Where to start??????????

[Boulton20]

Hello,
I/we, are a married couple of 27 years. When we got married we both had visions of cruising the inside passage, at the time this was veiwed as an unacheivable dream. For some time the topic never surfaced and as with everyone, life happened. But recently, the topic has bubbled to the surface and apperently some embers were still hot! This dream is now acheivable!
We are no strangers to the water, having both of us born and raised on Puget Sound. We have had boats our whole adult life, me I,ve had a boat since the age of 8, a 12' John boat with a 1.5 HP Gamefisher outboard, Hood Canal was mine to explore. Granted, a 12' boat and 1.5 hp outboard, didn't get me very far. But non the less, it was a grand childhood! We currently own a 20' Boulton, that we fish, crab, sightsee and just generaly enjoy today.
Well anyway, lets talk about today. We are 5-6 years out from retirement and would like to own the boat for a couple of years,before retirement. To get use to operating it, maintaining it and just what it takes to own a boat of larger size. We are now just starting the search for a boat, that we can take for a trip into the B.C. coastline for extented periods. So I found this forum, as a hope to use as a resource. And to take advantage of the knowledge, here!

[menzies]

Welcome aboard,

Where exactly is E-Burg?

[Boulton20]

Ellensburg, WA

[GregBrannon]

Welcome, and you already have a great start! Now look at lots of boats together and decide your requirements for the planned use. The right boat will find you.

Greg.

[FlyWright]

You're exactly where I was in 2007 when I bought my 1977 34 LRC Californian. I wanted a bit of pre-retirement time with the boat to make sure it was the right boat for me and for the chance to 'make it mine' while I still had 'disposable' income. (There is no such thing!) That plan worked out very well for me.

There's a lot to learn but you've landed on a great site with very knowledgeable and helpful folks. Enjoy the hunt the the just-right boat, read lots of threads and ask away!

Welcome aboard and please keep us posted.

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

[O C Diver]

Welcome aboard! I think you have a great plan. Before worrying about what to buy, I would suggest chartering a couple of times. Maybe even consider some instruction on boats of the size you are interested in, while you charter.

Ted

[Boulton20]

Thanks!

[sunchaser]

Originally Posted by Boulton20

Ellensburg, WA

A very nice place and out of the Seattle craziness. You'll get plenty of advice here, enjoy the journey.

[DDW]

In Puget sound, maybe the way to start is to put your name onto two or three or five marinas waiting lists. Then in three or four years you will only have a couple of more years to wait for a slip.


I'm semi serious about that, it costs usually little or nothing to be on the lists, but a major PITA to have a boat and no where to keep it except 70 miles away.

[Spinner]

Welcome! (And I know e’burg!). I second the suggestion to take advantage of boating education while you are in the boat searching mode.

If your goal is the Inside Passage, that’s a very do-able trip on a properly equipped 30 foot or smaller boat. I bought my first boat two years before retirement, and decided I would cruise to Alaska in five years. I bought a second boat, two feet longer, and made the trip in comfort and safety. It’s all about the weather and not operating on a schedule.

Don’t be misled: The boat in my avatar picture is boat #3; I went to Alaska on a 31 foot boat :-D

You can pm me if you would like to talk!

[Bacchus]

Kris
Welcome aboard TF. You have already met a few but most here are are helpful, knowledgeable folks.
Your plan sounds like a great starting point for adventures.
I will give you my standard answer I give most in your situation.
Write down...
Your anticipated cruising style
Your Musts, Wants & Dont Wants
Have your First Mate, Admiral, SO do the same (separately) then, compare, compromise ( do it her way!) and combine the lists.
Look at as many boats as possible and talk to as many owners as possible about their style, what works well for them and what they would do differently if doing it over.
Make the search fun vs a chore!
Chartering something similar can be a great learning experience and a means to possibly buy your second boat first time. US power Squadrons now known as Americas Boating Club offer some very well done courses, some with on the water components.
Boat Search 101 is a great place to start.
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/...ad.php?t=14905
We are a couple that likes to cruise and have what we consider our perfect 2 person boat. More about how we have personalized it on our Bacchus website in my signature.
Enjoy the search and adventures.

