All of this is new for us – having a website, renovating a boat, living & traveling on a boat… and we hope you’ll join us on our adventure. Whether you’re a boating pro or have always dreamed of living and traveling on a boat we will endeavor to make our experiences interesting and maybe even helpful.
I (Cynthia) am a landlubber. I can count on one hand the number of times I had been on a boat before I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2017. I’ve always enjoyed my experiences but, in my reality it was something other people did. So, when I moved out to Bainbridge and one of the first things Luke did was take me to a boat show to look at boats that were of interest to him in an effort to fulfill his dream, I thought it was just that, a pipe dream but, it was a good excuse to get out and explore Seattle. At that show we looked at 4 types of boats: Kadey Krogen, Selene, Nordhaven & Fleming. Of the 4, it was a clear choice for me – the Kadey Krogen! As an architect, the layout, and spatial relationships made sense to me. So, Luke kept his focus on Kadey’s – older Kadey’s. What Luke hadn’t told me at the boat show was we would not be purchasing a new boat, in order to afford this dream, even with selling our house, we would need to find an older boat that would fit our budget, needs & desires.
At that time, Luke had a 27′ Ranger Tug named Seeadler, and to introduce me to boating we would go for trips around the San Juan Islands. It was a wonderful way for me to learn about the Pacific Northwest as well. As I became more comfortable with boating and Luke grew more frustrated with the size of the Tug, we would frequent more boat shows. In the early spring of 2019 we went to a boat show in Anacortes, WA. Luke knew there were going to be a couple of older Kadey’s there for sale. By this time, I was with the program as we had looked at a few other Kadey’s. I have to say when people are ready to sell their boat, for the most part, they don’t get the concept of cleaning & staging! Boy, did we see some nasty boats!
However, at this show we found one we thought may work which got us talking seriously. By this time Luke had already retired from the Fire Department. I was working for an architectural firm on the Island. The “plan” had been, I would “retire” in 2020 and we’d launch this adventure then. While we did not end up purchasing that particular boat we realized there was no better time than the present. Luke’s kids were grown-up and weren’t going to be coming back to our house to live. The renovations to the house we just spent 2 years on were nearly complete, the only thing standing in our way was finding a boat (and my job).
Luke connected with Kadey Krogen sales and at the beginning of August we flew to Stuart, FL to meet with the VP and see 2 boats. One was in Fort Pierce and the other was in Brunswick, GA – just over the Florida State line. The 1st boat was a mess and it didn’t take us long to declare it a “no go.” The next day we headed to Brunswickto see the second boat. It was a 2001 48′ Kadey Krogen North Sea that had had 2 owners. The second owners lived and traveled on it for 14 years and they would be there to meet with us – a first. There are basically 3 models of Kadey’s: the North Sea, the Widebody and the Whaleback. The North Sea has outside walkways on both sides of the living quarters and a flying bridge. The Widebody has a starboard outside walkway and a flying bridge and the Whaleback has neither outside walkways nor a flying bridge.
This Kadey, named Tusen Takk II (meaning many thanks) was a go! When we got home it became a mad dash to finish up the last of the renovations which were underway and get the house on the market. Isn’t that what you always do – get your house all fixed up for someone else to enjoy? Before we even had the opportunity to list the house it sold thanks to a very dear friend who had a friend who was looking for a house just like ours. My “in-process” architectural projects would be wrapping up in a couple of months. So, everything was falling into place! We sold a bunch of our stuff and gave stuff away. We crammed the rest into a 12 x 20 storage unit expertly packed to the gills or ceiling. And then the “for the boat” pile, we had been accumulating in the garage, got packed into a 12′ U-Haul trailer around slabs of quartizite. The slabs were left over from the last renovation project – the master bath. The craftsman we used for the stone installation had cut the remaining slab into approximate shapes to fit the kitchen counters on the boat. On October 29th we packed the dogs into the car and headed down the driveway.
Check out our Journi Blog – “On the road again…” for our trip across country.
Annie & Lily nestled in the backseat 
Slabs of quartzite in the U-Haul 
The Adventures of Belle of the West 