run our biz, I just need good wifi, reliable cell reception and a small corner to do puter work.
Getting rid of or trading land stuff for marine needs is seen as a huge relief. If we find ourselves regretting the shedding of those posessions, we can always get more, right? After all, it's just STUFF...
What else can you tell me about life at Cap Sante?

Semiahmoo has the advantage of being pretty reasonably priced from my own recollection. The disadvantage imo is its location. It is pretty remote, which may or may not be an advantage. While the marina itself is pretty sheltered, that area gets some rather unpleasant winter weather in general. Finally, to leave by boat, there is no choice but to deal with the wether in the southern end of Georgia Strait. There are plenty of times where this could keep you in port even if there are decent conditions elsewhere. Annacortes has a bit better weather, gives you several directions you can go when leaving by boat and isn't as isolated. Again, Semiahmoo is less expensive and would be a nice place to base from in the nice weather months if you wanted to cruise North but...

 

[Russell Clifton]

Cap Sante is the nicest marina in the area. All new wide cement docks a few years ago. Your a block away from the main street of Anacortes. Within easy walking distance of everything, marine parts, auto parts, hardware stores, grocery stores, fast food joints, restaurants, pharmacists, etc. Lot's of marine repair business in the area.
You are about 30 minutes from Interstate 5, and about 2-3 hours from the heart of the San Juan's ( in a 7 kt. boat) It can be a little windy as it is exposed to the south east and that is where the prevailing winds come from in the winter months.
You can read about there live aboard rules on their web site. I noticed they have a requirement that you have a $1,000,000, liability policy, so that may be a game changer.

 

[Ken E.]

Semiahmoo has the advantage of being pretty reasonably priced from my own recollection. The disadvantage imo is its location. It is pretty remote, which may or may not be an advantage. While the marina itself is pretty sheltered, that area gets some rather unpleasant winter weather in general. Finally, to leave by boat, there is no choice but to deal with the wether in the southern end of Georgia Strait. There are plenty of times where this could keep you in port even if there are decent conditions elsewhere. Annacortes has a bit better weather, gives you several directions you can go when leaving by boat and isn't as isolated. Again, Semiahmoo is less expensive and would be a nice place to base from in the nice weather months if you wanted to cruise North but...

I live and keep my boat in Bellingham, which is close to the marinas you are considering. Dhays' comments are accurate on Semiahmoo, which is a resort / condo development. There is no protection in and out of there, as mentioned. On days where there's strong southerly or westerly wind, you're dealing with miles of wind fetch and pretty big seas. There also are no stores nearby, except for a small convenience store and gift shop. If you like that general area, Blaine harbor is just across the channel and is closer to grocery and other stores. The Blaine docks are run by Port of Bellingham and typically have much better slip availability than Bellingham itself. The Anacortes / Cap Sante location may be your best alternative IMO, all things considered.

 

[Jbear]

We continue to pay a premium for Cap Sante for several reasons. They have open docks meaning friends can swing by without hassle of a locked gate. We have never had any security issues in the 8 years being moored there. They installed a good security system and wifi a couple of years ago. I was able to setup a router on my boat and deliver wifi to all of my devices. Of course I'm an IT guy and I know Anthony, the ports IT guy! Ha ha. I really love having the stern pointing west, it keeps most winter storms on the bow and the summer sunsets are incredible. The marina is run by Brad now. Heck of a guy and he knows boaters, keeps things going well. We weren't fans of the laundry facility but they did make some changes. It is open to the public and sometimes there are folks that arent boaters using the facilities. I don't have an issue as long as they are left clean. Like I said, I know Brad has made some changes. We moved off last Spring but I really miss living aboard. It was so much fun.
Jeff

 

[Jbear]

Oh, one other thing! There is a venue right at Cap Sante and they have live bands throughout the summer. Different styles but super fun taking a dinghy over or just listening from the bridge of your own boat!

 

[GANDK2PNW]

Semiahmoo has the advantage of being pretty reasonably priced from my own recollection. The disadvantage imo is its location. It is pretty remote, which may or may not be an advantage. While the marina itself is pretty sheltered, that area gets some rather unpleasant winter weather in general. Finally, to leave by boat, there is no choice but to deal with the wether in the southern end of Georgia Strait. There are plenty of times where this could keep you in port even if there are decent conditions elsewhere. Annacortes has a bit better weather, gives you several directions you can go when leaving by boat and isn't as isolated. Again, Semiahmoo is less expensive and would be a nice place to base from in the nice weather months if you wanted to cruise North but...

