Semper Fidelis – Latin for Always Faithful.

The motto of the Marine Corps and the name of a most recent acquisition. A boat. Rather, a boat that’s been named before I knew of its existence. That being said, it’s generally bad luck to rename a vessel without a proper ceremony and there’s much superstition that many have ignored only to their peril. My first one had a name that I didn’t care for so I simply removed it without being aware of the potential “dangers”. I didn’t know that this was not good idea but it had many problems following that event. Was it conicidence or something more..?

So where does that leave me now? Should I risk the renaming the new boat (with proper ceremony) or keep the name. I like it and it’s deep meaning so I think I will keep it. It serves double duty with both its meaning and the invocation of a certain esprit de corps. While it’s not my particular branch of service, there is a strong connection between mine (The Coast Guard) and the Marines. If you read the story of Douglas Munro you will understand the where this connection comes from. He gave his life to cover the withdrawl of the 7th Marine Regiment during the battle at Guadalcanal in 1942. One of the men saved as a result of Douglas Munro’s selfless act was none other than Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller.

“Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller was a Marine’s Marine. A bonafide badass leatherneck with the scars to prove it. But this badass had one soft spot—his fierce loyalty and care for his men. Puller’s leadership is one of the reasons why to this day, Marine Corps officers in the field never eat until the enlisted men have been served.”

So why leave the name on my new boat that might look like a text book case of stolen valor or odd coincedence? I can assure you it’s not. This is about a boat with a strong name that connects on a level of heroism and loyalty.

I have been in my town for a good number of years and it dawned on me that while I have wanted to join the local yacht club before, I don’t really know anyone who is a member. After all, people don’t run around with a sign over their head announcing their membership to most any organization. Normally, one needs a sponsor to join and without that, you must find one. So began my quest and I did in fact find someone who will sponsor me. Just yesterday, I got a call from the club’s membership chair inquiring about my interest. I am on my the way!

Zinc, Sacrificial Anode – A metal that is designated as the metal you want to erode away and sacrifice itself to save your important equipment in a saltwater environment. It erodes away and saves your important metals such as drive shafts and other critical parts of your boat. Zinc is the metal of choice and there are parts made of that are designed to bolt onto your boat and then slowly erode away. My boat had not been checked for a while and as a result, I wanted to get it looked at quickly. I recommend T and C Diving. They were prompt and took care in checking my boat out and replaced the zincs within a day of setting the appointment up with them. I can say that my Zinc was almost gone but there was a little left. My new zincs are doing their part every hour of every day, throwing themselves in the front of the important stuff like critical engine parts and rudders and such so that the boat may live another day. Thank you Zinc, and T and C divers for taking care of my boat.

Tacoma to Kitsap via the water. No sense buying a boat that won’t make the trip. It was about an hour and a half run along with a fuel stop at the Point Defiance fuel dock. The owner had a friend that was a mechanic and he offered to make the trip with me and serve as a guide of sorts. This was a nice way to get a decent intro to the systems on the boat and to ease my concerns if anything bad were to have happened along the way that I didn’t know about. Nothing did and the trip was excellent. The sun was out and the water was calm. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to make the run.

Recently, I acquired a boat after selling my last one. I have pondered back and forth about writing about it at the risk of sounding like it was a bragging blog and then I decided that it’s truly not about that but more about keeping a log and a way to look back and maybe share some useful tips and information. I have been looking at boats all last year and beyond. I have wanted to get one that I could use more often and leave in the water because launching a boat each time I want to be on the water is not the way I wanted to “boat”.

I few weeks ago, I spotted a great deal on Craigslist and the negotiations began. As it turns out, this boat was well cared for but the owner had a tendency to get seasick on the dock. In short, he wasn’t really a boater and I am sure he just wanted out. This boat came with everything from a full set of good tools, life jackets, spare parts, a well stocked refrigerator complete with beers (good ones) and soda. It also came with a small boat and that boat also had it’s own little engine. It been a nice way to enjoy a little time after work relaxing on the water.

The deal was completed and the day I was planning on going to buy the boat, I sold the one I had listed only 5 days before. That is a story in itself.
I was thinking that I would need to sell my existing boat and that would do a few things. It would free up some yard space and make the cost of the upgrade to the new boat an affordable one. The old one was listed and within just a few days there were a lot more posted and I was worried a little that mine would be lost in the cache of excess boats on Craigslist. On Wednesday I was laying down for the night and had contemplated re-listing my boat to get it to the top of the list. Then about that time, I had this little voice in the back of my head that said, “You have not, because you ask not”. So I got down on my knees and prayed that the right buyer would come at the exact right time. THAT is exactly what happened. I got an email the very next day and it was the buyer for my old boat. I shared everything that was in need of care or repair and they came to my house the very next day and bought my boat for exactly my asking price. That same evening, I completed the deal for my new boat and brought it home that night.

This arrival of the new to me boat will be the source of the blogs in the “Marine Life” section and I hope you might get some useful information and maybe some enjoyment out of it.