Back on the Boat

New Hinged-Mast & New Paint

While the feverish pitch of working at the house was taking place, Got d’ Fever was in Port Townsend having some work done by Townsend Bay Marine.  She had her Mast repainted and a hinge added for safe passage under those low bridges.  Remember that second anchor locker project completed while in California, we can now use the second anchor line thanks to the installation of an additional deck plate/opening on the bow.  Other work at Port Townsend included refinishing the inside of the pilot-house doors; they look like new again. We also had several hair-line cracks in the fiberglass repaired, commonly caused by stress from extreme sea conditions. 

Crown-Sinnet Knott

Electrical projects included the addition of dedicated AC wall outlets and the installation of the cell-phone range extender on the Mast along with the re-installation of the wifi extender.  On March 22^nd, we drove back to the boat, our floating home. 

Fender created from four Old Lines

Time to check out the work and pay the bill - “cha ching,” oh well, at least we only have one home soaking up money.  We also purchased some new dock lines for the boat and recycled the old lines by making a spare fender, weaving together 4 lines as shown on a diagram we found on the internet.  Java’s idea of helping was lounging around and soaking up the sun – ah, home sweet, home.

Java's idea of Helping

The Fast Pace

February and March proved to be a whirlwind of activity.  With anticipation of the approaching summer boating season and the desire to discover new boating destinations, we decided to put our home on the market. 

In mid-February we began the process of getting the yard in shape, putting furniture back in place, and cleaning inside and out.  With a listing date of February 20^th we expected several weeks or even months would pass before receiving an offer.  As it turned out, we had a full-price cash offer after only four days on the market! 

According to our Realtor, the sale of our home was the fastest on record to-date from offer to closing.  We were really scrambling to complete tasks called out in the “home inspection” as well as scrambling to remove our personal belongings by the possession date of March 24th.  We managed to complete the maintenance items called out in the inspection, including the installation of a new water heater, a new garbage disposal, carbon monoxide detectors (now a requirement), and the addition of two more inches of insulation in the attic, plus a service check on the heating/air conditioning unit. 

Adding to the excitement, the blower unit in the truck installing the insulation broke down.  The workers soon returned with another truck but with the words rodent and pest control written all over the side – we joked that the neighbors must have thought we were sandwiching rodents between layers of insulation. 

Thankfully, the stucco walls on the outside of the house passed inspection; repairs to stucco walls can be extremely expensive and often required in the Pacific Northwest due to the wet climate.  Next was the mad-dash of sorting out all our personal items.  Fortunately we were able to sell our two motorcycles to Aurora Suzuki and my Z3 Roadster to Bellevue BMW. 

Furniture, décor, and dishes to be kept were packed up and put into a storage unit while other items were taken to a consignment shop.  Some furnishings were given to our sons Duane and David and other things were donated to a thrift shop – weeks of coming and going in all directions!  To save our backs and sanity, the larger and heavier furniture pieces were moved by “Two Men in a Truck” who transported them to our storage unit – great service with reasonable prices. 

But what to do with those mattresses and box springs?  Thankfully there are recycling places that will accept old mattresses and provide phone numbers for pickup services.  We were glad when everything was completed, stored, or hauled away.  We said our last goodbye’s on Friday, March 21st, walking through the house and neighborhood remembering all the good times. 

We will miss the lovely neighborhood, beautiful architectural features of the home, and water skiing on Lake Washington.  Lord knows we won’t miss the on-going, never-ending maintenance and the time it takes away from our lives.  As the saying goes, “everything you own, owns a piece of you.” 

It seemed to be the right time to move on with our next phase in life and experience new adventures yet to come.