Thank you, Dave
I noticed the pricing difference between the 2 marinas...pretty significant when you annualize it (US$3-4K)
As for the weather, does 61.9 land miles between Anacortes and Blaine make such a difference in regards to weather pattern?
I like the idea of being further from Seattle, but not closer to Vancouver, lol.
And now that I learned how much raw caca Victoria dumps on the Strait of Fuca, I'd not mind putting some distance from it.

 

[Bob Cofer]

As for the weather, does 61.9 land miles between Anacortes and Blaine make such a difference in regards to weather pattern? It absolutely does! You can and will be stuck at the dock while the rest of the marinas in the area are accessible.

I like the idea of being further from Seattle, but not closer to Vancouver, lol.
And now that I learned how much raw caca Victoria dumps on the Strait of Fuca, I'd not mind putting some distance from it. The outfall at Victoria is so far out and deep that you would be hard pressed to notice anything.

Cap Sante is absolutely the best place to go.

 

[BandB]

We continue to pay a premium for Cap Sante for several reasons. They have open docks meaning friends can swing by without hassle of a locked gate. We have never had any security issues in the 8 years being moored there. They installed a good security system and wifi a couple of years ago. I was able to setup a router on my boat and deliver wifi to all of my devices. Of course I'm an IT guy and I know Anthony, the ports IT guy! Ha ha. I really love having the stern pointing west, it keeps most winter storms on the bow and the summer sunsets are incredible. The marina is run by Brad now. Heck of a guy and he knows boaters, keeps things going well. We weren't fans of the laundry facility but they did make some changes. It is open to the public and sometimes there are folks that arent boaters using the facilities. I don't have an issue as long as they are left clean. Like I said, I know Brad has made some changes. We moved off last Spring but I really miss living aboard. It was so much fun.
Jeff

We only were there briefly in 2014, but one reason we liked Cap Sante was that it was in a hotbed of boating knowledge. That is a benefit very hard to measure, but when you have some problems, it's sure nice to find expertise quickly.

 

[ktdtx]

I would check and recheck any discussion wrt Cap Sante slip availability. I tried to get one for the winter and was told (more than once) there was a waiting list and no hope of one before at least the first of the year.

As a result boat is on land, shrink wrapped and probably worked out best for me.

 

[GANDK2PNW]

We only were there briefly in 2014, but one reason we liked Cap Sante was that it was in a hotbed of boating knowledge. That is a benefit very hard to measure, but when you have some problems, it's sure nice to find expertise quickly.

Yes. I noticed that Cap Sante offers a ton of boating services, and the knowledge that comes with it. That's a priceless perspective to consider. Thank you!

 

[dhays]

Another advantage to Annacortes is that it is an easy and sheltered run down the Swinnomish channel and then all of Puget Sound opens up to you. You can make that trip pretty easily under most weather conditions.

 

[Jbear]

When the fog comes in it is usually on the South end. Then you just go North up to Sucia or something. It does pile up in the Deception Pass area during the summer months. Radar is very handy up here with the transient fog banks. Going down the Swinomish is fun especially if you are stopping in La Connor. They just re built most of the city docks and there is now a great boardwalk along the water. Good fun sitting on your flybridge and chatting with passerby. You do need to fend off some debris coming down the channel once in awhile. Though it's entertaining. Ha

 

[GANDK2PNW]

Another advantage to Annacortes is that it is an easy and sheltered run down the Swinnomish channel and then all of Puget Sound opens up to you. You can make that trip pretty easily under most weather conditions.

As of right now, we see ourselves cruising north to BC or west of the Orcas from Anacortes.
I know the Puget sound has some beautiful waters to visit, but the traffic density seems much higher with commercial, private and even military traffic.

 

[GANDK2PNW]

I would check and recheck any discussion wrt Cap Sante slip availability. I tried to get one for the winter and was told (more than once) there was a waiting list and no hope of one before at least the first of the year.

As a result boat is on land, shrink wrapped and probably worked out best for me.

They had two 56' slips available on E dock when I called a couple weeks ago. She said it's a first come first serve policy, so I imagine availability changes throughout the seasons.
Their liability insurance requirements are high (1.0 mill) and she also assured me their background checks are comprehensive for liveaboards. Neither of those are a problem for us.

 

[dhays]

As of right now, we see ourselves cruising north to BC or west of the Orcas from Anacortes.
I know the Puget sound has some beautiful waters to visit, but the traffic density seems much higher with commercial, private and even military traffic.

True, it can be pretty busy during the warm months, but you can have most places to yourself in the winter.