So there we were. Done with the loop and sitting in sunny south Florida. What next?
We spent a few days in Stuart. Life was nice, not moving every day, so much more relaxing than being on the go. We explored the town (which is quite charming), met up with old friends, and recuperated from our big adventure. And of course, we ate well!
But the plan had always been to sell the boat when we were done with the loop. So we got busy finding a broker.
After interviewing several candidates, we settled on our guy. He was knowledgeable and kind, affiliated with a broker that did a lot of business with AGLCA members, and… big bonus… He lived on his boat at the same marina where we were planning to keep our boat. Perfect!
We signed the listing agreement feeling hopeful that the boat would sell quickly and at a good price. We left our baby in the marina under his watchful eye, and flew back home to Oregon. Wooooo hooooo!
Being at home was awesome. Friends, family, our cat, a garden, and a regular rectangular bed…. Nice!
The weather in Eugene was much colder than we remembered, and after a few days, we were a little bored, chilled to the bone, and wondering why we had been in such a rush to leave Florida. I missed my flip flops. It was a bit of an adjustment to say the least.
Eventually Gary started doing some projects in the shop, and I started baking bread again. Life was getting back to normal. All was well.
We settled in, talking to our broker every week or so. Very little interest from potential buyers. Dang it. Turns out that A/C is quite important to east coasters! We lowered the price a bit. Still no nibbles.
Hurricane season was looming. Our insurance company told us that if we were going to keep Inconceivable in Florida past June 1st, they would not cover her. Changing insurance companies would involve creating a hurricane plan, hiring a captain to take care of the boat in case of bad weather, and possibly moving her “on the hard” for the season. We started planning all of those things in case the boat didn’t sell in time. Yikes. It was a lot. And just thinking of the boat being there during a storm without us to take care of her was very stressful.
It was getting to be May, and still no interested buyers. Again dang it.
We explored other options. Should we move Inconceivable north, above the 35th parallel, where our current insurance would cover her, and the chances of hurricanes were less? Should we put her in protected storage in Florida?
Or maybe…. We could move her back to Oregon and try to sell her here?
In the end, that’s what we decided to do. It just feels better being closer to our boat and being able to use her while she is for sale.
We started looking for boat transporters. Moving a boat is expensive, and things can go wrong. Choosing the right company is important. After interviewing and getting prices from several movers, we settled on a guy. A guy and his dog Chopper. Mark was familiar with our boat and had done a lot of moves for Ranger Tugs, so we felt good.
We found a marina in a protected area right off of I-5 in Portland. It is new, has nice docks and an even nicer dockmaster. There is laundry, a pool, and lots more.
We started learning about cruising the Columbia River, and apparently it will be great on our boat! There are lots of great anchorages and marinas along the river. We can visit Astoria, all the way to Hood River, and even as far east as Idaho. Wow. Who knew?
There are the locks along the way at Bonneville Dam, but thanks to the loop we are super comfortable with doing that! The current can be high and the tidal shifts can be significant, but we now have lots of experience with those too! Yay!
Needless to say. We are excited. The boat will leave Florida soon and by the end of May she should be in Portland! We are still actively trying to sell the boat, but we are going to have some fun while we are doing it. Double Yay!