Boats, boats and more boats
Joe has always been a boat and water guy. When I met him he had a ski boat and spent his free moments either waterskiing or on a bike. When life got real with kids, work … the ski boat was replaced with kayaks, an occasional fishing trip and vacations that revolved around an ocean or a lake. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent a good part of my childhood on or near the water, not hard to do up there; something about being on the water has always felt like home to both of us for one reason or another. Our new property already feels like somewhere we should be, which is a good thing.
We are making a lot of progress on the house but the stage we are at right now doesn’t translate that well in pictures so I thought I would mention our other floating house and Joe’s collection of boats which all make perfect sense in the PNW. Before we decided to make the move we were looking for a “fire escape”, somewhere to go when we had to leave as well as somewhere we wanted to spend some time. A property on the water in California wasn’t going to happen so we opted for the water version of an RV - a 42’ 1988 Kady Krogen Motor Yacht.
The word yacht just sounds pretentious but it’s really just another word for a big boat and in general the older classic boats are not that expensive, most less than a decked out Sprinter van. After looking for quite a while we found one in overall great shape, ocean worthy ( for Joe, I stick to the inland waters) and with an interior that was workable. We were able to find a slip in San Rafael with beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay, the best deal around when it comes to waterfront and just over an hour from Calistoga, without traffic. We acquired “Commune” just a few weeks before we unfortunately needed to escape the Glass Fire and spent 2 weeks testing our “escape plan” with 2 big dogs, a teenager and a guinea pig on board - definitely tight and stressful at times but it actually worked. Since then, the boat has been a good quick escape and a nice place to be even if we don’t leave the marina.
Joe plans on driving the boat with a captain from San Rafael to Liberty Bay in Poulsbo sometime this next Fall where it will be moored, for less than half of what it costs in CA; a very picturesque little town on a sheltered bay - portofpoulsbo.com. He’s also currently working on getting a permit for a mooring buoy just off of our beach so “Commune” and “The Rat Fish” can be out in front when the weather is good.
Now for “The Rat Fish”. Really the only treasure, of any value, we were left with from the previous owner was a Stabicraft aluminum fishing boat. Joe has been very excited about this boat - it was the one negotiation we had in the sale and it turns out the boat was bought new as a gift and only used once. Stabicraft are apparently badass little fishing boats made in New Zealand to handle big water - I’m sure Joe will spend many hours on the Sound in that boat, hopefully in calm water but a safe bet if not so calm. The old owner painted it to look like the Spotted Ratfish that lives in the Pacific Northwest and is only seen at night by divers, hence the name. As cute as it is, it’s going to get stripped back to it’s original aluminum.
Then there are the kayaks, a canoe, a dingy and a commercial Salmon boat that “we” are part of. I’m sure all will get used regularly once we settle in up there; I may rarely see Joe but at least there will be plenty of fish to eat. Next time more on the
progress….