Haul Out & Survey, Olympia Washington

Sherry and I traveled to Olympia Washington, with our brokers from Emerald Bay Yacht Sales. They arranged to have our North Pacific 42 hauled at a shipyard called Swan town. We had pulled up to the lifting slings, and their professional crew took over from that point. I made a call first with Trevor Bryce from North Pacific to ensure that we place the slings in the right spot so that we wouldn't put undue pressure on an unsecure portion of the hull. The boat was picked up and traveled to the yard to have the bottom cleaned.

It's amazing that after only two years in the water the amount of barnacles and scum that sticks to the bottom of the boat. Significant growth can dramatically alter the boats speed and handling characteristics. The bottom paint was worn, however we decided to leave it one more season and have it repainted in the spring. The zincs however were almost gone, so we had the yard crew replace the zincs while the boat was in the sling. I didn't expect the survey to find anything dramatically wrong with the boat, as it is only two years old with minimal hours. There were a few lights that were not working, and the heat sensor on the generator didn't work. These will be fixed and are definitely not a dealbreaker. There was also some warranty items to be taken care of. All is good.

T/T Springer arrives today

Robert Brown from Capstan Marine in Richmond, BC trailered our 228 Seafarer Grady White - ( It will be named "Tender to Springer" ) to Campbell River, to commission the boat and conduct the final signoff. I was impressed that Robert would decide to do this on a Sunday morning for our benefit. We put the boat in the water at the Discovery Harbour Marina, and reviewed all of the systems on the boat. We headed out of the Marina and made our way up to Seymour Narrows checking boat functions and reviewing the systems. There is nothing on the market that handles and drives like a Grady White. This boat has the technical engineering and hull strength to go through rougher water and I have the ability to operate in. I feel quite comfortable knowing that this is one of the safest fishing boats on the market. Robert spent the entire morning with us reviewing boat functions and handling procedures, and we finally tied up in our slip at the Marina.

I can't say enough about Robert's professionalism in this boat transaction. From the day we purchased this boat, Robert arranged for all of the upgrades with little fanfare or questions required. Sherry and I have been quite fortunate in our last few choices of boats. Our 26 foot Commander was an exceptional boat with a high degree of quality throughout. Ken Stewart from Canmar Yacht Sales is an excellent broker that was always there to answer technical questions. Our Grady White follows that same theme. I consider Ken and Robert to give both exeptional technical advice and great service.

This will be our primary fishing boat as well as a tender for our 42 foot North Pacific when we go to Alaska next year. It has radar, fish finder, GPS and the boat is powered by a 250HP 4 stroke Yamaha.