Settling in Aboard

The next few days were spent just trying to get spaces sorted out for sitting and sleeping, and working out a storage plan. The dock we are on has no electricity or running water and is not connected to land. It is a tug boat dock that has been here roughly forever. The condos that were built along the shore built a dock that come out to about 10 feet from this one, but it is private and they really would have liked a bigger dock, but those darn tugs are in the way. There are 3 tugs on one side and four sailboats on the other. We have to ferry everything back and forth to shore in the dinghy. Fortunately the dinghy dock is private and has a nice shower and laundry facility which we share with about 4 other people. We haul water by the jerry jug from the dock and there are some dumpsters for the trash available there.

Morning honk fest on the tug next door. They sit and honk at each other until someone goes out and yells "beat it". Only had a couple of these events so far, but it gets light around 5 a.m. and can be kind of annoying.


There was a small apartment style refridgerator on the boat, in good shape, but 120v and not really very efficient. We had brought a nice marine 12v with us, so the other one went in the back of the car, and I worked on getting the new one installed and hooked up. We have no power at our dock, so the next drill was to wire the batteries and solar panels up and get some systems online. I tried for a few days to sell the fridge, but decided I would feel much better about just giving it to Habitat for Humanity than messing with meeting people and discussing it. The Trailer however wa another story. I bought it in Fl for $300, so listed it on craigs list. Next morning there were 4 replies all needing it. Cash is king, so at aobut 4 p.m. while the other wnnabe triler buyers were still at work, a guy showed up and gave me the cash without even looking it over. Popular item.

The boat came with a Magic Chef RV stove which had a good deal of corosion and was perhaps not the safest thing on board. I cooked coffee on it, but upon closer inspection, decided Joan was right about the stove having to go. That's why she is the Admiral and I am a lowly schwabbie.  Pulled it out and just threw it in the dumpster by the dock.

Off to Seattle to a big chandlery to look at stoves and shop for cushions. We have done enough cushions to know what we want and not need a "marine" upholsterer to come rob us at pen point. We found a foam store online and went to the showroom to try out the foam and see what they had for us. They showed us there wares, and suggested that we might want to buy fabric elsewhere and bring it in for thier seemstress, as the chain stores buyy in much greater bulk and have better prices. We went to one of the nearby franchises and found a nice re velour upholstery fabric for abuut 35% of the cost at the foam store. Of course they didn't have enough on hand, but offered to transfer some in from another store within the next couple ofr weeks. Off we went to Everett to the other store. About a 30 minute drive by car, so we got the new stuff, went back to the foam store completed our order and are eagerly awaiting our new delux cushions. You have to sit on worn out foam with a wooden base to really appreciate how uncomfortable it gets after about 5 or 10 minutes. Busy day, are we done yet?

Oh yeah, the stove. We went to the chandlery with the stoves and looked at them, and the catalogues. I really just came to look them over, but the one I liked was not on diplay, but they had some in the warehoiuse downstairs. So when it became obvious they were closing the store webought a stove and went for a ferry ride back to BI. brought the new one out to the boat. Next morning I hooked up the new stove and made some breakfast on it,,,nice.

The metal gismo on the wall to the left of the stove is our propane furnace which heats the boat nicely. We have only use it a couple of times when the temps dropped into the 40s.
Next morning when I went to the dock the maintenane guy asked me if I knew anything abnout the stove sitting by the dumpster. Sigh,,, island life requires that you take such stuff to a recycling station where the recycle $25 from you pocket into the local economy. I sold a station wagon full of metal junk at home to the recycler for $85, so I guess they haven't figured out how to handle recycling in FL yet.

The whole time we have been here we have been trying to get started registering the boat with the coastguard. Sounds like a pretty straightforward process until you try to do it. I was told that since the boat was documented in Canada. I would have to get a certificate of deletion from the canada transportation folks to prove that it was now availble for US documentation. After hours of helpful, polite bureaucrats telling me to call someone else, I realized that it was a big circle jerk and I was getting referred to people I had already spoken with. So I left a detailed message with teh next buck passer and he callled me back to let me know that the prior owner would have to provide him with a copy of the bill of sale and a written requedt for deletion along with $50. He advised me that the mail was about to go on strike and it might be a long time before mail could be relied on again.
I gave all this info to the oprior woner who happened to work in Vancouver where their office was located, and he was kind enough to go there and obtain the needed document. He mailed it on Tues. and I go check the mail every day. I hate waiting.....