[ktdtx]

You are where we were 8-9 years ago except you are right in the center of where you need to be to look at the boats. We had to make numerous trips to look at boats and the boating environment on the Gulf Coast is a lot different than the PNW.
You have access to the boats equipped to cruise the area and you have some experience with the tides, currents, weather patterns, etc.


Enjoy the whole process and the trips up & down the Inside Passage are Great.


We chartered with Desolation Sound Yacht Charters and had a good experience. I believe they opened another location north of Comox in the last few years. I think Anacortes Yacht Charters does a good job too. Also--there is a charter business in Powell River that someone we met spoke highly of.


Have Fun--it's a Great Trip and the preparation is fun too.

[Baker]

I'll give my standard answer....

The Dream............................................. ..........Reality.

The closer those two things are the more successful your boat shopping/purchase will be.

Examples of the dream: umbrella drinks...sunsets...sunrises...fun with friends....etc.
Examples of reality: TIME...kids...gandkids...FINANCES...TIME...family. ..SPOUSAL NEEDS....etc.

The vast separation of those two concepts is the reason why boats sit unused at marinas. The woners thought they were going to use a boat a certain way....then realized they were wrong.....so the boat sits.

[Swfla]

Welcome to the dream. A couple of thoughts for you. There are charters/lessons available in the Puget Sound. They can include "classroom"/virtual type instruction along with hands on learning during the lessons. This gets you up to speed on what to expect and how to handle a larger boat. It also exposes you to a particular model. Once you've passed a similar course, it's easier to rent/charter other models of boat. Cheers.

[ScottC]

Welcome!
I think you are doing absolutely the right thing by acquiring your retirement dream boat well before retiring. It takes time to learn all about it and get it fitted out with everything you want before embarking on your retirement dream cruise(s). It had been our plan for decades to acquire a boat and cruise extensively in retirement. Then the boat popped into the picture about 7 years before retirement -- somewhat by accident. Looking back, I'm so glad it happened that way, as it took most of that time prepare for retirement cruising.
Good luck with your boat search!

[Waterford]

Trawlerfest is a good place to kick tires and take some classes. It was rescheduled from the spring to November. I have no idea if it will actually happen. https://www.passagemaker.com/trawler...t-seattle-2020

Of course, Boat Show University offers some good classes during the Seattle Boat Show in January.

If you find particular brands/models you are interested in, I suggest you look online for the owners' group. You can often get good feedback there.

See you on the water!

[RonR]

WELCOME! I would get out and about if your able. Take a trip over to Banana belt boats in Anacortes WA. This will give you an opportunity to walk about many different boats all at one time. And once you finish up, go across the street to another broker and view all the boats they have. All are on land, and have easy access. I have no affiliation with the brokers, it was just a good spot to go to see a lot of boats in one day. We figured out early on that a few models we loved in pictures were just not going to work for us in reality. Right now we can afford a big fuel bill, but can not take a lot of vacation time. So we ended up going with a sport fisher for now.
When we first got started I was really interested in the CHB line. Then we fell in love with a nice Californian that a fellow member here ended up with. I was sitting at the helm of the big Californian and I realized I was way over my head in the skills needed to safely operate something that big, as our last big boat was only 24'. So we opted for a smaller boat at 1/2 the price. We figure we would use it for two years, get accustom to the size. And if we used it as much as we thought we would we would then visit the idea of something bigger. Were a year in, the boat size is no problem now, and we are kind of looking again for something larger. As we have put on about 150 hours in the 11 months we have owned it, and are out most every weekend, and stay on it at the slip 1-2 times a week.

The others here are correct when it comes to a place to put a boat in the PNW. Wait list in Everett very from 1 year for under 30' to 3 years for 50'+. We ended up buying a boat with a transferable covered slip in Everett. It was well worth it. Currently we have a 36' covered slip and I am on the wait list for a larger covered slip as I know by the time I am ready to buy the bigger boat, I'm going to need a place to put it!

[Boulton20]

Thanks for all the insight and advise! Some of this advise we have already taken, we have an appiontment with BananaBelt Boats in Anacortes, to kick some tires. Hopefully after this trip we will have a better idea about the size we will want. Then as some have stated, get on a waiting list for moorage. Again thank you for the warm welcome and advise....