So .. what floats your boat? Are you a sailing enthusiast? It’s very romantic (romantic as in roaming, and adventure). Or would you go for a luxury motor yacht? To buy one outright will take a hefty chunk of money, and then a bite every time to fill up your floating home-on-the-water’s 2,500 gallon tank with diesel. Here are just a few pictures to give a taste of what was going on.
This is the powder blue South Lake Union Streetcar arriving at West Lake station to pick us up and go to Lake Union where the Boat Show is. There is also a brown one, and there used to be a red one and a purple one as well. I’m not sure how many there are and if they are rotated in and out of service.Here’s the map. The blue at the top is Lake Union, a much much smaller lake than Lake Washington which is a little further to the east and which separates the city of Seattle from the ‘east side’.This stop is ‘sponsored’ by Umpqua Bank. There is also a station with the alternate name of Amazon.com, named for the Amazon’s headquarters close by.This is a motorized boat .. I am not sure of the model and name, I just like the classic hull shape and windows on the deck. Some of these boats have really really big diesel tanks, up to 2,500 gallons. That would enable a range of over 2,000 nautical miles, but it would cost around $10,000 to fill up that tank.The sign on the side of this 70′ McKinna 2012 model boat says it was a demo boat, and is now priced at $2.5 mil (retail $3.7 mil). It has 4 staterooms and 4 heads (bath rooms), and is loaded with custom options.
Pretty flags on a Tayana yacht’s mast. There must have been a dozen yacht manufacturers putting their yachts on display. The styling and fittings could get updated almost every year. So if you are looking at a ‘2008 Jeanneau deck salon 45’ it tells you the year, the manufacturer, the yacht’s style (deck salon means the deck is raised and has windows on the sides, letting more light in, a plus for the cloudy Northwest weather), and the yacht is 45 feet long.A classic analog compasses, found on the rear of the yacht by the steering wheel. I am sure they will continue to be fitted on modern yachts as a back-up to all the navigation digital equipment.
Here’s what it’s all about ! .. navigating through the straits and islands, and taking time to explore the scenery and the coves and bays. (Picture is of a map fitted on the table on the inside of one of the yachts).We’re done looking at the yachts (tall masts in the distance) and now we’re in the motorized yacht section. I am actually on the top deck of a big boat, and there’s the Space Needle in the distance.Here’s a little impromptu show of water acrobatics we ran into. Best from what I could tell the jet ski’s powerful water pump is used to propel water into the orange tube with enough force so that Mr ‘Iron Man’ can control it and use it for defying gravity.
