One of the surprise perks of marrying a naval architect is the lovely hikes that I get to go on every time we visit a marina. I get to see every single boat on every dock and hear many interesting facts about the designs of the ones he likes best. 😉
Sometimes though, you do see some very interesting things at the dock. Everything from mega yachts costing mega bucks, to the most random DIY paint job, to multiple boats merged into one single very odd looking craft. One of the coolest experiences from today’s tour of the marina was finding another boat identical to ours! She’s a 1972 Grand Banks Alaskan 49′. According to Jason they made around 70 of them, but they’re still rather unusual and being so old and made of wood I do wonder how many are actually still around. This particular boat had been brought to Oregon 20 years ago from the Great Lakes and owned by the same couple. We started chatting and eventually made our way onboard to check out the other boat. Theirs was in pretty much original condition, while ours had been completely redone in 2012 and, I suspect, pretty well molested before then. The general layout of both boats was the same, but the minor details are what made it feel different. Just different enough for it to feel “off”. Their boat did have a few things that I liked a lot and wish ours had and a few things I like about ours more. Their galley has an upper row of cabinets that I think would go a long way for storage. Ours lacks that but I think it makes our interior seem bigger. Their overhead grab rail is offset, while ours is on centerline. They have more cabinets, where our desk has been converted to house a freezer. It was fascinating. The couple ended up coming over to our boat later that evening to check it out and get some ideas for when they finally get a chance to upgrade their boat. (it’s a work in progress as they live aboard!) They brought us some freshly grown asparagus from a family member, which was unexpected and pretty cool! (I need to think of some little random thing to give to new friends as a “boat gift”! Apparently that’s a thing!)
The Friday Harbor Marina also has its own little fish market. We made it down there on our way back to the boat and bought a pound of salmon. They have a resident seal named “Popeye” because she has a single cloudy eye. The seal hangs out right there by the fish market and gets fed regularly enough to not bother going elsewhere and to get a little more portly than seals usually do… She was nice enough to pose for a few pictures before trying to beg some fish off of Jason. (I think she knows what’s in those white plastic bags)
