Getting ready to cruise! ...3 days to go...?

Lots to do! Someone asked me, What do you do to prepare to cruise and live on a boat for such a long time? Well, I will try to answer as best I can. Living on the boat for the summer has given us an idea of what to expect in some ways. First, storage space is good for the summer, but then, we have a car to hop into whenever we need to run to the store or to run home for something. That is about to change! So stocking and storing things for living is the name of my game. The galley (kitchen) is stocked with most of the things we would have at home just in a smaller scale ie. pots and pans (just cooking for 2 now) gone are all the BIG over sized cooking items. I have a feeling that the crock pot is about to be my best friend! Yes, there is a stove top (3 small burners) and an oven (sort off)convection still figuring that out. I must say I am loving my toaster oven. And anyone one who knows me knows, the real workhorse on the boat is the coffee maker. The fridge well .....we have one, smallish re fridge, boat fridges are not known to keep things REALLY cold but the freezer does, so we deal with it. Anyway the galley is usable and once you get use to it, its very doable. Though 3 months ago I felt differently. It works! We have 2 berths (bedrooms) the master has a walk around Queen size bed, a real luxury! The 2nd berth, well we have one, small, but great storage. Another luxury on a boat is 2 heads, (bathrooms) both en suite. A very large salon (livingroom) with lots of storage and a dinette table and seating for 4. This boat is considered very livable.

The sundeck has proven to be most enjoyable, there we have room for a table and chairs it has a grill where I will do most cooking, and a very large cooler in which holds all our beverages.

When underway the bridge is where we are, there we have a great view comfortable seating alot of electronics (which Jim has upgraded and been installing things for the last 2 weeks.) He has upgraded the stereo system along with new speakers. He changed out the Sirius for XM that is compatible with the new electronics which also receives XM marine weather via an updated chart plotter with built-in electronic maps for all the US and the Bahamas. This will make cruising safer.

At home (one of the few things we haven't sold) Ashley and I have been downsizing alot of our STUFF selling what we can and donating the rest. We have Sold Jims beloved truck the camper and the basstracker so the driveways has less in it now as does the house. And Ashley can feel safer with the new security system. Thankfully, we have someone to take care of the house and dog which could of been a real problem. And luckily we have some great neighbors and friends to keep and eye on things as well. So yes we have been real busy!

Summer in New England is over!

Its been a great summer in beautiful Westport Harbour! We have met alot of great people and learned ALOT. We've gotten alot of hands on experience on trips to Block Island, made a couple of trips up the Sakonnet River and down into Newport RI. and had quite the learning experience on our trip to P-town. We have had great travel companions and boat buddies on our extended trips. I would like to thank all our dockmates for sharing their many years of boating experience, their help with lines when coming into dock, their thoughts on mechanical issues and some just plain dumb questions that slipped past our brains. The trips out on "JustChillin" and "LuckyStrike" for ice cream in the Vineyard, lunch at the BoatHouse or a cruise through Battleship Cove. And especially the friendships made though out our summer in Westport. A special thank you to Maria and Fred for taking us under their wings at the start and making us feel apart of the E Dock family. Fred?.........gotta love ya! Never found out what your nicknames for us were but we are probably better off. Thanks to Cindy and AL for always being there to share a bottle of wine and stories of our travel adventures thoughout the summer. Thanks to Happy Bob and Deb for the sharing of yourselves, your home and your MUSIC! It really was a great summer and we enjoyed everyones company.

Been training with capt Bevis at our home port, BUT to day we bought her to the fuel dock (200gals) and spent 2 hours running off Westport in 5 to 6 footers. Lots of fun hitting it from every direction, she likes 16 knots cutting the waves with a smooth ride. Tomorrow it's off to Marthas Vineyard for our first over night.

Sweet Pea at her new home LOTS of cleaning!!

Survey

Just received the survey, all went well. Nothing unforseen came up. We should own her next week.

Just got the call!!

Just got the call our offer was accepted on a 44' Tollycraft MY cockpit. She will have new yanmar 370's, new fuel tanks and lots more. Setting up the survey (which will be at my home marina) how nice is that!

Finding our "perfect loop boat"

Well it happened the right boat now does not elude us any longer. We have been searching for our loop boat for 6 months now and after many compromises on size, layout and cost we have decided that there is no such thing as the perfect boat. We like the layout of the new 43 mainship with the kitchen down but not the cost. We had been kinda set on a Mainship but have broadened our search to other boats and this opens up a whole new world of styles and choices.

So what is it that we are looking for in the "perfect loop boat" below is the wifes list....
2 berths mainly because extra storage
lots of lockers again storage issue
galley down we like that set up (separation from salon)
full size fridge with freezer
large salon open with lots of windows
lower helm
bridge with more than 1 pedestal seat but seating for at least 6
outdoor cooking station
cockpit for easier access both getting on and off as well as ease of docking
railed walk around deck
queen size bed (we are both 6' tall)
at least 1 head that we don't have to squeeze into 2 heads would be nice but not a deal breaker
room for at least 1 comfortable chair as well as a couch
no carpeting
fully enclosed upper helm a must, enclosed cockpit would be nice (canvas)
side doors at least 1 -2 would be great again access issue
minimal stairs and NO ladders to bridge and no ladders to swim plattform ie cockpit
low fuel use ideal 2 gallon/hour at 8 kts (lower fuel costs)
air conditoning and heat
a blue hull would be nice (they are so pretty)
And most important.....one door I can slam!



The captains wish list.....
lots of electronics up to date
single screw with thrusters or twin screw
Large engine room (storage and I need to be able to work in there!)
generator 9KW or larger
auto pilot
low hours on engine
fuel polishing system
solar panel would be very nice
4'draft or less
windlass
under 16' air draft
bridge enclosure (canvas)
plenty of storage for tool and parts
trawler style no go fast boats

In the end we got most of the things on our wish lists and a few not on our list. Keep an open mind! We were completely set on a new mainship 43 but could not find one within our price range. The 39' which was doable we just couldn't live with all the cabinets blocking the windows. The 40' we liked alot but really didn't want to sit on the couch and look at the galley. In the end we looked at a Tollycraft 44 cpmy and fell in loved with it.

What we got
9KW gen set
newish chartplotter (just bought a new Garmin 4212)
twin Yanmar 370 dsl with 700hrs
full canvas (pending)
LOTS of engine room
auto pilot
kitchen down
2 heads
cockpit w/swimplatform
queen size walk around berth
deep walkways with rail
mathers controls
lower helm
sundeck w/hard top (love it)
and the start of a great adventure